On a geography school trip to Beijing and Shanghai your students will explore the ancient and modern sides of the world’s most populous country!

By visiting both Beijing and Shanghai, your students will be able to compare two very different cities. They’ll experience the old China, which developed from one of the world’s earliest civilisations to a powerful empire with its influence stretching as far as Europe and Africa along the Silk Road. And they’ll also experience modern China, which is home to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

There will be plenty of opportunities to see how the Chinese have exploited natural features for human use. And you’ll see how Old China’s reliance on agriculture led to the power being centred inland, around the fertile northern plains. And how economic power has since shifted to ports such as Shanghai, as exports have become increasingly more important.

Suggested Itinerary (8 days, 6 nights)

Day Morning Summary Afternoon Summary Evening Summary
1

Flight to Beijing

2

Arrive in Beijing

Meet guide and transfer to accommodation

Visit the Summer Palace with optional boat ride on the lake

Free evening

3

Visit the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square

Visit the Forbidden City

Free evening

4

Full-day tour starting with a photo stop at the Beijing Olympic Stadium

Continue on to the Great Wall of China and the Ming Tombs

Free evening

5

Visit Beijing Zoo to see the Panda House

Visit the Lama Temple and take a ride through the Hutongs of Beijing

Overnight train to Shanghai

6

Arrive Shanghai

Meet guide and transfer to visits

Visit the Yuyan Garden and Jade Buddha Temple

Visit the Bund

7

Visit the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Shanghai Museum

Visit the People Square and Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall

Free evening with optional river cruise on your last night in China

8

Return flight to the UK

Arrive back in the UK

8 days, 6 nights Price from £1,269 pp
  • 6 nights' half-board accommodation (breakfast and lunch daily)
  • Airport taxes and passenger duty at current rates
  • Airport transfers in resort
  • ATOL protected return flights from the UK
  • Comprehensive travel and medical insurance
  • Detailed information pack
  • English-speaking guide
  • Free staff place ratio 1:10
  • Itinerary planning service
  • Overnight train between Beijing and Shanghai
  • Vamoos travel app - giving you access to all your trip documents on your phone or tablet
  • VAT at current rates to tour operators
  • Visits and entrance fees as per the sample itinerary

Accommodation

Tour Highlights

Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Visit Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square is named after the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen in Chinese) which links the square to the Forbidden City, and which is famous for displaying a portrait of Chairman Mao.

Despite its name, the square has seen turbulent times, making it a key site in Chinese history, particularly during the 20th century.

As well as the Tiananmen itself, the square contains a number of other important sights, including the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

Did you know?

Every day at sunrise a flag-raising ceremony takes place. Soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army march through the Gate of Heavenly Peace across Dong Chang An Jie at approximately 108 paces per minute, with each pace measuring around 75cm!

Forbidden City, Beijing

Explore the Forbidden City

This spectacular palace complex lies at the heart of Beijing and consists of 980 surviving buildings.

The largest building in the complex is the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Once the tallest building in the city, it was used for state occasions, such as the emperor’s birthday. The focal point of the building is the impressive Dragon Throne, which sits on a 2m high white jade dais and is backed by carved gilt screens.

The world’s largest collection of well-preserved medieval wooden structures, the Forbidden City is a magnificent example of traditional Chinese architecture and is rich in symbolism, with plenty of dragons, phoenixes and lions on roofs of the most important buildings for prosperity and good fortune.

Did you know?

The Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world and is three times the size of the Louvre!

Summer Palace, Beijing

Visit the Summer Palace

One of the most beautiful royal parks in the world, Beijing’s Summer Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is home to 3,000 man-made structures.

The tallest building in the complex, the Tower of Buddhist Incense stands atop Longevity Hill, looking out over Kunming Lake.

Other well-known attractions include the impressive Marble Boat, a lakeside pavilion in the shape of a European-style paddle steamer, and the colourful Long Corridor, constructed to provide the Emperor’s mother with a covered walkway to ensure she could enjoy a walk in the gardens while protected by the elements.

Did you know?

The Four Great Regions, a series of temples that are architecturally quite different to the rest of the park, were modelled on the Samye Monastery in Tibet, the first gompa (Buddhist monastery) built in the country.

Educational Activities

Huangpu River Cruise

Huangpu River Cruise

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The Huangpu River (Huangpu Jiang) is the city's shipping artery both to the East China Sea and to the mouth

Shanghai Museum

Shanghai Museum

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The Shanghai Museum is located in People’s Square and, although a modern building, encompasses some of the symbolism prevalent in

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

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The Great Wall of China stretches 5,500 miles across northern China, from Shanhaiguan in the eastern province of Hebei, to

Yuyuan Garden

Yuyuan Garden

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Yuyuan Garden, a place of peace and comfort in the heart of bustling Shanghai, dates back to the fabled Ming

Cultural Activities

Forbidden City

Forbidden City

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The Forbidden City stands in the centre of Beijing as a monument to the city’s imperial history and rich cultural

Jade Buddha Temple

Jade Buddha Temple

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Although not a particularly old temple (it was re-built in 1928 after the first temple was destroyed in the revolution

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

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The Oriental Pearl Tower is Shanghai’s most recognisable landmark and sits opposite the Bund in Pudong Park. A TV and

Summer Palace

Summer Palace

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Beijing’s Summer Palace is one of the loveliest royal parks you are ever likely to set your eyes on. Created

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

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The Temple of Heaven is a stunning complex of religious buildings located to the south of the Forbidden City and

The Bund

The Bund

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The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildingslining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from

Tiananmen Square

Tiananmen Square

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Tiananmen Square is instantly recognisable to all as a symbol of the People’s Republic of China. The gate, after which

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