China 2017

CIN-17 - CHINA Date of travel: Sep 16 - Sep 30, 2017 ITINERARY: In the morning on Sep 16, 2017 I drive a rented car from Vista to Los Angeles airport. There I take an Air China plane for a 12-hour flight to Beijing CHINA where because the Date Line I am in the evening on Sep 17. This is followed by a 2-hour flight to Shanghai where all the members of the group meet. Overnight in a hotel. There is a sightseeing tour of the city on Sep 18 where some 25 million inhabitants have their home. First, visiting the “Bund” (since my first stop here in 1985 a whole “Manhattan” of skyscrapers has grown on the opposite side of the river). Later we browse through the “Old Town” with the “Yu Yuan Gardens” and a “Silk Museum.” Some of us see a Chinese show in the evening. On Sep 19, flight from Shanghai to Chongqing (with 32 million people the largest city in China). There we board a riverboat hotel “Victoria-Anna” for a 4-day and 3-night cruise on the Yangtze River. First full day cruising we dock at the town Shibaozhai and see a wooden 12-storey pagoda built more than 3 centuries ago. The second full day on the river our boat passes through Qutang Gorge (5 miles long) and Wu Gorge (25 miles long). There are sheer mountains on both sides of the gorges. Later in the day we board small boats to explore a side gorge called Goddess Stream. Then our boat enters the last and longest Xiling Gorge. At night on Sep 22 our riverboat passes through the 5 locks of the “Three Gorges Dam” and docks under the dam. In the morning, there is a sightseeing tour of the world’s largest hydro-power project. Before noon our riverboat continues down the river for an hour and half before it lands. At that time, we leave our 600 km’ Yangtze cruise and board a bus for 5-hour drive to the 10 million Wuhan city. We stay here 2 full days and 3 nights visiting a “Hubei Provincial Museum,” East Lake Park, a place where Mao lived for a while the first day and having instruction in “Taiichi” (shadow boxing), visiting a vegetable market and going on a river ferry to see 5-storey “Yellow Crane Pagoda.” On Sep 25, our group flies from Wuhan to Xi’an in the morning. Fourteen million people Xi’an used to be China capital for 3 dynasties. In rainy weather, we do sightseeing of the “Big Goose Pagoda” whose beginning dates to 652 AD. Later, we see a “Jade Museum.” In the evening, we see a colorful theatre show from the time of Tang Dynasty with explanation also in English. The following morning is a visit to the “City Walls” surrounding the old town, while afternoon is spent exploring the excavations of the most famous “Terracotta Warriors,” number one attraction in Xi’an. Morning on Sep 27, we fly from Xi’an to Beijing. There are 22 million people living in the present capital of China. There is a sightseeing of the “Temple of Heaven.” The next day under the sunny skies we see the “Tiananmen Square,” the “Forbidden City,” and the “Summer Palace.” The third day with great weather, we drive some 50 km north to the “Great Wall” and the “Ming Tombs.” During return we pass by the Blue Cube and the Nest from the 2008 Olympic Games and the Beijing hutong (old town) with the Bell Tower. On Sep 30, our excellent China trip is over and we take planes home. Some of us fly to Los Angeles at noon. Again, thanks to the Date Line we come after almost 12-hour flight to LAX the same day in the morning. In a rented car, I am back in Vista just after lunch. Travel office: smarTours (my 4th trip with them) Who took part: There were 23 American tourists, one Chinese tour director and local guides and drivers.