Layout 6
Slow Boat to China?
No longer – we find out how this country of contrasts can be visited in just five days.
We’re all hearing more and more about how China is opening up to the West. So much so that specialist tour operator, Wendy Wu Tours, has even started
selling five day long weekends here. But could you really pack in enough over a long weekend? We caught up with two of Oxfordshire based, Travel
Counsellor Dawn Gascoigne’s customers, Helen Loggin and Jerry Wright, who embarked on a two week Chinese adventure last summer to hear more about the country’s highlights.
TC “So what made you want to travel to China?”
Helen “We’d never been anywhere in Asia, and China seemed the obvious place to start. My partner, Jerry, was
really keen to see the place before it changed forever and
became more westernised. Another big draw was the pandas – Jerry’s always had a fascination with them and
Chengdu Panda Reserve in South West China has the largest population of these rare creatures in the world.”
TC “How did you enjoy seeing the country on a
Jerry meets his panda...
guided tour?”
Helen “It was great. We got on really well with our group;
seeing the country in the company of such an interesting
group of like minded travellers actually enhanced the
experience for us. Our national guide was called Bruce (after Bruce Lee). We were amused to meet several other
Bruces during our tour. (Apparently it’s a favourite choice for Chinese men who need to adopt a name that tourists
an al fresco Tai Chi class. And far from blending in as ‘just
TC “Was there anything that you weren’t prepared
group got some inquisitive stares. Our fellow travellers
Helen “The vastness of the country; the distance we
their picture taken with them. There was a real fascination
boggling. We started in cosmopolitan Shanghai. There was
another tourist’ even in the most populated areas our little
were often approached by schoolchildren wanting to have
for?”
covered and the contrasts we saw along the way were mind
still to see Westerners.”
so much to discover from the Chinese temples to the
TC “What were your highlights of the trip?”
palaces to the incredible Shanghai Museum which houses
Helen Loggin and Jerry Wright travelled on the
Palace for over 500 years) and climbed the Great Wall of
Majestic Yangzte Tour in August 2011. To do the same
China (well Jerry got further up than me, it is very steep
and you can buy the souvenir T-shirts at the bottom as
tour this August would cost from £2690 per person.
well!)”
TC “The tour operator you travelled with, Wendy Wu
TC “We hear a lot about the exotic nature of Chinese
Chengdu. Would you ever consider visiting again for
Tours, has recently launched a five day trip to a short break?”
This includes return flights, plus domestic air travel as per the itinerary, all accommodation, meals, entrance
fees, guides, daily tours and visa fees for UK travellers.
riverbank promenade, The Bund, lined with 1920’s colonial
cuisine. What were your experiences?”
Helen “The terracotta warriors and the pandas; both were
over 120,000 pieces of jade and ceramics. Our next stop
highlight. Everywhere we went we were assailed by the
Helen “Do you know I would? The flying time into
encounters we had on the way that made them so special.
west to cruise the steep sided, verdant gorges of the
roast walnuts instead of chestnuts, and this is one of the
which is often visited over a weekend. Chengdu was
Helen “Yes! I’d visions of an austere, communist state. I
farmer who found them. He turns up every day to sign
limestone caves. After visiting Xian, home of the terracotta
must say that all the food I ate was simply delicious. The
with some wonderful street markets. Also, the Giant
alight with western neon signs. And young girls ran around
where they are located would be so beautiful. One of my
in Beijing. This was something totally different again. The
although their menu was a bit more eclectic than mine, if
with a single eyebrow measuring over 18 feet long. We got
Huanglongxi. The price also includes return flights to
course you can see the pandas here. Since our trip, Jerry
entrance fees, guides and visa fees for UK passport
can pronounce!) Joking aside, we really benefited from
their knowledge and expertise throughout our journey. And it meant that we packed the most we could into our trip.”
TC “Did you have any preconceptions about the place that were proved wrong?”
couldn’t have been more wrong. At night the cities were
in the latest mini skirts and T-shirts with English slogans
(often mistranslated with some amusing results!)
