Monuments, Then Neighbours

Special Notes

A few things on this route follow the calendar, the season or a supplier's confirmation. Here they are, told straight.

• Connecting and Family Rooms — This route can be booked by travel date. If connecting or family rooms are required, please advise the number of travellers and dates; the specific hotel, room type and availability will be confirmed in the written quotation and confirmation.
• Departure dates — no departures between October 1 and October 7, the national holiday week, when the panda base restricts visitor numbers. Dates are also set so that day two never falls on a Monday, when the Forbidden City closes; if your dates would put it there, day two and the Great Wall day swap places.
• Cable car and toboggan in late season — the cable car up and the toboggan down are in your base price, and they are what makes the wall work for a party with a grandparent in it. Mountain lifts in northern China can close for weather or annual maintenance in November and December. For a departure in those months we confirm both against your exact dates before you pay, and if either is out of service we say so before payment rather than after.
• Sichuan opera programme — The Sichuan opera performance is included in the itinerary; specific showtimes, seating, and backstage access are subject to the theatre's confirmation for the travel date.
• Security screening at the square — Entry to Tiananmen Square requires security checks, with queue times varying based on the day's footfall. The visiting order for the square and the Forbidden City, as well as the Forbidden City booking slot, will be confirmed according to your travel date.
• Internal flights — Days 5 and 9 involve domestic flights; changing the dates may affect seat availability and hotel bookings. Flight numbers, times, and cabin classes are subject to the written quotation or confirmation for the respective dates.
• The farmhouse lunch — On the third day, a home-style lunch is arranged at the foot of the Great Wall. Whether this is included in the base price is subject to the written quote for the corresponding date.
• Visa window — the 30-day visa-free policy currently runs until December 31, 2026. Because this is an 11-day plan, departures on or before December 20, 2026 finish within that window; later departure dates are quoted only after the official renewal is announced.
• US passports — the US is not on the 30-day visa-free list, and 11 days is longer than the 10-day visa-free transit policy allows, so every US guest on this route holds a Chinese tourist or business visa, including the 10-year multiple-entry one. First-time applicants attend a consulate appointment in person for fingerprints, so allow several weeks. We confirm visa status before any payment. Guests who entered China on the transit policy cannot join this trip, and we say so rather than working around it.
• Confirmation and changes — the confirmation-time commitment and the change and refund terms are being finalised with our ground partners. Until they are settled, each quote states in writing its own confirmation deadline and its change and refund conditions.
• Shanghai Tower on the departure morning — sold only as an add-on, never bundled into the plan and never counted as a highlight. Whether it fits is checked against your departure flight, order by order, and it is priced separately at the time of choosing.