Day-to-day schedule
Day 1 -
3: Beijing
You will arrive into Beijing, where you will have some free time to explore this wonderful city. Beijing has been the capital of one of the greatest realms in the world for centuries and was founded by the Mongolians in the thirteenth century, in order to govern the domain that extended its power from Korea to Hungary and later on it became the capital of the Ming Dynasty. In the city and its surroundings we find some of the most important places of interest in this immense country. With a surface area measuring 9,596,960 sq km, it is 40 times greater than the UK. With a billion people, making up the population. Since 1949, the heart of Beijing and China has been Tian An Men Square, the square of Heavenly Peace. On October 1st of that year, Mao Zedong, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. At the beginning of his Cultural Revolution, in 1966, he was repeatedly worshipped like a god there by a million practically fainting teenagers. In 1989 a student protest was smothered with brute force and hundreds of people died. These memories form a sharp contrast with the present peaceful atmosphere. Chinese families walk around it, people fly kites, there are stalls selling photographic equipment and ice-cream vendors. On one side of the square there are colossal buildings in Stalinist style: the Great Hall of the People and the National Museum of China. On the south side of the square is the Mao Zedong memorial Hall. More important is the beautiful Forbidden City. The dimensions of this complex are enormous. It measures nearly one kilometre by 700 metres and there are 9,999 rooms. Italian film director Bertolucci in his masterpiece, ‘The Last Emperor’, beautifully captured this imperial city on screen. The emperors could choose from thousands of women, and over time provided work for 70,000 eunuchs. Ordinary mortals were prohibited from entering the Forbidden City. On the other hand, some of the emperors would hardly leave the palace and lived a secluded and totally unworldly existence. Another imperial palace is the Summer Palace. This palace is situated on the edge of the city and has magnificent buildings and temples. There is also a big marble boat that was commissioned by the empress dowager Cixi for her dinner parties. Another milestone is the Temple of Heaven. This temple was built completely without nails during the Ming Dynasty period. You will find it in a big park, where the Beijing people often come together early in the morning to practise Tai Chi or a form of sword fighting. Whoever feels like it can calmly begin the afternoon by taking a walk through the hutongs, the old working-class areas of Beijing. The people live in small courts with a number of closely built houses. There are grandparents playing with their grandchildren and you will see small shops selling all kinds of daily necessities. In the evening you could visit the Peking Opera, not to be compared to our western opera at all. The singing, which sounds plaintive, is very slow. It is a wonderful experience to go and see once, if only to behold the splendid costumes. Another highlight is the Great Wall of China, which winds itself through the mountains, starting from the north of Beijing. There are a couple of places where you can climb the wall and admire this massive edifice. Your tour guide can be helpful in organising a day tour to the Chinese Wall. Then there is the culinary tour de force: Peking Duck. It is fun to have this special meal with a group of people. In China, people usually have dinner with a number of people sitting at a round table with a kind of turntable in the middle. Meals are ordered for the whole group and not, as in Europe, by each person individually. You can find western cutlery in most hotels, but in local restaurants you will have to eat with chopsticks! You will get used to this quickly.
Day 4: Beijing - Xi'an
In the afternoon we will take the night train (with couchettes) to Xi’an, where we will arrive the next morning. During this entire journey we will take the night train four times in order to cover the enormous distances required to complete this trip. We have second class pre-booked couchettes, with three beds above each other. The bottom bed will be used as a sofa during the day and you will be supplied with bedding. Each carriage has a supervisor who inspects the tickets, cleans from time to time, looks after the music, makes announcements and is responsible for the procedures in the carriage. There are toilets (not entirely clean) and wash basins. For most Chinese, the train is the only way to cover large distances. They make themselves completely at home on the train. They take off their shoes, put on their slippers and take out the inevitable tea mugs. It is amusing to see how all of them hurry to the end of the carriage with their mugs, thermos flasks and bowls with instant noodle soup, as soon as the rumour spreads that there is hot water boiling again. The Chinese pass their time eating, drinking, sleeping, playing cards, nattering, reading, or listening to music. There is no need to get bored during these train journeys. Besides the above-mentioned pastimes, you can also watch China pass by your window. These trains are the best place for striking up a conversation with English speaking Chinese people. Covering 1,160 kilometres, the first train journey is the longest. It will take us about 15 hours. By Chinese standards this is not unusual.