Despite this it still felt very foreign. The parks had outdoor
gym equipment in them and it wasn’t unusual to walk past
10
just as good as we’d hoped but it was the smaller When we saw the terracotta warriors, we met the 80 year
autographs! Similarly we’d no idea that the city of Xian fondest memories is our cycle ride round its city walls. Throughout the trip, there was always ample time to make
your own discoveries.”
couldn’t have been more different. We flew over 600 miles
Yangtze River, discovering stunning waterfalls and hidden warriors, and the pandas in Chengdu we finished our tour monumental scale of the place was breathtaking and
matched only the incredible sense of humanity. It’s hard to
put into words the sense of awe we felt as we walked
through the splendour of the Forbidden City (Imperial
Helen “Sampling the local cuisine was definitely a sights and sounds of colourful street markets. In Xian, they aromas I remember from the trip. I’m a vegetarian and I
meat eaters in our group were equally appreciative
they wanted it to be! I’ll never forget one of our group
ordering goose head (and giving it a go – although she
did leave the beak!) And on our final night, we were taken
to a restaurant where the fish tank was filled with the catch
of the day – bullfrogs!”
Chengdu is around 10 hours so comparable to Las Vegas,
interesting in that it was a totally un-touristy Chinese city, Buddha of Leshan is near there. It stands at over 200ft tall,
some great pictures being dwarfed by its little toe! And of
has even adopted one of them. So maybe we’ll need to fly
back for a long weekend to go and see it!”
The next available departures for the Panda Weekend tour are 04 October and 15 November 2012 and are
priced from £995 per person. The tour departs Thursday evening and returns Monday morning and
includes a visit to the world famous Panda Reserve in Chengdu plus two UNESCO heritage sites: the Giant
Buddha of Leshan and the medieval town of
Chengdu, three nights’ accommodation, all meals, holders.
ASK YOUR TRAVEL COUNSELLOR FOR FULL DETAILS
11
No longer – we find out how this country of contrasts can be visited in just five days.
We’re all hearing more and more about how China is opening up to the West. So much so that specialist tour operator, Wendy Wu Tours, has even started
selling five day long weekends here. But could you really pack in enough over a long weekend? We caught up with two of Oxfordshire based, Travel
Counsellor Dawn Gascoigne’s customers, Helen Loggin and Jerry Wright, who embarked on a two week Chinese adventure last summer to hear more about the country’s highlights.
TC “So what made you want to travel to China?”
Helen “We’d never been anywhere in Asia, and China seemed the obvious place to start. My partner, Jerry, was
really keen to see the place before it changed forever and
became more westernised. Another big draw was the pandas – Jerry’s always had a fascination with them and
Chengdu Panda Reserve in South West China has the largest population of these rare creatures in the world.”
TC “How did you enjoy seeing the country on a
Jerry meets his panda...
guided tour?”
Helen “It was great. We got on really well with our group;
seeing the country in the company of such an interesting
group of like minded travellers actually enhanced the
experience for us. Our national guide was called Bruce (after Bruce Lee). We were amused to meet several other
Bruces during our tour. (Apparently it’s a favourite choice for Chinese men who need to adopt a name that tourists
an al fresco Tai Chi class. And far from blending in as ‘just
TC “Was there anything that you weren’t prepared
group got some inquisitive stares. Our fellow travellers
Helen “The vastness of the country; the distance we
their picture taken with them. There was a real fascination
boggling. We started in cosmopolitan Shanghai. There was
another tourist’ even in the most populated areas our little
were often approached by schoolchildren wanting to have
for?”
covered and the contrasts we saw along the way were mind
still to see Westerners.”
so much to discover from the Chinese temples to the
TC “What were your highlights of the trip?”
palaces to the incredible Shanghai Museum which houses
Helen Loggin and Jerry Wright travelled on the
Palace for over 500 years) and climbed the Great Wall of
Majestic Yangzte Tour in August 2011. To do the same
China (well Jerry got further up than me, it is very steep
and you can buy the souvenir T-shirts at the bottom as
tour this August would cost from £2690 per person.
well!)”
