The challenge of travelling to China is not the planning and logistics – that's what we're here for – but choosing which of the many Chinas you wish to see. We all have pictures in our heads of what we expect to find in the world's largest and perhaps most mysterious nation. Sinuous rivers flowing through emerald valleys. Temples perched on the sides of mountains. Magnificent silks and porcelain. Pandas. And, of course, people – bustling through city streets that have exploded with new life as this ancient land embraces the economic, technological and cultural changes of the 21st century.

We created our first biking and walking trip in China just as it was opening up. Since then we've crafted some of our most rewarding travel experiences there, prompting some clients to return again and again as they discover new corners of a vast and astonishingly diverse country. Now is definitely the time to go, as you can only grasp what is happening in China, and its impact on the rest of the globe, by seeing it for yourself.

First there are the givens: The Great Wall. Beijing and its Forbidden City. Shanghai. Hong Kong. But things really get interesting when you head out into the countryside. Imagine pedalling beside the tranquil Li River, among towering karst formations shrouded in mist, and stopping to watch a cormorant fisherman catch his dinner. Or staying at a luxury hideaway outside the UNESCO site of Lijang, then hiking up to meet villagers – among dozens of Chinese ethnic minorities – in the foothills of the Himalayas. Or discovering the dynasty that created terracotta warriors at Xi An, then wandering far to the west to cities such as Urumqui, Turpan or Kashgar – the start of the historic Silk Route.

Stroll from a Chengdu teahouse to visit the panda research station. Walk the picturesque Leaping Tiger Gorge. Join Buddhist pilgrims hiking up sacred Emei Shan. Meet Shaolin monks studying martial arts at Wudang Shan monastery. Walk from Xishuangbanna into rural Yunnan, where the Hani, Akha and Bulang people still farm as they have for centuries. Or come in winter and we'll take you to the Ice Festival in Harbin.

We could go on. But the point is that whichever China or Chinas intrigue you, we'll craft your journey accordingly – and once you're there, you can just go with the flow and we'll make sure everything unfolds as it should.