Suzhou - graceful city renowned for great minds

Today the scenic city of Suzhou (a best travel-lovers' destination included in packages of China vacation deals) still boasts of its many scholars who aced the imperial exams hundreds of years ago. Yao Minji explains how this small water city nurtured so many extraordinary minds.
In Chinese literature and films set in ancient times, when a character is described as a Suzhou native, he or she is always well-bred, sometimes aristocratic and coming from a family of scholar-officials.

A Suzhou native is always portrayed as elegant and graceful, a talented writer of poems and essays, often a connoisseur, delicate and fastidious about everything - what he or she eats (how artistically it's prepared), what he or she drinks, wears and uses.
"We have 50 zhuang yuan (top scholars) from Suzhou - how extraordinary!" - I heard that over and over from local tour guides, friends and taxi drivers.
Zhuang yuan were the superior scholars who scored No. 1 in the imperial examination, a major way for scholars to become government officials. In each exam, there was only one zhuang yuan, so they are highly valued and respected. And to have produced so many is a tribute to the intellectual atmosphere and cultivation of a city.
The number varies, depending on whether one counts city natives or includes everyone who's ever lived there. The total number of zhuang yuan from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), when the exam started, to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), when it ended, is around 600, so the number 50 is amazing considering the small size of the city.

Suzhou may also be the only city where the number of zhuang yuan still is mentioned so frequently to tourists who have top China tours as a source of local pride.
As the locals say, Suzhou has produced so many precious scholars, intellectuals and literati that you can only count the zhuang yuan, otherwise the list is endless.
It makes one wonder what's so special about this small water city with streams and canals that has nurtured so many extraordinary minds.
My primary impression of the city was drawn from Suzhou beauty Lin Daiyu from "A Dream of Red Mansions," a famous 18th-century novel following the ups and downs of a wealth and influential feudal family.

Lin, a major character, was known for her sickly beauty, astonishing talent and emotional fragility. For a long time she has been used to symbolize talented women who suffer great misfortune.
She is a Suzhou native and as I read about her when I was a child, she gave me my first impression of the city - beautifully delicate, elegant and stylish. The visits to Suzhou in my childhood made my imaginary city very real. It was filled with all kinds of old architecture - towers, pagodas, pavilions, corridors, gardens, courtyard residences. It seemed difficult in those days to find a modern building.
These old structures displayed a kind of fragile delicacy in their well-designed brick columns, the worn carvings on the ceiling and roof and the often broken but cleverly fashioned furniture, some with moveable parts.
Residents spoke in a soft Suzhou dialect, walking at a leisurely pace down small and twisting lanes and bridges. Life moved slowly and gracefully.
It's a wonder that the old section of the city, its buildings and residents, haven't changed that much over the years. The preservation of that timeless quality is extraordinary, considering the country's rocketing development in which a place can be completely transformed within weeks.
In Suzhou, all the flashy shopping malls and skyscrapers are located far from the old town where new construction is strictly regulated to conform to its surroundings and not to clash with history. Busy factories are in a separate industrial zone. You can visit there and buy some souvenirs after your tired China travel.
It is also amazing that the old town's basic urban planning hasn't changed much since the city was built more than 2,500 years ago. Of course structures, roads, gates and bridges were built, renovated, destroyed and rebuilt, but mostly in the old style.
The grid layout of the water city, through which rivers and streets run parallel, has basically remained the same.
An area today looks much as it did in a painting created hundreds of years ago.
You can obtain more about the city via China travel agents

Holding back the sands of time

Desert dwellers are slowly reclaiming cultivatable land, as Cui Jia and Mao Weihua report from Hotan, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a place for Silk Road tour.
Hotan prefecture in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region is famous for two things: jade and sand. The locals still try to pluck the precious stones from the dry bed of the Yurungkash River, also known as the White Jade River, but the rising value of jade means the place has almost been picked clean after repeated treasure hunts, so the chances of making new discoveries are slim. However, in this area bordering the Taklimakan, the world's second-largest desert, the sand will never disappear.
Almost every one in Hotan lives close to the more than 300 oases, large and small, that are dotted around the southern edge of the Taklimakan. Those enclosed by the desert only account for 3.7 percent of Hotan's total area. As a result, people have to cope with windborne sand for more than 260 days a year. On a bad day, they have to be prepared to seek cover from sandstorms, which can blacken the sky within minutes and without warning. In addition to the health problems posed by the storms, sand carried at high speed can erode buildings and strip the paintwork from vehicles.
In Hotan, the transition between oases, fed by the floodwater from northern Hotan's Kunlun Mountains, and the desert is almost instantaneous. One minute the scenery along the road is pure yellow desert and the next, tall poplar trees on both sides of the road suddenly begin to provide comfortable shade from the searing heat.
"At the current rate, the prefecture has been losing 33 square kilometers of oases every year, due to the invasion of the Taklimakan and the construction of infrastructure. Meanwhile, the local population is booming, so we have no choice but to create about 66 sq km of oases every year," said Chen Baojun, Party chief of the prefecture's forestry bureau, who has 20 years experience in desertification control.
He said the sand from the Taklimakan can be carried as far away as Beijing (a must-see tourist city for China best tours) and sometimes even as far as Japan, meaning control of desertification in Hotan has both a national and international resonance.
Qira county was once a kingdom on the ancient Silk Road in the days of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25-220). The county seat has relocated north three times because the sands have eaten up the cultivatable land. The first relocation occurred more than 2,000 years ago and the most recent about 620 years ago.
In the 1980s, the county seat faced yet another relocation because the desert was only about 1.5 km away. Many locals were forced to move because their houses were buried under sand, often overnight.
It was at that point that the government stepped in to provide measures against desertification. In the days before the measures, the locals tried to prevent the sand from encroaching on their homes by erecting fences around the houses, said Chen.
Green Great Wall
In 1978, the central government launched the Green Great Wall project, aiming to create a chain of forests stretching from Xinjiang to north China's Heilongjiang province to prevent soil erosion and desertification. The project, one of the biggest artificial afforestation programs in the world, is ongoing and is expected to be completed in 2050.
For the people of Qira, preventing the sand from shifting is a matter of life and death. In Hotan (also can develop China tourism), the desert has buried many ancient kingdoms, leaving the remains standing deep in the desert. Since the project was launched, a forest belt has been created and the desert has receded by more than 8 km.
Memet Simay's household was one of 446 in Qira township forced to relocate in the 1980s, although the family has since returned to the area.
"When I woke up one morning, I found I couldn't open the door because of the weight of sand that had accumulated overnight. My crops were buried too, so I had no choice but to move," he recalled.
He now grows dates in a field protected by a fence of poplar trees. Memet is responsible for looking after these "guardians", as he calls the poplars.
To remind people of the scale of desert encroachment, one large sand dune has been left in the township and has become a playground for the children.
"Growing things in the desert is not easy, and it's extremely expensive," said Qi Zhendong, director of the Qira county office of desertification prevention and control.
He was inspecting some cash crops, including dates and wolfberry trees, which are drought resistant. They were planted on the outskirts of the county last year to reduce the force of the wind-carrying sands blowing into Qira.
"If a sandstorm happened now, I wouldn't be able to see you," said Qi, standing only about 2 meters distant.
The average cost of the cash crop belt, about 5.7 km long and 100 meters wide, is about 10 yuan ($1.60) per sq m, although in some areas, the figure can reach 15 yuan.
This year, Qira county aims to build 9.3 sq km of new oases close to those that already exist. "Most of Qira's revenue is devoted to creating new oases alongside the roads the government built, digging wells and planting trees. Local people plant crops," said Qi. "We have never before put so much effort into creating new oases. We appreciate the financial support from the central government and the pairing-assistance provinces program over the past three years."
The "pairing-assistance" model, unveiled by the central government in 2010, requires 19 provinces and municipalities to support the development of Xinjiang (which can be contained in China vacation packages) through investment, provision of raw materials and working know how.
Experience has taught Chen of the forestry bureau that local people must be involved in, and benefit from, the program to prevent and control desertification. Without that crucial local input, the plants might easily die from a lack of attention.
"We have piloted a program of assigning care of plants and trees to local farmers. They put in the work of watering and taking care of them and when the plants are ripe, the locals can sell the produce. So they reap a financial benefit from the new oases, while Hotan benefits environmentally."
He said most of Hotan's seven counties have built new oases during the past couple of years.
Rich resources
About half an hour drive from the Hotan county seat, a new district is emerging from the desert. Thin drip-irrigation pipes run over manually flattened sand dunes for 28 km, and red willow, a common desert plant, and poplar trees have been planted to help stabilize the sand and provide a barrier behind which other plants can be sown.
"Although the desert looks lifeless, it has rich groundwater resources," said Wan Shiqing, director of Hotan county office for the prevention and control of desertification. "Once the water flows, there will be life."
In Hotan county, the average area of cultivation is roughly 866 sq m per person, which places a natural limit on the number of farmers the land can support and sometimes creates tensions and conflict among the residents. The new oasis is expected to provide a partial solution to the problem, said Wan.
"Total investment in the new district has reached 180 million yuan ($29 million) so far. This manmade oasis is expected to expand to around 400 sq km," Wan said.
Some of the dunes flattened to create the new 133-sq-km oasis were about 10 meters high, so it's hard to believe that the construction of the new oasis requires additional sand, transported from Beijing. The special sand that prevents water from filtering through the extremely fine-grain Taklimakan sands is used in the greenhouses of the new district.
Farmer Helili Tusonbak lost his land to the desert. As a result, he was eligible to rent one of the 100 greenhouses that have been erected in the area. He couldn't believe that tomatoes and watermelons can be grown in the desert.
"I thought it was a joke, but it actually happened," he smiled. Use of the greenhouses and amenities, including seeds, is free for the first year. Helili earned more than 10,000 yuan last year and is hoping to take on another greenhouse.
"When the plants on the new oasis are full grown, they will help to reduce the intensity of the sandstorms in Hotan county and Hotan city," said Wan. "I feel that the sky has become clearer since the new oases were built."
Memet Rozitohut's village stands next to an artificial oasis, created two years ago in Lop county. "There is less sand in the wind now, so it won't destroy as many flowers on my date trees as before," said the 47-year-old, who made 200,000 yuan last year.
"We used to see the desert as a threat, but now we see it as an opportunity," said Chen, the forestry bureau chief.
The jade-digging machines on the White Jade River now have a new role - flattering the sand dunes, but Chen warned that the artificial oases might create more desert if too much groundwater is consumed.
"It means we can't expand the oases as much as we would like, even if we have enough money. Everything must be carefully evaluated and planned," said Chen. "We have to respect nature."
You can obtain more via China tour operator.

