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Most "luxury" tours disconnect and distance their guests from an authentic travel experience. Not this one. Let's Travel China has handpicked some of the finest, most luxurious hotels in China and selected restaurants offering the most creative regional cuisine available. But we've also worked hard to provide each guest a personal connection - a meaningful and memorable experience with this important, fascinating nation.
Whether walking the Great Wall, exploring a monastery in Tibet, cruising down the Yangtze River or shopping in a Guilin marketplace, your experience will be personal and authentic. This "Grand 19" Tour is our most comprehensive itinerary - a journey that includes all the highlights of China: Beijing, the Great Wall, the Terracotta Warriors, Guilin, the Li River, the Giant Pandas, Tibet, the Yangtze River, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai!
On the "Grand 19" Tour you'll have at least two nights in all but three of your tour's destinations. And on two evenings during your tour you'll enjoy our "Freestyle Dining" option allowing you to select your restaurant from virtually any in the city - or allow our Tour Manager to offer recommendations based on your preferences. Plus, this luxury-series tour enables you to truly personalize your journey: extend your stay in your favorite city; add or delete attractions; select a preferred hotel. Contact us for details regarding these exciting options.
To see dates and rates for this tour -Click Here-
To see day-by-day trip details for this tour -Click Here-
For 2008, Let’s Travel China Tours are All-Inclusive! |
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Trip Length:
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19 Nights/20 Days |
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| Begins
in:
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Beijing |
| Ends in:
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Shanghai |
| Departures:
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2010
Oct 12 |
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Highlights:
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Beijing, Shanghai, Great Wall,
Yangtze River, Chengdu,
Suzhou, Tongli, Xian,
Guilin, Lhasa, Hangzhou
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| Trip prices:
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From $9400 per person |
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| Beijing | 3 Nights | Orientation, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Great Wall of China, Temple of Heaven, Hutong neighborhood, Beijing Duck Dinner, Beijing Opera | Xian | 2 Nights | Terracotta Warriors, Xian City Wall, Lacquer Furniture Factory, Dumpling Dinner, Rural Primary School, "Cave Farmhouse" | Chengdu | 1 Night | Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, Chengdu Teahouse | Lhasa | 3 Nights | Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, The Barkhor, Sera Monastery, | Guilin | 2 Nights | Li River Cruise, Longji Titian Rice Terraces, Ping An village, "Beer-Fish" Lunch | Yangtze River Cruise | 3 Nights Yangtze River Cruise | Fengdu, Three Gorges, Danning River, Lesser Three Gorges, Three Gorges Dam | Suzhou | 2 Nights | Humble Adminisrator's Garden, New Suzhou Museum, Suzhou Silk Museum | Tongli | Day Tour | Tongli shopping tour | Hangzhou | 1 Night | West Lake, Lingyin Temple, Dragon Well Tea Plantation | Shanghai | 2 Nights | Bund & Pudong districts, Farewell Dinner, Acrobatic Show, Shanghai Maglev airport transfer |
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Travel: |
Arrive Beijing
Motorcoach to hotel |
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Cities:
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Beijing |
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Highlights:
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Arrival in Beijing
Orientation |
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Overnight:
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The Regent Beijing |
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Meals:
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Dinner |
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- Welcome to China! Following your flight arrival in Beijing you'll transfer to your hotel.
- The remainder of the day is at your leisure. Your flight arrival time may afford time for lunch (not included in your tour price). Your hotel offers an excellent restaurant serving Chinese and Western-style cuisine. If you'd prefer to dine away from your hotel your Tour Manager can suggest alternate dining options.
- You may choose to relax at the hotel but if your arrival schedule permits you may also opt for some local sightseeing or shopping before dinner. Be sure to check first with your Tour Manager.
- During this evening's dinner your Tour Manager will host a brief tour Orientation and provide an overview of Day 2’s planned activities. Should your flight arrival schedule prevent you from attending tonight’s Orientation, your Tour Manager will be sure to contact you regarding Day 2’s planned activities.
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On Travel...
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"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."
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- Tim Cahill
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Cities:
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Beijing |
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Highlights:
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Forbidden City
Tiananmen Square
Hutong neighborhood
"Beijing Duck Dinner |
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Overnight:
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The Regent Beijing |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Beijing Duck Dinner |
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- Tiananmen Square is your first main attraction on this, your first full day in Beijing. The square is the prime venue for both state-sponsored and unstaged events. It is vast – the largest such square in the world. From here you'll proceed to the Forbidden City.
