Private departures only
Every journey runs for one party. We do not consolidate strangers into a coach to make a departure viable, which is why our vehicles are sized to the party and not the other way round.
Twelve cities · Private departures
China, on the schedule
China, on the schedule
the country actually keeps.
Serica Journeys designs and operates private day journeys for international travellers in China — entry reserved before you land, one English-speaking guide for the whole day, and nothing left to pay at the gate.
The standard
Four commitments that decide how a day goes.
Most disappointing days in China are not caused by bad luck or a bad guide. They are caused by scheduling — arriving when everyone else arrives, at a site whose tickets sold out at midnight, with a guide who has three other parties. We built the company around removing those four failures.
In at opening
Our day starts before the crowds do. Where a site sells timed entry, we hold the first window of the day — not the one that is easiest to fill. It is the single decision that changes what you see.
Your tickets, already secured
China's major sites have moved to real-name, ID-linked advance reservation, often through Chinese-language apps with daily caps. We hold your entry before you land, matched to your passport.
Your guide walks with you
One guide, one party, the whole day. Licensed, assessed for spoken English, and named to you before you travel — not allocated on the morning.
Nothing more to pay on the ground
Entry, internal transport, reserved seating and the vehicle are inside the price we quote you. No optional extras produced at the gate. No shopping stops, ever.
Where we go
Twelve cities, one operating standard.
Beijing
The imperial capital, at the hour it is still quiet.
3 journeys →
Shanghai
A city best read as layers, in the right order.
3 journeys →
Xi'an
The eastern end of the Silk Road, and the army that guarded it.
2 journeys →
Chengdu
Pandas at the hour they are actually awake.
3 journeys →
Hangzhou
A lake that has been curated for a thousand years.
2 journeys →
Guilin & Yangshuo
The karst landscape on the back of the twenty-yuan note.
2 journeys →
Chongqing
A city built vertically, and the rock carvings beyond it.
2 journeys →
Suzhou
Gardens designed as arguments, and the canals that paid for them.
2 journeys →
Guangzhou
Two thousand years of trade, and the food that came out of it.
2 journeys →
Shenzhen
A village in 1979, and what happened next.
2 journeys →
Qingdao
A German colonial town on a Chinese coast, and the brewery it left behind.
2 journeys →
Lijiang
A Naxi town at 2,400 metres, under a snow mountain.
2 journeys →Featured city
Chengdu, where we run the most departures.
Southwest China · 成都
Pandas at the hour they are actually awake.
Three private day journeys, each starting at the panda base at the moment it opens, with entry reserved against your passport in advance. Everything named on the itinerary is inside the price.
Who you are booking with
One operator, one written standard, one contract.
OperatorL Z Development Pty Ltdtrading as Serica Journeys
Company numberACN 167 079 727ABN 85 167 079 727
CancellationFree up to 7 days outWritten into every confirmation
The full operating standard — ticketing, guides, vehicles, party size, what a price contains, weather and closures, cancellation — is published in full on one page, and every line of it is available in writing before you pay.
Why us
What makes a Serica day different.
English written for English speakers
Itineraries, confirmations and pre-travel notes are written in English by English speakers. Nothing on this site is a machine translation of a Chinese product sheet.
A written agreement before you pay
Every booking is confirmed in writing before any payment is taken: the company, its registration number, the itinerary, the inclusions and the total price, in plain English. Nothing is left to be settled at the gate.
Licensed, assessed, reviewed
Every guide holds a current Chinese guide licence and is assessed by us for spoken English before working a Serica day. Every vehicle is a licensed charter vehicle with a professional driver. Every departure is reviewed against the standard afterwards.
Tell us where you are and what you would like to see.
Every journey is quoted for your party, your dates and your pace. We reply in English, usually within one business day, with a written itinerary and a price before anything is booked.