Culture Encounters in Tibet

Simple daily pleasures abound in Tibet, a destination contained in China tour deals . Whether it's spinning prayer wheels with a Tibetan granny, breathing in the heady fragrance of juniper incense in a medieval monastery or wondering at the devotion in a pilgrim's prostrations, the following encounters help you see Tibet through Tibetan eyes.
Tibet Teahouses

Referring to teahouses, you may come up with Chengdu or Guangdong teahouses. But Tibet teahouses are unimpressive and few tourists have a drink there. But Tibet teahouses are the best places to experience the local Tibetan culture. Sweet tea is very popular around Tibet. In Tibet teahouses, fitting is very simple with only several tables, chairs and a stove in the middle of teahouses. The teahouses are indispensable part for Tibetan life and become good place to exchange and spread information and news. In teahouses, you can witness the real ordinary Tibetan life. So if you have place to have China travel in Tibet, you should not miss teahouses.
Chang & Butter tea

The Tibetan brew is known as Chang, a fermented barley beer. It has a rich and fruity taste and ranges from disgusting to pretty good. It is also indispensable in festival, wedding, treating friends and relatives. Sharing chang is the best way to get to know local Tibetans. But some rules have to be obeyed. "Three nips and a whole cup" is one of them. '"Three nips and a whole cup" means that the host must replenish after each of guest's first three nips. And after first three nips, the guest has to drink up the whole cup of Chang. The main brands of local beer are Lhasa Beer, now brewed in Lhasa (always contained in best tours of China) in a joint venture with Carlsberg.

Festivals
Tibetan cultural life finds its best expression through festivals, opera, horse racing and some epic picnics. Tibet has festivals and activities nearly every month. But for most tourists, they just know Tibet New Year Festival and Shoton Festival. The first week of the first lunar month is a particularly colorful time to be in Lhasa. Tibetan opera is performed and streets are thronged with Tibetans in their finest cloaks. Prayer ceremonies take place at monasteries and new prayer flags are hung.

Shoton Festival, also known as Yogurt Festival, fall in the first week of the seventh lunar month. Shoton Festival is grandest festival in Tibet. During festival, Buddhist believers from the world flock to Lhasa. Some wonderful activities will be held such as horse racing, performance of Tibet opera, displaying Buddhist images at Jokhang Monastery. For more, you can contact with local China travel agency.
Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/travel-articles/destinations-articles/culture-encounters-tibet-1204550.html

History of National Art Museum of China

It’s often said that the architecture of a museum reflects its contents and personality. Well the National Arts Museum is doubtlessly one of the most significant buildings from the 20th Century in Beijing, a indispensable destination for affordable China tours.
Located at the east end of Beijing’s Wusi Road, this building is a symbol of the country’s history and culture.
The museum was designed by Dai Nianci, a prestigious Chinese architect, in 1958. He wanted to inject as much Chinese flavour into the design of the building as possible and also to create a monument that would impress the people, as well as house the artefacts.

"It occurred to Dai when he was designing the museum, that if he wanted to find the perfect treasure house for China’s cultural and artistic relics, then the exterior of the Mogao Caves should be his inspiration. This nod to the caves can be seen in his "nine-floor" design," said Fan Di’an, Museum Director of National Arts Museum of China which can be considered for your popular China tours.
The former Premier Zhou Enlai, was initially concerned about the safety of the building, thus the balustrade on the third floor was built.
In 1963, Chairman Mao Zedong wrote the Chinese characters for the National Arts Museum of China, and had them inscribed above the building’s front gate, which formally inaugurated it as a state museum.
Half a century and 4,000 exhibitions later, and the museum has amassed a collection of over 100 thousand pieces. And since 2011, the museum has been open to the public for free, continuing to receive millions of visitors each year and playing an indispensable role in China’s art promotion and education.
You can obtain more details via China tour operator.

