Discussion:
Consider a vacation in China
(too old to reply)
a425couple
2018-02-11 16:56:08 UTC
Permalink
Serious GREAT bargain and very interesting vacation.
But, you need to let go of angers of 50 years ago.
Also, frustrations of sad balance of trade issues.

I did not post this information on this newsgroup,
because I doubted anyone would be interested.
But, who knows, strange things are possible.
Less than three weeks ago we were descending into China's
Beijing airport and looking out the window I was reminded of
Robert Silverberg's "The World Inside"
see = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside
with it's world population of 75 billion people, most housed
in 3 Kilometer high Urban Monads.
Now China has 1.4 billion, and the big housing units I saw
were not particularly each terribly oversized, but surprising
to me in the large number being identically and simultaneously
built in rows.
I had a good sci-fi book with me, and in the plenty of time
on buses, high speed trains, airplanes, and cruise ship there
really was plenty of time for reading, but the views out the
windows regularly seemed interesting, so I read little.
For those who might be interested in a good trip, we found,
and we did, a terrific bargain on a very good 14 day fully
guided tour in China.
It was only $1,199 per person
(plus about $180 per person to get Chinese Visas,
and we added two optional tours, the Shanghai Circus,
and a old fashioned Water Village marriage.)
Serious bargain, that covered airfare from most places in
US and Canada, 14 days, 13 nights in top rated hotels
or a cruise ship, & all meals except for 2.
I think, since there was almost a simultaneous to us
similar group from the UK (they flew over Russia etc.,
while we flew over the Pacific) that for UK they have
a very similar deal.
My wife originally found the deal on travel zoo newsletter
travelzoo.com , and you can also.
http://www.sinorama.ca/tourpage/index.php?id=2016_2017_chhz_15d_a_en
Day 1: Canada – stops – Beijing
Depart for Beijing on overnight international flight.
Day 2: Beijing
Arrive at the airport of Beijing, transfer to hotel.
Hotel: Beijing Lijingwan Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 3: Beijing (B L D)
After breakfast, visit the Tiananmen Square,
then enter the imperial-red walls of the ornate Forbidden City,
the emperor' s palace - off limits to commoners for centuries.
You will also visit the Temple of Heaven.
Think of the processions of incense-bearing priest at the Temple of
Heaven, where the emperor went to humble himself in prayer to guarantee
realm's good harvest.
Day 4: Beijing (B L)
Enjoy your excursion to the ancient Great Wall, originally built as
protection from the Huns and other Nomadic tribes and never completely
dinner + night tour in Beijing, CAD40p.p.
Day 5: Beijing – Chongqing (Flight) (B L D)
After breakfast, transfer to airport for flight to Chongqing, visit a
zoo (panda) and embark on the cruise.
5-star deluxe cruise: Sinorama Gold 3 / Gold 8
Day 6: Yangtze River Cruise – Shibaozhai (B L D)
Excursion: Shibaozhai, literally "Precious Stone Fortress" is a hill
along the bank of the Yangtze River. On the river side of the hill is a
red pavilion of nine floors which leans against the side of the hill
providing a walkway to the temple at the top of the hill. Captain's
Welcome Party.
Day 7: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges (B L D)
Excursion: Embark on smaller boats to enjoy a closer encounter of the
beauty of the Three Gorges. Continue to Gorge Wu and Gorge Qutang.
Day 8: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges Dam (B L D)
Excursion: Three Gorges Dam – the world's largest hydroelectricity
project. Passage of the Three Gorges Dam and the 5–stage Ship Lock.
Captain's Farewell Dinner.
Day 9: Yangtze River Cruise – Jingzhou – Wuhan (Coach) (B L D)
Disembark at Jingzhou, a city located on the banks of the Yangtze
River with 6000 years history where the culture of "Chu" was raised and
developed. City tour in Jingzhou then transfer to Wuhan and rest up in
hotel.
Hotel: Wuhan Howard Johnson Pearl Plaza Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 10: Wuhan – Hangzhou (High-Speed Train) (B D)
