The Wall in its best coat, golden ginkgo in the Forbidden City's courts, a duck feast after the day-trippers leave.
Beijing has five good weeks of autumn, and this journey is built inside them: the Wall walking under a deep blue sky, the imperial courtyards loud with gold, the duck roasted for the evening sitting rather than the noon rush.
The scholar's Forbidden City opens the trip, ginkgo at its most theatrical; a private stretch of the Great Wall follows, walked with a picnic rather than a queue. Then the capital's quieter crafts — a calligrapher's studio, the antique lanes — and a duck feast scheduled after the day-trippers have gone home.
Five days of the capital's best coat — private, all-inclusive, priced openly.
A courtyard-house hotel in the hutongs; evening supper behind an unmarked door.
Opening-hour entry with a palace historian; ginkgo courts and Jingshan's golden view.
A quiet restored stretch walked with a mountain picnic; dusk back in the city.
A calligrapher's studio and the antique lanes; then the duck feast, timed after the crowds.
Temple of Heaven park among the morning tai chi players; departure after.
The Forbidden City at opening, led by a palace historian.
A restored Wall section without a coach in sight; picnic at the tower.
The duck house after the day-trippers — the oven still working for you.
Everyone sees the Wall. Almost no one has it to themselves.
Follow one leaf across a thousand years.
Our home ground. Nobody hosts Chengdu better than the people who live it.
Two Chinas in one week: the skyline that out-dreams fiction, and the lake that taught China poetry.
First-picked Longjing at Meijiawu, West Lake in spring rain, a private boat up to the tea fields.
The 3,000-metre summer: Songtsam lodges, alpine meadows, a monastery library above the clouds.
The Ice Festival before the gates open, Siberian tigers at feeding hour, a hotpot that thaws you whole.
A named tailor replies within 12 hours. Your first proposal within 24.