China Tour, 11 Days: Beijing, Xian and Shanghai from Istanbul

We meet our guide at Istanbul Airport's international terminal in the morning. After completing baggage and passport formalities, we depart for the Far East on Singapore Airlines flight SQ391 at 13:10. We spend the night on board the flight. Flight details: Singapore Airlines SQ391, Istanbul, departing 13:10. Accommodation: Overnight on the plane.

After a short connection in the morning, we continue on to Beijing on Singapore Airlines flight SQ802 at 08:30. After a flight of around six hours, we land in Beijing at 14:40 local time. Once passport and baggage formalities are complete, we transfer to the city center by private vehicle at around 15:00. Before checking into the hotel, we begin a panoramic introduction to Beijing, the capital of China and once the seat of its empires, taking in its wide boulevards, vast squares and modern architecture. On the tour we pass the Olympic Park area, the National Stadium known as the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube National Swimming Center, and the area around Chang'an Avenue and Tiananmen Square. Our guide shares insights into China's political structure, its modernization and the historical transformation of Beijing. After the tour we transfer to the hotel and check in. Guests who wish to rest after the long journey have free time, while others may join an evening walk along Beijing's well-known shopping streets with our guide. Flight details: Singapore Airlines SQ802, Singapore, Beijing, 08:30, 14:40 local time, approximately six hours.

After breakfast at the hotel we head into the heart of the Chinese Empire. Our first stop is the Forbidden City, home to the Ming and Qing dynasties for 500 years. One of the largest palace complexes in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it reveals golden roofs, vast courtyards and dragon-motif throne halls. Our guide explains the imperial order, court rituals and dynastic system. We then continue to the Hutong neighborhoods, which preserve the city's traditional fabric, walking through narrow lanes and courtyard houses for a glimpse of local life. A short rickshaw ride through the neighborhood is available for those interested. Lunch is at a local restaurant serving Beijing cuisine. In the afternoon we visit the Summer Palace, where nature and architecture meet in elegant harmony. We walk along Kunming Lake, see the Marble Boat, and explore the peaceful grounds where emperors once spent their summers, one of the finest examples of Chinese garden architecture and among the most photogenic spots of the day. We return to the hotel in the evening. Accommodation: JI Hotel Beijing Andingmen, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast and lunch included.

After breakfast at the hotel we set off to explore the Great Wall of China. After a journey of about 1.5 hours we reach the Mutianyu section, known for its panoramic views and smaller crowds. We take a cable car to the top and walk along the wall as it winds through green mountain silhouettes, learning from our guide about its military strategy, construction and role in Chinese history. In the afternoon we return to Beijing, stopping briefly at the Olympic Park to see the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube from the outside. We return to the hotel in the evening. Accommodation: JI Hotel Beijing Andingmen, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast included.

After breakfast at the hotel we transfer with our luggage to Beijing Railway Station. We board a high-speed train reaching speeds of around 300 km/h for Xian, watching the landscape shift from city to countryside through wide windows in comfortable seats. On arrival we transfer to the city center for a panoramic tour. Xian, one of China's oldest capitals and the starting point of the Silk Road, offers a very different atmosphere from Beijing, with its walled city plan and cultural diversity. The tour takes in the Xian City Walls, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower and the Muslim Quarter, where the scent of spices, local markets and traditional architecture fill the narrow streets. Accommodation: Union Alliance Atravis Executive Hotel, Xian, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast included.

After breakfast at the hotel we set off for one of the most striking discoveries in Chinese history, the tomb complex of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who first unified China in the 3rd century BC. After about an hour's drive we come face to face with 8,000 soldiers unearthed from the ground, each with an individual expression, life-sized and standing in battle formation. The army was built to protect the emperor in the afterlife. Our guide describes China's unification, its first centralized state system and the rule of the Qin dynasty. Walking through the excavation site we also see sections not yet opened and the ongoing work of archaeologists. In the afternoon we return to Xian, with free time in this ancient city at the start of the Silk Road. Accommodation: Union Alliance Atravis Executive Hotel, Xian, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast included.

After breakfast at the hotel we transfer with our luggage to Xian Railway Station. Our high-speed train reaches around 300 km/h as we head for Shanghai, watching rural villages, farmland and small towns give way to rising modern skylines through the window. After around six hours we arrive in Shanghai and transfer to the city center by private vehicle, checking into the hotel. In the evening, guests who wish may join a visit to the Bund, where colonial European architecture faces the financial towers of Pudong across the river, with the Shanghai skyline at its most striking at sunset. Accommodation: Charms Hotel Shanghai, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast included. Lunch and dinner are not included.

After breakfast at the hotel we explore Shanghai, one of China's most cosmopolitan and dynamic cities. We begin at Yuyuan Garden, a traditional Chinese garden dating to the 16th century, with its ponds, stone bridges, pagodas and classical architecture, followed by a short walk through the old city market. We then move on to modern Shanghai, passing the Shanghai Tower, the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower from the outside, with an optional visit to the Shanghai Tower observation deck for those interested. Lunch is at a restaurant serving contemporary Chinese cuisine. In the afternoon we continue to the Bund, where 19th-century colonial architecture along the Huangpu River faces the ultra-modern Pudong skyline, with time for a walk and photographs. In the evening we take an illuminated cruise on the Huangpu River to see Shanghai's night skyline, its towers lit and reflected in neon. Accommodation: Charms Hotel Shanghai, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast and lunch included. Dinner is not included.

After breakfast at the hotel we head to Zhujiajiao, a town about an hour outside Shanghai known as the Venice of Shanghai, with a history of 1,700 years hidden among canals and stone bridges. We walk narrow stone streets past wooden shuttered houses and red lanterns, then take a boat tour along the canals in traditional wooden boats, passing under stone bridges dating to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Lunch is at a local restaurant by the water in the town. The afternoon is free: guests may browse local handicraft shops, try traditional Chinese tea at a tea house, or stop for photographs on the stone bridges. We return to Shanghai in the afternoon. The evening is free. Accommodation: Charms Hotel Shanghai, 4-star or similar. Meals: Breakfast and lunch included. Dinner is not included.

After breakfast at the hotel we check out of our rooms. As our return flight departs in the afternoon, the morning is free for last-minute shopping, a walk along Nanjing Road, or a final look at the Shanghai skyline from the Bund. At the appointed time we transfer by private vehicle to Shanghai Pudong Airport. After check-in and passport formalities we depart on Singapore Airlines flight SQ833 at 16:50. After a flight of around five hours we reach our connection point at 22:20 and wait there for our onward flight. Flight details: Singapore Airlines SQ833, Shanghai (PVG), 16:50, 22:20, approximately five hours. Accommodation: Overnight on the plane.

We complete our connection procedures overnight and depart on Singapore Airlines flight SQ392 at 02:15 for Istanbul. We arrive in Istanbul at 08:30 in the morning. With baggage and passport formalities complete, our tour comes to an end. Flight details: Singapore Airlines SQ392, 02:15, Istanbul 08:30.