Discover China

Outbound international flight to Beijing

Stay: The Opposite House (3 nights)​​

Your Stay

The Opposite House

As the name suggests, things are done a little differently here: refreshingly relaxed service, a cutting-edge art gallery, striking emerald-green exterior... The whole place feels light and spacious, with so much glass it positively shimmers.

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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 Lijiang

Journey Time: 4 hours, 30 minutes

Charming Lijiang, a World Heritage Site in the shadow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with traffic-free cobbled streets and Naxi flute music drifting through the air. Its main street is bisected by a stream spanned by stone bridges; at night floating candles drift past red lanterns outside restaurants, where staff sing in good-natured rivalry. Head into the mountains and you pass through fabled 'Shangri-La', eventually reaching Lhasa at a heady 12,000 ft above sea level. It's dominated by the famous Potala Palace, home to successive Dalai Lamas from the 7th century. The heart of old Tibet is the Barkhor, its streets teeming with pilgrims surrounding the Jokhang Temple, the region's holiest shrine.

Stay: Amandayan (3 nights)​

Your Stay

Amandayan

Overlooking the winding lanes of Lijiang and embracing style elements from traditional Nakhi architecture (the indigenous people responsible for Lijiang’s historic prominence), Amandayan is unmistakably Chinese, yet contemporary in style.

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Lijiang to Hangzhou

Journey Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Hangzhou, on the Yangtze River Delta, is another urban jungle, where ancient and new collide with fascinating results, illustrating a cultural and financial prosperity spanning 1000 years. West Lake, in its historic centre, is its adored star attraction. And taking the pace down a notch or three, Yunnan is China’s most south-western province and is remote and mountainous: a treasure trove of beauty, and home to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the jaw-dropping limestone columns of the Stone Forest.

Stay: Amanfayun (3 nights)​​

Your Stay

Amanfayun

By the serene West Lake, and just beyond the dreamy village of Tianzhu, Amanfayun whispers its gloriousness rather than shouting it from the rooftops: its stately courtyard, bathed in all sorts of green, the heart of a series of Tardis-like grand suites and villas.

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Hangzhou to Shanghai

Journey time: 2 hours, 20 minutes

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: The Peninsula Shanghai (2 nights)​

Your Stay

The Peninsula Shanghai

Located on the historical Bund, Shanghai’s most revered district, and with views over the Huangpu River towards Pudong, the former British Consulate has been spectacularly transformed into a temple of glamour infused with Art Deco influences.

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Shanghai to Hong Kong

Journey Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes

It's known as an overwhelming mile-a-minute metropolis where high-end shopping and fine dining are almost national sports, but Hong Kong also has a quieter side.

South Hong Kong Island has Aberdeen: home to the local fishing fleet; Stanley: a busy resort well-known for its beach, restaurants and market; and HK's most famous beach: Repulse Bay. Nearby Ocean Park: an award-winning marine mammal, oceanarium and animal theme park, is great for families too.

The north is the 'real' Hong Kong, though: the iconic high-rise cityscape surrounding Victoria Harbour. At its heart are the impressive Statue Square, Man Mo Temple, and beautiful Hong Kong Park. The city's soaring towers are best seen from Victoria Peak: easily reached by the funicular railway and with dancing fountains, shopping gallery and waxworks at the top. The vista's always spectacular, especially at night.

Stay: The Peninsula Hong Kong (3 nights)​

Your Stay

The Peninsula Hong Kong

A veritable legend, and Hong Kong's oldest hotel, this legendary "Grande Dame of the Far East" continues to set hotel standards worldwide, mixing perfect Eastern service with oh-so-British traditions.

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Hong Kong

Depart Hong Kong on your international flight back to London Heathrow.​