Day 5: Xi'an
A day to explore Xi’an, it is a very important city from a historical point of view. Just outside the city is the famous Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shihuang. Thousands of man-sized clay soldiers guard his tomb from the third century BC. The emperor united China and standardized weights and measures and the written language. Qin Shihuang was also responsible for building the Chinese Wall. During the first centuries of our era the town was the beginning of the Silk Route, connecting China to the Roman Empire. Caravans transported silk, lacquer ware and spices to the west, and products such as earthenware, glass and fabrics to the east. Later on, Islam spread as far as China by this route. In Xi’an you can roam about in the Islamic part of the city. It is a very enjoyable and lively district with the old mosque in the middle. You will see children being educated in Arabic, men and women preparing the most delicious meals and many small bric-a-brac shops and stalls. The mosque is a mix of Islamic and Chinese architecture and has a rustic walled-in garden. In this area you can eat kebabs on the streets. From the seventh to the ninth centuries, when the Tang Dynasty reigned over China, Xi’an experienced another ‘Golden Age’. It developed into one of the biggest cities in the world with an estimated two million inhabitants. The 14 kilometre city wall, dating back to this period, is still largely intact. With its height and width of 12 metres it is an impressive place of interest. These imposing walls are often the scene of kite flying competitions and you have a good view of the city from there. For a good insight into the history of Xi’an and the Shaanxi province, explained in English, you should visit the beautiful historical museum.
Day 6: Xi'an - Chengdu
In the afternoon we take the sleeper train to Chengdu. We will arrive the next morning
Day 7 -
8: Chengdu
Time spent freely exploring Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. With its 100 million inhabitants, this is China’s most densely populated province and the most important rice production area in the country. In the old part you will find traditional tiny two-storey wooden dwellings next to five-story communist tenement buildings. Towering above these are ultramodern skyscrapers with coloured, reflecting glass. In this city you can cross over centuries within a couple of hundred yards. In the old city centre you can find the Wenshu Monastery. This is the largest and most important Buddhist monastery of Chengdu, older than Buddha himself, dating from the tenth century BC. There is a medieval atmosphere in the narrow street in front you, where will find beggars and stalls selling incense, statues of Buddha and religious trinkets. In the monastery, devout worshippers kneel down in worship in dimly lit areas. Have tea in the most important meeting place in Sichuan: one of the many teahouses, where the elderly doze away in the afternoon heat or spend many hours chatting, gossiping and playing Chinese Checker’s, Chess and Xiangqui. Sichuan is the home province of the giant Panda. You can see these charming animals in the Panda Breeding Centre on the outskirts of town. About one thousand Pandas still live in the wild. In the evening of day 8, we will take the night train to arrive in Panzihua the following day.
Day 9: Panzihua – Lijiang
We arrive in from the night train in the morning. We take the bus in the direction of Lijiang on the way to the colourful minorities of the Middle Country. (To Chinese people, the name of their country is Zhong guo - The Middle Country, The Centre of the World). This bus trip is the most spectacular of the whole journey. We drive into deep valleys, only to climb up again to the same heights on the other side; we follow fast-moving rivers and see brilliant panoramic views from the summits. This magnificent journey takes a whole day, including stops and lunch.
Day 10 -
11: Lijiang
Free days spent in the ancient town of Lijiang, home ground of the Naxi minority. This small town has a beautiful old centre with a maze of alleyways. You will see traditional wooden houses here. Many Naxi people still walk around in traditional clothes. In the middle of the old part of the town is the beautiful Chief Mu’s Mansion, an extensive palace with the most splendid buildings that cling to the hillside. From the terrace of the top building you have a sublime view over the ancient town centre. Our hotel is within walking distance from the colourful marketplace and the old centre. A classic piece of China is to be found in the Black Dragon pool, with traditional architecture and the most wonderful view of Jade Mountain. Lijiang is also a good place to rent a bicycle for a day and explore the rural surroundings. The nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is situated about 30 kilometres from Lijiang and towers high above the town at 5500 metres. An excursion is certainly worth your while. Here you will find the world’s highest cable lift. It takes you, at a swift pace, up to 4500 metres (Lijiang itself is situated at 2400 metres). From this high point you can climb another 150 metres to a plateau, which will offer you a magnificent view of the mountain, the glacier and the valley at the bottom. It is wise to drink a lot in order to avoid altitude sickness. And take along warm clothes (if necessary you can rent a warm coat and moon boots at the base of the cableway). A fun way to spend your evening is a visit to a traditional Naxi music performance in Lijiang. Most performers are old Naxi men, who look wonderful in their traditional attire.
