Silverbird Travel - The Far East travel Specialists

The ultimate holiday challenge where everything is big, including your decision of what to try and see or do in a single trip to a country the size of Europe containing vast cities, monumental sights, huge mountain ranges and endless deserts. The easiest way to cover the vast distances is to fly. Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and Guangzhou all have metro subway systems that make it easy to get around once you are there.

Best time to visit? That depends on which part of the country you visit - in Beijing, Xian and Shanghai probably from late March to June or September to early November. The summer months are hot and humid and winters can be bitterly cold. Along with an assortment of hot and cold weather gear, you'll need to pack plenty of patience and energy too. For all its recent transformation to modernity, touring can still be far from easy and problem free.

Cruise the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River. It is maybe not as spectacular as it once was, in terms of height of the towering cliffs, but it is still one of the many things not to miss. See the archaeological wonder of the Terracotta Warriors on the outskirts of the ancient city of Xian, visit one of the ancient water canal towns with cobbled walkways and willow-tree lined canals or visit Guilin with its stunning limestone scenery.

The sights that can be seen in China are some of the most dramatic and striking and a tailor-made bespoke holiday with your own private guides is an ideal way of exploring this country. Whilst the tastes of China are maybe not quite what you are used to!

There are direct non-stop flights to Beijing and Shanghai from London Heathrow with British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Air China and China Eastern Airlines.

Read the Foreign & Commonwealth Office's official travel advice for China.

Click button above to display the country map. You can then search for a hotel by clicking on the regions within the map. Alternatively click the close button to hide the map and search manually.


	Beijing Venue for the 2008 Olympics; a big, bold and brassy capital it is 80km from side to side and a base for touring major sites stretching back through centuries of different dynastic rule. Beijing has undergone a mammoth building programme with a new airport terminal and subway line into the city and new hotels. A Banyan Tree, Park Hyatt and Mandarin Oriental are all opening in the city. Good shopping and varied entertainment goes with a seasoned choice of hotels and restaurants including the Nantuoguxiang hutong district, a café and boutique area. Dont miss: The Forbidden City, Tiananamen Square, Mao’s Mausoleum, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs and the Great Wall, voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World. And now the iconic Bird's Nest stadium as featured in the 2008 Olympics Explore on rickshaw a few of the remaining hutongs (traditional alleyways)


	Shanghai Futuristic city of more than 4,000 new skyscrapers, including some of the world’s tallest and a levitating train, where 20 million souls chase 21st century cultures of designer shopping and eating. Try the Xin Tian Di area for bars and restaurants. Capture essences of the past in tea gardens, antiques markets and the European-style river front Bund in this gateway to the ancient garden city of Suzhou, about an hour away by train, a tranquil city of canals and pagodas and Hangzhou draws tourists to its museums, temples and romantic views around West Lake. To experience old Shanghai go for a traditional tea ceremony at the Hu Xin Ting Teahouse and visit the Yu Gardens next door. New hotels to the city include the Langham Yangtze Boutique and the Puli Shanghai both boutique hotels Dont miss: Visit the French Concession - tree lined avenues, French architecture and easy to wander around; shopping for the latest fashions or indulge yourself at the Pearl Market; eclectic choice of bars including The Glamour Bar and restaurants, try Ye Shanghai for Shanghainese and Cantonese dishes in the Xintiandi area; the nearby contrasts of Suzhou and Hangzhou


	Central China Beijing and Shanghai are gateways to unique discoveries at Xi'an, this former imperial capital on the ancient Silk Road. Still being unearthed are the serried ranks of the astonishing Terracotta Army warriors and horses at the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Experience traditional hot springs at Huaqing and share the excitement at the Neolithic settlement of Banpo where yet to be unearthed relics and villages have been identified. Yangtze River Cruises - The world’s third longest river, flowing from Tibet to Shanghai, now has its biggest dam, the wonders of both best experienced on a cruise of three to five nights through the spectacular Three Gorges. Industrial Chongqing and Yichang in mid-central China are the cruise gateways. Whilst on board any of the cruises that tread up and down the Yangtze, and there are plenty, all going where you are going and all stopping where you stop, there are talks on Chinese medicine, silk embroidery and the 3 Gorges Dam project Panda experiences can be had either around the Chengdu and Chongqing areas and you can even get up close and personal as a volunteer looking after these wonderful animals. Dont miss: Banpo village; Medicine market; Shaanxi History Museum; climb 15 storeys up the Big Goose Pagoda and the 14th century City walls and Three Gorges scenery and dam


	Guilin Paddy fields, cormorants, water buffalo, fishermen and imposing limestone outcrops or stone forests. The willow pattern scenes depicted on ancient scrolls come alive on a cruise along the limpid Li River winding its way to the village of Yangshuo. If time permits the surrounding countryside is ideal for cycling and walking. Easily combined with gateways Beijing and Xi’an or with Hong Kong, Macau, Guangzhou and the resort island of Hainan. Dont miss: Caves and outcrops of Guilin including the Seven Star Rock cave; a cruise on the Li River to the town of Yangshuo


	Southern China Hainan Island is in Hainan Province in the South China Sea and is China's southernmost island with a balmy climate and year-round warm weather and now with new high-class hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental, Sanya and the Banyan Tree, Sanya Boasting white sandy beaches and clearish water it is a popular choice for those wanting to combine a few days on the beach after a tour of the cultural sights. Sanya, in the southern tip of the island, is the most popular resort area The island also has three world-class golf courses including the Yalong Bay Golf Course designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior, designed in the shape of a dragon's claw with 98 bunkers and a snaking river. YUNNAN Ethnic minorities and wonderful alpine landscapes. From the provincial capital of Kunming you can visit the UNESCO Heritage site of Lijiang. Home to the Naxi people here you can explore the cobbled streets, rivers and ancient architecture. For those more athletic trek through the tropical rainforest at Xishuanghanna. Something to look forward to is the luxury Tangula Train that is supposed to start operations during 2010 and will take you on a five-day/four-night journeys from Beijing to Lijiang, with four-day/three-night journeys from Lijiang to Beijing. Highlights of this journey include the mystical karst landscapes of the Li River, the extraordinary Shilin Stone Forest and the ethnic minority cultures, architectural styles and cuisines of Yunnan province. Dont miss: Trying a hot spring geothermal cure for those aches and pains; visit the Tong Zha Folk village for those wanting to know more about the hilltribe people and Jianfeng Peak Reserve with the largest tropical rainforest in China The Banyan Tree Lijiang for the perfect setting with magnificent views over the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain