节日快乐 - Happy Holidays from your friends at China Special Tours

While Christmas is not officially observed in China, foreign visitors will not have to miss out on familiar sights and sounds: Plenty of Christmas decorations can be found in the malls, supermarkets, banks, and restaurants, -  and don’t be surprised to find clerks wearing Santa hats and green and red accessories. Tree lighting ceremonies can as easily be found as the picture-ready Santa.

A Christmas Tree in front of the Birds Nest

Chinese have not only adopted the habit of exchanging small, inexpensive gifts for Christmas but more and more also generously decorate Christmas trees (here called Tree of Lights) in their homes with paper chains, flowers, and lanterns. Since most Chinese are not Christian, the religious meaning is not of importance, it is however a great opportunity to get together with family members and to enjoy a luxurious meal, usually an elaborate Peking duck dinner.

Should you consider a visit to China in December, please keep in mind that Beijing shares the same climate as New York City, so come prepared with sufficient warm clothing.The country is huge, and while the south offers warmer weather the northeast lures with the famous Harbin Ice Festival (January 5 - February 5) and freezing temperatures. China is always worth a visit, and why not experience the Holidays in a different culture?

China Special Tours creates special group tours exclusively to China. Visit China for one of the many unique holidays like Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Race, and/or the Water Lantern Festival. Contact us today and request a customized proposal. 

TRAVEL NEWS FROM CHINA

Nonstop flight between Beijing and Lhasa/Tibet - Just a few days ago, on December 15, China Airlines operated its first nonstop flight from Beijing to Lhasa/Tibet. The flight operates daily at 8am and lands in Lhasa about 4 hours later.

Hong Kong selected as Top City to visit in 2012 - Lonely Planet announced its top 10 list of cities to visit in 2012, and Hong Kong was the only city selected in China. In the description, LP suggests visitors "go shopping, gallery hopping, and check out the bars in Soho; explore walled villages or go hiking on Asia's most breathtaking trails." In the article, Lonely Planet tells readers "If you can't find it in Hong Kong, then it isn't available anywhere". And after an exciting day, enjoy a sumptuous meal in one of the 11,000 restaurants.

How many Great Walls are there in China?

Many, that would be the quick answer. It may be surprising to many readers that there is not one single Great Wall in China but a number of walls of varying length and age. While this does not take away from the incredible accomplishment of building the Great Wall(s), it deserves a deeper look.

HISTORY

China is naturally protected on 3 sides by mountains, desert, and ocean. The north was always perceived as the weak side, potentially bringing danger. Going back more than 2,000 years China was a conglomerate of 7 fighting kingdoms engulfed in almost constant battle for more than 250 years. The strongest of the kingdoms finally succeeded in uniting the country and started the history of imperial China by crowning the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang (= the first emperor of the Qin) in 221BC. Only one year later, the construction of the Great Wall began by connecting several walls of the individual kingdoms and adding on to them. Emperor Qin also destroyed some of the walls dividing his empire. It is not known how long this original wall was, it was located much further north than the current wall, and – unfortunately – most of it has fallen victim to the times.

Following the Qin dynasty, the Han were eager builders of several walls to protect themselves from attacks from the northern Huns. In the first century BC, three major walls were combined with the Qin wall and created the longest wall ever in Chinese history, estimated at a length of over 6,000 miles. Through battle, the Han dynasty extended their reach far beyond the wall/s and stopped building.

 

Over the next 13 centuries, several dynasties added, maintained, repaired, and improved on parts of the wall that had fallen more and more in disrepair but no major projects were done. With the start of the Ming dynasty (1368) and increasing threats from the north by the Mongols, wall construction was reborn, first by seriously improving the existing, centuries-old wall/s, then by creating new walls and using a new material: bricks. This is the Great Wall of today, still strong and standing proudly for more than 5,500 miles.

In 1987 the Great Wall of China became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

CONSTRUCTION

In the early days of wall construction, material was difficult to transport from one location to another so mainly local materials were used. In the mountains this meant stone, in the plains earth was stomped and pressed to create a wall. Later, granite blocks and bricks were used. It took many hundreds of thousands of construction workers, from soldiers to poor peasants and criminals. It is said that for every stone laid there is a live lost. Many of the victims are buried within the wall and remains are found by archeologists all the time.

MEASUREMENTS

The exact length of the Great (Ming) Wall is listed as 8,851.8 kilometers (or 5,500.3 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the East to Lop Lake in the West.  The wall has a total of 7,062 lookout towers (every 200 yards), 3,357 platforms, as well as 723 beacon towers. It is the longest man-made structure in the world. But the final word may still be out: Even as recent as 2009, 180 miles of previously undetected portions of the wall from the Ming dynasty was discovered, submerged by sand.

