China is an unique destination and we spent three weeks exploring some of the major sights of the country. Our goal was to go from Beijing to Hong Kong, relying primarily on trains. We made it most of the way by this mode of travel; a holiday period delayed our exit from Xian so we took one internal flight to make up the time. Along the way we saw everything from the Great Wall to pandas to local markets, making this a memorable experience.
China Itinerary
| Day | Date | Location/Activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 September 2001 | Fly from Los Angeles to Seoul, South Korea, crossing the International Date Line |
| 2 | 23 September 2001 | Fly from Seoul to Beijing; walk around Tiananmen Square |
| 3 | 24 September 2001 | Take a bus to the Great Wall at Huanghua; Hike a short section of the wall |
| 4 | 25 September 2001 | Visit the Forbidden City; Have a Mongolian Hot Pot Dinner |
| 5 | 26 September 2001 | Take a 10 hour train to Luoyang |
| 6 | 27 September 2001 | Visit the Caves of the Longman; Have dinner at a street market |
| 7 | 28 September 2001 | Take a six hour train trip to Xian |
| 8 | 29 September 2001 | Visit the Terracotta Warriors |
| 9 | 30 September 2001 | Xian: Tour the Forest of the Steles in the Provincial Museum; Visit the Big and Little Goose Pagodas; Climb the Bell Tower |
| 10 | 1 October 2001 | Take an overnight train to Chengdu |
| 11 | 2 October 2001 | Relax in Chengdu |
| 12 | 3 October 2001 | Visit the Panda Breeding Research Base; Fly to Kunming and then to Dali |
| 13 | 4 October 2001 | Relax in Dali; Visit the Three Pagodas |
| 14 | 5 October 2001 | Visit the Market in Wase |
| 15 | 6 October 2001 | Take a 4 1/2 hour bus to Kunming, and relax, enjoying Across-the-Bridge-Noodles and attending an English Corner at night |
| 16 | 7 October 2001 | Take a day trip to visit the Stone Forest |
| 17 | 8 October 2001 | Take a 30 hour, overnight soft sleeper train to Guilin |
| 18 | 9 October 2001 | Continue train to Guilin; take bus to Yangshao |
| 19 | 10 October 2001 | Relax in Yangshao; Take a bamboo boat ride and hike to the top of Moon Hill |
| 20 | 11 October 2001 | Take Li River morning boat trip from Xingping to Xidi |
| 21 | 12 October 2001 | Yangshao: Hire guide to ride bikes in the countryside; Visit cave; Have lunch in a village; Take nine hour overnight bus to Guangzhao (Canton) |
| 22 | 13 October 2001 | Take two hour hovercraft from Guangzhao to Hong Kong; Tour the Hong Kong History Museum |
| 23 | 14 October 2001 | Have Dim Sum breakfast; Explore Hong Kong Island; Visit Victoria Peak at sunset |
| 24 | 15 October 2001 | Travel from Hong Kong to Los Angeles, via Seoul, South Korea |