Hello Kathy,
I just wanted to follow up with you and say what a great time we all had during our trip to Beijing. Candy was an awesome tour guide who was very accommodating to our unique needs (we had some very specific dietary requirements that she made sure were taken care of every place we went). I know we were all impressed with the quality of the accommodations and how smoothly the entire trip went.
If I am ever traveling to China again for vacation, I will definitely book a tour through you.
Regards,
John Damalas
Some people hold that Chinese don't have creativity. The most impressive image of China in the global economy is that of a factory, producing cheap components for international markets such as toys and electronic devices. They can produce a widget,or a DVD, but when it comes to creativity and imagination, they just don't have the gene. But the real fact is quite the opposite. This stereotypical image is likely to change. Seeing is believing. Beijing, China's capital believes the creative industry will become a new locomotive of the city's economy in the 2006-2010 period. The creativity industry is composed of four sections, the software, network and computer service section; the press section; the radio, TV and film section; and the design sector. Last year the creative industry in Beijing produced 70 billion yuan (9 billion U.S. dollars) in value-added output, or 10 percent of the municipal total.
China is not content to work as factory to the world. You will find that creativity in art and industry in design, fashion, media, and the like is fast becoming a driving national force. China is constructing a creative infrastructure at a fast speed. You can feel it in the fashionable restaurants and trendy shops mushrooming in major cities. Some imagination-driven companies are working hand in hand with the cafés and art galleries enter the gloomy ex-warehouse and factory areas. According to the statistics, China has become the world's third-largest exporter of creative services and products. In terms of creativity industry, People say the past 20 years have been about the West pushing East, but the next 20 years will be about the East pushing West! For your glimpse of Beijing's creativity industry, we have designed a one day private tour to cover some of the 10 creativity industry zones in Beijing. Let's go!
Tour Code: BCIT-01 Departure: Daily Duration: 1 day Pick-up point and time: Your Hotel in Beijing around 8:00am Finishing point and time: Your Hotel in Beijing around 6:00pm Payment Types: Cash, Credit Cards, Wire We speak: English
Itinerary: Pick up from your hotel around 8:30am and first drive to Beijing "Silicon Valley" for a short visit. The Zhongguancun district in the northwest corner of Beijing not far from the Summer Palace is often dubbed "Silicon Valley". It is already inhabitated by thousands of high-tech companies, ranging from local firms large and small to international companies like Microsoft, Sun, Siemens, Nokia, NEC. Z-Park (The Zhongguancun district) is composed of seven parks, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers close to the city's internationally esteemed educational institutions such as Tsinghua University, the University of Beijing, and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS).
Now Zhongguancun is the center for electronic products trading and base for the creative industry at national-level. Chinese President Hu Jintao announced the plan in 2006 to turn China into an "innovation-oriented" country by 2021. The Z-Park (Zhongguancun district), China's homegrown Silicon Valley, is the pioneer in the innovation and creativity industry in China. As the largest and oldest of the over 50 national high-tech zones in China, Z-Park has become an important hub for the world corporations seeking both to develop R&D for all sectors and to have a foothold in the market in China.
Then go to visit 798 Art Zone, or Dashanzi Art District. It is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. It accommodates a thriving artist community, nestled in the over 50-year abandoned military factory buildings of featuring architectural style - typical Bauhaus style with perfect combination of practicality and concision. Because of the typical modernism Bauhaus style of some factory buildings, the orderly-planned courtyard and the distinctive architectural style, more and more artists are attracted to settle here and have formed the present 798 Art Zone gradually. Now It is often likened to New York's Greenwich Village or SOHO. It is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798. The buildings are located inside alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiuxianqiao Lu, south of the Dashanziqiao flyover. It has become China's premier center of contemporary art and is now one of the must see attraction in Beijing after the Great Wall and Forbidden City. The SOHO complex showcases the contemporary art covering over 50 galleries and art centers of various sizes and includes a blend of bookshops, cafes, and restaurants.
After lunch, drive to Songzhuang Artist Village. It is actually composed of several villages around Songzhuang town in the east suburb of Beijing. There are over 1000 artists lived in these villages within Songzhuang town, forming the largest art community in the world. It is mainly scattered in eight villages as Tongli, Liuhe, Daxing, Xindian, Lama, Ren village, with Xiaopu Village as its center. Since 1994, Artist Village has become internationally famous for China contemporary art. Many works here are sold directly to the international art market and loved by many museums and collectors. By the year of 2010, it will be turned into a famous artist town of China and primarily build several creativity industrial bases. By the yare of 2020, it will be developed into the international culture creativity industrial park and creation culture and tourism district with its own unique feature.
On the way back to the downtown Beijing, you will be arranged to visit the famous Gaobeidian Classical Furniture Street in the Gaobeidian village. The furniture street is 1,500 meters long, with 300 workshops and shops, making and selling Ming and Qing dynasty-style furniture. Most of the furniture made here are sold to the international market. It has become a hub for Ming and Qing Dynasty- style all over China. Gaobeidian is a one-thousand-year-old village, the nearest village outside the downtown Beijing. There you can see people how to make the furniture. Also you will have the chance to enjoy a huge selection of furniture on show in some of the workshops.