Saving Money on Traveling

When you are planning for an independent travel, you might need to work out a budget. The ideal China vacation deals will give the most fun for the least spending. The following tips might help you save money in travels:

1. In general, the expenses on transportation command a big part of the budget. Travel by train if you have enough time. You can save a lot in this way. An example is, from Chongqing Municipality to Beijing, a round-trip flight costs about 2,800 yuan (US$337), while a round-trip train ticket costs only 800 yuan. The difference reaches 2,000 yuan (China money).

2. It is also important to select the most economic vehicles after you have arrived at the travel site. Choose from city buses, taxis or shuttle buses for special routes to scenic spots. A good suggestion is to buy a map and design the most suitable transport route in advance.

3. Hotel expenses can also cost a lot if you do not have good choices. It is important to bargain for the rate at each hotel. A good way is to book your room through a travel agent or an Internet travel service provider before you start traveling in China.

Visit picturesque places

China is a vast country with many areas left untouched by modernization. There are many towns with naturally stunning landscapes. Here is a list of picturesque border towns, such as the town reminding people of the classic movie The Bridges of Madison County and the town crowned as "the Chinese Maldives". Quiet and secluded, these towns present some antique architecture which make these communities charming and simple. Any one of them can be considered in the affordable China travel packages.
1 Feng Huang Cheng
Feng Huang is Chinese for 'phoenix', the mythical bird which is a good omen and symbolizes longevity. When consumed by fire, Feng Huang will be reborn from the flames. Feng Huang Cheng gets its name from a legend that two of these fantastic birds flew over the town and found the town so beautiful that they hovered it, reluctant to leave.

Located on the western edge of Hunan Province next to Guizhou, Feng Huang Cheng's beauty lives up to this story. Claimed to be one of the two most beautiful towns in China, Feng Huang Cheng sets an example of what villages were like before the start of modernization. In the town dozens of lanes are paved with stones that run between the wooden houses built on stilts. Generations of local people have stepped on the lanes and worn them down bit by bit. Mist envelopes the town in the early morning or after a rain, creating a charming picturesque scene of Southwest China.
But Feng Huang Cheng's charm goes beyond the natural beauty. This ancient town has a history of 1,300 years and it has a number of old gardens as well as distinctive residential buildings, elegant bridges and mysterious towers and pagodas. In Feng Huang Cheng, tourists can also have a glimpse of the Great Wall. This section of the Great Wall was built in the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620) to defend against the local Miao minority ethnic group, which defied the central government at that time.
But today the Miao people live with local Han people. Visitors will find a large array of handmade items in the local shops, including silver accessories, homemade textiles, and batik fabric. Food here also has local flavor and pickled red peppers are a local delicacy.
Feng Huang Cheng is one of desintaions for top China tours.
How to get to Feng Huang Cheng: Take a train to Jishou and then switch to a bus for Feng Huang Cheng. There are two shuttles buses that go to Feng Huang Cheng everyday, at 11 am and 3 pm respectively.
2 Habahe
A county located in northern China bordering Kazakstan, Habahe boasts the most beautiful autumn in the world. Every September, Habahe becomes a splendid sea of colors -- green, red, orange, and yellow… Which is why timing is most important in appreciating the autumn beauty of this place. If they come too early, tourists can only see green leaves, but if they are too late, they can just see bare branches.
Habahe is located in Ataile district, which boasts a variety of plants from all climatic zones, from the temperate to tundra. It's said that people here don't need clocks to tell the time because the change of the plants' colors with the change of sunshine can tell them exactly what time it is.

Tuwa people have lived here for generations and their way of life is well preserved. Their lifestyle is similar to people in Kazakstan, speaking Turki language and dressing like Mongols. Their houses are built with logs and pen in their herds with wooden fences.
How to get there: First get to Urumchi. Then in a car drive towards Jimusaer and pass Qitai. Go north to take the Huangjin Passage to reach Aletai City. Head west to reach Buerjin County and then turn north to reach Habehe County.
3 Taishun
When photographer Robert Kincaid drives his truck in The Bridges of Madison County looking for passion, many of the audience may have also thought about their own dreams on beautiful bridges. If you are one of them, Taishun is for you.

Taishun is surrounded by mountains. Its closed location has naturally protected the town through ancient wars, which is why various bridges constructed in ancient China survived almost intact. Corridor bridges are the main feature of Taishun Town. It even won the name China’s Exhibition Hall of Corridor Bridges. The most impressive of all the bridges is Hongqiao Bridge. It was constructed completely of wood using no metal nails.
How to get there: There are shuttle buses between Wenzhou to Taishun, while long distance buses connect Hangzhou to Taishun.
4 Xiaoqikong
The name of Xiaoqikong means "bridge with seven little arches" and this town is a scenic spot. Under the bridge is a little creek called Xiangshuike, which runs the whole course dotted with big and small waterfalls.

Another famous scenic spot is "wood above river", where a group of trees are scattered evenly around the river. Tourists can walk through the wood and watch the waters. Xiaoqikong also has a place called Yuanyang or Mandarin Duck Lake. It is named after two trees growing in the lake, one is slim and the other is thick, but both with the bottom halves of their trunks in the water. While the trees have separate roots, the branches of these two trees mingle together above the water. Xiaoqikou can be considered into your happy and popular China tours.
How to get there: Go to Guiyang, Municipal City of Guizhou Province. Take a train heading for Mawei and get off at Xiaoqikong Holiday Village.
5 Yuzhizhou Island
Nicknamed "the Chinese Maldives", Yuzhizhou Island in Hainan has another romantic title, "Island for Lovers". Between the beach and bamboo forest stand a bunch of cottages for lovers built out of bamboo and leaves.
Yuzhizhou Island is a small island covering just 1.48 square kilometers. It's the perfect place for diving. Seawater around the island is totally pollution free and boasts a colorful collection of tropical fishes, sea urchins and coral reefs.Most people who holiday at Sanya also go to Yuzhizhou Island for diving.

Apart from the fresh seafood, Yuzhizhou Island features unique Lingzhi crab, which eats Lingzhi, a tonic plant often used in traditional Chinese medicine on the island. Different from ordinary crabs, the Lingzhi crab is completely black. It tastes a bit bitter you first eat it, but its fresh taste comes out after a few minutes.
How to get there: Get to Haikou and ride a long-distance bus to reach Sanya. There are regular buses and high-speed jet boats between Sanya and Yuzhizhou Island.
6 Bamei
A well-preserved Zhuang minority ethnic group village, Bamei Village is located 450 kilometers away from Kunming Municipality, in Yunnan Province which is always listed as top 10 China tours. This village has no electricity or roads connecting it to the outside. People here till the fields with wooden ploughs, irrigate the land with old wooden water wheels and make clothes with hand-spun cloth. They use marsh gas to light and burn wood to cook. Given the absence of industrial pollution, air here is very fresh and the views are spectacular.

