Shanghai

An intense vitality and sophistication is in the air in Shanghai. The city offers you the opportunity to see a rapidly modernizing Chinese city at work. Notwithstanding Shanghai’s continued modernization of its infrastructure, lifestyle and availability of consumer goods, the city at the turn of the millennium is, nonetheless, inextricably linked with its colonial past.

In Shanghai, experience the unbridled energy of China’s most stylish and modern city. During your private tour, learn about Shanghai’s history through the architecture of the Bund, the French Concession, Pudong and other districts. Also tour some of China’s best museums, including the Shanghai City Planning Museum. Take in a bit of modernity with a walk through some of the up-and-coming neighborhoods filled with art galleries, design shops and stylish new restaurants.

Day 1: Upon arrival at the airport, meet your guide and transfer to the hotel.

Day 2: In the morning, visit the fully restored classical Yu Gardens. After, visit the Shanghai City Planning Museum to get a good understanding of the landscape and layout of this historic yet modern city. This afternoon take a stroll in the former French Concession. Containing century-old brick houses called ShiKuMen, this labyrinth of flagstone alleyways is home to art galleries, boutiques, nightclubs and restaurants. Finish the day by going to the top of the Oriental Tower for panoramic views of the city.

Day 3: Free Day

Day 4: In the morning, join Dvir Bar-Gal on an exclusive walking tour of Jewish Shanghai (tour website). The tour traces approximately 100 years of Jewish history in Shanghai, beginning with the few Jewish families that came to trade in the mid-1800s to the Jews who flocked there to escape Nazi persecution during World War II. The rest of the afternoon is yours to explore more of the city until we regroup in the evening for dinner and an evening acrobatic show. Today, lunch is on your own.
 Chinese acrobatics is one of the oldest performing arts. Its history can be traced back to Neolithic times. It is believed that acrobatics grew out of labor and self-defense skills, which people practiced and demonstrated during their leisure time.

Day 5: Day excursion to one of China’s 41 heritage sites, the water city of Suzhou. The excursion includes a visit to ZhouZheng garden, Net Master Garden, a Silk making factory, and the New Suzhou Museum designed by architect I. M. Pei. Upon returning to Shanghai, we will have dinner in a local restaurant and then enjoy an evening cruise on the HuangPu river.

80 km west of Shanghai, Suzhou is praised as a “paradise on Earth” and is famous for its exquisite gardens and silk production. The city is laced with canals passing through old neighborhoods and under picturesque high-arched “moon bridges” so often seen in Chinese paintings. The classical gardens of Suzhou embody the harmonious principles of Chinese garden construction, dictating that gardens should attempt to create a microcosm of the universe in a confined space.

Kaifeng

Today, Kaifeng is a mid-sized very average Chinese city, but 1,000 years ago it was the center of the world as the capital of China and the terminus of the Silk road. Situated ten kilometers south of the Yellow River in Henan province, the Kaifeng municipality covers an area of 359 square kilometers and has a population of 530,000. No longer China’s center of commerce Kaifeng through preserved historical relics Kaifeng offers visitors a look back at its storied past.

Day 6: After a free morning, we will transfer to the airport for our flight to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province. From Zhengzhou we drive to Kaifeng where we will have dinner and check into the hotel.

Day 7: Today we have a full day tour around Kaifeng with a Jewish Chinese national tour-guide, Shi Lei. Before lunch, visit the Jewish Exhibition in the Riverside Scene Park. After lunch, see the old site of the synagogue (today a hospital stands on the site) and the former Jewish living quarter still known today as “Teaching Torah Lane”. From there visit the Kaifeng Museum which houses some stone monuments erected by the Kaifeng Jews and also a large collection of pictures relating to the Jews of the city. End the day with a visit to the Guild Hall to see models of modern Kaifeng and as it looked when it was the capital of China during the Song Dynasty. After dinner we will transfer to Zhengzhou to board a high-speed soft sleeper train to Xi’An.

Xi'An

Xi’An, also known as Chang’An in ancient times, is the birthplace of ancient civilization in the Yellow River basin. During Xi’An’s three thousand-year history, 13 dynasties have situated their capitals here. Because of its long history as China’s capital city, Xi’An is considered one of the four major ancient civilization capitals along with Athens, Cairo, and Rome. Today, Xi’An is the capital of Shaanxi province

Day 8: Meet your local guide at the train station and transfer to the hotel to freshen up. Then with your private car and guide, take a trip to the Terracotta Warriors excavation site and museum for a tour of one of the greatest archeological treasures in the world. There are over 7,000 life size figures in the vault, as well as realistic portraits of the soldiers. A hangar constructed over the site allows visitors to walk around on platforms to view the figures. After lunch the afternoon is free for you to walk through the lively Muslim quarter with all of its scents, colors, and knickknack stalls. In the evening, enjoy a Tang Dynasty dinner show*.

Day 9: After breakfast, visit the Shaanxi Museum which has a rich collection of central Chinese artifacts (currently the museum houses about 80,000 pieces). Then visit the Bell Tower situated in the center of the old city and the ancient City Wall. This wall is the best preserved city wall in China. Its history can be traced back to 1370 CE. In the evening, gather for a dumpling dinner*, a Xi’An culinary specialty.

Day 10: Enjoy your free day exploring Xi’An at your own leisure.

Harbin

Founded at the turn of the 20th century, Harbin is a relatively young city. Today, Harbin is known as Oriental Moscow because of its Russian style architecture and influences. At the turn of the 20th century, Jews were drawn here by opportunity and built a community that later became the largest of its kind in the Far East. At its height, the Jewish population in Harbin numbered over 20,000.

Day 11: From Xi’an, we will fly to Harbin in the morning. On arrival, transfer to the hotel. We will then drive to the Siberian Tiger Park. The 350-acre park has over 600 animals, including 500 siberian tigers (100 of which are visible to visitors), white tigers, lions, lynx, leopards, black pumas and Bengali tigers. The park’s purpose is to breed endangered animals for re-release into the wild. From the tiger park drive back to the city center for a tour of the old Russian style cathedral, Saint Sophia. Built in 1907, St Sophia is a prime example of Russian influence in Harbin. Then walk the bustling neighborhood streets in the downtown area with their Russian and European architecture and also explore the historic shopping district with its beautiful downtown outdoor mall.

Day 12: In the morning meet Prof. Dan Ben-Canaan, our expert Harbin guide for a city tour of the Jewish sites. We will start by driving downtown to see the two synagogues and the old Jewish day school. The new synagogue was recently converted to a Jewish history museum and has a large collection of photos detailing the lives of Jewish migrants in the early 1900s. Afterwards, drive to the Huangshan Jewish cemetery, where many of the Jews who died in Harbin are buried. In the afternoon, visit the Sino-Israel Research Center at Heilongjiang University and hear presentations from students about their research on Harbin Jewish life. We will then join the students and local city dignitaries at a banquet dinner.

Day 13: This morning we will visit the Unity 731 museum. During WWII, the Japanese set up a “medical experiment” facility known as Unity 731 outside Harbin. Over the course of the war they used the facility to conduct brutal experiments on the local population. After lunch, we return to city center to walk along the the Songhua river-front. The rest of the afternoon is at your leisure. In the evening, meet at the hotel to transfer for your flight to Beijing. On arrival, in Beijing transfer to the hotel.

Beijing

Beijing, the historic capital and cultural heart of China, is a city where past, present, and future meet. In the past few decades, the city has transformed itself into a modern metropolis with towering skyscrapers, glitzy shopping districts, and multi-lane highways. Nonetheless, Beijing’s centuries-old traditions and stories are still never more than an alley away.

On your journey with us you will tour ancient imperial sites and then, without skipping a beat, wind through traditional neighborhood lanes like a local. You will marvel at the Great Wall as one of the most majestic wonders of the world and have the chance to explore dense markets teeming with pearls, silks, foods, and furniture. Additionally, we can arrange spectacular panoramic views of the city, succulent Peking Duck* dinners, and evening theatrical performances of Peking Opera and Kungfu at your request.

Day 14: In the morning, visit Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, surrounded by China’s most important political institutions. Next, visit the Forbidden City, the ancient home to the imperial family before the 1911 Revolution and a marvelous monument to Chinese architecture. The city contains a magnificent collection of Chinese bronzes, porcelain, paintings, jade and other treasures. The Forbidden City will be followed by a visit to some traditional neighborhoods that date back centuries and lunch with a local family. These neighborhoods or “hutongs” are traditional alleys where communities live in close proximity. The wood and stone craftsmanship in these hutongs are intricate and are not seen anymore in modern Chinese buildings. Later, a rickshaw trip through Beijing’s hutongs will give you a bit of a glimpse of what life was like in ancient Beijing.
In the evening, we have included VIP tickets to the Beijing Opera. Beijing Opera has origins that extend back over 200 years. The Chinese opera is widely regarded as the highest expression of Chinese culture and it is known as one of the three main theatrical systems in the world.

Day 15: Today, join your private car and local guide for a trip to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. The Great Wall is one of the great wonders of the world and deservedly so. There is nothing quite like standing on the top tower, looking at the wall snaking its way across the tops of the mountains, and envisioning ancient armies locked in combat. After a brief hike on the Wall, you will have lunch, followed by a visit to the Ming Tombs where the Ming Dynasty’s imperial family is buried. Be impressed by the beauty of the tomb’s location and the tranquility of its surroundings. The selection of the grave sites is based on wind patterns and water levels to ensure that only benevolent spirits will inhabit the area. On your way back to the city, have a short visit to a cloisonné ware factory, which is a famous local craft form. The technique used today of inlaid copper and enamel filling was developed over 500 years ago during the Ming Dynasty. For dinner, we will head back to the city for you to sample Beijing’s most famous delicacy — Peking Duck*.

Day 16: In the morning, take a tour of the Summer Palace, built by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty as his summer retreat from the Forbidden City modeled after the famous gardens and lakes of Southern China. The palace was formerly used as elegant apartments for members of the royal family and the buildings there still contain the original jewel-encrusted furniture and other precious art objects. Longevity Hill is the focal point of the Summer Palace and the panoramic view from the summit is well worth the climb. After lunch your afternoon is free and we will gather in evening for a live theatrical Kungfu performance.