China Heritage Tour

Travel to China with Holt!

Holt’s China Heritage Tour offers adoptees and their families the opportunity to experience the rich culture, customs and history of this ancient land, traveling from big cities to rural villages. On this memorable trip, participants will visit famous sites such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, and enjoy a rare glimpse into China’s countryside. Families also have the chance to participate in hands-on cooking classes and learn to make traditional Chinese dishes.

Whenever possible, adoptees have the opportunity to visit their adoption cities, former orphanages and/or sites significant to their adoption story. They may also meet the people who touched their early lives before they joined their adoptive families in the U.S. The China tour is open to families adopted from any province and through any agency. Adoptees must be 9 years of age or older to participate in the tour.

Holt’s 2025 heritage tour to China will take place from June 18-29, 2025. Registration will be opening soon!

China adoptee girl with adoptive mom pose with smiles while on Holt China tour — Adoptees and their families have the chance to visit famous sites, both in cities and in the countryside.

Buffet of Chinese food on Holt China tour — Tasting — and learning to make — traditional Chinese dishes is a big part of the tour experience!

China adoptee girl with adoptive mom in colorful play garden while on Holt China tour — Families may schedule side trips to their child’s birth cities, former orphanages and other sites significant to their adoption story.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Tour

If you have additional questions, please send us an email at [email protected].

How much is the China Heritage Tour?

Prices for the 2025 China Heritage Tour are as follows:
$2,990 per adult and $2,750 per child under 12.

The tour fee covers many of the land costs while in China, including hotels and group meals, transportation, private guides, and sightseeing and tour programs. It does not include the round-trip airfare between the U.S. and China, or the cost of the side trip to an adoptee’s birth city and other personal expenses.

Who can go on the China Heritage Tour?

Can adoptees visit their orphanage or birth city?

What other services are available to adoptees?

Two Holt staff members will accompany families on the tour. Holt’s China program director was born in China and has been with Holt for more than 30 years. She will provide families with a comprehensive historical and cross-cultural perspective of China’s adoption program. In addition, a Holt social worker, herself an adoptee, will offer support and counseling for adoptees and their families during the tour.

What does a typical itinerary look like?

Here is a proposed itinerary for the 2025 China Heritage Tour.

date	schedule
June 18	Depart for China from the U.S.
June 19	Arrive in Beijing and check in to your hotel
June 20	Visit the Great Wall, then enjoy a Peking duck welcome dinner
June 21	Visit the Forbidden City, and tour the historic Hutong district by rickshaw, followed by lunch at a local family home
June 22	Depart for Xian by train
June 23	Explore the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum
June 24	Travel to Hu County to visit a farmers’ painting village, then take a flight to Guilin
June 25	Take a cruise on the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo
June 26	Visit a cooking school in Yangshuo and learn to make traditional Chinese food
June 27	Drive back from Yangshuo to Guilin, and visit a tea factory and Elephant Trunk Hill
June 28	Travel by high-speed train from Guilin to Guangzhou or other international airports in China (for an additional fee). Families who wish to continue the heritage tour will visit their child’s birth city. Other families will return to the U.S.
June 29	Tour adoptee’s orphanage in the morning, and when possible, meet with their foster family. Sightsee in the afternoon
June 30	Depart China for the U.S.