Airport pickup and transfer to the hotel. Hotel Royal Pacific & Towers 4* or similar

After breakfast, take a half-day excursion in Hong Kong. Stroll through the village of Aberdeen. Stop at popular Repulse Bay Beach. Climb Victoria Peak. Head back to the hotel and spend the rest of the day as you please. (B)

Spend the morning as you please. Transfer to the Hong Kong station and take a high-speed train to Guilin. Arrive and transfer to the hotel. Guilin Grand Hotel 3* or similar (B)

Travel to the small town of Yangshuo. Take a raft ride along a Li River tributary, visit the local market, and continue on to Fuli Ancient Town. Return to Guilin late in the day for dinner. (B-L-D)

Enjoy free time, then transfer to the airport and fly to Shanghai. Arrive and transfer to the hotel. Holiday Inn Express Shanghai Gongkang 3* or similar (B)

Spend the day in Shanghai, China’s largest city. See the Bund and Nanjing Road, considered the Champs-Élysées of China. Explore the Old City and Mandarin Yu Garden. Have lunch, then take the ferry to Pudong, the futuristic side of Shanghai. Walk along Century Avenue to Century Park. Have dinner in the city. (B-L-D)

Visit Shanghai Museum, then head to the ancient town of Zhujiajiao. Have lunch, then take a gondola ride. In the afternoon, tour a silk factory and learn about how silk is made. Return to Shanghai for dinner. (B-L-D)

Head to Fuxing Park. Visit the former concessions, including the French concession. Continue to Moganshan Road, Shanghai’s artists’ district. Enjoy dinner, then transfer to the station. Take a high-speed train to Xian. Arrive late and transfer to the hotel. Shaanxi Yongcun Hotel 3* or similar (B-L-D)

Head to the site of the Terracotta Army. Have lunch, then tour a jade factory. Visit the Shaanxi History Museum. Savour a lunch of local dumplings before taking in a dance and music performance. (B-L-D)

Transfer to the Xian station and take a high-speed train to Pingyao. Have lunch upon arriving. After touring the city, walk along the ramparts. Visit the Rishengchang, China’s first bank, and the yamen, the district’s former government office. Stroll through the Old Town. Transfer for your stay at a typical 1920s inn. Yuchengyuan Inn or similar (B-L-D)

Transfer to the Pingyao station and take a high-speed train to Beijing. Arrive in the afternoon and head to the Summer Palace in the western part of the city. Enjoy Peking duck for dinner. Xizhao Temple Hotel 3* or similar (B-D)

Visit the Great Wall at Juyongguan. Enjoy free time, then have lunch. Visit a cloisonné workshop. Stop for photos at the Olympics sites (Bird’s Nest and Water Cube). (B-L-D)

Explore Tian’anmen Square. Visit the imperial palace in the Forbidden City. Have lunch at a local’s home, then stop by a traditional market. Visit the Temple of Heaven. Stroll through the Old Town and browse the shops on Liulichang Street. Have dinner and take in an acrobatics show. (B-L-D)

Transfer to the Beijing airport. (B)