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10/10/04
China Trip
August-September, 2004
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Tour Day |
Day |
Date |
Location |
Photos and Commentary Click individual photo below to view photos from that day (photos start on 8/22) |
Web References/Travel Plans |
| 1 |
Tuesday |
8/17 |
DC to Long Beach-Los Angeles |
Leave DC Dulles at 11:30 AM via JetBlue Flight 305 (Airbus A-320). Arrives Long Beach at 1.50 PM (2,308 miles). |
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| 2 |
Wednesday |
8/18 |
Los Angeles |
California Touring |
Free Day |
| 3 |
Thursday |
8/19 |
Los Angeles |
Free Day |
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| 4 |
Friday |
8/20 |
Los Angeles |
Free Day |
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| 5 |
Saturday |
8/21 |
LA to Hong Kong |
Cathay Pacific Flight 881 (747-Business Class) leaves at 1:55 AM for Hong Kong |
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| 6 |
Sunday |
8/22 |
Hong Kong to Beijing
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 |
Arrive Hong Kong at 7:40 AM (7,233 miles-14 hr., 45 minutes). Cathay Pacific Flight 318 (330 Business Class) leaves Hong Kong at 5:50 PM, arrives Beijing 9:00 PM (1,254 miles-3 hr., 10 minutes). Upon arrival in Beijing, check in at the Peninsula Palace Hotel |
| 7 |
Monday |
8/23 |
Beijing |
 |
After breakfast and a welcome
orientation, today's sightseeing includes the exquisite
Forbidden City's Imperial Palace After lunch, see the marvelous
architecture at the
Summer Palace
and
Tian An Men
Square. Tonight, attend a welcome dinner party featuring
delicious Beijing Duck. |
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8 |
Tuesday |
8/24 |
Beijing |
 |
Today,
first visit a jade factory and shop. Then, stroll along the Sacred
Way, lined with statues of warriors and mythical beasts, to the Ming Tombs
and Chang Ling Exhibition Hall. After lunch, walk the ramparts of the historic Great Wall,
one of the most amazing feats of mankind. Conclude the day's touring with a
visit to a cloisonné factory and shop. Tour
brochure photos of the Great Wall and Ming Tombs
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| 9 |
Wednesday |
8/25 |
Beijing |
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This morning tour the
ornate 15th-century
Temple of Heaven,
where emperors prayed for good harvests and heavenly blessings. Then proceed
to a pearl workshop to see pearl jewelry being made. After lunch, ride in a
pedicab to Gu Lau (Drum Tower) and enjoy the city views. Then travel
Beijing's ancient narrow streets, known as Hutongs again via old-fashioned
pedicab. Visit Shiheyuan (the old quadrangles) and learn about life in the
city during the reign of Kublai Khan. Stroll along the
Hutongs, stop for tea
at a typical courtyard-style home. Visit the Prince Gong Garden. After dinner this
evening, enjoy a remarkable Beijing Opera, including a discussion and
demonstration of the elaborate makeup and face-painting techniques used by
the performers. |
| 10 |
Thursday |
8/26 |
Beijing-Shanghai |
|
Fly to Shanghai, China's bustling cosmopolitan center of business and commerce. Visit the Jade Buddha Temple. Check in to the deluxe JW Marriott Hotel.
This evening, dinner is followed by an amazing
acrobatic
show. |
| 11 |
Friday |
8/27 |
Shanghai
|
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Sightsee Nanjing Road or
Huai Hai Road's popular emporiums, the famous
Bund.
Visit a carpet factory and tour the
Shanghai Museum's
exhibits of dynastic cultural artifacts. , |
| 12 |
Saturday |
8/28 |
Shanghai-Suzhou
|
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This morning motorcoach
to
Suzhou, noted for its ancient gardens.
Cruise Suzhou's canals. Tour the
Pan Men City Gate,
and the
Auspicious Light Pagoda Later tour a silk mill and the
Embroidery Research
Institute. Conclude the day's touring with a visit to the
Garden of the
Master of Fishing Net. Return to Shanghai. Tour
brochure photos of Suzhou |
| 13 |
Sunday |
8/29 |
Shanghai-Yichang |
|
Morning at leisure in Shanghai. Later, fly to Yichang. Met and escorted to San Dou Ping to see the Three Gorges Dam Project and then transfer to Maoping where your Yangtze River adventure starts as you board the Victoria Queen.
Explore the ship and its
many amenities as the upstream sailing begins |
| 14 |
Monday |
8/30 |
Yangtze |
|
Sail
through
Xiling Gorge, longest of the famed Three Gorges. Tour brochure Yangtze
cruise map and photos. Marvel at Wu Gorge's deep zigzagging valley. Take
an excursion on Shennong Stream
followed by the Lesser Gorges. Pass through
Qutang
Gorge,
walled with steep mossy cliffs that crowd the sky. |
| 15 |
Tuesday |
8/31 |
Yangtze Cruise |
|
Known as the "Pearl of
the Yangtze," visit the magnificent 12-story wooden pagoda at scenic
Shi Baozhai* today. |
| 16 |
Wednesday |
9/1 |
Yangtze Cruise-Chongqing |
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Morning cruising through now-gentle countryside to Chongqing. A half day city tour includes the zoo, Art Research Institute and the Stillwell Museum. At the Stillwell Museum attend a lecture on the Flying Tigers, a group of brave American pilots led by retired Air Corps General Claire L. Chennault. The Flying Tigers volunteered to aid the Chinese in World War ll against the Japanese invasion of China, before Pearl Harbor was attacked. Later visit a Chongqing food market and the Hall of the People. Spend the night at the Hilton Chongqing Hotel
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner |
| 17 |
Thursday |
9/2 |
Chongqing-Dazu-Chongqing |
|
Morning motorcoach to Dazu, famed for its Buddhist archeological sites. Lunch in Dazu; sightseeing includes monumental Buddhist sculptures at Baodingshan. Dazu tour brochure photos Return to Chongqing and visit flower market. Dinner and overnight at the Chongqing Marriott Hotel.
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| 18 |
Friday |
9/3 |
Chongqing-Xi'an
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Visit a Chongqing elementary school. Fly to Xi'an. Visit the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Check into the deluxe Shangri-La Golden Flower Hotel for dinner and overnight.
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| 19 |
Saturday |
9/4 |
Xi'an |
|
Today visit the
extraordinary life-sized terra-cotta legion of warriors buried with the
first emperor for over 2200 years; the Bronze Chariot and Circle Vision
Movie. Lunch at the
Terra Cotta
Museum features a noodle-making demonstration. This
evening's highlight is a dinner show at the Tang Dynasty Theatre.
Xi'an tour
brochure photos |
| 20 |
Sunday |
9/5 |
Xi'an-Guilin
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This morning, visit the city walls and then tour the museum at the recently discovered Tomb of Han Jing Di, displaying statues and relics of mounted honor guards, warriors, chariots, weapons and tools. Later, fly on to Guilin, at the heart of a magnificent landscape. Check into the Sheraton Guilin Hotel. MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner in Hotel. |
| 21 |
Monday |
9/6 |
Guilin |
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Today, enjoy a
relaxing cruise on a deluxe air-conditioned boat along the
Li River,
passing through scenery reminiscent of Chinese ink paintings. See the
haunting beauty of Guilin's mist-wrapped monolithic peaks surrounding the
river en route to
Yangshuo.
Later, visit an art gallery at the local university and then feast on a
Mexican dinner at the hotel.
Guilin tour
brochure photos |
| 22 |
Tuesday |
9/7 |
Guilin-Hong Kong
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This morning, visit a Chinese kindergarten; later see dramatic rock formations at Fu Bo Hill and Reed Flute Cave. A change of pace begins today as you fly to dynamic Hong Kong. Check in to the deluxe Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel.
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| 23 |
Wednesday |
9/8 |
Hong Kong |
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Today,
the tour of
Hong Kong goes up to
Victoria Peak
for spectacular views of the city and its harbor. Later,
Aberdeen's
sampan community is visited followed by
Repulse Bay
and a tour through
Stanley Market. |
| 24 |
Thursday |
9/9 |
Macau |
|
Visit Macau, tour the
former Portuguese colony and lunch at the Hotel Lisboa. |
| 25 |
Friday |
9/10 |
Hong Kong-New York |
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Leave Hong Kong 2:55 PM via Cathay Pacific Flight 888 (Aircraft varies-Business Class) to New York (stop in Vancouver-no plane change). Arrives New York 9:30 PM (8, 822 miles-18 hours, 35 minutes)
Crowne Plaza Hotel-LaGuardia Airport, East Elmhurst, NY |
| 26 |
Saturday |
9/11 |
New York |
|
Baseball game between New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies at Shea Stadium in the afternoon followed by U.S. Open Tennis-Women's Singles Finals-7 PM-National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadow |
| 27 |
Sunday |
9/12 |
New York to DC |
Leave NY LaGuardia US Air Flight 2177 (Airbus A319) at 2 PM. Arrive Washington Reagan at 3:05 PM (215 miles) |
