D1
Fly-through to Altay
A transit day, honestly named: the same-day connection through Urumqi and the short hop north to Altay, with nothing planned but a hot meal and an early night.
OvernightAltay
CHOOSE A STARTING POINT
Where winter leads
Select a destination to compare character, culture and a sample day-by-day frame.
XINJIANG
Powder snow, then the Silk Road
A private Xinjiang winter tour across China's vast northwest, where the Altai Mountains, alpine lakes and Silk Road oasis towns make the country's sharpest contrasts: powder snow below −20°C, wooden villages buried in white, the icy shores of Sayram Lake, and the colour and warmth of Kashgar Old City.
PLACES TO VISIT
A full day on Altay's powder at Jiangjunshan, staying for sunset above the city. In Hemu, a horse-drawn sleigh to the Hadeng viewpoint as morning smoke rises from log cabins buried in snow. At Sayram Lake, snow mountains, a vast frozen shore, blue ice and wintering swans — each stop given time at a private pace, never a photo checklist.
FOOD CULTURE
Salted milk tea in a Tuva home, naan torn fresh from the tandoor, then charcoal-grilled lamb, Uyghur polo (pilaf) and hand-pulled laghman noodles in Kashgar — welcoming places, with unfamiliar dishes explained, so the table feels inviting rather than intimidating.
LOCAL CULTURE
Culture here is something you join: sit with a Tuva family in Hemu, learn to make milk tea, hear traditional music inside a warm wooden home. Altay's fur-covered wooden skis carry one of the world's oldest recorded skiing traditions. In Kashgar Old City, dress in Uyghur clothing for portraits and try pottery or copperwork with a local artisan.
A STARTING POINT, NOT A PACKAGE
A thirteen-day frame
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General's Hill ski slopes D3Learn to ski at General's Hill
A patient beginners' morning on the magic-carpet slopes, an afternoon of practice, then up by sightseeing gondola for sunset over the runs and the town lights.
OvernightAltay
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Hemu village at first light D5Hemu at first light
A horse-drawn sledge to the Hadeng platform for chimney smoke and morning light over the village, then a small-group visit with a Tuva family — music, milk tea, a hundred-year-old cabin.
OvernightHemu
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The three bends in snow D7The three bends
Fairy Bay's morning mist, the S-curve of Moon Bay, the mid-river islet at Wolong Bay — then the road back to Altay for the night.
OvernightAltay
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Winter shore of Sayram Lake D9Sayram, the frozen lake
Along the highway to the east gate: Moon Bay's open water, blue ice stacked along safe shorelines, wintering swans — and a lakeside sunset into blue hour.
OvernightSayram Lake
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Kashgar old city D11Fly to Kashgar
The far southwest by lunchtime: earthen lanes and painted doors of the old city, one artisan street, a rooftop terrace for sunset, and the night-market grills.
OvernightKashgar
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D13
The long way home
Kashgar to Guangzhou, then the overnight leg to Australia — a travel day, plainly stated.
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The fur-ski workshop in Altay D2The fur-ski workshop
A morning with the inheritors of the ancient fur-wrapped ski — watch the wood steamed and bent, try a step yourself — then a Kazakh winter feast of naan, milk tea and dombra songs.
OvernightAltay
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The winter road to Hemu D4The snow road to Hemu
A four-wheel-drive day into the mountains, arriving as the log village shows itself — birch fringes, snow-mushroom rooftops, and a wood-stove hotpot after dark.
OvernightHemu
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Kanas shoreline in winter D6To Kanas lake
A short snow-road transfer, then the afternoon on the lake's open shoreline and snow-forest boardwalks; the evening is Tuva cabins in blue-hour light.
OvernightKanas
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Kazanqi old town in Yining D8South to the Ili valley
A morning flight to Yining, then the blue doors and courtyards of the Kazanqi old town by horse-cart, and the pastel lanes of Six Star Street.
