Anyone with an interest in food, wine and entertaining, will be excited that Imperial Tours is offering a 6 night private culinary trip through Shanghai and Hangzhou Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2013 in conjunction with the Park Hyatt Shanghai's annual "Masters of Food and Wine Festival".  The itinerary for two incorporates the following highlights:  • VIP airport meet and greet including Diplomatic Channel access  • 4 Nights at the Park Hyatt Shanghai   » Read more »

Shanghai is home to 23 million people – imagine the entire population of Australia (plus a few more) crammed onto a tiny corner of the Yangtze River Delta. It will come as no surprise that this population density brings with it enormous environmental challenges such as those we have become used to reading about in the media. Fewer people are aware of the city’s growing sense of environmental awareness and conscience,  » Read more »

Why take home a taxi-load of anonymous self-assembly flat-pack furniture, when for much the same price you can fill your apartment with elegant traditional Chinese pieces? (This article is for information purposes only. Imperial Tours is not in involved in any capacity with the antique or reproduction furniture business. Our links page introduces various Chinese and western furniture websites. We have no business relationship with these websites,  » Read more »

The history of Chinese ceramics began some eight thousand years ago with the crafting of hand-molded earthenware vessels. Soon after, in the late neolithic period, the potter's wheel was invented facilitating the production of more uniform vessels. The sophistication of these early Chinese potters is best exemplified by the legion of terracotta warriors found in the tomb of Emperor Qin (r. 221-206 BC). Over the following centuries innumerable new ceramic technologies and styles were developed.  » Read more »

Home of the Emperor, the Forbidden Palace was constructed in accordance with the laws of geomancy or fengshui. Every element was considered according to its prescriptions, the most fundamental being the positioning of the palace along a north-south axis. The occult art of numerology similarly played a significant part within the palace's architecture. Since odd numbers are thought to be masculine and even ones feminine, the number nine, the "ultimate masculine" number,  » Read more »