China
Not many countries can offer as diverse an array of history, culture and geography as China.
As one of the world's oldest civilizations - with a history dating back more than 5000 years - China continues to influence the arts and cultures of the modern world. The evidence of its grand empire is scattered throughout its lands, from individual monuments such as the Terracotta Army and the Great Wall to fascinating cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and Kashgar.
A country of teahouses, temples and lanterns, the giant gorges of Yunnan province and the rice fields of the south, every trip to China will leave visitors wanting more.
It is also from this powerful empire that the Silk Road was born, creating a vital link between East and West, in the form of a labyrinth of tracks through Central Asia's mountains and deserts. Trading began within the Chinese empire when caravans began transporting silk to the western provinces in the second and third millennia BC. But it was not until the Chinese traveller Zhang Qain forged relations with the tribes of Central Asia in 128 BC - trading the precious material for the regions highly coveted Heavenly Horses - that the Silk Road expanded further west.
Today China offers the modern traveller a multitude of options from trekking through the ancient world to partying in the new!
How to book a trip
What to do in China
Trek the Dragon's Backbone
Guilin
Drive along windy roads through amazing scenery up into the mountains to Longdi village, near Longshen. This region is the ultimate China experience, set high up in the mountains, surrounded with terraced rice fields. Leave the vehicle and walk up to Longdi village, which is located on the famous Dragon's Backbone Rice Terrace. In the late afternoon, admire the beautiful limestone scenery as you drive back to Guilin. For over a thousand years, the Guilin countryside has been a popular tourist destination and an inspiration for poets and painters. These peaks along with Guilin's rivers and rice paddies are delightfully photogenic.
Explore Kashgar Sunday Market
Kashgar
No visit to Kashgar would be complete without a visit to the famous Sunday Market. The market has been at the centre of Kashgar's commercial life since at least the Tang Dynasty. Today a hundred thousand people converge on the town each Sunday. The ethnic diversity of the visitors matches the ranges of goods on sale, with Uighurs, Tajiks, Kyrgyz and Han Chinese trading in goods. The livestock market has recently been moved 7 km from the main market and it is the most vigorous section, with bearded men bartering for horses, camels, cattle and sheep.
Stay in a Naxi house
Lijiang
Tucked away in a quiet backstreet of Lijiang old town and yet very close to Sifang Street, the Zen Garden Hotel is a traditional Naxi House converted into a charming guesthouse. The rooms are distributed on two floors around a central courtyard, where traditional music is played twice a week as a gracious wake up call for its guests. All rooms are tastefully decorated with Ming and Qing style furniture, local artefacts and all feature modern en-suite bathroom.
Bamboo raft in Yanghsou
Yangshuo
Not the dangerous white water rafting of wilder river adventures, but offering more the haiku spirit of mystic Chinese poets, the Li River is famous for its tradition of bamboo rafts and many have now been mororised. Along the Li's wide, lilting course, let your imagination drift out among the soaringkarsk peaks and steep mountain gorges, to add drama and beauty to a day of pure waterbound relaxation. The drift is very slow and you are floating gently down the course of the rivers and across a few weirs.
How to book a trip
Where to stay in China
Buddha Zen Hotel
Chengdu
Located in the Wenshu Temple area of Chengdu, the four star Buddha Zen Hotel offers a chance to stay in a rare Zen...
Bamboo Garden Hotel
Beijing
Located in a quiet lane just west of the Drum Tower, the Bamboo Garden Hotel was one of the first boutique hotels in...
Barony Hotel
Kashgar
Conveniently located next to the Idkah Mosque and within walking distance of the famous Kashgar market, the Barony...
Chengdu Tibet Hotel
Chengdu
The Chengdu Tibet Hotel is a modern hotel situated on the banks of the Funan River, about 10 minutes drive from Chengdu...
Crown Plaza Hotel
Chengdu
Situated in the heart of downtown Chengdu, the Crown Plaza is located close to the city's commercial and entertainment...
Golden Dragon Hotel
Kunming
The four star Golden Dragon Hotel is a 17-story building with 290 elegantly and comfortably furnished rooms. In...
