2009 Total Eclipse in China Tour
Experience the Greatest Astronomical Event of the Century At the Exceptional Viewing Platform in China

Date: July 16 – 24, 2009
Duration: 9 days tour • 2 domestic flights
Priced From: $5,930 pp, do
Single Sup Fee: $2,070
Visits: Beijing, Xian, Sheshan, Shanghai

Over the last decade, the culinary arts of China have been rediscovered in spectacular fashion.  We can say without exaggeration that Chinese cuisine is the world’s most refined and complex cooking tradition.  Our tour itinerary features the finest restaurants in both north and south China, each one renowned for its lovely interior and distinctive culinary style.   In our view, fine touring means a feast for the palate as well as for the eyes. Below are some of the restaurants we will enjoy and their culinary specialties:

Beijing Restaurants

Da Dong            Peking duck and northern delicacies style
Ken de Rouge    Chinese fusion style   
Shanglinyuan     Imperial style

Shanghai Restaurants

Dingxiang           Shanghai style     
Lu Bo Lang         Shanghai dim sum style

The key for a successful tour is to choose the best hotel locations.  In our view hotels should be located in historic districts where city life is so rich.  A few steps outside the lobby, we enter a completely new world.  We have selected hotels with this idea in mind; and below you’ll find some of the highlights you’ll enjoy during free time:

Grand Hotel in Beijing - So much to explore here, including: Tiananmen Gate (you can ascend to the observation deck) • Tiananmen Square and Mao’s Mausoleum • lovely Changpuhe Park • shopping on neon-lit Wangfujing Street • Legation District and fine western dining • new Qianmen culture street with old-time cable cars • National Performing Arts Center and 3 world-class theaters

Sofitel Hotel in Xian - Explore:  Venerable Bell and Drum towers • stone forest of stele tablets • imposing Xian city wall with parkland bordering the moat • shopping in lively market on Luomashi Street

Ritz Carlton in Shanghai - Explore:  Huangpu River and Shanghai lovers’ lane • colonial Bund and its old cosmopolitanism  • audacious Pudong skyscrapers • city life at People’s Park

July 18 • Beijing
Old and new China beckon outside our hotel and nearby is the imperial architectural axis that runs from Qianmen Gate, to the grand halls of the Forbidden City, to Jingshan Hill. This line demarcates the center of the Chinese universe–which is to say, all things cultural, social, political, and spiritual find their source here.  For the next few days we will experience the immense power of the city that radiates from a layout designed years ago in the Ming dynasty.

This morning, we enter the precincts of the immense complex of the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of imperial China. Truly one of the great achievements of civilization, its construction employed hundreds of thousands of workers between 1406 and 1420. Marvel at its expansive architecture, magnificent imperial gardens, and many museums of Chinese antiquities and treasures.

Enjoy a fabulous lunch at Ken De Rouge Restaurant featuring fine fusion cuisine.
 
Afterwards, visit the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace. The Palace was built in 1888 for the Empress Dowager Ci Xi, using funds originally intended for the Qing Imperial Navy. Saunter through the exquisite royal gardens and cruise on lovely Kunming Lake. Also walk the Painted Gallery, the longest garden walkway in China, famous for its lake views.

On the way back, drive by the Olympic Village to marvel at the new stadiums made famous by the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Herzog & de Meuron designed the National Stadium–the “Bird’s Nest;” and the firm PTW designed the National Swimming Center–the “Water Cube.”

This evening, savor the imperial city’s most famous delicacy, Peking duck, at the renowned Da Dong Restaurant. (b,l,d)

July 19 • Beijing
An optional early-morning walk to Changpuhe Park offers an opportunity to observe local residents practicing taiji and qigong.   This newly-constructed park features numerous traditional buildings and pavilions facing onto a variety of Chinese gardens, one of the most successful landscape creations in the country.

Next, head northeast from Beijing for the Great Wall of China. Encounter this extraordinary rampart at Mutianyu, a rugged section of the wall that offers easy access by foot or cable car. As is usually the case, the Great Wall presents a visual experience that dramatically exceeds visitors’ expectations. Construction of a few miles of the wall on such jagged peaks seems near miraculous, but the rampart stretches for 3,700 miles and passes through 16 provinces.

