China’s highlights in one action packed week
At the end of a long summer day at work I was browsing vacation packages on Groupon just daydreaming and I found a tour that looked almost too good to be true. A week in China, airfare, in-country transport, hotels, several tours, and many meals included all for 500 US dollars. I quickly texted my mom and sister to see if they might be interested. We called the company just to make sure it really was for real and when we found out it really was as good of a deal as we thought. We went for it and bought three Groupons and just like where signed up to go to China in a few months. I typically am not into large group tours, but China with its tight visa requirements and a language so different than English seemed like a good candidate for a tour where I didn’t have to plan anything myself. If considering a trip to China I definitely recommend booking with an accredited tour company, having them assist with the visa and taking care of all the booking and logistics while there just makes it so much easier.
Part of why the tour was cheap was because it was in the middle of January, which is not peak season for tourists by any means. It was quite cold on the trip, but it also meant large landmarks were a lot less busy than they would normally be. The trip was also surely partially sponsored by the government tourism board and included stops at several shops, where they were definitely hoping you would buy things. Overall it was a super great deal for what the trip included and I didn’t mind having to listen to a few sales pitches for the steal on the tour we got. The company that coordinated the trip was Rewards Travel China. They did a great job coordinating tickets, visas and provided great guides. The hotels we stayed at weren’t luxury, but they were all very nice, comfortable, and clean. My only complaint was sometimes they were out of town, so not super walkable to restaurants or other places.
Day 1: Arrive Beijing
Arrive after a long flight from the West Coast of the United States, our flight was a direct flight from Seattle to Beijing on Hainan Airlines. Someone from the agency met us on arrival and helped us through the group visa process at the airport, which you apply for on arrival. You should have completed paperwork prior to arrival. It was a long process and a lot of waiting around after a long tiring flight, but eventually they got everyone’s visas processed. Once we were finally through that process and on our way to the hotel everyone was very relieved.
Day 2: Beijing - Forbidden city, Tiananmen Square, and the Summer Palace
Wake up and enjoy the breakfast buffet at the hotel, which was included in the tour package and had a huge selection of both Asian and western style breakfast items. Today’s tour to the Forbidden City was an add-on to the standard package, but well worth it.
The day started with a stop at the Summer Palace, which was not exactly summery in January, but it was beautiful. We got a tour and then some free time to walk around on our own. The lake in front was frozen and it was fun to watch people ice skate on it, but you could see how it would be incredibly peaceful in the summertime.
Then we headed to Tiananmen Square, which the guide talked about very briefly since it is still not something that is really opening discussed in China. Then we toured the Forbidden City, the former seat of the emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The scale of the structures and their age is incredible. The guide told us that in the summer sometimes there are so many visitors that it is hard to move around, so we felt very glad to be there in winter even if was cold.
After our tours we ventured out to a restaurant for Peking Duck a dish that China is famous for on our own. It was incredible delicious once we found the place, which was a bit of a challenge considering we don’t read or speak Chinese and it was located on the second floor of an office building. Everyone was so nice trying to help us find the place. The experience did make us glad to be on a guided tour of the country, since it really is pretty difficult to navigate on your own if you do not have any Chinese language skills.
Day 3: Outside Beijing - Olympic Park and The Great Wall
Today we loaded up on the bus with everyone on the tour package as this part of the tour was included in our purchase of the trip. First stop was the Birds Nest at Olympic Park, where we wandered around the structure for a while, taking in the scale of the Olympic stadium.
Then we stopped for lunch on our way out of the city to the Great Wall. At the wall we were able to walk on a section of it at our own pace, taking in the views and the incredible structure, and learning about the history of those who built it. It was very interesting to see parts of the steps that were worn from people walking on it for hundreds of years. On my own I would have loved a little more time to walk more of the wall and take in all the views, but you got enough time to at least get a feel for the scale.
On the way back we stopped at a Chinese Medicine center. The visit was a little sales pitchy as they were trying to sell you products, but it was nice to get a nice foot soak, sit in a comfortable chair and get to try different beauty products. I bought a tub of Bao Su Fung, which is a face cream that’s sent helps relax you and put you to sleep. I actually loved it and have bought more of it on future trips to Singapore where you can pick it up in Chinatown.
Tonight we walked about 20 minutes to a modern shopping center and found a good noodle shop for dinner. The shopping centers in China, along with a lot of Asia, have a lot of great quality restaurants. Hot noodle soup was perfect for the cold weather we experienced in Beijing and it was fun seeing the mall and streets light up at night. The haze from poor air quality in Beijing definitely adds an interesting eerie vibe at night, but have no fear China is very safe so don’t hesitate walking around at night.
