Two Days in Luoyang

We went to Luoyang for our rest time of our China trip, on Saturday night. We got on an overnight train from Beijing. The train was clean and tidy. We talked to some very nice people, which seems like a common occurrence on trains in China. I slept well and was ready to start my trip when we arrived in Luoyang early the next morning. Our guide was waiting for us at the railway station as appointed beforehand. First we went to the Shaolin Temple, which is the home of a very famous martial arts school. Kids are brought to the school to intensely study martial arts. We saw a show and they were very impressive, just like those crazy kungfu movies. One kid even broke two metal bars over his head. There was also some interesting scenery. They had a thing called the forest of towers, it is trees and stone towers mingled together to make a really cool hillside. They also had a pretty cool temple, but we came at the busiest time of the year so it was crazy. Now is the time the Peony flower blooms, and Luoyang is very famous for their Peony flowers so they have a Peony flower festival, it is really a big attraction for China tours. For that reason it is a very popular tourist destination during April and many visitors flock in.
After Shaolin Temple we went to the White Horse Temple. For the most part, just another temple, but there were a lot of flowers and it has a pretty cool story. The guide explained to us the history of this temple in good detail. It was really cool to hear some things about the temple. To travel China, you always get a lot to learn.
That night we ate one of the delicious meals. This meal was particularly spicy so I really enjoyed it. After the meal, David, Cherry and I went to a night snack street, with the guide’s help. There we met an old man who came up to us. We were expecting him to speak Chinese, but he spoke English to us. It wasn’t very good pronunciation, but we were all speechless. He is the first gray-haired Chinese man that has spoken a word of English to me, and he could actually speak decent sentences. We didn’t eat anything too out of the ordinary because we were stuffed, but it was a lot of fun. The next morning after breakfast, our guide picked us up and we headed out for the Longmen Grottoes. All the people we had talked to the night before said Longmen was the prettiest place in Luoyang, and they were right. I have pictures, but it was kind of foggy so the pictures don’t do it justice, it was really beautiful. Especially as a Minnesota boy, it’s great to be out of the big city for a couple weeks. Longmen Grottoes is on a river and it is a whole mountainside with Buddha shrines carved into it. For dinner Rose (our China tour guide) led us to a not very clearly marked local restaurant to have a taste of some real good Luoyang food.The noodles we got were something I’ve never tried before, they had a more creamy sauce which I’ve never had in China but it was great. They also had soda pop in glass bottles that was made right in Luoyang. They had both lime and orange flavored soda, very good to drink while eating hot noodles.
These two days are very interesting, historical and unique tourist sites, plain and friendly local people, all impressed us much.

My trip in Beijing

Beijing caught the world's attention in the summer of 2008 when the Olympics gave tourists one more reason to visit China's national capital. Visitors can now see modern architectural wonders in Beijing, such as the “Birds Nest” and “Water Cube”, along with the well-known historical wonders: the Temple of Heaven, the Great wall and the Ming Tombs. I planned a six day vacation in Beijing, intending to see both the old and the new aspects of the city. Many of the tourists who visit China will book a multi-city package tour, because the prices are relatively inexpensive. I arranged my own transportation and accommodations, but took three day-long guided China tours in which our tour groups were transported by van or bus. The first tour visited a Ming Tomb and a popular section of the Great Wall. The second tour stopped at the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. The third tour went to a remote section of the Great Wall. If I were to plan the whole vacation again, I would fill even more of my time with such tours. I had some interesting conversations with vacationers and world-travelers of many different nationalities. I arrived in Beijing during the mid-afternoon of June 29th and relied upon internet instructions to find my accommodations. I took a crowded airport express bus to the nearest subway station (Dongzhimen), but would have been better served by the marginally more expensive, but infinitely more comfortable, high speed airport train. Finding my hotel wasn't difficult, because all of the subway signs and street signs were written in English. Although, in retrospect, I should have printed the address in Chinese in case I needed to take a taxi. My accommodations were located in a central part of Beijing called the Hutong District. Many foreign tourists stay in this area. On my first full day, I visited a “Drum Tower”, which was within walking distance of my hotel. The Drum Tower was built in 1272; it was initially used for musical performances, but was later used to announce the time. One has to climb about 100 steps to reach the “first floor” where all of the drums are located. There were about ten large ceremonial drums in the tower and while some of them were very old, others were still in use. There are regular musical performances in the tower, conducted for tourists. Fortunately, the timing of my visit coincided with one of these performances, and it made all of the stairs climbing worthwhile. After visiting the Drum Tower, I walked around the nearby Hou Hai lake, which is a very popular nightspot for bar hoppers, checked out the train station area, and went looking for Tian'anmen Square. Later in the evening, I went to the “Red Theatre” in order to watch a Kung fu themed play. The play was clearly produced and marketed for foreign tourists; half of the script was in English and the announcers repeatedly ballyhooed the souvenir shop. Nevertheless, I thought that the play was well done; it was a well-choreographed juxtaposition of drama and martial arts exhibition (probably more the latter).