Hyatt Regency Xi'an
Xi'an
This five star hotel is located in a remarkable setting within Xi'an's ancient city walls, close to the business and...
Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong
Hong Kong
The Intercontinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong offers breathtaking views of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour and is situated...
J W Marriott Shanghai
Shanghai
JW Marriott Hotel is perfectly located on Najing Road, downtown Shanghai. It is a luxury hotel offering deluxe...
Jiang Nan Chun Hotel
Lijiang
Lijiang Jiannanchun Hotel stands in the centre of ancient Lijiang, next to Sifang Jie Square and Mu Palace. This four...
Jim's Tibetan Hotel
Dali
Built in Bai and Tibetan style and located in the old town, this Tibetan-Dutch owned boutique is arguably one of the...
Le Royal Méridien Shanghai
Shanghai
Le Royal Meridien Hotel enjoys a prime location in the heart of Shanghai, walking distance to the People's Square and...
Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
Hong Kong
With its superb location on Hong Kong Island, overlooking Victoria Harbour, the elegant five star Mandarin Oriental has...
Shangri-La Beijing Hotel
Beijing
The five star Shangri-La is an award-winning hotel and something of a landmark in the western part of the city....
Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel
Xi'an
Faithful to its tradition of excellence, the Shangri-La chain provides the ancient capital of Xi'an with the luxury...
Xi'an Garden Hotel
Xi'an
The four star Xi'an Garden Hotel is a modern hotel, built in Tang dynasty style around a large central courtyard....
Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
Yangshuo
The Yangshuo Mountain Retreat is an idyllic hideaway surrounded by limestone peaks, traditional villages and rice...
Banyan Tree Lijiang
Lijiang
Tucked away in an oasis of peace only four kilometres from the old town, the Banyan Tree Lijiang enjoys breathtaking...
Banyan Tree Spa Ringha
Zhongdian
Formerly a farmhouse at 3,200 metres above sea level, the Banyan Tree Spa in Ringha offers a unique experience for the...
Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel
Dunhuang
Situated against the backdrop of the picturesque Mingsha Sand Dunes, the Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel combines historic...
How to book a trip
Suggested Itineraries
How to book a trip
China Travel Guide
Chengdu
Chengdu is situated in the middle of Sichuan Province, high on the Sichuan Plain. Visitors can easily bicycle across this enchanting, tree-lined city and visit the River View Pavilion, the Sichuan Provincial Museum, and numerous shops selling Chendu's justly famous silk embroidery and bamboo goods. The Baoguangsi Monastery an ancient but still active monastery is also worth a visit. Sichuan province is Giant Panda country and you can visit the panda breeding centre near Chengdu, or walk through the mountain forests of Wolong reserve in search of the pandas. Both sites have conservation and breeding centres, where you can learn about and view this rare mammal.
Yunnan
Yunnan was named ‘South of the Clouds’ because it lies below the Tibetan plateau and the Province of Sichuan, where clouds and rain predominate. It stretches down from the northern snow mountains forming the watersheds between the great rivers running south out of Tibet; the Salween on the Burmese border, the Mekong and the Yangtze which, just above Lijiang, turns north running through a cleft in the mountains known as ‘Tiger Leaping Gorge’. The Province extends down through the temperate central region around Kunming, into the tropical south to the borders of Laos and Vietnam, this area known as Xishuangbanna, meaning ‘one thousand rice fields’. China has 56 recognised nationalities; the Han comprise 92% but the other 8% reside in 60% of the land and Yunnan has the greatest physical, cultural and ethnic diversity of all the provinces.
Emeishan
Travelling by road south west of Chengdu is Mt Emishan one of China's four Holy Buddhist Mountains. Mt Emei is famous the world over for its deep forests, dancing waterfalls, and snow-capped Golden Summit, reaching more than 10,000 feet into the sky. On route to Emishan you can take a boat trip to see the Grand Buddha, carved into the hillside and standing proudly 229 feet.
Wolong Nature Reserve
The Wolong Nature Reserve is one of the last strongholds of the giant panda. Nestled at 1,980m in the lush mountains of Sichuan Province the reserve is a conservation and research centre and cares for 65 giant pandas, 45 having been bread in captivity and 20 rescued from the wild.
