Wild China

Nihao! Welcome to Beijing, the Capital of China.

Nihao! Welcome to Beijing, the Capital of China. Upon your arrival at the airport, you will be greeted by your guide, and transferred straight to the hotel. Your tour begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm in your hotel lobby where your guide will go over more details about your trip including meeting up with your guides in each city. After that, you will take an orientation walk followed by a Beijing Duck dinner.

Beijing – Explore the Forbidden City, Hutongs, Temple of Heaven

Today you will explore famous sights in Beijing. There will be a lot of walking today as well as using the subway to get around. After breakfast, we will take the metro to Tiananmen Square, one of the world's largest public squares, home to the Monument of the People's Heroes and the Great hall of the People. Then enter the Forbidden City, built from 1406 to 1420, a ceremonial and political center of the Chinese government for more than 500 years. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the most extensive collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. After the Forbidden City, we will stroll in the alleys formed by lines of traditional courtyards known by Hutong and experience the local lifestyle of Old Beijing. Later, we’ll take the metro to visit the Temple of Heaven. After the tour, back to your hotel with your guide by metro.

Hike will start from Wohushan Great Wall

We leave in the early morning for the Great Wall at Gubeikou. Gubeikou was a vital mountain pass and dates back to the 16th century. Today’s hike will start from Wohushan Great Wall, which is 665 meters above sea level. As you hike along with your guide you will see lush vegetation and learn how this part of the wall has crumbled because in the 1950s local farmers took bricks from the wall to build their houses. Pass by a local village and walk around the inner circle of the wall, which was the second defense in case the main wall breached. Today you will hike 12km -a total of 4-5 hours walking and 3-4 hours resting, enjoying the views and lunch. Continue walking until late afternoon when you reach Dhawa Hotel Jinshanling where you will spend the night.

Continue to Hike from Jinshanling to Simatai West

This morning enjoy a home-cooked breakfast in the guesthouse and then continue to hike from Jinshanling to Simatai West. Along this route, you will see both original and restored sections of the Wall and enjoy the classic postcard views of watchtowers snaking across the mountain so keep your camera handy. Some of these 2-story and 3-story towers have flat roofs, others are rounded and others are pitched with upturned eaves. You will hike 12km (7 miles) on the mostly paved ground though there are a few stretches of unrestored pathways with stairs and steep gradients. In the afternoon, we will take a private transfer to Beijing railway station and board the overnight train to Xi’an.

A Cycling Tour on The Ancient City Wall

Upon arrival meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel for breakfast. Today’s adventure starts with a cycling tour on the ancient City Wall. This is the most significant and best-preserved city wall extant in China, running over 8 miles around Xi’an. Then we will take a walk around the trendy Muslim quarter and stroll through the narrow streets dotted with small shops, markets, and restaurants to reach the Great Mosque. The Great Mosque of Xi'an is the most significant mosque in China. It was constructed during the Hongwu reign of the Ming dynasty, with further additions during the Qing dynasty. Previous religious complexes are known to have stood on the same site, dating back as far as the Tang dynasty.

Visit The Terracotta Warriors

Today we will visit the Terracotta Warriors and learn much about this incredible archaeological find. After being buried for 2,000 years it was discovered in 1976 by farmers digging a well. Three main pits are open for you to view. Here just under 2,000 of the total 6,000 warriors –each individually sculpted from clay, each having a different costume, height, and even facial expressions –stand in battle formation. The scale is incredibly impressive.

After marveling at this incredible display we will enjoy lunch in a local village before our private transport takes us to Xi’an North Railway Station for the high-speed train to Chengdu. The train journey takes about 4 hours. Arrive Chengdu in the evening, met and be transferred to hotel.

Visit to The Panda Breeding Center

A morning visit to the Panda Breeding Center, where you can witness the conservation efforts being made to save this endangered species. Pandas look adorable with amazing body movements. They are bred and protected in the base. You can get quite close to them, watching them at play, eating, napping, and munching bamboo. Back in Chengdu city, after lunch, we’ll enjoy a walking tour around Jinli Street. This street is famous for its historic atmosphere, bustling businesses, and most of all for its local snacks. Enjoy sticky rice cakes with sesame sauce, spicy chicken on a stick, sweet rice jelly, fried beef pancakes, and, for the more adventurous, seasoned rabbits’ heads. Later in the afternoon head south to Mount Emei by private vehicle. You will spend the night in a peaceful inn at the base of this incredibly beautiful mountain.

Mt. Emei – Bus & cable car to the Golden Summit

Your first stop on Emei Shan is Baoguo temple. This beautiful 16th-century temple features a 3.5m porcelain Buddha dating from 1415 and is noted for its gardens of rare plants. From here take the eco-bus up to the 2nd highest parking lot at Leidongping (1.5hrs) from where it is about a 1-mile walk to the cable car to the Golden Summit (3077m). Your hotel is just next to the cable car station so check in and takes a short break before exploring the summit including Jinding Temple and the 48-meter-high golden Buddha statue. On some days, you may be lucky enough to enjoy the magnificent wonder of the Cloud Sea.

