Overview
Twelve days from Xi'an to Hong Kong aboard the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express, taking in most of what people mean when they say they want to see China - the Terracotta Army, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Yangtze, the pandas and the karst rivers of Guilin - without the airports in between.
It is a broader journey than the Silk Road itineraries. The train works south and east from the old imperial capitals into Shanghai and the porcelain kilns of Jingdezhen, along the Yangtze at Yichang, across to Chengdu for Sichuan, and down to Guilin before crossing into Hong Kong. Nine of the eleven nights are on board.
Journey highlights
- The Terracotta Army at Xi'an and the city's Ming-era walls
- The Longmen Grottoes at Luoyang - over 100,000 Buddhist figures cut into the cliffs - and the Shaolin Temple
- The Great Wall at Badaling, with a Peking duck lunch in Beijing
- Afternoon tea on the 120th floor of the Shanghai Tower, then a private yacht along the Huangpu after dark
- A hands-on session at the wood-fired dragon kilns of Jingdezhen, China's porcelain capital
- A chartered boat through the Three Gorges at Yichang
- Giant pandas at Chengdu, and a privately reserved Sichuan opera with bian lian face-changing
- A private cruise down the Lijiang River to Yangshuo, and cormorant fishing at sunset
One departure in 2027: 16 to 27 April.
Your Itinerary
Xi'an
Arrive in Xi'an and transfer to the Ritz-Carlton for one night. Time to settle before the welcome reception and a Tang Dynasty themed dinner - fitting, since Xi'an was the Tang capital and the eastern end of the Silk Road.
Xi'an
The morning is spent on Xi'an's city walls, among the oldest and most complete defensive structures anywhere, and in the Muslim Quarter at the Great Mosque, where Chinese architecture houses an Islamic function. After lunch, the Terracotta Warriors: more than 6,000 life-sized soldiers, horses and chariots buried to guard Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife and found by farmers digging a well in 1974. Every figure is individually modelled, down to the armour and the face. Tonight you board the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express for the welcome dinner.
Luoyang
Luoyang has 4,000 years of history and served as capital to thirteen dynasties. The day starts at the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO site where more than 100,000 Buddhist statues and some 60 stupas are carved into the limestone along the Yi River. Then the Shaolin Temple at the foot of Mount Song, birthplace of both Zen Buddhism and kung fu, where monks still train in the courtyards. Back in the old town there is time for Luoyang's water banquet dumplings before dinner on board.
Beijing
The Great Wall at Badaling in the morning, on a restored section with long views over the hills, then a Peking duck lunch at one of the capital's specialists. The afternoon offers a choice: imperial Beijing - Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace - or the modern city, taking in the Olympic Village, the CCTV Tower and the National Museum. Dinner is on board as the train pulls away.
Shanghai
A leisurely morning on board, then Shanghai. You go up the Shanghai Tower - at 632 metres the tallest building in China - for afternoon tea on the 120th floor, with pastries flavoured with lychee and osmanthus and the whole of Pudong below. In the evening a private yacht takes you along the Huangpu, between the colonial facades of the Bund and the towers on the opposite bank, over dinner.
Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen has made porcelain for the imperial court for a thousand years. The morning is at the Chinese Ceramic Museum, with Song celadons and Ming vases, and the afternoon at the Ancient Kilns and Folk Customs Expo Area, where the wood-fired dragon kilns still run. Master potters guide you through shaping, carving and painting a piece of your own - you take it with you.
Yichang
Yichang is the gateway to the Yangtze. A chartered boat carries the group through the Natural Grand Canyon, from the Three Gorges Dam - the largest hydroelectric station in the world - down to the Gezhouba Dam. Lunch is served on board: Yangtze fish and Sichuan dishes, eaten on deck or from the lounge as the gorges pass.
Chengdu
Breakfast on board as the train arrives in the Sichuan capital, then the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, one of China's genuine conservation successes. In the afternoon the Sichuan Opera Theatre is reserved for the group alone - silk costumes, fire, and bian lian, the face-changing technique in which a performer's mask changes faster than you can follow.
On board the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express
A full day on the train. The observation car has the largest window of any train in China; the lounge has the wine list and the resident pianist. Nothing is scheduled, which is rather the point.
Guilin
A privately chartered cruise down the Lijiang River from Guilin to Yangshuo, between the limestone karst peaks that have been the subject of Chinese landscape painting for centuries. As the sun goes down you board a fishing boat to watch cormorant fishing, a technique older than most of what you have seen on this journey. Then the farewell dinner on board as the train leaves for Hong Kong.
Hong Kong
The train arrives at Shenzhen and the group crosses the border into Hong Kong. The afternoon is free - the boutiques and older streets of Central, the skyline from the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, or simply the hotel. The farewell dinner is at the hotel this evening.
Hong Kong
A slow morning, then a private transfer to the airport for your onward flight. We are happy to add nights in Hong Kong, or arrange onward travel, if you would rather not finish here.
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Terms & Conditions
Booking & Payment
- Deposit: 30% of the total tour cost is due at the time of booking. The deposit is non-refundable.
- Final payment: the balance is due no later than 125 days before departure.
- Bookings made within 125 days of departure are payable in full at the time of booking.
- Fares are per person. Your written confirmation shows the exact amounts and due dates.
Cancellation
- 125 days or more before departure: 30% of the total tour cost (the deposit)
- Less than 125 days before departure: 100% of the total tour cost
Changes
- Date change: free of charge, subject to availability, when requested 125 days or more before departure; after that, a fee of 15% of the total tour cost applies.
- Cabin upgrade: only the fare difference between cabin categories applies.
- Cabin downgrade or passenger name correction: free of charge up to 35 days before departure; within 35 days, EUR 500 per change.
Changes or cancellation by the train operator
If the train operator cancels or materially changes a departure, you will be offered a new date or an amended booking, a credit toward a future journey, or a refund of the amounts paid.
All cancellation, change, or update requests must be submitted in writing by email to travel@palacetours.com. A request takes effect only once we have received and processed it, and we will confirm the outcome to you in writing. Timeframes are calculated by reference to local time and business days at the destination; a request received outside business hours is treated as received on the next business day.
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance, including cancellation cover, from the moment you pay your deposit. For information on available plans, please visit www.palacetours.com/insurance.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Tour Inclusions
Accommodation
- 1 night at the Ritz-Carlton Xi'an (or similar)
- 9 nights aboard the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express in a private en-suite cabin
- 1 night at The Peninsula Hong Kong (or similar)
Dining
- All meals throughout the journey, served in the train's Chinese and Western restaurant cars
- Dinners in selected local restaurants off the train
- Wines, spirits and soft drinks included with meals and from the bar lounge car
Service
- Arrival and departure transfers
- Cabin attendant service, including evening turndown
- Luggage porterage for the whole journey
- An experienced tour management team throughout
- A doctor and medical facilities on board
- All gratuities, on and off the train
Touring
- Guided off-train excursions at every stop on the itinerary
- Entrance fees to the sites named in the itinerary
- Freedom of Choice touring options where offered
Not included
- International flights
- Chinese visa and travel insurance
- Items of a personal nature
Accommodations
The Golden Eagle Silk Road Express is a purpose-built train, and the newest in the fleet. It carries two restaurant cars - one Chinese, one Western - a bar lounge car, and an observation car whose floor-to-ceiling windows are the largest on any train in China. There are two cabin grades.
Superior Cabin
- 11 square metres (535cm x 205cm)
- Converts between twin beds and a double (190cm x 170cm)
- Two single sofas by day and a sofa chair
- Full-length wardrobe and personal safe
- Individually controlled air conditioning
- Mini bar
- En-suite bathroom of 2.5 square metres, with a TOTO smart toilet, full power shower and underfloor heating
- Bathrobes, slippers, Dyson hairdryer and toiletries provided
Han Dynasty Suite
- 22.2 square metres - double the Superior Cabin
- One double bed (190cm x 170cm)
- Separate closet
- En-suite bathroom of 5.2 square metres, with a TOTO smart toilet, deluxe bathtub and double sink
- Bathrobes, slippers, Dyson hairdryer and toiletries provided
- Laundry service included
- Private car and guide options within the excursion programme
Han Dynasty Suites are limited and priced on request - please ask us for availability on your preferred date.
Frequently Asked Questions & Tips
Imperial China lasts 12 days and 11 nights, from Xi'an to Hong Kong. Nine of the eleven nights are spent aboard the Golden Eagle Silk Road Express, with one night in a five-star hotel in Xi'an at the start and one night in a five-star hotel in Hong Kong at the end.
There is one departure in 2027, running from 16 to 27 April. The exact fare and availability for each cabin grade are shown in the departure list on this page.
