My husband and I have wanted to go to China for a long time and saved hard for our trip of lifetime. There was just to two of us and we met with a guide who picks us up from the airport in most cities (except Hong Kong)and I have to say this was the most relaxing way to see the country, rather than a coach tour. You have different tour guides and drivers in each city, some speak perfect English, most of them are quite friendly.
Day 1 Beijing
We arrive into a hot and humid Beijing at 10am local time on the 10th of September. We are very tired after our flight as it's still the middle of the night to us. Frank (the Westernisation for his name he tells us), our guide for the few days we will spend in the city, meets us at the airport and takes us to our car and driver. One of the first things we noticed about Beijing is the crazy drivers. It appears that you can drive where you want ?it's almost eye wateringly bad with cars, buses, taxis, scooters and people all vying for the same spot. Thankfully we arrive at our hotel (the Marco Polo) in one piece and check in. After a wait of around 15 minutes we are allocated our room, unpack and have a rest before being taken to the Temple of Heaven mid-afternoon. The main temple building there (Hall for the Prayer of Good Harvests) is quite simply a marvel ?it's made entirely of wood and not a single nail has been used. The colours are vivid. Back to the hotel for a rest before dinner and an early night!
Day 2 Beijing (11th Sept)
An 8.30am start with a visit to the Sacred Road at the Ming Tombs. The road itself is very peaceful with lovely cypress trees, cicadas and birds singing. There are some fantastic stone statues of various animals and court officials guarding the road. The Emperor's tomb itself is very dull. It's incredibly plain with no decoration andis not at all what I was expecting. It's not worth singling out for a visit on it's own, I guess the fact that it's on the way to the Great Wall is the reason for it's popularity.
 After lunch we make it to Badaling and the Great Wall. Not ones for following the herds of tourists we chose the less walked north route (turn left at the main entrance). Some of it was incredibly steep but it was well worth it as we have some fantastic shots of the wall without anyone else in them. It really is stunning up there and I can't imagine how they did it. Of course you do get hassled by the usual tourist tack stalls selling the climbed the wall?T-shirts but I guess it's to be expected at the most popular point on the wall. Frank also took us to a copper vase factory where the workers lived on site. I'm not big on these government factory tours but this one was surprisingly interesting ?plates, vases and even pictures made from copper that was painted, fired and then polished.
Had the obligatory Peking Duck dinner in the evening and another early night.
Day 3 Beijing (12th Sept)
We set off from the hotel and walked through Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden City. The square for me will forever be associated with the violence that occurred there yet many Chinese tourists see it as a pilgrimage and flock to see Mao's corpse. The queue was hundreds long. The stories and history of the Forbidden City and very interesting and Frank, who has been a full time guide for 3 years, is a good storyteller. The Imperial Garden on the other hand was a revelation. It's set away from the palace and was our first introduction to a Chinese garden. It's vastly different from what we in the West would call a garden and I found it beautiful. The rock and water formations are at the same time interesting and calming and the various seating areas help you to see the garden from different angles.
 After lunch we visited the Summer Palace and for me this was my favourite place in the city. You really could spend all day there wandering about. It seems a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The various palaces and rooms have been beautifully restored and Kunming Lake is huge. After admiring the Marble Boat that Empress Cixi had built (using misappropriate palace funds) we took a boat over the lake to the Marco Polo bridge and looked at the many stone lions on top of the bridge to see if we could stop any with another tiny lion in it's ear as apparently it's lucky if you do. Needless to say we lucked out?
In the evening Before we went to a Kung Fu show, which was great fun.
Day 4 Xian (13th Sept)
Flight from Beijing to Xian takes off in time and we are met in arrivals by a lady this time called Agnes. It's lunchtime and we are starving so after quickly checking in to the Bell Tower hotel we head off for something to eat. It's very overcast and is raining ever so slightly. Agnes tells us that a lot of this is due to pollution. After lunch we visit the Wild Goose Pagoda, which smells wonderful with all the incense being burned in the various buildings. We have a walk on the city wall and get to know each other a bit better.
We also see signs of poverty for the first time when we are up on the wall a tiny rundown apartment block where Agnes tells us that up to 4 generations of the same family will live in a small 1 bedroomed apartment without an inside loo. It makes me count my blessings.
Dinner this evening is a new experience as we have a private dinner in a small room at a local eatery where we are served a variety of dishes and Chinese tea by two very attentive ladies.
 Day 5 Xian (14th Sept)
What a great day we had today. The Terracotta Army is a sight I won't forget in a hurry. The first sight of the main pit almost takes your breath away. They are magnificent. It's incredible to think that the large area you are looking at is still so far from the Emperor's tombs. Man, what an ego he must have had! The detail on the figures are amazing ?they are all that famous terracotta brown now but there are pictures there from when they were first uncovered and you can see just how brightly painted they were. What with the colour and all their weaponry and armour etc. they must have been a sight. Sadly now the exposure to the air had taken most of the colour away. We arrived early enough to miss the busloads of people that arrive mid morning and certainly made the most of it as we spent hours there.
