china

[supermaxtwo]

I would like to go to china to see the Terracotta Army, the great wall, and bejing
Also Hong Kong.
Then sail from HK on a cruise to Singapore.
We also would like to play some golf.
Can any one offer any suggestions please.

[greatam]

I would like to go to china to see the Terracotta Army, the great wall, and bejing
Also Hong Kong.
Then sail from HK on a cruise to Singapore.
We also would like to play some golf.
Can any one offer any suggestions please.

Princess has cruises from Beijing to Bangkok, Super Star cruises has lots of Asian cruises, quite a few from Hong Kong to Singapore. HAL, Oceania, and RCCL also have new itineraries that cruise Asia.

Go to one of the large travel websites and start looking for cruises.

Golf I know nothing about, but it is sure big in Asia (and VERY expensive)

[wecruiz]

Take a look at Viking River Cruises. They have a trip, Culteral Delights I think, that sounds like it might be what you are looking for.

[Keith1010]

Crystal Cruise Lines also offers cruises of this area. The Hong Kong cruises include a three day pre or three day post cruise that includes Beijing.

Keith

[jssabs]

I am booked on Crystal Cruise (8208) for a 15 day trip that starts on March 30, 2008 with a 3 day precruise land tour of Beijing followed by 12 days on board the Crystal Symphony stopping in Dalian, Osaka, Shanghai, and ending up in Hong Kong. Crystal is a wonderful cruise line and this will be our 3rd Crystal Cruise. I am also currently working out the details of a 3 day pre Beijing trip to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors. Go to the Crystal Board and you can get lots of information about Crystal. If you end up booking this Cruise be sure to post that information on the Crystal Board and I will be glad to sponsor you in their STEX program which is a program that provides for shipboard credits for new Crystal cruisers. Crystal has not announced the details of their 2008 STEX program yet but I assume it will be similar to what they have done in the past.

[Verystormy]

The great wall is a easy one, and most hotels will arrange a day trip from Beijing for about 40 dollars per person. This will include return journey - its about two hours drive from Beijing, two to three hours on the wall - this will be sufficiant, and accompanied by a english speaking guide. The terracota army, is easily arranged once you arrive in Beijing, and can be done as a day trip - (theres not much else to see). The flight costs about 200 dollars return and takes a couple of hours. It can also be done by train from Beijing catching the overnight sleeper at 6pm, which arrives early morning, then departs that night for the trip back, arriving back in Beijing 6am. The price is about 50 dollars per person. Both are easy to arrange yourself when you arrive. I have just spent 3 months living in China, and there is a LOT to see in Beijing. Please bear in mind though that a lot of the terracotta army is currently on a world tour!!

[Spikesgirl]

We did the Bangkok to Beijing cruise with Princess and then tacked on a post cruise, which included Xi'an, a cruise down the Yangtze (aboard Victoria Lines) and of course all the traditional sites around Beijing, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc. The nice part was that we had a guide who stayed with us for the entire post cruise and was really top notch. He handled everything before we had to and made it a true vacation.

Golf is really expensive, but you can line up excrsions through the ship as well. It all depends upon how often you want to play and how muchyou are willing to spend.

Charlie

[mare s.]

Charlie, another question for you....we're doing the same itinerary with Princess next year....also doing post cruise Beijing and Xian....did you also do pre-cruise Bangkok? What suggestions do you have for tours in the other cities? Thanks in advance.
mare

[BCHappyGal]

I am just putting together an itinerary for China that includes a RCCL cruise to Korea & Japan from that we hook up with a full Yantze River cruise all the way from Shanghai to Chongqing. Then it is a land tour to Chendu to see the Giant Pandas, Dazu to see the Buddhist Grottos, Guilin, Xian for the Terracotta Warriors, and finishing up in Beijing.

After many enquires of many companies I finally found one that would work with me to produce a custom itinerary that visits the places I want to see. Plus I feel that their price is very reasonable for what we are getting. They also do all the work to get my China visa for me.

[greatam]

Then it is a land tour to Chendu to see the Giant Pandas,

After many enquires of many companies I finally found one that would work with me to produce a custom itinerary that visits the places I want to see. Plus I feel that their price is very reasonable for what we are getting. They also do all the work to get my China visa for me.

Chengdu-make sure you take the overnight to Wolong. The accommodations are pretty rough, but being able to see pandas in the wild is much different than seeing them in the breeding facility/research base.

I found this site on the web in 2004. http://www.chinagiantpanda.com/ Interesting information, but the overnight tours were just too long.

I used China Highlights-Guillin office- to book everything I couldn't book myself (trip to Llhasa and permit was the biggie). But China Highlights also made arrangements to get me to Wolong, with 2 nights in the reserve, not four that is the normal tour. I spent one entire day (about 6 hours) at the research and breeding facility in Chengdu, then went up into the mountains for two nights, and returned to Chengdu on the 4th day.

You should be able to get your Chinese visa right in Vancouver without trying to have someone else get it for you. The Consulate has expedited (one day service) for an additional $50.00. Or you can go back 4 days later to pick up your passport/visa. May save you some additional fees. http://vancouver.chineseconsulate.org/eng/visa/t29794.htm

Enjoy!!!