Day 1: Departure – Arrival in Changsha, China

Morning: Arrive in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. Check into your hotel.

Afternoon: Visit the Hunan Provincial Museum to see the famous Mawangdui Han Tombs and explore the history of China. Follow this with a visit to Lieshi park to take boats out on the lake and see the poignant martyr’s memorial pagoda monument.

Evening: Stroll along the Orange Isle and enjoy the views of the Xiangjiang River and marvel at the 32 metre high granite bust of Mao ZeDong who watched out over the river from here and wrote a famous poem dedicated to the beauty of the setting sun, riverscape and mountains of Changsha.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast

Day 2: Changsha Exploration

Morning: Visit the Yuelu Academy, the oldest university in the world and explore its beautiful bird-filled gardens and the lake dotted, surrounding woodlands. Take a minibus ride to the top of Yuelu mountain to Yunlu Peak for wonderful views of Changsha City.

Afternoon: Visit the Changsha Window on the World – a theme park with roller coasters, ferris wheels and more than fifty miniature replicas of famous monuments from around the world.

Evening: Take a boat ride on the Xiangjiang River to enjoy one of Asia’s best night-time light displays – with multi-coloured lights shimmering across scores of skyscrapers and ancient pagodas lit-up in gold at their feet, all reflected in the river.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast

Day 3: Zhangjiajie

Morning: Take the bullet train to Zhangjiajie. Check into your hotel.

Afternoon: Take a cable car up to Tianmen Mountain from Central Zhangjiajie town, explore the fabulous glass walkways and see the staircase ascending to the huge heaven’s gate cavern in the heart of the mountain.

Evening: Enjoy the Fairy Fox Music and Dance show – telling the story of the forbidden love between a forest fox spirit and a local villager, with the mountains as your backdrop. 

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast

Day 4: Zhangjiajie National Park

All Day: Spend the day exploring Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Walk and train ride the ten-mile natural gallery trail and feet of the mountains. Take a three-hundred-metre-high elevator up the cliff face to see the landscape which inspired film director James Cameron to create the floating Hallelujah Mountains in his Avatar movies. In the afternoon visit Tianmen Mountain for more breathtaking views – of Heaven’s Gate a natural window 150-metre-tall window in a high mountain surrounded by extraordinary views.

Evening: Enjoy the Fairy Fox Opera show with Tianmen mountain as the backdrop.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast
• Lunch

Day 5: Fenghuang Ancient Town

Morning: Travel to Fenghuang Ancient Town by bullet train.

Afternoon: Explore the ancient town, walk along the Tuojiang River, and visit the Phoenix Ancient City Museum. Get lost in the lovely old streets, stop for coffee and Chinese Bubble Tea, to browse the little shops and to explore the old buildings and mansions.

Evening: Enjoy a riverside dinner and enjoy views of the town beautifully illuminated in the evening light.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast
• Dinner

Day 6: Fenghuang (Jishou)

Morning: Take a side visit to Jishou County to visit the lovely covered Hongqiao Bridge, which spans the Tuojiang River and the East Gate of Fenghuang. These are two of the best-preserved and most beautiful old buildings in Hunan and are set in lovely natural landscapes.

Afternoon: visit the Tujia Folk Customs Park to see learn about ethnic Tujia culture through dance and music performances, arts and crafts and a series of beautiful traditional pavilions and pagodas.

Evening: Browse for art, crafts, bric-a-brac and street food in Fenghuang village night market.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast

Day 7 – Day Trip to Dehang

Morning: Take a day trip to Dehang to visit the Dehang Miao Village and explore one of the region’s prettiest villages and local Miao Culture. You will see some stunning mountain and river scenery along the way.

Afternoon: Walk in the Dehang Scenic Area to plunging waterfalls, through bird-filled woodlands and with soaring mountains all around you.

Evening: Return to your hotel for dinner and rest.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast
• Dinner

Day 8: Return to Changsha

Morning: Travel back to Changsha and check in to your hotel

Afternoon: Take the bullet train to Liuyang and visit the Chrysanthemum Stone Museum and to see the work of artist Chen Jiwu, one of China’s foremost stone carvers and the firework museum, which tells the story of how fireworks were invented in the town over two thousand years ago.

Evening: Enjoy the spectacular Liuyang Firework Show – one of the best in the world.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast
• Dinner

Day 9: Mount Hengshan

Morning: Take a side trip to Hengshan – another beautiful landscape of high jungle-covered mountains and plunging valleys.

Afternoon: Visit the Hengshan Scenic Area.and walk to the summit of Mount Hengshan for breathtaking views over seemingly endless wild forests and mountain ridges. Look out for soaring hawk eagles and admire the lovely magnolia and azalea filled woodlands.

Evening: Return to Changsha and relax at your hotel.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast

Day 10: Departure 

Departure

Morning: Enjoy a morning shopping on Taiping Street and around browsing for fantasy figures sculpted from rice which look like gaming or D&D characters, stopping for snacks and getting lost in the myriad little boutiques and street arcades.

Afternoon: Depart from Changsha.

Departure.

• Board Includes:
• Breakfast