Classic China: Beijing • Xian • Shanghai
with optional extensions to Huangshan or Guilin
October 6-15, 2008
Faculty: Peter Yu, Lecturer on Chinese Language & Culture, and Assistant Dean of African-American Affairs
Price: $3,790 per passenger, based upon double occupancy
Single Supplement $ 990
* Does not include international air.
 |
Registration is Open |
 |
|
Overview
Due to the overwhelming success of last year’s Cavalier Travels trip to China we decided to add this shorter departure for the fall of this year. Join Professor Peter Yu and fellow Wahoos on a tour of China's most dynamic cities, beautiful countryside, and historic sites. This trip includes the wonders all first-time travelers to China wish to see: the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven in Beijing. We also visit Xian, home of the terracotta warriors as well as a Han dynasty tomb into which we will explore. Our last stop is Shanghai, China's largest and most European-influenced city, with its wide boulevards, world-class museums, and the European Bund along the Huangpu River. Don’t let the very attractive price fool you. This is a luxury program featuring the finest hotels, excellent guides and delicious food. In Beijing, one can walk out of the front door of the hotel and directly into Tiananmen square. Our hotel is adjacent to, and the closest to, the Forbidden City
Program Highlights
- Beijing: visit the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace. Tour the old Beijing district by pedicab for a first-hand view of traditional life. Marvel at the Great Wall, the most enduring symbol of China.
- Xian: view the legendary terracotta warriors and a Han Dynasty tomb.
- Shanghai: explore this European-influenced city with beautiful colonial buildings on the historic Bund. Visit the world-class Shanghai Museum and classical Yuyuan Gardens. Take a day trip to the ancient river town of Zhujiajiao, the Venice of Shanghai.
Accommodations
All accommodations are at centrally located, first class hotels.
Grand Hotel Beijing is located in the heart of the city and adjacent to the Forbidden City. The Grand has hosted world leaders such as Former British Prime Minister Lady Margaret Thatcher, Former German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, and Henry Kissinger, former US Secretary of State, as well as the 2008 Olympic Committee.
Sofitel Xian is one of the newest and best hotels in the city. Western Management and within walking distance to central Xian attractions. The rooms are elegant, and very well appointed.
Royal Le Meridian Hotel Shanghai is centrally located in the heart of Shanghai. Standing between the historic Nanjing Road East and the greenery of People's Square, the hotel overlooks the Shanghai Museum and Grand Theater.
Meals
- All meals (except three dinners and one lunch) at fine Chinese restaurants, specializing in regional cuisines, are included.
- Special dinners include a Peking Duck Banquet and a Dumpling Banquet, featuring 20 varieties of traditional Chinese dumplings
Faculty
U.Va. Faculty: Peter Yu, Lecturer on Chinese Culture and Language, and Assistant Dean of African-American Affairs
Dr. Yu has been working with the University since 1996 and directed several University study abroad programs, including the Darden School's Global Business Experience-China program since 2004. He received his college education in China and went on to earn his M.A. from University of Exeter, England, and Ph.D. from University of Virginia with a focus on international education.
A scholar of Chinese culture and Chinese education, he teaches courses on Chinese language and culture and Chinese calligraphy at the University. He is currently writing a book on Chinese calligraphy for American learners.
^ back to topItinerary
Day 1 - Depart San Francisco, New York or Washington Dulles.
Our tour departs SFO or JFK or IAD for non-stop flights to Beijing.
- Recommended air carrier: Air China
Day 2 - Beijing
We arrive in Beijing in the early evening. Our tour director will meet us at the airport and transfer to hotel.
(Meals aloft)
- Accommodations at Grand Hotel located in the heart of Beijing near Tiananmen Square.
Day 3 - Beijing
After breakfast, we explore Beijing’s picturesque Houhai district where many old courtyard homes are preserved amid narrow hutong alleys bordering tree-lined lakes. Tour the district by “pedicab” for a more lively experience of traditional Chinese life. Later, divide into smaller groups and enjoy lunch at a local family’s private home.
Afterwards, visit the Summer Palace. Explore the beautiful grounds, cruise the lovely Kunming Lake, and stroll through the royal gardens. Also, walk the Painted Gallery, the longest covered walkway in China famous for its exquisite landscape paintings.
On the way back, we stop by the Olympic Village and see the new Olympic stadiums with innovative design. The National Stadium, frequently referred to as the “Bird Nest,” was designed by Herzog & de Meuron, while the National Swimming Center, better known as the “Water Cube,” was designed by the firm PTW.
This evening, enjoy a welcome Peking Duck banquet.
(B,L,D)
Day 4 - Beijing
Enjoy an optional early morning walk to Changpuhe Park to observe local Chinese practicing traditional health forms including taiji and qigong.
This morning, visit the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of imperial China. Marvel at its expansive architecture, magnificent imperial gardens, and many museums of Chinese antiquities and treasures.
After lunch, visit the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest cultural expressions of the Ming Dynasty. The Temple of Heaven represents the most advanced principles architecture available at the time and serves as the ritual center of the imperial government.
Tonight dinner is on own. In the evening we attend a Peking Opera performance.
(B,L)
Day 5 - Beijing
Today is devoted to the famous Great Wall at Mutianyu, a rugged section of the Wall that is less crowded and with cable car available. Enjoy the astounding views of the Wall as it winds over the surrounding hills.
In the afternoon we visit 798 Dashanzi Art and Culture district (est. 2002). This renovated factory district is distinguished for the abandoned German Bauhaus warehouses built in the early 1950’s. 798 is known as the “Soho” of Beijing: more than 80 gallery spaces are housed here in addition to artist studios, fashion boutiques, furniture showrooms, and design ateliers. Exhibitions feature an international range of established and emerging artists, providing a concentrated glimpse into the rapidly-growing contemporary art scene in Beijing.
Tonight, we enjoy a special banquet at Shanglinyuan Restaurant in Beihai Park.
(B,L,D)
Day 6 - Xian
This morning, fly to the ancient Tang Dynasty capital of Xian. Upon arrival, we visit the Han Emperor’s Tomb, Yangling Museum, to view recent archaeological finds on the excavation site. Then we transfer to our hotel downtown.
Evening is free. Dinner is on own
(B, L)
- Accommodations at the deluxe Sofitel Hotel in downtown
Day 7 - Xian
Today we visit the extraordinary 2,300-year-old terracotta warriors, the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand on the original site of the emperor’s burial complex, where they were discovered by peasants in 1974.
This afternoon we visit the History Museum and its artifacts spanning many dynasties. Later stop by lively the Muslim Quarter and the Grand Mosque.
Our day concludes with a Dumpling Banquet, featuring 20 varieties of traditional Chinese dumplings.
(B,L,D)
Day 8 - Xian - Shanghai
After breakfast we fly to Shanghai and transit to our hotel. (B,L)
- Accommodations at the Royal Le Meridian Hotel in the heart of the city
Day 9 - Shanghai
We spend the whole morning visiting Shanghai Museum and viewing its wonderful collection of Chinese bronzes, jade, pottery and ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, old coins, and furniture.
At lunch time we explore Xintiandi – a stylish restaurant and shopping complex, recycling the original warren of apartment housing. Afterwards we visit Yuyuan Garden in old Shanghai and absorb the Chinese traditional garden ambience.
This evening, enjoy a memorable farewell banquet at Dingxian Garden Restaurant. After dinner, we’ll stroll along the Bund, viewing the beautifully decorated colonial buildings along the Huangpu River.
(B,D)
Day 10 - Shanghai - Return to U.S.
After breakfast we depart for the airport. Our flight arrives in the US via Beijing the same day.
(B, meals aloft)
Optional Tour Extension
Huang Mountains & Huizhou Culture
Shanghai • Tunxi • Huang Mountains • Shanghai
$1,790 (Single Supplement $790)
• 5 day extension tour
• 2 domestic flights in China
Day 1 - Shanghai - Tunxi in Anhui province
Depart Shanghai airport on a one-hour fight to Tunxi (Huanghshan City) in nearby Anhui province. Transit to our hotel. Anhui boasts an idyllic landscape of rice cultivation unspoiled by industrialization. Unending greenery gives the impression of vast, well-tended parkland.
(B,D)
- Accommodations at the Huashan Hotel.
Day 2 - Huizhou Villages
Today we explore the World Heritage Sites of Hong Village and Xidi Village. Wander the lanes of these authentic Ming and Qing dynasty villages that preserve some of China’s traditional architecture. Enjoy a traditional lunch at a courtyard home, prepared by the proprietors in Anhui style.
Stop by Shexian town, famous for its memorial arches, narrow angular lanes, and merchant homes. The old town center of Doushan is noted for its concentration of old homes and stone-lined alleyways.