After breakfast, transfer to Hangzhou by high-speed train. Upon
arrival, transfer to hotel.
Hotel: Hangzhou Xanadu Crown Plaza Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 11: Hangzhou – Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) (Coach) (B L D)
Hangzhou is well known for its beauty of natural landscape and
historic monuments. You will join a cruise on the West Lake and visit
the village for the plantation of world renowned "Longjing Dragon Well
Tea". Depart for Huangshan and transfer to hotel on arrival.
Hotel: Huangshan International Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 12: Huangshan (B L D)
Excursion on Huangshan. The Mountain is well known for its beauty,
peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan pine trees, and the landscape
which the clouds often surround the hills. This mythical mountain
constantly changes its image due to the winds and drizzle, which is
favored by traditional Chinese painting and literature.
Day 13: Huangshan – Shanghai (Coach) (B L)
After breakfast, transfer to Shanghai by coach. Upon arrival,
transfer to hotel.
Optional tour (approximately 4.5 hours): dinner + night tour in
Shanghai, CAD40p.p.
Hotel: Wyndham Bund East Shanghai (5 stars) or similar
Day 14: Shanghai (B L)
First visits the Shanghai Museum (Closed on Mondays), then you will
have free time for shopping at Nanjing Road where plenty of large stores
and boutiques are located. Then visit the bund, where you can experience
the modernity of Shanghai.
Optional tour: dinner + an exciting Acrobatics Show CAD40p.p.
Day 15: Shanghai – stops – Canada (B)
After breakfast, transfer to airport for flights back to your sweet
home. End of trip.
* Airport meet & greet transfers included when the whole tour package
is purchased from Sinorama.
* For cruise package, in the event of water level problems on
stretches of river, repair or maintenance work carried out by the river
and other local authorities on the river or canal banks, stretches of
river or canal, bridges, locks or docks, SINORAMA reserves the right to
change the published itinerary or to operate part of the itinerary by
motorcoach without notice.
* Highlight features are subject to change according to final itinerary.
Hmm, they do not mention the visits / tours / stops at -
Beijing Pearl Market,
Jade Factory,
Cloisonne Factory,
Visit of Chanqan Automobile Technology Exhibition
(Had 3D printing! as well as Changan E301 concept sports coupe),
Tea Plantation,
Silk factory,
Silk Embroidery Art Gallery
- yes, plenty of chances to buy stuff,,, but no pressure!
From another group, someone asked
Now for the important question--so how was the food?
The breakfasts were all quite good. Buffets available in
the supposed 5 star hotels and cruise ship.
Always plenty of bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs,
bread, (most often pastries) generally a side cook station
where they were doing fresh fried eggs and often omelets,
along with plenty of Chinese breakfast things. (Wife loved
the interesting new tries!)
Lunches varied. On the cruise ship it was again a good
buffet. Some were fine buffets. On the internal airplane
flight it was 'old fashioned' airplane food. One day
of a real long bus ride had an interesting 'Chinese'
box lunch. The day of the long high speed train trip,
I think somebody goofed,,,,, it was a sad little 'Subway'
*tm* sandwich.
Suppers on the cruise ship were again a quite good buffet
of vast majority Chinese food, but probably some effort
to appease USAians, Canadians, and UKers.
(their attempt at spaghetti did not create a 'hit'!)
Some nights again had the quite acceptable hotel buffets.
Some were at a restaurant that were served 'family style'
and were generally ok.
But yeah,,, after two weeks of Chinese suppers, it was nice
to get home to home cooking!
I should also include about beverages.
DO NOT DRINK, or even brush teeth with tap water.
It seems we were told even natives do not allow it in mouths.
But every lodging had in the room two 18oz~ bottles of water a day,
and most had a little 'hot pot' so we could make some extra.
And, more water bottles could be easily bought for low cost.

