Newsletter
Volume 28 | 2005 | Number 2
Book Cultural Tours Offered by China Discoveries by September 27th
China Discoveries is offering five tour packages for our conference attendees. In order to secure your place, you must have made a reservation and submitted payment by September 27, 2005. The following tour prices are based on six attendees, minimum, and double occupancy.
Single Day Tours
Beijing Tour
Depart on November 28th in the morning from the Kerry Centre Hotel; travel by coach with an English-speaking guide. The morning tour includes Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. In the afternoon, visit the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven. Return to the Kerry Centre Hotel at 5:30 pm. The Beijing Day Tour is $79.
Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is located within Beijing and is the ceremonial center of the city. The square was built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty, and is surrounded by monuments and adjacent to the China National Museum. The Square has an area of 440,000 square meters and is visited by thousands of people daily.
Forbidden City. The Forbidden City, also located in Beijing, is the largest and best-preserved group of ancient buildings in China. It is composed of hundreds of buildings surrounded by one wall and was the royal palace during the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty lasted for three centuries and united much of what is now China.
Summer Palace. The Summer Palace took 15 years to build and is the largest imperial garden in the world much of which is peaceful water gardens. The Palace is divided into three parts: the administrative area, the residential area and the scenic area.
Temple of Heaven. A sight worth visiting in Beijing, the Temple of Heaven is much bigger than the Forbidden City and abounds with graceful architecture. The Temple was built in 1420, during the Ming Dynasty, as an offer of sacrifice to heaven.
Great Wall and Ming Tombs Tour
Depart on November 28th in the morning from the Kerry Centre Hotel; travel is by coach with an English-speaking guide. Enjoy a morning tour of the Great Wall, with lunch en-route to the Ming Tombs. After lunch, the tour continues to the Ming Tombs and Sacred Road. Return to the Kerry Centre Hotel at 5:30 pm. The Great Wall and Ming Tombs Day Tour is $99.
Great Wall. The Great wall is perhaps the best-known tourist attraction in China. The Wall, constructed over the course of several dynasties 2,000 years ago, eventually extended over 2,500 miles and was built to repel invaders.
Ming Tombs. A site high in cultural and historical value, these tombs are home to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved and vary in size and complexity.
Two Night Tour
Xi’an and Terra Cotta Warriors Tour
This tour includes two nights at the Sheraton Hotel in Xi’an. Rates are based on double occupancy, and are $569. The single supplement is $219.
Depart on Monday, November 28th in the morning from the Kerry Centre Hotel to fly to Xi’an. Once in Xi’an, the tour will include a visit to the City Wall and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. On Tuesday, visit the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Huaqing Spring Pool (hot springs) and the Provincial Museum. Return on Wednesday to Beijing.
Xi’an. Known as the eternal city, Xi’an records the great changes of the Chinese nation. Known as Chang’an in ancient times, Xi’an is one of the birthplaces and became the capital of ancient Chinese civilization in the Yellow River Basin area of the country.
City Wall. Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Emperor of the Ming dynasty, enlarged the wall initially built during the old Tang dynasty. Once completed, it stood 40 feet tall, 40-46 feet wide at the top, and 50-60 feet thick at the bottom. It is the most complete city wall to have survived in China.
Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Goose Pagoda is situated in the Da Ci’en Temple, in close proximity to the center of the city. It is one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks. Known as the best-preserved Buddhist temple complex, the Da Ci’en Temple was initially built in 589, during the Sui Dynasty.
Terra Cotta Warriors. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses may be the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. A museum features the life-sized terracotta warriors with their horses standing in battle formation, in an eerie and solemn representation of the Qin Dynasty imperial guard. They are replicas of what the Imperial Guard would have looked like in that era.
Huaqing Spring Pool. For centuries, emperors came here to bathe and enjoy the scenic beauty, and this has been a favorite spa since the Tang Dynasty. The current site was rebuilt on the site of the Qing Dynasty structure.
Three Night Tours
Grand City Tour of Beijing
The multi-day Beijing tour includes an evening at the Peking Opera, the national opera of China, in addition to visits to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, and the Ming Tombs. The Peking Opera’s music, singing, and costumes are fascinating and artistic. Full of Chinese cultural facts, the opera offers an encyclopedia of Chinese culture as well as unfolding stories, beautiful paintings, exquisite costumes, graceful gestures, and acrobatic fighting.
This tour includes three nights at the Kerry Centre Hotel. Rates are based on double occupancy, and are $399. The price of a single supplement is $239.
Depart on Monday, November 28th in the morning from the Kerry Centre Hotel. Enjoy a city tour of Beijing and a tour of the Temple of Heaven. On Tuesday, tour Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. The evening includes a performance by the Peking Opera. On Wednesday enjoy a visit to the Ba Da Ling section of the Great Wall in the morning and tour the Ming Tombs in the afternoon. On Thursday transportation will be provided to the Beijing airport for your departing flight.
Majestic Tibet Tour
Tibet lies on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of the southwest border of China. The average elevation of the region is more than 4,000 meters above sea level. The highest peak in Tibet, and the world, is Everest Peak, which reaches 8,846 meters above sea level.
This tour package includes three nights at the Lhasa
International Hotel. Rates are based on double occupancy,
and are $1,419. The single supplement is $339.
Depart on Monday, November 28th in the morning from
the Kerry Centre Hotel to fly to Llasa. Spend an afternoon
of leisure at the hotel. On Tuesday, tour the Potala
Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Sera Monastery, some of
the most revered sites in Tibet. On Wednesday, tour
the Drepung Monastery and Norbulingka Summer Palace.
On Thursday, return to Beijing.
Potala Palace. In 641, upon marrying Princess Wencheng, Songtsen Gampo built a grand palace to accommodate her and to serve as a memorial to this important event. The original palace was destroyed by lightening and war damage but was rebuilt in the seventeenth century. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended it to its present size.
Jokhang Temple. Jokhang Temple is the spiritual center of Tibet. Each day, pilgrims from every corner of Tibet travel great distances to the temple.
Sera and Drepung Monasteries. Sera, one of the three largest monasteries of Gelugpa, sits at the foothills of Tatipu. Sera, in Tibetan, means “Wild Rose Garden;” opulent wild rose woods once grew around it. The Drepung Monastery is the largest and richest monastery in Tibet and was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa. At one time it had a registration of more than 10,000 monks.
Norbulingka Summer Palace. Norbulingka, meaning “Treasure Park”, was first built in the 1740s during the reign of the 7th Dalai Lama. It was later renovated and enlarged. This is the headquarters from which the Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet during the summer months. Before 1959, common people had no access to the palace.
To Make Tour Reservations
For information and to make reservations, telephone China Discoveries at (425) 747-1234. ABA’s tour code is ABA112702. A deposit of $300 per person is required at the time of reservation. Final payment is due 60 days prior to departure.