{"id":1060,"date":"2010-09-24T13:00:47","date_gmt":"2010-09-24T05:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/24\/reviews-on-beijing-xian-luoyang-tour\/"},"modified":"2010-09-24T16:41:49","modified_gmt":"2010-09-24T08:41:49","slug":"reviews-on-beijing-xian-luoyang-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/beijing-travel\/travel-review\/reviews-on-beijing-xian-luoyang-tour","title":{"rendered":"Reviews on Beijing Xian Luoyang Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"
Today I\u00a0receive a travel review by Mr. Dave from California , USA, forwarded by Ms Linda He, one of my co-workers. With his wife and 11-year-old son, Dave’s family visited Beijing, Xian and Luoyang\u00a0 in June, 2010 by using our travel service. They booked\u00a0a\u00a0group tour in Beijing and Xian. While in Luoyang, they\u00a0had a private tour. In his review, he objectively wrote his travel experience – good and downsides. I find his travel experience is useful for potential travelers who may make similar trips to Beijing<\/a>, Xian<\/a>\u00a0and Luoyang<\/a>. After the travel review, I also attach the original travel program arranged by Ms Linda He from our tour company. \u00a0<\/div>\n

\u00a0OK, Linda,\u00a0 here are my reviews:<\/p>\n

Beijing:<\/strong> First, it was a little scary booking our tours.\u00a0 Here I was, sending money to a company in China I wasn’t sure existed.\u00a0 But everything turned out\u00a0 fine.<\/p>\n

We did 2 small Beijing Bus Tours<\/a>, and they were enjoyable for us and our 11\u00a0 year old son.\u00a0 The small bus (large van?) was perfect for the groups of 11 or so people each day.\u00a0 We enjoyed the international mix of tourists in our groups.\u00a0 Our guide was excellent.\u00a0 The lunches were very good, also.<\/p>\n

Downsides:\u00a0 These are LONG days – especially if your body clock has not adjusted to China Time.\u00a0 Each day, when we returned to our hotel at 6pm or so, some member of our family fell right to sleep, making going out to dinner an impossibility.\u00a0 I had to go get take-out food and bring it back to our hotel each night.<\/p>\n

Private Beijing Hutong Tour<\/a>:\u00a0 Our guide was great, and accomodated our wishes. (Like when I needed to buy a new backpack!)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Take a rickshaw to visit the old residential area in Beijing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Xi’an:<\/strong> Our night train was fine except that there was no dining car as advertised.\u00a0 A snack cart came around, but other than candy & chips there wasn’t much to eat.\u00a0 Only his beer was cold; all other drinks were warm.\u00a0 If you do this trip, I advise bringing some food along – it was a long night with only potato chips to munch on.\u00a0 In the morning, again, no food on board.\u00a0 Our guide greeted us at Xian Railway Station<\/a><\/span>\u00a0(it turned out to be a private tour!) and she was great.\u00a0 Our hotel was great, and just a block from the modern downtown.\u00a0 The dinner show was excellent, as was the dumpling dinner.\u00a0 We asked our guide about getting a massage; she made a call and said 2 massage therapists would come to our room at 9pm for y100 each.\u00a0 An incredible deal, and well worth it!<\/p>\n

Terra-cotta Army<\/a>\u00a0though…that is a long drive from town (an hour?) plus a stop at a “terra cotta warrior factory”.\u00a0 Lunch was OK.\u00a0 But the whole event was a let down for me.\u00a0 The place is just an excavation, and you get maybe 15 feet (5 mtrs) from the statues.\u00a0 As much as I was looking forward to this, the excursion to Xi’an and Luoyang came to $1000 usd for our family of 3, including the sleeper car train from Beijing and our flight to Shanghai afterward, and I don’t feel that was a good use of our money…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Terra Cotta Army in Xian<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Luoyang:<\/strong>\u00a0 The high speed train from Xi’an to Luoyang was fun, but it was followed by a one-hour van trip to the “Kung Fu City”.\u00a0 The show was good, but frankly, all the Bhuddist stuff got repetitive.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the van driver took a rural route home and we almost got stuck in the soft dirt road, out in the middle of nowhere.\u00a0 We did get to see a very poor community (accidentally) and we were dying for a bathroom, but it became a highlight of our trip.\u00a0\u00a0 Luoyang Longmen Grottoes<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is fantastic and worth visiting!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Longmen Grottos in Luoyang<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All in all, I recommend Tour-Beijing.com, everything was as advertised (well, except for no dining car on the night train), prices were reasonable for what we received, and they were reliable.\u00a0 \u00a0 Dave California, USA<\/p>\n

\u00a0 ——————————————- \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Below is the original travel program (Xian and Luoyang Part ) Dave and his family took: \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Jun 27th: Beijing – Xian<\/strong> by overnight train Transfer to Beijing West Rail Station by yourselve. Take overnight train for Xian. Z19 (21:18 – 08:19). \u00a0<\/p>\n

June 28th: Xian<\/strong><\/p>\n

Arrive in Xian. Met by our local tour guide and transferred to\u00a0your hotel in Xian – Citadines Xi’an Central.<\/p>\n

