Monday, June 21, 2010

Special Highlights

Here at China Discovery Tours we offer China City Land Packages and Asia Tour Land Extensions, to enhance your experiences while in China and Asia.

Today I would like to highlight a few of different options for you. They can be sold separately or added onto your already existing tour.

Under our China City Land Packages we offer,

Lhasa - 4 Days / 3 Nights Package
(The Rood of the World)
Day 1: Transfer to the hotel.
Day 2: Jokhang Temple, Sera Monastery, and Barkhor Street. (AB, L)
Day 3: Potala Palace, Norbu Linka, and Tibetan History Museum. (AB,L)
Day 4: Transfer to the airport. (AB)



Guilin - 3 Days / 2 Nights Package
(The subject of China's greatest works of art)
Day 1: Transfer to the hotel.
Day 2: Li River Cruise. After the cruise we browse the Yangshuo free market for local crafts and artwork. (AB, L)
Day 3: Elephant Trunk Hill, Reed Flute Cave, then transfer to the airport. (AB)
(Additional optional evening activities are available)





If you would like some additional information on the different China City Land Packages that we offer here at China Discovery Tours, you can do so here:  http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/china/2010-CityTours.html

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce our Asia Tour Land Extensions to you a little bit more in detail.

Tokyo - 4 Days / 3 Nights
(Land of the Rising Sun)
Day 1: Transfer to the hotel.
Day 2: Half-Day City Tour - Imperial Palace, Tasaki Pearl Gallery, Asakusa Kannon Temple and Nakamise Shopping Arcade.
Day 3: Mt. Fuji (L)
Day 4: Free day then transfer to the airport.


If you would like some additional information about the Asia Tour Land Extensions that we offer here at China Discovery Tours, you can do so here:
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/china/2010-ext.html


If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call one of our travel specialists, they would be more than happy to assist you with your questions. They can be reached toll free at 1-866-992-4462. Please ask for Joe, Tselo, Kristie or William.

-CDT Blogger Team!
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/

Thursday, June 17, 2010

The Karate Kid was filmed in China

A current box office movie, The Karate Kid was filmed in various parts of China. The producers and directors took full advantage of the fact that they were filming in China, and thus allowing for some really incredible fight scenes.Within the movie you can see Beijing's Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, and even a Taoist holy site at Wudang Mountain.

This movie is the biggest Hollywood-Chinese co-production to date. The Chinese provided about one eighth of the films $40 million dollar budget.

Despite mixing Kung-Fu with Karate, there is a huge controversy raging on the internet about the name of the movie. Many people argue that the title of the movie should have been The Kung-Fu Kid, instead of The Karate Kid. Considering that Karate originated in Japan, and Kung-Fu originated in China.


 A website where you can read about other peoples comments about the movie, can be located here:
http://blog.seattlepi.com/psthearts/archives/211142.asp

If after seeing this movie, you are interested in getting to visit China and seeing the scenery first hand. We have many different tours available, that visit many of the sites that are located within the duration of the movie.

You can take a look at the tours we offer here at China Discovery Tours here:
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/CD/2010-tour-packages.html

If you have any questions please feel free to call and our travel specialists would be more than happy to assist you. Please call 1-866-992-4462 and ask for Joe, William, or Tselo.

China Discovery Tours Blogger Team!
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Golden China Discovery Tours

Our Golden China Discovery Tour is a 13 day/10 night tour that takes you to Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Shanghai, and Suzhou.




Experience the grandeur of China on our Golden China Discovery Tour. You will enjoy touring some of China's most historically significant, picturesque and compelling cities. From the dynamic and influential capital city of Beijing, to the ancient city of Xi'an, you will be captivated by this tours diverse sights. Guilin, city of beautiful rivers and landscapes - captured elegantly by artists of the majestic Tang dynasty is also on this tour. Finish with an amazing Shanghai, "Pearl of the Orient" and Suzhou, a city of scenic gardens, canals, and Chinese culture.

Here is a brief description of what the Itinerary for this tour would look like.