After dinner visit Laojie Antique Street and its numerous shops as well as the Wan Cui Lou Museum, which specializes in art from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
(B,L,D)
Day 3 - Huangshan
Today, by bus to Anhui’s crown jewels, the Huang Mountains. The staggering beauty of granite precipices emerging from fog-banks has intoxicated Chinese artists for centuries. Travel to the summit by cable car. The elevation is around 4,000 feet, so the altitude should not pose a problem to most travelers. We walk forty minutes to our hotel and check into modest, yet adequate rooms.
- Accommodations at the West Sea Hotel, located on the summit.
Vistas of amazing beauty lie a few minutes from the hotel. The Huang Mountains are famous for seas of clouds swirling granite peaks that stretch as far as the eye can see. Every direction offers a unique view as can be gathered from the scenic names of the Nine Dragons, Daoist Priest, Ox Nose, and Hunchback. Choose between short strolls on nearby paths or longer hikes along the summit ridge.
(B,L,D)
Day 4 - Huangshan - Shanghai
This morning is free to explore the mountains. On our way back to Tunxi, visit an Anhui tea plantation famous for it maofeng tea.
In the afternoon, take a return motorcoach to Tunxi. After dinner, fly to Shanghai and transit to our hotel.
(B,L,D)
Day 5 - Shanghai - Return to U.S.
After breakfast we depart for the airport. Our flight arrives in the US via Beijing the same day.
(B, meals aloft)
Optional Tour Extension
Guilin Extension
Shanghai • Longsheng • Guilin/Li River • Yangshuo • Shanghai
$1,990 (Single Supplement $990)
• 5 day extension tour
• 2 domestic flights in China
Day 1 - Shanghai - Longsheng
Morning flight from Shanghai to Guilin (1:40 min). Upon arrival, take an hour bus ride to Longsheng. Longsheng is famous for rice terraces cut into precipitous hills that farmers have cultivated since the Yuan dynasty (13th ADE). Spring is a particularly beautiful season as the paddies fill with water and reflect the changing panorama of the sky. A little later, skeins of luscious green rice plants create remarkable views throughout the valley. Longsheng is the home of Yao and Zhuang minorities who both continue to don colorful dress and carry on their traditions. We will explore the village market and delightful craft shops.
(B,L,D)
- Accommodations at Li An Lodge. Li An Lodge is a wonderful boutique inn with 16 rooms created by an American-Chinese artist. (It took eight years to build and has just opened for business.) The lodge is a work of art itself, using Vietnamese hardwoods and the owner’s art and crafts collection in every room. Situated above the rice terraces with a commanding view of the valley, Li An Lodge will provide a memorable experience of bucolic China. All three meals will be prepared by the chef of the lodge with the freshest produce he personally picked from the farmer’s market that morning.
Day 2 - Longsheng - Guilin
We continue to explore the paths and life of Longsheng until early afternoon. Then, motorcoach to Guilin. Guilin is world famous for its spectacular karst limestone formations, vertical mountains thrust up from the seabed some 300 million years ago. Eroded over the millennia by water and winds, these picturesque mountains, immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with Chinese painting, have provided inspiration for countless Chinese artists. Dinner is at the Green Tea Restaurant.
(B,L,D)
- Accommodations at the Lijiang Waterfall Hotel
Day 3 - Li River - Yangshuo
This morning, we cruise down the Li River, winding past Mural Hill, Folded Brocade Hill, Crescent Moon Hill, and many more. The four-hour cruise navigates some of the region’s most stunning karst formations. After disembarking, we check in our hotel. Then take a ride to Yongcun Village & Lexiang Village, a gorgeous agricultural valley and surrounded by distant karst scenery. Walk into the fields to enjoy another experience of rural China, this time in the middle of a visual paradise.
In the evening explore lively Xijie (West Street) filled with restaurants, shops, and local inns. Xijie is the home away from home for numerous Westerners and so exudes a cosmopolitan air as well as an invitation for a rollicking good time. After dinner, enjoy Zhang Yi-mo’s show “Impressions of Sister Liu”. Zhang is a world famous movie director with Oscar nominated movies like “Raise the Red Lantern”, “Hero” and “House Full of Daggers”. He is producing the Olympic opening show for the 2008 Summer Olympic in Beijing
(B, L)
- Accommodations at the Paradise Hotel
Day 4 - Yangshuo - Shanghai
This day, continue our exploration of the natural beauty of Yangshuo, including a walk by the beautiful Yulong River, a tributary of Li River. Saunter along the riverbank of scenic villages, water buffalo, farmland, and playing children.
In the evening, fly to Shanghai and transfer to our hotel. Dinner is on one’s own.