The breakfasts all had coffee, tea, warm milk, cold milk
and fruit juices.

The restaurants served 'family style' included about a
8 oz beer, or cola or sprite.

You can view plenty of the trip highlights on youtube videos.
For example

Yangtze Sinorama Gold 8 Cruises Chongqing-Yichang -Chongqing China -
Croisiere en Chine


Trip Yangtze Sinorama Gold3 Cruise 09-09-2017




Mont Huangshan Chine ( The Yellow Mountain)
a425couple
2018-03-29 15:27:30 UTC
Permalink
Post by a425couple
Serious GREAT bargain and very interesting vacation.
But, you need to let go of angers of 50 years ago.
Also, frustrations of sad balance of trade issues.
I did not post this information on this newsgroup,
because I doubted anyone would be interested.
But, who knows, strange things are possible.
Less than three weeks ago we were descending into China's
Beijing airport and looking out the window I was reminded of
Robert Silverberg's "The World Inside"
see =    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Inside
with it's world population of 75 billion people, most housed
in 3 Kilometer high Urban Monads.
Now China has 1.4 billion, and the big housing units I saw
were not particularly each terribly oversized, but surprising
to me in the large number being identically and simultaneously
built in rows.
I had a good sci-fi book with me, and in the plenty of time
on buses, high speed trains, airplanes, and cruise ship there
really was plenty of time for reading, but the views out the
windows regularly seemed interesting, so I read little.
For those who might be interested in a good trip,  we found,
and we did, a terrific bargain on a very good 14 day fully
guided tour in China.
It was only $1,199 per person
(plus about $180 per person to get Chinese Visas,
and we added two optional tours, the Shanghai Circus,
and a old fashioned Water Village marriage.)
Serious bargain, that covered airfare from most places in
US and Canada, 14 days, 13 nights in top rated hotels
or a cruise ship, & all meals except for 2.
I think, since there was almost a simultaneous to us
similar group from the UK (they flew over Russia etc.,
while we flew over the Pacific) that for UK they have
a very similar deal.
My wife originally found the deal on travel zoo newsletter
travelzoo.com  , and you can also.
http://www.sinorama.ca/tourpage/index.php?id=2016_2017_chhz_15d_a_en
Day 1: Canada – stops – Beijing
Depart for Beijing on overnight international flight.
Day 2: Beijing
Arrive at the airport of Beijing, transfer to hotel.
Hotel: Beijing Lijingwan Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 3: Beijing (B L D)
After breakfast, visit the Tiananmen Square,
then enter the imperial-red walls of the ornate Forbidden City,
the emperor' s palace - off limits to commoners for centuries.
You will also visit the Temple of Heaven.
Think of the processions of incense-bearing priest at the Temple of
Heaven, where the emperor went to humble himself in prayer to guarantee
realm's good harvest.
Day 4: Beijing (B L)
Enjoy your excursion to the ancient Great Wall, originally built as
protection from the Huns and other Nomadic tribes and never completely
dinner + night tour in Beijing, CAD40p.p.
Day 5: Beijing – Chongqing (Flight) (B L D)
After breakfast, transfer to airport for flight to Chongqing, visit a
zoo (panda) and embark on the cruise.
5-star deluxe cruise: Sinorama Gold 3 / Gold 8
Day 6: Yangtze River Cruise – Shibaozhai (B L D)
Excursion: Shibaozhai, literally "Precious Stone Fortress" is a hill
along the bank of the Yangtze River. On the river side of the hill is a
red pavilion of nine floors which leans against the side of the hill
providing a walkway to the temple at the top of the hill. Captain's
Welcome Party.
Day 7: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges (B L D)
Excursion: Embark on smaller boats to enjoy a closer encounter of the
beauty of the Three Gorges. Continue to Gorge Wu and Gorge Qutang.
Day 8: Yangtze River Cruise – Three Gorges Dam (B L D)
Excursion: Three Gorges Dam – the world's largest hydroelectricity
project. Passage of the Three Gorges Dam and the 5–stage Ship Lock.
Captain's Farewell Dinner.
Day 9: Yangtze River Cruise – Jingzhou – Wuhan (Coach) (B L D)
Disembark at Jingzhou, a city located on the banks of the Yangtze
River with 6000 years history where the culture of "Chu" was raised and
developed. City tour in Jingzhou then transfer to Wuhan and rest up in
hotel.
Hotel: Wuhan Howard Johnson Pearl Plaza Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 10: Wuhan – Hangzhou (High-Speed Train) (B D)
After breakfast, transfer to Hangzhou by high-speed train. Upon
arrival, transfer to hotel.
Hotel: Hangzhou Xanadu Crown Plaza Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 11: Hangzhou – Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) (Coach) (B L D)
Hangzhou is well known for its beauty of natural landscape and
historic monuments. You will join a cruise on the West Lake and visit
the village for the plantation of world renowned "Longjing Dragon Well
Tea". Depart for Huangshan and transfer to hotel on arrival.
Hotel: Huangshan International Hotel (5 stars) or similar
Day 12: Huangshan (B L D)
Excursion on Huangshan. The Mountain is well known for its beauty,
peculiarly-shaped granite peaks, Huangshan pine trees, and the landscape
which the clouds often surround the hills. This mythical mountain
constantly changes its image due to the winds and drizzle, which is
favored by traditional Chinese painting and literature.
Day 13: Huangshan – Shanghai (Coach) (B L)
After breakfast, transfer to Shanghai by coach. Upon arrival,
transfer to hotel.
Optional tour (approximately 4.5 hours): dinner + night tour in
Shanghai, CAD40p.p.
Hotel: Wyndham Bund East Shanghai (5 stars) or similar
Day 14: Shanghai (B L)
First visits the Shanghai Museum (Closed on Mondays), then you will
have free time for shopping at Nanjing Road where plenty of large stores
and boutiques are located. Then visit the bund, where you can experience
the modernity of Shanghai.
Optional tour: dinner + an exciting Acrobatics Show CAD40p.p.
Day 15: Shanghai – stops – Canada (B)
After breakfast, transfer to airport for flights back to your sweet
home. End of trip.
* Airport meet & greet transfers included when the whole tour package
is purchased from Sinorama.
* For cruise package, in the event of water level problems on
stretches of river, repair or maintenance work carried out by the river
and other local authorities on the river or canal banks, stretches of
river or canal, bridges, locks or docks, SINORAMA reserves the right to
change the published itinerary or to operate part of the itinerary by
motorcoach without notice.
* Highlight features are subject to change according to final itinerary.
Hmm, they do not mention the visits / tours / stops at -
Beijing Pearl Market,
Jade Factory,
Cloisonne Factory,
Visit of Chanqan Automobile Technology Exhibition
     (Had 3D printing! as well as Changan E301 concept sports coupe),
Tea Plantation,
Silk factory,
Silk Embroidery Art Gallery
- yes, plenty of chances to buy stuff,,, but no pressure!
From another group, someone asked
Now for the important question--so how was the food?
The breakfasts were all quite good.  Buffets available in
the supposed 5 star hotels and cruise ship.
Always plenty of bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs,
bread, (most often pastries) generally a side cook station
where they were doing fresh fried eggs and often omelets,
along with plenty of Chinese breakfast things.  (Wife loved
the interesting new tries!)
Lunches varied.  On the cruise ship it was again a good
buffet.  Some were fine buffets.  On the internal airplane
flight it was 'old fashioned' airplane food.  One day
of a real long bus ride had an interesting 'Chinese'
box lunch.  The day of the long high speed train trip,
I think somebody goofed,,,,, it was a sad little 'Subway'
*tm* sandwich.
Suppers on the cruise ship were again a quite good buffet
of vast majority Chinese food, but probably some effort
to appease USAians, Canadians, and UKers.
(their attempt at spaghetti did not create a 'hit'!)
Some nights again had the quite acceptable hotel buffets.
Some were at a restaurant that were served 'family style'
and were generally ok.
But yeah,,, after two weeks of Chinese suppers, it was nice
to get home to home cooking!
I should also include about beverages.
DO NOT DRINK, or even brush teeth with tap water.
It seems we were told even natives do not allow it in mouths.
But every lodging had in the room two 18oz~ bottles of water a day,
and most had a little 'hot pot' so we could make some extra.
And, more water bottles could be easily bought for low cost.
The breakfasts all had coffee, tea, warm milk, cold milk
and fruit juices.
The restaurants served 'family style' included about a
8 oz beer, or cola or sprite.
You can view plenty of the trip highlights on youtube videos.
For example
http://youtu.be/3II0M8BpL-g
Yangtze Sinorama Gold 8 Cruises Chongqing-Yichang -Chongqing China -
Croisiere en Chine
http://youtu.be/tLKWL5HznaY
Trip Yangtze Sinorama Gold3 Cruise 09-09-2017
http://youtu.be/4RZmib2Mjtc
http://youtu.be/s-iScvTzUb0
Mont Huangshan Chine ( The Yellow Mountain)
A couple of other interesting things I observed were:
1. New, big, apartment buildings sitting unoccupied.
2. Large numbers of bike-share company bikes in streets.

