Day 1
We depart from London Heathrow on the overnight flight to Shanghai. Regional flight connections and flight upgrades are available on request.
Day 2
On arrival at Shanghai Airport, we will meet up with our local English-speaking guide and transfer to our hotel in Shanghai. Gateway to the Yangtze River delta and one-time obscure fishing town, Shanghai is a cosmopolitan, thriving port that in recent years has undergone extensive modernisation and witnessed almost unparalleled economic growth. Yet for all this, the city’s feet are planted firmly in its colonial past, and nowhere is this more evident than along the magnificent Bund, where a diversity of architectural styles grace the Huangpu waterfront.
We will return to the hotel where dinner will be served in the evening.
Day 3
Following breakfast today, we will visit Yu Yuan (Garden of Contentment). This traditional Ming-style private garden was established in 1559 by Pan Yunduan, who spent 20 years and all his savings creating a haven to please his parents in their dotage. The immaculately-sculpted and richly-decorated garden features exquisite Chinese pavilions, rockeries and ornamental ponds. We will also glimpse the famous zigzag bridge (its shape intended to ward off evil spirits). The extensive grounds of Shanghai Botanic Garden are divided into sections that include bamboo, roses, peonies, azaleas, maples and magnolias, as well as a medicinal garden. The garden’s masterpiece, however, is the Bonsai Garden, featuring a fascinating collection of miniature gems. Our third visit is the serene and edifying Jade Buddha Temple, constructed in 1928. The original temple (dating back to 1882) was built to house two statues that had been transported from Burma by a monk named Huigen. This temple was destroyed when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown, but miraculously the pure white jade Sitting Buddha and Recumbent Buddha survived.
Dinner will be served at the hotel in the evening.
Day 4
We will check out of our hotel after breakfast this morning and visit the Shanghai Museum, which boasts a collection of 120,000 precious works of art, most notably Chinese bronzes, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy. Its modern architectural style, featuring a round top on a square base symbolises the ancient Chinese philosophy of the square earth under the round sun, thus neatly marrying the old with the new. After viewing the former British Concession area, our final port of call in Shanghai is Xiantiandi, an area of some 30,000 square metres, that is devoted to a multitude of food and beverage, retail, entertainment, cultural, recreational, commercial and residential facilities in both restored ‘Shikumen’ (stone gate) houses and state-of-the-art buildings.
We will transfer to Shanghai Railway Station for a late afternoon train to Suzhou, whose ancient gardens have been listed as World Heritage Sites.
Dinner will be served at our hotel.
Day 5
Our first visit this morning will be Liu Yuan (Lingering Garden), built by a Ming civil servant in 1593 as a place for meditation. Its four scenic areas are interlinked by a 700-metre long corridor which assiduously follows the changing landscapes. Here buildings, trees and flowers blend harmoniously with their surroundings. We will move on to Huqiu Shan (Tiger Hill), so named because of a white tiger said to have been seen crouching on the hillside tomb of He Lu, founder of Suzhou. Following the pattern of many Chinese gardens, the landscaped area is divided into various sections, linked by landscaped paths and studded with waterfalls. Atop the hill itself sits the famous tilting pagoda, whose foundations have sadly failed to withstand the test of time. At the foot of Tiger Hill, we will find the potted landscapes of Wanjing Villa’s Bonsai Garden. Next we will visit Wang Shi Yuan (Garden of the Master of the Nets), considered to be one the finest in Suzhou, where an illusionary use of space belies its small proportions. The central, main garden is dominated by a lake, and features grottos, four pavilions and the delicate Leading to Serenity Bridge. The inner garden is a peaceful courtyard area. To conclude our day of horticultural delights, we proceed to Canglangting (Blue Wave Pavilion), the oldest of Suzhou’s inspiring collections of private or “scholar’s” gardens. The garden is entered by means of a bridge over a canal, and the central point is a mound designed to resemble a forested hill, with a square pavilion at its peak. In addition to its mountain and water features, the garden is also famous for its multitude of unique latticed windows.
We will return to the hotel in time for dinner.
