CHINA MULTI -CENTRES
Itinerary suggestions
WALL-TO-WALL CHINA
China is vast and nearly impossible to cover in a single trip. That’s why it lends itself to multi-centre itineraries – but which stops should you include for your client? Laura Gelder looks at the options
Classic Introduction
SHANGHAI – XI’AN – BEIJING This three-city itinerary has an emphasis on culture and urban delights such as shopping and dining. Shanghai is China’s business powerhouse, with a plethora of quality international hotels. Top sights include the Bund, a riverfront walkway backed by grand historic buildings. Visitors can gaze across the Huangpu River to the space-like skyscrapers of Pudong. Then there’s the tree-lined French
Concession district; the peaceful pagodas and fi sh ponds of Yuyuan Garden; and the Jade Buddha Temple. An easy day trip from Shanghai is Zhujiajiao, a Chinese Venice of canals criss-crossed with stone bridges and sided by whitewashed houses with red lanterns hanging from their upward-facing eaves.
Above: The Great Wall of China Right: Xi’an’s Terracotta Army
For a two-night add-on suggest Hangzhou, famous for its beautiful West Lake which holds impressive illuminations shows. Xi’an is one of the great ancient capitals
of China and visited for its hundreds of tombs, mausoleums and pagodas from the various dynasties that have ruled the city. The centre attraction of the walled city is its Terracotta Army. The sculptures date back to 210 BC and inside the three pits, which are still being excavated, are thought to be some 8,000 soldiers and 670 horses.
China’s capital, Beijing, is a stark contrast between slick modern architecture such as the Olympic stadium, the Bird’s Nest, austere homages to the Communist Party like Tiananmen Square and ancient relics like the Forbidden City.
Other ‘must-see’ recommendations include the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace and the city’s (fast-disappearing) hutongs – traditional courtyard residences. Suggest Chinese opera and acrobatics shows for evening
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entertainment. Just outside Beijing are the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China.
City and Beach stop HONG KONG – MACAU – SANYA One or two of China’s most cosmopolitan cities, along with a tropical beach resort. This combination works as an extended stopover to a trip Down Under.
Hong Kong is known for its magnifi cent natural harbour surrounded by sun- blocking skyscrapers. The home of Dim Sum, it has a fabulous dining and bar scene, plus
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