We’ll begin this modestly revised version of our old early summer Northern China tour by visiting Xianghai, a huge reserve in Jilin Province near the border with Inner Mongolia. Here we’ll search in particular for the enigmatic Jankowski’s Bunting as well as Swan Goose, Baer’s Pochard, Falcated Duck, Oriental Stork, three species of cranes and Asian Dowitcher. Traveling south to central China’s Shaanxi Province, we’ll explore areas around the mighty Qinling mountain range. We’ll visit Yangxian in southwesternmost Shaanxi, where a tiny population of the extremely rare Crested Ibis was discovered in the early 1980s. With help from local guides we’ll concentrate on finding this species, whose world population is still under 400 individuals. Our final destination will be the impressive Taibai Mountain, which at more than 12,000 feet is the highest point in the whole of eastern China. Here we’ll focus on finding such exciting species as Temminck’s Tragopan, Blood and Golden Pheasants, Fujian Niltava, Sichuan Treecreeper and Orange-flanked and Golden Bush-Robins.
We’ll also have the opportunity to see some of the Middle Kingdom’s amazing cultural heritage: the Great Wall, the Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, all in or near Beijing, and the magnificent Army of the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an.
Day 1: The tour begins this evening in Beijing.
Day 2: We’ll spend the day of sightseeing around Beijing. We’ll visit Tiananmen Square, one of the city’s most famous landmarks, before entering the Forbidden City. Home to the emperors of both the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City now holds the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in the nation. Night in Beijing.
Day 3: We’ll start early for a visit to the royal gardens of the Summer Palace. Here we can expect Yellow Bittern, Ruddy-breasted Crake, Black-browed, Oriental Reed- and possibly both Manchurian Reed- and Pallas’s Grasshopper Warblers. We could also encounter migrants still heading north to their Siberian breeding grounds. We’ll have time to freshen up at our hotel before catching a comfortable overnight sleeper train north into what used to be called Manchuria. Night on the train.
Day 4: Arriving at Baicheng in the early morning we’ll transfer directly to an area that is known for two of the region’s specialties. Our primary target will be Jankowski’s Bunting, an almost mythical species, which was recently discovered here. With luck we’ll also find our other target bird, Great Bustard, ranging the extensive grasslands. Attractive Mongolian Larks and Richard’s Pipit are both common here but Pallas’s Bunting might take more searching. Xianghai National Nature Reserve, about two hours away, will be our base for the following two nights. Night in Xianghai Nature Reserve.
Day 5: We’ll spend all day in Xianghai National Nature Reserve, a huge preserve dominated by extensive reedbeds, large expanses of open water and grasslands typical of the Mongolian steppe but also containing tracts of woodland, scrub and agriculture. Here we’ll search for Swan Goose, Falcated Duck, Red-crowned, White-naped and Demoiselle Cranes, Asian Dowitcher and a variety of other water and grassland birds such as Daurian Partridge, Amur Falcon, gorgeous White-winged Black Tern, Oriental Pratincole and Chinese Gray Shrike. Night near Xianghai.
Day 6: We’ll spend most of the day birding in and around Xianghai before starting our journey to Changchun, provincial capital of Jilin Province. Night in Changling.
Day 7: Today we’ll fly from Changchun through Beijing to Xi’an, capital of historic Shaanxi Province. We should arrive in time to have a quick look around Wild Goose Park close to our hotel. Night in Xi’an.
Day 8: Xi’an, meaning “western safety,” was previously the epicenter of the Chinese world and vied with Rome and later Constantinople for the title of “greatest city on the planet.” It’s still an impressive destination, offering the foreign visitor a wealth of things to see. In the morning we’ll visit the Army of the Terracotta Warriors, one of China’s greatest historical sites. Here a recently unearthed, ever vigilant force of thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers and their horses still stands guard over the ancient capital and the emperor’s burial site. After a morning here we’ll have lunch and visit the burial mound of Qin Shihuang, the emperor who first unified China and had the warriors built to protect him in the afterlife. After returning to our hotel to freshen up and have dinner, we’ll catch an overnight train southeast to Hanzhong. Night in sleepers on the train.
