Newest First

Special Notes

A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season or a partner's written answer. Here they are, told straight.

• Bookings are not open yet — four things have to be written down first. One, the class of the day-four flight and the two rail legs, booked against the actual fourth-quarter timetable. Two, a written answer from our ground partners on the three fourth-quarter items below. Three, whether this route runs during the national holiday week. Four, Until those items are settled we take no orders and no deposits. Tell us your dates and we will write to you the day it opens.
• Going up and down at Mutianyu — the scenic-area ticket and the full-day private vehicle are in your price. The open chairlift, the cable car and the toboggan are separately ticketed, are not in your price, and are not promised, because their November and December operating hours and stop conditions have not been confirmed with us in writing. Each quote states the uphill and downhill arrangement for that departure date. Plan on walking.
• Bicycles on the Xi'an City Wall — wall-top access is in your price. Whether bicycles are out for hire on your date is stated in writing per order, and walking a section is the standing alternative, which is how this plan is written.
• The tai chi session on Mount Qingcheng — the mountain ticket and the conversation with the resident priest are in your price. Whether the tai chi part sits outdoors or indoors on your date is being finalized with our partners for the fourth quarter and is stated in writing in your quote. The mountain is damp and cold in late autumn and winter.
• Departure dates — no departures between October 1 and October 7, the national holiday week, until the holiday decision is settled: crowd levels and advance ticket locks at the Terracotta Warriors and the Forbidden City are not resolved for that week. Thursday departures are not accepted either, because day twelve would then fall on a Monday, when the Forbidden City closes; if you are set on a Thursday, days eleven and twelve swap places.
• Two timed reservations — the Forbidden City and the Shanghai Museum both admit by timed slot and both booking systems are difficult on a non-mainland phone number, so we book both on a mainland number using your confirmation details. The Shanghai Museum's own published closing calendar is checked against your dates when the departure is set. Our own booking capability for these two is still being confirmed internally, and we will tell you where it stands before you are asked for anything.
• Day twelve is a departure day — the Forbidden City sits in the city center and its reservation slot is set against your flight time, so this day is cut to fit rather than run to a fixed plan. If your flight is early, the palace route shortens to the main axis and Jingshan comes off.
• Evenings on the Bund — strangers on the waterfront who open with an invitation to practice English or to see a tea ceremony are running a bill scam on visitors. Your guide is with you for that whole evening, which is why it is arranged for your first full night rather than left to you.
• Intercity transport — one flight and two rail legs, so a date change touches transport inventory as well as hotel and reservation inventory. The class for your order is written into your quote, and the fourth-quarter timetable on all three legs is confirmed for your dates before anything is charged.
• Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs through December 31, 2026. Because this is a 12-day plan, departures on or before December 20, 2026 finish inside that window; later departure dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
• US passports — the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and 12 days is longer than the 10-day visa-free transit policy allows, so every US guest on this route holds a Chinese tourist or business visa, including a ten-year multiple-entry one. The fee and the appointment are the guest's own and processing time has to be allowed before departure. This route's US position is still in compliance review, and no US order is accepted before that review is finished.
• Entering under the transit policy — guests who entered China under the 10-day visa-free transit policy cannot take this trip, because 12 days is longer than that policy allows. We say so before payment and we do not work around it.
• Confirmation and changes — the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalized with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its own change and refund conditions.