And here is one story about the #2,
(best to go to the address at bottom to see the pictures)
(And, although we certainly do not have apartment overcapacity
in Seattle area, we are getting some problems with rental
bicycles being left badly,,, or dumped in ship canal.)

The Bike-Share Oversupply in China: Huge Piles of Abandoned and Broken
Bicycles

ALAN TAYLOR MAR 22, 2018 30 PHOTOS IN FOCUS
Last year, bike sharing took off in China, with dozens of bike-share
companies quickly flooding city streets with millions of brightly
colored rental bicycles. However, the rapid growth vastly outpaced
immediate demand and overwhelmed Chinese cities, where infrastructure
and regulations were not prepared to handle a sudden flood of millions
of shared bicycles. Riders would park bikes anywhere, or just abandon
them, resulting in bicycles piling up and blocking already-crowded
streets and pathways. As cities impounded derelict bikes by the
thousands, they moved quickly to cap growth and regulate the industry.
Vast piles of impounded, abandoned, and broken bicycles have become a
familiar sight in many big cities. As some of the companies who jumped
in too big and too early have begun to fold, their huge surplus of
bicycles can be found collecting dust in vast vacant lots. Bike sharing
remains very popular in China, and will likely continue to grow, just
probably at a more sustainable rate. Meanwhile, we are left with these
images of speculation gone wild—the piles of debris left behind after
the bubble bursts.

HINTS: View this page full screen. Skip to the next and previous photo
by typing j/k or ←/→.

A worker rides a shared bicycle past a huge pile of unused shared bikes
in a vacant lot in Xiamen, Fujian province, China, on December 13, 2017. #

Reuters
Because of overcapacity at launch, over 10,000 bike-share service
bicycles were abandoned at a bicycle graveyard on January 13, 2018, in
Xiamen, Fujian, China. #

TPG / Getty
Shared bikes stored and piled in Shanghai on February 1, 2018. #

Elizaveta Kirina / Shutterstock
A worker untangles a rope amid piled-up bicycles in a lot in Xiamen,
Fujian province, China, on December 13, 2017. #

Reuters
A parking lot is seen packed with tens of thousands of shared bikes
belonging to the Chinese bike-sharing firm Bluegogo in Beijing's
Chaoyang District on March 5, 2018. Bluegogo, once China's third-largest
bike-rental service, ceased operations last November having run out of
money, leaving tens of thousands of its bicycles in limbo. Bluegogo was
recently acquired by Didi, another bike-share company, which says it
plans to replace some of the older Bluegogo bikes with its own. #