Day 9: On arrival in Hanzhong we’ll transfer directly to Yangxian and begin our search for the enchanting Crested Ibis. Previously common and widespread in China, the ibis is now one of the world’s rarest species and is confined exclusively to this part of China. Researchers here know the tiny population well and will act as guides. Other species in this area include the elusive Chinese Bamboo Partridge, Chinese Sparrowhawk, Cinnamon Bittern, Watercock, Brown-breasted Bulbul, Collared Finchbill, Swinhoe’s Minivet and Red-billed Starling. Night in Hanzhong.
Day 10: Leaving early we’ll drive north back through the Qinling mountain range to the spectacular Taibai Shan National Forest Reserve. We’ll make several stops en route to look for birds such as Golden Pheasant, Asian House Martin, Brown and Manchurian Bush-Warblers and possibly Spot-breasted Parrotbill and at times simply to admire the scenery. Entering the park we’ll drive to Hong He Gu, where we’ll spend the night.
Day 11: Taibai Shan is a fabulous mountain. Situated in the center of Meixian County, the mountain marks what Chinese accept as the boundary between northern and southern China and is forested from the foot at 2000 feet almost right to the summit, which has snow year round. Two roads lead from the base up to Xiabansi, which at 8300 feet is almost three-quarters of the way to the top, and we’ll use both to reach a variety of altitudes and habitats in our quest to uncover the mountain’s avian jewels. We’ll spend two nights at Hong He Gu, where we’ll be well placed to explore the park’s lower slopes as we search for species such as regal Golden Pheasant, secretive Chinese Sparrowhawk, gorgeous Fujian Niltava and junco-like Slaty Bunting. We’ll also make concerted efforts to see many of the park’s 12 species of phylloscopus and eight species of bush-warblers, with White-tailed Leaf-Warbler and Yellowish-bellied Bush-Warbler being high priorities. Night at Hong He Gu.
Day 12: We’ll spend most of the day again around Hong He Gu searching for a few more of the mountain’s mid-altitude species. In the late afternoon we’ll transfer to a hotel that is close to the park’s main entrance at Tangyu. Night at Tangyu.
Day 13: Today we’ll venture higher … to Xiabansi or possibly even higher. Specialties in this area include the magnificent Blood Pheasant and exquisite Temminck’s Tragopan. We’ll also expect to see Spotted Nutcracker, Chestnut Thrush, Orange-flanked and Golden Bush-Robins, Rufous-vented and Sooty Tits, Gray-headed Bullfinch and White-winged Grosbeak. With luck we’ll also encounter Rusty-breasted Tit, Spectacled and Streak-throated Fulvettas, Spectacled Parrotbill, Maroon-backed Accentor or Blanford’s Rosefinch. We’ll also spend time searching for the recently described and poorly known Sichuan Treecreeper. Night at Hong Hua Ling.
Day 14: We’ll spend the morning on Taibai Shan looking for species we might have missed earlier. In the late afternoon we’ll return to Xi’an and catch a flight back to Beijing. Night in Beijing.
Day 15: In the morning we’ll visit the Great Wall at Badaling for a combination of sightseeing and birding. Stretching for nearly 5000 kilometers, the wall has some sections that are over 2000 years old and although most of the parts we’ll see have been recently restored, it’s still an amazing structure. Ornithological treats could include White-browed Chinese Warbler, Vinous-throated Parrotbill, Plain Laughingthrush, Yellow-bellied Tit, Yellow-rumped and Asian Paradise-Flycatchers, Chinese Leaf- and Eastern Crowned Warblers and Godlewski’s Bunting. We’ll return to our Beijing hotel in the afternoon before heading back out to see a Chinese acrobatic troupe. Night in Beijing.
Day 16: The tour concludes this morning in Beijing.
Updated: 24 April 2006
Prices
- 2008 price about $7,340
- Single Occupancy Supplement $950
Notes
This tour is limited to 10 participants and one leader.
While most of the accommodations on this tour are first-rate, the guesthouse at Hong Hua Ling on Taibai Shan is of a slightly lower standard than normal Western expectations.
This tour is organized by our British company, Sunbird.