12 Days Spotlights of Chinese Minorities

On your landing in Hong Kong, our guide will be greeting you at the airport and transfer you to the 3 star BP International Hotel. The remainder of the day is free for you to have a good rest. The hotel we booked for you is conveniently located in downtown area, so you can have a walk around and get familiar with the surroundings.

After breakfast in the hotel, your guide will pick you up and take you to join the peak tram to the famous Victoria Peak. It can feel rather strange when making the ascent in the tram as the buildings alongside appear to lean to one side and the illusion will tempt you to lean back in your seat in order to compensate. The peak is the highest point in Hong Kong, from where you can overlook the beautiful Victoria Harbor and the Kowloon Peninsula.

The afternoon tour will take you to the Repulse Bay, Aberdeen, and Stanley Market. The Repulse Bay is the most famous beach in Hong Kong, which has clean seawater and golden sand. Aberdeen is located at the southern end of Hong Kong Island, where local fishermen still live traditional life. If you are interested, you can board one of the fishing-boats for a short tour in the harbor. The cost is CNY 40 - 50 per person and you need to pay on the site. Stanley Market is one of the most bustling shopping areas in Hong Kong. You will find all kinds of interesting souvenirs, clothes, hats, silk clothes, and antiques. Most of the shopkeepers speak fluent English, so you can also enjoy the fun of bargaining.

Kindly Reminder: Today's lunch and dinner are not included in the itinerary. You will have free time in which to make your own arrangements for meals, but we still suggest that you have a hearty breakfast in the hotel and take some snacks for refreshment during the day.

This morning is free for you to explore the city. You can walk west along the Austin Road and turn left to Nathan Road to take the subway to Yau Ma Tei station. Leave the station from Exit C and walk to Temple Street, where you can do some shopping and pamper yourself with the local food. Then take the flight to the beautiful coastal city, Xiamen. Upon arrival, our guide will pick you up and, on the way to the 3-star Xin An Hotel, give you a brief introduction to the city and attractions you are going to visit. Have a good rest for the remainder of the day.

Today you will take a day trip to the earth towers in Nanjing and Yongding counties. Earth towers, or tu lou as they are called in Chinese, are the traditional residences of the Hakka in Fujian Province. Since the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279), the Hakkas have built circular castles with earth and rocks to protect themselves from wild animals and robbers. From a bird's eye view, the castles resemble UFOs. The Tianluo Earth Towers you are going to visit include one square, three circular, and one oval building. The Yuchang Earth Tower was built in 1368, being the oldest and largest in China. Although 600 years have passed since it was built, it stands firmly even though some of its pillars lean in different directions. You will also visit the Zhencheng and Chengqi earth towers in Yongding.

So that you may have a firsthand experience of the earth tower and the culture of Hakka, you will have a chance to stay overnight in an earth tower home tonight. However, you need to be prepared for the limited facilities on offer, as there are no private bathrooms or showers either. Should you not feel inclined to experience a night in an earth tower we can arrange for you to stay in a nearby hostel.

Breakfast will be arranged in a Chinese restaurant near the earth tower, so you are advised to take some snacks if you are not used to the local food. In the morning, you will visit the Earth Tower Cultural Village and Nanxi Earth Towers, where you will see various kinds of earth towers, such as triangular, square, hexagonal, and octagonal. Afterward, you will return to the Xin An Hotel in Xiamen.

Visit the Gulangyu Island in the morning. Gulangyu Island is located at the southwest of Xiamen, facing the city across the Lujiang River, and is connected by regular ferries with the city. The island boasts a pleasant environment and beautiful buildings. Gulangyu is also known as the island of piano, as almost every family on the island owns a piano and there is a piano museum there as well. It is also the hometown of many famous musicians. During your visit, you can also have a taste of the local snacks. In the afternoon, continue to visit the Hulishan Battery. In this Qing-Dynasty (1644 - 1911) battery, you will see the world's largest cannon made in Germany and the smallest one made in Portugal.

The morning tour will take you to Xiamen University. Founded in 1921, the Xiamen University stands at the foot of South Putuo Mountain where it faces the beautiful beach, and is recognized as China's most beautiful campus. There you will also have a chance to communicate with the Chinese college students. The students of Xiamen University will show you around their campus and introduce the history of their university. Then they will invite you to join them in a basketball match. After lunch, take an afternoon flight to Guilin. On landing in Guilin, a local guide will transfer you to the 3 star Universal Hotel.

