People of China.... from city to countryside

On day five of your holiday in China, you'll be awakened from your slumber before arriving in Xi'an. We'll make reservations for you in a centrally located, comfortable hotel with great views of the Bell Tower. You'll be greeted in the arrival hall and taken straight to your hotel. The transfer should take approximately 15 minutes.

The rest of the day is yours to spend as you wish. You may want to have a look around the large boulevards and we would suggest visiting the charming Muslim neighbourhood. The heart of the city is the large Bell Tower in the middle of the traffic intersection. If you climb the tower around 17:00 you'll have a wonderful view of the city, the Muslim neighbourhood and you'll catch a demonstration of Chinese kettle drums.

This morning you'll go on a bike ride through the area surrounding Lijiang. You'll ride over a flat road with mountains to the right and left of you together with your guide. You'll visit the traditional Naxi village Baisha, where you'll park your bike and visit the legendary herbal practitioner Dr. Ho. He's over 80 years old, however when you enter his home he greets you with warmth, friendliness and a cup of herbal tea. He may even show you some of his newspaper clippings written about him in foreign newspapers. You'll return to Lijiang around noon where you'll say goodbye to your guide. 

After lunch you can visit the Black Dragon Pool Park (entrance fee 40 Yuan). This park is home to some of the most often photographed areas in China, such as the lake featured in the picture, where the sun shine reflects the temple and tops of the surrounding mountains beautifully- a scenic highlight of your holiday in China. 

It's the fifteenth day of your holiday in China and you can spend the day however you choose. Your hotel offers a variety of interesting excursions to choose from. On Mondays you can visit the colourful Shaping morning market or visit the Yi minority in the company of a guide. If you would prefer to explore independently you can rent a bike and explore the area surrounding Dali independently. There are also horseback rides through the forests and mountains.

If you decide to book an extra night in Dali, take the chair lift behind the Three Pagodas temple complex into the mountains. There you'll find the start of a beautiful 10km hike along the mountain ridge. The trail is flat and can be hiked by almost anyone. At the end of the trail, you'll take a gondola down the mountain. When you get out you can catch a taxi.

Today you'll continue your China travel experience as you travel by comfortable public transport bus to Kunming. This will take five to six hours and will be another ride with hills and mountains surrounding you and through farmland and villages. You'll pass through several long tunnels and then you'll drive into the Kunming outer limits.

On arrival in Kunming you'll arrange your own taxi cab to the airport for a 2 hour flight to Guilin.  On arrival you'll be greeted by our local representative in the arrival hall and we'll arrange a connecting transfer to the next destination, Yangshuo, which is about two hours away. All in all you'll be travelling for quite some time, however after your first glance of the karst mountains dotted along the river, you'll see that all the travelling is well worth it!

You'll start off day seventeen of your holiday in China with a bike ride along the Yulong River. You'll travel in a small group today along with other Western travellers.
The scenery here is every bit as beautiful as it is at the Li River and it features a dramatic array of karst mountains on the banks of the river- a memorable part of your China tour. During your bike ride you'll leave the main roads and peddle over paths along the river, through farmland and rice paddies and you'll have the karst mountains as constant companions during your ride.

After biking for a while, the bamboo raft will be waiting to take you down the river. You will sail through the peaks of the karst mountains. After a few kilometres you'll get back on your bike and peddle towards the 'highlight' of this trek, Moon Hill. You can choose to climb the hill if you wish. In warm temperatures, this could be quite a strenuous climb. However the view from the top will make up for it. Eventually when you return to your hotel you can unwind with a beer or glass of wine on the terrace. Bliss.

On day eighteen of your holiday in China you’ll have the entire day to spend as you please. There's plenty to do in this area; you can rent a kayak from the hotel, spend another day on a bicycle to explore the area on your own or you can even take Kung Fu lesson for an hour.

There's quite a show to see on and along the Li and Yulong Rivers in the evenings. The name Zhang Yimao may not ring a bell, however he is the most well known movie director in China and was also responsible for directing the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He’s created a show here in the outdoors with a backdrop of mountains and the river that attracts about 1000 visitors each and every night. As with most things in China, this show is a large production, and well worth a visit. The show can be viewed daily from 20:00 - 21:00. Tickets are on sale on location from £15. After the show you may want to venture out for some souvenir shopping or have a bite to eat in one of Yangshuo's busy streets.

This morning  you'll leave Ping'an and continue north through Guilin to the next destination on your holiday in China; the Longji rice terraces. The village Ping'an is located in the middle of this area and is only accessible by foot, so you'll be met at the entrance and joined on the 20 minute walk to the village. If you prefer not to carry your suitcase/ backpack during the walk, you can have your baggage carried for 30 Yuan.

During this part of your trip in China, you'll stay in a basic, guest house in the village. Your room will have its own private bathroom.Electricity and warm water are available in the mornings and evenings and the guest house has a large veranda where you can enjoy the view of the rice fields and mountains in the crisp clean air. In the afternoon you can walk through the village and visit the Two View Points. Along the way you're sure to encounter the Zhuang. This local minority introduced the terraced irrigation system that is used in this area about 5000 years ago.

After breakfast you and a guide will head out for a day of hiking through the rice terraces, known as Dragon's Bone or Longji. The hike is suitable for all with an average level of physical fitness. You'll mostly be walking through the rice terraces; however you'll also walk through forest or marshes. You'll see the Zhuang hard at work in their paddy-fields bushing their oxen through the mud.

Around lunchtime you'll have a bite to eat in a small town and then you'll continue hiking for another two hours. Then you'll catch a bus back to the end of the road leading to Ping'an where you'll walk back to your guest house in the village with your guide. In the evening you'll be able to enjoy a stunning sunset from the veranda. We considered our stay here as one of the most relaxing moments during our holiday in China.

Start off the day by enjoying the magical sunrise and the silence of the morning. The shrouds of mist surrounding the mountains will gradually pull away and while you have your breakfast on the veranda you'll see the sun climb into the sky. When time has come to move on, you'll take your baggage to the parking lot where a transfer will be waiting to take you to Guilin airport (a 1.5 hour drive).

You'll continue your holiday in China as you fly to the city of Canton, which lies near Hong Kong. This flight is much less expensive than flying directly into Hong Kong. A transfer will be waiting to take you to the Guangzhou (Canton) train station. Your train ride to Kowloon will take another 2 hours. 

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and today this holiday in China must draw to a close. Today you'll return to the airport (you can arrange a transfer at your hotel reception for just a few pounds) and catch your flight back to the UK.