Chinese New Year Heritage Tour

(Departure Date: January 15)

$1,790 per adult

$1,430 per child

Special note: Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is regarded as the most important festival in China, and it’s the occasion when family members gather together to reunite and celebrate the beginning of the Year. By taking this tour, you will learn about China through sightseeing as well as by celebrating this festival with a local family! After a fun-filled time spent visiting Guangzhou, Guilin and the adorable pandas in Chengdu, imagine the thrill your child will feel when they participate in the festive celebration of Chinese New Year in Huxian, near Xian! The trip to your child’s province on Jan 22-24 is customized according to your preferences and the price is determined accordingly.

Itinerary

15-Jan-09 Thursday U.S./Guangzhou

Accomodations: n/a

Meals: n/a

Begin your tour to China’s most popular historical sites and cities today when you depart from the US gateway city for Guangzhou.

16-Jan-09 Friday Guangzhou

Guangzhou White Swan Hotel

Meals: n/a

Arrive at Guangzhou New Bai Yun International Airport. Your private English-speaking guide and driver will bring you to the hotel upon your arrival. Have a good rest tonight to adjust to your new time zone and surroundings.

17-Jan-09 Saturday Guangzhou/Guilin

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

After breakfast, tour around Shamian Island: stop at the medical clinic where adoption medical exams are conducted and visit the photo shop where your child’s visa photo was taken. In the afternoon, take another trip down memory lane when you visit the American Consulate. Your guide will escort you to a local park where you can linger and relax while enjoying a story-time of traditional Chinese folktales to deepen your understanding of the rich cultural heritage of your child’s birth country. In the late afternoon, your tour guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Guilin.
Guangzhou/Guilin CZ3303 (8:05P/8:55P) (Your tour guide has tickets.) Upon your arrival in Guilin, your tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport exit and transfer you to the hotel.

18-Jan-09 Sunday Guilin

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L/D

After breakfast, embark on a scenic cruise along the Li River and enjoy a delicious lunch onboard. The landscape of Guilin is noted as the most gorgeous in China, with sparkling clear waters and magnificent green hills; you will see fishermen fishing with their trained cormorant birds occasionally as well. Your children will be excited to watch water buffalos either grazing along the riverbanks or taking lazy afternoon swims. Visit the ShiWaiTaoYuan water garden on the way back to Guilin from Yangshuo.

19-Jan-09 Monday Guilin/Chengdu

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L/D

Begin your tour with a visit to the Reed Flute Caves (Ludi Yan). Enjoy the view of beautiful backdrops created by the cool atmosphere and colorful lighting displays inside the caves as you pass by many fanciful shapes (don’t forget to look for the Monkey King). After lunch, visit the Duxiu Peak for the Art Gallery in the GuangXi Normal University where your family can learn the basic techniques of Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting; certainly a fun activity for both adults and children. Early this evening, your tour guide and driver will pick you up at the hotel lobby and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Chengdu.
Guilin/Chengdu CA4324 (9:25P/10:55P) (Your tour guide has tickets.) Upon your arrival in Chengdu, your local tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport exit and drive you to the hotel.

20-Jan-09 Tuesday Chengdu

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

After breakfast, your tour guide and driver will take you to tour around the Wide and Narrow Lanes, which represent the traditional and typical lifestyle of Chengdu.This afternoon, visit People’s Park with tea houses and garden. You can get a glimpse of Chengdu peoples’ way of enjoying life, while children will have great fun playing various kinds of games there.

21-Jan-09 Wednesday Chengdu

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Embark on an extraordinary journey to the Panda Breeding Research Base this morning. A professional panda caregiver will give you a brief insight of the panda research work and everyone will have the rare opportunity to hold and hug a baby panda; something the whole family is sure to enjoy. After lunch, visit the fascinating SanXingDui Museum. Little is known about the mysterious cultural and religious beliefs of the people of SanXingDui, yet visitors will gain a sense of the culture through intriguing displays of ancient and rare artifacts used in daily life and religious ceremonies.

22-Jan-09 Thursday Chengdu/Province

Accomodations: n/a

Meals: B

This morning, your tour guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your trip to the capital city of your child's province for an orphanage visit. Lotus guides will sensitively and carefully assist your family as you embark on this most meaningful portion of your return trip. On this initial day of the city visit, one can spend time strolling around the area and absorbing a sense of the city and locale.

23-Jan-09 Friday Province

Accomodations: n/a

Meals: n/a

Your orphanage visitation typically includes a lunch meeting with the orphanage director and staff. If your family wishes to be in touch with the foster family, Lotus can also arrange a time for you to reunite if contact information is available. After lunch, you may explore your child’s finding site. Record the day’s events in your journal or just relax with your family this evening.

24-Jan-09 Saturday Province/Xian

4-Star Hotel

Meals: n/a

Today you will travel from your child’s Province to Xian, which is a cultural treasure trove of Chinese history. When you arrive in Xian, your local tour guide and driver will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel. This evening, just relax and walk around the city, journal about your family’s connections and insights regarding the last couple of days or cuddle up in the hotel with some food.

