Day 1: Hong Kong
Meet your group and first Adventure Leader in the Hostel Reception of Hi Inn at Yau Ma Tei to travel up to Victoria Peak and enjoy a view of Hong Kong from above. Pre-departure briefing on top of Victoria Peak then depart from the Hi Inn to cross the border and board your train to Guilin. This is the last time and chance to meet your group if you’ve missed the 7:00 am departure. Board your 3-hour bullet train to Guilin. You have the choice to have dinner at this point or enjoy a meal in Yangshuo two hours from now. Check-in (time may vary depending on whether the group decides to have dinner in Guilin, or Yangshuo).
Day 2 - 5: Yangshuo
Try your hand at cooking some traditional Chinese foods at a friendly and practical local cuisine institute. Cruise down the Yulong River on Chinese style Gondolas – Bamboo Rafts! Bikes included to ride around! Optional activities include cormorant fishing, bike ride to Moon Hill and a cave complex including mudbaths and hot springs, enjoy deep water soloing or rock climbing, kayaking on the Li river, Chinese traditional therapies such as hot cupping, or experience what life is like on a farm by visiting your Adventure Leader’s home village. At the end of Day 5, board a minibus to North Bus Station and then board your bus to Guilin. Say goodbye to your Adventure Leader and board train to Chengdu.
Day 6 - 8: Chengdu
Arrive in Chengdu and meet your next Adventure Leader, before transferring by metro to your hostel. Optional activities include a massage from a blind masseuse, Mandarin lesson, watch a traditional Sichuan opera performance, gather up to go see the pandas at the world’s biggest Giant Panda Breeding & Research Center, leave to Leshan to see the world’s largest stone Buddha, wander Jinli street and the Tibetan districts independently, sample the famous Sichuan Hot Pot if you dare, have a night out in Chengdu, visit Wenshu Monastery, Sichuan Province Museum, People’s Park or a traditional Tea House. At the end of Day 8, take bus or metro to Chengdu North Railway Station. Say goodbye to your Adventure Leader and board your train to Xi'an.
Day 9-10: Xi’an
Arrive in Xi’an, meet your next Adventure Leader and check-in to your hostel. Explore the Bell Drum Towers, Muslim Quarter and Great Mosque to learn about the history of the Silk Road, towers, mosque, and some local legends. Enjoy a dinner of local street foods at the Muslim Quarter. Relax after dinner by visiting the local Silk Road market nearby. Optional activity to volunteer at a Star Sun Home. See the Terracotta Army or bike ride on Ming Dynasty Wall - up to you!
Day 11-12: Shaolin
Board a private minivan then a bus to DengFeng, the closest village to the Shaolin Temple. Plenty of optional activities to choose from here, including kungfu lesson and show at a local Children’s Home run by the Shaolin Temple where the monks teach children to be kungfu masters, have a second Mandarin lesson, visit the flagship of kungfu, The Shaolin Temple, or hike to Dharma Cave, a spiritual spot for Buddhist pilgrims, and be rewarded by beautiful views of both the shrines/temples in the area. On Day 12, check out and depart to Zhengzhou to board your train to Beijing.
Day 13-16: Beijing
Arrive in Beijing and meet your next Adventure Leader. Transfer by minibus to the hostel. You won’t be staying the night here, so you won’t be able to get into rooms, but can use the shower rooms, and common areas to relax before heading to the Wall in the afternoon. After your third Mandarin lesson, 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 of the wall 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). The optional activities in Beijing include a visit the Olympic Bird’s Nest stadium designed by one of the most controversial figures in modern China, a stunning Chinese acrobatics performance by young talents recruited from around China, taste Beijing’s signature dish Peking roast duck, take a walk through the globally recognised Tiananmen, 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. Go to the Temple of Heaven, the largest complex dedicated to heaven worship in the world and where ancient sacrifices were made to bring bountiful harvests. At the end of Day 16, board the night train to Hangzhou.
Day 17-18: Hangzhou & Moganshan
After breakfast the group will take a minivan from Hangzhou railway station to Moganshan, famed for its bamboo forests. Optional activities include a hike to Moganshan Peak or bike trek. On Day 18, travel to Hangzhou East Train Station to take your bullet train to Shanghai. Arrive in Shanghai and transfer via metro to your hostel. If you feel up for it, set off for the Shanghai Drunken Dragon Pub Crawl – a big favourite with our fun-loving travellers!
Day 19-21: Shanghai
Plenty to see and do in Shanghai! 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 and back, a bustling historical site of a former dignitary lavish family quarters. 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 across 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.
Day 22-23: Fujian
Take the metro to Hongqiao station then a bullet train to Nanjing, Fujian. Arrive in Nanjing then transfer by minivan deep into the Fujian tea growing hills and stay overnight in a mud roundhouse, the traditional homes of the Hakka Minority People. Have dinner on the way to the roundhouses. Take a walking tour around the UNESCO World Heritage Site exploring the Hakka Minority Roundhouses, picturesque villages and tea fields. Partake in a traditional tea ceremony and tea tasting when you visit the tea plantations. Take some cash if you’d like to purchase some tea. While visiting Fujian, you can also see the largest Tulou in the world and explore upstairs, then make a visit to the neighbouring local village. On Day 23, arrive at the train station to take your train to Guangzhou.
Day 24-25: Macao day trip (and optional overnight stay) then back to Hong Kong
If you travel to Macao for the day trip (and if you’re booked on to the optional overnight stay), you’ll arrive at Guangzhou East and take the bus to the Zhuhai border. Try some delicacies offered while passing through. Board casino bus to a hotel on the Kotai strip. Freshen up, and drop bags and then take the bus to Old Town. From here, take a quick tour of the Ruins of St Paul and the Old Fortress in Macao’s Historic Centre. You also have the option to test your courage with the World’s Highest Bungee Jump. Take a taxi from Macao back to Cotai Strip to the Venetian Resort Hotel Macao. If you’re only visiting Macao for the day trip, you will grab your luggage then head to the ferry port to take the hydrofoil back to Hong Kong. Arrive in Hong Kong and take metro back to the Hi Inn. Say goodbye to your group and finish up your tour with The Dragon Trip. We wish you safe travels! If you’re on the Macao overnight stay, you will say goodbye to the main group and head to San Va Hotel (situated in the heart of Macao), alongside any others from the group who’re also staying overnight in Macao. We can’t guarantee that you won’t be on your own.
