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
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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!

Tour Overview
Tour Code: HHT-ORTA-09
Trip Duration: 16 days/15 nights
Tour Price/Accommodations
Guangzhou, Guilin, ChengDu, Xian, Beijing
Departure Dates: 2010:Every Monday
Day 1 : US/Guangzhou
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
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
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
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.
Day 5 : Guilin
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
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
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
meals: B/L
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
meals: B/L/D
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. After your exhilarating afternoon, enjoy the Tang Dynasty Show after a nice dinner.
Day 10 : Xian/Province
meals: B/L
Depart Xian 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/Beijing
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
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 altara??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
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. 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
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
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.


Tour Prices:
Valid: Jan 01, 2010- March 31, 2011
1 Person 2-5 Persons 6-9 Persons 10 Persons Hotel Single Supplement
Standard Class / $2199.00 Booking Tour $1950.00 Booking Tour $1799.00 Booking Tour $350.00
Deluxe Class / $2450.00 Booking Tour $2199.00 Booking Tour $1999.00 Booking Tour $600.00
Superior Class / $2750.00 Booking Tour $2499.00 Booking Tour $2250.00 Booking Tour $850.00
Note: child price is 80% of adult price.

Accommodations:
City Standard Class Deluxe Class Superior Class
Guangzhou　. Lido Hotel Guangdong Victory Hotel White Swan Hotel
Guilin　. Vienna Hotel Guishan Hotel Ming Garden Apartment Suites
Chengdu　. Civil Aviation Hotel Tianfu Sunshine Hotel Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel
Xian　. Xian Shengpeng Hotel Grand New World Hotel Xi'an Sheraton Xian Hotel
Beijing　. Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel Gloria Plaza Hotel Nikko New Century hotel Beijing

Hotel Information:
Hotel Indoor Pool Outdoor Pool Gym Safe Box Refrigerator Hair Dryer Kitchen
Lido Hotel            
Guangdong Victory Hotel     √   √   √   √  
White Swan Hotel     √   √   √   √   √
Vienna Hotel            
Guishan Hotel     √     √   √   √
Ming Garden Apartment Suites         √   √   √ √
Civil Aviation Hotel            
Tianfu Sunshine Hotel     √   √   √   √   √
Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel   √          
Xian Shengpeng Hotel            
Grand New World Hotel Xi'an   √     √   √   √   √
Sheraton Xian Hotel   √     √   √   √   √
Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel            
Gloria Plaza Hotel   √     √   √   √   √
Nikko New Century hotel Beijing   √     √   √   √   √

Inclusions

  • Airfare between Guangzhou/Guilin/Chengdu/Xian
  • 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/Guangzhou, Beijing/US international airfare. Please contact us for discount international airfare starting from your hometown.
  • Passport and/or China Visa Fees
  • Adoption Provincial trip on Day 10-12 and the airfare Xi'an/province city/Beijing
  • 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.
  • 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.

Notes:

  • Adoption Provincial trip (orphanage visit) on Day 10-12 and the airfare Xi'an/province city/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
  • 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.
To review full listing of terms and conditions, refer to: http://www.lotustours.net/info/terms.shtml
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