Come to
participate in our 2010 Cultural Exchange tour to China! This unique
tour allows educators to experience the arts, culture, geography,
history, economics, government and technology of China firsthand. In
addition, each educator will be provided with background and educational
materials to help bring China alive in the classroom!
Day 1: International flight from U.S. to Beijing.
Day 2: Arrive in Beijing. Check-in at hotel, and
enjoy the Welcome Banquet (Beijing Duck Dinner) hosted by CACBC China
Office, Cultural Exchange Bureau, and the China Travel Service.
Day 3: A full-day excursion: explore the Great Wall of
China - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In the
afternoon, visit the magnificent Temple of Heaven, the largest temple
and altar complex in China, where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing
Dynasty worshipped Heaven and prayed for good harvests. In the evening,
attend an exciting Chinese Acrobatic show.
Day 4: A city tour of Beijing to the center of the city -Tianan-Men
Square - the largest open plaza in the world - accommodating half a
million people at one time. Explore the Forbidden City (Palace Museum),
the former Imperial Palace for the 24 Emperors of the Ming and Qing
Dynasties.
Day
5: Visit the 800 year-old Summer Palace with the largest garden
in China. Here, the royal family of the Qing dynasty came to spend
relaxing summers and handle government affairs. Visit Beijing
Olympic Village, the Bird nest. take photos and have fun.
(Night Sleeper Train to Zhengzhou).
Day 6: Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou - the capital of the Henan Province, is a prime example of
the changing face of China. Here you will see modern buildings and
shopping malls contrasted against the background of an ancient
civilization.
Visit
a local high school or university for a cultural
exchange
in the morning. Tour their schools, make friends and exchange emails.
The
Henan National Museum, whose modern architecture resembles a Mayan
Pyramid, is the repository for 160,000 historic and prehistoric national
treasures - including the world's earliest musical instrument, an 8,000
year old, perfectly tuned bone flute. Wander through the fascinating
exhibits and then relax and listen to a musical performance on ancient
Chinese instruments dating back over a 1,000 years.
Day
7: Enjoy an excursion to Kaifeng, the ancient capital of seven
dynasties. During the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago, Kaifeng was the
richest and most culturally diverse city in the world.
You?ll be transported back to that time - when you visit the
historical recreation of a Song Dynasty city at Riverside Park. You?ll
experience daily Song life as you have the option of boarding an ancient boat, explore the
narrow streets, cross the rainbow bridge, try your hand at traditional
crafts, participate in ceremonies, and meet ?officials? and ?residents?
in period costumes.
At noon, you can enjoy the traditional dishes of the Baozi banquet.
This banquet features many different flavors of the local cuisine.
Kaifeng
has a wealth of historical sites. The Buddha of A Thousand Hands and A
Thousand Eyes stands in the 1,000 year old Xiang Guo Monastery. The
famous Dragon Pavilion was built on the ruins of the Song Palace. It is
also called the small forbidden city. You?ll visit the thirteen story
high Iron Pagoda, made entirely of wood with a brick exterior. It is
called ?iron? because this pagoda has miraculously survived many
earthquakes and floods for almost one thousand years! (Travel back to
Zhengzhou).
Day
8: Today you will travel to the 1,500 year-old Shaolin
Monastery, the birthplace of Kung Fu - the original form of all martial
arts. This temple is situated at the western edge of the Songshan
Mountains. In the Thousand Buddhas Hall, you can still see the
footprints of the monks stamped into the floor - a reminder of the
intensity of their practice. Here, you will be amazed by a live Kung Fu
demonstration performed by the Grandmasters and monks.
Denfeng is also the home of the earliest astronomical observatory. Here
a Chinese astronomer, Mr. Guo, invented an official calendar based on
his celestial observations. Predating the Roman calendar by two hundred
years - his was accurate within one second of the Gregorian calendar.
(Bus to Luoyang).
Day 9: Luoyang is the ancient capital of the thirteen
dynasties. This city is home to the first Buddhist temple in China, the
900 year-old White Horse Temple.
The most spectacular site in Luoyang is the Longmen Grotto. Carved from a
solid rock mountain over 1,500 years ago, this site has over 2,345 caves
and more than 100,000 statues of Buddha. Chinese noblemen sponsored the
creation of most of these statues, ranging in height from miniature (1
inch high) to giant-size (57 feet).
At night, relax and enjoy the delicious
delicacies of the Water Feast, a banquet handed down by the Tang Dynasty
empress. Be delighted by the sights and sounds of ancient Chinese
instruments, played for you as you end your feast.
