The SETI & Space Expedition

December 5–18, 2027 · Beijing → Wenchang or FAST → Shanghai · $3,985

Fourteen days built around humanity’s search for company. Beijing’s observatories and aviation caverns; then either rocket-launch viewing on the Wenchang coast or the FAST 500-meter dish — the most sensitive SETI instrument on Earth, currently re-checking SETI@home’s final candidate signals — decided shortly before departure to maximize launch-viewing odds; ending in Shanghai with the world’s largest astronomy museum, the 1900 Sheshan observatory, and the Yuanwang-1 tracking ship. A SETI-literate lecturer travels with the group.

The two paths, stated plainly

Path A — Wenchang, Hainan: China’s only spaceport with public coastal viewing — beach sightlines 3 km from the pads, ticketed platforms, and a launch cadence that hit ~21 in 2025 and is climbing. Path B — FAST, Guizhou: date-stable and bookable year-round; the deck sits inside a radio-quiet zone with a total electronics ban — lockers at the gate, 789 steps, and we bring a mechanical film camera so the group still gets photos. Decision gates: ~November 5 (manifest read) and November 28 – December 1, 2027 (hard call). That flexibility isn’t a caveat; it’s the product.

Day shape

Dec 5–9 Beijing: Ancient Observatory, Beijing Planetarium, China Aviation Museum, commercial-space showroom attempts, winter Wall option. Dec 10: fly to the middle leg. Dec 11–14: the path (launch choreography or the dish + Astronomy Town + dark-sky night). Dec 15–17 Shanghai: Astronomy Museum, Sheshan’s 1900 refractor, Yuanwang-1, farewell. Dec 18: depart — or rest up for the Taiwan leg (December 19).

$3,985 land-only · includes both internal flights · $500 deposit · L visa required ($140, we guide you) · leg 3 of the five-leg season (adjacency discounts 5–20%).

All site visits are subject to confirmation and availability. Named companies indicate planned and attempted visits, not guarantees.

Departure morning: If flight time permits, walk the Bund promenade near the hotel at sunrise on Saturday morning before your airport transfer.

The day-by-day (tentative)

Tentative plan — order and site visits subject to confirmation and availability. Days 6–11 run one of two paths — Wenchang launch viewing or the FAST dish — decided near departure to maximize launch odds.

Day 1: Sunday, December 5, 2027

• AM: Land PEK — or continue straight from the Beijing Week
• PM: Onboarding; expedition briefing
• Evening: Welcome dinner (included)

Day 2: Monday, December 6, 2027

• AM: Commercial-space day — Yizhuang rocket-street corridor
• PM: CAS Space / LandSpace exhibition attempts
• Evening: Free

Day 3: Tuesday, December 7, 2027

• AM: Beijing Ancient Observatory
• PM: Beijing Planetarium
• Evening: Astronomy lecture with our SETI-literate lecturer

Day 4: Wednesday, December 8, 2027

• AM: China Aviation Museum, Changping
• PM: National Museum deep collection
• Evening: Free

Day 5: Thursday, December 9, 2027

• AM: Mutianyu Great Wall, winter-quiet
• PM: Flex window for late-landing visits
• Evening: Pack for the middle leg

Day 6: Friday, December 10, 2027

• AM: Fly to the middle leg — Haikou/Wenchang (Path A) or Guiyang (Path B)
• PM: Transfer in; orientation
• Evening: Coastal seafood (A) or Guizhou hotpot (B)

Day 7: Saturday, December 11, 2027

• AM: Path A: Qishui Bay + viewing-platform recon · Path B: FAST observation decks (789 steps)
• PM: Path A: Wenchang Space Science Center · Path B: Astronomy Experience Hall + planetarium
• Evening: Dark-sky session either path

Day 8: Sunday, December 12, 2027

• AM: Launch-window / observation day one
• PM: Flexible — the schedule serves the rocket (A) or the dish (B)
• Evening: Night-sky program

Day 9: Monday, December 13, 2027

• AM: Launch-window / observation day two
• PM: Path A: Tonggu Ling coast · Path B: Astronomy Town
• Evening: Group dinner (included)

Day 10: Tuesday, December 14, 2027

• AM: Buffer day — launch slip protection (A) or deep-dish day (B)
• PM: Scrub program if needed: space center, coast, factory attempt
• Evening: Free

Day 11: Wednesday, December 15, 2027

• AM: Fly to Shanghai
• PM: Check-in; rest
• Evening: The Bund at night

Day 12: Thursday, December 16, 2027

• AM: Shanghai Astronomy Museum, Lingang — the astronomy capital
• PM: Sheshan Observatory heritage site
• Evening: Free

Day 13: Friday, December 17, 2027

• AM: Space heritage day — Yuanwang-1 tracking ship
• PM: Flex + souvenir window
• Evening: Farewell dinner (included)

Day 14: Saturday, December 18, 2027

• AM: If flight time permits — sunrise walk on the Bund near the hotel
• PM: Depart Pudong — or rest up: Taiwan begins Sunday
• Evening: —

Per person, double occupancy; a single-room supplement is available (amount announced when deposits open). This expedition sits between the Beijing Week and the Taiwan Tech Tour on the season calendar.