Grasslands & the Great Wall: Inner Mongolia & Beijing

Most group tours to China go to Beijing and stop there. This one goes further — three hours by high-speed train into Inner Mongolia, where the landscape opens up entirely and the itinerary shifts register. Nine days covering Beijing, the Xilamuren Grassland, Ordos and Hohhot before returning to Beijing to close with the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. You arrive in Beijing on day one and begin properly on day two: the Niujie Muslim Supermarket in the morning, then the Summer Palace — the Qing Dynasty imperial retreat on the northwest edge of the city, set around a lake with a covered walkway running most of its length. Day three takes the high-speed train to Hohhot, then a coach out to the Xilamuren Grassland. You spend the night in a yurt, and the evening is a grassland bonfire party with Mongolian milk tea and traditional dress — the kind of stop that doesn't appear on standard China itineraries. Days four and five move through Ordos — Genghis Khan Mausoleum, Dongsheng Mosque, Xiangshawan Desert with camel riding, cable car and desert mini-train — before the route loops back north through Daqi and Hohhot. Days seven and eight return to Beijing for Tiananmen Square, the Palace Museum, the Great Wall at Youjunguan, the Bird's Nest Stadium and an Acrobatic performance. Malaysia Airlines return flights from Kuala Lumpur are included, with 30kg checked baggage. Halal meals are provided throughout. This departure is for you if you want China beyond the standard circuit — with the grassland and the desert as the centrepiece.

• ◆Xilamuren Grassland — overnight in a yurt with bonfire party
• ◆Xiangshawan Desert — camel riding, cable car and desert mini-train
• ◆Great Wall of Youjunguan — one of the less-visited sections near Beijing
• ◆Palace Museum (Forbidden City) — the imperial centre of Ming and Qing China
• ◆Dongsheng & Beijing Mosques — Muslim heritage along the route
• ◆High-speed train Beijing–Hohhot–Beijing (2nd class) — included
• ◆Malaysia Airlines return flights from Kuala Lumpur — 30kg baggage

Day-by-Day