Beijing, Shaolin Temple, Luoyang, Xi'an & Shanghai, 8 Nights

You are met at the airport in Beijing and transferred privately to your hotel. The rest of the arrival day is unscheduled. This route begins with three nights in the capital before heading into Henan province, the part of the trip most visitors to China never see. The night is in Beijing.

The day begins with breakfast at the hotel and the drive to the Great Wall at Juyong Pass. The wall here rises steeply from a fortified pass, and you choose how far up to climb. A jade factory is Beijing's scheduled shopping stop on this tour and part of the programme; there is no obligation to buy. You then stop at the Olympic stadium for photographs before returning to the city.

After breakfast you visit Tiananmen Square and walk on into the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace at the centre of Beijing. The Summer Palace comes next, a lakeside garden once used by the court. Free time for shopping at Hongqiao Market ends the sightseeing. It is your last night in Beijing before the journey south.

This is a travel day with one major visit. After breakfast you transfer to the airport or station and travel to Zhengzhou by flight or train. From there you are driven to Dengfeng to visit the Shaolin Temple, the Buddhist monastery known as the home of Shaolin kung fu. The day ends with the drive on to Luoyang, where you stay the night.

Following breakfast you visit the Longmen Grottoes, where Buddhist figures were carved into the cliffs beside the river over several centuries. You then transfer to the airport or station for the flight or train to Xi'an. A transfer takes you to the hotel on arrival. In the evening you see the fountain show at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda square.

A full-day tour after breakfast takes you to the Terracotta Army, the buried clay army of the first Qin emperor. Xi'an's scheduled shopping stop, a crockery factory, is part of the excursion. Back in the city you stop for photographs at the city wall. The day finishes in Muslim Street, with time to look around the market.

After breakfast you are transferred to the railway station or airport for the journey to Shanghai. The leg can be made by high-speed train or by flight, and the choice is settled when you book. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel. No sightseeing is planned for today.

Your day in Shanghai starts after breakfast at People's Square. A silk factory is the scheduled shopping stop, followed by the lanes of Yuyuan Bazaar in the old part of the city. You then go up to the 88th floor of the Jinmao Tower for the view. The Bund, Shanghai's riverside promenade, completes the day.

Breakfast at the hotel is followed by a private transfer to the airport. Your exit flight leaves from Shanghai and the tour services end there. Flights into and out of China are booked separately from the package. If your flight is late in the day, ask us about keeping the room.