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An Educational Adventure: The Perfect Family Holiday to China
14 days from £8,750 for 2024 per person
Take your family on an authentic holiday of a lifetime to experience China’s classic sights in immersive and interactive ways. Hike along Beijing’s Great Wall; see the tomb of the First Emperor of China, Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors; in Guilin, bike through breathtaking scenery straight out of a classical Chinese painting; and be awed by acrobats in China’s most modern city, Shanghai. You’ll witness some of China’s most historic sites and beautiful landscapes: the UNESCO-protected Longmen Grottoes, the Ancient Tea & Horse Caravan Trail and Yunnan’s rustic towns, ethnic minority villages, low-lying valleys and snow-capped mountains, which have long inspired poets and travellers.
Adding an educational dimension to a trip to China makes it more culturally enriching and exhilarating: make hand-pulled noodles from the experts and learn the martial art of gongfu (kung fu) from the monks at Shaolin Temples. Visit local homes and a countryside elementary school to get under the skin of the real China. This itinerary includes a mixture of hotel types: from family-friendly accommodations to exquisite luxury hotels like the The Peninsula Shanghai, which Ampersand’s MD, James Jayasundera feels is the best city hotel in Asia.
This trip is merely a suggested itinerary and can be altered to suit your individual requirements. The price of this tour includes all meals.
If you'd like to see similar itineraries, take a look at our family holiday and culinary tour collections.
Itinerary details
14 days from £8,750 for 2024 per person
- Day 1 - The Peninsula Beijing - Beijing
Arrive in Beijing where you will be collected from the airport and transferred to your hotel. Spend the evening at your leisure. - Day 2 - The Peninsula Beijing - Beijing
Have a guided tour of the Forbidden City before lunch by Houlai Lake and a tour of Beijing’s hutong neighbourhoods. Try your hand at making dumplings in a local’s home and eat dinner in a Beijing roast duck restaurant. - Day 3 - The Peninsula Beijing - Beijing
Enjoy a privately guided tour of the Great Wall of China and an exhilarating toboggan ride downhill at the end of your hike. Back in the city, have a noodle-making lesson and lunch. In the evening enjoy a Legend of Kung Fu Show. - Day 4 - The Lee Royal Hotel - Luoyang
Have a private kung fu lesson with a master at the Temple of Heaven, followed by a tour of the Olympic Green to play badminton or ping pong. This evening take the overnight train to Luoyang in First Class. - Day 5 - The Lee Royal Hotel - Luoyang
You will be met off the train by your guide. Enjoy a tour of the Longmen Grottoes and the Baima Temple, reputedly the first Buddhist temple in China. - Day 6 - The Lee Royal Hotel - Luoyang
This morning take an hour-long transfer to Dengfeng to visit Shaolin Temple and take a kung fu martial arts class with Shaolin monks. - Day 7 - Hilton Xi'an - Xi'an
This morning catch the train to Xi’an. Have a privately guided tour of Xi’An to see the Ancient City Wall, the food stalls of the Xi’An Muslim Quarter – from Halal skewers, roast mutton and persimmon cakes – and enjoy a delicious dumpling dinner. - Day 8 - Banyan Tree Lijiang - Lijiang
Today you will visit Xi’an’s famous Terracotta Warriors Army. Have a lunch of hand-pulled noodles and traditional Shaanxi-style pork “hamburgers”. Afternoon flight to to Lijiang via Kunmin. - Day 9 - Banyan Tree Lijiang - Lijiang
Explore the antiquated lattice of paths and canals in Lijiang's Old Town before being doing an “Eye-Spy” treasure hunt game. After lunch, set out on foot or bike to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain or see the “Impression Lijiang” show. Have dinner in a local Naxi courtyard home. - Day 10 - The Linden Centre - Dali
This morning take a 5-6 hour transfer to Dali with a stop at Shaxi Old town. This afternoon tour Dali Old Town and then have dinner. - Day 11 - The Linden Centre - Dali
Have a guided shopping tour of a local food market, have a private cooking class and enjoy lunch. Take a bike-ride around Erhai Lake and the minority villages dotting the lakeside. - Day 12 - The Peninsula Shanghai - Shanghai
Fly to Shanghai and transfer to The Peninsula Shanghai. Day at leisure. After dinner see the ERA Acrobatics show, which fuses traditional Chinese arts and modern technologies. - Day 13 - The Peninsula Shanghai - Shanghai
Tour the pavilions and arched bridges of Yu Garden, and the Cheng Hung Miao Bazaar. After a lunch of xiao long bao (soup dumplings) see the panoramic Shanghai skyline from the top of a Pudong building, then take a walk through the French Concession area packed with old world charm. Enjoy a special Shanghainese farewell dinner. - Day 14 - In transit.
Take the 400km/h Maglev (the fastest train in China) to the airport for your departure flight home.
Places of Interest
AccommodationThe first condition of understanding a foreign country is to smell it.
Rudyard Kipling
