Pandas, Calligraphy And Imperial China – 11 Days

Begin on the Bund, the promenade of grand banks and trading houses built during Shanghai’s treaty port years, with the towers of Pudong rising across the Huangpu River. Then visit Yu Garden, a classical Ming dynasty garden of ponds, rockeries and pavilions linked by winding paths.

Stop at a silk workshop to see how cocoons are unravelled into thread and stretched into silk quilts, then enjoy lunch at a local restaurant.

Walk through Fuxing Park, a French-designed park where locals gather to dance, play cards and practise tai chi. Finish in Bugaoli, a lane of shikumen stone-gate houses, the terraced homes that mix Chinese courtyard design with Western rowhouses and once housed much of the city’s population.

Spend the morning however you like, perhaps with a coffee in the Former French Concession or a last walk along the river.

Your driver takes you to the airport for the flight to Chengdu, about three hours. Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Chengdu.

At leisure. Chengdu is famous for its relaxed pace and its fiery food, so this is a good evening to try Sichuan hot pot at a local restaurant.

Arrive early at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, when the pandas are most active and feeding on fresh bamboo. Walk the shaded paths between the enclosures, where you may also see young pandas and red pandas, and learn about the base’s breeding and conservation work.

Lunch is at a local restaurant.

Visit River Viewing Tower Park, a riverside park dedicated to the Tang dynasty poet Xue Tao and planted with dozens of varieties of bamboo. Climb or admire Chongli Pavilion, the tall tower that gives the park its name, then settle into a teahouse with a cup of tea, just as Chengdu locals have done for generations.

Visit a local spice market with your chef, where sacks of Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies and fermented bean paste explain the bold flavours of the region. Then enjoy a gaiwan tea ceremony, served in the traditional lidded cup, before joining a Sichuan cooking class to make classic dishes such as mapo tofu or kung pao chicken. Your chef explains the balance of numbing and spicy flavours that defines Sichuan food.

Sit down to the lunch you have prepared.

Your driver takes you to the station for the high-speed train to Xi’an, about three to four hours. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel in Xi’an.

Drive out to the Terracotta Army, part of the UNESCO-listed mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, who unified China more than two thousand years ago. Walk around the excavated pits where thousands of life-size soldiers and horses stand in formation, then visit the exhibition halls of Qin dynasty finds, including the finely cast Bronze Chariots.

Lunch is at a local restaurant.

Visit a Tang dynasty themed park in the south of the city, where lakes, pavilions and gateways recreate the style of the imperial gardens of Chang’an, as Xi’an was known when it was one of the largest cities in the world.

Visit a local market with a Xi’an family, then join them at home to make dumplings and hand-pulled noodles, a staple of northern Chinese cooking. Lunch is the meal you have cooked together.

Head to the Gao Family Courtyard in the old Muslim quarter, a large and well-preserved Ming and Qing era courtyard residence. Here you take a calligraphy class, learning to hold the brush and form a few characters, and watch a shadow puppet performance, shared with other guests, an old folk art of painted leather figures moved behind a lit screen.

Wander along Muslim Street, where stalls sell lamb skewers, persimmon cakes and steaming bowls of soup as the lanes come alive after dark.

Enjoy a relaxed morning at your hotel, or take a last walk to the Bell Tower in the centre of the old city.

Your driver takes you to the station for the high-speed train to Beijing, roughly four and a half to six hours. You are met on arrival and taken to your hotel in Beijing, with the evening at leisure.

Begin at Tiananmen Square, the immense square at the centre of modern Beijing, then walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace into the Forbidden City. For nearly five centuries this was home to the Ming and Qing emperors, and today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of red walls, golden roofs and marble terraces.

Lunch is at a local restaurant.

Visit the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors performed ceremonies to pray for good harvests. The round, triple-roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is one of the great buildings of China, and the park around it is full of locals dancing, singing and practising tai chi.

Drive about two hours into the hills north of Beijing to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Ride the cable car up to the ramparts, where restored Ming watchtowers run along wooded ridges.

Hike along the wall at your own pace, climbing between towers for wide views over the hills. Lunch is at a local restaurant near the wall.

Return to Beijing for your final evening, at leisure. Beijing roast duck at a local restaurant makes a fitting farewell dinner if you would like one.

Enjoy the time at leisure before your transfer.

Your driver takes you to the airport for your flight home.