- You'll have ample time to tour the 170-acre Forbidden City complex but still, you'll only be able to see a fraction of the site's nearly 9,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site - one of the many featured on Let's Travel China tours.
- Your day includes a close-up view of Beijing's new National Opera House (the "Egg," as locals call it, due to its distinctive, ellipsoid shape). The interior of the massive titanium and glass structure is sub-divided into three sections: Opera Hall, Music Hall & Theater Hall, seating a total of 6,500 people.
- No visit in Beijing is complete without a pedicab tour through one of Beijing's quaint Hutong neighborhoods. Here, canals, alleyways and narrow streets provide a rare glimpse of a Beijing scene missed by most tourists. Your tour may include a visit with a family at a traditional, "courtyard-style" quadrangle home or perhaps you'll drop in for a visit at nursery or pre-school.
- A special evening is planned: a delicious Beijing Duck Dinner!
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Chinese
Firsts:
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Wheelbarrow,
papermaking, “India” ink, moveable-type printing, compass,
ship rudder, gunpowder, cannon & fireworks, gun, decimal system,
crossbow, cast iron, iron plow, porcelain, silk, umbrellas, kites,
stirrup, harness, spaghetti, hand-held fan, seismometer, abacus,
cargo ship, high-fired stoneware, brandy, whiskey, chess, and fish-farming!
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Cities:
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Beijing |
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Highlights:
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Great Wall of China
Sacred Way
Jade Factory
"Choice Dining"
Beijing Opera |
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Overnight:
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The Regent Beijing |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and "Choice Dining" Dinner |
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- Following breakfast at the hotel, your day begins with what many travelers to China rate as their most memorable sight: the Great Wall of China! Your memories of the wall will be even more special because you'll bypass the tourist congestion and travel to the less-crowded and less-commercialized town of Mutianyu, where the Great Wall locale is most dramatic. For your convenience, a scenic gondola ride (included in your tour price) provides easy access to the wall.
- Following your visit with the wall you'll stop at a nearby restaurant for lunch, then continue on to Sacred Way (adjacent to the Ming Tombs) - a landscaped corridor lined with statues of dignitaries, animals and mythical beasts.
- Yesterday you saw "The Egg" - Beijing's National Opera House. Today you'll see "The Bird's Nest" - officially the National Stadium, and other event venues for the Beijing Games.
- Following a shopping stop at an excellent Jade Factory, you'll arrive back at your hotel in the late afternoon.
- For the evening's dinner, we offer our complimentary "Choice Dining" program. Your Tour Manager can secure reservations for you at Beijing's finest restaurants or, for a more personal experience, arrange for an intimate "single table" dining venue. Or, if you'd prefer, you may select your own restaurant. Bon appetit!
- Following dinner you'll be treated to an evening at the opera - the Peking Opera!
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The
Great Wall Myth:
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Is the Great Wall of China the only manmade object viewable from space?
No. Although the wall is sometimes barely visible at very low Earth
orbit, highways, bridges, airports and dams are far easier to spot.
In fact, even China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, circling
the Earth in 2004, confirmed he couldn’t see the Great Wall.
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Travel: |
Fly to Xian |
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Cities:
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Beijing
Xian |
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Highlights:
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Temple of Heaven
Pearl Factory |
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Overnight:
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Sofitel On Renmin Square |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- If you're an early riser, you might want to head over to Tiananmen Square to watch the daily flag-raising ceremony. Or maybe you'd prefer to get in some morning exercise at the park nearby. If you're not an early riser, not to worry; sleep in this morning as the tour doesn't resume till mid-morning!
- Your first attraction today is the Temple of Heaven - one of the most magnificant temples in all of China. Interestingly, not a single nail was used in the construction of this 125-foot-tall structure. Here, emperors came to pray to their ancestors for guidance and to the heavens for favorable weather and bountiful harvests. The temple park is busy with local retirees playing board games and playing traditional musical instruments; kids flying kites, adult exercisers performing Tai Chi and twirling flags. Join in if you'd like!
- After the temple, you'll pause for lunch before a shopping stop at Bai Gong Fang - an excellent cultured pearl production center. From there you'll travel on to the airport for your late-afternoon flight to Xian, capital of the Shaanxi Province. Upon arrival you'll transfer to your downtown hotel.