Day 10: Nearby Luoyang, you will visit the ruins of the
Royal Palace of the Zhou Dynasty where Confucius came to learn the Zhou
rites from Laotse. The Chinese believe this to be the most important
meeting in their cultural history. (Train to Xian).
Day
11: Xian, which was also known as Changan, was a major ancient
capital and has more than 3,000 years of history.
At Xian, you will visit the famous Museum of the Terra-Cotta Legion,
built as a memorial to Qin Shihuang, the first emperor to unite China.
The 8,000 men clay army of warriors and horsemen, complete with weapons,
was ordered by the emperor as a young man, and took decades to
complete.
Day 12:
Visit
a local high school or university for a cultural
exchange
in the morning. Tour their schools, make friends and exchange emails.
Visit the Goose Pagodas built by Crown Prince Li Zhi.
The Big Goose Pagoda houses the Buddhist manuscripts that Xuan Zhuang,
an eminent monk, brought back from an arduous voyage to India. The
Little Goose Pagoda, another part of the temple complex, is a depository
for many other Buddhist manuscripts.
Day 13: Walk on the well-preserved Xian city wall and get a
bird?s eye view of the city. (Fly to Shanghai). A modern bustling
metropolis of thirteen million people in the southeast region, Shanghai
is China?s center for industry and commerce. It is called the ?Paris of
the East,? because for many years the city was home to large numbers of
Europeans, giving it an international flavor.
Visit The City God?s Temple (Cheng Huang Miao). This used to be the
temple to a local deity, which the inhabitants believed would protect
them in every city. The city deities were frequently real persons to
whom the town owed something. Today, arts and crafts stores are in the
temple. Walk along The Bund, Shanghai?s Wall Street, a place of feverish
trading and an unabashed playground for Western business sophisticates.
In the evening, take a cruise along the Huangpu River and enjoy the
beautiful night view of Shanghai. Day 14: In the morning, you will visit the newly built Pu Dong area, modern
China?s business center. On the way, enjoy some modern
architecture, such as the Shanghai International Convention Center -
China's tallest building, and the third tallest building in the world.
Also visit the Shanghai Circus City, the building for arts and
recreation. By exploring the old town and the new town of Shanghai, you
can really witness the modern and changing face of China.
Day 15: Say goodbye to friends in China, and board the
International flight back home.
Estimated Price:
For the 15-day tour,
it is $3,950 per person in the peak travel season.
Single Room
supplement: $995
Included in Tour Price:
1. Round trip
airfare to China. China departure Tax
2.One English speaking guide
per bus.
3.Four-star hotel
accommodations. (Double Occupancy)
4.Ground transportation
within China.
5.All meals in China:
American or Chinese breakfast, Chinese lunch and dinner.
6.Chinese Acrobatic Show or
Peking Opera, ancient Chinese music and Dance show as indicated.
7.All entrance fees for
museums, parks and historical sites (does not include admission fees to
any privately-owned rides or attractions within these locations).
8.Chinese culture
instructional materials.
9.Special dinners as
indicated.
Not Included in Tour Price:
Passport, visa
fees, excess baggage fees, U. S. Departure taxes, airline Fuel charges,
tips
for bus drivers, escorts, and local tour-guides, hotel personnel.
Telephone calls,
personal spending money and miscellaneous items not specifically stated
as included
Day
7: Enjoy an excursion to Kaifeng, the ancient capital of seven
dynasties. During the Song Dynasty 1,000 years ago, Kaifeng was the
richest and most culturally diverse city in the world. 
Kaifeng
has a wealth of historical sites. The Buddha of A Thousand Hands and A
Thousand Eyes stands in the 1,000 year old Xiang Guo Monastery. The
famous Dragon Pavilion was built on the ruins of the Song Palace. It is
also called the small forbidden city. You?ll visit the thirteen story
high Iron Pagoda, made entirely of wood with a brick exterior. It is
called ?iron? because this pagoda has miraculously survived many
earthquakes and floods for almost one thousand years! (Travel back to
Zhengzhou). 
Day
8: Today you will travel to the 1,500 year-old Shaolin
Monastery, the birthplace of Kung Fu - the original form of all martial
arts. This temple is situated at the western edge of the Songshan
Mountains. In the Thousand Buddhas Hall, you can still see the
footprints of the monks stamped into the floor - a reminder of the
intensity of their practice. Here, you will be amazed by a live Kung Fu
demonstration performed by the Grandmasters and monks. 
At night, relax and enjoy the delicious
delicacies of the Water Feast, a banquet handed down by the Tang Dynasty
empress. Be delighted by the sights and sounds of ancient Chinese
instruments, played for you as you end your feast.
