AZURE
COLLECTION
invite you to join the ultimate 10-day
luxury escorted VIP tour of
China
Price
s from
£8,69
inclu
5 pp
ding
BA fl
ig
see p
age 4 hts
for d
etails
Majestic
tour
Beijing, Xi’an, Hangzhou & Shanghai
08th-18th OCTOBER 2015
Discover the
wonders of China in
sumptuous luxury
with impeccable
supervision and
unique experiences
Azure Collection are delighted to offer
you the chance to share an exclusive
VIP journey through the heart of China
with the benefit and pleasure of the
unrivalled services of Imperial Tours.
As soon as you land in the “Middle
Kingdom”, you will enjoy the services of
the finest, handpicked China guides in
addition to a western, bilingual China
Host. Our hosts have refined an
itinerary that combines unforgettable
destinations and cultural touring with
the finest available accommodation and
superlative dining experiences.
Throughout this privileged tour there
will be many “Imperial Moments”,
including private viewings and
activities, which will deliver priceless
insights into the romance of China’s
past, the underlying reality of her
present and the unprecedented
potential of her future.
2
08 Oct - Thursday Beijing
VIP Airport Pickup
Transfer to Four Seasons Hotel
09 Oct - Friday
Beijing
Tian’anmen Square
Forbidden City & Chonghuagong Access
Hutong Tour
10 Oct - Saturday
Beijing
Great Wall & Banquet
11 Oct - Sunday
Beijing
Panjiayuan Market
Summer Palace
12 Oct - Monday
Beijing
Xi’an
Temple of Heaven
Fly to Xi’an
Transfer to Sofitel Legend People’s Grand Hotel
Dumpling-Making Lesson Dinner
13 Oct - Tuesday
Xi’an
Hangzhou
Terracotta Warriors
Fly to Hangzhou
Transfer to Four Seasons Hotel
14 Oct - Wednesday Hangzhou
Taichi
West Lake Gondola Ride
Peak that Flew from Afar
15 Oct - Thursday Hangzhou
Tea Plantations
Traditional Chinese Medicine Pharmacy with Expert
Drive to Shanghai
Transfer to Peninsula Hotel
Shanghai
16 Oct - Friday
Shanghai
Colonial Architecture Tour with Expert
Former French Concession
Acrobatic Show
17 Oct - Saturday
Shanghai
Shanghai Museum
Yu Gardens
18 Oct - Sunday
Shanghai
Depart China
BEIJING
No capital in the world can match the glorious
extremity of contradictions that define Beijing.
Here is an ancient city: climb the crumbling
Great Wall, study imperial sacrificial rites at
the Temple of Heaven or wander the painted
long corridor of the Summer Palace.
Here is an ultra-modern city: home to a hightech, intellectually savvy, politically
sophisticated urban elite that flock to the
nation’s cultural and artistic fulcrum from all
four corners of the Middle Kingdom.
Here is a Communist base, almost the last
surviving bastion of Marxist-Leninism on the
planet: Standing on the gates to the
Forbidden City on October 1, 1949, Comrade
Mao Zedong declared the founding of the
People’s Republic from here.
Here too is the runaway engine of global
capitalism, where up-and-coming nouveauxriche chew through fusion menus at
avant-garde restaurants, sport designer labels
and fancy red sports cars.
Xi’an
Mention Xi’an and most visitors picture the Terracotta
Warriors, one of the great ancient wonders of the world,
but Xi’an was capital of China for more than 1,000 years
and arguably a bigger, more cosmopolitan city than ancient
Athens, Cairo or Rome. Its unique position in world history
runs deeper than those 7,000 underground clay soldiers,
impressive though they are.It is also the origin of the
ancient Silk Road. Trade began here and travelled on
caravans along a historical network of interlinking trade
routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass.
Shanghai
In the 21st century, this is where it’s at, the place everyone in the world is
talking about. Shanghai is China’s youngest, fastest-growing, most
dynamic mega-city, boasting more than 1,000 skyscrapers. The only
thing certain about that last statistic is it’s already hopelessly out of date.