- After dinner there's time to see the sights of the neighborhood. At night, the city wall is brilliantly lit, providing a colorful backdrop to the shops and street scene just steps from your hotel.
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Cities:
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Xian |
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Highlights:
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Terracotta Warriors
Xian City Wall
Lacquer Furniture Factory
Dumpling Dinner
Night Markets |
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Overnight:
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Sofitel On Renmin Square |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dumpling Dinner |
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- One of the most magical memories of China may well occur this morning with your tour of the Terracotta Warriors excavation site. Here, an entire subterranean Army stands ready to defend the tomb of China's first emperor – Qin Shi Huangdi. Discovered in 1974, the site ranks with King Tut's tomb as one of the 20th century's greatest archeological finds.
- Following lunch you'll visit Xian's City Wall, still intact along its entire 9-mile rectangle around its former imperial palace. Over a span of some 4,000 years Xian has been the capital to 11 dynasties. Should you choose, bicycles are available for rent allowing you to travel along the top of the wall's perimeter for the finest views of this historic city.
- Time permitting, a stop a lacquer furniture factory is included in the day's activities.
- Many historians maintain that the Tang Dynasty (AD 618 – 907) represented a "Golden Age" of Chinese civilization. It was - and remains - one of the tastiest, too. This evening's Dumpling Dinner is testament to that fact!
- Following dinner you'll have time to explore Xian's Night Markets and take in the beautiful evening views of the city's palace wall.
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Terracotta
Warriors:
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Known
for their creative reproductions (everything from "antique"
Ming Dynasty vases to Madonna CDs, enterprising Chinese have even
arranged illegal "knock-off" exhibitions of their own
Terracotta Warriors. Unauthorized reproductions - sometimes excellent,
sometimes shoddy - have cropped up at "exhibitions" in
China, without any reference to the word "replica." Local
authorities are doing their best to crack down on these fraudulent
exhibitions.
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Travel: |
Fly to Chengdu |
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Cities:
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Xian
Chengdu |
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Highlights:
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Rural Primary School
"Cave Farmhouse"
Chengdu Teahouse |
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Overnight:
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Shangri-La Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- This morning you'll travel outside of Xian to vist a rural primary school. Our Let's Travel China guests are afforded this rare opportunity to visit the classrooms and mingle with the students and faculty. This visit promises to be a special highlight of your tour!
- Your day in the countryside also includes a stop at farmhouse cave dwellings - rural homes built deep into the sides of earthen caves.
- In mid-afternoon you'll board your flight to Chengdu, arriving in plenty of time for tea! In a nation of 1.3 billion tea-drinking inhabitants, Chengdu stands out for its tea - and its teahouses. They come in all shapes and sizes here, from the bare-bone streetside table or two, to elaborate, lake-side affairs with full meals and entertainment. Accordingly, your visit includes tea in a Chengdu Teahouse!
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Athens. Rome. Xian.
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Most historians are in agreement that by 500 B.C., Athens had achieved the distinction as the world's most prosperous city. Five hundred years later, Rome had eclipsed Athens for the title. Yet, by 500 A.D., while Rome was being sacked by Vandals, Xian stood at its peak of power and influence - the wealthiest city in all the world.
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Travel: |
Fly to Lhasa |
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Cities:
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Chengdu
Lhasa |
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Highlights:
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Giant Panda Breeding Research Ctr.
Lhasa Arrival |
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Overnight:
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Brahmaputra Grand Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- It was in Chengdu where the world's first paper currency was printed, but today the city is most famous for its Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, located just a few miles from town. There's no doubt that this will be yet another highlight of your tour because you'll not only see Pandas, you may even see Baby Pandas! This is not just a zoo, as offered on some tours, but an actual habitat and breeding center for this endangered species (and the just-as-cute Red Pandas live here, too). Your morning visit coincides with feeding time - the best time to see the Pandas as it's when they're most active.
- In the early afternoon you’ll take a westbound flight to Lhasa, Tibet, where you’ll transfer to your hotel. Lhasa, at about 12,000 feet elevation, may require some adjustment. Following your hotel check-in, the remainder of the day is yours to acclimatize.
- Tibet is a huge province that includes vast deserts sparsely populated by nomadic peoples. But it's here, in the foothill region framed by the magnificent Himalayas where you'll find the most scenic, most exotic attractions. Enjoy the view!