Dali
Yunnan province in the southwest region of China is a traveller’s delight. One of the gems is the town of Dali, lying on the western edge of Erhai Lake with the imposing backdrop of the Cangshan Mountains. This autonomous region is home to the colourful Bai people and other minority groups such as the Naxi and Miao. There is plenty to see in Dali, stroll through the old town and see the local Bai houses, whose architecture features stone walls, grey tiled roofs, doors and windows carved with dragon and phoenix patterns and small gardens.
Dunhuang
Dunhunag was once a very important staging point, the last stop for the camel caravans before the gruelling journey though the desert. Located in Gansu Province, Dunhuang is a small oasis city surrounded by desert and located at the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. It was from here that the Silk Road divided into its northern and southern routes and Dunhuang was an important trade route. During the first century BC, Dunhuang was the most westernmost outpost of China and the great wall was extended to here. Dunhuang's fame however is largely due to the Mogao Grottoes, which are the world's richest treasure trove of Buddhist manuscripts, wall paintings and statues.
Jiayuguan
Jiayuguan marked the western end of the Great Wall and today it is still a symbol of the western boundaries of China. It is located at the end of a strip of land known as the Hexi Corridor. In ancient times Jiayuguan was known as the 'mouth' of China while the Hexi Corridor was referred to as the 'throat'. Jiayuguan Fort is one of the quintessential images of western China and was built in 1372 to guard the pass between the snow-capped Qilian Shan and Hei Shan peaks. It is a splendid construction. Outside of the town are the Wei Jin Tombs which date from between the 3rd and 5th centuries AD. They contain interesting wall paintings depicting various social activities of the time.
Kashgar
Known as Kashi in Chinese, Kashgar is China’s most westerly city, situated 665 miles west of Urumqi and 80 miles east of China's border with Kyrgyzstan in the former Soviet Union. A visit to Kashgar is like going back in time, to the era of the Silk Road. Its narrow maze of alleyways and open air markets display all the myriad faces of Central Asia with Uighur, Kirghiz, Tadjik and Kazakh merchants and locals, all busy haggling over camels and sheep, brightly coloured fabrics, fur hides and hats, handmade carpets and knives. The majority of the people in Kashgar are Uighurs who still wear their traditional costumes and lead a centuries old way of life.
Tashkurgan
Tashkurgan is the main town of the Taxkorgam region in the Pamir mountains and has long been a key gateway to China and its western frontier. Today as well as being an important stopping off point for on the Karakoram Highway it is also a market town where traders gather to buy and sell sheep, wool and woollen goods - particularly carpets. The town itself has a pleasant atmosphere and is surrounded by orchards. The majority of the population in the town is Tadjik, a Persian speaking people, although Chinese and Uighur are widely spoken. The Tadjiks have maintained a long standing friendship with the Han people, dating back to 643AD when a Tang Dynasty monk, Xuan Zang, brought home Buddhist scriptures and stopping off here listened to the local Tadjik fairytales.
Kunming
Kunming is skirted on three sides by mountains, with one side opening onto Dianchi Lake. The city is nicknamed the City of Spring, due to the fact that it is covered with verdant trees and plants all year round. Kunming is endowed with a pleasant climate and here you can find more than 400 kinds of flowers. The city is world-famous for its abundance of camellias, orchids, azaleas and Primula malacoides , which can be found in the Kunming Botanical Garden, where 4,000 varieties of tropical and subtropical plants grow profusely. Kunming is also a renowned historical and cultural city in southwest China. In ancient times it was an important gateway to the southern branch of the Silk Road which led to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India.
Guilin
Guilin is hailed by many as the most beautiful place in China and according to a popular Chinese saying, “Guilin’s scenery beats all others in the world.Its shapely, rising limestone towers and crystal-clear waters are often portrayed in Chinese artworks. Adding to its natural beauty are many fascinating caves. The city also boasts other beautiful hills, such as the Fubo Hill, which is supposed to restrain the waters of the Lijing River, and Nanxi Hill that stands magnificently like a huge screen.
