A Culinary Adventure
One popular summary of Chinese food is “sweet in the south, salty in north, sour in the west, and spicy in the east”. During this culinary adventure combined to the best sights your will experience salty in Beijing, spicy in Chengdu, and sweet in Guangzhou.
Suggested Itinerary
It's our aim to make travel less stressful. Your dedicated private guide, driver and car will ready to handle the luggage, transfer and check-in, and ensure your holiday begins in arrivals. The rest of the day is yours to explore or rest. Please ask your guide for suggestions for which of the myriad of restaurants to go to for dinner.
Tiananmen Square is a very impressive place: south and north sides are adorned with magnificent gates, and east and west have a colossal government building and a museum. The Forbidden City continues the imposing proportions; it was built to make the subjects of the emperors feel small.Have lunch at Courtyard 7 Restaurant, whose dishes are a fusion of eastern and western flavor.
After lunch, Summer Palace is a wonderful place to walk it off in its stunning gardens. The nature and the ancient buildings connected by the lake are a very pleasing combination. For dinner, you will taste imperial court cuisine in ancient Chinese garden style Baijia Dayuan Restaurant.
The Mutianyu Great Wall is much less-crowded section than Badaling, but has actually got more dramatic scenery. There is also a lovely ride through the countryside to reach it, and there is a cable car. Enjoy farmhouse dishes for lunch at Xinshuangquan Restaurant near the Great Wall.
Temple of Heaven was the stunning setting for annual ceremonies for good harvests, and now the vast park surrounding it is a meeting place for the locals, coming here to practice taichi, among other things. A special treat is offered for dinner - Beijing Roast Duck at famous Quanjude Restaurant.
The morning starts with a cookery class at Beijing High School, where you will first learn about the ingredients and then how to cook in Chinese style before tasting the end results.
Your afternoon flight takes you to Chengdu in time. Have dinner at Qinshanzhai Restaurant, serving light-flavored and healthy dishes in garden style decoration.
The Panda Breeding and Research Center is a safe haven for these delightful creatures and other endangered species. You get to visit the nursery and see the panda babies.
The Panda Breeding and Research Center has a donation program which allows you take pictures with holding a panda one minute by donating RMB 2,000 Yuan (for reference only). Only 20 tourists are allowed to hold pandas a day. If you want to hold a panda, please tell your travel advisor or tour guide in advance because you must book it at least one week in advance.This program is subject to the availability of pandas on that day. Please bring enough RMB cash as payment by credit card is not accepted there.
After lunch at Baguo Buyi Restaurant enjoying authentic Chengdu food, continue your tour. Sanxingdui Museum is a beautifully presented exhibition of the cultural relics found in sacrificial pits of the mysterious Shang Dynasty (from 16th-11th century B.C.), unlike anything else found in China. Have hotpot for dinner.
Good to Know
Hotpot is a Chengdu specialty and each restaurant has their unique recipe for the broth; Morals Village is especially well known for theirs. Do try the spicy and numb flavor, but we warn you: it can be an addictive experience.
Jinli Old Street is a lively shopping area restored in Sichuan style to continue its history as a commercial center. Wu Hou Temple is not only a shrine to a revered Marquis of Wu but also a delightful garden.
In the afternoon, your guide will take you to the airport to catch a flight to Guangzhou. You will be picked up and taken to your hotel before dinner.
Chen Ancestral Shrine is nearly 150 years old and celebrated for the traditional Guangdong style architecture and decoration, displaying beautiful craftsmanship. Qing Ping Market is the largest street market in Guangzhou, still very authentic place to buy your Chinese medicines, such as live scorpions and flowers, among other weird and wonderful things. Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall celebrates this founding father of the Republic of China.
Guangdong cooking is considered unique among other Chinese styles; especially the use of herbs and spices is done in a more delicate way. Your guide will be happy to introduce Cantonese cuisine culture to you.
Your guide will pick you up at the hotel and take you to the airport to catch your onward/return flight. We hope you have enjoyed your adventure and savored this taste of China.