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Red Pandas:
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"The unexpected highlight was seeing the Red Panda, which is much smaller. It is more the size of a racoon, with a similar face, but without the ridge-back, and with a much nicer disposition. They were out having a good time, playing and eating and were quite entertaining and photogenic."
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-R. Shea. Let's Travel China Tour Participant
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Cities:
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Lhasa |
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Highlights:
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Sera Monastery
Norbu Lingka |
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Overnight:
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Brahmaputra Grand Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Your tour will be timed to include the open-air "debating courtyard" at the Sera Monastery. Here, Tibetan monks debate and interpret Buddhist teachings, their positions often punctuated with highly-ritualized, often loud gestures, such as hand clapping and foot stomping.
- Norbu Lingka was the Dalai Lama’s “summer residence.” Less imposing than his main residence – the Potala Palace, it also has far fewer steps to climb! The residence is surrounded by a delightful park busy with musicians and merchants.
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Cities:
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Lhasa |
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Highlights:
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Potala Palace
Jokhang Temple
The Barkhor Market |
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Overnight:
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Brahmaputra Grand Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Today you'll visit Tibet's most recognizable attraction: Potala Palace. It's a magnificent, hill-top structure of a thousand rooms. Once the residence of the Dalai Lama, Potala Palace is now a museum, though still used for important religious ceremonies and high-profile political events. (We've thoughtfully saved your Potala Palace visit for the tour's second day in Tibet, allowing you extra time to adjust to the altitude before climbing the palace's many steps.)
- The 1,300-year-old Jokhang Temple is Tibet's holiest shrine. For centuries it was the spiritual retreat for the Dalai Lamas. It's here, outside the walls of this temple, where pilgrims spin prayer wheels as they perform one of three Tibetan koras, or sacred circuits.
- The Barkhor is essentially a crowded and colorful neighborhood of shops, hawkers, teahouses and market stalls catering to visitors and to Buddhists who perform their ritual clockwise kora around Jokhang (see above).
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Jokhang
Temple:
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“…the
Jokhang, thick with the smell of yak butter and the murmur of mantras
and bustling with awed pilgrims, is an unrivaled Tibetan experience.”
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-Lonely Planet –
Tibet. 2004
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Travel: |
Fly to Guilin |
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Cities:
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Lhasa
Guilin |
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Highlights:
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Lhasa Free Time
Guilin Markets |
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Overnight:
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Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- The morning is free to accommodate your mood: sleep in, shop, or roam about on your own. You may want to return to the Barkhor Market shops!
- In the afternoon, after lunch, you'll transfer to the airport for your flight to Guilin, ranked by many as one of China's most beautiful cities. After dinner, you may wish to sample the city's Night Markets.
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Cities:
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Guilin
Yangshuo |
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Highlights:
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Li River Cruise
Yangshuo shopping |
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Overnight:
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Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and "Beer Fish" Dinner |
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- After breakfast you'll board a riverboat for a delightful Li River Cruise. Mist-shrouded bamboo forests cling to the cavernous, weathered limestone cliffs and pinnacles ("karsts") along the picturesque Li River. You'll lunch aboard your comfortable, 3-hour river cruiser as the incredible scenery slips by on route downriver to Yangshuo.
- After docking at Yangshuo there's time to shop the quaint stores along West Street before settling down for a delicious early evening dinner - a "Beer Fish" dinner! This dish is a tasty, local dish featuring a marinade of beer and vegetables – a Yangshuo favorite.
- Following dinner, you'll return from Yangshuo to Guilin by way of the scenic highway.
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Beer-Fish Recipe!
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Wondering what's actually IN a "beer-fish" recipe? Wonder no more. And if you'd like to cook it at home, here's The Recipe! (But we're betting it will taste far better in Yangshuo!)
Thank you, Gary Rhodes of "Rhodes Across China"
- UKTV FOOD
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Travel: |
Fly to Chongqing |
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Cities:
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Guilin
Chongqing |
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Highlights:
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Longji Titian
(rice terraces)
Ping An Village |
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Overnight:
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Yangtze River Cruise Ship |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and and "Hot-Pot" Dinner |
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- Today you'll venture into nearby Longsheng and the hills of Longji Titian ("Dragon's Backbone Terraces"), populated by the Zhuang community. The climate here is perfect for rice-growing; the terrain isn't. So, for lack of choice, they constructed rice paddies – thousands of them – on terraced hillsides.
- Ping An is an ethnic Zhuang village where residents are skilled at weaving, dyeing and intricate embroidery. Traditional homes and buildings – many of which, like the rice paddies, are terraced – can be visited and walking trails afford excellent views of the nearby rice terraces.
- After lunch you'll return to Guilin for a late-afternoon flight to the giant municipality of Chongqing. Here's one of the few cities in China where bicycles are a rarity due to its hilly terrain. During your brief city tour you'll be able to take in views of Chongqing's two rivers: the Jialing and the Yangtze.
- You'll arrive Chongqing just in time for a delicious "Hot-Pot" Dinner - a savory balance of sweet, sour and spicy - and a distinctive numbing sensation!
- Welcome Aboard! Tonight you'll board your Yangtze River Cruise ship in Chongqing for a quiet dockside overnight.
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The
Guilin Scene!
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Guilin
is known for its spectacular limestone peaks, called “karsts,”
which punctuate the otherwise flat landscape. Once an ancient seabed,
tectonic forces have raised the alkaline limestone above ground
exposing it to rains, which are by nature, slightly acidic. The
resulting erosion has created a curious, almost eerie topography
of cone-shaped hills and “stone forests.” Underground,
the views are no less amazing with subterranean rivers, caverns
and sinkholes.
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Cities:
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Fengdu |
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Highlights:
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Yangtze River Cruise
Fengdu
Ming Shan Temple |
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Overnight:
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Yangtze River Cruise Ship |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Early in the morning your cruise ship eases from its dock and departs on its downstream journey. During your cruise, English-speaking guides provide a running commentary on the sights along the way.
- From Chongqing to Yichang, the Yangtze River penetrates some 400 miles of rugged terrain providing a vital link between the inland provinces and those along the coast.
- The original Fengdu is slowly vanishing as waters from the downriver Three Gorges Dam continue to rise. But a new Fengdu continues to rise across the river as over 750,000 residents are relocated to higher ground.
- Centuries ago a nearby mountain, Ming Shan, was dedicated to the "God of the Underworld." Following death, souls would arrive here to face their final judgement. Rich or poor, ruler or ruled, their lives would be judged and their final destination ("heaven or hell") determined.
- Tonight's dinner, hosted by your ship's captain, is preceded with a "Captain's Welcome Aboard Cocktail Party. Salut!
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Travel: |
Yangtze River Cruise |
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Cities:
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Yangtze River attractions |
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Highlights:
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Three Gorges
Danning River
Lesser Three Gorges |
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Overnight:
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Yangtze River Cruise Ship |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- The Yangtze River and its tributaries carve through one of China's most mountainous regions. Included on your ride are the famous Three Gorges (Qutang, Wu and Xiling) with their spectacular scenery – long favored by Chinese landscape artists.
- Today you will visit the Danning River. The banks of the river are lined with steep cliffs – and wild monkeys! It's here where the "Lesser Three Gorges" are located. Though the scale is "lesser," many visitors find these smaller gorges prettier, due in part to the clearer water. In the cliffs along portions of the river, holes mark where posts were driven into the stone to support wooden planks. These planks formed “roads" enabling small boats to be guided through the sometimes-treacherous gorges.
- Tonight the serene river scenery provides your backdrop for your final dinner aboard the cruise ship.
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Yangtze
River Trivia:
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Let
a drop of water fall upon any farm in China and chances are one
in four the drop will drain to the Yangtze River. Some 350 million
people live along the Yangtze River, by far the most “populated”
river of them all. When the Three Gorges Dam is complete, its hydroelectric
generators will supply one-ninth of China’s power.
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Travel: |
Fly to Shanghai
Motorcoach to Suzhou |
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Cities:
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Yangtze River Attractions
Yichang
Suzhou |
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Highlights:
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Yangtze River
Three Gorges Dam
Suzhou |
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Overnight:
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Sofitel Suzhou |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- Before docking in Yichang, you'll debark your river cruise for a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. As the largest water project ever undertaken by man, the dam is not without its controversies. An estimated 1.5 million people will have been relocated by the time it's completed in 2009.
- In the early afternoon, you'll conclude your Yangtze River Cruise in Yichang, downstream from the mighty Three Gorges Dam. From here you'll transfer to the airport for your short flight eastward to Shanghai.
- On arrival in Shanghai, you'll transfer to Suzhou, about 80 miles away. Depending on traffic, you may stop for dinner on route to your hotel.