Day 4: Beijing: Temple of Heaven, Old Hutong tour & Lunch - fly to Shanghai
Today we did another add on tour and visited the Temple of Heaven and a Hutong. We spent about an hour at the Temple of Heaven in the morning visiting the main temple and walking around the grounds. Then we went to a Hutong, which is the old style housing still available in some parts of Beijing. The houses are very simple and communal living style with courtyards, close neighbors, and shared bathrooms down the street. Despite their lack of modern amenities they are a very popular and sought after type of housing in the city. We walked through the neighborhood a little before getting in a rickshaw for a larger tour of the whole hutong. We ended near a home where an older couple made us a delicious meal and hosted us for lunch. The guy shared his story and even sung us all a song. It was a great tour and probably one of the most authentic feeling experiences we had.
After that we headed to the airport to catch a flight to Shanghai. Since we arrived later in the evening we just stayed in a hotel outside Shanghai city in the city of Suzhou.
Day 5: Lingering Garden, Silk Factory and the Grand Canal of Suzhou
First stop was the next morning was the Lingering Garden . It is a beautiful garden with over 500 years of history and beautiful walkways, ponds, buildings, and gardens even in January. Here we were free to wander on our own and take in the beauty. Next stop was a silk factory, where we learned about the process of silk making and had the opportunity to buy silk products. I brought home an incredible silk comforter, that they packaged up air tight so it would be easy to transport home in our suitcase.
Next stop was the grand canal of Suzhou, which is a canal city and called the Oriental Venice. Some people on the tour opted for a boat tour of the canal, however since we only had a little time we decided to just wander in our own. It was fun to stroll stone paths along the canal and wander across the magnificent bridges. The locals were very interested in us, I don’t think it is a heavily touristed area. We stopped at a little store and picked up a few snacks. While wandering a mother asked us to take a photo with her child, who had not met many if any Americans before.
We got to our room and did a little research to find a good spot for dinner and hoped in a taxi to a place that had great reviews in a shopping mall nearby. The meal was delicious and walking around the massive mall was interesting, especially the walmart filled with tons of small dried fish. Certainly not like the walmarts at home.
Day 6: Hangzhou & Shanghai
Hangzhou is a lakeside city our guide told us was described as “Paradise on Earth”. In the morning we went to the west side of the lake, which is actually a UNESCO heritage site. We wandered the gardens along the lake at a leisurely place on our own taking in views of the lakes and the gardens along it’s edge.
Then we stopped at No. 1 Tea Plantation which grows the famous Dragon Well Green Tea. We got to see the beautiful traditional buildings and had views of all the rows of tea growing on the hillside. Then they brought us in to tea room, where we got a demonstration on how to brew the tea and taste it. I think almost everyone in the group went home with a tin of the amazing loose leaf tea. How could you say no to all the supposed health benefits?
Then we made the drive into the heart of Shanghai, where we headed straight for the iconic Bund. A beautiful walkway along the canal with incredible living walls, one side lined with colonial buildings and views of the super modern skyline on the other side.
Our hotel was on the outskirts of the city, but we opted to book dinner downtown on the 52nd floor of the Ritz Carlton, at their Italian restaurant of all things. We mostly booked it because of the incredible view and frankly were ready for some food without MSG. We could see the whole night skyline from there and to be honest after eating lots of cheaper Chinese food provided on the tour it tasted so good. The fresh pasta was exactly what we needed. The food, venue, views, and service were all incredible. While eating Italian food might seem like a weird way to spend the evening in China, I would highly recommend splurging on a meal here.
Day 7 : Exploring Shanghai
In the morning we visited the Shanghai museum, seeing all kinds of different old Chinese artwork, including beautiful rugs and looms. Then we spent the afternoon at the City God Temple and Bazar. We wandered through old style buildings and walkways, browsing and shopping at all kinds of fun little stores picking up any last minute souvenirs and trying different snacks at little vendors.
For our last evening, we did a night time river cruise to see the Shanghai skyline, which was an add on from the standard tour. It was absolutely stunning and a must do activity if you are in Shanghai. We brought a little bottle of Chinese liquor with us and found out we couldn’t bring it on the boat, so we drank it quickly on the bus before with the two guys traveling together both named Gary that had become our friends.
Day 8: Depart
Head to the airport and depart for home or continue on your adventure.