Day 1-2: Depart from LAX
Board a Trans-Pacific flight to Beijing.

Day 3: Beijing (AB,L,D)
Arrive in Beijing in the early morning. Prior to checking into the hotel, we visit the sites of the 2008 Olympic games such as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. After a short rest, we will visit the Summer Palace and a pearl factory.

Day 4: Beijing (AB,L,SD)
After breakfast, we visit the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. In the evening, we are treated to a famous Peking Duck Welcome Banquet.

Day 5: Beijing (AB,L,D)
Along the way to the Great Wall, we stop by a jade factory. After exploring the Great Wall, lunch is served. We then return to the city for shopping followed by dinner and a Kung Fu show.

Day 6: Beijing - Xian (AB,L,SD)
This morning is free for leisure or enjoy an optional Hutong Tour before an afternoon flight to Xian. In Xian, we attend a spectacular Tang Dynasty Show and later indulge ourselves with a Chinese Dumpling Banquet.

Day 7: Xian (AB,L,D)
Spend an exciting day as we visit the Terracotta Warriors excavation site. Three pits contain over 7,300 warriors, horses, and chariots crafted more than 2,000 years ago in honor of China's first Emperor Qin Shi Huang. After lunch, we continue to the Big Goose Pagoda and the Ancient City Wall.

Day 8: Xian - Guilin (AB,L,D)
In the morning, we take a flight to Guilin. Explore Elephant Trunk Hill and later marvel at the stalagmites in the Reed Flute Cave.

Day 9: Guilin (AB,L,D)
We cruise down the Li River and arrive in Yangshuo free market. In the evening, we attend a Folk Dance and Song Show.

Day 10: Guilin - Shanghai (AB,L)
Depart Guilin for Shanghai where we visit the Yu Yuan Garden, Old Shanghai District, and take a ride up the famous Pearl TV Tower. After lunch we stroll along Nanjing Road and the Bund.

Day 11: Shanghai - Suzhou (AB,L,D)
Today we visit Suzhou, known for its delicate gardens. In Suzhou we visit Tiger Hill, the Linger-in Garden and Silk Factory #1 before returning to Shanghai. An optional Shanghai Harbor cruise or Shanghai Acrobat Show completes the evening.

Day 12: Shanghai (AB)
Free day to explore Shanghai. We suggest visiting the Shanghai 2010 Expo beginning May 1st,2010 through October 31st, 2010!

Day 13: Shanghai - USA (AB)
Free morning in Shanghai before catching a flight home via Beijing.


For more information about the Golden China Discovery tour that we offer you can look at it here on our website: http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/china/2010-ta-itn.html

If you have any questions please feel free to call our travel specialists and we would be more than happy to help you.

Please call toll free at 1-866-992-4462 and ask for Joe, Kristie, William, or Tselo.

-China Discovery Tours Blogger Team!
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/

Monday, June 14, 2010

Sites of Xian

We would like to highlight a few scenic sites within China's Ancient Capital, Xian. 

The Terracotta Warriors were buried within the vicinity of the mausoleum of China's first Emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The figures vary in height according to the importance of their roles. The tallest of the figures represent generals of his army. To this day thousands of warriors have been un-earthed and are on display as a popular tourist attraction. However, it is possible that there are still thousands of these warriors that are still buried in pits that have yet to be discovered.

The Big Goose Pagoda was built during the Tang Dynasty and renovated during the Ming Dynasty this pagoda is one of the most well preserved Buddhist pagodas in all of China. The Pagoda holds many ancient Buddhist artifacts such as sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India.

The Ancient City Wall of Xian was first constructed as the first city wall of Chang’an around Xian.  The Ming Dynasty however is responsible for building what is known as Chinas most complete surviving city wall, its construction was started in 1370.




-China Discovery Tours Blogger Team!
 http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Helping Hands

Have you been wondering about the Shanghai 2010 Expo? It is not too late to get to be a part of it! The Expo has not only been bringing in alarmingly high numbers of visitors but it has also been bringing in large numbers of people that want to help out by being involved.