China Yangtze River Cruise

China tour is always what my friends and I dreamt of. Before finally setting off, we surfed online for China travel agencies, to see if there is one that can help us. And we booked the service from Top China Trip after careful comparison. Following their arrangement, we chose the Yangtze River Cruise Package Tour.
With the guide’s help, we docked in Badong, China at some point during the night so that's where we took off from today. We went thru the Wu Gorge, had breakfast, and then docked at some city where we hopped on a ferry that would take us thru smaller gorge (called the "Lesser Gorges" or "Little Three Gorges"). Beautiful scenery. We always think it so lucky for us to visit China. We then hop onto an even smaller boat to fit into the last and smallest gorge. During this boat trip, one of the guys on the boat demonstrates how we should wear their hat and "cape" thing and most of us give it a shot and have our picture taken (and tip him).

Along the way on the river (for both the ferry and the smaller boat), there are interesting little tid bits of life. One is that there are quite a few "casket caves". These are aptly named- they have caskets in them so that the departed have nice views still. Some of the caskets are gone, due to vandalism or flooding (some are quite close to the river). Also, at one point on the small boat there was someone up in their hillside home (aka- a hut/tent thing) playing some whistle instrument for us little boats that drove by. No way to tip this person, they were just doing it to add to our enjoyment. Very nice. We start heading back to the MS Fortune and myself, David, Ellen, Anna and Jenny play some cards (a game that Ellen and Anna taught us- fun, I'll teach ya!) Back on the MS Fortune, we pass thru a few more gorges and set our sites on destination Fengdu. One of the gorges was the inspiration for the background landscape on the 10 Yuan (RMB) so of course I had to have another picture taken with me holding a 10 (couldn't let the 20 Yuan picture feel special.)

That night, after dinner, myself, Anna and Jenny play some Mahjong. The boat has a room set up specifically for this and we have plenty of help to get us thru the game. Another passenger on the trip, Chinese lady, doesn't speak ANY English, sits down ands joins us and shows us how (reminds me) how to play with just her actions. She is so sweet and nice. Sue has one of the masseuse ladies standing behind her and helping her out and Jenny has some male passenger helping her with her hand. I was on my own and lost. I blame it on not having a team of 2, but it could be 'cause I'm not good at the game. The jury is still out on that one.

After a few hands of Mahjong we have to wrap it up because tonight is the talent show. David is brave enough to get up and sings "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands" in Mandarin. Must have said it right because the other passengers applauded enthusiastically. Then, Anna and Ellen participated in Musical Chairs and later in the final dance (which was the Chinese Bunny Hop). In between all that, the crew had little dance numbers that were interesting to watch. After the show, everyone heads back to their room but not before we snag a couple of shots of the group with Coco. Our China tour ends.

Here I have suggestions for those friends who want to travel China, the travel agency is very important. With no familiar persons in there, we can only rely on the travel agents and the guide, the service they arrange for us. I should say, Top China Trip, with her years of professional private travel experience and considerate attitudes towards the customers, has done an excellent job!

