Pure China: Double Whammy Deal FLASH

Washington-based China Spree is offering a knockout 9-day/7-night winter special for $999 from November through February, 2014. This ultra-low price includes non-stop transpacific air from San Francisco, internal China flights, transfers, hotels, American breakfasts, some lunches, professionally guided sightseeing and entrance fees in China’s superstar cities. True!

In Beijing, home is the supremely comfortable and ideally-located 4-star Trader’s Hotel. See everything: Tiananmen Square; the Forbidden City, the Sacred Way of Ming Tombs, the masterful Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and walk on the truly awesome Great Wall.

In vibrant Shanghai, sleep for seconds in the 5-star Shanghai JC Mandarin right on Nanjing Road.  See, walk, smell and feel life on the Bund, the riverside promenade and former heart of colonial Shanghai, and zoom up the Oriental Pearl Tower for a bird’s eye view of the city. Shop and hop optional tours.

The $999 rate is per person, double occupancy. Well-priced add-on air fares are available from many other cities. For additional information on their “Tale of China Two Greatest Cities Tour” phone:  866-652-5656.

China Treasures On Sale!

Low cost-high value tour of China

The exceptional-value trip to China has just popped up in the market and seeing is barely believing:  14 days from San Francisco for $2199 or from New York, Washington, D.C. or Chicago for $2,499 per person.  This translates to a mere $157-$178 a day.  And the price is all inclusive:  excellent hotel accommodations, most meals, great guides, a fascinating and fun itinerary and all transportation including transpacific flights.  Tell us you can resist.

China Spree’s “China’s Best Treasures” hits all the high notes and some unexpected ones too: Beijing, the Forbidden City and Great Wall; lunch with a family living in a hutong (authentic old neighborhood); Xian to stare awestruck at the Terracotta Warriors; gorgeous Guilin; the Suzhou classical gardens.  Ride a “gondola” in one of the Tongli canals and be in the buzz in sophisticated Shanghai, China’s dazzling cultural and financial center.  See the extraordinary green undulations of the Long Sheng rice mountain terraces and lunch atop the Dragon’s Spine. Photographers will faint.  And ride the Maglev, the ultra high-speed magnetic levitation train.

Enjoy a real Peking duck dinner, nibble through a dim sum banquet, slurp a hot pot lunch, a tea banquet, and scarf down a farewell feast. Elaborate American breakfast buffets in every hotel.  And the hotels – - check ‘em out:  The Marriott Beijing City Wall, Pullman Shanghai Skyway, Xian Grand Noble, and Sheraton Guilin – all 5-star, offering every comfort and convenience.

And whom do we thank for such an incredible opportunity?  The trusty, tightly focused, ever-growing China Spree.  For details, please click www.chinaspree.com, then “China’s Best Treasures” tour. Or phone: 866-652-5656 in Washington.

Rocket To The Roof: The Tibet Train

Qinghai -Tibet Railway, highest railway in the world, runs for about 1,242 miles most of which is about 13,000 feet high and surely the high way to go for travel between Lhasa, capital of Tibet (“rooftop of the world”) and Xining, the capital of the Qinghai Province of China.  This engineering miracle took half a century to complete from design through construction; and has been rocketing skyward since 2006.

Train rides through this vast and mysterious area of the world of tundra, frozen and not, distant mountain peaks, unspoiled lakes and villages, can ferry up to 4,000 people a day which means this remote area is becoming far less so. Is this good news?  Not sure.  It will certainly boost Tibet tourism and trade in this corner of the less-Far East.

Warning: altitude sickness is a serious risk for those with heart or blood pressure issues, but snorting oxygen onboard helps.

Early internet graphics:

But for a comprehensive new website in plain English offering a wide array of trips, click: http://tibettravel.org/tibet-train which is operated by CITS, a top online China-based Tibet tour operator.

Too chicken to hop aboard?  Just click here.

 

Your Best China

… and not borrowed from your parents! Consider this: 10-days to devour the highlights of Beijing, Shanghai, Xian and Suzhou for an amazing $1,399 (plus tax), saving more than $1000 if booked independently. This big bargain price includes round-trip non-stop air from San Francisco, 4-star hotels, many meals including daily American breakfasts; evening shows, and in-depth sightseeing with professional guides—which add up to one fabulous deal.

While in Beijing, explore the 100-acre Tiananmen Square; the 999-room Forbidden City palace; ride a rickshaw through Old Beijing’s hutongs (traditional neighborhoods of alleys and courtyards); and lunch with a dumpling-maker in a family home. A wow-welcome Beijing Duck dinner. A full-day excursion to the Ming Tombs. Visit the awesome Great Wall of China, the gorgeous Temple of Heaven, and the former royal Summer Palace.

Fly to the ancient capital of Xian for the famous 2,200 year old Terra Cotta Warriors, a dim sum banquet, and Tang Dynasty stage show.

In Shanghai, China’s cutting-edge financial center, sightseeing takes in the skyscraping Pudong, symbol of modern China, and the Bund, the still-throbbing heart of colonial Shanghai. After dinner: the Shanghai Acrobats.

A full-day excursion to the canals and classical gardens of Suzhou, the “Venice of the East”, and Tongli, a pretty little water town. And, finally, believe it or not, a day at leisure with free time for shopping and snooping in Shanghai.

This remarkable high-value/low cost trip is brought to you by Washington-based China Spree. Departures this November 2011, and also in January, February and March 2012. For add-on airfares from your gateway city, tax, single supplements, click: chinaspree.com then “China Tours”, then “Winter Specials”; or phone 866-652-5656.