Day 1: Shanghai
- Kickstart you Shanghai to Shanghai backpacking tour with a meeting on the rooftop bar of the Phoenix Hostel at 1:30pm. Leave your luggage at the hostel if necessary.
- Transfer to Shanghai South Station to board a night train to Guilin.
- One guide will put you on the train and another will collect you in Guilin.
Day 2-5: Yangshuo
- Try your hand at cooking up some traditional Chinese foods at this friendly and practical local cuisine institute
- Group Lunch
- Unmissable Activity: Cruise down the Yulong River on these Chinese style Gondolas – Bamboo Rafts! Bikes included to ride around! (please make sure you wear a helmet at all times when you are riding your bike!)
- Optional: Bike Ride to Moon Hill and a cave complex including mudbaths and hot springs
- Optional: Try your hand at Rock-Climbing!
- Optional: Kayaking on the Li River!
- Optional: Experience Chinese traditional therapies such as Hot Cupping
- Optional: A true treat, experience what life is like on a farm by visiting your Adventure Leader’s home village
- Board minibus to North Bus Station and then board your bus to Guilin
- Depart Yangshuo on a bullet train to Chengdu, arriving in the evening. Take a metro to your hostel and meet your new Adventure Leader!
Day 6-8: Chengdu
- Unmissable Activity: Gather up to go see the Pandas at the world’s main and biggest, Giant Panda Breeding & Research Center.
- Mandarin Lesson 1: Have a Mandarin lesson with your Adventure Leader
- Optional: Watch a traditional Sichuan Opera & Culture Show
- Optional: Leave to Leshan to see the world’s largest stone Buddha.
- Optional: Wander Jinli street and the Tibetan districts independently. (Chengdu is right next to Tibet, or Xizang in Mandarin, so there is a large ethnic community here)
- Optional: Sample the famous Sichuan Hot Pot if you dare! (Legendary Spice!)
- Have a night out in Chengdu
- Optional: Volunteer at an Autism Children Rehabilitation Centre (If you would like to donate money or school materials, please talk to your Adventure Leader.)
- Optional: Visit Wenshu Monastery, Sichuan Province Museum, People’s Park and a traditional Tea House
- Take bus or metro to Chengdu North Railway Station.
- Say goodbye to your Adventure Leader and board your train to Xian
Day 9-10: Xi’an
- Arrive in Xi’an and meet your next Adventure Leader
- Check-in to your hostel
- Optional: Explore the Bell Drum Towers, Muslim Quarter and Great Mosque to learn about the history of the Silk Road, towers, mosque and some local legends.
- Enjoy a dinner of local street foods at the Muslim Quarter. Relax after dinner by visiting the local Silk Road market nearby.
- Un-missable Attraction – Terracotta Warriors
- Optional: Bike Ride on Ming Dynasty City Walls. Please make sure you wear a helmet!
- Optional: Watch the Music & Lights show near the Big Goose Pagoda
Day 11-12: Shaolin
- Board a private minivan than take a bus to DengFeng, the closest village to the Shaolin Temple
- Arrive in DengFeng
- Optional: Kung Fu Lesson & Show at a local Children’s Home run by the Shaolin Temple, where the monks teach these children to be Kungfu masters. All proceeds go directly to the Children’s Home.
- Dinner in the Guesthouse
- Mandarin lesson: Have your second Mandarin lesson
- Optional: Visit the flagship of Kung Fu, The Shaolin Temple
- Optional: Hike to Dharma Cave, a spiritual spot for Buddhist pilgrims, and be rewarded by beautiful views of both the shrines/temples in the area and the views of the area
- Optional: Had enough of temples or kung-fu? Visit the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO world heritage site with over 100,000 carved Buddha’s
- Have a late lunch at the guesthouse then pack and check out
- Depart to Zhengzhou to board your train to Beijing
- Arrive at the train station and have some food before your train leaves
Day 13-16: Beijing
- Arrive Beijing and meet your next Adventure Leader. Transfer by minibus to the hostel. You won’t be staying the night here, so you won’t be able to get into rooms, but can use the shower rooms, and common areas to relax before heading to the Wall in the afternoon
- Mandarin lesson: Have your 3rd Mandarin Lesson
- It’s time for the Mandarin challenge! Use your freshly learned Mandarin to complete challenges around Beijing’s ancient streets and alleyways. The winning team earns a prize.
- Mandatory meal at a local farm to obtain permission to access the locals only sections of the unrestored Great Wall
- Unmissable Attraction – Hike on totally unrestored sections of the Wall before setting up camp on a deserted section of the wall to watch the sunset on one of the Wonders of the World (Please note, due to cold weather before end of April and after September, we stay in a guest house near the Wall instead of camping, but still return to the Wall to watch sunrise in the morning)
- Unmissable Attraction – Sunrise on the Wall
- Return to Beijing
- Optional: A stunning Chinese Acrobatics Performance performed by young talents recruited from around China
- Enjoyed exclusively by royalty in ancient times, taste Beijing’s signature dish Peking Roast Duck
- Optional: Take a walk through the globally recognized, Tiananmen Square
- Optional: Visit the Forbidden City. The largest palatial complex in the world, the grounds boast 980 buildings and a history of housing 24 different Chinese royalty
- Optional: Go to Jingshan Park for a bird’s eye view of the three palaces: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and Tiananmen Square.
- Test your bargaining skills in the Fake Goods Market!
- Optional: Go to the Temple of Heaven, the largest complex dedicated to heaven worship in the world and where ancient sacrifices were made to bring bountiful harvests
- Optional: Visit Nanluo district, one of the best-preserved historical areas in Beijing. It is famous for its hutongs and siheyuan courtyards as well as the bars, cafes and handicraft shops
- Enjoy a free day before heading to your next destination
- Optional: Visit the 798 art district, the Summer Palace, or any other highlights of Beijing
- Board night train to Hangzhou
Day 17-18: Hangzhou & Shanghai
- Head to West Lake for a relaxing boat tour
- Optional: Learn about China’s trade history with visits to the China National Tea Museum or the National Silk Museum
- Hike up Jiuyao Mountain to catch the sunset over West Lake
- Enjoy a delicious group dinner back in the city centre
- Optional: Explore Hangzhou old town
- Have a big breakfast ready for more activities
- Head to Misty Forest for a hike around the Nine Creeks area
- Return to the hostel to freshen up, grab lunch and check out
- Take a private transfer Hangzhou Station for your train to Shanghai
- Arrive in Shanghai and take the metro to the hostel
- Optional: Experience the city’s nightlife with the Shanghai Drunken Dragon Pub Crawl! (Only available on Saturday. If you arrive on a different day, then you can enjoy our alternative activity, a cruise on the Huangpu River by night.)