Art, Architecture & Aesthetics

Explore Eastern China

DAY 1 Overnight Flight to China

Your tailor-made itinerary to explore Eastern China begins with a direct flight from the UK to Beijing, which takes ten hours. You'll be flying overnight so if you have any trouble sleeping pack a Mandarin phrasebook to brush up on some basic phrases.

DAY 2 The Temple of Heaven and on to Xi'an

If you want a lovely insight into everyday life in China, we always recommend visiting a park, and there are few nicer for a morning wander than the park surrounding the Temple of Heaven. Wander through the grounds to see elderly Beijing residents performing tai chi, practicing sword fighting or artfully flinging frisbees in morning rituals carried out in 'People's Parks' across the country. Your guide can introduce you to the basic principles of tai chi if interested. Then visit the centrepiece to all this - the Temple of Heaven itself. Designed as a holy place where emperors could come to pray for good harvests (which in turn usually ensured civil harmony), your guide will explain the meaning of the many motifs on the temple's walls.

From there, head to the train station for the four-and-a-half-hour journey to the former capital, Xi'an, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel for the night. This particular itinerary is technically a trip to Eastern China, but Xi'an is well worth the south-westerly detour.

DAY 3 Hang Out in Hangzhou

Hangzhou is a one-time capital of China and generally agreed to be one of the prettiest cities in China, often invoked in the past as the archetype for the imperial Chinese aesthetic of mountains reflected in water. As such, the city's West Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Marco Polo in his travels referred to Hangzhou as 'the finest and the noblest (city) in the world.' The West Lake is your first stop this morning, from which you can see hillsides coated in Dragon Well tea that the city is also famous for, alongside elegant arched bridges and temple gardens. Take to the waters of the lake on a boat ride for an even better sense of the surroundings.

Then it's time to visit an ancient Chinese pharmacy, Huqingyutang Pharmacy, to learn about the admirable history of traditional Chinese medicine, gaining an understanding into the basic principles ('prevention, not cure' being key) of acupuncture, diet and herbal remedies.

On the subject of diet, tea plays a key role in Chinese traditions, and so we have arranged for you to enjoy a Dragon Well tea ceremony. Longjing (Chinese for Dragon Well) tea has been grown on the hills around Hangzhou for over a millennium, and you will learn about the tea leaf cultivation and preparation before the best bit - sampling the end product at a formal tea ceremony, and appreciating the distinctive terroir of this most delicious of teas.

DAY 4 Hangzhou to Suzhou

There's one last Hangzhou highlight to see this morning - Lingyin Temple, a Buddhist Temple that has been rebuilt an astonishing 16 times, a rate of about once every hundred years since its initial inception in the year 326 AD. The site is still a magnet for pilgrims, and it's a lovely place to sit and watch the world, and the devout, go by. Then you will be transferred the two-and-a-half-hours to your next stop as you explore Eastern China: Suzhou. The journey passes through some fairly non-descript towns, but Suzhou itself is a gem. Spend the rest of the afternoon wandering along the pretty canals that criss-cross a city that was famed for its scholarly and aristocratic families in bygone centuries.

DAY 5 Swap Sleepy Suzhou for Shiny Shanghai

As you continue to explore Eastern China, today is a day of contrasts, swapping sleepy Suzhou for the bright lights of Shanghai, the ultimate metropolis.
After breakfast this morning you will be driven two-and-a-half-hours to Shanghai. You will arrive in time for check in at your hotel and lunch and then this afternoon you will dip a first toe into this high-energy city.
Start with a visit to the intriguing Propaganda Museum to see a fine collection of the propaganda posters and other literature that were pumped out during the Chairman Mao era to persuade the population that communism was the answer.

Then visit one of the commercial zones that saw Shanghai become so wealthy in the pre-communist era. The French Concession, along with those trading areas run by the British, Japanese and Americans, saw what was a mere fishing village in the mid-19th century become one of the key commercial cities in the world. The French Concession is the most pleasant to explore today, with leafy boulevards and small bistros more redolent of the 'homeland' than China. Rubbing up against the French Concession is the bohemian, buzzing Tianzifang Arts Area, a labyrinth of alleyways full of funky fashion boutiques and contemporary art galleries to explore. Again, this is a great place to stock up on souvenirs.
This evening we can recommend one or more of the city's finest restaurants or street food stands.