Day 12: Lijiang - Dali
On this day we continue to Dali by bus. Again you can enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery. At the end of the journey you will see Dali rising up at the foot of the 4000 metre mountains.
Day 13 -
14: Dali
Days spent at your leisure in Dali. You can enjoy the rural surroundings here, just like in Lijiang. It is perfect hiking and cycling territory. You could take a boat trip on the Erhai Lake and meet the colourful members of the Bai ethnic group, it’s a fantastic experience. It is a must to visit one of the three pagodas. These buildings are some of the oldest in China. There is a pleasant carefree atmosphere in the town, which is teeming with small restaurants and shops. On Mondays there is a market day in nearby Shaping, where the Bai minority sell their goods. This colourful market is held in the morning and is a good photo opportunity. There is also the possibility to go horse riding in the surrounding area.
Day 15: Dali - Kunming
Today we travel by bus to Kunming, the capital of the province of Yunnan. We arrive at noon. From here we can visit the Stone Forest, a geological wonder of ruggedly formed limestone rocks. The admission fee for the Stone Forest is not included in the cost of the journey.
Day 16: Kunming - Yangshuo
We drive from Kunming and take the plane to Guilin. Situated near Yangshuo is the world famous karst landscape of South China
Day 17 -
18: Yangshuo
Today you have free day to explore another, amazing sight in China. You are now in the middle of China’s most distinctive landscape. The Karst mountains rise almost vertically from the paddy fields; the view interrupted only by bamboo forests and small villages. In the early summer, the land is tropically green; in the autumn the fields turn shades of golden brown. Depending on the season, you can see the farmers ploughing the fields with their buffaloes, bedding out the rice by hand, or mowing with a sickle. You can take a beautiful cycling tour in the surrounding area of Yangshuo. Local farmers like to show you their village district and house for a small fee, and will invite you in for a meal. This will give you a good impression of how the millions of Chinese farmers live today. You can also enjoy the karst landscape from a boat on the River Li. In the evening, you can join the fishermen. They lure the fish with bright gas lamps, which are then caught by trained cormorants. Due to the ring placed around their necks the fish cannot be swallowed. The fishermen conjure the fish out of the birds' throats with one skilful movement. Yangshuo itself is a bustling little town; the high street is full of small restaurants, shops and outdoor cafés.
Day 19: Yangshuo - Guangzhou
We will travel to Canton (Guangzhou) by night train, where we will arrive the next day. In this city you can look around and buy your last souvenirs.
Day 20: Guangzhou
Canton (also called Guangzhou) has always played a special role in Chinese history. The city has always behaved in a self-willed and independent manner: it is more than two thousand kilometres away from Central Chinese Rule. In 1911 the imperial dynasty was overthrown and Sun Yat Sen proclaimed the republic. Twelve years later the Kuomintang was founded here. The Shamian Island district is an old concession by the European powers from the time of the Opium War. You will recognize European influences in the architectural style of the stately houses. Near Shamian Island is the Qingping Market. This is an authentic South Chinese market where you will feast your eyes on the most eccentric delicacies such as snakes, dried turtles, owls and cats. Though the market is smaller and tidier than it used to be, it is still worth seeing. Then it’s time for a nice taste of South Chinese cuisine. The smooth flavours of Cantonese dishes are extremely pleasing to the palate.It is the last day of your tour but rather than being about ‘Goodbye’ your thought should be ‘Go further’!
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Day 21: Guangzhou
When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any post-tour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (day 21) is not included.