Here tourists can also enjoy some unique Zhuang minority ethnic festivals, such as paying tribute to ancestors, playing grass balls, singing girls and boys matching songs.
How to get there: Go to Kunming, Municipal City of Yunnan Province. Head to Qiubei and pass Guangnan to reach Fali. Once you get there, get out of your car and walk along the land boundary between two pieces of land for several hundred of meters to reach the entrance of Bamei Village.
7 Hailuogou Valley
This place is mostly covered in ice and snow. Hailuogou Valley is full of contradictions. On one side there is a large glacier closest to an urban area and has the lowest altitude. Hailuogou Valley has the largest icy waterfall in China, 10 times larger than Huangguoshu Waterfall. A dozen hot springs can also be found in the valley. The temperatures of the springs range from 40 degrees Celsius to 80 degrees Celsius. Tourists can soak in the hot springs while watching the snowflakes fall. Hailuogou Valley can be considered to contain in your China vacation packages.

How to get there: Get to Chengdu City and take the newly built Chengya Highway, then head through Erlangshan Mountain tunnel, and Daduhe Great Bridge to reach Hailuogou Valley. The whole journey is 282 kilometers long and takes five hours.
8 Luoping
At the source of the Pearl River, there is a land of wonder and beauty: Luoping. The place boasts the largest cole flower garden in the world. The brilliant yellow carpet of cole flowers are grown among the rolling hills, a natural landform in the region. Jinjifeng or Golden Rooster Hill and Niujie, “Bull Street” are the two best spots to take photos of cole flowers. At Jinjifeng there is an endless view of the flora in the fields.. And at Niujie, cole flowers mingle with the winter wheat and other vegetables creating a different natural picture.
Apart from cole flowers, there are two other spots are worth exploring. Jiulong or “Nine Dragons” Waterfall consists of 10 waterfalls. The view of all the waterfalls is grand. Duoyihe is more quiet, lined by colorful flowers.
How to get there: Take a train from Guangzhou to Kunming and get off at Luoping railway station. Then take a three-wheeled vehicle to get to Luoping County. There are also special trains connecting Kunming to Luoping and the trip takes about four hours.
9 Ranwuhu Lake
Ranwuhu Lake is a combination of the Swiss Alps and China's Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot in Sichuan Province, famous for its picturesque waters and mountains. At Ranwuhu Lake, there are magnificent snow-capped mountains, glaciers, a blue lake, green meadows, floating clouds and dense woods, giving visitors tourists the feeling of being in a legendary place. The mountain range lines both banks of Ranwuhu Lake. And the lake's water varies with the seasons reflecting the vegetation growing along the banks.

How to get there: Ranwuhu Lake is located east of Tibet. Drive east along National Way 318, past Basu Baima Township to reach Ranwu Village.
If you want to visit any one of these places, you can contact with China tour agents

A Guide to Beijing's Free Museums (2)

The Great Wall Museum of China
Located on the western side of the Badaling Pass, the museum shows the history of the Great Wall (the must-see for China travel deals) and its current situation.
Stepping into the museum is like visiting the Wall. Zigzagging passages inside the building look like the winding Great Wall as seen from a distance. There are also replicas of its mountain passes and beacon towers.
Exhibitions include equipment used to build the Wall, battles conducted on it and national treasures from it. There is also information on how it developed throughout the centuries, its structures and patterns, and the historical sites and cultural relics along the Wall.

Where: Badaling Great Wall Scenic Area, Yanqing County
Open hours: Daily except Monday, 9 am-5 pm
Tel: 6912 1890
Beijing Dabaotai Museum of the Western Han Tombs
The museum is in Dabaotai Village, on the site of the mausoleum of Liu Jian, the King of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 8 AD). It is one of the few well-preservd Western Han Dynasty mausoleums of its size.
The museum features relics unearthed from the "underground palace," like chariots, silk goods, pottery, lacquerware and items made of bronze, iron and jade. There is also exhibit of imperial mausoleums throughout Chinese history. So if you are interested in the ancient history, you should contain it in your popular China tour package.

Where: Dabaotai Cun (next to the Beijing World Park), Fengtai District
Open: Daily except Monday, 9 am-4 pm
Tel: 8361 2852
Beijing Ethnic Costumes Museum
China is home to 56 ethnic groups, whose distinct characteristics and traditions are expressed in their costumes. The Ethnic Costumes Museum, a cultural research institution managed by the Beijing Institute of Clothing Technology, showcases the clothes and ornaments of the various ethnic groups.
The museum's treasures include over 1,000 pieces of clothin from the Miao, including the group's silver ornaments.

Where: A2 Yinghua Road (on the northern entrance of Heping Lu), Chaoyang District
Open: Monday and Tuesday, 8: 30-11:30 am; Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 1:30-4:30 pm
Tel: 6428 8261
So you can consider to include these museum in your China travel packages.

A Guide to Beijing's Free Museums (1)

A museum is the ideal place to get a crash course on a country's history and culture. Last year, 33 museums in town began offering freeadmission to give the public a better understanding of China's past and present. Most of the museums are located in the suburbs or attached to another tourist site. So you should consider it for your affordable China tours.
China National Film Museum
This museum, opened in 2005 to celebrate the centennial of Chinese cinema, is the world's largest film museum. Movie aficionados will go gaga over its gigantic movie collecton.
The building's design, by US-based RTKL International and Beijing Construction Design Institution, reflects the concept of finding a balance between film and architecture. The grand exterior features an image of a gant screen and a series of slanted structures resembling a film clipboard.
The interior of the four-story museum is divided into four halls colored red, green, blue and yellow.

The exhibition area covers the second and third floors and has 10 halls. Through multimedia presentations of Chinese films, visitors can follow the development of the local movie industry. Five halls on the second floor focus on the history of Chinese cinema, from birth in 1905 of its first film Dingjunshan, or Conquering the Jun Mountain, to million-yuan modern blockbusters. The achievements of certain Chinese filmmakers are also documented.
On the third floor, another five halls show different types of films: animated, children's, science and educational, news and documentaries, even foreign films. They also introduce movies from HongKong, Macau and Taiwan.
The expo area on the top floor encompasses 10 halls, which focus on demystifying filmmaking. The exhibits present the various aspects of filmmaking: shooting, editing, musical scoring, special effects and developing.
Visitors are offered an interactive experience that allows them to make their own short films and record sounds. They can try their hand at dubbing and editing, and learn the secrets of the trade like reverse-action filming and rear-screen projection. People who can only spare one day at the museum should head straight to the expo area.

Scattered throughout the museum's 20 exhibition halls are dioramas that tell the story of Chinese cinema. Old quipment like spotlights and lenses are also on display.
There is a small snack shop in the building for visitors who want refreshments after your tired but best tours of China. There is also a cafe for those who want to sit down and catch their breath. Customers can use the cafe's Internet connection to surf the Web for free.
The museum has theaters that showcase movies in various formats: IMAX, digital and 35mm film. IMAX, also called the "giant screen," is one of the most advanc cinema systems. It has a powerful multiple sound track system, including surround sound.
The museum's IMAX cinema, which can seat about 400, is highly recommended. It charges a fee, but is still cheaper than other movie houses; 2D films are 30 yuan, while 3D ones are 50 yuan.
The three 35mm theaters, which screen domestic and international award-winning films, charge 2 yuan.
Visitors to the museum need to make an appointment over the phone or on the Internet. Walk-in visitors are allowed, but they cannot be guaranteed tickets.
Where: 9 Nanying Lu, Chaoyang District
Getting there: Take bus 402, 418, 688 or 973 to Naogao stop, then follow street signs to get to the museum on foot.
Tel: 5165 4567
Open: Daily except Monday, 9 am-4:30 pm
Cao Xueqin's Memorial
Cao Xueqin, one of the giants in Chinese literature, is best known for his masterpiece Dream of the Red Mansions.

