Join us for a real cooking adventure! We begin in Beijing, capital city of China, with its magnificent palaces, monumental gates, and stately gardens. We will visit the Great Wall of China, and tour the Forbidden Palace, Tian An Men Square, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Next we fly to Chengdu capital of Sichuan province in southwest China. We have developed a special cooking seminar with master Chef Li using the facilities of his traditional restaurant. You will learn to select vegetables, meats and spices at the morning market; the proper technique of chopping vegetables into thin morsels; and you will be introduced to different cooking styles, such as sautéing and stir-frying, dry braising, Pao (cooking in oil or water) and Hui (frying then braising with sauce). You will also learn the art of presenting each dish with garnishes of carved vegetables and fruits. During the mornings, there will be interesting activities in the town of Chengdu to learn more about traditional Chinese crafts. At the completion of the cooking course, we will travel to Mt Emei, one of the most famous Buddhist mountains in China with spectacular scenery.
We depart Chengdu for the bustling, modern city of Shanghai, famous for the shopping district along Nanjing Road and for walks along the Bund, Shanghai's colourful waterfront. From Shanghai, we journey to Suzhou, the Garden City whose canals, small bridges and lovely gardens present a picture of delicate beauty.
Chinese cuisine has long been one of the nation's greatest cultural treasures. Chinese people look upon cooking as an art that combines sight, smell, touch, taste, and even sound. As Chinese restaurants proliferate around the world, people are discovering more about these cuisines. What better way than to savour them in their homeland, prepared by chefs with skills and recipes inherited from countless generations? When you return home, you will remember the exotic taste and smell of Sichuan cuisine, the beautiful scenery of Mt Emei, and sharp contrast between ancient Beijing and modern Shanghai. Please join us for an exciting culinary adventure into an ancient and mysterious land and spice up your life in Sichuan!
ITINERARY
Day 1, Sat. Apr 26Depart home city
Depart home city for your international flight to Beijing.
Day 2, Sun. Apr 27Beijing
Afternoon arrival in Beijing, greeting at the airport and transfer to hotel. Welcome dinner at our deluxe hotel.
D Kunlun Hotel
Day 3, Mon. Apr 28Beijing
Begin your exploration of China by touring three of the nation's most famous sites:
The Forbidden City (the Palace Museum) where in earlier times only members of the royal family were permitted; Tian An Men Square, where Mao Tse Tung raised the flag of the People's Republic; and the Temple of Heaven, widely regarded as the high point of Ming design.
B/L/D Kunlun Hotel
Day 4, Tue. Apr 29Beijing
Morning excursion to the Great Wall, one of the world's architectural wonders, built section by section between the 5th century BC and the 16th century AD. Then continue on to the Ming Tomb Gardens, burial ground of 13 emperors. On the way back, stop in at Beijing's largest cloisonné factory. The cloisonné technique was transmitted to China from the West and reached its peak of perfection as a result of the concerted efforts of Chinese artisans. Chinese cloisonné became the standard by which the quality and beauty of cloisonné worldwide is measured.
B/L/D Kunlun Hotel
Day 5, Wed. Apr 30Beijing
Morning rickshaw tour of Beijing's 'hutongs', the old residential area of twisting lanes and courtyard homes. We will visit a traditional teahouse with demonstration and lecture on "The Art of Drinking Chinese Tea". Enjoy lunch as guests of one of the local families. In the afternoon we will visit the Summer Palace of the Qing dynasty, residence of the last empress, and walk leisurely through the beautiful grounds. View the brilliant miniature paintings on the ceiling of the empress' covered walkway alongside her private lake.
In the evening, enjoy a Peking Duck Banquet for which this city is famous.
B/L/D Kunlun Hotel
Day 6, Thu. May 01 Beijing/Chengdu
Morning flight from Beijing to Chengdu, capital city of Sichuan province that is world-renowned for its spicy cuisine. On arrival, transfer to hotel. In the evening, enjoy a visit to the Sichuan Opera.
B/L/D Jinjiang Hotel
Day 7, Fri. May 02Chengdu
Morning activities: A walk through the local market to familiarize yourself with the local spices and vegetables. This is followed by your first lesson in Sichuan cuisine taught by Chef Li Xiao. All classes are taught demonstration style, and you will have opportunities to sample all the dishes prepared.
During each class a Chinese meal will be prepared: meat dish, vegetable dish, soup or dessert.
Class I
Cold dish: Shadow play sliced potato
Hot dish: Kung Pao chicken (diced chicken, tossed with Szechuan spices and dry chili pepper, topped with peanuts)
Vegetable dish: Mapo tofu (chili and garlic, quick braised with tofu and brown sauce. A famous and popular Szechuan dish)
After lunch, class continues.
