Day 1  London

Flight from London Heathrow Airport to Beijing.

Day 2  Beijing

Arrive in the morning, met by our tour representative and transfer to 4 star hotel for 3 nights stay, relax for the rest of the day. (D)

Day 3  Beijing

Tour the Imperial Winter Palace also called the Forbidden City in the heart of the Capital. Walk in the world’s largest public square the Tiananmen Square. Then visit the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful ornate wood structure built in 1420 and used by the Emperors to perform sacrificial rituals for good harvests. The tour then takes you to the Summer Palace, a sprawling imperial encampment of temples, pavilions and halls set in a park around the vast Kunming lake. Peking Opera show in the evening after dinner. (B, L, D)

Day 4  Beijing

Full day excursion to the Great Wall. Here you’ll have plenty time to walk along the historic ramparts and marvel at its size and grandeur. After that, you’ll stroll along “The Sacred Path” which leads to the Ming Tombs where 13 Emperors were buried, and visit the Emperor’s resting place through a series of under-ground passageways and chambers. In the evening, you will be treated with a delicious Peking Duck dinner. (B, L, D)

Day 5  Xian

Morning flight to Xian, the city of eternal peace, once the flourishing capital of China to 11dynasties. Transfer to 4 star hotel for 2 nights stay. In the afternoon , you’ll visit the Wild Goose Pagoda which was built in 648 A.D. and used to store Buddhist scriptures. Then take a tour to the enormous city walls, sensing the immense scale and enduring impregnability. Tang Dynasty dinner show in the evening. (B, L, D)

Day 6  Xian

Full day excursion to Qin Emperor’s Tomb, where 8,000 life-sized terracotta warriors and horses were unearthed in 1974. They were interred within the outer wall of the Emperor’s mausoleum as his eternal imperial guards. The scale of the endeavour is awe-inspiring and the image of warriors solemn and moving. You’ll also visit the site of Banpo Neolithic Village which dated back 5,000 B.C. and saw the dawn of China’s painted pottery tradition. The Provincial Museum is the last stop for the day. (B, L, D)

Day 7 Dunhuang

Flight from Xi’an to Dunhuang, an oasis town lay on a principal trade route along which flowed emissaries from myriad cultures. Transfer to 3 star hotel. (B, L, D)

Day 8  Dunhuang

Full day tour to Mogao Grottoes - a massive cave complex pierced the desert cliff faces, containing thousands of frescoes and statues and sheltering one of the most significant treasures of early Buddhist art in China. (B, L, D)

Day 9  Dunhuang/Turpan

The tour will take you to the Crescent Moon Spring, a lake fed by a spring set among colossal sand dunes that swirl around Dunhuang. You’ll also climb the Singing Sand Dunes for breathtaking views and wonder through the setting on camelback. After dinner transfer to railway station for overnight train (soft-berth sleeper) to Turpan, the green oasis town surviving on irrigated snowmelt water from the Tianshan Mountains, was a luxuriant staging post on the northern arm of the Silk Road. (B, L, D)

Day 10  Turpan

Arrive Turpan in the morning, transfer to 3 star hotel. After a brief rest, tour the ancient Uighur capital Gaochang and Jiaohe and visit the Bezeklik Thousand-Buddha Caves, the Astana Ancient Tombs, and the Kar Wells – an elaborate irrigation system with a total run of 3,100 miles and first engineered some 2,000 years ago. (B, L, D)

Day 11 Urumqi

A brief visit to Erming Minaret before taking the coach journey to Urumqi(2.5hrs), the capital of the vast and dry expanse of China’s Xingjing Region. Transfer to 4 star hotel. (B, L, D)

Day 12  Kashgar

Full day excursion to the Heaven’s Lake and Nan-Shan Pasture, which are an unexpected Alpine treat rise with mountain surroundings at an elevation of 6,560 feet from the desert-dry and sand-blown terrain. Late evening flight from Urumqi to Kashgar, a city of silk markets, exotic Bazaars, camel traders and Islamic aromas, a junction sitting at the farthest west of the China’s part of the Silkroad. Transfer to Seman Hotel 2 star for two nights stay. (B, L, D).

Day 13 Kashgar

Tour the Id Kah Mosque, the most illustrious example of Islamic architecture in China, which could rival the greatest in Islamabad; visit the Abakh Hoja, the tomb for the 17th century Muslim holy man and ruler of the region. Then you’ll pay a home visit to a local Uighur family. (B, L, D).

Day 14 Urumqi

Full day tour at Kashgar’s Sunday Bazaar, which is a busy confluence of trade traversing the old Silkroad held here for the past 1,500 years. Evening flight back to Urumqi and transfer to 4 star hotel. (B, L, D)

Day 15 Shanghai

Morning flight from Urumqi to Shanghai, transfer to 4 star hotel. Free time for the rest of the day. (B, L, D)

Day 16  Shanghai

Full day tour in Shanghai to include Shanghai Museum, Jade Buddha Temple and Yu Yuan Garden. Stroll along the Bund, enjoying its elegant sweep of European architecture and landmarks, and immersing yourself in the location’s history and unique character. (B, L, D)

Day 17  London

Transfer to airport for homeward flight. (B)

Hong Kong Extension (Optional):

Day 17 Hong Kong

Transfer to airport for flight to Hong Kong. Upon arrival, transfer to 3 star hotel in central Kowloon for 2 nights stay. Free time for the rest of the day. (B)

Day 18  Hong Kong

Half-day Hong Kong Island tour – duration: 4 to 5 hours.

Pick up from the hotel. The tour starts with a tram-ride up to the Victoria Peak (1, 810 ft above the sea level) for a panoramic view of the city's famous skyline, magnificent Victoria Harbour and the romantic South China Sea and the surrounding islands. Then travelling along the scenic coastline and visit the picturesque Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay. Proceed next to the famous fishing village of Aberdeen and have a close look at the local fishermen and their boat community. An optional sampan ride can be arranged on site (extra HK$55 or less than £5). Afterward a short visit to a prestigious jewellery factory and take a behind the scene look at the fine art that has made Hong Kong the best in Asia. The tour ends in the famous Stanley Market. (B)

Day 19 London

Transfer to airport for homeward flight to London. (B)