The Forbidden City and a wild stretch of the Great Wall, an army of clay soldiers, and the neon future on the Bund, five thousand years of China, by bullet train.
Into the vast, ancient and hypermodern capital. After the flight we keep it easy, a first Peking duck, a walk by a lantern lit lake, an early night before the big sights tomorrow.
Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, the largest palace complex on earth, gate after vermilion gate; the circular Temple of Heaven where emperors prayed for harvest; and a hutong rickshaw through the old alley life of Beijing.
Out to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, the restored ramparts riding the green ridges into the distance, a cable car up, a watchtower walk, a toboggan down. The Summer Palace and its lake on the way back to the city.
The high speed train south to Xi'an, where the Silk Road began. A cycle along the top of the great Ming city walls, and the food street of the Muslim Quarter after dark, lamb skewers, hand pulled noodles, persimmon cakes.
The Terracotta Warriors, thousands of life size soldiers, each with a different face, buried to guard the first emperor for eternity, and only found by a farmer digging a well in 1974. One of the great archaeological wonders, met in person.
East to Shanghai, China's dazzling commercial capital. The colonial Bund facing the science fiction towers of Pudong across the river, best seen on an evening cruise as the whole skyline lights up at once.
The classical Yu Garden and the old town bazaar, the plane tree avenues and cafés of the former French Concession, the serene Jade Buddha temple, and a cocktail on a rooftop near the top of one of the world's tallest towers.
A day to a canal town, the bridges and teahouses of Zhujiajiao, or the classical gardens of Suzhou, the 'Venice of the East'. Back to Shanghai for a final dinner and one last look at that skyline.
A slow last morning before your transfer to the airport. China is too big to see in a week, but Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai give you its past, its wonder and its future in one clean line.
Three ways to do the same route: Comfort, Premium or Luxe. Breakfasts in. Mix tiers city by city if you like, it is your trip.
Priced to your dates, your hotel tier and how the two of you like to travel. Ask, the first answer usually lands within minutes.
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