See the highlights of Lijiang and Shangri-La on this five-day trip—cobbled streets and watercourses of ancient towns, country roads and fields around small settlements, Naxi and Tibetan culture, and amazing views of snow-capped mountains.

As well as riding horses on an ancient tea trail, you’ll take an excursion by boat on the scenic Lashi Lake, and visit the Songzanlin Temple in Shangri-La. Of course, you’ll also get a quite a bit of walking about done—on peaceful country lanes near Lijiang, on the cobblestone streets of the towns we’ll visit, and at the lower end of the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge.

New Years Holiday trip!

Head out to Gansu Province for a four-day trip that features hikes and walks (and rafts) around the Lanzhou Danxia Landform, the Yellow River Stone Forest, and Bingling Temple.

The Lanzhou Danxia Landform, is an undeveloped site similar to the more famous ‘rainbow mountains’ of Zhangye. Word is that it will be developed into a park area sooner or laer – visit now to hike it with us while we’re still allowed!

While we’re in the area we’ll make side trips to the Yellow River Stone Forest and Bingling Temple, as well as taking a stroll around Lanzhou city to visit the mosque, museum, and food street.

(Last year we did this as a three-day trip, but we have added an extra day so we can fully explore the Yellow River Stone Forest.)

See the once-a-year sight of a giant Buddha tapestry being unveiled on the hillside above Labrang Monastery, and mingle with the crowds of pilgrims who come from the Tibetan areas of Gansu’s countryside to see the folk performances and to pray and partake in Buddhist rituals.

This four-day trip also includes hikes and walks in the grasslands near Xiahe.

The county of Wuyuan, in southern China’s Jiangxi Province, possesses great natural beauty, and is famous for gorgeous, vast fields of yellow rapeseed flowers—the main focus of this trip.

As well as hiking in and around the fields of flowers, we’ll be visiting Jingdezhen, the ‘Porcelain Capital’ of China; several ancient villages with well-preserved ancient architecture; the Rainbow Bridge; and the Jiangling Mountains. Beijingers will be able to get a good look at life in the southeast of China, and photographers will certainly come home with some good shots!

Guizhou is home to nearly 50% of the population of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups, and deep in the mountains many still hold to their ancient customs and rituals: animism, shamanism, courtship and marriage rituals, choral singing, and colourful clothing and jewellery.

On this trip we’ll hike between villages and enclaves in the hills to get an up-close look at their well-preserved rituals, traditions, and architecture

Timed for the Tomb-Sweeping Festival holiday. Sign up early, before flight tickets run out!

On this four day expedition you’ll experience life in the desert, with two days of hiking and one night of camping in the Tengger Desert region of the Alashan Plateau, adjacent to the huge Gobi Desert. We’ll visit desert lakes and oases, traveling through the dunes by foot, by jeep, and by camel! On the last day of the trip we’ll visit the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, taking a look at the distinctive pyramid-shaped burial mounds.

This trip is timed for the Labour Day holiday weekend.

Large areas of northwestern China are sparsely populated, and contain stunning scenic locations unheard of by outsiders. On this trip, the highlight is the Danxia Landform of Zhangye—magnificently multi-coloured mountains, valleys, hills, and cliffs that ripple away towards the horizon.

Timed for the Dragonboat Festival Holiday