China tour, Giant Pandas
| country: | China |
| location: | Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors |
| departures: | 2008: 19 Sep, 25 Sep, 12 Oct, 18 Oct, 7 Nov |
| price: | From £2499 (18 days) including flights from UK, domestic flights, accommodation, cruise ship, meals, entrance fees, local guides & service charges plus contributions to WWF & Climate Care. This trip can also be booked without flights |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Experience the wonders of this spectacular country - Beijing, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Shanghai, cruising on the Yangtze River – and be amongst the first to see giant pandas in the wild!
China offers the visitor one the world's great holiday experiences; its renowned sights, such as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and Shanghai’s skyline fully justify their amazing reputations, while the pleasure of observing a totally different way of life will remain with you for many years to come.
Exclusively, we are also offering the opportunity to spend time in the Qinling Mountains, the only area of China where you are able to see wild giant pandas living in their natural environment. The tour starts in Beijing, where you will discover the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Monument to the Peoples Heroes and Tiananmen Square. Close to the city are some of the best preserved sections of the Great Wall, truly one of the world's most awe-inspiring sights.
From Beijing you fly to Xian, once the heart of the Chinese Empire, and now best known for the vast Terracotta Army, dating back to 200 BC, yet remarkably only rediscovered 30 years ago. From Xian you travel in to the Qinling Mountains. This area has only recently become accessible for visitors, and as the area with the highest wild giant panda population density in the country, it offers a unique opportunity to see these beautiful creatures in their natural environment.
After the adventure of staying in the mountains, and hopefully having seen wild giant pandas, you will enjoy three days on the vast Yangtze River. You will cruise past Shibaozhai, Wanxian and through the Three Gorges; before completing your stay in cosmopolitan Shanghai, when you will also spend a day in delightful Suzhou with its canals and neighbouring water villages.
China offers the visitor one the world's great holiday experiences; its renowned sights, such as the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors in Xian, the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River and Shanghai’s skyline fully justify their amazing reputations, while the pleasure of observing a totally different way of life will remain with you for many years to come.
Exclusively, we are also offering the opportunity to spend time in the Qinling Mountains, the only area of China where you are able to see wild giant pandas living in their natural environment. The tour starts in Beijing, where you will discover the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Monument to the Peoples Heroes and Tiananmen Square. Close to the city are some of the best preserved sections of the Great Wall, truly one of the world's most awe-inspiring sights.
From Beijing you fly to Xian, once the heart of the Chinese Empire, and now best known for the vast Terracotta Army, dating back to 200 BC, yet remarkably only rediscovered 30 years ago. From Xian you travel in to the Qinling Mountains. This area has only recently become accessible for visitors, and as the area with the highest wild giant panda population density in the country, it offers a unique opportunity to see these beautiful creatures in their natural environment.
After the adventure of staying in the mountains, and hopefully having seen wild giant pandas, you will enjoy three days on the vast Yangtze River. You will cruise past Shibaozhai, Wanxian and through the Three Gorges; before completing your stay in cosmopolitan Shanghai, when you will also spend a day in delightful Suzhou with its canals and neighbouring water villages.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1-2: | Welcome to China. Our flight from London Heathrow brings you to your first destination, Beijing. |
| Day 3: | Discover Beijing. Enjoy your first full day in China. We have arranged a sightseeing tour of the city and its major sights. You will also meet with a senior representative of WWF-China to discuss their work and the challenges they face. |
| Day 4: | The Great Wall. We will take you to the Badaling section of the wall, located 70km northwest of Beijing. |
| Day 5: | Terracotta Warriors. This morning we fly from Beijing to Xian, where we visit the famous Army of Terracotta Warriors. |
| Day 6: | Ancient Xian. Visit the city’s ancient Bell Tower, Drum Tower, Great Mosque and Big Goose Pagoda. |
| Day 7: | Head to the Qinling Mountains. Embark on a truly amazing adventure as you head to the Qinling Mountains. |
| Day 8: | Foping National Nature Reserve. We head deep in to the mountains to the Sanguanmiao Protection Station, our base for the next three days, as you begin your search for wild giant pandas. |
| Day 9-10: | In search of the Wild Giant Pandas. The Qinling Mountain Range is the area with the highest wild giant panda population density in the country. You will track for the pandas in the company of expert local guides. |
| Day 11: | Hei River Forest Park. Travelling out of the mountains you make your way to the Panda Hotel, which is supported by WWF. |
| Day 12: | South to the Yangtze River. This morning we return to Xian for the flight to Chongqing, where you will board the five-star cruise ship MS Victoria. |
| Day 13: | Ghost City of Fengdu. We commence our cruise of the Yangtze River, including a stop at the ghost city of Fengdu. |
| Day 14: | The Three Gorges. Enjoy another day of once-in-a-lifetime experiences, as you cruise through the Three Gorges. |
| Day 15: | Head East to Shanghai. This morning you disembark the ship and visit the immense Three Gorges Dam. You will then fly from Yichang to Shanghai. |
| Day 16: | Suzhou and the water villages. Suzhou offers the visitor a rare and fascinating insight in to bygone China. |
| Day 17: | Explore Shanghai. Enjoy a guided tour of the city’s most famous sights. |
| Day 18: | Welcome home. Fly back to the UK at the end of what will undoubtedly have been a wonderful tour of one of the most spectacular countries in the world. |
how this holiday makes a difference
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This holiday has been developed in conjunction with WWF-China, to offer a unique travel experience and the opportunity for you to learn about and contribute to their work.
We work with a specialist Chinese travel company and with local tour guides who support our aims, namely to: We have developed these aims in to practical policies with the support of experts at WWF-China, who provide specialist support and advice. The tour provides direct economic support to local conservation and environmental projects, through our partnership with WWF-China. For every passenger that travels US $50 is donated by ourselves to support projects organised by WWF-China to support their Panda Conservation Programme. We have also developed a scheme with Climate Care to offset the carbon emissions from passengers’  international flights. Payment of £20 per person will be made on the passengers’ behalf by ourselves, which will be used to fund projects across the world that will reduce greenhouse gases through sustainable energy or rainforest reforestation. The value of this payment equates to the emissions level of the flight arrangements. We work with a local travel company who supports our responsible tourism aims. This relationship further encourages them to develop and improve their local practices, as a result of the commercial benefits they enjoy by supplying their services to us. We also give practical support to ensure they successfully develop their own responsible tourism policies. We always use local specialist tour guides to ensure that we support the local economy and population and do not simply generate earnings that are returned to the UK by a UK guide. We agree rates locally that ensure they are paid fairly for their services. We ensure that they are treated as equals, are given a reasonable workload and that their working hours are within local regulations. As a result of our partnership with WWF, we are able to arrange a talk and discussion session with expert local staff from WWF-China to enable passengers to learn about the challenges and issues the organisation faces in China and the projects they are undertaking to try and resolve them. This session is also extremely beneficial to WWF-China as it provides them with a very rare opportunity to speak directly to an overseas audience and enables them to ensure that foreign visitors learn the genuine facts behind giant panda conservation in China. We also provide the opportunity for passengers to meet local people, dine at local restaurants, shop at local stores and learn about local cultures during their stay. This provides direct benefits to the communities and destinations visited by generating income for local restaurants, local shops and market stall holders. We also endeavour to minimise any negative impact caused by visitors. We ensure that: |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |