Asia · China · Six Destinations
Beijing to Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin, Shanghai and Hangzhou
About This Expedition
“Designed for travellers who want China not as a checklist, but as a sequence of powerful, cinematic and deeply curated moments.”
This journey brings together China's most iconic cultural chapters with the privacy, pace and refinement expected by ultra-luxury travellers. It begins in Beijing, where imperial courtyards, the Forbidden City and the Great Wall set the historical scale of the country — experiences that never diminish in impact when approached with the right guide and the right timing.
Xi'an follows as an essential stop focused on the Terracotta Warriors — one of the twentieth century's greatest archaeological discoveries, interpreted here with specialist expertise. Chengdu brings pandas, tea culture and some of the world's most distinctive cuisine. Guilin and Yangshuo deliver the landscape moment: mist, rivers and limestone karst peaks rising in formations that have defined how the world imagines China.
The final chapters move through Shanghai's skyline and art scene before closing in Hangzhou, where West Lake and Aman-style stillness offer a calm finale. This is China at its most elegant: imperial, natural, modern and contemplative.
What Is Included
Day by Day
Every day has been sequenced to create a natural rhythm — arriving rested, departing enriched, and never once conscious of the machinery moving beneath you.
“The best journeys are felt in the body before they are understood by the mind.”
Beijing — Aman Summer Palace or The Peninsula Beijing
Arrive in Beijing, private transfer, welcome Peking duck dinner at one of the capital's historic roast duck houses. Day two is given to the imperial core: the Forbidden City with a specialist guide who can open doors — literal and contextual — unavailable to general visitors. The Temple of Heaven follows in the afternoon for a private taiji lesson in the grounds. Beijing's hutongs offer a third perspective: narrow alleys, courtyards and traditional life at neighbourhood scale, navigated at a pace that allows genuine encounter rather than observation. The third day carries the journey to the Great Wall — Jinshanling section, quieter and more dramatic than the main access points — with a champagne setup on a watchtower as the wall curves away in both directions across the hills.
Aman Summer Palace or The Peninsula Beijing
The Great Wall at Jinshanling — one of the best-preserved and most dramatic sections
Xi'an — The Ritz-Carlton Xi'an
Xi'an was the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and the capital of eleven Chinese dynasties — a city whose layered history reveals itself slowly. The ancient city walls enclose a Muslim Quarter of extraordinary atmosphere, with private access to courtyards and workshops not open to standard visitors. The Terracotta Army is the centrepiece: three vast pits containing over eight thousand individual warrior figures, each one unique, discovered only in 1974 by farmers digging a well. A private specialist provides interpretation that reframes the experience — not as a tourist site but as one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the modern world. Optional: the Stele Forest for a private calligraphy session, or a Tang Dynasty performance for historical cultural context.
The Ritz-Carlton Xi'an
The Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an — over eight thousand individual figures guarding an emperor's tomb
Chengdu — Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain
Chengdu has two defining characters: the Sichuan basin's deep-rooted culinary traditions and the giant panda, native to the bamboo forests of this region. The private panda experience is timed for the early morning — when the bears are most active and visitor numbers are at their lowest — allowing a genuinely intimate encounter at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. A private teahouse experience follows: the culture of tea in Chengdu is particular and unhurried, with formal ceremony alongside mahjong tables and Sichuan opera face-changing performances visible through the afternoon. Elevated Sichuan cuisine for dinner, from refined interpretations of classic hotpot to chef-led tasting menus. Guests seeking a restorative version of the Chengdu chapter base at Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain — combining panda proximity with mountain wellness and Taoist heritage.
Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain
Giant pandas in their natural habitat near Chengdu — one of China's most beloved encounters
Guilin & Yangshuo — Banyan Tree Yangshuo
The flight to Guilin delivers one of China's most anticipated arrivals — limestone karst peaks emerging from the river plain in formations that have appeared in Chinese art for two thousand years. A private transfer carries the journey south to Yangshuo, where Banyan Tree sits on the Li River between the peaks. A private river journey on the Li River or Yulong River is timed for early morning or late afternoon, when the light sits low on the water and the valley is quiet. An optional private helicopter flight over the karst mountains provides the elevated perspective of a formation that only makes full sense from above. Private dining arranged against the landscape — a terrace above the river, the peaks framing the view — closes the days.
Banyan Tree Yangshuo
The karst landscape of Yangshuo — China's most distinctive and iconic natural scenery
Shanghai — Bulgari Hotel or The Peninsula Shanghai
Shanghai is the counterpoint to everything that has come before — a city of extraordinary ambition and speed, where the architecture of Pudong rivals any skyline in the world and the cultural energy of the Former French Concession feels entirely European in character. The Bund is approached with an architectural historian whose interpretation of the skyline across the Huangpu — and the buildings on the bank itself — transforms a walk into a lecture. The Former French Concession offers boutiques, galleries and bakeries at a different pace. Michelin dining in Shanghai is genuinely world-class: Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet operates as an immersive experience for ten guests; Fu He Hui sets vegetarian cuisine in a Buddhist garden setting; 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana delivers Italian at its finest in Asia. A private yacht cruise on the Huangpu River, or rooftop cocktails above the illuminated skyline, closes the Shanghai chapter.
Bulgari Hotel Shanghai or The Peninsula Shanghai
The Shanghai skyline from across the Huangpu — one of the world's most dramatic urban perspectives
Hangzhou — Amanfayun
The final chapter moves to Hangzhou — less than an hour by high-speed rail from Shanghai, but a different world. West Lake is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of China's most celebrated landscapes: misty pavilions, ancient pagodas, willow-lined causeways and the unhurried pace of a city that has always prized beauty and contemplation. A tea plantation village tour through the Longjing tea fields introduces one of China's most important tea traditions in its native landscape. Amanfayun occupies a restored village of traditional farmer and craftsmen's houses within its own forested grounds — one of the most quietly extraordinary hotel experiences in China. Wellness, reflection and rest fill the final days. The journey concludes here as it began — with intention, elegance and privacy.
Amanfayun, Hangzhou
West Lake, Hangzhou — a UNESCO landscape of pavilions, pagodas and reflected sky
Where You Will Stay
Hotel · Beijing
Beijing, China
Nestled within the grounds of Beijing's imperial Summer Palace, offering an unrivalled sense of historical immersion and Aman's signature silence.
Hotel · Xi'an
Xi'an, China
An urban sanctuary in the ancient capital, positioned for private exploration of the Terracotta Warriors and Silk Road heritage.
Resort · Chengdu
Chengdu area, China
A mountain wellness retreat combining Taoist heritage, panda proximity and Six Senses' approach to restorative luxury.
Resort · Yangshuo
Yangshuo, China
A private riverside retreat framed by karst mountains — the most cinematic address in one of China's most iconic landscapes.
Hotel · Shanghai
Shanghai, China
Italian design meets Chinese elegance in the heart of Shanghai — an address of extraordinary refinement in Asia's most dynamic city.
Private Enquiry
This itinerary is a point of departure, not a fixed schedule. We will adapt every element to your preferences, your travel party, and the season of travel. Submit your details and a Martins Travel advisor will respond personally within 24 hours.