Our five nights at Guilin Ming Garden were great as well! It is certainly our favorite place in China. The apartment is remodeled, extremely clean and has a great view; having internet access is a nice touch and there is plenty of room for our entire family. After a long day of fun, it was relaxing to come home to delicious home cooked meals prepared by our nanny Mrs Huang.She made us feel right at home with her traditional Cantonese home cooked dinners: her normal dinner consist of soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes; very much like the meals our Cantonese parents made for us when we were younger and the meals had brought back fond memories.
-Helen Lee
Orphanage Reunion Tour B
Positive cultural heritage reinforcements often contribute to healthy and happy upbringings of adopted children. Learning and exploring their ethnic backgrounds under the guidance and unconditional supports of their families as they mature often enhance self-confidence and positive adoptive identities. This unique reunion tour is cautiously planned with the intention to assist families in orphanage visitation arrangements and spectacular explorations at their children's finding sites and provinces.
Children would also enjoy their time spent in traditional Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting lessons at the local children's palace, and be thrilled by the rare chance to hold, hug and feed adorable baby pandas at the Wolong Panda Breeding Research Base while in Chengdu; intensive Chinese history lessons are also incorporated into daily sightseeing programs to foster better understandings and appreciations of the youngsters cultural heritages.
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!
Tour Overview
Tour Code: HHT-ORT-B
Trip Duration: 15 days/14 nights
Beijing, Xian, ChengDu, Guangzhou, US
Departure Dates: Every SaturdayDay 1 : US/Beijing
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 Beijing.
Day 2 : Beijing
meals: N/A
Arrive at the Beijing 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 : Beijing
meals: B/L/D
Day 4 : Beijing
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.
Day 5 : Beijing/Xian
meals: B/L/D
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 represented 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 the others at 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. Early this evening, board a luxury express train for your overnight journey to Xian.
Day 6 : Xian
meals: L/D
Arrive early this morning 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. Visit the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum for an in-depth look at China's extensive history with more than 2,000 items on exhibit. In the 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 to remain intact in China today. After your exhilarating afternoon, enjoy the Tang Dynasty Show after a nice dinner.
Day 7 : Xian
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. Learn to make JiaoZi (dumplings) in a local restaurant and have JiaoZi lunch there. This evening, relax and unwind. Enjoy recording your experiences of the day in a journal or just lounging in your fine hotel room.
Day 8 : Xian/ChengDu
meals: B/L
You will fly to Chengdu from Xian today.After lunch, visit the Chengdu 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.
Day 9 : ChengDu
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 10 : ChengDu/Province
meals: B/L
Depart Chengdu and travel to the capital city of the designated province for an orphanage visit.
Day 11 : Province
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
meals: B/L
Today your private English-speaking tour guide and driver will show you around the adoption city.
Day 13 : Province/Guangzhou
meals: B
After breakfast, depart the province for Guangzhou.
Day 14 : Guangzhou
meals: B/L
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. Bring closure to the lifelong memories from the past two weeks this evening. Enjoy journaling, some last-minute shopping or sightseeing before you embark on a return trip.
Day 15 : Guangzhou/US
meals: B
Please meet your private English-speaking tour guide and driver at the hotel lobby and travel to the Guangzhou New Bai Yun Airport for your international flight back to the United States. Cross the International Dateline and arrive home on the same day.
Valid: August 01, 2011- March 31, 2013
 | 2-5 Persons | 6-9 Persons |
| Standard Class | $1799.00  | $1550.00 |
| Deluxe Class | $1960.00 | $1750.00 |
| City | Standard Class | Deluxe Class |
| Beijing . | Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel | Novotel Peace Hotel |
| Xian . | Xian Shengpeng Hotel | Xian Titan Times Hotel |
| Chengdu . | Civil Aviation Hotel | Tianfu Sunshine Hotel |
| Guangzhou . | Lido Hotel | China Hotel |
| Hotel | Indoor Pool | Outdoor Pool | Gym | Safe Box | Refrigerator | Hair Dryer | Kitchen |
| Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel | |||||||
| Novotel Peace Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Xian Shengpeng Hotel | |||||||
| Xian Titan Times Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Civil Aviation Hotel | |||||||
| Tianfu Sunshine Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Lido Hotel | |||||||
| China Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
Inclusions
- Airfare between Beijing/Xian/Chengdu.
- 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).
- All prices are quoted per person based on two people sharing a room (double occupancy). Single supplement applies for single travelers.
Exclusions
- US/ Beijing, Guangzhou/US international airfare. Please contact us for discount international airfare starting from your hometown.
- Adoption Provincial trip on Day 10-13 and the airfare from Chengdu/province city /Guangzhou
- Passport and/or China Visa Fees
- Some meals.
- Tipping to tour guide and driver.
- Expenses of a personal nature.
- Costs associated with side-trip to orphanage
- 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
- 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 Select Plan offered by the Travelex Insurance Company has excellent travel benefits and children 18 and under are free of charge when traveling with an adult. For detail information, please visit http://www.lotustours.net/insurance/travelex/index.shtml
- 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 http://www.lotustours.net/visas/china.shtml
- 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.
Notes:
- Adoption Provincial trip (orphanage visit) on Day 10-13 and the airfare Chengdu/ province city/Guangzhou can be arranged with extra cost.
- B = Breakfast L = Chinese Lunch D = Chinese Dinner
- CA = Air China 3U = SiChuan Airlines CZ = China Southern Airlines
- 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.
Note: Customer Commitment - Each Lotus agent is committed to respond to each email with an acknowledgement of receipt within 24 hours. If you do not receive email acknowledgement within 1 business day, please check your spam box for our agents'response e-mail or send your notice to iris@lotustours.net or call 1-800-956-8873.