OvernightYining
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Guozigou in winter D10The south shore, then Guozigou
Morning panoramas from the Dianjiangtai platform and the unfrozen spring at Kele Yongzhu, then out the south gate past the great Guozigou bridge and back to Yining.
OvernightYining
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Traditional dress in Kashgar's old-city lanes 
A Kashgar craft session 
Tea in an old Kashgar teahouse D12A Kashgar day of hands
A styled portrait session in traditional dress among the old-city lanes, one real craft session — pottery or copper — and tea in a hundred-year-old teahouse; a farewell dinner closes it.
OvernightKashgar
Every journey is rebuilt around you.
Start shaping my DecemberEARLY BIRD OFFERBOOK BY15 OCTOBER 2026
Guide price for this trip
PARTY OF 2Standard A$10,695A$8,895/ppSAVE A$1,800
PARTY OF 3–4Standard A$9,095A$7,495/ppSAVE A$1,600
PARTY OF 5+Standard A$7,295A$5,995/ppSAVE A$1,300
Per person · twin share · land only
XI'AN
Walk into the stories that shaped China
A private China cultural tour from Kaifeng to Xi'an, for travellers who want more than monuments and dates — Song Dynasty street life, Shaolin kung fu, Buddhist cave art and the Terracotta Warriors, connected by places, performances and hands-on experiences, in winters around 0°C.
PLACES TO VISIT
Above the winter clouds at Laojun Mountain, golden-roofed temples rise between snow-dusted peaks. At the Longmen Grottoes you walk the Yi River beneath cliffs of Buddhist carvings. In Xi'an you stand at the edge of the Terracotta Army pits — rows of life-sized soldiers made more than 2,200 years ago; photographs show their scale, standing there reveals the ambition.
FOOD CULTURE
Chosen for flavour and story: Kaifeng soup dumplings and night-market snacks, Luoyang's traditional Water Banquet, Xi'an's biangbiang noodles and roujiamo — with what to order, and how each dish is traditionally eaten.
LOCAL CULTURE
At Shaolin Temple, watch kung fu in the place most closely tied to its development, and try the foundational movements yourself. Before the immersive performances at Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City, we brief you on the people and stories behind them, so the spectacle stays meaningful even if Chinese history is new to you.
A STARTING POINT, NOT A PACKAGE
A nine-day frame
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Kaifeng after dark D1Zhengzhou to Kaifeng
Met at Zhengzhou and driven straight to the old Song capital; an easy lakeside stroll, then the Xisi night market — lamb kangmo, soup dumplings, almond tea.
OvernightKaifeng
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The theatre city at Zhongmu D3The theatre city
Only Henan · Drama Fantasy City: rammed-earth walls and sunken courtyards, one short play and the hour-long Fantasy City Theatre, blue-hour photographs — and a bed in the theatre-side hotel.
OvernightZhongmu
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Luoyang's temples and grottoes D5Luoyang's two faiths
White Horse Temple, where Buddhism entered China, and the Longmen Grottoes' great Vairocana Buddha; the evening is Lijingmen's lit gate and the Cross Street night market.
OvernightLuoyang
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Xi'an's lantern-lit Tang boulevard D7West to Xi'an
The long drive into Shaanxi, then the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda and, after dark, the lantern-lit Tang boulevard of Datang Everbright City.
OvernightXi'an
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Xi'an city wall D9The city wall, then onward
A morning walk or cycle on the Ming walls from Yongning Gate, before the rail leg onward.
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A Song dynasty day in Kaifeng D2A Song dynasty day
Millennium City Park from morning bridge-and-wharf lanes to one daytime spectacle, Song costume and garden games — and after dark, the water-stage epic Dongjing Menghua.
OvernightKaifeng
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Shaolin in winter D4Shaolin
The monastery's halls and ancient stelae, the Pagoda Forest, a martial-arts performance — then a private kung-fu basics class before the drive to Luoyang.
