China Tours - My Memorable Classic China Excursion

Vacation in China would be the dream of every vacationer. But the country is so large that it is almost impossible to know exactly what to do without good background knowledge of what, where, when and how.

Most visitors on their first time travel to China, they will choose Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, Guilin, Hong Kong and the Yangtze River as their preferable destinations. This article presents my memorable 10 days classic China excursion. We started the trip in Beijing and ended the trip in Hong Kong.

We got into Beijing on one fine afternoon in the autumn and met our first local tour guide, Jenny. Jenny is a lovely young lady and looked after us very well the following days in Beijing. As the capital of China, Beijing has a long history with an abundance of historical and cultural heritage that represents treasures from the city civilizations. It is undoubtedly number one place to go for China tour destination and draws millions of tourists annually. We spent 3 days to see all the must sees of Beijing including the Badaling Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace.

What the most impressive for us is the day when we visited the Badaling Great Wall. After touring the majestic Badaling Great Wall, we drove back to our hotel. On the way driving back, we saw the Beijing National Stadium (Bird Nest) and National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube) in the Olympic Park. We already saw theses magnificent looking on TV during 2008 Olympic Game, but we were exciting to see them on live and felt so happy to have a chance to take several photos.

Xian was our second stop after Beijing. Xian is a city with time-honored history. It is the city can bring you back in time to ancient Chinese civilization. Anyone comes to Xian, the 6,000 life-size painted terracotta warriors and horses flash into your mind first. A highlight sightseeing to Xian is definitely a visit to the amazing archeological relics of the terracotta Warriors and Horses.
 
Cycling atop the Ancient City Wall in Xian should be unique experience for us in China tour. The Ancient City Walls were built during the 14th century on Tang dynasty foundations and they dated from the Ming dynasty. The walls are the largest and best-preserved ancient fortress in the world.

Long before I visited China, I was told that Guilin is the best of best city you should not miss on a China tour because Guilin owns the most famous landscape in China. As soon as we stepped off the plane, Guilin's colorful sights, aromatic smells and people's gentle smiles conjured up an indescribably magical aura.

By cruising on the tranquil Li River one day while we were in Guilin, we were certainly walking into a traditional Chinese painting. After the boat trip, we stayed overnight in Yangshuo county and drove back to Guilin the next day. We have to mention the great outdoors performance in Yangshuo. The guide arranged this performance for us flexibly since the performance was originally excluded in our schedule.

In Yangshuo, there is a great culture performance with 2,400-seat stadium. It has the biggest natural stage in the world and is built in the Li River, which stretches for 2 kilometers long with 12 mountain peaks as its background. All performers are local, mostly from Zhuang and Yao background and more than 600 people play on the performance. The show in Yangshuo was super exciting.

We ended our trip in Hong Kong to explore Hong Kong's unique blend of Chinese heritage and colonial influences. We visited Victoria Peak, the floating community of Aberdeen and Repulse Bay of Hong Kong Island, the Wong Tai Sin Temple and the Jade Market in Kowloon.

At night Hong Kong is especially lovely when the lights are lit. The night life in Hong Kong has a unique glamour. In the evening, we went to Lan Kwai Fong which is an L-shaped, cobble-stoned lane with numerous bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants. While we were walking in this street, the most language we heard here was English rather than Cantonese speaking.