His memorial is located inside Beijing Botanical Gardens at the foot of Xiangshan, the Fragrant Hills (an option for your popular China tour package). The place is free, but visitors can only enter through the garden, which charges an admission fee of 10 yuan. But now is the best season to see the botanical garden, so the money is worth it.
Cao was born into a prominent family in Nanjing. When he was around 30, his family moved to the western suburbs of Beijing, where he lived most of his later years, and where the memorial was erected.
The memorial, surrounded by low walls, is divided into four courtyards and six exhibition rooms. Among the things on display are information about Cao's family, his work environment and the research that went intoDream of the Red Mansions. Visitors can finish a tour of the place in less than an hour.
All the exhibition rooms were designed based on Qing architecture, the period in which Cao lived. The front rooms present the living environment of the Qing Dynasty's eight banner groups, Cao's work atmosphere and related books and articles.

The back exhibition rooms mainly showcase Cao's life experiences and influences that went intohis literary masterpiece. On display are old furniture, porcelain, religious items and household paraphernalia, including the horsetail whisk that appeared in the book.
The museum has created a special room to house landmark research on Cao, and which contains various versions of the Dream of the Red Mansions. There are dioramas of some well-known scenes from the novel, including one of Granny Liu visiting the Rongguo Mansion.
Where: 39 Zhengbaiqi Cun, Xiangshan, Haidian District
Getting there: Take bus 318, 331, 360, 634, 696, 698, 714, 733 or 737 to Beijing Zhiwuyuan, or the Beijing Botanical Garden.
Tel: 6259 1561 ext. 2028
Open: Daily except Monday, 8:30 am-4:30 pm
Admission: 10 yuan for Beijing Botanical Gardens
You can get more via China tour operator.

Ancient Songs of Miao People

Year: 2006
Sort: Folk Literature
Area: Guizhou
Serial No.:Ⅰ-1
Declarer: Taijiang and Huangping Counties,Guizhou Province
The Miao ethnic people live in the southwest provinces of China. According to the dialects they speak, these provinces can be divided into the areas of Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou, westernHunan province, and eastern Guizhou province (a tourist place for China vacation deals). The drainage area of the Qingshui River in the southeast region of Guizhou has the largest population of Miao in China, which include Kaili, Jianhe, Huangping, Taijiang, Leishan, Danzhai, Shibin,Zhenyuan, Sansui of Guizhou Province, Sanjiang,Guangxiprovince, and Jingxian, Hunan province. A kind of poetry legend, mainly about the genesis of the world and the Miao people, is very popular in these areas, and people call it the "ancient song."
The content of this ancient song is rich and colorful, and covers the birth of the world, the genesis of mankind and all the Earth's creatures, the flood in ancient times, the immigration of the Miao people, the Miao social system, and the day-to-day life of the Miao people. The ancient song is a confluence of all the ancient Miao legends.
The ancient song of the Miao people is usually played at formal occasions such as sacrifices, weddings, funerals, family parties, feasts, and festivals. Most of the singers are elders, and necromancers. The ancient song embodies the memory of the soul of the Miao people and the sutra, and acts as an encyclopedia of the Miaos' ancient society. It is very valuable in terms of history, ethnography, philosophy and anthropology. Now, this ancient song is still alive, and goes around among the people. If you are lucky enough, you may have a chance to listen to it for your China travel.
However, due to the rise of modern culture and the market economy, the ancient song of the Miao people is close to being lost. Take Taijiang, for example. Among the 30,000 Miao people that live in Taijiang, only a few can sing the ancient song in its entirety, and less than 200 can sing parts of it. Moreover, most of those singers are middle-aged or elderly people. As these singers get older and eventually pass away, the ancient song of the Miao people will disappear if we aren't careful.
You can get more via China tour agents.

The History and Culture of Chengzi in China

If you want to experience the uniqueness of China for your China tour deals, you should visit Chengzi.
◆Living Fossil
The oldest buildings in the village are situated on Xiaolongshu Mountain. The 24 houses that were built jointly by 24 families have already survived more than 270 years. They were built in the original Tuzhangfang style with neither courtyards nor windows. The enclosing structure of the houses is reinforced with rammed earth. With the population growth, the village expanded down the hill and to the north. Over the years, the architectural style evolved with the introduction of the Han culture and building techniques. The resulting fusion of styles is the “stamp” style layout featuring one principal room, two wing rooms, one screen wall facing the gate of the house and a patio for light. Walls facing the patio are built with wood with windows cut out. The houses built in the newer fashion retain the natural elements of the earthen dwellings of the Yi ethnic group, and roofs still form joint platforms, but life in newer homes is more comfortable. Later, buildings with sloped roofs and curved eaves, more obviously influenced by Han architecture, started appearing.

The largest building in the village is the former residence of General Li of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Its typical Tuzhangfang layout features three stories of main rooms, two stories of wings, and a wooden gate with octagonal overhanging eaves. The gate, doors, windows and eaves are all painted and carved with dragons and phoenixes.
Since the late 18th Century, with greater numbers of Han and Yi people living together, abodes in the village have gradually adopted a fused architectural style of both Han and Yi. While Yi style appears bold, solid and unique, the Han flavor tends to be more delicate in carving and layout. Tuzhangfang buildings retaining more of the Yi’s outer appearance with interior design of the Han are living fossils of the history of Chinese residences.
◆More than a Village
Every event leaves a mark on the wheel of time, whether it is a high-profile landmark or a vague secret humbly preserving little-known stories.
Over the millennia, several regional kingdoms were established in Yunnan (a hot tourist place for China best tours ), but very few people know much about Ziqi Kingdom, an ancient state that lasted only 160 years. According to research, Chengzi village was the epicenter of the state. Extant records about it document fragmented stories of caravans on the Silk Road (Silk Road tour)and how the city was defeated by Mongolian cavalry in a battle.

Originally, Chengzi was named Baishao, after the tribe representing the ancestors of the Yi. In the late 15th Century, tribal leader Ang Gui relocated from the Luxi county seat to Baishao Village, and changed the area’s name to Yong’an Prefecture. This move stirred the growth of the village, making it one of the political, economic and cultural hubs of southern Yunnan. The small village expanded into a prefecture of more than 1,200 households and many impressive buildings. Built on a mountain with solid city walls, lofty towers and a heavily fortified city gate, the forerunner of Chengzi Village was a large fortress known far and wide in that era. But unfortunately, most of the buildings were destroyed by imperial forces battling the rebellious tribe. After the chief was killed, many residents fled, and the imperial government dispatched immigrants to replace them, as well as stationing troops and building watch towers, barracks and other military facilities. The result of the takeover is the village’s present-day layout that provides convenient living and defense as well.
Today, visitors are drawn to the unique cluster of architecture and the history it preserves. Time seems to stop when one glides through the stone roads in the labyrinth of Tuzhangfangs. In harvest season, golden corn and fresh red peppers hang from the eaves and earthen walls. Young villagers busy themselves drying grain in the sun while seniors sit and chat as they watch children play ¨C a pastoral scene indeed. The village’s past glory may be gone with the wind, but scenery and its story remain as attractive as ever.
So if you are interested in the history and culture here, you should consider it in your popular China travel package.