Day 6
A further three gardens are included on today’s itinerary. The first of these is the spacious Zhou Zheng Yuan (Garden of the Humble Administrator), said to have taken 16 years to create and to have cost a boatload of silver. The name originates from a Jin Dynasty poem containing the line 'Watering the garden and selling vegetables constitute a humble administrator's business.' In typical Ming style, the garden is simple, natural and elegant, its rustic tone enhanced by its trees and flowers. Set out in three linked sections, the eastern part consists of a small lotus pond and pavilions, the central area of the garden features arched and stone-slab bridges, pools and weeping willows, while the western part has open green spaces. Next we will visit Shi Zi Lin (Lion Grove Garden), part of a temple complex, whose construction dates back to 1342. The garden was laid out by a monk in honour of his teacher, who lived on Lion Rock Mountain. The most notable feature of this garden is the extraordinary pitted rock formations that have long fascinated classical Chinese scholars. We will find a lake surrounded by further rock arrangements that are softened by a sympathetic planting scheme. To complete our trio, we proceed to Tuisi Yuan (Garden of Seclusion and Meditation), a late Qing garden with a beautiful pond area as its centrepiece. We will admire the waterside terraces, a rockery topped with a small pavilion, a succession of bridges linking the various buildings, trees and clumps of bamboo – together creating a truly memorable canvas.
We will return to the hotel, where dinner is served in the evening.
Day 7
As the Chinese saying goes, ‘In heaven there is paradise; on earth are Suzhou and Hangzhou.’ Today we are in the fortunate position of enjoying a taste of both. Before leaving Suzhou we will take a short cruise on the Grand Canal, from where we can view the age-old dwelling houses, elegant stone bridges and witness the traditional Chinese way of life from a different angle. We will also have time to explore the Suzhou Museum, completed in October 2006. Exhibits include ancient Chinese art, calligraphy and hand-made craftwork.
During the afternoon we will transfer to the railway station for our train to Hangzhou, one of the six ancient capitals of China.
On arrival we will transfer to our hotel, where dinner will be served.
Day 8
Following breakfast this morning we will enjoy a cruise on Xi Hu (West Lake), with its awe-inspiring scenery. Originally a shallow sea inlet, the lake averages just five feet in depth and comprises five distinct sections, known as the Outer Lake, North Inner Lake, Yuehu Lake, West Inner Lake and Lesser South Lake. Surrounded on three sides by towering and unusual-shaped peaks, this serene and ethereal place was a favourite imperial retreat. Nature in the form of forests, springs, dense foliage and colourful flora is neatly juxtaposed with sculptural and architectural features to create a mesmerising setting. Back on dry land, we proceed to the traditional private garden of Guo Zhuang (Guo’s Villa), a masterpiece of contrasts: shade and light, curves and straight lines, yin and yang. A bamboo lane opens out onto a square pond, with walkways leading you to rockeries, a moon gate (circular archway) and a lake (Xi Hu). The overriding theme being water, there are also two water ‘yards’ – the larger of the two is simple and tree-lined, while the smaller is more homely and dotted with flowering trees and shrubs. Next we will move on to the Botanical Garden, whose lush vegetation is laid out on a stretch of hillside. Our penultimate visit today is Liuhe (Six Harmonies) Pagoda, to the south of West Lake, which is said to have been built to calm the tidal waters of the Qiantang River and act as a navigational aid. If you are feeling energetic there will be an opportunity (not included) of climbing the pagoda. Constructed of wood and brick, it is 196 feet high and has seven storeys, each reached by a spiral staircase. The ceilings feature intricately carved and painted figures, including animals, flowers and birds. The spectacular view from the top will more than justify your efforts. Finally, we will visit the private Hu Xueyan garden, created by the rags-to-riches founder of a herbal medicine business. The garden features pavilions, terraces, a flowing stream and a 55-foot rockery, built to honour Hu’s father.
We will return to the hotel where dinner will be served.
Day 9
This morning we check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport for our flight to Beijing. As the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is the political, economic and cultural hub of this vast country, but for all its concessions to modern living, it is impossible to overlook its 3000-year history. On arrival we will first take a memorable Hutong tour. A hutong is a typical winding lane or small street that links two courtyards, and there are tens of thousands of them in Beijing. Our tour will take us through the maze of historic alleyways and single-storey traditional courtyard houses, which are inevitably on the wane as modernisation and ‘progress’ tighten their hold on the old way of life. We will also visit Gongwangfu (Gong’s Mansion Garden), whose palace (not open to visitors) is laid out in the same design as the Forbidden City, with nine siheyuans (courtyard houses) lying one behind the other. The European-style marble gate forms an elegant portal to this entrancing garden, which features an artificial lake surrounded by willows and poplars, rockeries, covered corridors and pavilions.