The people that have been helping to make the 2010 Shanghai Expo possible are the thousands and thousands of volunteers. Approximately 172,000 local volunteers have been doing their part to make the Expo run as smoothly as possible.

Beijing selected about 200 helpers out of the 2 million volunteers that they had register and divided them into different teams, to help different sections of the Expo. A majority of the assistants that were selected had previously worked the Beijing Olympics, the National Day parade, and earthquake rescue work.

Originally the Expo on planned on placing 77,000 assistants at the Expo venues and 130,000 assistants at service stations in the city. So far about 72,000 volunteers have been in helping at the venues and about 100,000 people have worked helping in the city stations.

Large portions of the volunteers are local college students that are all doing their part to lend a helping hand. It is said that about 90 percent of the venues assistants and 35 percent of the cities assistants are college students.

Does it make you wonder why so many people would volunteer for this one event alone? Well there are many different reasons as to why, but the only way to be able to experience this event. Would be for you to plan on going for yourself. Luckily here at China Discovery Tours; we have some different tour options that not only show you some of the scenic sites of China's Cities, but they also allow you to explore the Expo at your own pace.

To get a little better acquainted with the tours that China Discovery Tours offers relating to the Expo, you can locate them here:http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/CD/china_expo.html/

Please call our travel specialists for more details. Please call toll free (866) 922-4462 and ask for Joe, William, or Tselo for more information.

China Discovery Tours Blogger Team!
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/

Friday, June 4, 2010

The Shanghai Expo started on May 1, 2010 and will be going on through October 31, 2010. If you are interested in attending the Expo, China Discovery Tours has a few different tour options that we would like to recommend to you. Our tours not only allow you to see the scenic sites of China in various cities; but they also allow you to spend a few wonderful days browsing the different Pavilions of the Expo at your own leisurely pace.

To get a little better acquainted with the tours that China Discovery Tours offers relating to the Expo, you can locate them here:http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/CD/china_expo.html/

With the theme of "Better City, Better Life," the Shanghai Expo has been bringing in numbers of visitors with great success. Since the Shanghai Expo started on May 1, 2010 it has brought in over 9,567,800 people. Yesterday it had a number of 436,900 visitors alone. So far the record breaking day was on May 29, 2010 and it had over 505,000 people visit. Can you imagine just how many people will have had the chance to visit the Expo before it ends? Will you be able to say that you were one of them as well?

With visitor numbers being so high and still rising in numbers, a warning has been issued by Health Experts in concern for those whom have various heart conditions. Those who have previously suffered from a heart attack are advised to avoid extremely crowded areas of the Expo whenever possible, due to the temperature rises and visitor flow. Those who suffer from coronary heart disease as well as hypertension have also been advised to avoid highly crowded areas whenever possible. Remembering to bring their medicine with them to the Expo is also highly recommended. Anyone with any of the conditions listed above is also being encouraged to bring family memebers with them to accompany them while visiting the Expo.

Since wheelchairs were in such high demand at the Expo, the Shanghai Charity Foundation donated 1,000 wheelchairs to the 2010 World Expo.


 The Featured Pavilion for tomorrow... June 5, 2010 is the Kazakhstan Pavilion.



The Pavilions theme is Astana - the Hearth of Eurasia, and it shows the world its Young and Dynamically Developing Capital, Astana. The interior of the pavilion is composed to eight different segments and combined together they express the pavilions theme to its fullest extent. The different sections of the pavilion are composed of; Territory of Knowledge, 4D Cinema, Urban Matrix 2030, Interactive Entertainments, Area of Astana, Soft Tribune, Art-Zone, and Farewell to Kazakhstan. All of which were designed to better acquaint you with Eurasia and how it is Developing.


 Are you interested in attending the 2010 Shanghai Expo? It's not to late to become a part of the activities.

Please call our travel specialists for more details. Please call toll free (866) 922-4462 and ask for Joe, William, or Tselo for more information.

China Discovery Tours Blogger Team!
http://www.chinadiscoverytours.com/