To witness the fast-changing global economic marvel of our age that is
modern China, there’s simply no better place to see it than standing on
the handsome historic waterfront of the Bund, gazing across the river at
the 101-floor, 1,614 foot Shanghai World Financial Centre. Almost
everything on that futuristic skyline is less than 30 years old. This
sudden explosion of commercial development has also triggered a
revival of vibrant art and fashion traditions in a city whose brief but
turbulent history combines high finance, haute couture and fine dining
with a harrowing succession of colonial, civil and international wars.
To sample more of its hip international legacy, tour the leafy French
Concession with a historian or better still, visit the city’s newly restored
synagogue. Round off the day with the greatest acrobatics show on the
planet and an evening of double-jointed fun for all the family.
Hangzhou
Lap, lap, lap. Lean back, let the paddle lick the
water behind you. Let the boatsman take the
strain as the zither reverberates through the
mist, around the lake. Sip, swill or swig the
intoxicating romance of a city famous for its
fine green tea, lakeside temples and lovely
ladies.
No city in China is more celebrated by poets,
painters and emperors. Backward baby
Shanghai was little more than a smelly fishing
village when Hangzhou was “without doubt
the finest and most splendid city in the
world,” as Marco Polo put it. Capital of China
from 1127 until the Mongol invasion of 1276,
Hangzhou was once the largest city in the
world, a “paradise on earth” for reputedly
about 1 million residents, beloved by scholars,
writers and calligraphers obsessed with the
essence of a perfect brush strike, rain droplet
or cup of tea. Not surprisingly for a bustling
trade terminus on the ancient Grand Canal,
boating is still a popular pastime here for
pleasure seekers and wooing couples.
3
The best available accommodation
in china throughout the tour
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
BEIJING
The long awaited flagship hotel for
the Four Seasons.Service is
impeccable and rooms stylish and
familiar. Close to the north embassy
district with convenient access to
the airport.
SOFITEL LEGEND pEOPLE’S
GRAND HOTEL, xi’an
The first hotel in a landmark building
in Xi’an. This hotel has all the
makings to become one of the hotels
in the country with private butler
service in all rooms and décor that
exudes luxury.
FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
HANGZHOU
Located on the western shores of
West Lake, Four Seasons’ second
hotel in China draws on Hangzhou’s
architectural heritage to
accommodate guests in Ming-style
pavilions set within a traditional
Chinese garden.
PENINSULA HOTEL
SHANGHAI
The Shanghai Peninsula, located at
the north end of the Bund, evokes the
Art Deco era. Comfortable rooms are
equipped with the latest room
technology featuring low cost, IP
telephone calling and free internet
service.
4
PRICING
The MAJESTIC TOUR is a 10-night luxury
escorted tour that includes international flights
from/to London Heathrow with British Airways
and internal flights in China with Air China, the
services of a China host throughout, entrance
fees to all tourist sites (as listed on the
itinerary), gratuities to the local guides and
drivers, baggage handling, guide & driver
gratuities, hotel & domestic airport taxes.
Meals included (10 x breakfast, 9 x lunch and
5 x dinner as shown below):
09 October
10 October
11 October
12 October
13 October
14 October
15 October
16 October
17 October
18 October
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Basic Tour Price:
from £8,695 per person
based on economy class air travel throughout and twin
share accommodation as follows:
Four Seasons Beijing - Deluxe Room
Sofitel Legend People’s Grand Hotel – Superior Room
Four Seasons Hangzhou – Premier Room
Peninsula Hotel – Deluxe Riverview Room
Upgrades & Supplements:
Single Supplement
Upgrade to Suites*
BA Business Class Supplement
Upgrade to First class
on domestic flights
£2,635 pp
£2,520 pp
£1,565 pp
£955 pp
Tour size is limited to 14 persons so we recommend
you book early to avoid disappointment.
CONTACT YOUR PREFERRED TRAVEL
AGENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS, A FULL
ITINERARY & TO MAKE A BOOKING.
* Based on twin share