More adventures in China for those with extra time

Add in more days or skip the Yangtze Cruise and spend two nights in Guilin, in the southwest, with a daytrip to Yangshuo. Known for its distinctive landscape of weathered limestone karst formations.

• Amble along the cobblestone Xi Jie, an 820-ft long street with restored Qing architecture, cafes, shops and markets or explore the countryside by bicycle or golf cart, witnessing verdant rice paddies...

  You can fly non-stop to Guilin from Xian or Chengdu, but not from Yiching

• Stay at the Sheraton Guilin Hotel situated on the banks of the Li River featuring spacious rooms and lovely pool area

• Reed Flute Cave(Ludi Yan) – Named for the reeds at the mouth of the cave that were once used as musical instruments, this convoluted tunnel complex was used as a hideout during wars and today the irregular rock formations are illuminated with neon lights.

• Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbi Shan) – This 328-ft rock formation resembles an elephant drinking from the Li River

• Li River Cruise to Yangshuo – If you didn’t do the Yangtze cruise spend a few hours on the Li River where you’ll see the atmospheric karst landscape, fisherman on bamboo rafts, Xingping, an old wooden ferry port town, and stop at Daxu, a Song-era market town still with centuries-old cobbled streets and stone houses

• Yangshuo –Amble along the cobblestone Xi Jie, an 820-ft long street with restored Qing architecture, cafes, shops and markets or explore the countryside by bicycle or golf cart, witnessing verdant rice paddies

• Impressions Outdoor Performance – This over-the-top evening performance takes place on the Li River near Yangshuo and encompasses 600 musicians and dancers from local tribes.

There is so much of China that we haven’t even touched upon: Tibet, the Yunnan Province, Hong Kong, the Silk Roads and Inner Mongolia all merit a visit…this means you’ll have to return! A new luxury train called the Tangula Express launches September 2008 and will travel from Lhasa, Tibet or Lijiang in the southwest Yunnan Province to Beijing, offering a fabulous way to see the dazzling countryside with stops along the way – in style.