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Trip Overview
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The Great Wall and beyond An illustrated itinerary of one of our many gay travel adventures. This information supplements our Discover China's history, culture, art, food and fascinating countryside with a great group of gay and lesbian and adventurers and our friends. Walk the Great Wall. Cruise the Yangtze River and see the Three Gorges. See Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Meet locals and relax in style. China is an exotic delight for the senses and we take in both the most well-known sites and some less-visited gems as well.
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1-4: Beijing: The Wall, the Square, the Duck
Upon arrival in Beijing, transfer to our fine hotel near the heart of the city, for our introduction to this international city, host to the 2008 Summer Olympics. Our tour of China begins at the spiritual, emotional and patriotic heart of China, Tiananmen Square. We'll take a morning tour of the Forbidden City, home to emperors for centuries, then head off to the beautiful Summer Palace for a walk down the intricately painted Long Corridor. We return to Beijing for our Welcome Dinner, featuring Peking Duck. We'll start the next day with a rickshaw tour of an old neighborhood just north of the Forbidden City. Once home to workers at the palace, these small alleys called "hutongs" are lined by the walls of courtyards shared by several families. We will be privileged to share tea with one of these families. Our unique lunch will include the favorite foods of the last emperor at the Fangshan Restaurant in Beihai Park. This evening we close out the day with a performance of the acrobatic Peking Opera. One day we'll drive north of Beijing to step foot on the Great Wall, built to protect China from Mongolian nomads – only sometimes successfully, as Genghis Khan proved. When weather conditions permit, we visit the Mutianyu section of the Wall, often the destination for visiting presidents and royalty, but with very few other tourists, Chinese or foreign. At Mutianyu you can take a cable car from the parking level to the Wall – or climb 1024 steps. Most people take the cable car down, but those steps are still there – or a toboggan sliding down a rounded metal chute.
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5-8: Cruising the Yangtze
From Beijing we fly to Yichang, situated just below the 1980s Gezhouba Dam. This morning we set sail on our 400-mile journey up the magnificent Chang Jiang (Long River), as the Chinese call the Yangtze. Each day's schedule is subject to change based on river and weather conditions. While we're sailing, the ship's staff offers a variety of cultural activities such as tai chi exercises, Chinese music, traditional Chinese medicine, and local arts and crafts. Our river journey starts with a lift up through the Gezhouba Dam lock, after which we traverse the first half of the most downstream and longest gorge, called Xiling. We dock below the Three Gorges Dam for the night. Three Gorges Dam: In the morning we will be able to get a close-up view of the face of the huge dam itself, over a decade in the making. Then from an overlook, we can not only see the entire dam, but also the massive five-stage ship lock that has been carved out of a mountain to lift ships up to the new lake. We'll return to our ship, then when we receive clearance, we will enter the lower chamber of the lock for our estimated three-hour passage to the reservoir above the dam. The reservoir behind the dam was filled to half of its full capacity in 2003, then raised to its permanent level in 2009. We'll spend the next few hours sailing through the western half of the Xiling Gorge. Just before entering the Wu Gorge, our ship docks and we take a smaller ship several miles up a small tributary, the Shennong Stream. Then we switch to small "peapod boats" for an unforgettable trip up an even smaller stream, pulled or rowed by strapping young men of the local Tujia minority group and accompanied by the singing of beautiful young women. After returning to our ship we enter the Wu Gorge, known for unusual rock formations high on the bluffs. At the western end of the gorge we pass the town of Wushan on the north bank. Until the old town was razed to prepare for the reservoir this gray, gritty river town saw no new building or even much maintenance for over a decade, but the site of the old city is now underwater, and the gleaming white city above has become the home for Wushan’s residents. Later, be sure to be on deck for the Qutang Gorge, the shortest of the three gorges, but perhaps the most dramatic. The Chinese have such regard for this gorge that it is featured on their 5 yuan notes. Our last shore excursion is scheduled at the city of Fengdu, one of the largest cities that was completely inundated by the waters of the Three Gorges reservoir. Fengdu's most famous feature is the Ghost Temple, featuring numerous gaudy (and scary!) figures of devils and torturers on a bluff that remains above the new reservoir. The residents of Fengdu were moved across the river, so the old city of Fengdu itself is now a ghost city. Over several years, its buildings were taken apart brick by brick to avoid navigation hazards now that the old city is completely under water. Finally we will see the steep hills of Chongqing, marking the upper end of the Three Gorges Reservoir, and enjoy one last night on our ship.
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9: Chongqing
We disembark in Chongqing (pronounced "Chong-ching"), where we get our last views of the mighty Yangtze River. We will spend one night in a high-rise hotel overlooking this rapidly developing city. Time permitting we'll get to know Chongqing and its environs, including visiting the pandas and Tibetan bears at the Chongqing Zoo, or a museum donated to the people of Chongqing by the family of General Joseph Stilwell, a Chinese-speaking American general who served in the city in World War II. You might try another local tradition in the evening - a foot massage. Depending on weather and road conditions, we may take a unique tour into the Chongqing countryside to North Hot Springs Park where Hanns Ebensten Travel President Phil Sheldon lived for much of 1985 while working for IBM.
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10-12: Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors
From Chongqing we'll fly to Xian (pronounced "shee-an"), our home for the next three nights. Depending on arrival time, we may stop at the new museum of smaller Han Dynasty warrior figures en-route to our hotel. We'll have a full day tour to explore Xian's 2200-year imperial history, and observe the excavation of a 6000-year-old matriarchal civilization at the Banpo Museum. The day's highlight will be an in-depth exploration of the three huge pits containing 6000 terra cotta warriors unearthed after a farmer digging a well uncovered the first one in the 1970s. The next day we'll take a city tour of Xian, including the well-preserved Tang and Ming Dynasty City Walls and the picturesque Small Goose Pagoda with a fascinating array of contemporary Chinese art on display. We also visit the Chinese-style 8th century mosque of Xian's 100,000 strong Moslem community. Weather permitting, we'll also leave some free time for an optional 14 km, two-hour bike ride around the top of the wide ancient city walls. This evening we will attend the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show.
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13-15: Shanghai on the Bund
We will fly from Xian to Shanghai, where we will transfer to our centrally-located hotel, our home for three nights. The next day we will enjoy a city tour of Shanghai, including the Jade Buddha Temple, the Yu Garden, the exceptional, modern Shanghai Museum, and (weather permitting) a short boat ride to experience the magnificent harbor of this world-class port city. There will also be time for you to explore Shanghai on your own. On one of our evenings in Shanghai we will be treated to a spirited acrobatic show, and we will enjoy a farewell dinner as we fondly remember our two weeks in China.
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16: Departure Day
Transfer to Shanghai's new Pudong Airport to return home. Immigration formalities for U.S. residents will occur at your first port of entry in North America. NOTE: for those who are interested, we will offer an additional night in Shanghai at the end of the trip, including a full day tour to the nearby city of Suzhou, known for its silk, classical gardens, and the Grand Canal. Please contact us for details if you are interested.
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