Grand Six-City Panorama — 21 Days

Arrive in Beijing and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to rest after the flight or take a first walk in the neighbourhood; Beijing has served as China's capital for much of the past eight centuries.

Begin at Tian'anmen Square, the vast ceremonial heart of the capital, then enter the Forbidden City, the Ming- and Qing-dynasty palace of twenty-four emperors. Climb Jingshan Park for the overlooking view and finish at the Summer Palace, the Qing court's lakeside retreat around Kunming Lake.

Travel to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, a Ming-dynasty stretch (1404) of watchtowers along the ridgelines. Your guide explains how the wall defended the capital. On the return, view the Bird's Nest — the 2008 Olympic stadium — from the outside.

Visit the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors offered annual harvest rites within the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, then walk Beihai Park, a lakeside imperial garden laid out in the Yuan dynasty around a central white-dagoba island. Later explore the Qianmen hutong.

Take the high-speed train west to Xi'an, the Tang capital and Silk Road terminus. Visit Daci'en Temple and its Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 to house Buddhist scriptures from India, then stroll Tang Paradise Never Night City, a district echoing Tang-era nightlife.

Stand before the Terracotta Army, the clay guard buried about 210 BCE for China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Walk the Xi'an Ancient City Wall, a Ming rampart of 1370 enclosing the old town, browse the Muslim Quarter, and see the Bell and Drum Towers from the outside.

Board the high-speed train southwest to Chengdu, the Sichuan capital on the fertile plain. The day is free for you to rest or explore the city's teahouses and street life at your own pace ahead of the panda visit tomorrow.

Visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding to watch the pandas and learn about conservation. Sip gaiwan tea in People's Park, then walk Jinli Ancient Street, a Qing-style lane of shops and snacks beside the Wuhou Shrine.

Travel to Leshan to see the 71-metre Giant Buddha carved into a cliff between the 8th and 9th centuries to calm the meeting of three rivers. On the way back, stop at Huanglongxi Ancient Town, a riverside settlement of Ming-Qing lanes and old stone bridges.

Take the high-speed train to Zhangjiajie and ascend Tianmen Mountain by cable car to the glass skywalk on the cliff face, then pass through Tianmen Cave, a natural arch worn through the rock. Your guide explains the geology of the karst massif.

Enter Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and ride the Bailong Elevator, a 326-metre outdoor glass lift, to the sandstone pillars. Your guide points out Avatar Hallelujah Mountain, the peak whose floating-rock form inspired the film's scenery, and explains how erosion shaped the columns.

Board the high-speed train to Chongqing, the mountainous Yangtze port where the Jialing and Yangtze meet. The evening is free to rest or sample the city's hotpot and riverside night scene after the journey.

Wander Ciqikou Ancient Town, a Ming-Qing riverside lane of teahouses, then watch the Liziba light-rail train pass through a building. Cross the Yangtze on the cableway, view Kuixinglou's elevated walkway, and finish at Hongyadong, the stilt-house quarter lit along the cliff.

Spend the morning at leisure in Chongqing, then board your Yangtze cruise ship in the afternoon and settle into your cabin as the vessel casts off. The evening is spent on the river as you begin the passage upstream through the gorges.

Call at Fengdu Ghost City, a hillside complex of temples and statues built around the Chinese folk belief in the afterlife and the underworld court. Your guide explains the symbolism of the gates and halls as you walk the terraces above the river.

Visit Baidi City, the riverside stronghold where the Shu king Liu Bei entrusted his heir to Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms era, set above the gorges. Later take a small boat up the Shennong Stream, a clear tributary lined with cliff walls and traditional village life.

Sail past the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydropower project completed in 2012, and learn how the locks raise and lower vessels between the reservoir and the river. The cruise ends at Yichang, where you disembark and transfer to your hotel.

Fly east to Shanghai and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free; your guide suggests an evening walk along the Bund for its lit skyline, a relaxed way to meet the city before tomorrow's tour.

Tour Yu Garden, a Ming-dynasty scholar's garden of rockery and pavilions, then walk Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street and the lane workshops of Tianzifang. Visit Xintiandi's restored shikumen houses and finish at the Riverside Greenbelt for the open view across the Huangpu.

Travel to Suzhou to visit the Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest of its classical gardens and a model of Song-Ming design with pond, pavilion and scholar's stone. Walk Shantang Street and the canals of Tongli Water Town before returning to Shanghai in the evening.

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight, closing the twenty-one-day journey. Your driver and guide see you through to check-in, and you leave from Shanghai with six cities, the Yangtze gorges and the gardens of Suzhou behind you.