Fares start from around USD 27,500 per person sharing, with sole occupancy from around USD 45,900. The price depends on whether you choose a Superior cabin or the Han Dynasty Suite, and the exact fare is shown on this page.
The train runs from Xi'an to Luoyang and Beijing, then south and east to Shanghai and the porcelain town of Jingdezhen, along the Yangtze at Yichang, across to Chengdu in Sichuan, and down to Guilin. The group then crosses from Shenzhen into Hong Kong for the final night.
It is a broader journey through the classic sights of China rather than the desert Silk Road. It combines the Terracotta Army, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Yangtze, the pandas of Chengdu and the karst rivers of Guilin, all without flights in between.
On day 5 you go up the Shanghai Tower, at 632 metres the tallest building in China, for afternoon tea on the 120th floor. In the evening a private yacht takes the group along the Huangpu River between the Bund and the Pudong skyline, with dinner on board.
Jingdezhen has made porcelain for the imperial court for a thousand years. You visit the Chinese Ceramic Museum, then the Ancient Kilns and Folk Customs Expo Area, where master potters guide you through shaping, carving and painting a piece of your own beside the wood-fired dragon kilns. You take your piece with you.
Yes. At Yichang, the gateway to the Yangtze, a chartered boat carries the group from the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric station in the world, down to the Gezhouba Dam. Lunch of Yangtze fish and Sichuan dishes is served on board as the gorges pass.
On day 10 a privately chartered cruise takes you down the Lijiang River from Guilin to Yangshuo between the limestone karst peaks. At sunset you board a fishing boat to watch traditional cormorant fishing, before the farewell dinner on board as the train heads for Hong Kong.
In Xi'an you walk the city walls, visit the Great Mosque in the Muslim Quarter and see the Terracotta Warriors. At Luoyang the next day you tour the UNESCO-listed Longmen Grottoes, with more than 100,000 Buddhist statues, and the Shaolin Temple at the foot of Mount Song.
On day 4 you visit the Great Wall at Badaling, then enjoy a Peking duck lunch. In the afternoon you choose between imperial Beijing, with Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, or the modern city, with the Olympic Village, the CCTV Tower and the National Museum.
The Golden Eagle Silk Road Express has two grades. The Superior Cabin is 11 square metres, converts between twin beds and a double, and has an en-suite with a TOTO smart toilet, power shower and underfloor heating. The Han Dynasty Suite is 22.2 square metres with a double bed.
The fare covers all accommodation, all meals, beverages with meals and from the lounge car, arrival and departure transfers, cabin attendant service with turndown, luggage porterage, guided excursions at every stop with entrance fees, a tour management team, an onboard doctor and all gratuities on and off the train.
International flights are not included, and neither are the Chinese visa, travel insurance or items of a personal nature. You fly into Xi'an and home from Hong Kong, and our specialists can help arrange flights around the tour dates.
Yes. Day 9 is a full day on the train with nothing scheduled, so you can relax in the observation car, which has the largest window of any train in China, or in the lounge car with the resident pianist. The final afternoon in Hong Kong is also free.
A deposit of 30 percent of the tour price confirms your cabin and is non-refundable. The balance is due 125 days before departure, and bookings made within 125 days of departure are payable in full at the time of booking. Your written confirmation shows the exact amounts and the dates they fall due.
Children can be booked, with child rates in two bands based on age at departure: under 5, and 5 to 11. Please contact us so we can confirm cabin arrangements and the fare for your family.
Yes. Sole occupancy fares start from around USD 45,900, depending on cabin grade. The exact single fare is shown on this page, and our team can confirm availability for the April departure.
Yes. We are happy to add nights in Hong Kong or arrange onward travel if you would rather not finish there. We can also add a night in Xi'an before the journey begins.
Email travel@palacetours.com, call 786-408-0610, or message us on WhatsApp at https://wa.me/17864080610, where a travel specialist or our AI assistant will reply. The departure list on this page is bookable directly, with the current fare and availability for each cabin grade.
Media Gallery
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the train exterior
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the observation car
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: a Han Dynasty Suite
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: a Han Dynasty Suite
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: a Superior Cabin in twin configuration
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: cabin facilities
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the bar lounge car
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the Chinese-style dining car
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the restaurant car
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: dishes served on board
Golden Eagle Silk Road Express: the train interior
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From $27,500 per person (double occupancy, USD) — live dates and rates are in the Book This Tour section above.
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