China Experience for Students
The China Experience tour is aimed at developing students understanding of this fascinating, culture and fast-paced global powerhouse. An introduction to Beijing will give your students the opportunity to explore China’s political, economic, cultural, educational and international trade and communication centre. Seeing how well this ancient culture has developed to accommodate newly designed buildings and technology gives credence to the way China has learned and adapted to change whilst maintaining their ancient traditions. This mix of old and new living side by side is evident throughout China. From the turbulence of Tiananmen Sqaure to the majesty of the Imperial Palaces, this Capital city is a treasure trove of experiential learning.
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Dates
2017 and 2018 dates available on request
Suggested itinerary
Day 1 + 2
Fly to Beijing
Fly from the UK to Beijing International Airport. On arrival you will be met by an English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel. You will have the rest of the day at leisure to relax. As one of the six ancient cities in China, there is an unparalleled wealth of discovery to delight and intrigue you as you explore the city’s ancient past and exciting modern development.
Day 3
Beijing
Stroll through Tiananmen Square, China’s historic heart of celebration and turbulence for almost a century. Continue to the resplendent Forbidden City/Palace Museum (UNESCO site), home for Chinese Emperors since 1420. Walk through the world’s largest royal compound that was off-limits to commoners and learn about important treasures of the Imperial collection on display in the vast inner courts. Stop for lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, take a ride on a two seat pedicab/trishaw. Pass through the charming Hutong lanes of quickly disappearing old Beijing. Later you will spend some time with a local family residing in a typical quadrangle home and drum tower. Learn to write Chinese Calligraphy followed by a visit to the Capital Museum.
Day 4
Great Wall of China
Today, you will climb the awe-inspiring Great Wall of China (UNESCO World Heritage site). Visit the Badaling section. All sections of the wall ever made would be enough to go around the equator one and one-half times! The Badaling section is one of the most impressive parts. Enjoy majestic views and maybe bargain with the local vendors. Visit Beijing Jade Carving Factory before stopping for lunch at the Friendship Restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Summer Palace, a beautifully-maintained royal garden in Beijing. It includes a complex of pavilions, temples, and galleries set among beautifully landscaped grounds, situated on Kunming Lake.
Day 5
Beijing to Xian
This morning, you will visit the vast Temple of Heaven complex (Tiantan Park, a UNESCO site) that was once a sacred area used only by the emperors of China for important ceremonies to honour Heaven, the supreme power. The main structure is the Grand Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, an impressive architectural feat. Today this park is a favourite gathering spot for locals. Visit the Lama Temple, the largest Buddhist temple of the Yellow-sect in Beijing and has been completely preserved. Built in 1694 as the residence of Count Yin Zhen, the fourth son of the Emperor Kangxi, it was called “the Palace of Count Yong.” Yonghegong is the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple in China outside Tibet and holds treasures of both the Han and Tibetan cultures. Enjoy lunch before transferring to the airport for your flight to Xian. On arrival you will be met by an English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel.
Day 6
Xian
Marvel at the impressive Terracotta Warriors and Horses underground army pits of the 1st Qin Emperor (3rd century BCE, UNESCO site). Understand the magnitude of this portion of the entire mausoleum project. Their solemn assignment was to protect the Emperor Qin Shihuangdi in the afterlife. Visit the Xian Ceramic and Art Workshop to learn how to make Terra Cotta replica. Continue to a local restaurant where you will get involved in noodle-making before enjoying lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Banpo Museum. The Banpo Site is a typical Neolithic matriarchal community of the Yangshao Culture dating back about 6,000 years. Later visit the Shaanxi Provincial Historical Museum, considered one of the birth places of Chinese culture and regarded as the pearl of ancient dynasties and house of Chinese treasures.
Day 7
Xian to Guilin
This morning visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Regarded by many as a symbol of the city, the pagoda was built in 652 A.D in Tang Dynasty to house the sutras brought back from India by the famous monk Xuan-zang. Next you will visit the Ancient City Wall, built during the 14th century on Tang Dynasty foundations. The walls are the largest and best-preserved ancient fortress in the world. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before transferring to the airport for your flight to Guilin. On arrival you will be met by an English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure to relax or explore Guilin.
Day 8
Guilin/Yangshuo
Take a full day cruise on Li River and enjoy a panorama of bamboo grooves, sleepy villages and karst peaks of limestone formations. On arrival in Yangshuo, check in to your hotel and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. Yangshuo lies in the northeast of Guangxi Province and to the southeast of Guilin City. The special geography gives it breath-taking beauty while over 1,400 years of history bless it with a deep traditional culture.
Day 9
Yangshuo
Enjoy a morning bike ride around Yangshuo to the local villages and rice paddies. In the afternoon, enjoy bamboo rafting along the Yulong River, a tributary of Li River. The natural landscape, combines with green bamboo forests and rolling hills. Visit the Fuli Ancient Village, discover its 800 year history.
Day 10
Yangshuo/Shanghai
Travel back to Guilin and visit the famous Reed Flute Cave. The cave got its name from the verdant reeds growing outside it, with which people make flutes. Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations. In the afternoon you will transfer to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. On arrival you will be met by an English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of the day at leisure to relax or explore Shanghai.
Day 11
Shanghai
Today, visit the 400 year old Yu Garden and Old Town. Yu in Chinese means pleasing and satisfying, and this garden was built for Pan’s parents as a place for them to enjoy a tranquil and happy time in their old age. In the afternoon, spend time at the Bund/Waterfront area on the Huangpu River where historical landmarks of yesteryear proudly stand across the river from the contemporary skyscrapers of the newly developed Pudong area. Later visit the world-famous Shanghai Museum. From Neolithic to contemporary, pottery to porcelain, bronze to jade, sculpture to furniture, this museum houses a distinguished art collection.
Day 12
Suzhou
Travel to Suzhou. Visit the Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets and No. 1 Silk Spinning Factory. The Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets is recognized, along with other classical Suzhou gardens, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The garden demonstrates Chinese garden designers’ adept skills for synthesising art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery. Later enjoy a cruise on the world-famous Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, the oldest and longest manmade canal in the world. With an overall length of 1794 km, the ancient Grand Canal starts in Beijing in the north and runs to Hangzhou in the south, flowing through 4 provinces and 2 cities.
Day 13
Return to the UK
This morning you will be transferred to the airport for your return flight to the UK.
