Beijing

Beijing

Beijing

Xi'an

Xi'an

Shaoxing

Steamed Buns in Shanghai

Shaoxing

Famous Dong Po Pork

West Lake - Hangzhou

Eating in China

Hangzhou

New York/Beijing 

Beijing

Arrive Beijing in the afternoon.  Transferred to the magnificent Grand Hotel Beijing for four nights with its stunning views of the Forbidden City. Grand Hotel Beijing was once the imperial palace and is proudly situated on the former grounds of the Imperial Forbidden City.  It offers luxurious amenities and is equipped with a full health club and indoor swimming pool. After brief rest, follow our local guide to have a leisure stroll at Wangfujing, Beijing's premier shopping and food street. Northern pastries (shao bing), steamed breads and other robust street foods are to be sampled here. Welcome dinner tonight will be at the 160 year old Quan Ju De Peking Duck Restaurant.  (D.)

Beijing

A morning visit to the vast Forbidden City, once the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing emperors. For lunch, tuck into a simple bowl of handmade noodles or Zhajiang noodles, the Chinese version of spaghetti bolognaise but infinitely more delicious, at Old Beijing Zhajiang Noodle King. This afternoon attend a cooking class featuring North Chinese cuisine with the Grand Hotel's Chef Tian Rufu. Winner of several awards including the prestigious Five-Star Diamond award, Chef Tian may demonstrate Shark's Fin with Rice. Tonight we will sample meticulously prepared 'imperial' cuisine at the Grand Hotel Beijing. Complex and time-consuming in preparation, a chicken consommé with Chinese mushrooms is one of the many dishes. (B.L.D)

Day Four   Thursday

Beijing

We spend the morning visiting the Sacred Way, the beautiful avenue leading to the Ming Tombs, and the Great Wall at the even more original and beautiful Mutianyu section. Enjoy a fun ride by Cable Car to the Wall.  Watch this less-crowed area of the Wall winding up and down the mountainsides. In the afternoon, we board small boats, illuminated by traditional red lanterns, to cruise the canals and lake. This evening we will dine at Almuhan's which features Xinjiang cuisine. The fare of the Chinese-Uighurs offers naan-style breads, fragrant lamb kebabs with cumin and paprika and pakora-style dumplings. (B.L.D)

Day Five  Friday

Beijing

We explore the local wet market and herb market for autumn greens and chestnuts and watch the making of fresh bean curd and sesame paste. Lunch on dumplings at the Teahouse - some steamed, some boiled, some crusty and with a host of fillings including red snow cabbage. Try the jujube juice! A free afternoon to explore the Silk Market and do some shopping. This evening we dine in style at the exclusive China Club, set in a 16th Century Qing dynasty palace. In a private dining room we will enjoy some outstanding cold starters, followed by dishes like tender Smoked Duck with Camphor Wood and Tea Leaves and Braised Mandarin Fish, a local delicacy. (B.L.D)

Xi'an

Morning flight to Xi’an. Check in at the Sheraton Xian Hotel, located near the West Gate of Xian's City Wall, and just minutes from the center of the city, this famous 5 star hotel has probably the most comprehensive range of facilities available in Xian. Many state leaders from different countries have lodged in it when visiting Xian. The city of Xi’an, also means “City of Everlasting Peace,” was the capital of China for 11 dynasties and home to some of the most important archaeological finds of the century. It is here that you’ll experience a once-in-a-lifetime viewing of the extraordinary 2,300 year-old terra cotta warriors of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand on the actual site where peasants discovered them in 1974! Dinner tonight will be local traditional jiazi (dumpling) banquet at De Fa Chang Dumpling Restaurant. This famous place is reputable for its dumpling feast of "One dumpling one shape, different kinds different tastes.  (B.L.D)

Xi’an  

Today’s excursion takes you to the ancient the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built around 652 AD to house Buddhist scriptures brought back from India by the traveling monk Xuan Zang, known to all Chinese people as Tangseng, the master of the Monkey King in the famous Chinese story “Journey to the West.” We’ll also see some Tang-style architecture in the many exhibition halls of the Shaanxi History Museum. In the afternoon visit the old City Wall with the South Gate Tower (showing the ancient military defending system and the only one of its kind in China); the Forest of Stone Tablets (It is the treasure house of Chinese calligraphy and the earliest library in the world).  This evening enjoy an elegant Tang Dynasty Theater performance.  (B.L.D)

Hangzhou

Morning flight to Hangzhou where we will stay at the 5 Star Shangri-La Hotel for two nights, set in 30 acres of beautiful gardens and overlooking the serene and misty West Lake. An afternoon visit to the West Lake before attending a session with the tea masters on tea appreciation - its aroma, classifications and premium blends. This evening dine like the locals at Wang Sheng Ji Restaurant on dong po rou, a delicious braised pork (named after Su Dong Po, the 11th century poet-gourmet) and delicate hao chai, a local green. (B/D)

Shaoxing

Morning departure to Shaoxing, an ancient city best known for its waterways, arched bridges (over 500!), pure water and the amber rice wine, Shaoxing Huadiao Jiu. Not unlike a fine Madeira and graded accordingly, the first rice wine dates back to 470 BC. Shaoxing is also remembered as birthplace of China’s first great modern novelist Lu Xun.  We will visit Lu Xun Memorial Hall and Sanwei Ancient Library.  Lunch will be at the Shaoxing Hotel, feature a fragrant, heady Drunken Chicken and exotic wild rice shoots. In the afternoon, we take a Hangzhou cuisine cooking class with the Shangri-la Hotel's Chef, which may include the legendary Fortune Chicken. Among the dishes of a sumptuous gala dinner may be the delectable West Lake fish and Prawns with Tea Leaves. (B.L.D)

 Shanghai  

This morning we take a first-class train to Shanghai. Check in at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel where we will spend two nights. Briefly rest at the hotel then tour Nanjing Road East to Number One Produce Store (a Chinese equivalent to Fauchon’s in Paris) - look out for the Chinese porcini among the 50 varieties of mushrooms! Lunch at Nanxiang Dumpling Teahouse on simple but exquisite crabmeat and pork dumplings. In the afternoon tour the former Colonial Concessions along the Bund and visit the Yu Garden with its intricate pavilions and courtyards dating from 1559. We will dine this evening on delicacies prepared by the chefs at the Lan Na Thai restaurant, located in the historic Rui Jin Guest House. (B.L.D)

 Shanghai  

A morning departure to a neighborhood market. Later, Executive Chef Ho Wing from the Summer Pavilion, will conduct a Shanghainese cooking class on classics like melt-in-the mouth Lion’s Head Meatballs and stunning “jiaozi” (dumplings). Enjoy a cultural excursion to the impressive Shanghai Museum, which features 120,000 cultural relics of the various historical periods in ancient China. Visit the Children’s Palace where talented Chinese children will demonstrate their artwork and performance. Tonight we will dine in style at the chic T8 restaurant in Xintiandi, enjoying some of its brilliant offerings like Seared Mandarin Fish with Sichuan pickled vegetables. After dinner, take a leisurely night cruise of the Huangpu River with a glorious view of Shanghai lit up like a fairyland at night. (B.L.D.)

After breakfast, depart for our return flight to the US, arriving home the same day. (B)

Itinerary subject to change

Trip cost:    $5699 per person, double occupancy; single supplement: $1,120