Beijing, Pingyao & Xi'an by High-Speed Rail — 8 Days

On arrival in Beijing you are met at the airport by your guide and driven to your hotel. The rest of the day is left open for you to rest after the flight and explore the immediate neighbourhood at your own pace.

You begin at the Forbidden City, the Ming-dynasty imperial palace begun in 1420 and home to twenty-four emperors. A short climb up Jingshan Park behind it gives a panorama over the rooftops. In the afternoon you visit the Temple of Heaven, where Qing emperors offered annual prayers for a good harvest.

The morning is spent on the Great Wall at Mutianyu, a Ming-dynasty section that is restored and quieter than many central stretches. You walk the ramparts after your guide's introduction. In the afternoon you visit the Summer Palace, the Qing court's lakeside retreat laid out around Kunming Lake.

You take the bullet train southwest to Pingyao, a remarkably preserved Ming-dynasty county town ringed by its original earthen walls. In the afternoon you walk inside the old city, where the narrow lanes, guild halls and former banks recall its 19th-century height as a banking centre.

A short drive brings you to the Wang Family Courtyard, a vast walled residence built by merchant clans in the Qing dynasty and said to hold several hundred rooms. You walk its courtyards and carved pavilions, a clear picture of the wealth and taste of Shanxi's trading families.

You ride the bullet train on to Xi'an. In the afternoon you visit Daci'en Temple and its Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 to hold Buddhist scriptures brought from India, then stroll the Tang Paradise Never Night City, a Tang-themed quarter that comes alive after dusk.

You visit the Terracotta Army, the life-sized warrior figures buried around 210 BCE to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's first emperor. In the afternoon you walk a stretch of the Ming City Wall, then explore the Muslim Quarter, where food stalls and mosques reflect Xi'an's Silk Road past.

After breakfast you are collected and driven to the airport for your onward flight. Your guide handles the transfer and sees you off, leaving the morning unhurried so you can depart Xi'an with ease.