CHINA

China - June 2008

Tour details-An 18 day trip visiting Beijing and Xian, followed by a 4 day cruise along the Yangze River and a visit to the spectacular limestone mountains along the River Li from Guilin.
Beijing-Main attractions visited included:
Tiananman square which was huge and very atmospheric.
Forbidden City - Vast area with ornate gates leading into 5 consecutive squares. Main buildings contained throne rooms but not much else.
Beihai Park, Jingshan Park,Summer Palace are well worth a visit (entry fee in most parks)
Visit to Olympic park which was due to open in a months time - could not get too close but scale was amazing.
Good shopping for replica, good quality designer clothes at Silk Alley.
Drove out to a section of the Great Wall. This was a restored area but very steep with many steps which became more crumbled as we walked further away from the extent of most tourists

Xian-Arrived by overnight train from Beijing - Very comfortable and definately Western standard.
Very interesting city surrounded by a huge rectangular wall in perfect condition.The distance of 4 miles is best in one of the many driven golf buggies that also provide commentry. Especially good in the 40 degree heat.
Main attraction is the Terracotta Warriers that are in an out of town area in three huge buildings - take a good half day to go round but really amazing

Yangtze Cruise - Sailed for 4 nights on a luxury boat which started by climbing the locks of the new Yangzi River Dam. This resulted in the river rising over 100 metres and taking over 400 miles to unwind and displaced over 1.3 million people.
The sail through the three gorges is spectacular with many interesting side trips.

Chongqing - Terminus for the cruise with a metropolitan population of over 30 million people
A big attraction is the zoo where we saw a number of giant pandas.

Guilin - The main attraction here is the limestone spires along the Li river. They really did live up to our expectations. Boats go in convoys for the 5 hour trip including lunch with return by bus.
Evening Heron fishing trips were interesting but only put on for tourists nowadays.

Travel - Flight with Emirates via Dubai - Excellent airline, very comfortable and with two 6 or 7 hour flights, not too tiring. Cost, booked well in advance - Ł446pp.
Internal flights with China Airways were extremely efficient - very comfortable and no hitches, other than an unexpected landing on the way back from Guillin to beijing
Mostly we had our own private driver and guide, sometimes shared with another couple. Taxis were cheap and easy in Beijing but need to be provided with your destination written in Chinese.

Food-Peking duck in Beijing and local produce in other areas such as meat, fish or cheese filled dumplings in Chongqing. Always many dishes to choose from with plenty of vegetables and usually chicken, pork and beef. Sometimes spicy but not too strong. Quite a few buffets with literally dozens of choices.
Costings - The main package was put together for us by Magical China at a price of Ł1885 pp including all internal flights, hotels and the Yangtze cruise. Everything ran extremely smoothly with high quality guides, vehicles and hotels - well worth the cost.
Inside the Forbidden City The Great Wall

Sacred way to the Ming Tombs Terracotta Warriers

Yangtze dam View on Yangtze river as shown on 10 yuan note

Giant panda at Chongqing Limestone pinacles along Li River

China - June 2008
Tour details-An 18 day trip visiting Beijing and Xian, followed by a 4 day cruise along the Yangze River and a visit to the spectacular limestone mountains along the River Li from Guilin. Beijing-Main attractions visited included: Tiananman square which was huge and very atmospheric. Forbidden City - Vast area with ornate gates leading into 5 consecutive squares. Main buildings contained throne rooms but not much else. Beihai Park, Jingshan Park,Summer Palace are well worth a visit (entry fee in most parks) Visit to Olympic park which was due to open in a months time - could not get too close but scale was amazing. Good shopping for replica, good quality designer clothes at Silk Alley. Drove out to a section of the Great Wall. This was a restored area but very steep with many steps which became more crumbled as we walked further away from the extent of most tourists Xian-Arrived by overnight train from Beijing - Very comfortable and definately Western standard. Very interesting city surrounded by a huge rectangular wall in perfect condition.The distance of 4 miles is best in one of the many driven golf buggies that also provide commentry. Especially good in the 40 degree heat. Main attraction is the Terracotta Warriers that are in an out of town area in three huge buildings - take a good half day to go round but really amazing Yangtze Cruise - Sailed for 4 nights on a luxury boat which started by climbing the locks of the new Yangzi River Dam. This resulted in the river rising over 100 metres and taking over 400 miles to unwind and displaced over 1.3 million people. The sail through the three gorges is spectacular with many interesting side trips. Chongqing - Terminus for the cruise with a metropolitan population of over 30 million people A big attraction is the zoo where we saw a number of giant pandas. Guilin - The main attraction here is the limestone spires along the Li river. They really did live up to our expectations. Boats go in convoys for the 5 hour trip including lunch with return by bus. Evening Heron fishing trips were interesting but only put on for tourists nowadays. Travel - Flight with Emirates via Dubai - Excellent airline, very comfortable and with two 6 or 7 hour flights, not too tiring. Cost, booked well in advance - Ł446pp. Internal flights with China Airways were extremely efficient - very comfortable and no hitches, other than an unexpected landing on the way back from Guillin to beijing Mostly we had our own private driver and guide, sometimes shared with another couple. Taxis were cheap and easy in Beijing but need to be provided with your destination written in Chinese. Food-Peking duck in Beijing and local produce in other areas such as meat, fish or cheese filled dumplings in Chongqing. Always many dishes to choose from with plenty of vegetables and usually chicken, pork and beef. Sometimes spicy but not too strong. Quite a few buffets with literally dozens of choices. Costings - The main package was put together for us by Magical China at a price of Ł1885 pp including all internal flights, hotels and the Yangtze cruise. Everything ran extremely smoothly with high quality guides, vehicles and hotels - well worth the cost.