Many of TraveLearn’s clients have encouraged us to develop some less expensive Learning Vacations to meet the needs of more budget conscious travelers. We are, therefore, pleased to introduce Budget Learning Vacations for many of our destinations. These are in addition to our regular excellent value Learning Vacations. All of these Budget Learning Vacations will have the special learning features of our regular Learning Vacation programs:
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The same experienced and outstanding escorts and local guides that we have used over the years for our regular programs.
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Special lectures and field experiences conducted by our in-country resource people.
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Contact with local people and their lifestyles through specially arranged small group luncheons or dinners.
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Small groups to help facilitate greater interaction between the participants and our escorts, guides, and resource people. |
The major difference in the programs will be the use of more modest accommodations and meal arrangements for the Budget Learning Vacations, and we will also require a minimum of 15 paying participants for these programs. The maximum number of participants will still remain at 20. In some instances we have reduced the number of days for the program to achieve a savings for budget minded travelers.
Day 1 - Thursday
USA / International Date Line
Depart from the U.S.
Day 2 - Friday
Beijing
Evening arrival in Beijing, China's second-largest city and capital for 700 years. Here you will have the opportunity to visit sites that connect the illustrious past of imperial China with the modernizing present of the People's Republic.
Beijing Qianmen Jianguo Hotel
Day 3 - Saturday (B, L, D)
Beijing
A memorable visit to the 2,000-year-old Great Wall. Dating from the 4th century B.C. and stretching over 3,000 miles across China’s northern frontier, the Great Wall remains one of the world’s most remarkable engineering feats. After lunch, take a rickshaw tour of Beijing’s ancient Hutongs to see the daily life of ordinary residents. Enjoy the culinary experience of a Peking Duck Dinner.
Beijing Qianmen Jianguo Hotel
Day 4 - Sunday (B, L, D)
Beijing
You will take an extended tour of the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, which is the largest example of Chinese architecture in existence and contains palaces, pavilions, gates and chambers and is surrounded by a wall and moat. Visit the world’s largest plaza, Tian An Men, where the first flag of the People’s Republic of China was raised in 1949. View the impressive monuments, museums and parade grounds of Tian An Men. Lecture on China’s “One Child Policy” by representatives of the China Population Information and Research Center. Also visit the Summer Palace.
Beijing Qianmen Jianguo Hotel
 Day 5 - Monday (B, L, D)
Beijing / Xi'an
Morning flight to Xi'an, considered to be the cradle of Chinese civilization and one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. See the seven-story Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which offers a splendid view of the city. A visit to the City Wall, the longest and best preserved wall from the Ming Dynasty.
Jianguo Hotel
"Learning about China's people, its culture, its history through the national
and local guides was what I liked most about my Learning Vacation to China.
The guides shared their knowledge of China with pride and enthusiasm. My
mind is richer for learning China's long history and my heart is kinder for
learning more about its people and its culture. I return to the United
States as an unofficial ambassador to China. I encourage others to go to
China and become enlightened."
China - L Noblin, TX
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Day 6 - Tuesday (B, L, D)
Xi'an
After breakfast, attend a lecture “Education in China” at a local university where you will have the opportunity to speak with some of the students. Visit the archaeological excavation of the 6,000-figure life-sized Terra Cotta Warriors that guard the still unopened burial mound of Qin Shi Huang, the emperor who unified China in 221 B.C. View a cooking demonstration reflecting Chinese culinary arts and then experience a Royal Dumpling Banquet. This evening attend the Tang Dynasty Cultural Show.
Jianguo Hotel
Day 7 - Wednesday (B, L, D)
Xi'an / Chongqing
Take a morning flight to Chongqing, the "mountain city" of Chongqing which clings to the steep slopes of the Yangtze. Visit the Panda Zoo. Chongqing was the short-lived wartime capital of China, which suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Japanese. Visit the Stillwell Museum and learn about the time Stillwell served as Commander-in-Chief of the American forces in the China-Burma-India theater, between 1941 and 1945 when the threat of the Japanese Imperial Army was finally overcome. After dinner embark on the President Cruise Ship, one of the premier cruise ships on the Yangtze River to begin your three-night Yangtze River Cruise.