After a late lunch we head back to the centre of town and the Muslim Quarter. The market there is great fun with lots of stalls selling all the tack any tourist could ever want but surprisingly you don't get hassled. In a certain part of the market you will find the entry to the mosque. It's been there since the 12th century, is still used today and is made entirely from wood. It's a pretty place and all you can hear is birdsong, hard to imagine you are the city centre.
Day 6 Chengdu (15th Sept)
We arrive in Chengdu at 2pm and are met by our guide Louie. She takes us straight to our hotel (the Tibet), which is the nicest one so far and has a simply stunning bathroom. We have a lazy afternoon before Louie collects us in the evening to take us out to a hotpot restaurant. Hotpot is a big thing in this province. You sit at your table and in the middle is a gas burner, they bring you a huge cooking pot with two basic soups?. The middle container is the hot soup and in the outside container is the mild soup. They then give you various plates of food with meat, veg and other unmentionables (which are optional for wimpy tourists!) and you dip it into the pot and cook it at your table. We are the only Westerners in the place.
 Day 7 Chengdu (16th Sept)
After breakfast we head off to the Panda research centre, which was our main reason for coming to Chengdu. They have a breeding programme there and we were lucky enough to see a tiny 2-week-old cub in the nursery. Altogether there were 4 cubs in the incubators, plus more being nursed by their mothers which you could watch on the webcams. After that we went to the main enclosure and I was amazed at how close we were to them. I'm sort of expected them to be in the distance but they weren't. One of them was asleep over a beam but the other two were quite active. The undisputed star of the show though was JinJin, who has just had her first birthday and is going to one of the symbols of the Beijing Olympics. She was really lively and was playing with her keeper. I was so lucky as we got there just when a VIP party were being allowed over to meet her and Louie arranged for me to go over. You have to wear plastic baggies etc. to protect her but I was allowed to touch her ?her fur felt thick and coarse. The keeper took some great pictures with my camera. It was an unexpected and thrilling experience. They also have some red pandas there which are much more cat-like.
After a fantastic morning we went to the Wenshu monastery and had a brilliant veggie lunch where some of the veg was cake?meat. It was all beautifully presented. There is also a great teahouse there and we just had to stop by as by now we were really into Chinese tea. Tea houses are very popular gathering places and people will spend many hours in there with their friends drinking tea and playing cards or mah jong or gossiping. You can also have your ears cleaned and so we just had to try it. The guy was most amused that some tourists wanted to have a go. It's a strange feeling ?he has lots of different implements ranging from one that looks like a Qtip to one that resembles a mini screwdriver. It's not unpleasant and your hearing is fantastic afterwards.
Day 8 Guilin (17th Sept)
Up at 4.30am for our flight to Guilin. We arrive at the hotel (Guilin Bravo) at just after 9am and amazingly they have arranged for a room to be ready for us incase we needed a rest, which is a lovely touch. We arrange to meet our guide, Ding Ding, at 2pm and she takes us to the Reed Flute Cave, which is stunning. I can honestly say that to date, it's the best cave I've ever been in. The formations inside were just fantastic and there were lots of underground pools where the reflections were amazing. Afterwards we climb up Fubo Hill for some sights of the city. Back at the hotel we have a swim to cool down as it's very hot.
The area around Guilin is beautiful, what I would call classic China.
After dinner we walk around the lake, which is all lit up. Along the way there is a fountain display in part of it and a pagoda jutting out into the water where there is a Chinese opera. A pleasant way to let our dinner digest.
Day 9 Li river / Yangshou (18th Sept)
After an early breakfast we catch a boat for a half day cruise on the Li River. Only one word will describe this and it's WOW! The scenery is stunning ?it really feels like the stuff you see on TV. It sounds clich?but it's true. Lovely peak mountains, bamboo, water buffalo and fishermen. I could have spent all day on board.
We have lunch on board and afterwards are offered snake wine ?yes it really is a large flagon with lots of dead snakes in it. Needless to say with my phobia of them, I passed!
We arrived in Yangshou about 1.30pm and had a wander around the town then Ding Ding took us into the countryside in an electric buggy. The roads are really rickety and I spend the whole ride with a huge smile on my face. We saw people working the fields in the way that they've done for hundreds of years and stopped off at a traditional farmhouse for a look around. The couple were elderly and made us feel right at home. They seemed really pleased to be showing some Westerners how they lived.
Author: Dawn Waldock Date: 21 October 2006
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