Many of us visited China’s classic destinations
in the early and mid-’80s,
when the sheer majesty and—for us Occidentals—
newness of the country were enthralling.
That newness just keeps on getting
newer, with massive development just about
everywhere and tourism, both domestic and
foreign, on a sharp rise. Frankly, we give the
authorities a mixed report card on how well
they’re maintaining the charm of those classic
destinations. Mindful that our travelers
tend to shy away from crowds and exercises
in touristic gee-gawing, we constantly search
for ways to sidestep the teeming paths and
hunt out more serene spots, in the cities as
well as in the countryside.
We begin with sojourns to Beijing’s signature monuments: the Great Wall (seeing it for the first time, Jan Morris, like many of us, “felt I was breaking some strange and lifelong dream”), the history-saturated Forbidden City, and the stunning, catapulting modern city itself (all spiffed up for the 2008 Olympics). We head west to almost-3,000- year-old Pingyao, a World Heritage Site famed for its well-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty cityscapes, and farther south to the traditional starting point of the Silk Road, Xi’an, where we’ll be greeted with an “entering the city” ceremony before dallying with (and enjoying an exclusive briefing by specialists on) the haunting Terracotta Warriors (“One fully expects them to shake off a little dust,” Theo Cruz writes, “and set out marching”). We fly south to Guilin for a lovely river cruise on the Li River, meandering beneath the region’s delicately monumental karsts, some of the most reposeful yet astonishing sights on earth. Disembarking at Yangshuo, a bustling little town nestled in a forest of karsts, we then head to Longsheng and the Dragon’s Spine Terraces, an extraordinary example of extreme rice terracing. We end with a couple of days in the explosively busy megalopolis of Shanghai before heading home.
We begin with sojourns to Beijing’s signature monuments: the Great Wall (seeing it for the first time, Jan Morris, like many of us, “felt I was breaking some strange and lifelong dream”), the history-saturated Forbidden City, and the stunning, catapulting modern city itself (all spiffed up for the 2008 Olympics). We head west to almost-3,000- year-old Pingyao, a World Heritage Site famed for its well-preserved Ming and Qing Dynasty cityscapes, and farther south to the traditional starting point of the Silk Road, Xi’an, where we’ll be greeted with an “entering the city” ceremony before dallying with (and enjoying an exclusive briefing by specialists on) the haunting Terracotta Warriors (“One fully expects them to shake off a little dust,” Theo Cruz writes, “and set out marching”). We fly south to Guilin for a lovely river cruise on the Li River, meandering beneath the region’s delicately monumental karsts, some of the most reposeful yet astonishing sights on earth. Disembarking at Yangshuo, a bustling little town nestled in a forest of karsts, we then head to Longsheng and the Dragon’s Spine Terraces, an extraordinary example of extreme rice terracing. We end with a couple of days in the explosively busy megalopolis of Shanghai before heading home.
Days 1 & 2: USA to Beijing • Days 3 & 4: Beijing • Day 5: Beijing to Taiyuan • Day 6: Taiyuan to Pingyao • Day 7: on to Xi'an • Day 8: Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors • Day 9: to Guilin • Day 10: Li River cruise to Yangshuo • Day 11: Yangshuo and environs • Day 12: to Longsheng and Dragon's Spine Terraces • Day 13: Longsheng to Shanghai via Guilin • Days 14 & 15: Shanghai • Day 16: return to USA.
A Journey into China (2008)
Trip Details
2008 Departures:
16 days
Activity Type:
Touring
Trip Price:From $7295
- September 12 - September 27
- October 10 - October 25
- November 7 - November 22
16 daysActivity Type:
Touring
Trip Price:
From $7295
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