Ultimate China

Outbound international flight to Beijing

Stay: Aman Summer Palace (3 nights)​​

Your Stay

Aman Summer Palace

Mere footsteps from Beijing’s glorious Summer Palace, Aman occupies a series of traditional dwellings: each transformed into mini-palaces of elegance, none losing sight of their history, and all dripping with mod-cons.

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Beijing

Beijing is the seat of communist power in China, where a bizarre mix of architecture – think underground bomb shelters (a remnant of the paranoid 1970s) to temples shaded by sky-high glass towers, via Soviet-style monuments – makes for a mercurial experience. The 2008 Olympics gave the city a lick of shiny new paint with a legacy that includes wonderful stadia as well as pumped-up global interest, but there is still oodles of historical and local charm. Residents will still sit and play chess on street corners, apparently unaffected by the colossal grandeur of everything that surrounds them.​​

Beijing to Xi'an

Journey Time: 3 hours

Xi'an's best sights are within the old city walls – including the huge walls themselves. The four great fortified gates open each morning to the ringing of a great bell and close each night to the sound of a huge drum; the 14th-century Bell and Drum towers are especially impressive.

But by far the biggest reason to visit Xi'an lies about 24 miles outside the city – the Terracotta Army, the thousands of life-size clay warriors in a huge underground vault. Each figure is different, and the level of detail will send shivers down your spine!

Stay: Shangri-La Hotel Xi'an (3 nights)​

Xi'an to Chengdu

Journey Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province (famous for its spicy cuisine) is a lovely city of tree-lined avenues, half-timbered houses, pagodas and teahouses… as well as the excellent Giant Panda Research Centre.

Stay: The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu (2 nights)​​

Your Stay

The Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu

Towering above Tianfu Square, interiors are inspired by traditional Chinese courtyard homes; Club Level benefits include the city’s only dedicated private butler service; and there's a nod to Chengdu’s historic tea culture throughout.

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Chengdu to Chongqing

Journey Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes

Chongqing is called "mountain city" by the local and is the departure city for many of the Yangtze Rivers cruise ships but it also has much to offer. This tour combines some of China's most spectacular scenery, cultural treasures and historical sites with the spectacular Yangtze Cruise in four days.

Stay: M.S. Yangzi Explorer (​3 nights)​​

Your Stay

Sanctuary Yangzi Explorer

Carrying just 124 passengers, the Yangzi Explorer offers the finest and most personalised service of any ship sailing the river resulting in a more intimate cruising experience with the highest ratio of staff to guests.

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Yichang to Shanghai

Journey Time: 3 hours

Shanghai, is all big and bold and shiny and arguably China's most dynamic, cosmopolitan city – helped in part by its history as a playground of the Orient. Capitalism is the name of the game here, and no more evident than when taking in the fantasy-turned-reality skyline of Pudong. But this being China, history still lingers – a 10th-century Buddhist monastery turning up down a little alley tucked between the skyscrapers.

Stay: Park Hyatt Shanghai (3 nights)​​

Your Stay

Park Hyatt Shanghai

The height of luxury? In the world’s highest hotel (you actually look down on the Jinmao Tower), it certainly feels like it. Most impressive of all here are the views, but we also love the tranquillity, the spa, and the surprisingly intimate Living and Dining Rooms.​

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Shanghai

Depart Shanghai on your international flight back to London Heathrow.​​