China's Iconic Highlights: Skyline, Scenic Rivers, & Pandas

Today you will visit Victoria Peak, Hong Kong’s iconic vantage point for panoramic skyline and Victoria Harbour views. Take the one-way Peak Tram (launched in 1888, Asia’s first funicular railway) for a dramatic uphill ride. Repulse Bay, a scenic crescent beach lined with palm trees and luxury residences, is known as Hong Kong’s most prestigious coastal retreat. Its calm blue waters and golden sand make it ideal for relaxing strolls. Next stop is Aberdeen Village, a traditional fishing settlement where you can board a local sampan to cruise the harbour and see stilt houses and floating seafood restaurants up close. You will have dim sum lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, you will visit Wong Tai Sin Temple, a renowned Taoist shrine famous for the belief of “granting every wish asked”. It harmoniously integrates Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian elements with vibrant red-and-gold architecture. Later, visit the Jade Market, a bustling open-air bazaar packed with stalls selling a vast array of jade jewellery, carvings and ornaments. It is the perfect place to hunt for unique jade souvenirs and witness skilled jade craftsmanship. Your final stop will be the Avenue of Stars, a waterfront promenade honouring Hong Kong’s legendary film industry. It features celebrity handprints, statues (including the iconic Bruce Lee figure) and stunning views across Victoria Harbour.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Transfer to the train station to take the high-speed train to Guilin(3hrs). On arrival, meet and transfer to the hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

This morning, you will be driven about 80km (about 1.5 hours) to witness one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China - Longji Rice Terrace, an amazing feat of farm engineering rising to 1000m high in Longsheng County. These terraces, which cascade down the slopes like giant stairways to the heavens, have been carved into the landscape over centuries by the Yao people. Each tier, meticulously cultivated, glistens with water during the planting season, creating a mesmerising mirror effect that reflects the sky. As the seasons change, the terraces transform from lush green to golden yellow, painting a living tapestry of colour and culture.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

As the declaration in the Chinese textbook "Guilin’s landscape is the best under heaven", today you will explore this best landscape, starting with a relaxing sightseeing cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo Town. Along the cruise, dazzling scenery overwhelms your eyes like a vast, endless Chinese painting of winding river, green limestone karst mountains, fascinating countryside views and an amazing scene of A Painting of Nine Horses. (Please note: Lunch is served by the cruise with simple local Chinese cuisine. And you can take some snacks when getting on board. After about 4 hours’ cruise, disembark in Yangshuo Town, and check into your hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

A signature experience in Yangshuo, Guangxi, Yulong River bamboo rafting is a serene journey through iconic Chinese karst landscapes. Drifting on the clear water, you can enjoy the classic karst mountains and quiet countryside scenery along the river. In the afternoon, have a bike tour along the Yulong River and enjoy the beautiful view along the way. Then you will start your exploration of the Ruyi Peak - a majestic mountain that stands as a symbol of good fortune and wishes come true, as its name "Ruyi" means "as one wishes". The peak's distinctive shape, resembling a traditional Chinese Ruyi sceptre, is both its namesake and a source of local folklore and legends.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Transfer to the train station to take the high-speed train to Chengdu(6hrs). In the evening, enjoy a delicious Chengdu hot pot dinner. Chengdu hot pot is famous for its spicy and numbing Sichuan peppercorn flavour, with a rich, fragrant broth. You can cook fresh meat, vegetables and tofu in the boiling pot and savour the lively local dining experience.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Dinner

This morning, you will make a stirring visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, which is not only the most important panda scientific research centre, but also a home to more than 100 Giant Pandas. Walk at leisure through the bamboo-framed paths, and closely observe giant pandas of different ages eating bamboo, playing with each other, tumbling, climbing trees, etc. Don't miss the chance to visit the most adorable panda cubs in the panda kindergartens. If you are lucky, you may be able to see the precious panda babies in the nursery rooms. There is also a very informative Panda Museum where you can learn more scientific facts about Giant Pandas. Take a stroll through Chengdu’s Jinli Ancient Street, an old thoroughfare adjacent to Wuhou Shrine, brimming with Three Kingdoms culture and Sichuan folk traditions. Wander past red-lantern-lit wooden shops, savour iconic local snacks, and catch an impromptu Sichuan opera show with the stunning face-changing performance. Chengdu is famous for its relaxing and leisurely pace throughout China, which will be proved after a stay in Renmin Park. Sit down, order a pot of Chinese tea, make a casual chat with your friends and watch locals indulging themselves in different kinds of folk entertainment - napping in a lively teahouse, playing mahjong, disco dancing, neck massage, ear cleaning...

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Transfer to the airport and fly to Beijing. Upon arrival, meet with your local guide and transfer to the hotel.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

Commence a full day city tour with a stop at Tian'anmen Square, located in the heart of Beijing, with great political significance since the year 1949, when the inauguration ceremony of the founding of the People’s Republic of China was held here. The flag rising and lowering ceremonies every day attract numerous visitors from across the country. Move on to visit the Forbidden City, which comprises over 70 palaces and 9,000 rooms altogether, each of which is uniquely designed and built and houses over 1.5 million antiques. It not only represents the supreme level of royal palace throughout the thousands of years of feudal history in China, but also witnesses the enormous prosperity of this ancient empire in the 16th and 17th centuries and the absolute power that the emperors have been endowed with. Conclude the day with a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. It used to be the place where the emperors in the Ming & Qing Dynasties used to worship heaven and pray for a good harvest.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Today will begin with a visit to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall. It used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. Mutianyu is an area of the Great Wall with many fewer tourists and offers stunning views. It was built in the mid-6th century, and its rich history can be observed in its unique construction. Then you are going to visit the famous imperial site - Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. It used to be the private garden for the royal families of the Qing Dynasty to decamp during the hot summer days. The palace has assembled almost the best design, skill and classic features of traditional gardening architecture of ancient China. Stroll around ancient pavilions, mansions, temples, bridges and corridors. Feast your eyes on the vast lotus in Kunming Lake and the colored paintings in Long Corridor.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast