Compare Explore China by Intrepid Travel vs China’s Capital Cities: Beijing, Xi’an & Shanghai by Road Scholar

Day 1 Shanghai

Nimen Hao! Welcome to Shanghai. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm where you'll meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. If you arrive with time to spare, maybe head to the newest crown jewel of Shanghai skyscrapers - Shanghai Tower, for a birdview of the city, or visit the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center or Shanghai Urban Exhibition Hall (both closed on Monday) for different tastes of the city's past and future. Your evening is free after the welcome meeting but consider heading out with your group afterwards for a dinner on your leader’s recommendation.

Day 2 Shanghai

Today join your leader for a walking tour to historical Shanghai. Get a taste of 1920s Shanghai at the Bund, a spectacular array of art-deco style buildings lining what was once the most important financial street in Asia. The afternoon is free for you to explore the city. Perhaps stroll the tree-lined streets of the French Concession, visit one of the tranquil temples or contemporary art galleries, or indulge in a little shopping. Rejoin your group tonight for an included dinner of local specialties.

Day 3 Luoyang

The complex and spectacular Yuyuan Gardens await you this morning. A classic example of traditional Chinese gardening, these lands were first crafted by Pan Yunduan during the Ming Dynasty as a place of comfort and enjoyment for his parents. From the serenity of the gardens to the rush of high speed train travel! Board a westbound train and relax as the scenery whisks by. Arrive in Luoyang in the early evening. Ancient China’s prosperous capital for many dynasties, archaeological digs of the surrounding countryside have unearthed some fascinating ancient treasures. After settling into your hotel, perhaps venture to the Old Town for dinner with the group.

Day 4 Shaolin – Luoyang

Today, travel to the legendary birthplace of kung fu – the Shaolin Monastery (approximately 3 hours). The monastery remains the primary source of Shaolin Buddhist training to this day. Learn about the warrior monks of Shaolin and how the martial art has changed over the centuries. Watch an athletic kung fu performance and then wander through the Pagoda Forest, where respected monks have been laid to rest in towering tombs since AD791. For lunch enjoy a vegetarian feast at nearby Yongtai Temple. Head back to Luoyang after lunch and enjoy a free evening in Luoyang. As night falls, you’ll see thousands of colourful lamps light the streets and squares across the city, creating a lovely ambiance.

Day 5 Longmen – Xi'an

This morning you'll drive to the Longmen Grottoes (approximately 40 mins). These 2100 caves, filled with more than 100,000 statues of Buddha dating back as far as the fourth century, are rare examples of exquisite Buddhist rock carving. Learn more about this UNESCO World Heritage-listed site as you explore some of the masterpieces with your leader. In the afternoon, take a bullet train from Luoyang to Xi'an (approximately 2 hours), arriving in the early evening. Xi'an, capital for 13 dynasties and kingdoms over the last 2500 years, is not only rich in ancient history but also full of life. Muslim quarter is a local favorite for great food experiences. Join your leader for a sizzling local dinner here in the evening. In your free time, don't miss out on a bike ride on the ancient city wall, or a visit to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

Day 6 Xi'an

Visit Xi'an's most famous site today, the Terracotta Warriors. You'll travel by bus (approximately 2 hours) to reach the site. Once there, you will hear all about this incredible archaeological find, which was uncovered by farmers digging a well in 1976. Until then, the site had been buried for thousands of years. These clay statues of soldiers, horses, and chariots all standing in battle formation were commissioned by the emperor of the Qin dynasty as part of his mausoleum and a number of pits are now on display to the public. Enjoy a local lunch nearby and return to Xi'an in the afternoon.

Day 7 Xiahe

This morning you’ll get another taste of China’s efficient bullet trains as you travel about 3-hours west to Lanzhou. From there, transfer to the enchanting Tibetan town of Xiahe (another 3 hours). A place of pilgrimage for many Tibetans, Xiahe is as scenic as it is tranquil. Get acquainted with the town on a short walking tour with your leader. The rest of the day is yours to spend how you please.

Day 8 Xiahe

Visit the fascinating Labrang Monastery today and see Tibetan monks going about their daily rituals. The rest of the day will change depending on the season. From June to August, the group will head to the Sangke grasslands to visit nomadic Tibetans to learn about their life over some yak butter tea. If you’re travelling during the other months of the year, pay a visit to a Tibetan family in town and enjoy a deliciously home-cooked lunch. The evening is free for you to do as you please.

