Day 1 to 4: Beijing
Meet your group and adventure leader at Leo Hostel. Join them for a Mandarin lesson then it’s time for the Mandarin Challenge! Use your freshly learned Mandarin to complete challenges around Beijing’s ancient streets and alleyways. The winning team earns a prize. Mandatory meal at a local farm to obtain permission to access the locals only sections of the unrestored Great Wall. Hike on totally unrestored sections of the Wall before setting up camp on a deserted section to watch the sunset on one of the Wonders of the World (Please note, due to cold weather before end of April and after September, we stay in a guest house near the Wall instead of camping but still return to the Wall to watch sunrise in the morning).
Option activities whilst staying in Beijing include: visit the Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium designed by one of the most controversial figures in modern China, see a stunning Chinese acrobatics performance performed by young talents recruited from around China, taste Beijing’s signature dish Peking Roast Duck, take a walk through the globally recognised Tiananmen Square, visit the Forbidden City, the largest palatial complex in the world, go to Jingshan park for a bird’s eye view of the three palaces (Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square), test your bargaining skills in the Fake Goods Market, push your taste buds to the limit at the Wangfujing night market where you can sample exotic foods or go to the Temple of Heaven, the largest complex dedicated to heaven worship in the world.
At the end of Day 4, board a night train to Hangzhou.
Meals: None
Day 5 to 6: Hangzhou - Monaghan
After breakfast the group will take a minivan from Hangzhou railway station to Moganshan, famed for its bamboo forests. Here you have the option to hike to Moganshan Peak or partake in a bike trek. On Day 6, we have breakfast then check-out, but you can leave your bags at the hostel if you want to participate in any activities offered. We have lunch at the hostel then travel to Hangzhou East Train Station to take your bullet train to Shanghai. Arrive in Shanghai and transfer via metro to your hostel, with the option to set off for the Shanghai Drunken Dragon Pub Crawl that evening – a big favourite with our fun-loving travellers!
Meals: None
Day 7 to 9 - Shanghai
Welcome to the final leg of your journey - Shanghai! While you are here, you have plenty of optional activities. Take the bus to ZhuJiaJiao Water Town, a Chinese equivalent to the Italian Venice, enjoy the night Chinese-style by going out for some Karaoke at KTV, walk to the Yu Gardens, see People’s Square, before heading on to the world’s busiest shopping street, Nanjing Road. Afterward, go for a walk along the bund, a hub of global architecture. To finish off, head to the top floor of a skyscraper to enjoy some champagne whilst sitting in a hot tub. Stroll through the former French Concession to hear a little bit about Shanghai’s international history, visit a secretive propaganda history museum, take in the sights of the ultra modern Shanghai financial district, take a local ferry cross the famous Huangpu river from east to the west of The Bund and finish off the afternoon by visiting TianZiFang a local artisan’s lane that blends the chique and traditional.
Meals: None
