Arrive in Shanghai on suggested flights and transfer to the hotel (Pudong airport-hotel transfer included in tour price). Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including travel insurance (a condition of travel) and accommodation before or after the tour.

At 18:00, join your tour leader Ute Junker and fellow travellers for a welcome briefing at the hotel, followed by dinner.

(D)

This morning, walk to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre for an introduction to this city that started as a humble fishing village before becoming a thriving trading centre in the late 19th century. Continue to the 400-year-old Yu Garden, a classical garden featuring traditional Chinese architecture, bridges, miniature lakes and rock formations.

After lunch, visit the French Concession district, whose architectural style spans from Art Deco to Neoclassical alongside Shikumen, a traditional Shanghainese architecture style, and see the site of the first National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

Tonight, enjoy dinner at one of Shanghai’s renowned restaurants.

(BLD)

Depart Shanghai for Hangzhou, one of the eight ancient capitals of China, and renowned for silk production, longjing tea culture and the scenic West Lake. Long celebrated in Chinese literature and painting, the region has attracted emperors, scholars and poets since the Tang dynasty in the 7th and 8th centuries.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before a cruise on West Lake, a UNESCO World Heritage site that blends natural scenery and man-made features seamlessly, including the celebrated ‘Ten Scenes of West Lake’.

(BLD)

Begin the day with a visit to Lingyin Temple, the oldest and most influential Buddhist monastery in south-eastern China. Its name meaning ‘the soul’s retreat’ in Chinese, the temple was founded in 328 CE by an Indian monk named Huili and houses many pagodas and grottoes, featuring religious rock carvings.

After lunch, gain an in-depth insight into longjing tea, a world-famous Chinese green tea, with a guided tour of Longjing Village, featuring 800 acres of tea fields, terraced tea gardens and traditional tea houses.

Continue with a visit to Hangzhou Silk Town, China’s largest silk market with over 600 stores selling fabrics, garments and crafts, before returning to the hotel in the late afternoon.

(BL)

Check out of the hotel and drive to Suzhou, a major city in Jiangsu province situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Known for its UNESCO-listed classical gardens and historic canals, Suzhou is regarded as the cradle of Wu culture and is one of the oldest towns in the Yangtze basin.

After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Suzhou Museum, a remarkable contemporary interpretation of traditional Suzhou architecture that houses over 30,000 cultural relics, including ancient Chinese paintings, calligraphy, arts and crafts.

Tonight, dinner is at the hotel’s restaurant.

(BLD)

Today, travel to the 1,000-year-old Tongli Water Town, known for authentic Song-Qing dynasty architecture, canals and stone bridges. Visit the Retreat and Reflection Garden, built in 1885, designed around a central pond to create a floating effect.

Then, appreciate the historic streets and local lifestyle of Tongli on a private, guided tour, followed by time at leisure for lunch.

In the evening, experience the lantern-lit evening atmosphere in Shantang Street on a river cruise, followed by dinner at a local restaurant.

(BD)

After breakfast, visit the Humble Administrator’s Garden, the largest classical garden in Suzhou and considered by many the finest garden in southern China. Originally built in 1509, the garden is divided into four parts, each with different characteristics, together painting a poetic landscape typical of Jiangnan. In fact, much of the garden in the famous Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin, was inspired by the scenery in this garden.

Continue to the nearby Lion Grove Garden, renowned for its distinctive Taihu rock formations, and enjoy lunch afterwards at a local restaurant.

Then, visit Lingering Garden, another of China’s four most famous gardens. Laid out in typical Qing style, the garden is famous for its ‘painterly’ design, where every viewpoint is structured like a painting, making it a masterpiece of landscape gardening.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon and enjoy the evening at leisure.

(BL)

Today, depart Suzhou on a high-speed train to Beijing (included in the price).

Formerly known as Peking, Beijing is one of the oldest cities in the world with 3,000 years of history and iconic UNESCO World Heritage sites and it is renowned for its distinct cultural and political significance, alongside traditional hutong alleys, diverse cuisines and rapid urban development.

Arrive in Beijing in the late afternoon and enjoy some time at leisure before dinner.

(BLD)

Start the day with a visit to the majestic Forbidden City, the largest preserved royal palace complex in the world. Covering an area of 72 hectares, it was the residence of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors and the centre of political power in China from 1420 to 1924.

After lunch, enjoy a walking tour of the Houhai neighbourhood, situated around an artificial lake of the same name. The lake and the street network were created during the Yuan dynasty and Nanluogu Lane is regarded as one of the oldest hutongs in Beijing. Admire the classical Beijing architecture and discover the traditional Chinese courtyard houses, Siheyuan, designed to house multi-generational families.

(BL)

In the morning, explore the vast Royal Summer Palace, commissioned by Empress Cixi during the late Qing dynasty as a pavilion for quiet retreat. Considered a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design, the palace was built on Longevity Hill, product of the excavation of Kunming Lake and was inspired by the gardens of south China. The site contains over 3,000 Chinese ancient buildings and 40,000 historical relics.

After lunch, visit the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial religious Confucian buildings completed in 1420 whose architectural components are said to symbolise the structure of the cosmos, with circles representing Heaven and the squares Earth.

Return to the hotel in the late afternoon for an evening at leisure.

(BL)

Check out of the hotel and depart for Chengde, a city northeast of Beijing in the mountains, which houses the summer residence of the Qing emperors.

Upon arrival, visit a selection of the Eight Outer Temples, constructed in 1780 to accommodate the nobles of various ethnic minorities who came to visit the emperor. The temples combined the architectural style of Han temples and Tibetan monasteries to symbolise the unity of ethnicities and beliefs.

Check into the hotel in the mid-afternoon and enjoy some time at leisure, followed by dinner.

(BLD)

Today, visit the UNESCO-listed Chengde Mountain Resort, a large complex of royal palaces and gardens that served as a summer retreat for the Qing emperors. One of China’s largest imperial garden complexes, the resort took 89 years to build and is ultimately a culmination of a variety of landscapes, gardens and architecture from various regions of China.

Tonight, dinner is at the hotel’s restaurant.

(BLD)

This morning, check out of the hotel and visit Jinshanling, a section of the Great Wall of China in the mountainous area near Chengde. Due to its remote location, the wall has retained its original look, with traces of poems and tablet writings, and is considered one of the best-preserved sections of the entire monument.

Return to Beijing in the mid-afternoon. Tonight, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a special farewell dinner with Ute and fellow travellers.

(BLD)

Tour arrangements conclude with an included transfer from the hotel to Beijing Capital Airport for suggested flights to Australia or New Zealand. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour and travel insurance (a condition of travel).

(B)

Note: At time of publication (April 2026), most but not all garden visits were confirmed. While we undertake to operate the tour as published, there may be some changes to the itinerary.