Day 9 Lanzhou – Beijing

Today is largely made up of travel. Head back to Lanzhou (about 4 hours), then catch an afternoon flight to Beijing, arriving in China’s capital in the late afternoon. After settling into your hotel, you will have the rest of the day free to explore bustling Beijing. Depending on the time of your arrival, you can choose to visit one of the many historical sites in the city or check out one of the shows that are on in the evening. Your leader is a wealth of suggestions for optional activities and places to eat, to be sure to ask them for advice.

Day 10 Beijing

Today, explore the legendary Great Wall. Take a private bus to the Mutianyu section of the wall. (approximately 1.5–2 hours). Spend some time exploring the wall, including guard towers that date back to the Ming dynasty-era. You can either walk to the wall or take a cable car (at your own expense). When returning, you can walk, take a cable car or take a toboggan ride. The latter is highly recommended!

Day 11 Beijing

Today visit Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest downtown squares then you’llenter the Forbidden City, former home of China’s imperial rulers. Discover its many palaces, gardens, and courtyards. Then head to an area known for its hutongs (narrow streets and alleys) and explore the historic streets. Although Beijing is modernising rapidly (its contemporary culture is a huge source of fascination in itself), there are still some pockets in which to discover the nation's ancient roots. Enjoy a classic dinner tonight with the perhaps the most well known of all the capital's dishes – Beijing (or Peking) Duck.

Day 12 Beijing

Your trip comes to an end this morning after breakfast. Staying an extra few days in Beijing is highly recommended, as there is so much to see and do.

Day 1 In Transit to Program In Flight

Day 2 Arrive Beijing, Check In, Orientation Beijing

Hotel check in from 2:00 p.m.

After hotel arrival and check in, take some time to freshen up and relax before our Orientation session. Orientation: The Group Leader will greet everyone with a warm welcome and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule and any changes, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer any questions you may have. Most lunches and dinners will be “family style” with various dishes placed on a “Lazy Susan” turntable in the center of the table where everyone helps themselves. Chopsticks and forks will be available as well as Chinese spoons used for serving and for soup at the end of a meal. Tea and water are served with all meals; other beverages available for purchase. Free time is reserved for your personal independent exploration. Please note that program activities, schedules, and personnel may need to change due to local circumstances. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.

In the hotel dining room, we’ll enjoy a “family style” meal with typical Chinese dishes and ingredients including rice, meats, vegetables, and non-meat dishes for vegetarians.

Day 3 Summer Palace, Old Beijing Family Lunch, Forbidden City Beijing

Walking up to approximately 3 miles throughout the day; 1 mile in the Summer Palace on flat, paved terrain; approximately 1.8 miles in and around the Forbidden City.

We will depart the hotel via motorcoach and ride to the Summer Palace. Here lily ponds and arched bridges border its serene lake, and painted pavillions depict stories that reflect the rich history of Chinese life and art.

Next, we will explore parts of the 250-acre Forbidden City imperial compound. It was called the Forbidden City because it was “forbidden” to enter without the Emperor’s permission. The world's largest palace complex, it is surrounded by a moat 170 feet (52 meters) wide, a wall more than 32 feet (10 meters) high, and contains 8,700 rooms! Construction began in 1407, and, thanks to the labor of a million workers including 100,000 artisans, it was completed in 1420. The Forbidden City was not only the personal residence of emperors and their royal families, but China’s political center for more than five centuries.

At leisure. After returning to our hotel, feel free to take a neighborhood walk or just relax.

In the hotel dining room, the breakfast buffet offers choices such as warm meats, eggs, cereals, fruit, and Chinese dishes such as rice porridge and cooked vegetables; beverages include juice, tea, coffee, water.

In an “Old Beijing” hutong, we’ll gather for a family-hosted lunch including jaozi (Chinese style dumplings). Hutongs are old residential neighborhoods with courtyard homes situated in small lanes and alleys that are rapidly disappearing due to urban development.

At a local restaurant, we’ll have our official welcome dinner and savor Beijing’s famous culinary delight, Beijing Roast Duck, a.k.a. Peking Duck. The ducks are specially raised and the elaborate preparation involves a series of steps to produce the crispy skin and savory meat with traditional accompaniments such as scallion and sweet bean sauce, all rolled inside a thin pancake.

