China Tour (10/3 - 10/23)
This was a memorable tour in which practically everything went right. The tour company and guides were excellent, the venues were varied and vastly interesting, and the tour group was extremely compatible. The only negatives were the weather did not cooperate at times and the tour was too short. We all wanted it to continue just a few days more. Or maybe a few weeks more.
The tour
Days 1 and 2, 10/3 - 10/4.
Our first day started at 4:45 AM on 10/3 at home in Portland and terminated in our second day at 9:20 PM on 10/4 in Beijing. The time diffenece between the cities is 15 hours and we crossed the international dateline as well. All this (14 hours of flying and 5 hours of layover at SFO) resulted in two very tired people. However, our tour company, China Focus, was there to meet us in Beijing, quickly introduced everyone, herded us and the rest of the group through customs, onto a waiting bus which whisked us to our hotel and efficiently to our rooms. Our luggage dutifully followed. All-in-all not a bad day, considering the journey.
Our group consisted of 13 people:
Mae and Jim Craig Craig and their 10 year old grandson Joey from San Diego, California
Elena Jookova and Tom Clemmons from Riley, Oregon
Melinda Correll and Linda Lunsford from Seattle, Washington
Judy and John Chianese from Susquehanna, Pennsylvania
Lynda and Darrell Jobman from Kenosha, Wisconsin
Brona and Dave Liberts from Portland, Oregon
James from Tsingtao, China
To see their pictures, click China Focus Tour Group.
Day 3, 10/5.
Our first actual tour day : Beijing (Tian'an Men Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven). To see what we did on this day, click Beijing Day 1.
Day 4, 10/6.
Beijing (Jade factory, the Great Wall and the Hutong area). To see what we did on this day, click Beijing day 2.
Day 5, 10/7.
Our last day in Beijing (Summer Palace on Kunming Lake, Pearl Factory) and first in Wuhan is chronicled on Beijing/Wuhan.
Day 6, 10/8.
In Wuhan (Hubei Provincial Museum), see Wuhan.
Day 7, 10/9.
Yangtse Cruise first day (Three Gorges Dam,Xiling Gorge), see Yangtse Cruise First Day.
Day 8, 10/10.
Yangtse Cruise second day (Shennongxi Stream,Wu Gorge), see Yangtse Cruise Second Day.
Day 9, 10/11.
Yangtse Cruise third day (Fengdu, the Ghost City), see Yangtse Cruise Third Day.
Day 10, 10/12.
Yangtse/Chongquin/Xi'an (Zoo, Stillwell and Flying Tiger Museums), see Chongquing/Xi'an.
Day 11, 10/13.
Xi'an (Terracotta Warriors), see Xi'an First Day.
Day 12, 10/14.
Xi'an (Old wall, Great Goose Pagoda)/Guilin, see Xi'an/Guilin.
Day 13, 10/15.
Guilin (Reed Flute Cave, Cormorant Fishing), see Guilin First Day.
Day 14, 10/16.
Guilin (Li River Cruiuse)/Yangshou, see Guilin/Yangshu Li River Cruise.
Day 15, 10/17.
Yangshou/Guilin/Hangzhou, see Yangshou/Guilin/Hangzhou.
Day 16, 10/18.
Hangzhou (West Lake,Yellow Dragon Well), see Hangzhou.
Day 17, 10/19.
Hangzhou/Suzhou (Garden of the Fishing Net Master, Grand Canal), see Hangzhou/Suzhou.
Day 18,10/20.
Suzhou (Silk Spinning Factory)/Tongli/Suzhou, see Suzhou/Tongli/Suzhou.
Day 19, 10/21.
Suzhou/Shanghai (Bund, Nanjing Road, Shanghai Acrobatic Show), see Suzhou/Shanghai.
Day 20, 10/22.
Shanghai (Shanghai Museum), see Shanghai.
Day 21, 10/23.
Shanghai/San Francisco, see Shanghai/San Francisco.
If you want another perspective on the tour, see Linda Correll's Blog.
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