\u00a0After lunch, first visit Shaanxi Provincial History Museum<\/a>. If you love Chinese history, Shaanxi Provincial Museum is a must on your Xian trip. It is one of the four largest museums in China ( the other three are Forbidden City Museum, Shanghai Museum and Henan Provincial Museum.\u00a0It focuses on the highlights of the Shaanxi culture and depicts the development of the Chinese civilization.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Then move on to\u00a0Xian Big Goose Pagoda<\/a> for a visit. Big Goose Pagoda is one of the oldest structures in China. It is one of the city’s most distinctive and outstanding landmarks, possibly the most beautiful building left in Xian today.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the day tour, get to\u00a0 around 6:00pm and our tour guide will help you find your seat for\u00a0Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show<\/a>\u00a0 Dumpling, or Jiaozi in Chinese, is one of the most representative Chinese food. The food can be dated back two thousands years ago. It is quite popular in China, and also loved by most of foreign tourists. Enjoy the jiaozi dinner before and over <\/span>the Tang Dynasty Show. The Tang Dynasty Show showcases the costumes, music, and dancing of China’s golden age: the Tang dynasty (618 – 907). Return to your downtown hotel in Xian.<\/p>\n

End of service. Transferred to your hotel in Xian. ( L D )<\/p>\n

\u00a0June 29th: Xian<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pick up from your hotel in Xian. First visit Army of Terra-Cotta Warriors<\/a>.<\/span> To visit Army of Terra Cotta Warriors is the main reason why you are here in Xian. . It is located about 50km east of the Xian City. The museum includes Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3 as well the exhibition hall of the chariots and horses. The Pit 1 is the largest of the three. The museum and the mausoleum are listed the world’s cultural legacies as the UNESCO.<\/p>\n

Typical Xian local flavor lunch will be arranged in a nice restaurant in Lintong County on your way back to the downtown Xian. You will see how chefs make noodles.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After lunch, drive back to the city center of Xian and visit Xian City Wall<\/a>. The main magnet of Xian is the city wall, which is the most complete city wall that has survived in China as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. It was enlarged in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) from the city wall initially built in Tang Dynasty (618 -907). Now it is 12 meters tall, 12-14 meters wide overing 14 kilometers in length with a deep moat surrounding it. You can walk, even cycle on the wall. Its south gate is the most largest with a suspension bridge. Most of the tourists choose the south gate for sightseeing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Afterwards, visit the famous\u00a0Xian Muslim Quarters and the Great Mosque<\/a>\u00a0 is located in the Muslim Area. For the tourists coming here, the bazaar in the Muslim area is most attractive with a wide area of stalls selling everything. The streets and walkways are full of life. The shopping is great, very cheap and some unusual items we will seldom see anywhere else in China. The Great Mosque in Xian is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved Islamic mosques in China. Unlike most mosques in Middle Eastern or Arab countries, the Great Mosque of Xian is completely Chinese in its construction and architectural style, except for some Arabic lettering and decorations. ( B L )\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

June 30th: Xian \u2013 Luoyang by high-speed train G2002 0830-1021<\/strong><\/p>\n

After breakfast, transferred to Xian Railway Station and take high-speed train for Luoyang Longmen. Firstly, visit the Longmen Grottoes. It is situated on the Yihe River bank, about 12 kilometers from Luoyang city. It is one of the three most valuable Buddhist cave and rock carvings in China. The grottos were first carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), when the rulers relocated their capital from Datong to Luoyang at the end of the 5th century.<\/p>\n

Have a late lunch at a nice restaurant,\u00a0continue to visit Luoyang Baima Si (White Horse Temple)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>, the first Buddhist Temple ever built in China!\u00a0\u00a0(B L D) Stay at<\/em> Longyang Marple International Hotel\u00a0\u00a0(one queen bed room + one extra bed)\u00a0<\/p>\n

July 01st: Luoyang – Shanghai by air MU5390 1510-1640<\/strong> (there is only one afternoon flight from Luoyang to Shanghai).<\/p>\n

And then excursion tour to Luoyang Shaolin Temple<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0.<\/span> Shaolin Temple is famous not only as one of China’s most important Buddhist temples, but also as the center of Chinese kung-fu. First constructed in 495, the temple was mainly designed to accommodate Batuo, a famous Indian monk.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After many years of preaching Buddhism, he was later respected as Fo Tuo, or Grand Monk. In 537, another respected Indian monk, Boddhidharma, came and stayed in the temple. As the as legend goes, he created a kind of primitive bare-hand fight routine described \u201cxingyi boxing\u201d after he had sat meditating in a cave for the duration of nine years. That began the tradition of kung-fu at the temple. At the early seventh century, a small team of 13 Shaolin monks were said to have saved Tang Dynasty emperor Li Shimin by beating a whole division of the ruling Sui Dynasty’s army and assisting him run out of prison. When he took power, Li offered land and wealth to the temple. Shaolin then grew into a center of kung-fu masters from all over the country. At its prime time, it held as many as 3,000 solider-monks.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After lunch\u00a0in Luoyang and transfer to airport. Take flight for Shanghai. (B L)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I\u00a0receive a travel review by Mr. Dave from California , USA, forwarded by Ms Linda He, one of my co-workers. With his wife and 11-year-old son, Dave’s family visited Beijing, Xian and Luoyang\u00a0 in June, 2010 by using our travel service. They booked\u00a0a\u00a0group tour in Beijing and Xian. While in Luoyang, they\u00a0had a private…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,19,8,38,39,37,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1060","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-beijing-tour-reviews","category-beijing-travel","category-travel-review","category-luoayng-travel","category-luoyang-travel-tips","category-xian-attractions-tips","category-xian-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1060"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1061,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1060\/revisions\/1061"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1060"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1060"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tour-beijing.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1060"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}