Day 4 Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Beijing Opera Beijing

The motorcoach trip to the Great Wall is about 50 miles, approximately 2 hours. Walking up to about 1.5 miles. We will take a cable car to a higher point on the wall (weather and wind permitting). Some parts of the wall are steep as it is in a mountainous area; walking sticks or trekking poles are helpful.

This morning, travel outside of Beijing city to a green mountain range where you can walk the Great Wall and experience spectacular views as it winds up and down the distant mountains.

En route back to the hotel, we’ll stop at Tian'anmen Square, considered the heart of Beijing. Here are located the Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, the China National Museum, Great Hall of the People, Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Tiananmen Tower. The square was the site in 1989 of pro-democracy protests seen around the world.

We will walk to a theater adjacent the hotel and experience the distinctive art form known as Beijing Opera. Completely unlike opera in the West, this unique theatrical performance is expressed through four artistic methods: singing, dialogue, dancing, and martial arts. There are classic characters and stories, brilliant costumes, stylized make-up, acrobatics, exuberant percussionists, and various types of falsetto singing that may be startling to Western ears at first. The performance is presented with modern Chinese and English supertitles above the stage. After returning to the hotel, prepare for check out and transfer in the morning.

Hotel buffet.

At a spot of your choosing, we’ll have box lunches.

Dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 5 Temple of Heaven, High-Speed Bullet Train to Xi'an Xi'an

Walk approximately .6 miles from the entrance to the exit of the Temple of Heaven park; about 70 steps if you climb up the Temple of Heaven. The train journey from Beijing to Xi’an is about 755 miles (1,215km), approximately 4.5 hours.

After checking out of the hotel, we will board our motorcoach for a field trip to a 15th century architectural masterpiece, the Temple of Heaven, that symbolizes the relationship between heaven and earth. With our Group Leader, we will walk the extensive grounds to the Temple while observing the activities of local people practicing calligraphy, tai ji, musical instruments, dancing, or flying kites on the park-like grounds. We’ll then depart for the Beijing train station and board the high speed “bullet” train.

Xi'an is one of China’s oldest cities and was the capital during the golden age of the Tang Dynasty. Our train journey takes us through northeast urban areas and surrounding countryside on China's yellow soil plateau. These high-speed trains reach speeds of 155-185 miles per hour (250-300 km/h) yet it’s a smooth and comfortable ride. Upon arrival at the train station, we will be met by our local Group Leader and escorted to the hotel aboard a motorcoach. After checking in and getting our rooms, there will be some time to freshen up and relax before dinner.

We’ll gather with our Group Leader and practice informal Chinese conversation.

Hotel buffet. Plan to eat early as we depart no later than 8:30 a.m.

In the train's dining car.

Dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Day 6 Xian University, Chinese Life Views, Hui Muslim Section Xi'an

You are welcome to join the Group Leader for a tai ji session before breakfast. Walking up to 0.6 mile, or 1.5 miles total if choosing to walk back to the hotel from the Muslim section.

We will take a motorcoach to Xi'an International Studies University, one of China's key institutions of higher learning, and meet with a faculty expert who will teach us about Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism as a way of understanding Chinese character and customs. We’ll then visit the campus with students from the university's renowned English Department and hear about student life in China.

With our Group Leader, we will board a motorcoach and ride from the university to Xian’s Hui Muslim section for a walk about. Among the highlights are its beautiful Great Mosque, one of China's best preserved. Xi'an was a hub of the Silk Road in ancient times. Merchants, traders, and students from Islamic lands were drawn there and settled down. Over generations, they became known as the Hui people, officially recognized as one of China’s ethnic minorities. There were thousands of mosques in China at one time, but most are now gone. You are welcome to stay on in the Hui Muslim area, explore on your own, and walk back to the hotel. The motorcoach will return to the hotel with those who would like to get back sooner.

At leisure. Spend time with your fellow Road Scholars or just relax.

In the hotel dining, the breakfast buffet offers choices such as warm meats, eggs, cereals, fruit, and Chinese dishes such as rice porridge and cooked vegetables; beverages include juice, tea, coffee, water.

In the university dining room, we’ll have a family style meal with typical Chinese dishes including meats such as chicken or pork with vegetables as well as non-meat platters such as tomatoes, potatoes, bakchoi, mushrooms, served with rice.

