Beijing is the most important city in China and most independent China tour start from here. The morning after your arrival, China Online will arrange for you to be taken on a morning tour with an English speaking guide to a few of Beijing's highlights such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Mao Zhedong Museum. Your guide will answer any question you may have about these attractions and will translate anything you’d like to know but can't read. The following day we’ll arrange for you to visit the Great Wall of China, the main highlight of every China tour. During this China tour you'll go on a 10km walk over the wall and through the surrounding mountains. 

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Shanghai’s evolution is truly astounding. Walking through this city you can hardly imagine that in the 70’s Chinese were sent to prison for selling flowers. It was considered an act of capitalism. These days you’ll see flower stands everywhere you look. While in Shanghai, stay in a historic hotel on the Bund. For those still doubting between visits to Shanghai or Hong Kong….. the difference between these two cosmopolitan cities is that Hong Kong can be found at the crossing of several travel routes and it was greatly influenced by the British colonialisation of the west. Shanghai on the other hand, was shut off from civilisation for a long period of time and you’ll only see the city if you’re travelling through China. China’s most important museum, which offers a great deal of information on the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution or in other words- the Mao era- can be found in Shanghai.

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Everyone should visit Hong Kong at some point or another in their lifetime. Officially Hong Kong is a part of China, but on the other hand it’s remarkably un-Chinese. Visit Hong Kong during your independent China tour and see a wide variety of skyscrapers, countless shopping malls, a massive amount of Chinese signs, fast-walking high-powered Chinese business women on cell phones and shop windows filled with the strangest looking food you’ve ever seen. It is also home to incredibly photogenic places such as Hong Kong Island where the typical Chinese junks are docked. Catch the Star Ferry and enjoy your very own harbour cruise for only $4. Aberdeen harbour offers a wonderful view of Victoria Peak that you won’t want to miss. Spend the night in downtown Kowloon, on a beach on Lantau Island or in style at the up-scale Harbour View hotel (which can also be booked in Kowloon).

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This independent China tour combines a visit to Shanghai with a visit to the picturesque towns known for their waterways and well-maintained gardens. On arrival in Shanghai a private chauffeur and guide will take you to the countryside where you’ll sleep in a village with canals instead of roads. Many commuters stuck in daily traffic jams will be jealous: the local inhabitants live on the water and the common means of transport is a boat parked in front of each door. The following day you’ll travel on to Suzhou, a town with serene water gardens and Buddhist temples, red lanterns, stone bridges and ponds filled with carp and turtles. From here you’ll board a high-speed TGV train for an hour-long ride through fertile farmland on your way back to Shanghai. In Shanghai, you’ll spend 2 nights in our colonial hotel on the boulevard in the middle of the city. For just a little while you’ll live on a waterway and you’ll get a taste of this active, cosmopolitan harbour city.

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Xi'an is world famous for its Terracotta Army made up of 8000 soldiers, 520 horses and 130 chariots made of clay and discovered by farmers in 1974. This unique display of eastern craft is actually a collection of royal tomb funerary statues created for a 14 year old Qin dynasty emperor. Excavations are still underway to this day. During the Tang dynasty, Xi'an was the capital of China. It has a small, compact city centre surrounded by city walls; this makes for quick and easy navigation by independent travellers. The Muslim district is known for its culinary delicacies and Xi’an’s city wall is so broad that you can go on bike rides around it. This city has much to offer any traveller.... 

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Chengdu is home to the Panda Breeding Centre, a research facility for giant panda’s. This is one of the few areas in the world where you can get up close and personal with these amazing king-size teddy bears. Chengdu is also home to tea houses and temples and has quite a hot ‘n spicy Sichuan kitchen. While in Chengdu, try a 'hotpot'. Use your chopsticks to scoop up all kinds of meat and vegetables from a boiling pot of broth in the middle of the table. During the cold winters in northern China, catch a direct flight to Chengdu in southern China to warm up.

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Many travellers end their China holiday in Shanghai, however this cosmopolitan harbour city isn’t known as a place of tranquillity. The island of Putuoshan is only a two-hour boat ride from Shanghai. It’s a peaceful location filled with old temples, pagoda’s and deserted beaches. Putuoshan isn’t a tropical island and since the Chinese do not sunbath, the beaches are usually deserted. Walk through the old towns, visit the old temples and meet the friendly inhabitants that would love to play a game of mah-jong with you on the street.

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Between Beijing and Xi'an lies Pingyao; one of the best kept secret towns dating back to the Ming dynasty. This is China as you may have seen it in movies such as 'Raise the red lantern'. The picturesque centre is small, compact and surrounded by the original city walls. Spend hours roaming around the city; there are no planned excursions during this module. You’ll have all the time you need to explore the city on your own. Stay in a small, charming and stylish courtyard hotel with a patio. In the evening the red lanterns will be lit, they’re sure to cast a magical glow on your stay here.

