| |
|
As with all our small group tours, the Majestic
is accompanied not only by a local Chinese guide, but also by an experienced western China
Host. Our carefully chosen China Hosts, who are fluent in Chinese and English are there to make sure that you are treated Imperially and receive only the very best.
In addition to the highlight cities of Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai, we incorporate distinctive destinations into our Majestic Tours. Choose between Guilin (offered on Spring departures) and Hangzhou (offered on Autumn departures).
Guilin is the epitome of China’s natural beauty and southern rural lifestyle. A perfect picture-postcard, Guilin’s limestone karst formations surrounded by waterways and rice paddies are unique; life in the quaint villages surrounding Guilin, complete with lush fields of crops is often used to represent rural life throughout China. Would you prefer the scenery of Guilin’s Li River on a two-man bamboo raft, or Hangzhou’s West Lake by gondola? Favored by Qing Dynasty emperors for its beauty, and now an escapist retreat for Shanghai residents, Hangzhou is a scenic destination that attracts elites from near and far and has long been considered one of China’s prime destinations amongst Chinese nationals. |
Tour At a Glance - 10 Nights |
|
 |
 |
Our Standard Services:
- Only the best hotels (and larger room categories)
- Only the best restaurants and dining venues
- Non-commissionable shopping
Majestic Tour Included Highlights:
- VIP airport pickup for all guests
- VIP access to a private palace in the Forbidden City
- Private banquet atop the Great Wall
- Hands-on dumpling & noodle-making lesson
- Bespoke bamboo raft ride along Guilin's Li River
- Exploring rural economies in a remote Guilin village
- Shanghai colonial architecture tour led by a member of the Shanghai Historical Society
- VIP seats at the Shanghai acrobatic show
- China Host personal shopper services in Shanghai
|
Day One: Beijing |
|
 |
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. ( China World Summit Wing). |
Day Two: Beijing |
|
 |
This morning'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.
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. Dinner tonight will be served at one of the city’s chicest restaurants.
(B, L, D)
|
Day Three: Beijing |
|
 |
Today 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. After lunch you will be given some time for a stroll along this most magnificent of sites. (B, L - no dinner included.) |
Day Four: Beijing |
|
 |
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 will visit 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. (B, L, D)
|
Day Five: Beijing - Xi'an |
|
 |
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. Morning is a wonderful time to visit the Temple as you will see local Beijingers out doing their morning exercises.
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.(Hilton Hotel Xi’an – Five Stars - Deluxe Room) (B, L, D)
|
Day Six: Xi'an - Guilin |
|
 |
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.
China’s capital during the Han (206BC-220AD) and Tang (618-907AD) dynasties, periods of increasing international exposure, Xi’an became home to motley communities of Nestorian Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Jews & Muslims - many of whom have left their mark. This afternoon, for example, we will observe the enduring influence of Xi’an’s Muslim community in its Great Mosque and forever-bustling Muslim Quarter.
In the early evening we fly to Guilin. ( Hotel of Modern Art - an unrated Relais & Chateaux property - Deluxe Room) (B, L, D.) |
Day Seven: Guilin |
|
 |
Guilin's 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.
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, - no dinner included.)
|
Day Eight: Guilin - Shanghai |
 |
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.
In the afternoon, we fly to Shanghai. 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 Nine: Shanghai |
|
 |
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 - no dinner included.) |
Day Ten: Shanghai |
|
 |
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 Eleven: Shanghai |
 |
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. |
2012 Majestic Tour (Spring) Pricing
- Double Occupancy: USD7,230 per person.
- Single Traveler Supplement (for anyone requiring a single occupancy room): USD2,440.
- Suite Upgrades (Double Occupancy): USD2,700 per person.
- Domestic Air (Economy): USD1,075 per person.
- Domestic Air (First Class): USD1,895 per person.
2012 Tour Dates
Apr 12-22, May 10-20
All Majestic Tours are guaranteed departures. Tour group limited to 16 people. Groups with fewer than 6 people may run without a China Host.
There is an option to add a 2-day extension to Hangzhou on a private touring basis. Please contact us for more information.
|
Included in the tour price are:
- 10 nights accommodation in the best five star
hotels. Please also pay particular attention
to the room category specified in the itinerary - we rarely use
entry level rooms.
- 10 breakfasts, 9 lunches & 5 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 in economy class (Beijing/Xi’an, Xi’an/Guilin, Guilin/Shanghai);
- Note that prices for economy and first class are listed separately and will be added to the land tour price.
- 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 & Macau , Hangzhou, 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. |
|
|
