Performing Arts: China Highlights

Meet your tour director and check into hotel

Explore the landmark sights of ancient and modern China with a licensed local guide. Covering the area of 90 football fields, Tiananmen Square can hold over 300,000 people and has always been the site for public proclamations and demonstrations. Mao Tse Tung announced the founding of Communist China here in 1949, and 40 years later student protests against the excesses of that government led to the massacres that unfortunately remain the square's foremost association in the minds of most visitors. The gate at the southern end of the square marks the old city walls, not removed until 1958. See the nerve center of modern China in the adjoining People's Hall, the legislative building, where each of the 32 reception rooms is lavishly decorated in the style of a different province or city. In the main hall, 500 light bulbs illuminate the enormous red star on the ceiling. Move into ancient China in the Forbidden City, the formidable 9,000-room palace complex — protected by a 170ft.-wide moat — that housed China's emperors from 1421 until 1923.

Explore the fantastic Summer Palace, an expanse of elaborate Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens scattered along the shores of immense Kunming Lake. We will enjoy a tour of the park, which covers roughly 716 acres, with Kunming Lake to the south and Longevity Hill to the north.

You will be treated to the sumptuous dish that northern China is famous for: Peking duck! During this special feast, learn about the ritual preparation and savory side dishes that accompany this regional specialty.

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was listed as a World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, it winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains, and plateaus, stretching approximately 21,196 kilometers (13,170 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of about 2,700 years, some of the Great Wall sections are now in ruins or have disappeared. However, the Great Wall of China is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

A lesson in traditional Chinese calligraphy, Hanzi, teaches you the history behind this widely respected art form. Afterward try your best to recreate the strokes using an ink brush. Do you have what it takes to master the art?

Choirs often enjoy performances at churches (some have restricted sacred repertoire and others allow secular,) temples, museums and cultural centers, significant historic sites or exchange concerts with local schools, universities or community groups. Participating in a choral or cultural festival can also be a rewarding experience.

Discover the history of the Chinese martial art, Tai Chi. Learn the moves from an experienced instructor, then practice what you've been taught.

A hutong is a unique form of traditional Beijing living quarters with a small street or a lane between two courtyards. There are thousands of hutongs in Beijing, most of which were built in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.

Learn about the daily lives of Beijing citizens and have lunch with a local family.

It is the largest Buddhist temple of the Yellow-sect in Beijing and has been completely preserved. Built in 1694 as the residence of Count Yin Zhen, the fourth son of the Emperor Kangxi, it was called "the Palace of Count Yong." After Yin Zhen became the Emperor, he continued to use it as an imperial palace for short stays away from the capital. In 1744, it was converted into a lamasery. Yonghegong is the most renowned Tibetan Buddhist temple in China outside Tibet and holds treasures of both the Han and Tibetan cultures.

Overnight train to Xi'an

Visit the Qin Terracotta Army Museum. In 1974, a group of peasants digging a well made what was to become the greatest archaeological find of the 20th century when they unearthed fragments of a life-sized terracotta warrior. Excavations of three underground timber-lined vaults revealed thousands of warriors and their horses, an entire Terracotta Army designed to follow its emperor into eternity.

Banpo Village Ruins & Museum visit

Elaborate costumes, haunting rhythms, spectacular dexterity. The Tang Dynasty had a wide reputation for its dance performances, used by the Emperor Taizong not only for entertainment but also to educate citizens about civic duty and military readiness. At the art form's peak popularity, there were thousands of trained dancers kept in the emperor's court.

Originally built in 1370 and bricked in 1568, the enormous city walls surrounding Xi'an now serve less as defense against outside attack than as pretty packaging for a peaceful town. Take a look around with your Tour Director, then head to the Greater Wild Goose Pagoda. Rising about 200 feet from the center of a temple, the pagoda has seven stories and elaborate carvings over each doorway. No one's sure why the pagoda is named after a goose, but take a gander at the outstanding views available at each of the windows. Residents often toss a coin or two out of these windows for good luck.

Fly to Shanghai

Explore Bund, Shanghai French Concession, and People's Square.

Shanghai museum visit

Forget Cirque de Soleil — Shanghai's Acrobatic Troupe has been performing for more than 50 years, and their combination of superb acrobatics, juggling, magic, and more has made them the world's best acrobatic ensemble.

Choirs often enjoy performances at churches (some have restricted sacred repertoire and others allow secular,) temples, museums and cultural centers, significant historic sites or exchange concerts with local schools, universities or community groups. Participating in a choral or cultural festival can also be a rewarding experience.