Essential China

Start and end in Beijing, the Essential China tour is a guided cultural, religious and historic sites trip that takes 11 days. You will travel through Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding, Great Wall of China, Xian and 5 other destinations in China. Essential China is a small group tour which includes accommodation, transport, meals and others.

Visit China's iconic sites and bring its fascinating history and culture to life! Beijing's history stretches back three millennia and the scale of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City never fail to amaze. Leaving the grandeur behind, explore the old town's narrow 'hutongs', and locals house for a more humbling experience and a class in the traditional Chinese craft of papercutting. Head out of the city and step foot on one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall; here you'll begin to comprehend the magnitude of this construction as it snakes across the mountains to the horizon and beyond. Juxtaposed to this is Xi'an's vibrant Muslim Quarter, where we catch a shadow puppetry show at Gao's Family Mansion. Xi'an is most famed for the nearby Terracotta Warriors of Emperor Qin, where excavations have revealed thousands of hand-crafted life-size and lifelike army figures. A China holiday would not be complete without a trip to Chengdu to see the endangered Giant pandas - these black and white furry animals are a national emblem and a rare sight. End in cosmopolitan Shanghai, with its unmistakable skyline illuminated at night.