10 days from $1599*

Includes airfare, fuel surcharges, great hotels, transfers, many meals, touring and more!

Taste of China

If 2008 is your year to visit China, you won't want to miss this wonderful opportunity to see it's most popular three cities at an amazing tour price.China has become one of the most attractive travel destinations in the world, where you'll find impressive modern achievements, fast cars and computers within an ancient and incredibly rich culture whose recorded history dates back 5,000 years. Beijing, China's capital and, host of the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Shanghai, often called the "Paris of the East," are probably the most dynamic cities in the world. And Xi'an, which at first glance looks like any other large industrial city, is actually the site of one of the world's most important archeological treasures: the army of 2,200-year-old terra-cotta soldiers including more than 8,000 life-size ceramic soldiers, chariots and horses buried there to protect the tomb of the first Qin emperor. But don't wait too long to reserve your spot. At prices this low, our tour will sell out quickly!

Our Touring Program

Passengers on 2007 departures follow a slightly different itinerary.

Day 1: Depart USA. Depart just after midnight aboard your Air China wide-body non-stop flight to Beijing

Day 2: Arrive in Beijing. Arrive early this morning in Beijing, China's historic and cultural capital. You'll be met by your guide and transferred to Tiananmen Square for a brief overview and a complimentary group photo. Afterward you will proceed to the Lama Temple. The Lama Temple (or Palace of Peace and Harmony Lama Temple) is located in the northeast section of Beijing and features five large halls and five courtyards. The temple houses a treasury of Buddhist art, Tibetan-style murals and has served as both an Imperial Palace as well as a lamasery (a monestary for Tibetan Buddhist monks). You will than proceed to your hotel in the center of Beijing, within short distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

After an orientation briefing by your guide, the rest of the day is yours to explore Beijing on your own. Or, take advantage of an optional afternoon tour which begins with lunch. Afterware, onto the Summer Palace, the quintessential Chinese garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site ranked among the most noted classical gardens of the world.

Continue your tour to the Panda Zoo, dedicated to the preservation of this endangered (and adorable) species of bear, of which only about 2000 remain in the wild ($35 per person). Beijing International Hotel.

Day 3: Forbidden City. This morning visit the Forbidden City, located at the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing where it served as the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and Qing Dynasties. Known as the Palace Museum today, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world and was declared a World Heritage site in 1987. End your morning tour with a visit to a traditional silk carpet factory and enjoy an included lunch.

After lunch, the balance of the day is at leisure to explore Beijing on your own or take advantage of a very special and unique optional tour to Gaobeidian Village, a picturesque community where you will visit a Chinese ancient Piano Museum, a local Disabled Recovery Center.  Later, visit a typical Chinese school or kindergarten to see for yourself how children are taught in China. The highlight of this very special tour is an opportunity to join a village family in preparing and sharing a traditional Chinese dinner ($43 per person including dinner). (B,L)

Day 4: Great Wall of China & Ming Tombs. Depart after breakfast on a full day included excursion to the only man-made structure visible from the moon, the Great Wall of China. Enroute, you will visit a Jade factory with a presentation and time for some shopping. The Great Wall follows a ridge of barren hills and stretches at least 3,750 miles (6,000 km). Construction of the Great Wall, which spanned more than two thousand years, began between the 7th and 6th century BC and continued through the Ming Dynasty. The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth, but during the Ming Dynasty, bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were transported by men carrying them on their backs or by donkeys, mules and even goats, which had bricks tied to their heads before being driven up a mountain.

Enjoy an opportunity to mount the ramparts of this ancient wonder before proceeding to the Ming Tombs, burial site of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In over 200 years, between 1409 and 1644, tombs were built over an area of 40 square kilometers. Each tomb is located at the foot of a separate hill and is linked with the other tombs by a road called the Sacred Way. A massive stone archway, built in 1540 at the southern end of the Sacred Way, is decorated with designs of clouds, waves and divine animals. (B,L)

Day 5: Beijing. Enjoy a day to explore Beijing on your own. Your hotel is centrally located in the heart of Beijing, close to major attractions, restaurants and shopping. You can also choose an optional full day tour to the Hutongs of Beijing followed by the Temple of Heaven, with lunch included. For those who want to explore the way the Chinese live and have lived for centuries, a jaunt down the intricate maze of Beijing's Hutongs is essential. These ancient, labyrinthine alleys or lanes are still an important feature in the urban landscape of Beijing, where houses along Hutongs still occupy one third of the total area, providing housing for half the population and providing yet another example of Beijing as an ancient yet modern city.