25-Jan-09 Sunday Xian/Huxian

Farmer's Home

Meals: B/L/D

After breakfast, your tour guide and driver will drive you to the Hu County. The county is famous for its peasant artists who create vibrantly colored peasant paintings and intricate papercuts. For special occasions, especially like the Spring Festival, local people will make a lot of fantastic papercuts to decorate their houses. You will have the rare opportunity to join them with papercuts and later the big family reunion dinner. Celebrate Chinese New Year’s Eve in the farmer’s house tonight and be a part of the festive atmosphere.

26-Jan-09 Monday Huxian/Xian

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Happy New Year! Tour around the countryside and see how Chinese people celebrate their most important festival. In the late afternoon, your tour guide and driver will drive you back to Xian.

27-Jan-09 Tuesday Xian/Beijing

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Embark on an amazing historical and cultural adventure today, beginning with an exploration at the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, where you will find lifelike terracotta soldiers, horses, chariots and weapons created more than 2,000 years ago to guard the first emperor’s tomb. Their vibrantly painted details have worn away and revealed their original earthy color. Enjoy the traditional puppet show in the GaoJia Courtyard. Your children can practice working the puppet after the show. This afternoon, your tour guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Beijing.
Xi’an/Beijing HU 7881 (6:20P/8:05P) (Your tour guide has tickets.) Your local tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport exit and transfer you to the hotel.

28-Jan-09 Wednesday Beijing

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Begin your day with a tour at the Forbidden City. Listed as a world heritage site in 1987, the Forbidden City contains the largest group of intact palace structures in the world. The palace is 720,000 square meters in size and contains 9,999 rooms, numerous pavilions, gardens and courtyards. Then visit the Tiananmen Square. Noted as the largest city square in the world, the square was initially designed for political rallies and important gala events. Today the square is flanked by the Forbidden City in the north, the Great Hall of the People in the west, Mao TseTung’s Mausoleum in the south and the Museum of Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History in the east. This afternoon, stop at the major 2008 Olympic Venues including the National Stadiums – “Bird's Nest”, the National Aquatics Center – “Watercube” on the way to the imperial gardens of the Summer Palace. The palace was originally built in 1750 and was rebuilt in 1886. Located in the western outskirts of the city, the Summer Palace is the leading classical garden in China and a UNESCO world heritage site.

29-Jan-09 Thursday Beijing

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Visit the UNESCO world heritage site today. Begin your day with a tour at the MuTianYu section of the Great Wall. Constructed more than 2,000 years ago by China’s first emperor, the ancient wall is the world’s longest man-made structure at approximately 4,000 miles in length.

30-Jan-09 Friday Beijing

4-Star Hotel

Meals: B/L

Explore the fascinating Hutong neighborhoods. Beijing’s oldest Hutongs were constructed during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Your tour will take you through some of the best-preserved Hutong neighborhoods, which represent the history, culture and lifestyle of old Beijing. After a special homemade lunch at a local family residence in the Hutong Lane area, your family can learn how to make your own kites under professional instruction, and then fly your handmade kites with others at the Temple of Heaven, which is China’s largest temple and altar. It is often regarded as the most recognizable symbol of China.

31-Jan-09 Saturday Beijing/U.S.

Accomodations: n/a

Meals: B

Please meet your private English-speaking tour guide and driver at the hotel lobby and travel to the Beijing International Airport for your international flight back to the United States. Cross the International Dateline and arrive home on the same day.

Inclusions

Airfare between Guangzhou/Guilin/Chengdu, Xian/Beijing.
Airport/hotel/airport transfer as listed on itinerary.
All listed sightseeing and tour programs with private English-speaking tour guide and private van or bus with driver.
Hotels and meals as stipulated on itinerary.

Exclusions

US/Guangzhou, Beijing/US international airfare. Please contact us for discount international airfare starting from your nearest airport.
Passport and/or China Visa Fees
Some meals
Tips to guides and drivers
Expenses of a personal nature
Provincial Civil Affair Bureau orphanage visit filing fee
The excursion to the designated provinces on Jan 22-24 and the airfare between Chengdu/province city/Xian which can be arranged by us for an additional cost.
The cost of holding the panda and taking a picture is additional to the entry fee.The costs are USD185.00/per person for holding a baby panda. Although the Pandas are cute and adorable, they may inflict accidental injuries in their playful nature.

Important Remarks

For different itinerary, please contact us for a price quote
All prices are quoted in US dollars, per person, based on two people sharing a room (double occupancy)
A child has to be 11 years old or under on the last day of the tour to receive a discount.
Twin beds in China hotels, about 50 inches wide, are closer in width to the 54" double size beds in the U.S., and much wider than the 39 inches wide twin beds found in U.S. homes.
If your itinerary states "free time" or "free day", no activities would be planned for you and your English-speaking tour guide and driver will not be present.
Lotus Travel highly recommends clients purchase travel insurance. The Travel Plus Plan offered by the Travelex Insurance Company has excellent travel benefits and children 15 and under are free of charge when traveling with an adult.
A Chinese visa issued at the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles is good for 6 months. We recommend applying for travel visas at least two months before your departure. For detailed information, please visit the Web page at http://www.lotustours.net/promo/visas/index.shtml
Lotus Travel offers a very affordable cell phone rental package to help you stay in touch with families while in China. Please contact our cell phone rental specialist at 425-679-5598 or by email at info@lotustours.net for more details.
A $500.00 per person non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
Balance is due 60 days before departure.

Lotus Travel Terms and Conditions