Yangshuo
Yangshuo is a relaxed colourful market town on the Lijiang river. Situated in a stunning landscape of limestone cliffs and gorges the town is a good place from which to venture into the local countryside and walk through the villages to meet the local people. The scenic villages of Fuli, Xinping and Yangshuo are great places to relax, soak up the atmosphere and enjoy China. Yangshuo is also China's foremost venue for rock climbing.
Lanzhou
Today a major transport hub and the departure place for journeys into Xinjiang and Tibet, Lanzhou is the first major city along the Yellow River and has been an important military staging post for centuries. It lies at an elevation of 1600m and is walled in by steep mountains. There is an excellent museum in the city but the most interesting visitor sights are the Blinglisi Caves. For the past 1600 years sculptors and artists have decorated the walls of these Buddhist grottoes and due to their relative inaccessibility they survived almost unscathed from the Cultural Revolution.
Lijiang
Lijiang is a special place, a shining jewel on the Northwest Yunnan Plateau neighbouring the southeast side of the Tibetan Plateau, considered to be the "Roof of the World". Lijiang is known as the Beautiful River, as it is located in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River.The town was built in the late Song dynasty 960 - 1279 AD and the early Yuan dynasty 1271 - 1368. Since then, it has been the political, cultural, and educational centre of this area. For a time, it was an important trading centre between Yunnan and Tibet, China and India. Due to the town's culture, history and architecture it has been included as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
Zhongdian
Located in the northwest of Yunnan Povince, Zhongdian is a traditional Tibetan town. Even Today, Zhongdian County remains an untainted natural paradise which retains a mysterious and bewitching quality. Visitors to the Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture will find themselves in a land where magical tranquillity pervades every inch of the ever-changing scenery. Three snow-capped mountains, Meili, Baimang and Haba, tower magnificently over the landscape. The region is crisscrossed by the Golden Sand, Mekong, and Yangtze Rivers. These snowy peaks form a beautiful backdrop whose beauty is a feast to behold. Mirror-like lakes, scattered across the vast expanse of grassland, look like rich jewels inlaid on a beautiful tapestry. Cattle graze leisurely in the meadows, where exotic flowers and luxuriant grass wave at the request of the gentle breeze. In the depths of the surrounding forests is an exotic world of rare birds and animals.
Shigatse
Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet and is located at an altitude of 3840 metres. Shigatse means 'fertile land' and it used to be the capital of Tsang. Pilgrims are often to be seen travelling through the town from West Tibet to Lhasa. The 600 year old city is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, the second highest ranking spiritual leader after the Dalai Lama in Tibetan Buddhism. Tashilhunpo Monastery was built in 1447 and is on a hill in the centre of the city and its name translates as 'all fortune and happiness gathered here'. In its prime the monastery had over 4,000 monks and four Tantric colleges each with its own Abbot.
Luoyang
This ancient city, which was once the Chinese capital, is rich in historical sites. A good starting point is the impressive Longmen Grotto complex, containing over a thousand grottoes with more than 100,000 images of Buddha and his disciples carved into the cliff walls. White Horse Temple, at the edge of Luyoang was built in the 13th century during the Ming Dynasty at the time of the spread of Buddhism and is also a good place to visit. Lastly South of Luyoang is the home of Shaolin Temple, where China's martial arts originally developed at Shaolin Si.
Beijing
Beijing is a city of contrasts, both modern and ancient, a huge metropolis spreading over 16,800 square kilometres and with a population of 13 million people. Modern Beijing is truly astounding and the last five years have seen unprecedented growth with new office blocks, flats and ring roads and even traffic jams springing up all over the capital. Ancient Beijing is still there for you to see and this famous capital has a history dating back more than 3,000 years. At various times it has been the capital of the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties whose rise and fall has left behind a host of cultural relics and ruins. The city prides itself on having scores of splendid temples, palaces, monuments and old streets and courtyards (hutongs).