My second time to travel China

I had a China tour last October. That is my second time totravel China after the trip of Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai. The agency advised me to choose Suzhou and Hangzhou to spend my travel, because it will give me a different impression of China. I decided to have a try, after all, China is a country with so plentiful civilization. After receiving the e-mail of my tailor-made itinerary, I was dreaming that travel every day. Although the itinerary is so detailed that I can see the scenery in my eyes, I still want to enjoy the sightseeing by myself. I travel the itinerary as scheduled. The first day, I was taken to Wuxi. When it refers to Wuxi, I cannot help to talk about the delicious dinner. I remembered that there is a restaurant near my hotel called Wang Xing Ji, where you can taste the Steamed Buns and the San Feng Bridge griskin. The taste is fresh and nice and very different from our western food. The second day, my tour is arranged in the heaven of the earth, Suzhou of China. The guide takes me to get to Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, and Lion Grove. It is said that the Humble Administrator's Garden is the villa built in old times. That is very wonderful. At night, we went to the Restaurante Chino to eat beggars chicken. My guide told me that that delicious chicken is invited by the beggars in old China. That is incredible. Because it has been a famous dish The third day, my guide and I went to Haining to enjoy the spring tide in Haining. Due to my tout is in Chinese National Days, many Chinese people choose the dates to travel to Haining. The beach is crowded. However the tide is beautiful and the people assembling there is also distict scenery for me. We were all happy. The fourth day, our destination was changed to a simple and unsophisticated place, Xitang. Chinese civilization is unbelievable. The fifth day, we came to Hangzhou , where is the birthplace of the famous Chinese legend about Xu Xian and Bai Suzhen. My guide took me to the West Bridge and the Fall of Pagoda. That is interesting but moving. The last day, after understanding the history of the old city, my guide took me to cruise on the river. The old style boat made me terrified then but now I think it is fun and brought me back to the old time as well a the Paper Umbrella taken by the girls in Hangzhou. After my tour, I told all my friends about my China tour. That is a mysterious County.

Last year in China

I am an old man from Iran. Both my son and daughter have their own business. So I would like to travel alone, instead of being troublesome for them. But I don’t like join group. I met Topchinatrip when I google China private tour. After providing tailor-made itinerary, I remembered that it has been fixed many times. At first, I am afraid that I might be cheated. After all, we often heard about the instances of fraud on the internet. So I tried many ways to verify. At last, I relievedly made a decision that I would have a tour to Beijing. My tour advisor from Topchinatrips said to me that Beijing and Xian, as ancient capital cities, are the symbols of Chinese ancient history, for example, Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, which was one of the many building projects designed to impress visitors and it is really stunning. Then my guide accompanies me to have a sight of Lao she Tea house for a very different taste of Chinese entertainment. Lao she Tea house is close to the heart of the city, which is really similar with the house appeared in Chinese traditional movie. I like it, especially for the red lanterns and fountains and peaceful, private rooms where you can take tea. I was served with a constant supply of tea. I feel like that I am like a Chinese elder. In the night, a Peking Opera was arranged for us. My second station is Xian. It is still the cities my advisor advised to me. In Xian, the attractions impressed me most is the Terra Cotta Warriors, my guide told me a movie story about it made by the Chinese famous director, Zhangyimou. That is striking and adds the mysterious color to it. After traveling Beijing and Xian, I fly to Shanghai, which is also the hot tourism city in China. But it is much more modern and I can see many foreigners there. I like the Bund. My guide had book a cruise on the bund. They told me that called “Dragon Boat”. I had a meal on the boat. Then we also have some time, I suggest that we can have a walk along the river.
I took out of my cameras. My guide takes photos for me as we went. Along the way, we cut across to Nangjing Road, the busiest shooping street in Shanghai. Because it is a little warm, we choose Pizza Hut nearby to have a meal. Afterwards, we walked down Nanjing Road. I think if my daughter came with me, she would be crazy by shopping. Of course, I bought some presents for them and my grandsons. Traveling is a beautiful thing, I like China. Nest time I will choose to visit Guilin. Topchinatrip told me there has the most beautiful scenery. I booked my package of 2012. The photos of the Elephant Trunk Hill, Longji Terraces and Li River Cruise are very nice. I think I cannot travel China alone next time.

Travel in China

We are in New Jersey home now. So we got an impressive journey in Beiijng , Xi'an, Chongqing Yangtze river cruise and ShanghaiTours. Jenny and I still cannot help talking to our neighbors our wonderful China journey. We are really appreciated your well organized plan, not even a trouble happened in our travel. Thanks for your work, arranged comfortable hotels and incredible time-running services. Oh, jenny still has a question, do you have the girl Susan’s e-mail or phone number, the local guide we met at the airport at the first day in Beijing. Jenny really loves talking with Susan, even in the marvelous Forbidden City; she still cannot stop gossiping with Susan. Hope this crazy old woman won't drive Susan crazy. Yangtze River cruise really gave an impression of China. We hearted the Three Gorges Dam before in US, but we thought it's not so wise to build this Dam. For the irreversible change to nature and local culture and people, and the Dam really cannot create that worth to we people. So that is also the reason I wanted you to add Three Gorges Dam in my itinerary. I want to see it with my own eyes. The fact is you, Chinese guys really did a great work, and we enjoyed this. Thank you Taylor, you and your company give great confidence in traveling China. Since I did reservation from topchinatrip.com, everything goes on as I wished. Hope we can enjoy another tour in the future.