CHINA - HONG KONG EMBROIDERY AND TEXTILES TOUR

Beijing: The Capital City

Here we visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Highlights include seeing the Imperial Robe Collection, as well as jewelry and large screens made with feathers from Kingfisher birds, and the private living quarters. The Forbidden City is a palace of over 9000 rooms and was residence of emperors for over 500 years and houses many precious art objects.

We visit the Temple of Heaven where the emperors prayed for good harvests and the Summer Palace that was used as a summer retreat to escape the heat of the city. The Empress Dowager Cixi used it as her residence and built a marble boat with money intended to modernize the Chinese Navy.

One of the world's great tourist attractions is the Great Wall.  It is the only man made structure visible from space.  The Great Wall was built nearly 2600 years ago and extends almost 4000 miles.

We will walk the Sacred Way leading to the Ming Tombs.  On display in a museum at the tombs are jewelry, gold coins, jade belts, porcelain, embroidered garments, woven silks, and other objects buried with the emperor's corpse.

We will ride pedicabs to the Hutong area.  Hutongs are courtyard homes in little alleys and lanes which are being demolished to make way for high-rise apartment buildings.  Our visit to the capital city is complete with a Beijing duck dinner on arrival and a special Imperial Dinner, our last evening in Beijing.

Participants with the national guide on the 1999 tour at the Great Wall near Beijing.

Tour participants approach to the Forbidden City

Children at a kindergarten during the Hutong Tour in Beijing

Tour organizer Pat Dalton (left) and tour participant Karen Ciemer prepare for a pedicab ride during the Hutong Tour in Beijing.

Tour participants walk and view beautiful stretches of the historical Wall of China.  (Mitianyu section pictured here)

Xian: The ancient capital

The starting point of the Silk Road, Xian was the ancient capital of eleven dynasties for over a thousand years. Xian is known as the birthplace for a united China.

Here we will visit the vast army of Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses discovered in 1974. Thousands of warriors were buried 22 centuries ago to protect the tomb of the Qin Emperor, China's first emperor. We see the magnificent city wall and gate. We enjoy a delicious buffet dinner at our hotel.

We will visit a jade carving factory and have arranged a special dumpling dinner preceding the evening performance of the Tang Dynasty Show.

We have arranged a visit to a countryside workshop producing "farmer paintings". Highly collectable although inexpensive, expatriates fly in from Beijing and other locations in China to purchase them. We visit Mr. Fan who has traveled to the US twice for gallery exhibits of his paintings.

After shopping for artwork at the farmers painting workshop, tour participants ran into a group of curious girls that were open to be photographed.
	During the trip to Xian, tour participants attend the farmer painting market.

On a recent tour, participants met Mr. Fan. Mr. Fan has traveled to the US twice to exhibit his farmer paintings in galleries.

A group of curious children checked out the tourists during a recent trip to the painting market.

One tour participant shares some trail mix.

Cruise of the Yangtze River

We board the President I in Wuhan. Our first stop is Jing-Sha City and its city wall with a moat and also a city museum. This Museum is an important research site and includes 2000 year-old silk garments and fabrics. It contains a mummy, Mr. Sui, who died 167 BC.

We pass through the ship lock at Gezhouba Dam. It is China's largest dam to date, completed in 1986.

We visit the Three Gorges Dam construction site for a close look at the world's largest hydro project. In spring of 2003, the Yangtze River will be closed to all river traffic as they begin to fill the reservoir to the 135 meter level.

Our ship sails through Xiling Gorge, the first and longest of the three gorges featuring dramatic shoals, verdant cliffs, temples, and landmark rocks. The mountains form massive walls on both sides that were created 70 million years ago.

We disembark for a shore excursion in small boats exploring the Danning River. Here we view the ancient plank road remains along the river and the coffins of the mysterious ancient Ba people.

We continue sailing through Wu Gorge with its weathered "twelve peaks" lining the banks, shaped in a deep zigzagging valley of quiet beauty.

The last of the three gorges is Qutang Gorge with its 3,700 foot high and 300 feet wide passage; it is breath-taking all the way. It is the shortest, but the grandest and wildest. Here the river is so narrow that only one ship is allowed to pass at a time.

Our last shore excursion is at Shibaozhai. A 12 story wooden pagoda is built against a sheer cliff. We continue sailing through the beautiful landscape of Sichuan Province. The last night on ship, we enjoy the Captain's farewell banquet. We arrive in Chongqing and enjoy a city tour if time allows.

Participants board the President I for the Yangtze River cruise portion of the tour.

Tour participants learn the art of Chinese Knotting during the cruise on the Yangtze.

Construction of a section of the massive Three Gorges Dam as photographed in a recent tour.

Ship locks near Jing Shu City and Gezhouba Dam

Kunming is known as the city of eternal spring because flowers bloom year round.  This city also is the terminus for the Burma Road.  It is the home of 24 different ethnic minorities.

Lijiang was put on the World Cultural Heritage List in 1997.  It is a charming old city of cobblestone streets, shops, canals, and old wooden buildings.  The corners of the roofs have graceful corners curving upward.  No cars or buses are allowed in the old section of Lijiang.  It was largely rebuilt after an earthquake in early 1996.

There are many Miao and other embroideries available in the local market.  We visit the Museum of Dongba Culture that has a collection of Dongba cultural relics of the Naxi people as well as historical and cultural relics of Lijiang.

