We finally made it to China...
I have wanted to visit China for almost two decades and I finally got to do it this fall. My husband and I traveled for 27 days with the assistance and guidance of Nora with China Culture Tours. From the very beginning I could tell that Nora's goal was to make sure I got to do exactly what it is I wanted to experience. We did not want a group tour and we did not want a "shopping tour." We wanted a guided custom trip just for the two of us. They make it easy for you by listing the many destinations in China you could select from. After creating a wish list we refined it by eliminating areas that were very similar to one another, being careful that Nora knew our limitations (my husband has balance issues), problems with past travel (altitude sickness); and most importantly sharing what I hoped to see. In all cases Nora came up with a way to make it happen. Since our trip would be a total of 30 days (we added 3 days in Hong Kong on our own) Nora suggested that we build in a few free days. What a blessing these were! We had one after 8 or 9 days and the 2nd free day was at the 18 day mark. I worried about our age (both my husband and I just turned 70) but we are active so I did not want to slow the pace of our travel. I thought we could "do whatever the average person could handle in a day." We did it but I must admit we were very tired at the end of the day. We stayed in boutique hotels and loved the experience. Here are some tips: 1. You will see many ancient historical sites, ancient towns, pagodas and temples. It is also fun to see the locals in action. I suggest going out in the evening to see the beautiful lights and find out where everyone is going! People in China don't stay home at night. 2. In Beijing when at the Forbidden City be sure to allow enough time to have at least 30 minutes in the garden. It is stunning, shaded and relaxing. Enjoy it! 3. In 30 days we saw many sights, including volunteering for a day at a panda center (cleaning out enclosures and yards, making food for the pandas and learning about China's efforts to introduce them to the wild) and the Terra Cotta Warriors. However, the three not to miss spots in my opinion were the Yellow Mountains (if you are lucky the peaks of the mountains will be jutting above the clouds), the Longji Terraced Rice Fields and Guilin/Longsheng. We photographed the cormorant fisherman in Xingping after the absolutely wonderful Li River Cruise. The karst mountains are not to be missed. Nora put this all together without one hitch! I can't recommend China Culture Tours highly enough.