Chinese Checkers
| country: | China |
| location: | Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors |
| departures: | 2008: 20 Dec |
| price: | From £1480 (12 days) per adult or £1245 per child (up to 12 yrs) excluding flights, based on triple share. Min age 5 yrs. We can arrange flights from the UK. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
China family tours
Packed with fun and excitement, our China family tours, designed exclusively for parents and their children, take you into some of the most enticing regions of China. See the pandas in Beijing, the amazing Terracotta Warriors in Xian and the spectacular limestone mountains of Guilin. Fly a kite in Tiananmen Square and learn calligraphy in Shanghai. Combining major historic and cultural sights with fun activities, our 12-day China family tours are bound to be a memorable experience for the whole family.
China family tours highlights include:
Great Wall at Mutianyu, rickshaw ride into Beijing’s backstreet hutongs Kite-flying in Tiananmen Square Cycling along Xian’s ancient city walls Stunning karst landscapes in Yangshuo Calligraphy lesson with local children, lunch with Shanghainese family
Accommodation on our China family tours is in hotels and one night on a sleeper train. Travel is by modern air-conditioned vehicles, sleeper train (soft sleeper 4 berth cabins), domestic flights, countryside cycling trip, boat cruise and canal cruise. The China family tours price includes breakfast daily & 2 lunches, a tour leader and local English speaking guides. However, it excludes entrance fees.
Packed with fun and excitement, our China family tours, designed exclusively for parents and their children, take you into some of the most enticing regions of China. See the pandas in Beijing, the amazing Terracotta Warriors in Xian and the spectacular limestone mountains of Guilin. Fly a kite in Tiananmen Square and learn calligraphy in Shanghai. Combining major historic and cultural sights with fun activities, our 12-day China family tours are bound to be a memorable experience for the whole family.
China family tours highlights include:
Accommodation on our China family tours is in hotels and one night on a sleeper train. Travel is by modern air-conditioned vehicles, sleeper train (soft sleeper 4 berth cabins), domestic flights, countryside cycling trip, boat cruise and canal cruise. The China family tours price includes breakfast daily & 2 lunches, a tour leader and local English speaking guides. However, it excludes entrance fees.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-4: | Beijing. Start your journey to China in its most formidable city, Beijing, the historical and cultural heart of the Middle Kingdom. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel to meet your travelling companions and your tour leader for welcome drinks and a tour briefing. We commence our exploration of Beijing with the great Forbidden City and famous Tiananmen Square. Try your hand at kite flying in the world’s largest square before taking a rickshaw deep into the fascinating backstreets of Beijing’s hutongs. Climb the amazing Great Wall of China, ride a Chinese toboggan down its slopes, join in on the early morning exercise at the dramatic Temple of Heaven, and visit giant pandas at Beijing’s zoo. There will also be time to watch the incredible Chinese Acrobats and to sample some of Beijing’s best culinary delights, before experiencing a comfortable overnight train trip to Xian. |
| Day 5-6: | Xian & Warriors. The Xian area has been home to some of the oldest cities in human civilisation and its colourful past has seen the tumultuous uprisings of many great Chinese dynasties. In Xian we head up to the ancient, fortified city walls for bird’s eye views of the city and a fun opportunity for the more adventurous to cycle on tandems. We explore the bustling Muslim quarter and Great Mosque before continuing on to Xian’s greatest sight, the Terracotta Warriors. Buried for over 2000 years and uncovered in the 1970s, this vast army of warriors was created to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife. |
| Day 7-8: | Guilin, Li River & Yangshuo. On flying to Guilin we experience another side of China with our arrival in some of the country’s most spectacular landscapes that have inspired artists and writers over the centuries. We cruise the legendary Li River, surrounded by beautiful limestone mountains, to the quaint town of Yangshuo. We take time to enjoy the relaxing, friendly atmosphere of the town before taking a fun Chinese painting class. The following day we have a chance to try our hand at early morning tai chi before we head into the lush countryside by bicycle. Our cycling trip affords us amazing glimpses into local village life, rice paddies, lotus fields and spectacular rural scenery, before travelling to the bustle of our next exciting destination – Shanghai. |
| Day 9-12: | Shanghai & Zhujiajiao. We fly north to Shanghai, Asia’s most amazing modern city – with its soaring skyline dwarfing grand colonial structures. We explore the amazing architecture and riverside activity of the Bund, travel by underwater tunnel to Pudong, and marvel at the incredible views from the top of the space age Oriental Pearl TV Tower. We spend time in the bustling People’s Square in the heart of the city and join a local Shanghai family in their home for a great local lunch experience. On our last day in Shanghai we stop by a community centre to try our hand at calligraphy with the local children, before heading out to the ancient canal town of Zhujiajiao. Here we explore the backstreets and take a fun canal cruise, absorbing the charming old world atmosphere. We bid farewell to China before transferring to the airport on day 12. |
small group family adventure holiday
These family journeys have a maximum of 16 like-minded travellers which ensures that all travellers have an amazing overall experience with the destination and that they enjoy the flexibility that comes with the small group dynamic. On this trip you will stay at boutique accommodation with character. Our numbers are discreet enough for us to interact with local families in their homes and meet people in markets, bazaars and temples – something that’s just not possible when you arrive as part of a large tour group. Along with our unique combination of Western tour leader and local English-speaking guide this will ensure an unforgettable travel experience.how this holiday makes a difference
 We believe that travel should entail an exchange of knowledge and perspectives, a sharing of wealth, and a genuine appreciation of China’s natural environment. This philosophy underpins the heart and soul of our style of travel. We recognise that poorly planned itineraries or poorly informed tourists contribute less to cross-cultural understanding and less to the livelihoods of local people. Packed with fun and excitement, our China family tours are the perfect way to discover the history, culture and energy of China – from the might of Beijing to bustling Shanghai. In the former enjoy a delicious home-made lunch with a local hutong family – an experience which allows for cross-cultural exchange. Then hop on rickshaws for more close-up glimpses of local life in these laneways. These environmentally friendly rickshaw tours benefit drivers who tend to be socio-economically disadvantaged. During our China family tours we also actively encourage our travellers to patronise or financially assist numerous not-for-profit organisations in China including the blind masseur centres in Beijing and Shanghai. On our China family tours our local guides are trained to share their knowledge of cultural and other local issues in a balanced, informative way; in this journey alone you are likely to meet several local guides from different provinces in China. They share real experiences from their own lives and insights into their family life, influences and beliefs, thus providing our travellers with a deeper understanding of the places they visit. This is what motivates our guides, not shopping commissions. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |