China, made comprehensible

The unrestored sections stretch for miles with no other visitors at 07:00. Your guide accompanies you along battlements with views across forested ridgelines into Mongolia.

980 buildings, 9,000 rooms, and 600 years of imperial history. Pre-opening access arranged through our Beijing partner means you walk the central axis in silence before the gates open.

Eight thousand individually sculpted warriors in three pits — a discovery made accidentally by a farmer in 1974 and still being excavated. A private guide brings the human scale to mind.

Three or four nights on a small ship — 30 cabins — through the gorges that will never look the same after the dam. Shore excursions include hanging coffins and ghost towns.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding houses over 80 giant pandas. An early morning visit sees them most active. Keeper-for-a-day experiences are available on request.

The surviving hutong alleyways around Nanluoguxiang preserve old Beijing. A courtyard dumpling-making session with a family who has lived there for generations follows.

The 83km river journey past the karst peaks that feature on the 20-yuan note is genuinely as beautiful as its reputation. A bamboo raft on the Yulong River in Yangshuo follows.

The Buddhist cave murals at Mogao — painted between the 4th and 14th centuries — contain some of the world's finest examples of medieval art. Most caves require special permission.

A two-hour session with a master calligrapher learning the four treasures of the study — brush, ink, inkstone and paper — and the basic characters for peace and happiness.

The Ming-dynasty garden in the old city is a masterclass in classical Chinese garden design. The surrounding bazaar district and the Bund riverfront complete a full Shanghai day.