President Cruise Ship
Day 8 - Thursnday (B, L, D)
Yangtze River Cruise
After breakfast, take a shore excursion to Shibaozhai, built in the Qing Dynasty in 1750 with a height of 56 meters. Shibaozhai is simply a rectangular rock with sheer cliffs, standing on the riverside. A red wooden pagoda, 12 stories high, was built against the rock wall and you can climb to the top by spiral staircase in the pagoda. 160 meters above the river, enjoy a panoramic view of the winding river, the village and the countryside. Hear a lecture and view a demonstration on Chinese Cooking.
President Cruise Ship
Day 9 - Friday (B, L, D)
Yangtze River Cruise
After an early breakfast, depending on the water level of the Yangtze, disembark and board the small motor boats or authentic sampans to sail through the Lesser Three Gorges for an excursion on a crystal clear tributary river of the Yangtze. You can see the ruins of the ancient plank road and suspending coffins of the ancient Ba people hanging on the cliffs above you as you enjoy the spectacular scenery. Enter Wu Gorge and Qutang Gorge, the last of the Three Gorges. The combination of the height of the gorges and the narrowness of the river in this area - less than a hundred yards in places make the water swift. View the cliffs and peaks with pinnacles soaring up to 4,000 feet that have inspired Chinese landscape artists and poets for thousands of years. Hear a lecture and view a demonstration on Chinese painting. Enjoy a special banquet featuring Szechuan cuisine.
President Cruise Ship
"I liked having a National Guide with us the entire trip and local guides at
each location. Our guide was so helpful, kind and thoughtful, he said we
were his "American Mothers" and treated us with great respect and
consideration. It added so much to our educational experience to have a
national and a local guide to ask questions. The big attraction were
marvelous: Great Wall, Terra Cotta Warriors, etc. but the visit to a
University and a typical Hutong home were 'icing on the cake'!"
China - M. Bailey, IL
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Day 10 - Saturday (B, L, D)
Yangtze River Cruise / Shanghai / Suzhou
Disembark at Yichang and visit the world largest Three Gorges Dam with unprecedented magnitude standing 185 meters high and 2.3km long, a modern engineering feature that only the Great Wall in the ancient China could parallel. This controversial water conservative project will force 1.3 million inhabitants in the Three Gorge area to relocate in various parts of China, and provoke some eco-environmental concerns, but it will also benefit the people in the aspects of flood control, power generation, and navigation improvement. Transfer to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Arrive and transfer to Suzhou.
Nanlin Hotel
Day 11 - Sunday (B, L, D)
Suzhou (Grand Canal Cruise)
Visit one of Suzhou's classic gardens. Fisherman’s Garden (Wangshiyuan), built in the Southern Song Dynasty and than rebuilt during the reign of Emperor Qian Long of the Qing Dynasty was designed in a style which integrates the garden with the residence. The unique design of Fisherman’s Garden gives the visitor the feeling that there are gardens inside the garden. Learn about the secrets of silk making on your visit to the Silk Factory and Embroidery Institute. Take a boat ride up the fabled Grand Canal, which stretches over 1,000 miles from Beijing to Hangzhou and crosses the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. It was constructed more than 2,000 years ago as China's main north-south artery. The activity of boats and people both on and along the Canal will provide you with unforgettable sights and photos. Over ten million Chinese farmers produce more than half of the world's supply of silk fiber.
Nanlin Hotel
Day 12 - Monday (B, L, D)
Suzhou / Shanghai
Visit The Lingering Garden, built in the Ming Dynasty and renovated and expanded in the early 19th century during the Qing Dynasty demonstrates a compact layout and a delicate decorative art. Travel through the countryside to Shanghai, one of the largest and busiest cities in the world. See the famous waterfront Bund, once the financial center of the foreign powers. Visit a Children's Palace
Argyle International Hotel
 Day 13 - Tuesday (B, L, D)
Shanghai
After breakfast, visit the newly opened Shanghai Museum of Art and History, the finest in all of China, and considered one of the great museums of the world. Visit the residential area called Caoyang Residential Village. Have some time for shopping in the "old town" quarter of Shanghai. After dinner, go to a performance of the daring Shanghai Acrobatic Circus. Argyle International Hotel
Day 14 - Wednesday (B)
Shanghai / USA
Transfer for your flight to the USA.
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