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Three
Gorges Dam:
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"When
finished, the Three Gorges Dam will produce the energy of 15 nuclear
power plants and tame some of the river's deadliest floods. To China's
leaders, the dam is the greatest engineering feat since the construction
of the Great Wall…"
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-PBS "Great Wall Across
the Yangtze." 2006
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Cities:
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Suzhou |
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Highlights:
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Humble Administrator's Grdn.
New Suzhou Museum
Tongli
Suzhou Silk Museum |
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Overnight:
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Sofitel Suzhou |
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Meals:
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Breakfast and Lunch |
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- Now a city of almost 6 million inhabitants, Suzhou, the "Venice of the East," is known for its canals and classical Chinese gardens. The completion of the Grand Canal sped trade throughout the region and enriched local silk merchants. The merchants built magnificent private gardens such as the Humble Administrator's Garden (included in your tour), now open to the public.
- Your tour includes admission to the New Suzhou Museum, designed by the world-famous architect, Ieaoh Ming Pei (I.M. Pei). The three-level structure houses Suzhou art treasures dating back over the centuries yet the building's design blends ancient Suzhou design elements with 21st century engineering and themes.
- Next, you'll travel to nearby Tongli, the "town that Suzhou used to look like." Far smaller and more quaint than Suzhou, Tongli's homes and gardens open onto meandering canals lined with shops and restaurants. Weather permitting, your afternoon includes lunch at a canal-side restaurant.
- On your return to Suzhou you'll stop in at the Suzhou Silk Museum which chronicles 6,000 years of silk manufacture and includes actual mulberry-munching silkworms spinning cocoons - as well as an array of silk products for purchase.
- You're on your own for dinner tonight but Suzhou offers so many delicious options. Ask your Tour Manager for his or her suggestions.
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| Stunning Suzhou! |
Suzhou and its gorgeous gardens remains one of China's must-sees. |
| Click
here to read more... |
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Travel: |
Motorcoach to Hangzhou |
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Cities:
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Suzhou
Hangzhou |
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Highlights:
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West Lake
Lingyin Temple
Dragon Well Tea Plantation |
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Overnight:
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Hyatt Regency Hotel |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner |
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- This morning, after breakfast, you'll travel to a bustling, authentic local market where fresh produce, noodles, fish, poultry and meat are sold, as well as curios and souvenirs.
- You'll travel south to Hangzhou, the beautiful and historic city positioned at the southern terminus of the Grand Canal.
- Most will agree West Lake stands out as the most impressive scenic sight in Hangzhou. You'll tour the lake, one of the most photographed in all of China.
- The Lingyin Temple ("Soul's Retreat Temple") projects a quiet and serene grandeur which belies its past. Centuries ago the temple comprised a vast complex of pavilions and palaces. Today's main temple represents a 1974 restoration. It's building's main hall soars over 110 feet and features an 82-foot tall camphor wood Buddha, entirely covered in gold leaf.
- The West Lake district is believed to be one of the birthplaces of Chinese green tea some 5,000 years ago. Though much of China's tea production has since moved westward, the West Lake district remains famous for its Dragon Well Tea. Today, you'll visit the plantation and sample its teas, whose leaves derive from plants in the Camelia family.
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"Rippling waters shimmering
on a sunny day;
Misty Mountains shrouded in rain;
Plain or gaily
decked out like Xizi;
West Lake is always alluring."
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-Su Dongpo (960-1127)
Song Dynasty Poet
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Travel: |
Motorcoach to Shanghai |
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Cities:
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Hangzhou
Shanghai |
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Highlights:
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Bund & Pudong district"" |
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Overnight:
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Le Royal Meridien Shanghai |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and "Choice Dining" Dinner |
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- After breakfast you'll travel northward by motorcoach to Shanghai, mainland China's most vibrant, cosmopolitan city. Shanghai was a minor county seat until the British arrived in the mid-19th century, lured by the potential wealth of untapped trade markets. Your tour includes a visit to the Bund, a gem of Art Deco buildings dating from this colonial period. Across the river soars Pudong, Shanghai's skyscraper skyline of postcard fame.
- For the evening's dinner, we offer our complimentary "Choice Dining" program. Your Tour Manager can secure reservations for you at one of Shanghai's finest restaurants or, for a more personal experience, arrange for an intimate "single table" dining venue. Or, if you'd prefer, you may select your own restaurant. Bon appetit!