(B,L)
Day 5 - Shanghai - Return to U.S.
After breakfast we depart for the airport. Our flight arrives in the US via Beijing the same day.
(B)
Program Fees
Price: $3,790 per passenger, based upon double occupancy
Single Supplement $ 990
* Does not include International Air.
Price includes :
- All domestic land and air transportation in China
- All sight-seeing, cultural activities, and meals on tour (except 3 dinners & 1 lunch)
- Double occupancy accommodations in first class deluxe hotels
- China Advocates’ tour director and local guides
- Chinese airport taxes and gratuities to local guides and drivers
Price does not include:
International airfare, Trip cancellation, lost baggage, or medical insurance; Three dinners & one lunch; Tipping to the national tour escort; Visa processing fee
How To Register
Ready to register? The best way to do this is by phone so that we can ensure we are meeting all of your needs. Please call us at 866-765-2646. Or, e-mail cavaliertravels@virginia.edu with your contact information and the best time to reach you.
A deposit of $600 per person is required to reserve your spot. Final payment is due on July 24, 2007.
Deposits can be made via Visa, MasterCard, or check made payable to China Advocates.
Early registration is encouraged as space is limited.
^ back to topGeneral Terms & Conditions
Payment
We require a deposit of $600 per person upon enrollment. The balance is due 75 days before departure.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellation of the program and tour by an individual or the group will incur the following penalty per person:
- 76 days before departure, $300 • 75-46 days before departure, $1500
- 45-31 days before departure, $2500 • 30 days before departure, No refund
Your tour operator will include information on obtaining trip insurance in your confirmation letter. Please note that there is a time frame for securing trip insurance. The University of Virginia will cancel its endorsement of and faculty and staff participation in any program destination for which a Travel Warning is issued by the U.S. Department of State. Vendor Terms of Agreement will specify under what circumstances the vendor will cancel a program and/or under what circumstances participants might receive some reimbursement if they cancel their travel with the vendor themselves. U.Va. strongly recommends that all participants purchase trip cancellation insurance which includes protection in the face of political unrest, natural disasters, and personal emergencies and participants should discuss this insurance directly with the vendor or other travel services with whom they deal. You will find more useful travel information by going to the Travel Resources link on this website.
Responsibilities
China Advocates and the University of Virginia Alumni Association act only as agents for the various carriers for which tickets are provided and assume no responsibility or liability in connection with the service of any train, vessel, carriage, aircraft, motor vehicle or other conveyance which may be used either wholly or in part, in the performance of their duty to the passenger. Neither will they be responsible for any act, error, or omission or for any injury, loss, accident, delay or irregularity which may be occasioned by a reason of any defect in any vehicles, or through neglect or default of any company or person engaged in conveying the passenger, or for any hotel proprietor, hotel service or restaurant, or for any other person engaged in carrying out the purpose for which tickets or coupons are issued. In the event it becomes necessary or advisable for the comfort or well-being of the passengers, or for any reason whatsoever, to alter itinerary or arrangements, such alterations may be made without penalty to the operators. The right is reserved to withdraw any or all tours should conditions warrant, also to decline to accept or retain any passengers as members for the tours. In such instances, full or equitable amounts will be refunded. Refunds for unused carrier tickets may be only in accordance with the regulations of the carrier. CST 2064278-40. Registration as a seller of travel does not constitute approval by the State of California. All legal questions will be settled within the jurisdiction of the County of San Francisco, California.
Conditions
Reservations: Bookings are subject to the terms and conditions mentioned in these sections. A contract has been entered into as soon as your booking is received and accepted. To confirm the reservation, a deposit of $600 per person is required.
Documentation: In order to obtain a proper visa, a passport is required, valid for at least six months beyond the duration of the tour.
Cancellations: Cancellations must be made in writing to China Advocates as soon as possible. Cancellation penalties based on the date of receipt of written notice are as follows:
76 or more days prior to departure, a handling fee of $300 per person is retained.
75-46 days prior to departure, $1500 per person.
45-31 days prior to departure, $2500 per person.
30-0 days prior to departure, no refund is made.
For air upgrades, additional air ticketing, hotel and cruise ship room upgrades, and tour extensions, cancellation penalties are as follows:
50-31 days prior to departure, 25% of cost
30-0 days prior to departure, no refund is made.
Trip cancellation insurance is recommended and available. You will receive travel insurance information once you are confirmed on the program.
Itinerary is subject to modification.
Prices are current as of July, 2006 and are subject to change without notice.
^ back to top