Shanghai
This huge metropolis is China’s most modern city, with some incredible 21st century architecture and the world’s first high speed magnetic train. Lively and bustling 24hrs a day, some shops, restaurants and businesses on the main streets of Shanghai stay open all night, under a myriad of blinking neon lights. The scene at the Bund, China's famous waterfront park, is even more colourful and vibrant. As well as varied evening entertainment, and cultural events such as the famous Peking Opera, ballet and theatre, lovers of history will also be delighted with the city's sights and museums. Shanghai never ceases to amaze in all the vitality it shows in its rush to gain international mega metropolis status.
Suzhou
Located about an hour west of Shanghai by train, is the garden city of Suzhou. The city boasts over 100 Chinese gardens and is dotted with lakes and ponds, connected by a spider's web of canals. The canals of the town eventually join up with the famous waterway known as the Grand Canal, started 2,400 years ago linking Hangzhou and Suzhou in the rich, fertile south to Beijing in the north. It is considered second only to the Great Wall as a Chinese engineering acheivment. A rich trading city, Suzhou was also famous for its silk production and Marco Polo reported that all its citizens were clothed in silk while the surplus was exported.
Pingyao
A six-kilometre long wall dating back to the Ming dynasty encircles Pingyao, a strikingly well preserved Han Chinese city on the old road between Beijing and Xi'an. Once an important financial centre and therefore a considerably wealthy city, Pingyao's mansions and courtyards still retain the original features from the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 to 1911) and its urban layout mirrors the town planning and building tradition of the Han people over five centuries. Come to Pingyao after Chinese New Year and see the old town glowing with red lanterns, or anytime to enjoy a stroll through the maze of picturesque alleyways.
Wutaishan
Wutaishan means Five Terrace Mountains and is the northernmost sacred peak of Buddhism. Situated halfway between Datong and Taiyuan, Wutai Shan is, in Buddhist lore, the earthly residence of the great bodhisattva Manjusri. Often depicted astride a lion, he is said to embody the perfection of wisdom. To this day, the temples host Buddhist gatherings, alms meals for monks and nuns as well as temple festivals; one of the liveliest festivals is held on the 14th and 15th days of the sixth lunar month, when demons are exorcised and the Diamond Sutra is honoured in a ritual dance; all who join the parade from Pusa Ding to Luohan Temple are promised blessings. Cradled in the valley formed by the five peaks, the town of Taihuai is the site of fifteen temples and attracts pilgrims, nuns, monks, and lamas from different orders and from all Asia; twenty more temples are scattered on the forested slopes.
Urumqi
The last stop on your westward journey along the Silk Road is Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. Urumqi, meaning "fine pasture" in Mongolian is now a town of one and a half million inhabitants and is world's furthest city from the sea. Since the northern route of the Silk Road passed through Urumqi, it was a heavily guarded fort in the Han Dynasty, and remained so for many centuries. Today, the city is the most Chinese of the Silk Road cities and the most modern. It has few historical sites to offer tourists, except for Urumqi Museum which houses some valuable relics unearthed along the Silk Road and a large collection of ancient mummies.
Turpan
Also known as Turfan or Tulupan in Chinese, it is a remote desert city in the far west of China, one of the lowest places on earth, where rain never falls and summers are scorching hot. Turpan was once an important staging post on the Silk Road and its large oasis produces the best grapes in China. You can see the ancient Karez system of irrigation whereby the melted snow from the surrounding mountains is brought down to the town in underground channels, all dug by hand and stretching some 3000km.
Xi'an
Located in central China in Shaanxi Province is the cultural city of Xi'an, one of China's ancient capitals. Its temperate climate, abundance of rainfall and soft loess soil has attracted settlements since the Paleolithic Era. The Xian area has been the pivot of Chinese civilisation for much of the past 3,500 years and historically was the starting point of the Silk Road which stretched all the way though western China, Central Asia and the Middle East to the Mediterranean Sea. Xi'an was founded as capital by Qin Shi Huang Di, who united and subjugated the Warring States and formed China in 221 B.C., declaring himself the first Emperor of China. The Emperor standardized Chinese writing, bureaucracy, law, currency, weights and measures, and built an extensive system of roads. He also connected and extended the old fortification walls dating from 700 BC, creating the Great Wall of China whose aim was to keep out the invading barbarians from the north.
Yangtze River
The longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, the Yangtze River originates in Tibet. The majestic cliffs and channels of the Three Gorges consist of the magnificent Qutang Gorge, the idyllic Wu Gorge and the treacherous Xiling Gorge. Whether you are cruising up or down stream you will pass through the three lesser gorges. Qutang Gorge, has many scenic spots such as, the Meng Liang Staircase and the Ancient Plank Road. The splendid Wu Gorge is renowed for the "Twelve Peaks" lining its banks and it is said that if you look carefully, a silhouette of a goddess can be seen at the top of Goddess Peak. The largest gorge is Xiling with outstanding landscapes, temples and caves.
Taklamakan Desert
This vast desert is surely one of the most remote and inhospitable areas anywhere. It is also the largest sand only desert in the world. In the Uighur language its name means 'once in never out' and it is thought that beneath its shifting sands lie the ruins of fabled ancient cities. A 500km highway crosses the desert; it was originally built to allow engineers to prospect for oil reserves. Reeds have been planted to prevent the sand from blowing over the road but sand 'geysers' are a common sight and bad weather can make the route impassable.
How to book a trip
China Travel Information
Visa Information
UK Passport holders require a visa to visit China.
Your passport must be valid for at least six months after the end of your trip, and it must have at least one blank page for each visa required. Please ensure the passport details we hold for you are correct.
Please note it is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct visa documentation when starting your trip. Country entry regulations can alter daily and it is always best to check with the relevant embassies for any changes.
If you wish to apply for your visa before departure this can be done through a visa company such as:
Travcour (UK)
Tempo House
15 Falcon Road
Battersea
London SW11 2PJ
Tel: 020 7223 5295
Fax: 020 7738 2617
Email: info@travcour.com
Website: www.travcour.com
If you are travelling on a non UK passport please contact your relevant consulate/embassy for the latest visa information.
Insurance:
Insurance that provides cover for emergency repatriation in case of a medical emergency is compulsory for all tours.
You should be aware that many standard insurance policies may not cover you adequately for all aspects of a Wild Frontiers trip and so we strongly recommend that you purchase a suitably designed insurance policy.
One such policy is the "Wild Frontiers" policy underwritten by Ace European Group Limited (ACE " firm reference 202803), which is available to EU residents (which excludes Norway & Switzerland) through our website or via the insurance company direct on 0845 345 3456. Under this policy there are two different levels of cover available.
Standard policy: a comprehensive travel insurance policy that provides cover for all Wild Frontiers activities, including trekking up to 6,000m. This policy does not provide cover for travel to areas where the FCO is advising against all or all but essential travel.
Elite policy: provides the same comprehensive level of cover as the standard policy. In addition the Elite policy also provides cover for travel to areas where the FCO is advising against all or all but essential travel. The policy will not provide cover for any claims arising from or relating to the reasons why the FCO is advising against travel.
If purchasing the Elite policy you also have the option to extend the cover provided by the policy to include cover for claims arising from a terrorist act in an area where the FCO is advising against travel. You can add this cover to your policy when purchasing online or over the telephone.
These policies are only available to those travelling on a Wild Frontiers holiday.
For more information and to purchase your policy online please visit the Insurance section of our website.
The cover is underwritten by Ace European Group Limited (ACE), and is arranged by Travel & General Insurance Service Limited. Both companies are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Wild Frontiers Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Travel & General Insurance Company plc, details of which can be found at the FSA's website www.fsa.gov.uk.
To contact them please visit their website at www.travel-general.com or call 0845 408 0583.
Health and Vaccinations:
There are no mandatory immunisations for travellers to China though you should be up-to-date with Typhoid, Tetanus, Polio and Hepatitis A. Malaria is preset in some parts so we recommend you seek advice from your local GP or travel centre as to the correct immunisations and preventative treatments.
We also recommend:
• A dental check-up prior to travelling.
• You inform us of any pre-existing medical conditions or medication.
To be on the safe side you can also check on www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk
