My husband and I are considering a trip to China this summer, 2005. Yes, we must travel in Late June or July. Three trips have caught our interest, Journey Across China, Great China Adventure, and Sichuan Explored. Which trip would you recommend for us, a geologist and history teacher? We want to spend 20-21 days on the trip with an extra day or two in Beijing. Also, we are fascinated with the Tibetan culture and the influence of Buddhism.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and Happy 2005, Julie
Re: China, which trip?
i did journey across china june/july 2004. excellent 3 week trip, value for money with good variety of cultural experience. i enjoyed the mix of historic sites (wall, warriors, forbidden city), landscape (karst scenery), cruise (3 gorges), traditional architecture (dali, lijiang) and trekking (tiger leaping gorge, on fringe of himalaya/tibet region). only thing it missed out was panda reserve but some of the group were continuing on a longer 4 week trip (beijing to kathmandhu) which included this (i didn't have time for 4 weeks). i ended in kunming which really wasn't that exciting, but i had few days in hong kong before going home. lot of variations in weather. v. humid in south-east. hot in north-east. little rainy in west.
there is no shortage of culture on any of the trips. if you are particularly interested in buddhism then maybe your best option would be a trip which includes the west/tibet/nepal, although there is still some presence in other areas of china.
have fun!!!!!!
Re: China, which trip?
Hi Julie,
My husband & I went on same tour as Jaxter (were in same tour group) on Journey Across China. We also didn't have enough time for longer tour. We found the trip included all the major highlights we had wanted to see & more. Its an excellent blend of the best of China. We would have chosen a different tour if we had more time but for the three weeks we still think its the best choice.
Don't worry too much about the June/July, we did the same and the heat only became uncomfortable in Yangshou and Hong Kong.
Have an excellent time.
SKB
Re: China, which trip?
Whichever tour you choose you will leave China knowing you will want to go back one day as there is so much more to see . Concentrate on seeing as much of one region as possible as the country is just far to big to do in 3 weeks .
I did the Great China Adventure in 2000, to see as much as I could in such a short time . I've been planning to go back and see more ever since ! I could have done with longer in Bejing ,seen more of the Great Wall , I would like to have seen the 3 Gorges , I could spend much longer in Yangshou and Hong Kong - hope you get the picture .
I'll be back !
Re: China, which trip?
I did the Sichuan Explorer in Sept.2002 and it was one of the best travel decisions of my life. It started in Hong Kong and we made our way through the middle, authentic part of China, skirting the Tibetan/Quinghai plateau, Xian and finally ended in Beijing. The remote scenery on the roads between Songpan, Langmusi and Xiahe was fabulous, and the encounters with the locals was much more genuine, authentic and rewarding than the "classic" travel itineraries in China. The lamaseries in Langmusi and Xiahe are much more atomospheric than their more prestigious counterparts in Tibet. Also thrown in for good measure, Yangshuo, the wonderful and vibrant city of Chengdu, horse trail in the mountains around Songpan, Xian and of course, Beijing. A wonderful, left-of-centre trip. Hope this helps.
Re: China, which trip?
Another vote for Journey Across China - you really won't regret it or ever forget the trip. I would do it all over again, but my friends are telling not to be so boring!!! So I plumped for a different China trip!!!
Great mix of sites and total value for money. The whole trip is worth it just to see Lijiang and the Great Wall.
Go on, do it!!!![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)