Performing in Beijing & Xi’an

Our 24-hour Tour Director will meet us at the airport and remain with us until our final airport departure. We will have use of a private coach and driver, while touring for the next seven days. Our base for the next four nights will be Beijing (area). Founded in the 13th century, and home to Ming and Qing dynasty emperors, the capital city of Beijing is one of China's true ancient citadels. After a period of isolation, the modern city is undergoing significant reform and change, embodying all the fascinating contradictions of modern China. Old Beijing continues to survive in its temples, palaces, and old alleyways, often set among sprawling avenues, towering skyscrapers, and shopping malls. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Explore Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square and equivalent to the size of 90 American football fields. In the centre of the square stands the Monument to the People's Heroes (Renmin Yingxiong Jinian Bei), a 38m granite obelisk erected in 1958 and engraved with scenes from famous popular Chinese uprisings. Discover the Forbidden City, a massive complex of red-walled buildings and pavilions topped by a sea of glazed vermilion tile. Visit the Inner Court, where only the emperor, his family, his concubines, and the palace eunuchs were allowed; the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where emperors lived after Yongzheng moved out of the Qianqing Gong and the Nine Dragon Screen, an 11½ft high wall covered in glazed tile dragons frolicking above a frothing sea, built to protect the Qianlong emperor from prying eyes and malevolent spirits. Visit the Temple of Heaven, an enormous park and altar directly to the south of the Forbidden City. Each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would lead a procession here to perform rites and make sacrifices designed to promote the next year’s crops and curry favor with Heaven for the general health of the empire. Tonight we will enjoy a Peking Duck Dinner.

Visit the Great Wall of China, one of the world’s most awesome and impressive sights. The series of stone and earthen fortifications snakes its way east to west for nearly 4,000 miles, and was built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century AD to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Your performance is today. Venue options suitable for choral and instrumental groups include the magnificent Central Conservatory of Music Concert Hall. This is an ideal venue for a joint performance or master class. As China's leading Music Conservatory it includes such notable alumni as Lang Lang, Tan Dun, Yuja Wang and Vanessa-Mae. Alternatively the Gold Sail Concert Hall, also called Jin Fan Concert Hall, hosts many concerts to promote and nurture young talent and welcomes visiting international groups to its concert series. Groups wishing to interact with high school students perform at either the International School of Beijing, or the Western Academy of Beijing. These prestigious schools are widely recognized as a leading educational institutions, and provide the opportunity for joint performances. Other venues suitable for choral and instrumental groups include Beijing University Centennial Memorial Hall. Built to celebrate 100th anniversary Beijing University, this spacious venue has many multiple stages and a large main performance hall.

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. Enjoy Boating on the Lake in slow, electric-powered watercraft, and stroll along Suzhou Street, designed to imitate the ancient style of shops on the banks of the rivers in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province: the running water of Back Lake in the Summer Palace forms the “street” and the market is located along its banks. Take a Beijing Hutong Tour as a group; 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. Experience a fascinating tour of Beijing’s neighborhoods by Rickshaw, which will include visits with local families to gain a unique understanding of residential Chinese life. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Your performance is today. Venue options suitable for choral and instrumental groups include the magnificent Central Conservatory of Music Concert Hall. This is an ideal venue for a joint performance or master class. As China's leading Music Conservatory it includes such notable alumni as Lang Lang, Tan Dun, Yuja Wang and Vanessa-Mae. Alternatively the Gold Sail Concert Hall, also called Jin Fan Concert Hall, hosts many concerts to promote and nurture young talent and welcomes visiting international groups to its concert series. Groups wishing to interact with high school students perform at either the International School of Beijing, or the Western Academy of Beijing. These prestigious schools are widely recognized as a leading educational institutions, and provide the opportunity for joint performances. Other venues suitable for choral and instrumental groups include Beijing University Centennial Memorial Hall. Built to celebrate 100th anniversary Beijing University,

Today we take an internal flight from Beijing to Xi'An. Our hotel in Nanjing (area), will be our base for the next two nights. The modern capital of Shaanxi, Xi’an served as capital to 11 dynasties over a period of 4,000 years, including the powerful Tang Dynasty, which marked the city’s peak. With a rich history and stunning location, the Qinling Mountains to the south and the Weihe River to the north, Xi’an is one of the most popular destinations in China. Visit the Bell Tower, originally constructed in the 17th year of Emperor Hong Wu’s reign during the Ming Dynasty, and moved to its current location in the 10th year of Wanli. The architecture is grand and the art is superb. The highlight of the visit will be an Ascent of the Tower, which offers a magnificent panoramic view over the city. Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda, built after the translation of the Buddhist scriptures, is square in shape and stands 64 meters high, with a spiral staircase leading to the top. Bodhisattva images are delicately carved on the lintels on four sides and the lower part of the pagoda features two stone tablets engraved with the Preface of Holy Teachings. This evening attend a Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show, a wonderful performance of ancient music and dance that was a hallmark of Xi’an at its height. We will dine this evening in a local restaurant.

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. Tour the Xi’an City Wall. It was constructed in the early Ming Dynasty and its design was based on the Imperial City of Chang An (Everlasting Peace) of the Tang Dynasty. The Xi’an Wall is one of the best preserved ancient city walls anywhere in the world and is the best example of a walled city in China. In addition to the ramparts, the wall contains watchtowers, moats, city gates, and tower entrances. Visit the Banpo Museum and Excavation Site, one of China’s most important cultural heritage sites. Archaeologists have uncovered a village from the Neolithic period, which at its height spanned 50,000 square meters. Explore the excavations, as well as the museum, featuring 10,000 artifacts found at the site. Your performance is today. Venue options suitable for choral and instrumental groups include the Nanjing Arts Institute Concert Hall, built in 2000. The stage can accommodate a symphony orchestra of 120 members or a chorus of 200 members. With its avant-garde design, it is one of the most modern concert halls in Jiangsu Province. Other venues include the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, a joint educational venture between John Hopkins University and Nanjing University opened in 1986. Choirs wishing to perform a sacred program are welcome at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception built in 1870, and listed as a Jiangsu Provincial Historic Site in 1982. We will dine this evening in a local restaurant.

Today we take an internal flight from Xi'an to Beijing. Our base for the next one night will be Beijing (area).

Tonight, we will enjoy either a Gala Dinner or a performance staged at the famous Beijing Opera.

Our rewarding and enjoyable tour comes to an end as our Tour Director accompanies us to the airport on our final day.