Dinner will be served at our hotel in the evening.
Day 10
Today we will visit the Ming Tombs in the scenic Shisan Ling Valley some 50km northwest of Beijing, where thirteen of the sixteen Ming dynasty emperors were entombed. The original and most magnificent mausoleum is Changling, the tomb of Emperor Zhu Di and his empresses. The succeeding twelve emperors had their tombs built around Changling. The entrance to the Ming Tombs is formed by a long and celebrated ‘shen dao’ (spirit way), which is lined with statues of guardian animals and officials, all carved out of a single block of stone. We continue to the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, the wall snakes some 6700 kilometres from east to west, and although much of it is now in ruins, several sections have been restored. The Great Wall has long been incorporated into Chinese mythology, and a number of legends have developed around it. The most well-known of these dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221–206BC) and tells the story of Meng Jiangnu, whose husband died during the construction of the wall. It is said that her bitter weeping on the discovery of his death caused part of the Great Wall to collapse. The Badaling section is wide enough for 10 people to walk abreast and has ramparts, watch towers, embrasures, peep-holes and apertures for archers on the top, as well as gutters with gargoyles to drain rainwater off the parapet walk.
We will return to our hotel in time for dinner.
Day 11
Staying in Beijing City, today we will visit Tiananmen Square. The events this renowned landmark has witnessed have shaped the history of the People’s Republic from its inception. Chairman Mao lies here in his marble mausoleum with the Great Hall of the People to the west and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution to the east. At the centre of the Square rises the granite Monument to the People’s Heroes. Erected in 1952, the monument features eight large relief sculptures that portray the development of Chinese modern history. The Gugong, or Imperial Palace, is much better known by its unofficial title, the Forbidden City, a reference to its exclusivity. Indeed for five centuries ordinary Chinese citizens were forbidden from even approaching the walls of the Palace. The complex, with its maze of 800 buildings and reported 9000 chambers, was the symbolic and literal heart of both the capital and the empire. From within its walls, the emperors issued commands with absolute authority to their millions of subjects, and very rarely did they emerge – perhaps with good reason! The Temple of Heaven, the most holy of Beijing’s imperial temples, is set in its own large and tranquil park about 2 km south of Tiananmen and is widely regarded as the high point of Ming design. The Temple was conceived to be the meeting point of earth and heaven and was completed in 1420. These days the park is a popular venue for locals to sit, drink tea and exercise, but it remains easy to find seclusion among the groves of 500-year-old thuja trees. Our final visit today is Daguanyuan (Grand View Garden), a replica of the majestic imperial garden described in the well-known Chinese novel ‘A Dream of Red Mansions’, written by Cao Xuegin (1715–1763). The garden was created between 1984 and 1989 as the film location for a TV series based on the novel, and subsequently became a public attraction. Palaces, pavilions, cloisters, courtyards, water features, rockeries and flowers are combined to magical effect.
Dinner will be served at the hotel in the evening.
Day 12
This morning after breakfast we will visit the Summer Palace, 15km northwest of Beijing. Here we will find the largest imperial garden in the world, a veritable museum of classical Chinese garden architecture. Although associated primarily with the Qing Dynasty’s dowager Empress CiXi, Xie Qu Yuan’s history as an imperial garden dates back to the 1150s. The halls, pavilions, bridges and temples, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill create a harmonious whole despite their individual styles, and blend with rocks, ponds and plants to poetic advantage. We will move on to the Botanical Gardens, which lie in peaceful surroundings 15km from Beijing. Features include a lake, a magnificent conservatory housing the Rain Forest House, and numerous garden areas including the Perennial Garden and Ornamental Peach Garden. Finally today, we will see the site of the new Olympic Stadium, host to the 2008 Olympic Games.
We will return to our hotel in time for dinner.
Day 13
Our fascinating introduction to this extraordinary country is at an end, we must today check out of our hotel and transfer to the airport for our return flight.