Huairouwood, a booming film base in China

Winter and early spring traditionally mark idle seasons for farmers in north China. The climate's harsh cold might prevent harvest yields, however villagers in Yangsong township, Huairou district, find their town buzzing all year-round for another reason.
Located 45 kilometers north of downtown Beijing (a must-see destination for China tour deals ), Yangsong has built a reputation as a favored destination among directors and producers for shooting films and TV shows. Its mountainous terrain and sweeping plains dotted with hawthorn, pear and apricot trees makes it the ideal setting for period drama TV shows. More than 100 films and TV shows by producers from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong have been shot in Yangsong over the past decade. Other notable TV series shot in Yangsong have included scenes depicting Mao Zedong living in a cave in Yan'an, Shanxi Province whose capital city is Xian, a city to start Silk Road travel, during the Chinese Civil War and the famous Ningrong street from classic novel A Dream of the Red Chamber.


Since the 1990s, the booming film industry in Yangsong has helped locals eke out a more prosperous living away from agriculture.　
King of the Extras

Farmer Guo Kexing, 59, recalled how different life was 18 years ago, when Yangsong was just another sleepy township in Huairou. "I depended on my crops in the past, growing wheat in autumn and corn during June," he said. "My average annual income was around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan ($476-$634) at that time."
In 1995, film company Stellar Mega-media founded the township's first film studio. The arrival of the company also brought opportunities to the villagers, with many encouraged to feature in films and TV shows as background actors, or extras.
Guo dabbled in work as an extra when he wasn't tending his crops. "They paid us about 20 yuan daily for acting," he told the Global Times. "Back then, that was more than a worker could make in the construction industry." Film companies were drawn to Guo for his honesty and tireless work ethic, leading him to be appointed as the organizer for extras half a year later.


"Film crews tell me what types of extras they want, and I recruit suitable people to fill those roles," Guo said of his business. Guo draws on his own experience as a veteran extra who has featured in more than 130 films and TV shows to train other extras before they make their debut on camera.
Problems off the set

However, Guo has found out that show business doesn't always run smoothly. From local, curious farmers keen to show off their acting talents to theater graduates eyeing their break in the film industry, there's no shortage of people hoping to make their cameo as one of Guo's hired extras. Competition for roles, no matter how small they are, is cutthroat, as too is competition between Guo's company and its rivals.
"A while ago, extras' daily payment halved from 50 yuan to 25 yuan, which persuaded many to leave. Stability in the town isn't as consistent as it was before," Guo explained.


In order to regulate the market and protect the rights of amateur actors, Guo persuaded the township's government to establish an extras' union in 2006.
Guo, with the help of his two sons, is also hoping to expand his business by finding a suitable method to reuse actors' costumes. He proudly said his income is "almost 10 times higher" than his days toiling in the field almost two decades ago.
Lights, camera, action

In 2008, another studio owned by the largest and most influential State-run film enterprise in the country, China Film Group Corporation, was established in Xiantai village, Yangsong township. Its state-of-the-art studio equipped with the latest technology and big budget props inspired the local government to build its own studio named the Xiantai Film and Culture Garden.　
"More and more film crews were choosing Yangsong to shoot their productions, however daily costs that went into the tens of thousands of yuan to rent fields owned by China Film Group were too expensive for many smaller budget productions," said Hu Guangjun, party secretary of Xiantai village. "We came up with the idea to construct a cheaper, smaller studio that could meet the demands of small film crews on a tight budget."
Hu oversaw the transformation of a former pig-raising paddock into a complex consisting of three 18-meter-high studios, further cementing Yangsong's reputation as the "Hollywood of Beijing." "The rent we charge film crews is only a tenth of that charged by China Film Group," Hu said.
Shortly after Spring Festival, villagers had their first business of 2012 in the form of TV drama Three Brothers At The Battle, starring famous actors Zhang Hanyu and Liu Ye. The series' makers paid 180,000 yuan to rent a field for the three-month shoot.
"The field is almost the same as China Film Group's studio," an unnamed crew member explained. "We don't have many scenes filmed indoors, so the field suitably meets our requirements."
However, some film companies have doubts over the skills of amateur extras and the authenticity of scenarios and props from cheaper companies, such as Xiantai Film and Culture Garden. If you are interested in the film base, you can consider it for your popular China tours.
"The professionalism of services provided by amateurs remains a concern," said Lan Lan, an employee at the Beijing office of the Xi'an Film Production Company. "For example, poor cinematography of ancient scenes detract from the quality of a film or TV show."
In order to improve their services, Hu said he had invited professionals from China Film Group to train villagers.
"I am confident about our competitiveness growing stronger in the future," he said.
"Xiantai village never had any enterprise in the past, and the film and TV industry presents an opportunity for the 2,000 villagers earn a better living."
For more, you can contact with China travel agents.

A Daydreaming Place - Tangmo Village

A narrow village that extends 1 kilometer along a central canal, Tangmo was originally established during the late Tang Dynasty. A pathway follows the waterway from the entrance at the east gate into the village, leading the past the largest Tan'gan Garden which was modelled after Hangzhou's West Lake. Here you will enter the village proper, passing canalside Qing residences along Shuijie before coming to the covered Gaoyang Bridge, built in 1733 and now home to a small teahouse. Tangmo Village is an option for your China vacation deals.
Tangmo Village was originally the settlement village of Wang family whose ancestor, Wang Hua was promoted as the duke in Tang Dynasty. It is said that the village was built according to the style and standard of Tang Dynasty's villages to memorize grace from the court of Tang Dynasty.

At the entrance of the village stands Shadi Pavilion, built in Kangxi era of Qing Dynasty. The three-storey pavilion has tip-titled eaves. You can watch eight eaves at different angles. When breeze blows, the small bells hanging on the pavilion ring and sound beautiful. A 400-old-year tree, standing beside the pavilion, hangs many red ribbons which is said to symbol the good luck and wellness. Obviously, the weather-beaten tree is regarded as the holy tree by the locals.
Tangmo is characterized by Shuijie. The clear stream across the village. On the both banks of the stream stands the traditional Hui buildings including resident houses, ancestral halls and shops. The bridges here are also very famous for its featured structure. Gaoyang Bridge is very representative and now home to a small teahouses. The beauty of Tangmo should not be missed for your popular China travel package.

Tangmo Village is a tranquil village and famous for its captivating natural landscape and the rich historical and cultural deposit. The best-preserved ancient constructions help the villages gain the reputation of Top Scenic Area in Huangshan City.
Tang Gan Yuan Garden is a must-see in the village. It was built by a rich man to realize his mother's wish to travel to West Lake in Hangzhou. Therefore, some scenic spots of the garden are similar to those of West Lake in some way.
It is possible to sleep here at a villager's house for about 60rmb. Note that the public bus will probably drop you off at the west gate where the ticket office is located. But there should be onward transport of some kind to the east gate or just backtrack.
China Travel Tip: There is an hourly tourist bus from the Tunxi long-distance bus station that stops at Qiankou and Tangmo. It runs from 8:00 to 16:00 with a two-hour break from 11am to 1pm.

More about Tangmo, you can contact with China tour operator.
Source: http://www.sooperarticles.com/travel-articles/destinations-articles/daydreaming-place-tangmo-village-1187656.html

Shanghai's 9 most iconic frozen treats

Summer is near its peak, and it’s time for the Shanghainese to whip out their secret weapon: their precious ice cream or popsicles.
Stop laughing.
The city is home to China’s oldest and largest ice cream factory: Yi Min No. 1 Foods. Some of the local iced treats have been sticking to Shanghainese tongues for over half a century.
The most iconic Shanghai ice creams are available at supermarkets or convenience stores. So if you have last minute China travel deals in Shanghai, you should try to taste them.
For three creative ways to celebrate the city’s popsicle history in your own kitchen, click to the following page.
1. Classic Guang Ming ice cream cube
A block of vanilla ice cream wrapped in wax paper and cardboard may not sound appetizing, but chuck it in a bowl, add Sprite and you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The treat was first sold in 1950 and is still a mere RMB 2. Cost: RMB 2 at Alldays convenient stores

2. Neapolitan ice cream
Another old school favorite, “three color” ice cream was once a special treat with chocolate, strawberry and vanilla in one package. Gelato it's not, but pick it up for nostalgia's sake. Cost: RMB 2.5 at FamilyMart convenient stores

3. Green bean, red bean and cream popsicle
This one combines the three big Chinese sweet flavors (red bean, green bean, condensed milk) in one convenient pop. We call it chidou (red bean) pop 2.0. Forget the works: Sometimes there is nothing better than this ice stick of a popsicle to cool you down on a hot day. Cost: RMB 3 at Alldays convenient stores

4. Traditional saltwater popsicle
The most classic Shanghainese popsicle is made purely with salted soda, a local equivalent to Sprite. Get one of these from your local convenience store and be prepared to hear the cashier gasp that she's serving a real lao Shanghai which is always contained in China best tours. Cost: RMB 1 at Alldays and FamilyMart convenient stores

5. Hawthorn popsicle
We’ve all see Hawthorne (aka tang hu lu aka crabapples) on a stick. But the fruit's sweet and sour essence works well in popsicles, too. Relatively new to Shanghai, this ice lolly has acquired many followers, especially female ones, for its refreshing taste. Cost: RMB 3 at Alldays and FamilyMart

6. Green bean or red bean popsicles
A typical example of how Shanghainese turn food into ice cubes. These two, made with green bean soup and red bean soup, are an old-school favorite in Shanghai. The red bean version is sweeter and the green bean lolly has a minty kick. You can try the following method to make cold treats after your China tours.

Cost: RMB 1 each at Wangjiao convenient store, 77 Songshan Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu
Double chocolate and osmanthus cream pops
Makes 6-8 popsicles (quantity will depend on mold)
Ingredients:
For the double chocolate layer:
1 cup pre-packaged chocolate pudding
2 cups milk
20-30 grams of chocolate (preferably dark, about ? of a regular-sized bar)
Optional extras: instant coffee, cookie chunks, nutella, cinnamon
For the osmanthus cream layer (a modified crème anglaise recipe):
1 cup of full cream
? cup milk (optional, for a less creamy taste)
4 egg yolks
Osmanthus sugar (available at major supermarkets)
Regular sugar to taste, about a quarter or one-third cup
Method:
Prepare double chocolate layer:
Melt chocolate in the microwave by zapping it with 30-second increments of heat.
Add the chocolate pudding, milk and mix well.
Add any extras.
Prepare the osmanthus cream layer:
In a small saucepan or pot, heat the cream on low heat.
While cream is heating, whisk egg yolks and regular sugar together until smooth.
When bubbles begin to form at the edge of the cream, slowly trickle half of the hot cream into the egg yolk mixture -- don’t stop stirring.
Add the egg yolk mixture to the rest of the cream.
Make your popsicles:
Create alternating layers of chocolate and osmanthus cream.
Spoon the chocolate mixture or osmanthus cream mixture into your mold to create the first layer. Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid. Create the popsicle layer by layer (alternating as many times as you want) until popsicle molds are filled.
You should have thicker layers of chocolate and thinner layers of the rich osmanthus cream.
Eat!
Old school Shanghai saltwater popsicles with lemon
Ingredients:
Drinking water
Pinch of cornstarch (optional, for traditional “milky” color)
Dried lemon slices (available at any major supermarket in the dried herbal teas section, or make your own)
Optional fresh fruits -- use sweet, in-season fruits such as white peaches, de-seeded grapes or berries tossed with sugar
Sugar to taste
Several teaspoons of salt, to taste
Method:
Add sugar to a pot of hot (not boiling) water.
Slowly add salt, until the balance between the sugar and salt suits your taste.
Add one dried lemon slice for every two cups of liquid for a slight lemon flavor and remove the lemon after 5 minutes.
Add cornstarch if desired. Stir well.
Make your popsicles:
Tip: round molds work best for this.
Put a slice of dried lemon at the bottom of each popsicle mold.
Add about ? inch of popsicle mixture.
Now fill molds to the top with your popsicle mixture and add the fresh fruit.
You can also add 1-2 slices more of dried lemon, but any more and you’ll pucker up.
Eat!
Oolong tea and red bean pops
Makes 8 popsicles (quantity will depend on mold)
Ingredients:
Oolong tea
4 cups drinking water
2 cups red bean soup (red beans, water, sugar -- recipe below) or use red bean paste from your local supermarket
Honey, brown sugar or regular sugar to taste
Optional extras -- de-seeded jujubes, goji berries, preserved orange peel
Method:
Prepare the oolong tea:
Brew four cups of oolong tea using water, tea and sweetener (honey or brown sugar).
Add the extras if desired. Set aside.
Prepare the red bean layer:
Tip: you’ll need extra time to prepare the red bean soup. If you are using red bean paste, simply add water to taste until the red bean paste is at a balanced sweetness.
Soak ? cup of red beans overnight in water to soften.
Drain.
In a saucepan or pot, add your red beans, sugar and three cups of water. The red bean soup should taste a little sweeter than the oolong tea.
Bring to a boil -- add water for thinner soup or cook down for a thicker consistency.
Set aside.
Make your popsicles:
Create alternating layers of red bean and oolong tea.
Spoon oolong tea or red bean soup into your mold to create the first layer. Freeze for 2-3 hours until solid. Add in alternating layers until your popsicle molds are filled.
You should have thicker layers of oolong tea and thinner layers of the sweeter red bean mixture. Eat!
After reading how to make them, are you confident to make them by yourselves after your popular China tours.

Anji Bamboo Forest: Crouching urbanite, hidden paradise

Hangzhou, some Chinese people say, is China's heaven on Earth. Suzhou, they’ll continue, is a close second. These two places should be considered for your last minute China travel deals. Both of these cities offer dramatic lake views, with the latter boasting a seemingly endless maze of gardens and statues. They're lovely. We get it. We agree.
They're also crawling with tourists.

Just an hour or so southwest of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, however, lies a natural wonderland that's actually been seen by more people worldwide than the two destinations above combined. The Anji Grand National Bamboo Forest (one of eastern China’s last remaining) was used as the backdrop for the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” But it is still rather hidden itself. If you once watched the movie, you should consider the forest for your best tours of China.
To be fair, it has gained some notoriety among local tourists. That said, it's almost completely untapped by Shanghai residents, for whom its endless greenery and perennial calm will provide a feeling of escape that far exceeds its distance from the city center.
This urban jungle is where your bus will drop you off. Do not panic: serenity is less than half an hour away, either via minibus (RMB 5) or taxi (no more than RMB 50, negotiable).
The only thing more alarming than the lack of noticeable tourists as you enter the forest is how unaffected the locals seem by the few that come. When asked how much she was charging for the bamboo she was peeling, this woman seemed surprised. “You’re welcome to take a piece, but I’m doing this for my own enjoyment,” she said.

Before you enter the park, it might be a good idea to stop at the restaurant by the entrance and enjoy some of the local specialties. The range of offerings on the menu is wide, but just tell the waitress (there is also only one) you’d like to sample the (zhuzi), or bamboo.
Then enter and see what the stuff looked like before it hit your plate. As you walk in, you'll probably be afflicted with the feeling that you are days away from the city. Look out for master kung fu practicioners flying over the bamboo as you walk. OK, that’s only in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” but the bamboo fight scenes were filmed here.
Hey, who installed that rollercoaster in the middle of the bamboo forest? More importantly, is it safe? All we’ll tell you is that passengers ride in individual cars and control their own speed -- and we survived our ride. The brave can also control their own expenditure -- the father and son operating team will negotiate the listed price of RMB 40 per head.
Anji’s not just for tree -- we mean bamboo -- huggers, mind you. Water lovers can hop, skip and jump their way across one of its many lakes. And we have very happy China tours here.
The concrete now reinforcing the ancient watchtower at the peak of the mountain is less than charming, but will ensure that you don’t meet your maker while you’re on top of the world.
After watching the sunset over the sleepy village at the base of the mountain, it’s possible to spend an evening with one of the families who live there. Not the best Mandarin speaker? These people are patient -- just make a “sleepy” gesture.

getting to anji
* Direct buses depart Shanghai South Railway Station’s south square bus terminal at 7:10 a.m., 8:10 a.m., 9:10 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. The journey takes about four hours.
* From Anji city take a minibus or taxi to the bamboo forest, which should take around 30 minutes. If you choose to cab it, try and negotiate a return journey with the same driver.
As the last Shanghai-bound coach leaves the town center at 2:30 p.m. it’s advisable to stay the night with a local resident and head back early the next morning. Adventurous travelers can do this Anji Shanghai day trip in a single day, taking one of the hourly buses to Hangzhou and transferring to Shanghai (a destination for your China tour packages ) via train or bus.

trips for every type of traveler in China

While it's true that most travel destinations aren’t like haute couture -- “in” one year and “out” the next -- there are some points on the map particularly worth visiting.
For good reasons, this is the year to mount a camel, trip of China tackle the mighty Himalayas.
Before the calendar turns, here's a planner for the year’s best trips.
Best adventure trip: Everest base camp
The thrill of high-altitude trekking in Nepal was once available only to a gung-ho few. Recently, the journey has become more accessible.
In April 2011, co-host of international television show Word Travels and travel writer Robin Esrock will lead a trek to the Everest Base Camp with World Expeditions.

The journey begins in Kathmandu Valley and ascends through Sherpa villages to Tengboche Monastery, where awestruck hikers get panoramic views of the rock star mountains of the Himalayas.
Hikers will traverse part of the treacherous Khumbu Glacier, followed by an ascent of Kala Pattar (18,192 feet), before stopping at Everest Base Camp which is always destination for adventure-lovers for their best tours of China.
“In Nepal, acclimatizing is going to be key, as is exercising for several months beforehand to ensure your body can take it,” Esrock cautions. “Wearing in your gear is a must, although those incredible Sherpas will no doubt be worth their weight in stardust.”
The World Expeditions hike to Everest Base Camp runs April 4-24, 2011, and begins in Kathmandu.
Price is US$2,768 per person, including food, trek pack, porters and accommodation.
Best foodie trip: Chengdu, Sichuan
In August 2010, the Sichuan capital of Chengdu was honored as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
That same month on Twitter, American TV host Andrew Zimmern could barely contain his enthusiasm for the budding food scene. He uploaded a photo of local dumplings that could be mistaken for giant jellyfish. Chengdu’s meat market was packed with every type of dried pork, including pig skin face.

For those less adventursome, an easy first stop on the Chengdu food safari is the bustling Chuan Chuan Xiang hotpot restaurant. Here, meat and vegetables are cooked together rather than piecemeal. (Chuan Chuan Xiang, 45 Double Bridge Road, Chengdu, tel: +028 8433 6879)
Another Chengdu favorite: Grandma Jin’s Handmade Noodles (Xiaojiahe St, Chengdu, tel: +028 8518 6457), where hand-pulled “bedspread” noodles resemble a large and chewy sheet. The most popular order is noodles topped with spicy red braised beef.
These two places are very right for your adventurous China tour packages.

General Facts of Chinese Money

The renminbi (RMB, sign: ¥; code: CNY; also CN¥) is the official currency of China (People's Republic of China). Renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong (a destination for top China tours), Taiwan, or Macau. Renminbi is sometimes accepted in Hong Kong and Macau, and are easily exchanged in the two territories. Banks in Hong Kong allow people to maintain accounts in RMB. It is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of China. China money Renminbi name literally means "people's currency"
The primary unit of renminbi is the yuán. One yuan is subdivided into 10 jiǎo, which in turn is subdivided into 10 fēn. Renminbi banknotes are available in denominations from 1 jiao to 100 yuan (¥0.1–100) and coins have denominations from 1 fen to 1 yuan (¥0.01–1). Thus, some denominations exist in coins and banknotes. Coins under ¥0.1 are used infrequently.
Until 2005, the value of the renminbi was pegged to the U.S. dollar. As China pursued its historical transition from central planning to a market economy, and increased its participation in foreign trade, the renminbi was devalued to increase the competitiveness of Chinese industry. It had previously been claimed that the renminbi's official exchange rate was undervalued by as much as 37.5% against its purchasing power parity (see below).
Since 2005, the renminbi exchange rate has been allowed to float in a narrow margin around a fixed base rate determined with reference to a basket of world currencies. The Chinese government has announced that it will gradually increase the flexibility of the exchange rate. China has initiated various pilot projects to "internationalize" the RMB in the hope that it will become a reserve currency over the long term. Lately, however, appreciation actions by the Chinese government, as well as quantitative easing measures taken by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks, have caused the renminbi to be within as little as 8% of its equilibrium value by the second half of 2012.
How to count from ONE to TEN on one hand ?

Chinese can use five fingers on one hand to indicate the numbers from one to ten, this is very useful when you can not speak Chinese language or you are at a very noisy place for your China vacation deals, where body language may be more effective than shouting aloud ...

What Does Renminbi Look Like?

The following are images of the different denominations of renminbi, from 100 yuan to a single fen.