Homeland Heritage Tours

Related Information

On behalf of my husband Ray, myself and my daughter Sarah Tao, I would like to send Louie at Lotus Travel our sincere thanks for arranging our orphanage visit at Changde Social Welfare Institute (SWI) in China's Hunan Province. We thoroughly appreciate your help in organizing this very special part of our trip to China. We felt that visiting Sarah's orphanage has enabled us to come 'full circle' in her life.

-Barbara Lewis from Canada

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Orphanage Reunion Tour A

Orphanage visits usually serve as one of the most important components of heritage tours since adopted children could discover their roots by exploring the place they used to stay; reuniting with the orphanage director and important staff members who took care of them prior to their immigrations to foreign countries with their adoptive parents is also critical, but could get emotional and stressful at times. Adoptive families are guaranteed to have smooth and memorable orphanage visitations to reinforce their gratitude toward the provinces where their children used to belong on this reunion tour.

Besides deepening your appreciation and understandings of your children’s cultural heritages, interesting sightseeing programs at various reputable historical attractions, such as the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing and the breathtaking Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum in Xian are incorporated on your itinerary. Furthermore, tour participants would have the rare opportunity to enjoy a sweet home stay in Guilin to experience living among local residents at the gorgeous Ming Garden Apartment Suites where delicious homemade meals are available upon request; at the same time, little explorers would also be excited to hold, hug and feed some lovely baby pandas at the Wolong Panda Breeding Research Base in Chengdu to act as professional panda caregivers.

Two percent of the standard tour cost would be donated to Lotus Travel’s Orphans Improvement Program to improve the quality of life of orphans in China. By joining our China Homeland Heritage Tour, you help improve the lives of Chinese orphans!

Itinerary

Day 1: US/Guangzhou

accommodations: 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.

Day 2: Guangzhou

accommodations: Guangzhou White Swan Hotel

meals: n/a

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

Day 3: Guangzhou/Guilin

accommodations: Guilin Ming Garden Apt. Suites

meals: B/L/D

After breakfast, tour around Shamian Island: stopping at the medical clinic where adoption medical exams are conducted and visiting 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 then 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.

Your local English-speaking tour guide and driver will meet you at the Guilin Airport Exit and transfer you to the city for dinner. Tonight you will stay at the Ming Garden Apartment Suites, which is located within the local Chinese residents' apartment complexes. Each unit is decorated in the Ming Dynasty Style with beautiful Ming furniture, an air-conditioning/heating unit, a private western-style bath, a kitchen equipped with microwave, refrigerator and cooking utensils; free Internet access, television set and telephone. The apartment units are rated above five-stars standard and guests can also enjoy free late checkouts until 6:00 p.m. (all hotels request checkouts before 12:00 noon). Although the Guilin Ming Garden Apartment Suites has no fancy lobby and swimming pool, all guests will have the rare chance to live among local residents within the same apartment complex. We can even arrange a nanny to take care of your children and make traditional Chinese meals for your whole family. What a great opportunity to experience the authentic life of local Chinese people!

Day 4: Guilin

accommodations: Guilin Ming Garden Apt. Suites

meals: B/L/D

After breakfast, embark on a Li River 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.

Day 5: Guilin

accommodations: Guilin Ming Garden Apt. Suites

meals: B/L/D

Begin your tour with a visit to the Reed Flute Caves (Ludi Yan). Enjoy the spectacular views 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 and Elephant Trunk Hill.

Day 6: Guilin/ChengDu

accommodations: ChengDu JinJiangHotel

meals: B/L

After breakfast, your local guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Chengdu.

Explore the Silk Embroidery Institute and the People's Park with Tea House and Garden in Chengdu after lunch.

Day 7: ChengDu

accommodations: ChengDu JinJiangHotel

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 researches and everyone will have the rare opportunity to hold and hug a baby panda; something everyone in the 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 can gain a sense of the culture through intriguing displays of ancient and rare artifacts used in daily life, and religious ceremonies.

Day 8: ChengDu/Xian

accommodations: Xian Howard Johnson Hotel

meals: B/L/D

After breakfast, your English-speaking tour guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your flight to Xian.

Arrive in China's ancient capital city of Xian. Known as ChangAn in ancient times, Xian was the capital city of China for 1,062 years (13 dynasties), under the reign of 73 different emperors. In the afternoon, visit the Xian Children's Palace where you could learn the basic techniques of Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting; certainly a fun activity for both adults and children. In the late afternoon, get on top the 950- year-old city wall and ride a bike; be sure to enjoy the panoramic view of the city. Built during the early Ming Dynasty with a core of mud covered by three layers of bricks, it is the only city wall that remained intact in China today. This evening, relax and unwind. Enjoy recording your experiences of the day in a journal or just lounging in your fine hotel room.

Day 9: Xian

accommodations: Xian Howard Johnson Hotel

meals: B/L

Embark on an amazing historical and cultural adventure today and begin with an exploration at the Terracotta Warriors & 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 vibrant painted details worn away during weathering, thus revealing their original earthy color. Continue your tour at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum nearby. Historical records noted that 700,000 labors spent 36 years building Qin's Mausoleum at the foot of Lishan Mountain; numerous treasures entombed with the emperor still remain undiscovered. Learn to make JiaoZi (dumplings) in a local restaurant and have JiaoZi lunch there. Visit the HuaQing Hot Springs Palace constructed during the Tang Dynasty. After your exhilarating afternoon, enjoy the Tang Dynasty Show after a nice dinner.

