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Online travel company Ctrip got a lot of people excited yesterday when they began advertising for adventure trips throughout China, including base jumping in Shanghai, capture the flag in a tiger park, and spending the day as a terracotta warrior.

However, those clicking through to book many of these unique trips were quickly disappointed — Ctrip was merely playing an April Fool’s Day joke on its customers. Even though the joke’s on us, let’s take a look at what’s on offer and how close we can actually get to the advertised level of adrenaline.

Base Jumping in Shanghai: The image is a strong one — a lone skydiver glides among the buildings of Pudong’s impressive skyline, man against his creation. Unfortunately, it’s pure Photoshop. Urban base-jumping would certainly attract a lot of attention, including from the police — such an activity would likely result in the jumper being arrested.

However, for those who wish to take to the skies, the Beijing Flying Man Club can offer lessons in paragliding (basically a parachute with a motor) in both English and Chinese, along with opportunities to practice the sport, sometimes in exotic locations including the Simatai Great Wall, and the Ming Tombs Reservoir. It’s not a dive off of Shanghai’s famous Jin Mao Tower, but probably it’s exciting enough for a Saturday afternoon.

Capture the Flag with Siberian Tigers: One wonders if the tigers would actually understand the rules of the game, or whether they’d be engaged in a different sport called “eat the contestants.” While this one is similarly not real, it is possible to see these magnificent animals do their thing. It requires a ride to Haerbin, the capital of China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, home of the Harbin Siberian Tiger Park. Covering 355 acres, the park is home to 500 rare Siberian tigers, which in the wild are still hunted for their pelts and other body parts used in traditional medicine.

Seeing the tigers in their element is not for everyone: one of the attractions is to purchase feed animals, such as chickens or pigs, to be brought out for the tigers to then hunt, kill and eat. It’s an amazing sight, but a bit too much for many people, including children. The practice has also sparked complaints from animal rights activists and may be stopped. At least it’s better than being chased by one of the animals while carrying a flag.

Posing as a Terracotta Warrior: There was a time when dressing up as a terracotta warrior would have won most Halloween parties held in China. However, it has been done before. Although this fictional opportunity to be part of history for a day would have only cost 75 RMB, it had actually been accomplished for free in 2006. A German art student, in violation of museum rules, leapt over a barricade and hid among the life-size statues, eluding guards searching for him, in part by remaining motionless and imitating the other figures. When he was finally discovered, he remained still as if he were actually a statue, and had to be carried out while still motionless.

For hassle-free terracotta warrior viewing, just go visit the Qin Shi Huang Terracotta Warrior and Horse Museum, where numerous displays give you ample opportunity to see one of the world’s most important archaeological sites both in its entirety, and up close, as several statues are available for closer inspection.