OvernightLuoyang
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Laojunshan's golden summit D6Laojunshan, the golden summit
Cableways up through the winter mountain, the Ten-Mile Gallery boardwalk to the gilded Taoist halls — sunset, blue-hour lamplight on red walls, then down.
OvernightLaojunshan
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The Terracotta Army 
Treasures of the Shaanxi History Museum 
Xi'an's Muslim Quarter by night D8The Terracotta Army
Pits one, three and two with a specialist guide, an edited hour among the Shaanxi History Museum's treasures, and the Muslim Quarter's roujiamo and paomo by night.
OvernightXi'an
Every journey is rebuilt around you.
Start shaping my DecemberEARLY BIRD OFFERBOOK BY15 OCTOBER 2026
Guide price for this trip
PARTY OF 2Standard A$6,195A$5,195/ppSAVE A$1,000
PARTY OF 3–4Standard A$5,295A$4,395/ppSAVE A$900
PARTY OF 5+Standard A$4,245A$3,525/ppSAVE A$720
Per person · twin share · land only
THE NORTHEAST
A white Christmas of ice, snow and fire
A private Northeast China winter tour built around what travellers hope to find in December: deep snow, illuminated ice palaces and warm hospitality at −20°C. Each day is paced so you can enjoy the snow unhurried — with somewhere warm always waiting afterwards.
PLACES TO VISIT
At Harbin Ice and Snow World, full-scale palaces carved from river ice glow in colour — walk through them, then race down the giant ice slides. On Changbai Mountain, silent snow forests give way to an outdoor volcanic hot spring, steam rising into freezing air. In China Snow Town, red lanterns hang beneath deep snow curving over wooden rooftops.
FOOD CULTURE
A Northeast meal is part of the winter itself: a bubbling iron-pot stew, steaming handmade dumplings, crisp guobaorou and Harbin red sausage — generous Dongbei dishes made for sharing, and for coming in from the cold.
LOCAL CULTURE
Da Tie Hua, the centuries-old "iron flower" tradition: molten iron struck into thousands of golden sparks against the winter sky, its heat on your face in sub-zero air. It is the moment travellers still picture years later.
A STARTING POINT, NOT A PACKAGE
An eleven-day frame
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Deer-feeding on Changbaishan's western slope D1Into the mountains
Shenyang airport to high-speed rail, and by afternoon you are on Changbaishan's western slope — deer-feeding in the snow, then a first evening among timber chalets with a hot drink.
OvernightChangbaishan West resort
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Snowmobile through the winter forest D3West slope to north slope
A snowmobile run through the forest before checkout, then the ice-road transfer to Erdaobaihe beneath the north slope. After dark, the lantern markets and shaman-blessing processions of the powder-snow town.
OvernightErdaobaihe
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Rime and river mist at dawn D5Rime drift at dawn
A dawn raft through the fog and rime of the Mojie river, then an unhurried afternoon under the beauty-pine forests and along Erdaobaihe's riverside walkways.
OvernightErdaobaihe
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A warm stop in Snow Valley D7Snow Valley, the farmhouse day
Empty-street photographs at first light, then the short hop to Dongsheng Snow Valley — horse-drawn sledges, boiling water flung into −20°C air, and a farmhouse evening around the stove.
OvernightSnow Valley guesthouse
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Saint Sophia's at night 
Central Street 
A northern table D9Old Harbin on foot
A market breakfast and Saint Sophia's, then the length of Central Street — Russian facades, a Madier ice-cream eaten at −20°C, and the frozen Songhua at the flood monument.
OvernightHarbin
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Blue ice on the frozen Songhua D11Blue ice, then home
A last morning among the harvested ice blocks on the frozen Songhua — the "diamond sea" — before the transfer to station or airport.
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Beginner ski runs on Changbaishan D2Learn the snow
A morning ski lesson on wide, patient beginner runs; an afternoon in the snow-play park — tubing, ice bikes, drift karts; and a night of winter pageantry, from lantern parades to molten-iron sparks against the dark.
