China All-Inclusive Journey: Capitals, Mountains and Shanghai

Meet the representative at Beijing International Airport and transfer into the city for hotel check-in. Keep the remaining time free to recover from the flight or walk independently nearby. Travellers arriving with enough time may arrange their own visit to Universal Studios Beijing or another city attraction, with optional tickets and transport handled separately.

Explore the Forbidden City, the early-fifteenth-century palace of 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors. Its ceremonial gates, courtyards and throne halls reveal the formal structure of imperial life. Continue to the UNESCO-listed Temple of Heaven, where rulers performed state rites connected with the harvest. The day concludes with a Peking duck dinner, traditionally served with pancakes, vegetables and sauce, followed by free time.

Check out and travel to a scenic mountain section of the Great Wall. Walk the fortified route across the ridges and pause for broad views before lunch at a nearby restaurant serving northern Chinese dishes. Continue to the railway station and board the high-speed train to Luoyang. A local guide will meet the group on arrival and accompany the transfer to the hotel.

Travel to the UNESCO-listed monuments of Dengfeng and visit Shaolin Temple at the foot of Mount Song. Continue through the Pagoda Forest, where masonry pagodas commemorate generations of senior monks, then watch the scheduled martial-arts demonstration. A vegetarian lunch at the monastery restaurant is followed by a walk in the Songshan landscape, traditionally regarded as China's central sacred mountain. Return to Luoyang for a free evening.

Discover the UNESCO-listed Longmen Grottoes, carved into cliffs beside the Yi River. More than 2,300 caves and niches contain almost 110,000 Buddhist stone figures, together with inscriptions, reliefs and stupas. Follow the riverside route to the monumental Vairocana Buddha and see how the sculpture changes across centuries and dynasties. Lunch featuring Henan cuisine follows the excursion, with the evening left free.

Travel to Xi'an by high-speed train and meet the local guide at the station. Continue directly to the UNESCO-listed mausoleum complex of the First Qin Emperor, where thousands of life-size terracotta warriors and horses stand in excavated pits. After the visit, return to Xi'an and check in. Optional evening choices include a Tang music-and-dance performance with dumpling banquet, The Great Qin show or Tang Paradise, each ticketed separately.

Transfer to Xi'an Airport and fly to Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province. Meet the local team after landing, continue to the hotel and check in, leaving time to rest after the journey. In the evening, an optional production can introduce regional legends through dance, costume and music. The show is available at additional cost, so the evening remains flexible.

Enter Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and explore Yuanjiajie within the wider UNESCO-listed Wulingyuan landscape. Paths and viewpoints wind among quartz-sandstone pillars promoted in Hunan as a visual prototype for Pandora's floating mountains in Avatar. Ride the 326-metre Bailong Elevator to the upper area; Guinness World Records recognises it as the tallest outdoor elevator. Continue across panoramic trails above wooded ravines.

Cross the 430-metre glass bridge above Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and look down into the gorge between the sandstone cliffs. Weather permitting, a zipline or canyon boat ride may add another perspective on the landscape. Continue to Yellow Dragon Cave, also called Huanglong Cave, and walk through limestone halls filled with stalactites and stalagmites. A sightseeing boat carries visitors through part of the underground route before the return to the hotel.

Ascend Tianmen Mountain by cableway and continue through its high landscape by mountain transport. Follow cliffside paths, cross a glass walkway when conditions allow and see Tianmen Cave, the natural arch known as Heaven's Gate. After the mountain programme, transfer to Zhangjiajie Airport and fly to Shanghai. Meet the local representative on arrival, continue to the hotel and check in.

Rise above Lujiazui in the Oriental Pearl Tower for broad views of the Huangpu and Shanghai's dense skyline. Return to street level for a walk along the Bund, where protected historic façades face the towers of Pudong across the river. Continue into the old city and explore classical Yu Garden among pavilions, bridges, rockwork and ponds. The evening is free for shopping, another city walk or rest.

Keep free time for a final walk, shopping or rest according to your flight schedule. At the appointed time, meet the driver for a private transfer to Shanghai Airport. The twelve-day journey concludes after linking imperial cities, Buddhist heritage, Qin archaeology, Zhangjiajie's mountain landscapes and modern Shanghai.