We take our bus to Dali and on the way visit Xizhou village, a typical mansion home of the Bai ethnic group, Zhoucheng village for a workshop of tie-dyeing with indigo, we visit Xinjua village, and Heqing village for a silver-making workshop.

We visit the famed Three Pagodas, cruise on Erhai Lake and visit a small village on an island in the middle of the lake.  We see the ancient city wall, and the Catholic Church and walk through told town.

A highlight of the tour is meeting Mr. He LiYi, author of "Mr. China's Son".  He willingly autographs copies of his book that tells the story of his life during the cultural revolution.  He had a guardian angel watching over him and his family, but he was not aware of this.  We are so fortunate to meet this charming man and enjoy his hospitality.

Shops in Kunming displaying Miao ethnic embroideries

Girls in the Yunnan Province enjoy some fresh coconut milk at the silk festival.

Purchasing ethnic embroideries at a small village near Jinghong

A welcome sign for members of Pat's tour at Mr. He Li Yi's Cultural Cafe in Dali.

Pat drinks "healthy tea" with Mr. He Li Yi at his Cultural Cafe in Dali.

In Dali, tour members visit Michael in his Miao embroidery shop in Dali.

Bill and Sally Lambert of Des Moines, IA stop at Erhai Lake near the Three Pagodas during the 2002 tour.

The Three Pagodas in Dali were built between the 7th and 10th centuries as Buddhist places of worship.  The tallest of the three stands at 230 ft tall.

Tour members stop at an old Catholic Church in Dali.

Busy travelers enjoy foot massage after a long day in Dali.

Leilani King of Vancouver, Canada chats with three Naxi women in Lijiang during the Spring 2002 tour.

Pam Creswell of Boulder, CO shops for Miao embroideries in Lijiang.

A very young girl learns laundry techniques from her mother during the 2001 tour.

Tour visitors in 2002 enjoy a rare view of the Jade Snow Mountains.  These mountains are normally shrouded in cloud cover.

A wide array of tie-dye items are available at the workshop in Lijiang.

A very young girl learns tie-dye techniques from her mother and grandmother near Lijiang.

Nothing like those foot massages...

Four men working at the silver workshop in Hequing.

Jiangsu Province, home of Nanjing and Suzhou

Nanjing is home of the Yun Brocade Weaving Research Center where we see the huge, two-story looms operated by two people.  The silks are woven on these massive looms.  We also visit a great exhibition of ethnic minority clothing at the Center.  Nanjing was an important site for Mandarin examinations and we visit the examination complex, a great local market and the longest ancient city wall in the world.  Nanjing has one of the finest museums in China which includes a jade burial suit, porcelains, lacquer ware, and minority garments.

Nanjing is home to the Yun Brocade Weaving Research Center.  Looms are two stories tall and normally operated by two people.
On the right, a rare jade burial suit is viewed in Nanjing by participants on a recent tour.

Suzhou, often referred to as "paradise on Earth", is home to the only embroidery research institute in the world. Founded in 1957, the National Embroidery Research Institute is home to many special kinds of embroidery described below:

• Two-sided embroidery which is identical in appearance on both sides.
• Crisscross embroidery (random stitches which resemble the brush strokes of an oil painting).
• Kesi tapestry which is hand woven on a loom.
• Two-image embroidery (different images on both sides).
• Some pieces are worked completely in knots and others are worked using a diagonal stitch on gauze mesh, but are completely reversible.

We visit the Lingering Garden, notable for its viewing pavilions. We visit the Silk Museum designed by architect, I. M. Pei. We learn the process of silk spinning at the Silk Reeling Mill and enjoy a canal cruise and lunch at a local tea garden restaurant.

We enjoy the evening performance at the Master of the Nets Garden. A portion of this garden is replicated at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. We enjoy a buffet dinner at our hotel.

On the left, Kesi weaving on loom at the National Research Embroidery Institute.   At right, crisscross embroidery.

At right: stitching a two-sided image of tigers at the Embroidery Research Institute.

An old Chinese couple enjoys lunch during the Silk Festival.

Views from a recent tour's cruise through the canals of Suzhou.

Houses along the banks of one of Suzhou's many canals

Tour participants visit the Silk Reeling Mill in Suzhou.  Producing silk thread for stitching or weaving involves twisting 7-8 silk filaments together.

Shanghai, the International City

Shanghai is a city of 14 million people. It has once again become an international city known for shopping and business.

Shanghai's new museum has a collection of 120,000 cultural relics in 11 galleries. The museum features a marvelous display of costumes from Chinese minority nationalities. We drive along the Bund at night to view the spectacular skyline. Shanghai has many new skyscrapers, each one an architectural marvel.

We visit the Bound Foot Shoe Museum in a private home. The collection includes over 800 pairs of exquisitely embroidered shoes. We go the Jin Mao Tower and view the city from the 88th floor. If time allows we will shop for antiques. We enjoy a buffet dinner at our hotel for our last night in China.

Views of Shanghai from a recent tour.  Tour participants get a view from the Jin Mao Tower, the third tallest building in the world (88 floors).

Shoes on display at the Bound Foot Shoe Museum in Shanghai

 

Additional Tour Notes:

Tour includes hotels, daily buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners in China. Includes all transportation required within China to travel from site to site, and any sightseeing costs for items listed in the itinerary. All hotels are four or five star, except in some remote areas where only three star hotels are available. Tours also include all tips to drivers, local guides, and our national guide.

Please email for the tour price or for answers to any additional questions.