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Shanghai:
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"With its grandiose colonial buildings, ultramodern skyline and hyperkinetic downtown streets, Shanghai rarely fails to make one heck of a first impression. Shanghai's most famous site, and the one most evocative of its mercantile past and present, is the Bund, a row of hulking century-old banks and offices along the west back of the Huangpu river."
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-Christopher Bodeen, AP - Travel Online. September, 2006
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Cities:
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Shanghai |
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Highlights:
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Shanghai Shopping
Farewell Dinner
Acrobatic Show |
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Overnight:
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Le Royal Meridien Shanghai |
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Meals:
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Breakfast, Lunch and "Farewell Dinner" |
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- You'll have your second "Your Choice" tour program offering today. Your Tour Escort can suggest a self-guided tour to fit your fancy - a visit to Shanghai's famed Shanghai Museum, or maybe a tour of the Yuyuan Garden, or how about a shopping expedition along Nanjing Road? Maps will be provided to help you with your independent travels.
- A special evening is planned for tonight: a performance of the celebrated Shanghai Acrobats and a delicious Farewell Dinner.
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Travel: |
Flight departure from Shanghai |
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Cities:
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Shanghai |
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Highlights:
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Shanghai Maglev airport transfer
Farewells! |
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Overnight:
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N/A |
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Meals:
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Breakfast |
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- Depending on your flight plans, you may have time for some last-minute shopping in nearby shops and markets. Your Tour Escort can offer money-saving suggestions.
- If you've arranged transfers through Let's Travel China and your flight schedule permits, your transportation to Shanghai's international airport will include travel aboard the world's fastest commercial train: the Shanghai Maglev! Speeding at up to 430 kph (almost 270 mph) it'll make easy work of your airport transfer.
Shanghai is hosting the World Expo 2010 from May thorugh October (May 1 - Oct. 31, 2010). It is a scheduled World Expo in the tradition of international fairs and expositions. The theme of the exposition will be "Better City – Better Life" and signifies Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as a major economic and cultural center. We will offer packages that include extended stays in Shanghai as well as admission tickets to the Expo. |
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Shanghai Maglev:
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"The doors shut, and the train accelerates like a skyscraper elevator, silently, smoothly, and rapidly, and by the time the last car leaves the station you already seem to be going 50 miles per hour. Four minutes of gravity-simulator-style acceleration later...you reach the peak speed of 270 miles per hour for the tiny 20-mile run."
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- Henry Blodget - Slate.
March 21, 2005
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| Single Supplement:
Add $4320 to above prices
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3rd Guest (age 9 to 12) Land + Air:
70% of Land Only price, plus applicable Air cost
3rd Guest (age 9 to 12) Land Only: 70% of Land Only price
3rd Guest (age 12+) Land + Air:
85% of Land Only price, plus applicable Air cost
3rd Guest (age 12+) Land Only: 85% of Land Only price
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*Land + Air: Land + Air prices include all tour features as noted below in “All-Inclusive Pricing” as well as Roundtrip International Air Travel from Los Angeles (or selected departure city, where applicable and available) to/from China. In all cases prices are subject to change without notice due to airline seat availability.
*Land Only: Land Only prices include all tour features as noted below in “All-Inclusive Pricing.” Please note that Land Only prices include all travel within China as noted in the tour’s Trip Itinerary.
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All prices listed above are quoted in
USD, per person, and based on double occupancy. Single Supplement prices are shown above.
Prices are subject to change without notice and are capacity controlled.
"ALL-INCLUSIVE Pricing" includes: Tour Gratuities for guide services (Tour Manager, City Guides, Drivers, and Baggage Handling); Accommodations; Meals as noted in Trip Details; Admission fees to attractions as noted in Trip Details; Air, Train, River Cruise & Motorcoach travel within China as noted in Trip Details; Airport Transfers in Beijing on arrival and Shanghai on departure (provided transfers dates coincide with tour “Departs On” or “Returns On” dates or if transfer dates coincide with pre-tour or post-tour hotel extension purchased through Let’s Travel China); Tour Guide services; Air Taxes and Fees.
Not Included: Above prices do not include Excess Baggage Fees; Travel Passports or Visas; Expenses of a personal nature; Airport Transfers in Beijing and Shanghai which do not coincide with tour “Departs On” or “Returns On” dates or pre-tour or post-tour hotel extensions purchased through Let’s Travel China. Airport Transfers not otherwise included are available for purchase at $40.00 per person per transfer.
Terms & Conditions: Click here to view
standard Terms & Conditions.
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