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Amazing China -
Ancient, vast, diverse, and exciting, this is a land once visited, never forgotten.

Its natural landscape is quite breathtaking from mist-shrouded hills silhouetted behind sampans on winding rivers; kast limestone outcrops jutting from flat plains of paddy fields and bamboos; stunning mountain ridges and deep caverns; proud pavilions of brilliant red and gold.
With a population of around 1.3 billion, China feeds 23% of the world’s population on 7% of the world’s arable land. Hardened farmers have devised ways of working every inch of the ground that isn’t rock or sand or nearly vertical. Fine examples of terracing designed to exploit normally inaccessible hilly terrains can be seen.
One third of China’s land mass is made up of mountains. The surface of the country slopes down from west to east. China’s great rivers, including the Yangtze and the Yellow river, rise in the west. From the northern most point to the southern most point it is around 3000 miles (London to Cairo). While the northerners are shovelling snow, the southerners are sowing rice.
The food, most visitors agree, is one of China’s principle attractions. The variety of styles and ingredients involved in its cuisine is complex from hot and spicy Sichuan to highly stir-fried Cantonese dishes.
A journey to Chinais a chance to experience not only stunning ancient sites, but the daily life of an ancient civilisation.
The Great Wall of China
Construction of the Great Wall began in the 7th century BC. The vassal states under the Zhou Dynasty (1027-221 BC) in the northern parts of the country each built their own walls for defense. After the state of Qin unified China in 221 BC, it joined the walls to fend off invaders from the Xiongnu tribes in the north and extended them to more than 5,000 kilometers. This is the origin of the name of the “10,000-li Great Wall”.
Beijing -
China’s medieval and modern capital began as a small settlement has a population of 11 million. Spread over 16,800 square kilometers this political, cultural and economic centre is roughly the size of Belgium. Over the last 3,000 years, many Chinese imperial dynasties have ruled the country from this capital. Expect scenes of wide avenues, wave after wave of jingling bicycles interweaving between buses, trucks, cars, and motorbikes.		 Xi’an -
was once a major crossroads on the trading routes from eastern China to central Asia, and once vied with Rome and later Constantinople for the title of greatest city in the world. It claims a thousand years of Imperial pomp and greatness. When ancient Peking was nothing more than a remote trading post, Xian was the capital of the middle-kingdom and one of the world’s richest cities.
The Silk Route -
An ancient trade route linking China with the West, carried goods and ideas between the two great civilizations of Rome and China. Silk came westward, while wools, gold, and silver went east. China also received Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the road. Originating at Xian, the 4,000-mile road, actually a caravan tract, followed the Great Wall of China to the northwest, bypassed the Takla Makan Desert, climbed the Pamirs (mountains), crossed Afghanistan, and went on to the Levant; from there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea.
Guilin -
The Chinese claim that Guilin has in its possession the best mountains and waters under heaven. Subtropical Guilin has a mild climate and abundant rainfall. It is neither freezing in winter nor sweltering in summer, and boasts over 1,533 hours of sunshine each year.
Over 1,000 types of plants can be found, also over 400 species of terrestrial vertebrates and approximately 144 species of aquatic animals. The typical, Karst topography and a myriad of hills and winding rivers lend to its beauty with spectacular caves and rocks which were formed through aeons of weathering and water erosion. 		Shanghai -
was a fishing village near the Yangtze River until it was settled by foreigners after the Opium War in 1842. The city was then divided into concessions inside which countries had their own territory, outside the control of Chinese law. To some, it was a treasure chest and to others, a poor house. By the 1930s, many came to seek wealth while others sought refuge. It earned the title “Paris of China”. A leader in finance, industry and trade, Shanghai boasts the largest population - approximately 15 million - in all of China. The city is literally situated “on the sea”, as its name in Chinese implies.
Yangtze River -
The mighty Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world, after South America’s Amazon and Africa’s Nile.
It runs for about 6,300 kilometers heading eastward through central China and empties into the East China Sea at Shanghai. The river has long been used as a major east-west trade route and as a transportation
The region of Hong Kong, which had long been barren, rocky, and sparsely settled—its many islands and inlets a haven for coastal pirates—was occupied by the British during the Opium War (1839–42). The colony prospered as an east-west trading center, the commercial gateway to, and distribution center for, South China. After several years of negotiations, on Dec. 19, 1984, Britain and the People’s Republic of China agreed that Hong Kong (comprising Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories) would become a special administrative region of China as of July 1, 1997, when Britain’s lease expired. Hong Kong’s mixture of Chinese tradition, British colonial history, and 21st-century high-tech make it a dynamic place to visit.
SAMPLE ITINERARIES
10 Day Itinerary
Including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong.
12 Day Itinerary
Including Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Hong Kong.
16 Day Itinerary
Including Beijing, Xian, Yangtze Cruise, Guilin, Shanghai.
20 Day Itinerary
Including Beijing, Xian, Chonging, Yangtze Cruise, Wuhan, Guilin, Shanghai, Hong Kong.