The Temple of Heaven, the most holy of Beijing's Imperial temples, is the place where Chinese Emperors came to worship heaven and to pray for a good harvest, since a bad harvest could be interpreted as the Emperor's fall from heavenly favor and threaten the stability of his reign. The 6-meter-high walls surrounding the temple take a square shape to the south and a semi-circular one to the north. The main buildings in the temple are circularly shaped. This pattern represents an ancient belief that heaven was round while earth square, and this pattern is quite architecturally unique. The whole complex, gorgeously painted and set off by thousands of pine and cypress trees, expressing a harmonious atmosphere as if heaven and earth are integrated into one. You will also pay a visit to the famous DIY shopping place of the Pearl Market ($55 per person).  Tonight an Optional Peking Duck dinner followed by the show the Legend of Kung Fu. This is a special Shaolin Kung Fu Martial Arts demonstration featuring music and stage affects ($46 per person). (B)

Day 6: Beijing/Xi'an. After an early breakfast, transfer to the airport for your flight to Xi'an. Upon arrival, board your touring coach and drive to the site of the famous Terra Cotta army, among the most important archeological discoveries of modern times.

Except for its old city wall, some 8 mi/12 km around, Xi'an looks like any other large industrial city. However, it holds an important archeological treasure, the Qin Army Vault Museum, home to the army of 2,200-year-old terra-cotta soldiers unearthed 25 mi/40 km east of town. More than 8,000 life-size ceramic soldiers, chariots and horses have been uncovered-only a fraction of the total buried there to protect the tomb of the first Qin emperor.

Each soldier is based on an actual person of the time, and all segments of Chinese society are represented. The statues remain where they were uncovered, protected by a large (3.7-acre/1.5-hectare) hangar-like hall. Individual soldiers can be studied more closely in a museum exhibit in an adjacent building. Xi'an Aurum International Hotel (B,L).

Day 7: Xi'an. Day at leisure or join an optional full day tour with lunch visiting the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the Provincial Museum, the City Wall and the Grand Mosque. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was originally constructed in 625 A.D. and now stands 210ft tall. The Provincial Museum covers over 16 acres of land and houses over 370,000 exhibits such as stone tools used by ancient man, samples of ancient pottery and exhibits from China's past Dynasties as well as a visit to a local ancient Chinese Furniture Factory ($57 per person).  This evening, enjoy an optional Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty dance performance ($40 per person).

Day 8: Xi'an/Shanghai. Transfer to the airport and fly to Shanghai, China's most modern city, often called "Paris of the East." Upon arrival, board your touring coach for an afternoon panoramic tour of this bustling, exciting city. Proceed to your hotel for check in. Your hotel is located in the center of Shanghai, near the Bund. This evening, take advantage an optional evening of dinner followed by an exciting acrobatics show ($30 per person). Broadway Mansion Hotel (B,L)

Day 9: Shanghai. Enjoy a final day in Shanghai to explore on your own. Or, join an optional tour to Suzhou which includes lunch and a farewell dinner. Suzhou is China's well-known "city of gardens" where the art of gardening has evolved over more than 1, 500 years. There were once over 200 gardens in the city, and an impressive 69 of them are still in well-preserved today. You'll visit the Master of Nets Garden (1140 AD), which has been duplicated at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Lingering Garden. Continue to the National Embroidery Institute, established in 1957 to preserve and further the study of silk embroidery, an important activity in Suzhou for more than 1,000 years and the Water Gate, one of the eight gates of Suzhou built by Wu Zixu and named "Water City Gate" because of its special defense position and usage ($70 per person). (B)

Day 10: Shanghai/USA. Morning at leisure or join an optional half day tour including lunch to some of Shanghai's most fascinating places. Begin at the Shanghai Museum of ancient Chinese art, which possesses a collection of 120,000 precious works. Its rich and high-quality collection of ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy is known throughout the world.

Continue to the Jade Buddha Temple, which houses two exceptional Buddha statues, each exquisitely carved from a single piece of white jade. The temple's architectural design is also very impressive ($35 per person). Later today, transfer to the airport to board your return flight to the USA. Your exciting journey comes to an end as you arrive in the USA later today. (B)

Optional Tours in China

To take full advantage of your visit to China, we offer a special, discounted optional tours package to other "must see" sites. These are not "seat in coach" tours that pick up passengers in various hotels. All the optional tours we offer, including those in our special package, are operated for Friendly Planet groups only and are specially priced.

The special discounted optional tours package price is available when booked and prepaid in the USA.

Optional Tours Package Includes:

• Full daytour of the Hutongs of Beijing & Temple of Heaven with lunch (Day 5)
• Evening Xi'an Dumpling Dinner plus Tang Dynasty Dance Performance (Day 7)
• Full Day tour to Suzhou including lunch and a farewell dinner (Day 9)

Optionals Package Price, per person: $135 if booked and prepaid before departure. These same optional tours, if booked and paid in China, will cost $165 per person.

If you prefer not to book and prepay our special Optionals package in advance, the individual optional tours will be available from your guide once you arrive in China, at the prices posted in our itinerary. Other optional tours, mentioned above in our itinerary, will also be available to you in China. Payment for other optionals purchased in China must be made in U.S. (or equivalent in Chinese currency), in cash.

Destination FAQs

For quick answers to Frequently Asked Questions about travel to China, click here.