In the afternoon, we explore the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest creations of the Ming Dynasty. This stunning architecture realizes the great Chinese desire to incarnate heaven in material form, and represents the most advanced principles of mechanics and geometry of the time.

Tonight, we enjoy a special banquet at the Shanglinyuan Restaurant in lovely Beihai Imperial Park. (b,l,d)

July 20 • Beijing – Xian
This morning, fly to the ancient Tang Dynasty capital of Xian. Accommodations are at the deluxe Sofitel Hotel downtown.

Upon arrival, visit the extraordinary 2,300-year-old terra-cotta warriors at the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand on the original site of the emperor’s burial complex, where peasants discovered them in 1974.

Also enjoy a stroll along Muslim Street and visit its Grand Mosque. Chinese Muslim culture traces its heritage from the flourishing Silk Road culture of the Tang dynasty.

Our day concludes with a dumpling banquet, featuring 20 varieties of traditional Chinese dumplings.  (b,l,d)

July 21 • Xian – Sheshan
After breakfast we fly to Shanghai. Upon arrival we drive to Sheshan 20 miles outside Shanghai.

This is also the location of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) and Museum located on the top of Sheshan Hill— the highest geological point in Shanghai and an ideal viewing site for the total eclipse!

Founded by French Catholic missionaries in 1900, the French-style main building of the complex houses a 40cm double refracting telescope, the oldest astrograph in Shanghai and the treasure of the museum. We enjoy a tour of the facilities.

Then, check in the deluxe Le Meridian Sheshan Hotel and enjoy dinner here. (b,l,d)

July 22 • Total Eclipse -- Shanghai
We rise early today to set up equipment and cameras for the eclipse. The duration of total eclipse is 5 minutes 36 seconds--the longest of this century!

After this amazing event, we drive to Shanghai and check in our accommodations at the deluxe Ritz Carlton Hotel downtown.

Lunch is at Lu Bo Lang Restaurant, famous for Shanghai dim sum.

After lunch, go to Yuyuan Gardens, which is designed in six unique parts, making the garden seem much larger than it really is.  We find one of the best Ming rockeries here, and wending the zigzag bridge to Huxingting Teahouse is a delight.

In the afternoon, take a walking tour along the historic Bund, famous for its colonial buildings of ‘20s and ‘30s vintage, but it also serves as a looking glass onto China’s dynamic future.

Then, explore Xintiandi—a stylish restaurant and shopping district designed by MIT architect Ben Wood.  Filled with restaurants, clubs, and fashion boutiques, Xintiandi exudes artistic sophistication and is widely imitated throughout China today for chic redevelopment projects.

The evening is free, and dinner is on one’s own at Xintiandi. Your guide can assist with recommendations and arrangements.  (b,l)

July 23 • Shanghai
This morning, we divert ourselves among the wonderful collections of the Shanghai Museum, including its world-class displays of Chinese bronzes, jade, pottery, ceramics, furniture, paintings, and calligraphy.

After lunch, step into new China at the Pudong Economic Zone, with its spectacular skyscrapers reshaping the horizon.  A who’s who of multinationals have taken up residence here, turning the former marshland into a center of world commerce.

This evening, enjoy a memorable farewell banquet at the Dingxiang Garden Restaurant, famous for Shanghai cuisine. After dinner, we’ll take a final stroll along the Bund. (b,l,d)

July 24 • Shanghai – U.S.
Today transfer to the airport for your flight home.  Arrive in the U.S. on the same day.  (b)

**Breakfast (b), Lunch (l) and Dinner (d) are included in the day’s program.

This tour features both pre- and post-tour extensions. 

Our tour extensions are based on the travel principle of focusing on distinctive regions of China to absorb their individual character.  Rather than rushing through the country, we prefer to spend an extended period in one place and get to know the nuances of its culture and natural environment.  China lends itself to this kind of touring for its regions vary immensely from each other, and so reward the traveler interested in the subtle beauties to be found there.

Pre-tour extensions include the 1-day What’s New in Beijing Day Tour & the 3-day Imperial Grandeur at the Chengde Imperial Resort.

Post-tour extensions include the 5-day Grand Mountains and Ancient Villages in Anhui & the 5-day Elegance of South China in Guilin. 

Please see promotional literature for each of these extensions.

12/09