OvernightChangbaishan West resort
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Tianchi, the frozen crater lake D4Tianchi, the frozen crater lake
Up the north slope to the crater lake, then down past the Changbai waterfall and the steaming spring field where eggs cook in volcanic water. The evening soaks it all away in forest hot springs.
OvernightErdaobaihe
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Snow-mushroom rooftops in China Snow Town D6To China Snow Town
A winter road day north into Xuexiang; by dusk you are on the boardwalk above a village of snow-mushroom rooftops, and after dark the red lanterns come on along Snow Charm Street.
OvernightChina Snow Town
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Winter road north D8Into Harbin
A slow valley morning, the winter drive into the city, and a first Harbin dinner — guobaorou and an iron-pot stew near the hotel.
OvernightHarbin
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Ice and Snow World after dark D10Ice and Snow World
A deliberately late start, then the ice city from daylight into lit-up night: the great towers at blue hour, one slide run booked in your name, a show on the ice stage — and warm rooms never far away.
OvernightHarbin
Every journey is rebuilt around you.
Start shaping my DecemberEARLY BIRD OFFERBOOK BY15 OCTOBER 2026
Guide price for this trip
PARTY OF 2Standard A$8,795A$7,295/ppSAVE A$1,500
PARTY OF 3–4Standard A$7,495A$5,950/ppSAVE A$1,545
PARTY OF 5+Standard A$5,995A$4,895/ppSAVE A$1,100
Per person · twin share · land only
Price comparisons
EARLY BIRD OFFERBOOK BY15 OCTOBER 2026
All prices are per person, twin share, in Australian dollars, land only. Each price includes accommodation, private vehicle and driver, English-speaking guide, entry tickets, permits, park transport, breakfasts and the dinners named in the itinerary. Not included: international flights, visas, travel insurance and personal spending. Early bird prices apply to bookings confirmed with deposit received by 15 October 2026. Guide prices are indicative for the trips shown; your firm quote is issued with your final proposal and is subject to availability at the time of booking.
THE JADE DAYS METHOD
How a journey actually gets made
YOUR MOVE
WE DO THIS
PHASE 1 · INITIAL CONTACT
Your first message
- Tell us your dates, who's travelling and your first ideas
Questionnaire
- We send a short questionnaire
- Your answers become the brief — no brochure involved
Research
- Cross-check your dates against China's seasonal peaks and holidays
- Compare your needs with our on-the-ground experience
- Cross-check candidate hotels, guides and routes in our database
First draft
- Rank the places worth your trip against what has worked for similar travellers
- Send a first draft with route, pacing and highlights
NEXT: PHASE 2
PHASE 2 · FINE-TUNING
Your feedback
- Tell us what excites you and what doesn't
Deeper research
- Re-develop the route around your feedback
- Re-check every stay and connection
- Verify availability and options with our supplier network
Video reporting
- Online meeting with your planner
- Walk you through the route, day by day
- Answer your questions before anything is finalised
Final proposal
- Detail every day: sights, timings, effort labels
- Name every hotel, restaurant and heritage experience
- Attach a firm quote — nothing hidden
NEXT: PHASE 3
PHASE 3 · PRE-DEPARTURE
Your approval
- Approve the final proposal and pay the deposit
Bookings
- Book every hotel, ticket and permit in your names through suppliers we know
- Send written confirmations as they land
- Send your Journey Brief — what to know before China
Pre-departure session
- Install and test the apps you'll need
- Set up payments and messaging on your phones
- Walk you through China first-hand, online or in Sydney
NEXT: PHASE 4
PHASE 4 · ON THE ROAD
Support group
- Open a WhatsApp group with your guide and our team
- Keep it live for the whole journey, staffed by the people who planned it
On the ground
- Your guide and local team beside you every day
- First-hand help with anything, until you're home
RETURN HOME
START THE CONVERSATION
Tell us about your December.
A few details are enough to begin shaping the right route.
Received — thank you.
Your December is on our desk. We'll reply within one business day with first thoughts on the route.