Tripology

Commercial Flight

You will leave Los Angeles on your flight to Beijing, China. The adventure begins! Meals on the plane

When you arrive in Beijing, you will be met by a guide and transferred to your hotel. You will be given dinner in the hotel.

Sightseeing

The day will begin with a visit to the center of Beijing, Tian-An-Men Square. Which is surrounded by the Mao Museum, the History Museum, the People's Hall and the Forbidden City. Then you will go to the majestic Forbidden City. In addition to seeing the buildings and grounds of the Emperor's palace, you will also see the Emperor's clock collection and the Qing Dynasty Jewelry, Robes and Relics collection (which Westerners rarely see). After lunch we will take you to the Silk Market. The rest of the day is free. B, L.

Sightseeing

Today you will begin the day going to the Puppet Theatre. You will go backstage, meet the actors, see a show and see a private room where they have an excellent collection of puppets including the traditional Chinese rod puppets. After lunch Then you will be taken to the Temple of Heaven, which is where the Emperor went every year to commune with the gods. This is a fascinating site, with many gardens and areas of nature as well as the many beautiful buildings.

Shopping

Then we will take you to the 2nd Hand Street Market. This market is only open on Saturdays and Sundays and is where the Beijingers shop.You will find a wide array of items from Jade, jewelry, art, cloth, chopsticks, furniture, etc. etc. If you know how to bargain you can get deals that are dimes or even pennies on the dollar. We will take you to the Silk Market. B, L, D

Food and Dining

Dinner : Beijing Duck.

Sightseeing

You will start off with a visit you will be given a tour of a Chinese Hutong. This begins with a rickshaw ride through the old neighborhood, then a short walking tour into the narrow streets of the Hutong. You will be able to visit the home of a family who lives there; feel free to ask any questions. This is the traditional housing in old Beijing that was generally four small houses surrounding a court area. The Hutong has been home to both the poor and the rich. These quaint dwellings are disappearing in the continual modernization of China. Then you can have lunch prepared by your host family in the Hutong. After lunch you will visit the Central Academy of Peking. Here you will see some classes in session, view some demonstrations as well as receive a lecture from a professor regarding the makeup, significance of the colors as well as the types of BJ opera characters, etc.

Performing Arts

You will go to the Beijing Opera for two short performances. (Qianmen Jianguo Garden Hotel theatre). You will go early and observe the actors from the 2nd performance put on their makeup.

Sightseeing

Today you will visit the Ming Tombs, the Ding Ling Museum. You will be able to enter one of the tombs. In the Ding Ling Museum you can see artifacts and replicas from the tomb itself. They also have some golden crowns, jewelry and Qing Dynasty robes. You will stop at the Cloisonne Factory and see the process of making cloisonne. After lunch you will go onto the incredible Great wall of China (at Badaling). It is an incredible feeling to be standing on one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which is over 3,900 miles in length! Afterwards, you will be returned to your hotel. After dinner we will take you to a grocery store where you can pick up some snacks for your train ride.

Train

Then you will be transferred to the train station for your 12-hour train to Xian.

Hotel

Upon arrival the local guide will meet you and transfer the group to your hotel where you will have dinner. B, L, D.

Hotel

You will arrive in the morning, where your local guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. We will have breakfast and drop off your luggage.

Sightseeing

In the morning we will take you to the Shaanxi Traditional Opera Research (a.k.a. Shaanxi Folk Art School Institute). where you will be given a tour and demonstrations. You can talk to some of the professors and students through your guide/interpreter. Then we will take you into the Great Mosque and Muslim Quarter. As we continue in this area we will take you to the ancient home of Bei Yuan Men.

Performing Arts

After a brief tour of this classic style home and garden, we will go to this sites small but excellent Shadow Puppet Theatre. Here you will see a Shadow Puppet play and, if you want, a Marionettes play as well, all accompanied by a small live music ensemble.

Food and Dining

You will have a special Dumpling dinner at Defachang Restaurant, which is a delightful experience. They make the shape of the dumplings to reflect the main ingredient inside. B,L,D.

Sightseeing

Today you will go to the World Class Shaanxi Provincial Museum, which exhibits the dynasties in order through the artifacts brassworks and cultural relics. After lunch you will take a tour the old city of Xi'an including the Drum Tower, Bell Tower, and the famous City Wall (on which 4 chariots could ride abreast).

Performing Arts

Wild Goose Pagoda by night and observe their delightful watershow.

Museums

Today you will visit what has been called the 8th Wonder of the World the Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum. Oftentimes, one of the farmers who discovered the site is actually there. You will also visit the Terra Cotta Soldiers Replica Factory. You can actually purchase a genuine looking Terra Cotta Replica constructed at a variety of sizes including full size. This unique factory and store also offers many other quality products including silk rugs, jewelry, the famous Xi'an 3-color pottery and some beautiful furniture with laminated jade artwork. B, L. The Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum itself, has 3 major 'pits' where various types of figurines were uncovered. No two soldiers look exactly alike. The museum also has a 360-degree theatre which shows a dramatized history of how and why the Terra Cotta soldiers were created.

Commercial Flight

Then we will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Shanghai.

Hotel

There your guide will meet you and transfer you to your hotel. B, L, D.

Sightseeing

We will take you to the Historic Bund, which is very beautiful in the evening lights.

Sightseeing

The day begins with a tour of the world-class Shanghai Museum. This fantastic museum has a number of quality exhibits including an ancient coin collection and on the fourth floor an ethnic minority exhibit which features their costumes, masks, and various implements and tools. After lunch you will then see the Private Lotus Show Museum for tiny lotus shoes plus Qing Dynasty costumes, followed by a visit to the private Blue Batik Museum and shop.

Performing Arts

You can go to a performance of the world famous Shanghai Acrobats. B, L.

Sightseeing

Today we will drive to you Suzhou. We will take you to Humble Administrator's Garden. This is a classic beautiful large Chinese Garden Then you will be taken to the much smaller, yet still gorgeous Master of the Net garden. You will also visit the incredible Embroidery Institute, where Chinese masters do with thread what our Western masters did with oil paint. We will also visit the Silk Factory. Then you will be taken to the Silk Museum, which has many fine exhibits and products. B, L.

We will transfer you back to the airport for your flight back to the USA with many wonderful memories. B, (meals on plane).