Escape the heat and bustle of the city on a two-day, two-night trip to the cool and breezy Bashang Grasslands, 280km north of Beijing. On this trip you’ll enjoy two days of hiking through the beautiful flowers and soft, waving, grass that covers the rolling hills of the prairie, with a BBQ and bonfire to keep you warm on the last night of the trip.

All you need is the Friday off work, and you’re set to go!

Head west to spend two days hiking, driving, and camping in the Badain Jaran desert, peaking with a challenging ascent of the world’s third-tallest sand dune.

Not far from the desert are the cities of Zhangye and Jiayuguan, both important stops on the Silk Road, and both full of important historical sites. While we’re out there, why not visit?

On the days either side of our desert adventure, we’ll tour the fortress at Jiayuguan, take a long hike through the stunning scenery of the Zhangye Danxia Landform, and make a side trip to Zhangye’s Giant Buddha Temple.

See Tibetan culture, Buddhist monasteries and temples, and stretch the legs with some serious hiking on this 5-day road trip.

Highlights include the famed Labrang Monastery in Xiahe, the temples of Langmusi, and several long hikes into the high mountains in this remote and mountainous part of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Gansu Province.

Spend seven days on the Silk Road, heading west to Kashgar and travelling by jeep instead of camel through the vast empty areas of Xinjiang Province. Along the way, visit some of the sights in the less well known Silk Road stops like Korla, Subashi, and Aksu; finish the trip by exploring Kashgar!

This trip is timed for the big October holiday. Book early – otherwise the flights might sell out before we can arrange your tickets!

Travel by foot, camel, and jeep through the Alashan Desert to reach a beautiful Buddhist temple deep in the dunes. As part of this trip we’ll do a two-day trip through the desert to a temple. We’ll visit lakes and oases surrounded by huge sand dunes, camping overnight by one of the lakes and getting a look at the sparse lifestyle of desert-dwelling nomads and shepherds. 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 left by a kingdom that was extinguished by Genghis Khan.

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.

See the best of the deservedly famous Jiuzhaigou National Park – waterfalls, forests, and the amazing colours of calcified stone covered by limpid pools – head on to nearby Huanglong for a day of easy walking by the forests, pools, and natural rock terraces in this equally beautiful scenic area, and take a walk up to the big waterfall in Munigou Park, a pretty but less well-known area.

As well as taking in all the natural beauty, we include visits to ancient towns, temples, and monasteries, making sure to sample the spicy Sichuan specialty snacks and food.

Head deep into the mountains of Fujian to explore the tulou buildings of the Hakka, visiting those both well-known and obscure, and staying overnight in a tulou building in one of the smaller, less-visited clusters.

On the days either side of the visit to the tulou buildings we’ll see a few of Xiamen’s highlights, including the Huli Hill Cannon Fort and the narrow lanes and Victorian architecture of Gulangyu Island.

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.