We fly April 12 at 8:45 am to Chicago, where we connect for a non-stop flight to Beijing that arrives at 15:00 Chinese time on April 13 (that's 3 am US Eastern).
We will spend the first night at the Sino-Swiss Hotel, then wake up at 04:30 so we can check out and catch a limo back to the airport for a 07:15 flight to Guilin in Guangxi province. There we catch a shuttle that takes us into Yangshuo, where we will stay at the Riverview Grand Hotel
While we are in Yangshuo, we will definitely see the beautiful sights along the Li River, and hopefully the weather will allow us to do some biking in the countryside and walking about town. There is a cooking school that is supposed to be a nice experience, so that will be one possible rainy day activity.
On April 17, we relocate to the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat, which is 20 mins into the countryside, along the quieter but equally scenic Yulong River. We wanted to stay at the retreat for the whole trip, but they were fully booked, so we're squeezing in the one night we could get.
On April 18, we catch an afternoon flight back to Beijing to meet up with the rest of our travel group. The next few days will be in Beijing, where we are scheduled to see the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, a Peking Acrobats show, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum and Bell Tower, and take a tour of the old neighborhoods (Hutongs). We'll stay at the brand-spanking new Days Inn right near the Forbidden City. Looking forward to those morning walks!
On the night of April 21, we catch an overnight train (soft sleeper cars!) to Xi'an, where we will of course see the famed Terra Cotta warriors, bike along the city walls, and visit the famed Muslim district. We'll stay at a hotel that looks like it may be "interesting" based on the reviews.
We leave for the city of Chengdu on April 24, where we'll stay at what looks like a very nice place. The highlight of Chengdu, aside from the Sichuan cuisine that Jim is pretty psyched about, will be visiting the pandas at the panda reserve.
More to come tomorrow - off to work!
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