Classic China & Yangtze cruise

This morning you'll be collected from your hotel and driven to the charming Temple of Heaven complex for a private t'ai chi lesson followed by a visit to the park and temple with your guide. Following this you will be transferred to the Forbidden City for a private tour showing you through the complex of over 950 buildings, originally built over around 600 years ago as the imperial palace.

Take a full day excursion to the magnificent Great Wall at its most dramatic today with your private guide to the less touristy Jinshanling section. Depending how energetic you are feeling you have the option of taking a gondola up to the wall or a circular walk along the wall and returning to the entrance.

This morning you will be taken to the station to take the high speed train to Xian, a journey of around five and a half hours. On arrival you will be met at the station and driven to your hotel. Later this afternoon your guide will collect you from your hotel to visit the bustling Muslim Quarter and Grand Mosque.

This morning you'll be taken to the iconic Terracotta Army with your private guide. Only discovered in 1974, you'll be amazed by the number and scale that have been excavated. In the afternoon you will have a private transfer to the airport for your flight to Guilin. Once landed you'll be transferred to your hotel. You have the rest of the day at leisure. We'd suggest a visit to Elephant hill or the Sun and Moon Pagodas on Fir Lake.

This morning travel down the Li River to the town of Yangshuo on a shared cruise of around 120 people (though still accompanied by your private guide). En route, you'll sail past towering karst peaks, bamboo groves and rice fields. Upon arrival in Yangshuo you're met by a private driver and taken to your hotel. You then have an afternoon to explore the area at leisure. We suggest taking a stroll through the local rice terraces.

Your guide will meet you at your hotel this morning for a guided bike ride through the local area, the more energetic can go further afield to Xingping village. In the afternoon you'll have a Chinese cookery class sampling the local dishes as part of a small group excursion.

Leaving Yangshuo behind this morning you'll take a three-hour private transfer to the village of Longji. Cosseted among ancient rice terraces, a visit to Longji is a great way of getting a sense of rural China. Your private guide will lead you on a visit to the various viewing platforms to admire this agricultural landscape.

This morning you will be collected from your hotel and after the short walk to the car park, driven by private transfer to Guilin airport for your flight to Chongqing. Upon your arrival into Chongqing you will be met by your guide and driven to a restaurant for a local speciality; a sichanese hot pot. You will then be driven to the dock to begin your Yangtze cruise.

Today you will be taking an onshore excursion in Shibaozhai also known as "Pearl of the Yangtze" and visit its splendid pagoda. You also have the option to visit the ghost city of Fengdu.

This morning you awake to your first sight of the dramatic Three Gorges. The ship stops at Wushan, allowing you to board a smaller boat which takes you through some narrow, imposing ravines toward the beautiful and impressive farmland that surrounds the river. The afternoon sees you sailing through both the second and third of the gorges, and in the evening you reach the Three Gorges Dam and begin the traverse through the ship locks. This occurs once the sun has set, but it is still possible to watch the procedures from deck.

This morning before you arrive into Yichang, you will be taken to see the Three Gorges Dam project. Upon docking into Yichang you'll have a private transfer to the airport for your flight to the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai. On arrival you will be met by your guide for the private transfer to your hotel.

Today you'll have a private tour of some of the city's highlights including the Bund, the Jade Buddha and the Yuyuan gardens today. This evening you will be going out to see the Shanghai acrobatics performance. You will have a private transfer to and from the venue.

You will have the full day at leisure in Shanghai. We'd suggest visiting the French Concession or the modern Pudong district opposite the Bund across the Huangpu River.

This morning you will be collected from your hotel for your private transfer to the airport for your return flight home. Your return flight will arrive the same day.