China highlights tour
Join a small group of like-minded travellers on a 9 day cultural tour of China featuring sleeper trains and fast-trains to maximise time from Shanghai to Beijing.
Shanghai Xitang Xi'an the Great Wall of China Beijing
Price
£1220To£1510excluding flights
More info
Single supplement from £225 - £240.
Offers
Up to £60 off selected dates.
Late availability on these dates: 02 Sep, 04 Sep, 07 Sep, 09 Sep, 11 Sep, 14 Sep, 18 Sep, 10 Oct, 12 Oct, 17 Oct, 19 Oct, 24 Oct, 26 Oct, 28 Oct, 30 Oct, 02 Nov, 07 Nov, 14 Nov
Late availability on these dates: 02 Sep, 04 Sep, 07 Sep, 09 Sep, 11 Sep, 14 Sep, 18 Sep, 10 Oct, 12 Oct, 17 Oct, 19 Oct, 24 Oct, 26 Oct, 28 Oct, 30 Oct, 02 Nov, 07 Nov, 14 Nov
Description of China highlights tour
Nine days in China will fit in a lifetime of memories and fascinating cultural encounters as this classic China highlights tour goes to prove.
Travelling by overnight sleeper train and high-speed train allows you to experience China highlights on tour from Shanghai to Beijing with the likes of Xi’an and the Great Wall of China providing just a couple of talking points in between.
You’ll do much more than scratch the surface of life in China during your time away with a whole host of culinary encounters and cultural traditions enabling this China highlights tour to truly shine.
Map
Price information
£1220To£1510excluding flights
Single supplement from £225 - £240.
Check dates, prices & availability
Travel guides
Follow a lesser-visited route from Badaling to Jinshanling for a great experience on the Wall.
Classic train routes in the world’s most dramatic locations.
Holiday information
Small group tour, ideal for solos & couples:
Small group travel is not large group travel scaled down. It is modeled on independent travel – but with the advantage of a group leader to take care of the itinerary, accommodation and tickets, and dealing with the language. It’s easy to tick off the big sights independently – but finding those one-off experiences, local festivals, travelling markets and secret viewpoints is almost impossible for someone without the insider knowledge gained from years in the field. For those with limited time, a small group tour will save valuable time in planning, and on holiday.
Reviews
1 Reviews of China highlights tour
4 out of 5 stars
Reviewed on 24 Jun 2026 by Alexandra Joaquim
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
The walk on the great wall of China.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Go with open mind, not all activities are possible to do.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Yes, by staying in national hotels.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
I only don't give 5 stars, because of the bad accommodation in Shanghai. Although the location of the hotel is good, my room was not well cleaned (garbage from previous guests on the floor) it had a bad smell from the toilet in the room, frequent noise during the night (not sure from what) and no privacy. Stayed on the 3rd floor, with direct view to the balcony of the house in front, can only be in the room with curtains closed. Even the homestay in the Great Wall was better, you should change to a different hotel in Shanghai.
Responsible Travel
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we've screened this (and every) holiday so that you can travel knowing we've worked to maximise the benefits of your holiday to local people and places, and minimise any negative impacts.
Planet
EnvironmentOn this trip, we provide all travellers with reusable bags and chopsticks in order to avoid waste. We encourage the use of “tea flasks” for drinking water (or tea, like the locals do!). All travellers in the group will be encouraged to travel with refillable water bottles and purification tablets rather than purchasing water in plastic bottles to minimise waste and your group leader will also be on hand to advise on the responsible discarding of rubbish throughout the trip, recycling wherever possible.
We prefer that our passengers don’t purchase plastic water bottles, however any bottles that are purchased are given to the community of waste collectors who rely on this for an income.
Wherever possible we take local transport. This can mean anything from public bus, trolley bus, tram or subway. We also have the opportunity to explore on bikes and on foot and travel overland on all our basic trips.
Community
We stay in a family run guesthouse in Gubeikou, a less popular area of the Great Wall. This enables travellers to experience rural China as well as major sites like the Great Wall and it supports the local economy by keeping guesthouses up and running in lesser-known parts of China. Travellers are welcomed with great hospitality plus dinner and breakfast are included, a great chance to sample local produce and delicious home style cooking. All entrance fees to the Great Wall are included in the price of the trip and this contributes towards the upkeep of the wall, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, so that generations to come can also enjoy visiting the Wall.
We also support Xi’an Huiling (meaning ‘wise spirit’) – a special supported project for young people with intellectual and learning disabilities and travellers can enjoy a performance of singing and dancing by the students, plus have a chance to see their artwork and handicrafts. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to join in the dancing!
People
CommunityWe stay in a family run guesthouse in Gubeikou, a less popular area of the Great Wall. This enables travellers to experience rural China as well as major sites like the Great Wall and it supports the local economy by keeping guesthouses up and running in lesser-known parts of China. Travellers are welcomed with great hospitality plus dinner and breakfast are included, a great chance to sample local produce and delicious home style cooking. All entrance fees to the Great Wall are included in the price of the trip and this contributes towards the upkeep of the wall, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site, so that generations to come can also enjoy visiting the Wall.
We also support Xi’an Huiling (meaning ‘wise spirit’) – a special supported project for young people with intellectual and learning disabilities and travellers can enjoy a performance of singing and dancing by the students, plus have a chance to see their artwork and handicrafts. Don’t be surprised if you’re asked to join in the dancing!
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