Class II
Cold dish: Walnut wrapped in multi-flavoured spices
Hot dish: Cashew Chicken (diced chicken, celery mushrooms & water chestnuts sautéed in a lightly seasoned sauce)
Dessert: Sweet walnut paste with snowflake
B/L/D Jinjiang Hotel
Day 8, Sat. May 03Chengdu
Morning activities: visit to a Sichuan Embroidery workshop.
Class III
Cold dish: Beef with orange peel, Sichuan style
Hot dish: Deep-fried fish in sweet and sour sauce
Dessert: Deep-fried banana with caramel sauce
After lunch, class continues
Class IV
Cold dish:Club-beaten chicken shreds
Hot dish: Shredded pork with fish sauce
Dessert: Crisp dough coated with sugar-candied rose
B/L/D Jinjiang Hotel
Day 9, Sun. May 04Chengdu
Morning activities: visit to a Bamboo Weaving Factory.
Class V
Soup: Pickled vegetable and pork soup
Hot dish: Fried pork fillet with sweet and sour sauce
Vegetable dish: Home style tofu
After lunch, class continues
Class VI
Hot dish: Tai Bai chicken and twice cooked pork, Sichuan style
Vegetable dish: Shrimps and vegetarian delight (seasonal vegetables mixed with Chinese mushrooms, button mushrooms, snow peas and water chestnuts)
This is the final class and will be followed by a closing ceremony where participants will receive a printed set of all the recipes.
B/L/D Jinjiang Hotel
Day 10, Mon. May 05 Chengdu / Mt Emei
Full day excursion to Mt Emei in the southern area of the Sichuan basin, Mt Emei is one of the four sacred Buddhist Mountains in China. Ever since the introduction of Buddhism into China in the first century AD, Buddhist buildings have been built on the mountain. Now there are more than one hundred temples and monasteries. Mt Emei is rich in natural and cultural heritage. The Four Wonders of Mt Emei are the Golden Summit Sunrise, Sea of Clouds, Buddha's Halo, and the Holy Lamp. In 1996 Mt Emei and the Grand Buddha of Leshan were included in the List of World Famous Cultural relics.
B/L/D Hong zhu shan Hotel
Day 11, Tue.May 06Mt Emei / Chengdu
Return to Chengdu passing through this picturesque area notable for its very diverse vegetation, ranging from sub-tropical to sub-alpine pine forests. Some of the trees here are over 1,000 years old. On our return, we will visit the Giant Panda Reserve. The Giant Panda is a rare, endangered species endemic to China. Here we will view these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat of dense, misty forests of bamboo and conifers.
B/L/D Jinjiang Hotel
Day 12, Wed. May 07 Chengdu/ Shanghai
Morning flight to Shanghai. Formerly an unimportant village, the bustling city of Shanghai with its eleven million people is now the largest city in Asia. In the afternoon, we visit the splendid Shanghai Museum where you can view furniture, jade, ivory and paintings representing all of China's dynasties.
Evening enjoy the Shanghai Acrobats.
B/L/D Shanghai Hotel
Day 13, Thu. May 08Shanghai
Morning at leisure to further explore Shanghai, or enjoy shopping on famous Nanjing Road. Here Shanghainese tailors will custom make garments in a very short time.
In the afternoon we visit Yu Garden and the old town with its colourful ancient buildings.
B/D Shanghai Hotel
Day 14, Fri. May 09 Shanghai / Suzhou / Shanghai
Today we journey by train to Suzhou. The natural scenery of hills and waters in Suzhou is as charming as a delicate beauty. Streets and alleys in Suzhou extend side by side with canals. Small bridges and flowing waters, white walls and dark gray roof tiles match one another in tranquil elegance. The poetic and picturesque Suzhou gardens are a typical demonstration of simple elegance with intriguing scenes found in every season and in all weathers. The gardens are composed of rock formations, water reflecting pavilions and architectural anomalies.
We will visit these famous gardens and parks, as well as a world-renowned Silk Factory. Drive to Shanghai in the evening.
B/L/D Shanghai Hotel
Day 15, Sat. May 10Depart Shanghai
Morning at leisure. Afternoon transfer to the airport and depart China. Arrive home on the same calendar day.
B
PRICE AND INCLUDED FEATURES:
Cost -
Based on sharing twin accommodation $5549.00 CAD / 3829.00 USD per person
Single supplement - $1389.00 CAD / 960.00 USD
Included features:
- Domestic flights Beijing/Chengdu/Shanghai
- All land transportation
- Accommodation in 4-star hotels
- Hotel taxes and service charges
- Meals indicated as B(breakfast), L(lunch), D(dinner)
- Entrance fees
- 6 cooking classes
- Special demonstrations, events and activities
- Service of English-speaking national guide throughout and local guides
- Luggage handling airport to hotel
- Travel manual
Not included:
- China visa fee ($70 for Canadian citizen)
- Travel insurance (strongly recommended)
- Domestic departure taxes (approx. CAD $8 per flight payable to guide)
- Gratuities to guides, drivers, porters and hotel staff, and personal expenses