At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Beijing. By the way, besides the 4 creativity industry zones you have just visited, there are other important cultural and creativity areas or zones like, Liulichang Cultural Industry Zone, Chaoyang Park, Happy Valley, Shichahai Cultural Creativity Zone, Beijing Curio City, Beijing Panjiayuan Antique Art Market Zone, Beijing Grand View Gardenm and more... If time permitted, you can explore theses creativity zones further.
Service package includes:
1. Entrance tickets
2. Pick-up service from hotel
3. Private air-conditioned car or van
4. Private English speaking tour guide
5. Chinese lunch
Service package excludes:
1.Personal Insurance coverage of personal loss, illness or damages incurred during your trip
2.Tips to the tour guide and driver
Reservation:
1.Please use our online booking or send your travel request via email to info@tour-beijing.com. You are also welcome to call us at + 86 10 67160201 ext 1006 or 2007. If you have a last minute booking or an urgent matter after our normal office hour, please call 0086 13701067793 or 13901312027 ( 24 hours ).
2.Our real trip advisors will have your booking confirmed no more than one working day. We even take last minute booking if time is pressing. When your booking is confirmed, you will get a confirmation email or call from us, which includes the confirmed detailed information with price.
3. In your reply, please inform us of your hotel in Beijing and date for the tour. Usually our tour guide will call you on the evening before to fix the departure time from your hotel and collect the money on the spot when you board the coach.
4. Way of Payment: cash payment,credit card payment or wire transfer. Both RMB and hard currency are acceptable. Currency Converter
5. Our tour guide will meet you in the lobby of your hotel in Beijing.
Pick up from your hotel around 8:30am and first drive to Beijing "Silicon Valley" for a short visit. The Zhongguancun district in the northwest corner of Beijing not far from the Summer Palace is often dubbed "Silicon Valley". It is already inhabitated by thousands of high-tech companies, ranging from local firms large and small to international companies like Microsoft, Sun, Siemens, Nokia, NEC. Z-Park (The Zhongguancun district) is composed of seven parks, covering an area of about 100 square kilometers close to the city's internationally esteemed educational institutions such as Tsinghua University, the University of Beijing, and the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS).
Then go to visit 798 Art Zone, or Dashanzi Art District. It is a part of Dashanzi in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. It accommodates a thriving artist community, nestled in the over 50-year abandoned military factory buildings of featuring architectural style - typical Bauhaus style with perfect combination of practicality and concision. Because of the typical modernism Bauhaus style of some factory buildings, the orderly-planned courtyard and the distinctive architectural style, more and more artists are attracted to settle here and have formed the present 798 Art Zone gradually. Now It is often likened to New York's Greenwich Village or SOHO. It is often called the 798 Art District or Factory 798. The buildings are located inside alleys number 2 and 4 on Jiuxianqiao Lu, south of the Dashanziqiao flyover. It has become China's premier center of contemporary art and is now one of the must see attraction in Beijing after the Great Wall and Forbidden City. The SOHO complex showcases the contemporary art covering over 50 galleries and art centers of various sizes and includes a blend of bookshops, cafes, and restaurants.
After lunch, drive to Songzhuang Artist Village. It is actually composed of several villages around Songzhuang town in the east suburb of Beijing. There are over 1000 artists lived in these villages within Songzhuang town, forming the largest art community in the world. It is mainly scattered in eight villages as Tongli, Liuhe, Daxing, Xindian, Lama, Ren village, with Xiaopu Village as its center. Since 1994, Artist Village has become internationally famous for China contemporary art. Many works here are sold directly to the international art market and loved by many museums and collectors. By the year of 2010, it will be turned into a famous artist town of China and primarily build several creativity industrial bases. By the yare of 2020, it will be developed into the international culture creativity industrial park and creation culture and tourism district with its own unique feature.
On the way back to the downtown Beijing, you will be arranged to visit the famous Gaobeidian Classical Furniture Street in the Gaobeidian village. The furniture street is 1,500 meters long, with 300 workshops and shops, making and selling Ming and Qing dynasty-style furniture. Most of the furniture made here are sold to the international market. It has become a hub for Ming and Qing Dynasty- style all over China. Gaobeidian is a one-thousand-year-old village, the nearest village outside the downtown Beijing. There you can see people how to make the furniture. Also you will have the chance to enjoy a huge selection of furniture on show in some of the workshops.
At the end of the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Beijing. By the way, besides the 4 creativity industry zones you have just visited, there are other important cultural and creativity areas or zones like, Liulichang Cultural Industry Zone, Chaoyang Park, Happy Valley, Shichahai Cultural Creativity Zone, Beijing Curio City, Beijing Panjiayuan Antique Art Market Zone, Beijing Grand View Gardenm and more... If time permitted, you can explore theses creativity zones further.
