12-Day Kung Fu & Panda Family Tour

Your family is met in the arrivals hall of Beijing Capital International Airport or Beijing Daxing International Airport by an English-speaking guide and a private driver, who take charge of the luggage and the transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is deliberately left open so children can shake off jet lag: unpack, test the hotel pool or take a short walk around the neighbourhood. No meals are included today, so dinner is your own choice, and the hotel restaurant plus the family-run noodle shops on the next block are both easy options. Your guide confirms tomorrow's start time in the lobby this evening, leaving you free to turn in early.

Start with a walk across Tiananmen Square and into the Forbidden City, keeping the route short and using courtyard benches as rest stops for younger legs. Lunch is not included; the guide points out a noodle house near the moat where families eat quickly. In the afternoon a pedicab carries you through the Beijing Hutongs, followed by hands-on workshops in brush calligraphy, Peking opera mask painting and kite making, all pitched at children from about six upward. A stop at Sanyuanli Market lets everyone pick snacks and meet unfamiliar vegetables. The evening is free, and the guide can book a table near the hotel if you want an early dinner.

Meals: Breakfast

An early departure gets you ahead of the coaches at Mutianyu Great Wall, where a cable car lifts the family to the ridge and children walk a manageable stretch of restored rampart before riding back down. Lunch is at your own expense in a village restaurant the guide recommends. The afternoon continues to the Summer Palace, with a boat ride on Kunming Lake when the weather allows and plenty of shaded paths for a breather. On the drive home you stop for photos at the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube in the Olympic Park. Dinner is not included; ask the guide about a duck restaurant, then return to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast

The morning belongs to the Temple of Heaven, where grandparents practise tai chi at dawn and children can try shuttlecock kicking beside them; the Echo Wall usually draws the loudest reaction. Lunch is not included, and the guide suggests a dumpling shop by the park gate before you collect the bags. Around midday you transfer to the station for a high-speed train to Luoyang, roughly four and a half hours at up to 300 km/h with seats reserved together and room to stretch. A local guide meets you on the platform and drives you to the hotel. The evening stays unscheduled, a useful window for laundry, downtime or a casual dinner in the old town.

Meals: Breakfast

Begin at the Longmen Grottoes, riding the electric cart along the Yi River to spare small feet, then climbing gentle flights of steps to Wanfo Cave and the vast Fengxian Temple with its seated Lushena Buddha. Lunch is not included; a riverside restaurant is suggested before the drive. In the afternoon you visit White Horse Temple, the country's earliest Buddhist foundation, where quiet courtyards and lotus ponds make an easy wander for children. A drive of about ninety minutes then brings you to Dengfeng beneath Songshan. Dinner is your own arrangement and the evening is free, since an early night helps before tomorrow's martial arts session.

Meals: Breakfast

The day opens with a one-hour beginner class at a Shaolin Temple training school, where instructors teach stances and simple punches; children join in while parents watch or try a few moves. No experience is needed, though very young children usually spectate rather than train. You then tour the temple itself, watch a Shaolin kung fu show and walk the Pagoda Forest of stone stupas. Lunch is at your own expense nearby. In the late afternoon you return to Luoyang for a high-speed train to Xi'an, reaching the city in the evening. Dinner is not included; the guide points out a family restaurant near the hotel and the night is free.

Meals: Breakfast

Cycle or stroll a section of the Xi'an City Wall in the morning, with tandem bikes and child seats available for younger riders. The Terracotta Army fills the middle of the day; the guide limits the visit to two pits so stamina holds, and lunch is at your own expense at a nearby restaurant. Afterwards a village workshop lets each child mould a small clay warrior to take home. Back in the city you wander the Great Mosque courtyards, taste snacks in the Muslim Quarter, watch a shadow puppet show at Gao's Courtyard and finish at Bell and Drum Tower Square. Dinner is not included, and the night market is the obvious choice.

Meals: Breakfast

A relaxed morning at the Xi'an Museum, where the scale is smaller than the provincial collection and easier for children to absorb, followed by the neighbouring Big Wild Goose Pagoda and its open squares. Lunch is not included, and the guide recommends a baozi shop on the way to the station. In the early afternoon you board a bullet train to Chengdu, a run of roughly four hours through the Qinling Mountains with seats booked together. A local guide transfers you to the hotel on arrival. Dinner is your own choice; many families head for a hotpot restaurant with a mild broth, and the evening stays free for an early night.

Meals: Breakfast

An early start reaches the Dujiangyan Base of the China Conservation and Research Centre for the Giant Panda before the animals settle into their midday nap. Children aged eight and over may join the volunteer programme, cleaning enclosures, preparing bamboo, shaping panda cakes and watching a feeding session, and they receive a certificate at the end; younger siblings take the standard guided visit with a parent instead. Lunch is not included, and the base cafe serves simple noodles for volunteers. The afternoon returns to Chengdu with a rest break at the hotel. In the evening a Sichuan opera performance delivers face-changing and fire tricks that keep children wide awake.

Meals: Breakfast

The morning unfolds on Jinli Ancient Street, where snack stalls, sugar painting and paper cutting keep children busy while adults browse the lanes. You continue to Wangjianglou Park for a bamboo-shaded tea break, watching locals play mahjong and compare songbirds, a slow hour that resets the whole family. Lunch is at your own expense near the park. In the afternoon a private transfer takes you to the airport for a domestic flight to Shanghai of about two and a half hours, and a local guide meets you on landing. Dinner is not included; the hotel neighbourhood has plenty of family options and the evening is free to settle in.

Meals: Breakfast

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum opens the day, with a 3D or 4D film and hands-on galleries that reward a two-hour visit; the discovery zone suits primary-age children best. Lunch is not included, though the museum food court is convenient. Afterwards you walk Nanjing Road towards the river, then slow down inside the Yu Garden and its bazaar, where koi ponds and zigzag bridges make an easy loop. A short drive through the Former French Concession, with a stop on tree-lined Dongping Road and Sinan Road, closes the afternoon. Dinner is your own arrangement, and the evening is free.

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast the guide and driver collect you from the lobby at a time set to your flight. Luggage travels with the driver so the family stays unencumbered on the way out. If your departure is from Pudong International Airport, you can ride the Shanghai Maglev Train, the fastest commercial service anywhere, covering the run to the terminal in about eight minutes, a final thrill children tend to remember. Otherwise a private transfer takes you straight to the terminal. The guide helps with check-in and walks you to security. Lunch and dinner are not included today, and rooms are released at midday, though late check-out can be requested.

Meals: Breakfast