Itinerary
Day 1
We arrive in Shanghai and take a 12 minute 350km/per hour bullet train into the city ,
transferring to the historic Pacific hotel on People's Square.
The thing I love about this hotel is its associations with Shanghai's old reputation as the 'Paris
of the East'
After a short rest we will visit the former French concession at Xintiandi to lunch at the
renowned T8 restaurant, favorably reviewed in the New York Times.
In the afternoon we'll shop at Hongqiou international pearl, jewellery and accessory market.
Here you can bargain beside buyers from across the world for a dazzling array of jewellery.
Meeting up at 6pm ,we alight on the 87th floor at the world’s highest bar in the Jin Mao
tower.
This new building has achieved iconic status with its design mix of American sky -scraper
and Chinese pagoda.
The top 34 floors house the prestigious Grand Hyatt Hotel where we will dine as the lights
come up over Shanghai.
LD
Day 2
Today we visit the contemporary art quarter of Moganshan, home to more than 50 galleries.
Here Thomas Charveriat of Island 6 Gallery will give us a lecture on Shanghai's exciting
contemporary art scene.
From here we lunch at Shanghai's most famous French restaurant, 'M on the Bund.'
We have chosen your hotel right in the heart of Nanjing road, China's most famous shopping
street, lined with department stores and ablaze with neon.
BL
Day 3
Shanghai museum is a must for any visitors to China: a treasure trove of Chinese decorative
arts , the ceramic collection boasts some of the most superb clay works in existence.
We will lunch at the museum of contemporary art before having the afternoon off .
In the evening we will return to the Bund,visiting two galleries before a light tapas entrée at
the Glamour bar.
You can choose to stay on at the Bund and dine at a host of outstanding restaurants, or return
to our hotel in Nanjing Lu.
BL
Day 4
Today we will walk down Fuzhou road to an area of art shops where you can stock up on the
full range of your chosen media
Pebeo, Winsor and Newton ,Fragonard, easels, canvases, brushes , all at very low prices.
You can also pop into the Shanghai Art Book shop for an impressive range of art books from
around the world.
We'll then fly to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) in the heart of Anhui province.
Tonight we stroll for one and a half kilometres along the ancient street of antique and art
shops, to dine at the Number One restaurant, where we will taste the best of Chinese cuisine.
BLD
Day 5
Be ready to rise early, we head off to the Yellow Mountain. This mountain has been
eulogized in Chinese poetry and painting for thousands of years. Every Chinese aspires to
visit Yellow Mountain at least once in his or her lifetime.
After travelling up to Behai scenic area by cable car ,we will settle into a morning's painting
before heading down and skirting around to Yuping luo cable car , where we'll head up and
check into the Jade Screen hotel .
If you choose, you can forgo painting and hike across the mountain to meet up with us at
Yuping luo.
When all the tourists have left by the last cable car at 4.30 we'll have this craggy paradise
to ourselves. We can paint the 'Welcome Pine ' , the most painted and photographed tree in
the whole of China.
BLD
Day 6
After breakfast we will leave our erie and glide down into the lush valley of Yixian .We visit
the beautiful village of Hongcun, location for such films as 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
'
Thousands of art students from across China come here just to paint this village with its
tranquil ponds backed by rustic Huizhou houses.
We'll have a picnic lunch of Peking duck salad and quail eggs, before selecting a similar but
less touristy village for our afternoon session.
In the evening , it's back to our hotel, carefully chosen for its location ,allowing you to
navigate your way about easily.You are just across the road from Tunxi Ancient Street.This
long pedestrian street was laid out in the Ming period and is lined with souvenir and art
shops.
You can find anything from tiny seal boxes to monumental stone urns, traditional old and
new : coffee houses and restaurants.
BL
Day 7
Today we go to my favourite village, Xu Cun, not so touristy , but for us : 'a painter's dream'.
Here we'll find a beautiful covered bridge and a delightful Ming dynasty tower adorned by
little chimes and dragon eaves. Again Ben Ye from Yin Yang restaurant will set up his table
and provide lunch and refreshments throughout the day.
BL
Day 8
Be ready for a bit of walking.We cable car up Qiyuan sacred mountain and walk past a series
of Taoist shrines, to paint the stunning ' Jade Emptiness' temple .
If we"re lucky ,we will catch the forest dripping with lavender wisteria. We"ll be looking
down over fields of yellow rape flowers , dotted with little black and white villages .
Tonight we spend our last evening in Huangshan dining at a good local restaurant.
BLD
Day 9
This morning we set of for Hongzhou. This city is set beside the 'West Lake ', reported to be
the most beautiful city in the world .[ Marco Polo in 1257]. Though many of its fabulous
houses have been lost, the lake still conveys a mystic charm , having retained three sides of
forested hills and parks. We have chosen some classic water views as subjects .
Lunch today is at a small pasta restaurant with the best seafood clam risotto I have ever
tasted.
After booking into our hotel we will go up to the Six Harmonies pagoda for a commanding
view of the Qiantang river and city beyond.
Hangzhou's traditional industry takes us to the silk market , before dining french at 'Provence'
.
BLD
Day 10
Today we head around the lake to paint some classic little bridges, reflected in the beautiful
watery landscapes of Hangzhou.
In the evening you are free to stroll along the west lake and choose from the impressive array
of restaurants along the east bank.
BL
Day 11
In the morning we explore Lingyin temple . This Buddhist holy site was first established in
A.D. 326.
470 figures are sculptured into the cliffs and worn 'shiny smooth' by he touch of countless
hands.The main temple houses a magnificent 20 meter high statue of Siddhartha Guatama.
At its height , 3000 monks lived here.
After lunch we will boat about on the lake before flying down to Guilin.
BLD
Day 12
We will wake up in the midst of Yangshou's karst landscape.We'll walk down to the Dragon
river, take a bamboo raft to the opposite riverbank and a view across the water to a classic
Guilin landscape .
This evening it's Yangshou town, and "Le Votre" French restaurant : uniquely situated inside
an ancient temple.
BLD
Day 13
At nine o’clock we bus to the Li river. Our painting subjects range from water and mountain
vistas to bamboo groves and boats.
Tonight we will enjoy the stunning sound and light show 'Impressions', designed by film
director Zhang Yimou , who also directed the opening of the Beijing olympics.
BLD
Day 14
Riddled with giant underground caves we venture into the Black water cave, three kilometres
long ,beneath three hills.After dipping ourselves into a pool of slithery mud we wash off in
clear waterfalls before returning to our hotel to change for lunch at the prestigious hotel of
modern art H.O.M.A.This hotel in its park setting, has hosted eleven international sculpture
symposiums , amassing an impressive collection of outstanding outdoor pieces .
Tonight we relax at the Yulong River on our last night in this enchanting landscape.
BLD
Day 15
Our bus takes us to Guilin airport where we fly down to Shenzhen. Before crossing the
border to Hong Kong we visit Da Fen artist village, home to 8000 artists who churn out
copies of old masters as well as original works.
This will be your last chance to stock up on those now depleted tubes of paint .Once in Hong
Kong we check into our hotel before taking the one hundred and twenty year old peak tram
up Hong Kong Island's highest mountain.
BL
Day 16
Today is our last day together .For those returning to New Zealand we check in our luggage
for the flight at Kowloon station.
Then it's a launch to Jumbo floating restaurant, anchored amidst luxury yachts in Aberdeen
harbour .We head straight up to the Top Deck for a seafood feast.
BL
*BLD denotes breakfast, lunch and dinner