This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You are welcome to stay in the Hui Muslim area and dine on local fare of your own choosing or return to your hotel with our coach where you can have dinner out at a restaurant nearby or at the hotel.

Day 7 A Qin Emperor's Terra Cotta Warriors, Traditional Music Xi'an

You are welcome to join the Group Leader for a tai ji session before breakfast. Walking up to approximately 2 miles.

The huge tomb site of the Qin Emperor, containing an army of life size terra cotta figures, was one of the most astounding archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. With our Group Leader and experienced local staff — all Xi’an college graduates who have much experience with the terra cotta warriors site — we will explore sections of this vast site where three huge pits are filled with the terra-cotta soldiers, cavalry, archers, their weapons, horses and chariots. It has been estimated that there are as many as 8,000 individual figures, but the total number is still unknown. Traces of paint suggest they were once brilliantly colored. Experimental digs in nearby areas have revealed other kinds of figures such as acrobats, dancers, and musicians, but further excavations are “on hold” due to the complex conditions at the site.

Returning to our hotel, we’ll be joined by artists from the Xian Music Institute who will introduce their traditional Chinese instruments and perform a private concert for our group.

We’ll get together again with our Group Leader to practice Chinese conversation. Then prepare for hotel check out and our flight in the morning.

Hotel buffet.

We will ride to a nearby restaurant for a buffet lunch with local Chinese food and some Western additions.

At a restaurant that is a local favorite a short walk from the hotel, we’ll dine family style.

Day 8 Fly to Shanghai, Yu Garden, Shanghai Acrobatics Shanghai

You are welcome to join the Group Leader for a tai ji session before breakfast.

We will check out of the hotel and transfer via motorcoach to the Xi’an airport for our flight to Shanghai, China's most cosmopolitan city and the world's busiest port.

From the airport, we’ll board a motorcoach and ride to Shanghai's historic old section. With our Group Leader, we’ll explore the nearby Yu Garden whose classical pavilions, fountains, and arching bridges exemplify traditional Chinese garden landscaping. Depending on time, we will either check in to the hotel after visiting the Yu Garden or go directly to dinner in order to be on time for the acrobatics performance this evening.

We’ll walk to the Shanghai Acrobatics theater to attend an evening of amazing skill and prowess in a performance by the world-famous Shanghai Acrobatics Troupe. For thousands of years, acrobatics have been considered as one of the treasures of Chinese performing arts, also figuring in other genres such as Beijing Opera.

Hotel buffet.

In flight

We’ll take the motorcoach to a restaurant near the Shanghai Acrobatics theater and enjoy dishes belonging to Huaiyang cuisine, one of the Four Great Cuisines of China.

Day 9 Shanghai Museum, Bund Riverfront Promenade, Farewell Dinner Shanghai

Walking up to 1 mile within the Museum; up to 1.5 miles outdoors at Bund Riverfront Promenade.

We’ll board a motorcoach for a field trip to the magnificent Shanghai Museum that houses China’s finest collection of ceramics, painting, sculpture, and bronzes. Audio cassettes are provided so that you can explore the museum according to your own interests and pace.

Next, we’ll ride to the Bund and walk along the pedestrian promenade. This renowned riverfront area characterized by iconic Art Deco and Neoclassical buildings is from Shanghai's history as a foreign “concession.” Across the river we see “new Shanghai” that was only recently undeveloped farmland and is now a forest of glittering skyscrapers. The motorcoach will then return to the hotel.

At leisure. After returning to the hotel, prepare for check out and departure in the morning.

In the hotel dining, the breakfast buffet offers choices such as warm meats, eggs, cereals, fruit, and Chinese dishes such as rice porridge and cooked vegetables; beverages include juice, tea, coffee, water.

On your own to enjoy what you like. The museum has a small café and there are restaurants nearby.

Farewell dinner at a nearby restaurant. Share your favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends.

Day 10 Program Concludes Shanghai

Hotel check out by 12:00 Noon. See the “Travel Information” section regarding transfers. If you are an independent traveler (POP status), see “Ground Transportation from Last Location.” The Group Leader will advise as to departure times from the hotel.

Hotel buffet. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Please join our Facebook page and share photos of your program. Visit us at www.facebook.com/rsadventures. Best wishes for all your journeys!