Price And Departure Dates

Day One
You will be met at the gate of Beijing International Airport by airport VIP staff who will lead you through immigration, baggage claim, customs, and directly to your China Host. Your China Host will accompany you during the remainder of your stay in China and act as a personal concierge to you throughout your stay in China. Upon transferring to the hotel, you will have the remainder of the day at leisure. ( Raffles Beijing Hotel - 5 Stars - Landmark Rooms)

Day Two
This morning we take you to one of ancient China's most sacred sites, the majestic Temple of Heaven used by the Emperor as a place to mediate affairs between God and man. This afternoon's activities contrast colossal monuments of the past and present. After strolling across the impressive Tiananmen Square, an authoritative symbol of today's China, you will by awed by the majesty of the magnificent Forbidden City (to which in times past you would have been denied access). Your tour here will include exclusive access to a private palace, normally closed to the general public. (Please note that access to this site is controlled by local authorities, who may deny access on occasion. (B, L, D)

Day Three
This morning we will visit the Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple housed in what was once a princely palace. A sandalwood statue of Maitreya, gifted to the temple by the Seventh Dalai Lama, is one of the temple’s prized religious artifacts.

After lunch, you will visit the Great Wall which has fascinated generations of travelers. Whereas Genghis Khan contemplated it as a military obstacle, Richard Nixon saw it as one of humankind's greatest achievments. Spanning from the Gobi Desert in the west to the Bohai Gulf in the east, it reaches as far back in time as the seventh century BCE and was projected forwards as one of China's proudest symbols for the 2008 Olympics. While the utility and meaning of this defense mechanism has been contested by centuries of diplomats and invaders, its unprecedented scale will astonish you and its unexpected beauty will inspire you. You will be treated to a private banquet on the wall itself (weather permitting). After lunch you will be given some time for a stroll along this most magnificent of sites. (B, L - no dinner included.)

Day Four
We begin the day with a visit to the delightful Summer Palace, a retreat built exclusively for the Dowager Empress Cixi; its ornate temples, pavilions, and covered corridors, set amidst a graceful landscape, epitomize both the decadence and refinement of this powerful matriarch. In the afternoon, the poetic expanses of Imperial life will contrast with the intimacy of the historic alleyways (or Hutong ). During this pedicab tour of Beijing's old quarter, you will be afforded a rare insight into the everyday life of Beijingers. (B, L, D)

Day Five
For shoppers, Beijing's largest open-air market will come close to paradise. Here you will mingle with Beijingers, overseas and local art dealers, and farmers who import goods from the countyrside. For non-shoppers, this market can be thought of as China's largest museum of modern cultural life, where you can see, talk to, and photograph a wide range of local and regional Chinese conducting business. In the afternoon, we travel to Xi'an. In the evening you will be treated to a private dumpling making and noodle throwing lesson by the hotel’s expert chefs. ( Sofitel Hotel - 5 Stars - Luxury Room) (B, L, D)

Day Six
This morning we visit Xi'an's most stunning site, the Terracotta Warriors. Dating from the second century BCE, the thousands of moulded soldiers, officers, horses and wagons form a small component of the underground army buried to protect the legendary first Emperor of China during his afterlife. His reign, unifying competing kingdoms, anticipated Xi'an's subsequent rise to global prominence as the capital of mighty empires in both the Han (206BCE - 220CE) and Tang (618CE - 907CE) dynasties. You will be granted special access to a viewing platform where you can admire the warriors away from the crowds.

In the afternoon we fly to Guilin, whose poetic countryside will soothe you of your urban cares. Craggy limestone towers, their caves appearing like windows in a sheen of vegetation, overlook lush plains of rice fields and fruit orchards. ( Hotel of Modern Art - an unrated Relais & Chateaux property - Deluxe Room) (B, L - no dinner included)

Day Seven
This morning you will have the opportunity to explore traditional village life. Visit a local school, take part in preparing soy milk, or just wander through the rice fields. The day continues with a relaxing boat-ride on traditional bamboo rafts along a rarely visited stretch of the Li River: clumbs of bamboo trees line the shores, buffalo wallow in the shallow water, children play beside their fathers, who rake the river bed for reeds. En route, we will meet with villagers herding their cormorant birds along the river bottom in search of fish. (B, L, D)

Day Eight
This morning has been left free. Some might wish to rent a bike to further explore the area. Others may wish to tour the hotel's internationally-acclaimed contemporary sculpture park. Many though, will choose to relax with a good book. If you are feeling active, there are many options open to you from cycling through the country fields to learning how to throw a pot.

After lunch a flight takes us from Guilin to Hangzhou, a city whose beauty is encapsulated by a famous Chinese couplet: "In heaven there is paradise, on earth there is Hangzhou and Suzhou." (Aman Fayun Hotel - 5 Stars - Fayun Room) (B, L, No dinner included)

Day Nine
It was Hangzhou whose wealth and splendour flabbergasted the urbane Marco Polo during his trip to China. Your tour of Hangzhou will start with a drive into the tea plantations where China’s most famous green tea is cultivated. Afterwards, you will descend down into the historic section of the city where you will be taken to a local tea house. There, you will be the guests of honor at a private tea ceremony and tea tasting.

Your tour continues with a private boat tour of the West Lake's elegant causways and landscaped islands. (B, L, D)

Day Ten
For those who wish to join us, we will be setting off extra early to watch the early morning exercises taking place at this time across the whole of China. After breakfast, we will visit Lingyin Temple to view not only a fine, historic temple, but also to inspect the astounding sculptural accomplishments of its Buddhist monks. In the afternoon, en route for Shanghai, you will be surprised by the fast-paced development taking place across Zhejiang province.

Considered to be the most Western of Chinese cities last century, Shanghai should perhaps now be thought of as its most futuristic. Having advised you of Shanghai's best restaurant and bars, we will help make any reservations that you might require for this evening of fun, when we leave you to enjoy Shanghai on your own. (Peninsula Hotel - 5 Stars - Deluxe Riverview Room) (B, L - no dinner included)

Day Eleven
This morning features a lecture/tour on colonial architecture in Shanghai given by a member of the Shanghai Historical Society. This tour will take you into some of the most important buildings along the Bund and French Concession.

In the afternoon you will be given a choice of activity. For those who would like to shop, we will take you along sycamore-lined boulevards into the heart of the French Concession. This section of the “Paris of the Orient” now hosts many arts-based businesses and art galleries that we can visit if you so desire. For those of you who are not shoppers, we can arrange for a visit to the Communist Party Museum and/or a museum showcasing traditional Shanghainese homes.

After dinner at one of the city’s best new restaurants, you will be taken to witness the marvelous stunts of the Acrobatic Show. (B, L, D)

Day Twelve
Our tour of Shanghai continues at the Shanghai Museum, one of the most modern in the country. Arranged by category rather than according to a chronology, its collection introduces and elucidates the gamut of Chinese arts from ceramics to jade and ivory carvings to paintings.

This afternoon we take you to visit the Yu Gardens, one of the best examples of traditional Chinese garden design in the country. Afterwards, you will have some time to stroll through Shanghai's Old Quarter. Our farewell dinner takes place at our favorite Shanghai restaurant, boasting a magnificent view over the Bund and Pudong waterfronts. (B, L, D)

Day Thirteen
For many guests, today heralds their departure from China. You will be transferred to the airport in time for your return flight home. (B)

Please note that B, L, D denotes Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

2010 Imperial Tour Pricing

• Double Occupancy: USD9,580 per person.
• Single Traveler Supplement: USD2,920.
• Suite Upgrades (Double Occupancy): USD2,700 per person.
• Domestic Air (Economy): USD1,065 per person.
• Domestic Air (First Class): USD1,460 per person.

**THE SEPTEMBER 2010 IMPERIAL TOUR NOW FEATURES A $250 DISCOUNT PER PERSON. Please contact us for availability information.

Tour Dates

• Remaining 2010 Departure Date:Sep 14-26.
• 2011 Departure Dates: Mar 15-27, Apr 12-24, May 3-15, Jun 7-19, Jul 5-17, Aug 9-21, Sep 13-25, Oct 11-23, Nov 1-13
• EARLY BIRD SPECIAL - Book a 2011 Imperial Tour by October 15th and take advantage of the above 2010 price.
• Dates in bold are guaranteed departures.
• Tour group limited to 20 persons. Non-guaranteed departures require a minimum of 6 persons.

Included in the tour price are:

• 12 nights accommodation in the best five star hotels (where available). Please also pay particular attention to the room category specified in the itinerary - we rarely use entry level rooms.
• 12 breakfasts, 11 lunches & 7 dinners at China's finest restaurants (soft drinks & local beer included).
• Services of a Western bilingual China Host and local tour guides.
• All internal flights (Beijing/Xi'an, Xi'an/Guilin, Guilin/Hangzhou).
• All land transportation.
• Entrance fees to all tourist sites.
• Baggage handling, service charges, guide and driver gratuities, hotel and domestic airport taxes.

Not included in the tour price are:

• International airfare to/from China, visa processing fees, travel insurance.
• Personal expenses such as alcoholic beverages, excess luggage fees, telephone charges, room service and laundry charges.
• Gratuities to the China Host.
• The above domestic airfare price has been listed separately.
• Tours can be extended with an option to visit other destinations such as Chengdu, Dunhuang, Hong Kong, Huangshan, Lhasa, Lijiang, Sanya, Shangri-La, Suzhou. Please contact us for details.

Note that itinerary and tour prices are subject to availability and may change without notice prior to booking.

Margot Kong, in San Francisco, U.S. and Kent Milne in the U.K. are ready to answer your queries about this tour.

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