Beijing’s Great Wall and Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors will always draw a crowd, but the more interesting version of China increasingly lies past them, in family-run kitchens along the Silk Road, ice-transformed waterfalls in Shanxi and rural villages reached only on foot or by bike. As domestic tourism pushes harder against China’s best-known sights, World Expeditions has built five new itineraries around the country’s quieter, more diverse edges.
The Australian adventure operator, which pioneered commercial cycling in China in 1980 and has run remote Great Wall treks and Yunnan Meili Mountain journeys since, has launched trips spanning the Silk Road, regional cuisine, premium touring and Shanxi’s winter landscapes. The expansion follows a trip through China taken by World Expeditions CEO Sue Badyari and her son, on the company’s existing China Bike & Hike itinerary.
Slowing down changes what you see
‘China today is an incredibly dynamic destination,’ Badyari said. ‘You move between ancient trade routes, remote communities and landscapes few Western travellers have heard of, then arrive in cities connected by extraordinary modern infrastructure. Experiencing those contrasts first-hand, with ancient history alongside renewable energy projects and rapid technological development, is fascinating.’
For Badyari, the real difference comes from pace rather than itinerary. ‘What struck me most was what happens when you get beyond the headline sights,’ she said. ‘Travelling on foot or by bike slows everything down. You meet the people, eat in small local restaurants and experience landscapes and traditions you’d simply pass by on a conventional itinerary. That deeper connection is what travellers are looking for.’
Tracing the Silk Road west
The seven-day Western Silk Road: Chengdu to Jiayuguan itinerary opens with giant pandas and Chengdu’s street life before heading west through Gansu to the Rainbow Danxia landform, ancient Buddhist grottoes and the Qilian Mountains, finishing at Jiayuguan Fort on the Great Wall’s western frontier. Departures begin in October 2026, from A$3,390 per person.
For a longer traverse, the 17-day China Silk Road Cultural Journey runs from Beijing and Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors through the Buddhist monastery at Xiahe and the Dunhuang grottoes, skirting the Gobi Desert to Turpan before finishing among Kashgar’s markets. Departures run in September and October 2026, and April and May 2027, from A$6,490 per person.
Ice, grottoes and pagodas in Shanxi’s winter
The eight-day Shanxi: Ancient China in Winter itinerary heads from Beijing into Shanxi Province to see Yungang’s UNESCO-listed grottoes, the Hanging Temple, the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda and the walled town of Pingyao. Its centrepiece is Hukou Waterfall, where winter ice reshapes the Yellow River landscape into something closer to sculpture than scenery. Departures run December to February, from A$3,490 per person.
Eating a country one region at a time
Badyari points to food as one of the more revealing ways to understand a place this size. ‘Food was one of the defining parts of my recent trip,’ she said. ‘After a day of walking or cycling, we might find ourselves having lunch in a small family-run restaurant and later experiencing completely different regional specialities in a larger town or city. The variety is extraordinary, and food becomes another way of understanding the people and places you are travelling through.’
That idea underpins the 15-day Flavours of China itinerary, which traces seven regional cuisines from Sichuan to Beijing entirely by high-speed rail, with no internal flights. Markets, tea houses and hands-on cooking classes sit alongside the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and Chengdu’s pandas. Two departures run in April and October 2027, from A$6,790 per person.
Travellers wanting the major sights without giving up comfort can take the 12-day Premium China: Natural Wonders & Cultural Highlights itinerary, which pairs Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors, the Great Wall and Chengdu’s pandas with the lesser-visited Furong Ancient Town and the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie. Boutique accommodation, first-class rail and active day walks are included, along with a dumpling-making class, tai chi and a behind-the-scenes panda visit. Two departures run in April and October 2027, from A$6,990 per person.
A country built for curiosity
‘China is enormous, complex and constantly changing,’ Badyari said. ‘There is so much more to it than the places most visitors already know. Whether you are walking beneath the sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie, cycling through rural landscapes, eating your way through seven regional cuisines, exploring the Silk Road or seeing ancient Shanxi in winter, the opportunity is to go beyond the iconics and discover a China that can genuinely surprise you.’
