10-Day China Private Tour

Airport pick up and hotel check-in

Begin at Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial heart of the capital, then walk through the Forbidden City along the imperial central axis — 72 hectares of palaces where 24 emperors ruled for five centuries. Climb Jingshan Park for the classic panorama of golden rooftops, and finish at the Summer Palace, strolling the painted corridor beside Kunming Lake as the emperors once did.

Ride the cable car up to Mutianyu, the best-restored and least-crowded section of the Great Wall, and walk the ramparts as watchtowers appear every few hundred metres. Descend by toboggan for a fun finish, then return to the city past the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, both striking when lit toward dusk.

Board the high-speed train south to Wuxi — more than 1,000 km in about five hours, watching the northern plain give way to the water towns of the Yangtze Delta. In the afternoon, wander Turtle Head Isle on Lake Tai, a wooded headland of arched bridges and pavilions where the far shore dissolves into mist.

Start with the 88-metre Lingshan Grand Buddha, approached along a grand ceremonial axis above Lake Tai, then drive an hour to Suzhou. Explore the Humble Administrator's Garden, a UNESCO site where zigzag bridges frame ever-changing views, and end the day on Pingjiang Road, an 800-year-old canal lane still lined with whitewashed houses.

Drive two hours to Hangzhou and meet West Lake, the landscape that shaped Chinese taste for a thousand years — willow causeways, arched bridges and hilltop pagodas. Visit Lingyin Temple, founded in 328 AD and thick with incense beneath old camphor trees, then climb into the Longjing tea village, where terraced hills grow China's most famous green tea.

Cruise West Lake by boat, past causeways and islets with Leifeng Pagoda holding the southern skyline. Admire the 340 ancient Buddhist figures carved into Feilai Peak, then choose your afternoon: the lively old shopfronts and street food of Hefang Street, or the quiet reed beds and waterways of Xixi Wetland.

Take the one-hour train to Shanghai and ascend the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China. Spend focused time among the bronzes and jades of the Shanghai Museum, wander the Ming-era Yu Garden, and walk Nanjing Road down to the Bund — staying until the lights come on across the river.

Get pleasantly lost in Tianzifang, 1930s lane houses turned studios and coffee bars, then stroll the plane-tree streets of the former French Concession. Spend time on both banks of the Huangpu River, and end your final evening on the Bund as the waterfront floodlights come up and the towers opposite light in sequence.

Enjoy a final breakfast at the hotel before your driver takes you to the airport or railway station. Timings are confirmed with you the evening before, with a comfortable margin for traffic — ending ten days from the Great Wall to the West Lake.