Mt. Emei –Hike down Emei Shan, Temples, monkeys

It is a challenging day today! A full day hiking of 8-9 hours, so an early start at 8:00 AM is highly recommended. During the day visit many interesting temples, meet wild monkeys, see beautiful waterfalls and rivers. Start out taking the cable car down to Jieyin Hall and walking to Leidongping. Descending a set of old stone steps, you will reach Xixiangchi Temple, also known as Elephant Bathing Pool (2070m). Legend says the white elephant of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva used to bathe in the pool in front of the temple. Then continue to Zuantian Slope (Slope Drilling into Sky) which winds down seemingly vertically –descending 300m with 32 turns and more than 1500 steps. Rest at Jiuling Hill before hiking on to Yuxian Temple. This is a section of ups-and-downs, winding along small hills. Passing by Xianfeng Temple you will reach Ecological Monkey Zone, home to a large tribe of wild monkeys. The monkeys are lovely and fascinating to encounter but remember they are wild and can be aggressive. Reaching the Wuxiangang parking lot takes an eco-bus to the tourist center.

Lijiang Lies in Northwestern Yunnan Province

Early in the morning, a private transfer will take you to Emeishan Train Station for the high-speed train directly to Chengdu airport for an afternoon flight to Lijiang. Transfer to the old town of Lijiang and check in to your hotel. Lijiang lies in northwestern Yunnan Province at an altitude of 2400m and is the center of the Naxi culture. From here a series of strategic passes give access to the surrounding mountains. There is a distinct line of division between the old and new towns. The Old Town of Lijiang is bisected by numerous waterways and is a maze of old lanes and squares. It is primarily made up of three parts: Dayan Old Town (including the Black Dragon Pond), Baisha, and Shuhe.

Lijiang Old Town Walking Tour

On today’s walking tour of Lijiang Old Town, the first stop is Black Dragon Pool, a famous pond in the scenic Jade Spring Park located at the foot of Elephant Hill. It was built in 1737 during the Qing dynasty and, standing on its white marble bridge, you are offered a spectacular view of the region's tallest mountain, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Next, visit Lion Hill Park located in the center of the Old Town. This park is a famous national attraction. It was built against a hill that resembles a lion lying sleeping, hence its name. From the park’s ancient buildings you have a bird's-eye view of Lijiang's old town. Spend the afternoon strolling around the Old Town with your guide including a stop at the Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture, the museum dedicated to the history, culture, and art of the Naxi people; their pictographic language, and animist Dongba religion.

Tiger Leaping Gorge – Hike 6 hours

Drive north to the Yangtze River to marvel at the awe-inspiring views of Tiger Leaping Gorge. The starting point for our hike is the small town of Qiaotou, where we leave our large luggage behind, taking only day packs with essentials for 1 night. You will need to carry your own pack. Today hike approximately 6 hours through the gorge to a small guesthouse. In the remote area, the brilliance of the stars is almost overwhelming.

Tiger Leaping Gorge / Shaxi

This morning we start a light hike around the area to explore its rural villages and monasteries. We may find ourselves sharing our walking track with donkeys and horses as this is still a popular form of transport in the more remote areas. Our walk is a little steep but well worth the panoramic views that it provides. After lunch in a local restaurant, we meet up with our vehicle (& luggage) and drive to the ancient town of Shaxi. Here we can still find the Yi and Bai ethnic minorities maintaining their traditions, farmhouses lining the country roads, and the original walled town gates and market square that prove Shaxi was once an important stop on the old Tea Horse Trail. Spend the rest of the day exploring the town. Overnight in a local family-run guesthouse. The accommodation is simple, but the warm hospitality makes for a memorable experience.

Shaxi – ShibaoShan Hike

A great day hiking the mountain trails (4-5 hours). Your destination is Shizong Temple on ShibaoShan. We can bring a picnic lunch to enjoy amid the beautiful ‘Danxia’ landscape. Back in Shaxi for the evening take the opportunity to mix with the locals in the town square where there is usually dancing, singing, and various traditional games.

Discover The Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

A travel day that is well rewarded with magnificent vistas. It is about a 2-hours drive back to Lijiang, through scenery which can still amaze, to catch your flight to Guilin. On arrival, it is about 1.5 hours drive to Longji. Both transfers are by private vehicle. The Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces are an agricultural spectacle with a history of more than 650 years. The most eye-catching part of the terrace cluster is the Ping'an Village Rice Terrace, which was the earliest one discovered by tourists and photographers. After settling into your guesthouse, your guide will take you on an orientation walk.

Hike Through The Longji Valley and its Rice Terraces, Bamboo Trees, and Chestnut Forests

Hike through the Longji Valley and its rice terraces, bamboo trees, and chestnut forests. Constructed over 500 years ago, the terraces are named for their resemblance to a dragon’s scales whilst the mountain summit looks like the backbone of a dragon. Despite some challenging hills, much of the hike is spent walking along stone paths, passing waterfalls, and fields. At the end of the hike, our vehicle will meet us for the trip to Yangshuo (4 hours). A small village set amid green karst hills and rice fields Yangshou has become a favorite traveler center of southern China.

Yangshuo - Excellent Opportunities for Biking and Hiking

Yangshuo offers excellent opportunities for biking and hiking. After breakfast, we head out of town on bikes to cycle through the surrounding countryside to gain an insight into China’s rural life and marvel at the surroundings. Each turn in the road reveals another picture-postcard view. Stop at Moon Hill, one of the most popular attractions in Yangshuo, easily recognizable by its crescent-moon-shaped natural arch. The hill offers stunning panoramic views of the countryside with its unique karst. formations.

Enjoy a Relaxing Li River Cruise

This morning we will enjoy a relaxing Li River Cruise, drifting through the karst landscape and crystal-clear waters. Later transfer to Guilin train station for a fast train to Hong Kong where the tour ends at the airport.