Day 10: Xian/Province

accommodations: 4 or 5 Star Hotel

meals: B/L

Depart Xian and travel to the capital city of the designated province for an orphanage visit.

Day 11: Province

accommodations: 4 or 5 Star Hotel

meals: B/L

With the assistance of your local English-speaking tour guide and driver, visit the orphanage and have lunch with the orphanage staff (4 of them). Visit your child's finding site after lunch.

Day 12: Province/Beijing

accommodations: Beijing KunLun Hotel

meals: B

Today you will fly to Beijing from the Provincial Capital. Check in and relax in the hotel upon your arrival in Beijing.

Day 13: Beijing

accommodations: Beijing KunLun Hotel

meals: B/L/D

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. In afternoon, visit China's largest temple and altar—the Temple of Heaven, which is often depicted as the most recognizable symbol of China. Enjoy an acrobatics show after dinner tonight.

Day 14: Beijing

accommodations: Beijing KunLun Hotel

meals: B/L

Visit two UNESCO world heritage sites today. Begin your day with a tour at the Great Wall. Constructed more than 2,000 years ago by China's first emperor, the ancient wall is 6,350 km in length and the only visible man-made structure that could be seen from space. Stop at the Beijing's Cloisonne (Jingtailan) Factory to learn about the intricate cloisonné making process after your great wall experience. Cloisonne originated in 1426 and became popular during the reign of Ming Emperor Jingtai. In afternoon, explore the imperial gardens of the Summer Palace originally built in 1750 and later 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.

Day 15: Beijing

accommodations: Beijing KunLun Hotel

meals: B/L

Explore the fascinating Hutong neighborhoods. Beijing's oldest Hutongs were constructed during Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Your tour will take you through some of the best-preserved Hutong neighborhoods that represent the history, culture, and lifestyle of old Beijing. After a special homemade lunch at a local family residence in the Hutong Lane area, you and your children can learn to make your own kites under professional instructions. Then kick back, relax and fly your handmade kites with others at the historical 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.

Day 16: Beijing/US

accommodations: 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.

Lotus Travel Terms and Conditions

Inclusions:

Chinese domestic airfare
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 indicated on itinerary (B = Breakfast, L = Chinese lunch, D = Chinese Dinner).

Exclusions:

International Airfare*
Adoption Provincial trip on Day 10-12 and the airfare from province city to Beijing
Some meals.
Tipping to tour guide and driver.
Chinese visa.
Expenses of a personal nature.
Costs associated with side-trip to orphanage

Terms and Conditions:

Deposit: A $500.00 per person non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.
Balance: Balance is due 60 days before departure.

Notes:

A child has to be 11 years old or under on the last day of the tour to receive a discount.
In China, a child taller than 3'10" is charged an adult fare for admission tickets, transportation fares (except airfare) and meals in restaurants. Lotus Travel assumes all children 11 years old and under are shorter than 3'10" and quotes them a child's fee. If your child exceeds this height limit, your tour guide might ask you to pay the difference of the transportation fare and admission ticket while in China.
Twin beds in China hotels (about 50 inches wide) are closer in width to the 54" double size beds in the US and much wider than the 39 inches wide twin beds found in American homes.
A soft sleeper train compartment is equipped with two bunk beds for four travelers. If there are less than four people in your party, Lotus Travel highly recommends purchasing extra seats in the compartment to ensure privacy.
If your itinerary states "free time" or "free day", no activities would be planned for you and your English-speaking tour guide and driver would not be present.
Lotus Travel highly recommends clients to 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. Please see the attached documents for more details.
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 detail information, please visit our website at www.lotustours.net.
Lotus Travel offers a very affordable cell phone rental package to help you stay in touch with families while in China. Please contact us for details.

Remarks:

Adoption Provincial trip (orphanage visit) on Day 10-12 and the airfare from province city to Beijing can be arranged with extra cost.
B = Breakfast L = Chinese Lunch D = Chinese Dinner
CA = Air China 3U = SiChuan Airlines CZ = China Southern Airlines

Tour Overview

Trip Duration:
16 days/15 nights
Price:
Adult (Land Only): $2,399
Child (Land Only): $1,920
Departure Dates:
2008:1/06, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27, 2/17, 2/24, 3/02, 3/09, 3/16
As of March 31, 2008 we no longer have selected departure dates for Homeland Heritage Reunion Tour A; however, many similar tours have freqent departure dates throughout the year. Please click here to return to the list of Homeland Heritage Tours we offer.
Orphanage Visits
Orphanage visits in the following provinces are available: GanSu, HeBei, HeiLongJiang, Inner Mongolia, JiLin, LiaoNing, NingXia, QingHai, ShaanXi, ShanDong, ShanXi, TianJin, XinJiang.
For more information, please contact our Homeland Heritage Tour expert Louie.