Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To put China in immediate perspective, zero in on the very centre of town and
size up both
Tian'anmen Square
and the
Forbidden City.
You'll need half a
day for the
Summer Palace
, but find time for the bars and restaurants of
Nanluogu Xiang
and some exploration. Also topic yourself a room in a
court-
yard hotel
for doses of old Peking charm. Save a day for the
Great Wall
and
half a day to appreciate the
Temple of Heaven
, but don't overlook the treas-
ures of the
Poly Art Museum
or the
Lama Temple
.
BEIJING PINGYAO
12 hours
Overnight from Beijing Train Station.
Pingyao (
Click here
)
Try to have your Pingyao accommodation booked in advance - then someone
should meet you at Pingyao Train Station. Wander the streets and alleys, en-
joying their ancient textures, then explore the
Rishengchang Financial
House Museum
. The
city walls
are among the best preserved in China and
the lovely old
City Tower
is a gem at the heart of town. Pingyao's
Confucius
Temple
contains the town's oldest surviving building, but perhaps its most ap-
pealing aspect is staying in one of the lovely courtyard hotels and seeing an
authentic Chinese old town that refuses to modernise.
PINGYAO XI'AN
8½ hours
Overnight from Pingyao to Xi'an Train Station.
Xi'an (
Click here
)
One of China's most renowned walled cities, Xi'an is the Shaanxi home to the
spellbinding
Terracotta Warriors
and a collection of significant
imperial
tombs
that sprinkle the surrounding region. You'll want to climb the city's
Ming-dynasty walls to recall Xi'an's former epic grandeur, explore the
Muslim
Quarter
, dine on the city's famous
Muslim cuisine
, admire Xi'an's
Tang-
dynasty pagodas
- which mark the town's zenith as Tang capital Chang'an -
and explore the city's numerous and fascinating museums.