TC “The tour operator you travelled with, Wendy Wu
TC “We hear a lot about the exotic nature of Chinese
Chengdu. Would you ever consider visiting again for
Tours, has recently launched a five day trip to a short break?”
This includes return flights, plus domestic air travel as per the itinerary, all accommodation, meals, entrance
fees, guides, daily tours and visa fees for UK travellers.
riverbank promenade, The Bund, lined with 1920’s colonial
cuisine. What were your experiences?”
Helen “The terracotta warriors and the pandas; both were
over 120,000 pieces of jade and ceramics. Our next stop
highlight. Everywhere we went we were assailed by the
Helen “Do you know I would? The flying time into
encounters we had on the way that made them so special.
west to cruise the steep sided, verdant gorges of the
roast walnuts instead of chestnuts, and this is one of the
which is often visited over a weekend. Chengdu was
Helen “Yes! I’d visions of an austere, communist state. I
farmer who found them. He turns up every day to sign
limestone caves. After visiting Xian, home of the terracotta
must say that all the food I ate was simply delicious. The
with some wonderful street markets. Also, the Giant
alight with western neon signs. And young girls ran around
where they are located would be so beautiful. One of my
in Beijing. This was something totally different again. The
although their menu was a bit more eclectic than mine, if
with a single eyebrow measuring over 18 feet long. We got
Huanglongxi. The price also includes return flights to
course you can see the pandas here. Since our trip, Jerry
entrance fees, guides and visa fees for UK passport
can pronounce!) Joking aside, we really benefited from
their knowledge and expertise throughout our journey. And it meant that we packed the most we could into our trip.”
TC “Did you have any preconceptions about the place that were proved wrong?”
couldn’t have been more wrong. At night the cities were
in the latest mini skirts and T-shirts with English slogans
(often mistranslated with some amusing results!)
Despite this it still felt very foreign. The parks had outdoor
gym equipment in them and it wasn’t unusual to walk past
10
just as good as we’d hoped but it was the smaller When we saw the terracotta warriors, we met the 80 year
autographs! Similarly we’d no idea that the city of Xian fondest memories is our cycle ride round its city walls. Throughout the trip, there was always ample time to make
your own discoveries.”
couldn’t have been more different. We flew over 600 miles
Yangtze River, discovering stunning waterfalls and hidden warriors, and the pandas in Chengdu we finished our tour monumental scale of the place was breathtaking and
matched only the incredible sense of humanity. It’s hard to
put into words the sense of awe we felt as we walked
through the splendour of the Forbidden City (Imperial
Helen “Sampling the local cuisine was definitely a sights and sounds of colourful street markets. In Xian, they aromas I remember from the trip. I’m a vegetarian and I
meat eaters in our group were equally appreciative
they wanted it to be! I’ll never forget one of our group
ordering goose head (and giving it a go – although she
did leave the beak!) And on our final night, we were taken
to a restaurant where the fish tank was filled with the catch
of the day – bullfrogs!”
Chengdu is around 10 hours so comparable to Las Vegas,
interesting in that it was a totally un-touristy Chinese city, Buddha of Leshan is near there. It stands at over 200ft tall,
some great pictures being dwarfed by its little toe! And of
has even adopted one of them. So maybe we’ll need to fly
back for a long weekend to go and see it!”
The next available departures for the Panda Weekend tour are 04 October and 15 November 2012 and are
priced from £995 per person. The tour departs Thursday evening and returns Monday morning and
includes a visit to the world famous Panda Reserve in Chengdu plus two UNESCO heritage sites: the Giant
Buddha of Leshan and the medieval town of
Chengdu, three nights’ accommodation, all meals, holders.
ASK YOUR TRAVEL COUNSELLOR FOR FULL DETAILS
11
