Trekking and cultural tour of China

Planet

This tour will transport you to an eclectic and culturally significant range of heritage sites that date back to ancient times and it will also take you to unique places of natural beauty, including Beijing and Xian for its history with a lot of famous must-see (like Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Hutong, the Great Wall and Qin Terra-cotta Army), but we at the same time added hiking on the Wild Great Wall and to Huashan-one of the most famous mountain in China. Guilin and Yangshuo area for its picturesque scenery-rice terrace, Karst landscape, authentic minority culture and villages, cycling and rafting. Shanghai for its modern and the watertwon-Wuzhen(also called the Venice of China). It is therefore exceptionally important that we fully understand and appreciate the importance of developing tours that are sustainable and reduce the impacts of tourism on the human and natural environment wherever possible. Indeed, all of our tours maintain a great respect for the cultural and natural surroundings in which we visit and travel, and we have opted to use only essential methods of public or private transport for this itinerary.

Conservation:
To help us protect and preserve what remains of both China’s wonderful cultural and natural heritage, we ask that all of our travel participants help care for the environments they visit by being respectfully aware of the unique locations we take them to. This itinerary is acutely aware of the need to protect the UNESCO World Heritage Sites both for current and future generations to fully experience. The bonus of our sustainable approach to experiencing the Great Wall is that you will also get to encounter this amazing spectacle at a more relaxing pace and you will improve your health and fitness at the same time too! As a bonus of our unique approach, you will also discover that our tour groups are small in size so that are impacts are minimised, and of course, so that we can afford you the attention you deserve!

Activities:
Few vacations have as little detrimental impact on the environment and local residents as a cycling trip and hiking tour. For this trip, you will have a chance to explore the magnificent Wild Great Wall on foot, walk into the mountains minority villages full of folk culture and tranquil rurality. Biking and bamboo rafting along Yulong river to enjoy your leisure time. As we will spend large parts of the tour on foot, this will help us reduce our carbon footprints by using transport only when necessary. The bonus of our sustainable approach to experiencing the beautiful landscapes is that you will also get to encounter this amazing spectacle at a more relaxing pace and you will improve your health and fitness at the same time too!

People

Our itinerary has been designed to fully incorporate the local communities of the regions we visit. We value their unique insights, knowledge, and hospitality, and believe that they too should benefit from tourism too. We respect their traditions and beliefs, and are acutely aware of the need to respect indigenous people and religious sites in particular.

Wherever possible, we use locally-owned hotels, restaurants, and services to ensure that local communities and business prosper in a highly competitive market. An added bonus of using locally-owned services and people is that they will often be highly enthusiastic, generous and proud to welcome you into the places where many have been born and raised.

We are also exceptionally aware of the need to use local ‘green’ tourism services and businesses to ensure that the natural and social environments that host tourism are protected and well-managed. This includes the use of locally-sourced produce such as food and crafts, for example. However, perhaps one of the greatest reasons for using locally-owned accommodation is that you will see the ‘real’ China in its various guises. You will sample ethnic-minority villages, traditional performance(Peking opera, Shadow Puppy show, Chinese Dumpling feast with Tang Dynasty dancing show and etc.), learn Taiji with Kongfu master, cuisines and ways of life that can be significantly different to anything you may have experienced before. We will also take you to incredible places away from the tourist crowds to ensure that your experiences are genuinely unique, like the wild section of the Great Wall.. We fully believe that this is a wonderful way to learn about this spectacular country and have no doubt that you will agree!

Group Size:
This small group tour has a maximum of 12 participants, meaning that we have a low impact on the environments and communities we visit and are able to ensure that we do not disrupt or lead to the displacement of local people.