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Taste of China
Included Features

• Round trip flights from Los Angeles via Air China non-stop jet service including fuel surcharges (flight schedule)

• All intra-China flights and ground transportation

• Deluxe and first class hotels with private bath

• 12 bountiful meals, including 8 American buffet breakfasts plus 4 lunches

• Comprehensive touring program including entrance fees

• Professional English-speaking tour director and local guides

A Taste of China Departures & Prices* Depart Return Book by Jun 13 After Jun 13 2007 DEPARTURES Dec 18 Dec 27 $1449 2008 DEPARTURES Jan 16 Jan 25 $1099 Jan 30 Feb 8 $1099 Feb 13 Feb 22 $1349 Mar 5 Mar 14 $1449 Mar 19 Mar 28 $1449 Apr 2 Apr 11 $1549 Apr 16 Apr 25 $1649 May 21 May 30 $1749 Jun 11 Jun 20 $1849 Jul 2 Jul 11 $1849 $2149 Sep 10 Sep 19 $1749 $2049 Sep 24 Oct 3 $1749 $2049 Oct 29 Nov 7 $1749 $2049 Nov 12 Nov 21 $1599 $1899 Dec 10 Dec 19 $1599 $1899 Dec 24 Jan 2 $1799 $2099

Tour prices are per person, double occupancy, including airfare. Prices in red reflect an early booking discount if you reserve by June 13, 2008. * Prices do not include Additional Taxes, Fees & September 11th Security Fee for this tour of $120.

Dec.18, 2007 departure follows the 2007 tour itinerary.

Taxes & Fees Service Price Additional Taxes, Fees & September 11th Security Fee $120 China Visa* $160

* All visitors to China must obtain a visa. Comprehensive visa instructions will be included in confirmation packets to all passengers.

Optionals & Upgrades Service Price Comprehensive Travel Insurance (Recommended) $129 Single Room Supplements January Departures $249 April 30 and May Departures $399 September & October Departures $449 All other departures $349

Shop & Compare

Our tours may look similar to others you've seen, but we invite you to shop & compare. There are important differences that make Friendly Planet tours the best you can find.

No Compromise on Quality: Despite our extraordinary prices, there are no compromises on our China tours. In all three cities, you'll stay in Superior First Class, centrally located hotels that are noted for their amenities and service.

Included Features:  Your transfers as well as important visits to the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Terra Cotta Army in Xi'an and a panoramic city tour in Shanghai are all included, not expensive extras as in other tours.

Credit Cards or Cash :  Whether you pay by check, money order or your favorite major credit card, your tour price on this tour is the same. No extra cost to charge your dream vacation to China. Credit Card Authorization Form.

Free Comprehensive Destination Guide: To help you prepare for your trip, you will receive a free, comprehensive Friendly Planet China destination guide - a Friendly Planet exclusive - filled with plenty of helpful information about the destinations themselves (including history and other fascinating facts), weather, tipping, local customs, how to dress, plus insider shopping, nightlife and restaurant suggestions, organized by cuisine and cost.

Personal Service: Most important of all, the extra ingredient that makes our tours stand apart from others—the wonderful, personal attention you'll receive from our friendly staff in the USA and our representatives in China —is completely free of charge. Compare our China programs to others, feature for feature. You'll see for yourself that ours are the very best value for money you'll find anywhere.

Visas: A visa is required for travel to China. We will send you all the information, including application forms and detailed instructions, on how to obtain your visa easily and quickly, either in person through a Chinese consulate or at a discounted processing rate through our China visa service.

Important Note: If you are reserving this tour less than 60 days prior to departure, confirmation is subject to space availability. We will advise you within 48 hours if we can confirm your reservation. In the meantime, no credit cards will be debited for deposits or payments until we are able to confirm your reservations.

Waitlisting on Sold-Out Departures: If your preferred departure is sold out, you can place yourself on a waitlist by completing the online reservation form and submitting it to us. Just click on the "waitlist" button, complete the form and click "submit". In the comments box at the very bottom of the form, please write any notes regarding your request, especially any flexibility you might have in your dates of travel. This way, if your first choice doesn't clear, we can try for a second or third choice. We will make every effort to clear your space in a timely way so that you can join us on tour. You do not need to send any deposits for waitlists. When we clear your space, we'll contact you immediately by phone or email, and if you still wish to travel, we will arrange for deposits or payments at that time. We regret that we cannot accept waitlists beyond 35 days prior to departure. If you see "sold out" next to the dates you wish to reserve or waitlist, please note that this departure is now closed, including waitlist possibilities.

Flight Schedule: Click here for a full flight schedule.

Already Booked? Print and complete your Tour Registration Form (PDF).

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* Some tour prices reflect an early booking discount on select dates. Prices do not include Additional Taxes, Fees & September 11th Security Fee.

Though we do our best to provide accurate and up-to-date information on our site about our tours, sometimes oversights and typographical errors can occur. Please confirm all tour prices and details with us via email or phone prior to booking. We will not be held responsible for misunderstandings arising from such errors.