Shaolin Kung Fu And The Floating Peaks – 12 Days

Begin in Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world, and look up at Tiananmen Gate, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, with its famous portrait. Pass through the gate into the Forbidden City, home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for nearly five centuries and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Walk through the great ceremonial halls and on into the inner courts where the imperial family lived, with your guide telling the stories of emperors, concubines and eunuchs. Lunch is at a local restaurant nearby.

Climb the hill in Jingshan Park, built from earth dug out for the palace moat, for the classic view over the golden roofs of the Forbidden City stretching away to the south.

Drive into the hills north of Beijing to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, a Ming dynasty stretch set among wooded ridges. Ride the cable car up and walk between the towers, including the large Dajiaolou tower and the Zhengguan Terrace, a rare grouping of three towers on one platform.

Come down the fun way, on the toboggan that winds down the hillside, then sit down to a farmhouse lunch in a nearby village, with dishes made from local produce.

Back in Beijing, gather around a copper pot for a traditional mutton hotpot dinner at a local restaurant, a northern Chinese favourite of thinly sliced lamb cooked at the table in a charcoal-heated pot.

Visit the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for good harvests, and see the round, triple-roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. In the surrounding park, join local residents for a session of tai chi, the slow, flowing martial art practised across China for health and balance.

After lunch, board the high-speed train to Luoyang, about four hours south across the North China Plain. Your driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Luoyang.

Drive to Dengfeng and the Shaolin Temple, founded in the fifth century and revered as the birthplace of Chan, or Zen, Buddhism and of Shaolin kung fu. Watch a kung fu demonstration by young martial artists, then take a one-hour lesson with a coach, learning basic stances and moves.

Walk through the Pagoda Forest, a field of more than two hundred brick and stone pagodas built over many centuries to hold the remains of eminent monks. Lunch is at a local restaurant.

Visit the Songyue Pagoda, regarded as the oldest surviving brick pagoda in China, and the Songyang Academy, one of the great Confucian academies of imperial China. Both are part of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Return to your hotel in Luoyang.

Visit the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site where tens of thousands of Buddhist statues were carved into the limestone cliffs on both banks of the Yi River from the Northern Wei to the Tang dynasty. The great seated Vairocana Buddha of Fengxian Temple, serene and monumental, is the high point.

After lunch, take the high-speed train to Xi’an, about an hour and a half. Your guide meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Xi’an.

Visit the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum Site Museum, home to the Terracotta Army, the thousands of life-size clay warriors made to guard the tomb of the first emperor to unite China. Look closely at the two bronze chariots, each pulled by four bronze horses, among the finest bronze castings from ancient China.

Return to the city for lunch and some rest at your hotel.

Dress in Tang dynasty costume and stroll the Great Tang All Day Mall, a long pedestrian boulevard of lights, statues and street performances that celebrates Xi’an’s era as Chang’an, capital of the Tang empire.

Walk or cycle a stretch of the Xi’an City Wall, built in the Ming dynasty and the best-preserved city wall in China. Then wander into the Muslim Quarter, home for centuries to the Hui community, for street snacks and lively lanes.

Visit the Gao Family Courtyard, a well-kept Ming era family mansion in the old quarter. Watch a shadow puppet play, a folk art with long roots in this region, and try your hand at Chinese calligraphy with a teacher.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Zhangjiajie. Your driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Zhangjiajie.

Enter Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of thousands of quartz-sandstone pillars. Ride the Bailong Elevator up a cliff face to Yuanjiajie, where the pillars are said to have inspired the floating mountains in the film Avatar, and cross the First Bridge Under Heaven, a natural stone arch between two peaks.

Continue to Tianzi Mountain and the viewpoint of Yubi Peak, whose tight cluster of pillars resembles brushes stood in a holder. Take the cable car down and ride the small train along the Ten Mile Gallery, a valley of rock formations each with its own local name.

Lunch is not included today, so your guide will point you to a good spot inside the park. Return to your hotel in Zhangjiajie in the evening, tired and happy.

Take a boat cruise on Baofeng Lake, an emerald lake held between steep green peaks, shared with other guests. Then ride the cable car up Tianmen Mountain, one of the longest passenger cable car routes in the world.

On the summit, walk the cliff-side paths and step onto the glass walkway clinging to the rock face, with the valley far below. Lunch is at a local restaurant.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Your driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Shanghai.

Start on the Bund, the riverside promenade of banks and trading houses facing the towers of Pudong. Then visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, where a huge scale model of the city shows how Shanghai has grown and where it is heading.

Explore Yu Garden, a classical garden from the Ming dynasty, and sit down to a dim sum lunch at a local restaurant in the old town.

Wander through Fuxing Park, where locals dance, sing and play cards under the trees, and finish in a neighbourhood market to see what Shanghai families buy for dinner.

Enjoy a last breakfast at your hotel. Your driver takes you to the airport for your onward flight.