You will have a full day trip to the minority village and rice terraces in Longsheng, which is about two hours' drive from Guilin City. The village is home to Miao people and the women will sing and dance for you in their special costumes. They will also show you a treasure, their very long hair. Women of the village wear long hair from when they are little girls and the average length is 1.7 meters (about 5.6 feet). To the Miao people, the long black hair is a mark of beauty.

After the village, you will continue to visit the famous Longsheng rice terraces. There was limited land for agriculture, so the local farmers started to create rice fields on the mountain sides from the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368). After 680 years, they have brought all the mountain slopes under cultivation and also have created a wonder of mankind. The highest terrace is 1,180 meters (3,871feet) while the lowest is 380 meters (1,246 feet). Standing on the mountain, you will see the terraces, tier upon tier, coiling around the mountains from the foothills to the peaks.

Afterward, the tourist car will transfer you back to Guilin.

Guilin is famous for its picturesque landscape with beautiful hills through which the limpid river flows. This morning, you will immerse yourself in the charming scenery on the Li River cruise to Yangshuo. Upon arrival in Yangshuo, a special bicycle trip is arranged for you to enjoy the natural beauty along the country road. On the way, a local family is waiting for you, where you can communicate with the farmers and experience their life.

The night is free for you to wander along the famous West Street. Yangshuo attracts many tourists with its beautiful scenery. Many foreign visitors fell in love with this town as soon as they came here, so they settled down and opened bars, cafés and restaurants along the main street. Therefore, the locals call the street West Street, a street full of westerners. We have not arranged today's dinner so that you can explore the street on your own and have a taste of the local delicacies or western style meals.

After breakfast, transfer to Guilin city and visit the Reed Flute Cave which is a karst cave boasting various shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. Then a visit to a sea water pearl factory follows, where you will learn some tips as to how to recognize real pearls. You will also have a chance to see the process of stringing pearls into beautiful decorations.

In the afternoon, you visit the iconic Elephant Trunk Hill. As a landmark attraction in Guilin, the elephant trunk hill is a huge rock resembling an elephant drinking water with its long trunk on the riverside. It will be a memorable experience to take photos in front of the huge elephant. Then climb 350 stairs to the top of Fubo Hill to have a bird's eye view of Guilin City. Tonight, an evening flight will transfer you to Shanghai. A local guide will pick up you upon your arrival and help you check in at the 3-star Holiday Inn Express hotel.

Your Shanghai exploration begins with the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, where you can learn the history, current development, and future planning of this modern city. Then proceed to the Yuyuan Garden. As the most beautiful ancient garden in Shanghai, Yuyuan Garden, constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), is famous for its beautiful ponds, stone bridges and artificial hills, traditional Chinese buildings with painted pillars and carved beams, and Ming-Dynasty furniture. Your guide will also show you around the bustling Yuyuan Market where you can find delicious local snacks and souvenirs. Then visit a silk factory to see the process of making raw silk into beautiful silk fabric.

After lunch, continue your visit to the Bund. The guide will give you an introduction to the Bund and leave some free time for you to explore it. Standing on the Bund, you will see how the old buildings on the west bank are in striking contrast to the modern skyscrapers on the east bank of the Huangpu River. Another interesting contrast you will see today is in Tianzifang Art Zone, where old-style buildings meet with modern arts but make a perfect combination. After dinner, a fantastic acrobatic show will be the highlight of this evening.

Today your guide bids farewell to you at the airport for your homebound flight. We wish you a smooth trip home and hope to meet your on your next visit to China sometime in the future!

Kindly note: Shanghai is a busy international port from where visitors, by direct or transit air routes, can reach about 170 international destinations including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Hawaii in USA, London in UK, Frankfurt and Munich in Germany, Melbourne, Keynes, and Sydney in Australia, Singapore, and Mexico City in Mexico. Moreover, in travel peak season, there will be more flights to hot destinations, such as Saipan Island, Ho Chi Minh City, Phuket, and Kuala Lumpur. We shall be delighted to arrange domestic train journeys or flights for your should you wish to extend your trip or make a transit to other cities in China.