VCG via Getty
Confiscated sharing bicycles of different brands sit in a parking lot
of the Huangpu District Vehicle Management Company in Shanghai, China,
on February 28, 2017. #

Reuters
Thousands of illegally parked share bikes are temporary detained in a
sports field in Hefei, Anhui, China, on August 17, 2017. #

TPG / / Getty
An overhead view of part of a group of thousands of unused share bikes
in a field near Shanghai. #

Yibo Wang / Shutterstock
This is not a field of tulips, but a drone's-eye-view of tens of
thousands of unused share bikes lined up in a field near Shanghai. #

Yibo Wang / Shutterstock
A drone shot of part of a group of thousands of unused share bikes in
a field near Shanghai. #

Yibo Wang / Shutterstock
Bicycles from various bike-sharing services sit in a lot in an urban
village in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on September 7, 2017. #

Reuters
A man walks past piles of share bikes outside a repair shop in Beijing
on April 13, 2017. #

Reuters
A worker repairs a shared bicycle at a repair center in Beijing on
April 6, 2017. #

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP / Getty
An aerial view of shared bicycles, collected by police after they
blocked streets and sidewalks, abandoned in a field in Hangzhou,
Zhejiang province, on June 28, 2017. #

AFP / Getty
Chinese men walk past abandoned share bicycles, stored in a temporary
parking lot in Shanghai on August 24, 2017. #

Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty
Abandoned bicycles of various bike-sharing services sit overgrown in a
lot in Shanghai, China, on November 3, 2017. #

Aly Song / Reuters
Thousands of illegally parked share bikes are detained in a sports
field in Hefei, Anhui, China, on August 17, 2017. #

TPG / / Getty
Thousands of illegally parked share bikes sit detained in a sports
field on August 17, 2017, in Hefei, China. #

TPG / / Getty
Ofo bike-share service bicycles sit lined up in a street on November
23, 2017, in Beijing, China. #

TPG / Getty
This picture taken on February 20, 2017, shows an employee of a
parking firm putting bicycles from the bike-sharing companies Mobike and
Ofo onto a truck in Shanghai. #

Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty
On April 13, 2017, a Chinese worker moves frames for new Ofo bicycles
in a bicycle factory in Handan, north China's Hebei province. #

AFP / Getty
Shared bicycles block a pathway in Jiuxianqiao, Chaoyang district,
Beijing, on July 14, 2017. #

Zhangjin_net / Shutterstock
This picture taken on March 1, 2017, shows impounded bicycles from the
bike-sharing services Mobike and Ofo in Shanghai. #

Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty
Bicycles from various bike-sharing services sit in a lot in Shanghai,
China, on November 27, 2017. #

Aly Song / Reuters
Impounded bicycles from the bike-sharing services Mobike and Ofo sit
in Shanghai on March 1, 2017. #

Johannes Eisele / AFP / Getty
A worker from the bike-share company Ofo puts a damaged bike on a pile
beside a makeshift repair depot for the company. Thousands of derelict
bikes are being kept in the depot after coming off the road on March 29,
2017, in Beijing. #

Kevin Frayer / Getty
Bicycles from bike-sharing firms lie dumped near the entrance of
Xiashan park in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, on January 16, 2017. #

AFP / Getty
Abandoned share bicycles sit in a temporary lot in Shanghai on August
24, 2017. #

Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty
Nature begins to reclaim abandoned share bicycles, left in a temporary
parking lot in Shanghai on August 24, 2017. #

Chandan Khanna / AFP / Getty
Bicycles of various bike-sharing services completely fill a large lot
in Shanghai, China, on November 23, 2017. #


https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/03/bike-share-oversupply-in-china-huge-piles-of-abandoned-and-broken-bicycles/556268/
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