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This four day independent China tour takes you straight through the Sichuan province countryside. This trip begins in the remote town of Xiahe, since many travellers choose to book the ‘Tibetan monks and monasteries' module prior to this one. Then travel with a guide to Langmusi, known for the macabre 'sky burials'; a tradition in which the deceased is ‘given’ to the birds. Grassy plains, mountains and nomadic villages are abundant in this area. Say goodbye to your driver and guide in Songpan and spend two nights in this quiet Chinese village where there are more sheep, yaks and horses than people. Visit a horse festival, the horse market or go on a horse trek for a day or so. Finally, a bus will take you from Songpan to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

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If you’re adventurous at heart you may be interested in a horseback ride into a remote part of China, far away from modernisation and the hustle and bustle of the cities. Horseback riding experience is not necessary. You’ll ride on horseback for three days through a mountain territory without roads along with other travellers and guides until you reach the glacier at Ice Mountain. Along the way you’ll climb 1000m and you’ll spend the nights like the nomads do; in a tent with a bed made of shrubberies and horse and yak skins. The guides will set up camp, cook the meals and will even tuck you in at night. You may experience some of the sore bottom blues after this trip and walk a bit uneasily for a day afterwards; however you’ll never forget this unique experience!

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The Stone Forest is a national park featuring spectacular rock formations that change colours magically (especially during sunrise and sunset). During the day the park is filled with large numbers of Chinese tour groups. Therefore we don't offer the standard day trip to the park. Instead, we offer an accommodation right next to the park. This is the only accommodation in the area and the place to be for a back-to-basics experience. Before and after the crowds appear, the park is yours alone (and perhaps a few others). Be sure to enjoy the enormous shadows that appear at sunset; an unforgettable natural phenomenon. Some rock peaks are 30m high and have the most unusual shapes; at times they seem to look like petrified trees.
 
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This module takes place in the most breathtaking scenery in China. Much like Beijing, this area definitely deserves a spot on your itinerary. Lazily flowing rivers run through a multitude of karst mountains rising straight up into the heavens from an otherwise flat landscape. You’ll spend the night in the countryside town of Yangshuo, surrounded by farmland and rice paddies. We’ll arrange a bike tour and a bamboo boat ride on the Yulong River; you'll have an entire day to explore this incredible area. 

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This module is the icing on the cake after your stay in Yangshuo’s karst area. During a hectic trip, this area provides you with a 'holiday feeling'. Ping’an’s rice terraces, along with those of Banaue in the Philippines, are the world’s highest altitude paddy-fields. Spend two nights in a no-frills, yet cosy guest house amidst the paddy-fields. The village Ping'an lies in the mountains and can only be reached on foot; there are no roads leading to the village. The day after your arrival, trek through the terraces with a guide. Cross through several mountain passes filled with paddy-fields and water wheels. Watch farmers ploughing the fields with buffalos, women standing knee high in mud wearing traditional dress and meet the Longhair Ladies, who have traditionally grown their hair and wear it in circles around their heads.

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Lijiang and Dali are both home to a large number of minority inhabitants. The Bai and the Yi minorities, truly beautiful people with very traditional lifestyles, live on Erhai Lake in Dali. Have a seat on a boulder and enjoy people-watching at the market place, go bike riding through farmland, visit remote villages during a trek through the mountains or go on a boat ride over the lake. Whatever you decide to do at the market, on a bike, on a lake or in the mountains, you can arrange it all easily on your own in Dali. Nothing is planned ahead of time and you'll be able to explore it all on your own. While in China you'll travel around quite a bit and you'll cover great distances. Here, in the Yunnan province, you'll travel by land during the day. This China tour is one of our most laid-back and relaxing modules available.

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Lijiang is the most important attraction in China’s most beautiful province. The ancient city centre where the Naxi minority lives is a fairy tale-like scene of canals, bridges, red lanterns and small wooden houses. Large numbers of Chinese come here to enjoy the atmosphere of days gone by. Lijiang lies in the foothills of the Himalayas and is the perfect starting point for a bike ride through the flat area with a guide and nothing but blue skies, mountains and Chinese country life surrounding you. From Lijiang, travel on towards the Tiger Leaping Gorge for a memorable trek (see below) towards Zhongdian and Tibet (see below) or south towards the Bai villages by the lake.

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Are you an active outdoors person? Do you have some spare time between April and October and are you planning a visit to Lijiang, China? Go on an amazing trek through the peaceful Himalayan foothills starting at Tiger Leaping Gorge, three hours by car from Lijiang. During the two day journey, hike the trail with a guide along the top of the gorge at an altitude of 2500m above the Yangtze River. Spend the night halfway along the trail in a guest house. During your trek you’ll pass paddy-fields, villages and of course you’ll see the famous white snowy peaks of the Himalayas everywhere. This is one part of your China holiday that you'll never forget.

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Looking for a tropical beach to spend your last few days in China on? Look no further. Fly to Hainan Island and spend a few pleasurable days at a comfortable tropical island resort surrounded by white sandy beaches and palm trees. Beaches are probably not top of mind when you think of China, however they offer quite a relaxing element to your China holiday. Hainan may not be as entertaining as islands in Thailand or Malaysia; however it has a beautiful beach, peace and quiet and you can even dive or surf here. Temperatures on Hainan are pleasant all year long. There is some rain during our summer; however spring, fall and mainly our winter are excellent for visits to Hainan. End your China trip on these tropical beaches and recharge your inner sun-battery before returning to cloudy skies back home.

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