BEST PLACES TO SEE THE GREAT WALL

BEIJING – There are a total of 8 locations near Beijing where the wall can be visited. The most popular ones are described below:

Badaling: Undoubtedly the most commercialized and most visited spot of the Great Wall, about 40 miles northwest of Beijing. This part of the wall was originally built in 1571 and major repairs took place in 1957. The segment open to tourists is about 3 miles long and includes 19 watch towers. The more adventurous visitor may try the left – steeper - side of the Wall while the more moderate side is the right one.

Mutianyu: Built in the 6^th century with a major renovation during the Ming dynasty, this part of the Great Wall bears 22 watch towers and the opportunity to go up by foot or cable car, and down by foot or tobagen. Spend some time in the town of Mutianyu and visit the Old School House.

Simatai: More quiet and peaceful than the first two locations, due to distance of 85 miles to Beijing, this segment of the Great Wall is right for you if you want to see the wall untouched by modern hands. Walking here can be extremely challenging since parts of the wall are crumbling away.

The other sites, more and more popular for backpackers and repeat visitors are: Juyongguan, Huanghuacheng, Gubeikou, Jiankou, and Jinshanling.

 

TODAY’S CHALLENGES

2,000 years of wars, revolution, and tourism have certainly taken its toll on this most famous Chinese landmark. Like every ancient historical monument, time is a major enemy. Considering the age and incredible size of this building, it is understandable that maintenance is one of the greatest challenges. Surveys are astonishing: Only about 30% of the Great Wall is in good shape. It is every visitors responsibility to pay respect to this site and to protect it for generations to come.

GREAT WALL TRIVIA

The amount of earth, stone, and brickwork used during construction would be more than enough to build a wall 3 feet thick and 15 feet high around the equator.

Every May, the Great Wall Marathon is held, with participants from more than 40 countries. The run includes more than 5,000 steps.

In May 1984 a group of 3 Chinese set out to walk the entire length of the Great Wall, 508 days later the task was completed.

CST China Special Tours creates special group tours to China. If you want to see the Great Wall/s, we know the right places. Contact us and request a customized proposal.

TRAVEL NEWS FROM CHINA 

Tibet's first Airline begins Service - Tibet now is home to the world's highest airline, with a fleet of one Airbus A319. Currently operating within Tibet, the first flight launched in July between Tibet's capital Lhasa and Ngari. 

Heixiazi Island - This small border island linking China and Russia opened as a new eco tourism resort destination, primarily for Chinese tourists. Aside from a wetland reserve and a former Russian military camp, visitors can enjoy boat trips around the island. While Heixiazi had once been the site of frequent border disputes between the two countries, a consensus was reached in 2010 to work together to make the island an attractive place for eco-tourists.

Shook! now open in Shanghai - A new dining establishment has opened its doors recently, right in the famous Bund area in Shanghai, occupying the top floors of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel. Executive Chef Kevin Cape invites guests to an eclectic choice of dishes, both with an Asian and European touch. One of the not-to-miss signature dishes is the "Dancing Prawns". Bon Appetit.

Being Beijing - Part VI

Enjoy the last part of the CCTV series "Being Beijing"! This segment will take you outside Beijing: Aside from visiting the Great Wall (I highly recommend Mutianyu) and the famous Ming Tombs, you will be introduced to Tanzhe Temple, the picturesque village of Cuandixia, as well as the Rainbrow Trout Valley.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/travelogue/20110621/102421.shtml

Being Beijing - Part V

Enjoy the fifth episode of "Being Beijing". The first part is about Zhongguancun, Beijing's Silicon Valley, and the university district of Haidian, while the second part introduces you to one of the city's major attractions: The Summer Palace.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/travelogue/20110620/101702.shtml

How Green is China?

Having been to China’s major cities in recent years, visitors will undoubtedly notice the problem of pollution yet longtime residents will proudly direct you to immense improvements in air quality over the last few decades.

The most recent 12th FYP (5 Year Plan), covering the time frame 2011 – 2015 and shared with the world after this years’ convention in March, is a blue print of priorities and goals set out by the central government. While the overall goal is ‘Economic Rebalancing’ observers noticed increasing priorities given to environmental and energy goals.

With the world’s largest population (4.5 times that of the US), China has maintained average annual growth rates of more than 10 per cent over many years, which many consider unsustainable in the future. Lifting a large portion of its population out of poverty also creates the largest move ever recorded in history from rural to urban China, increasing the urbanization rate to over 50%. As a result of this massive population move, energy demand is growing by annually 12%.

The goals of the government are clear:

·         Energy Conservation: Increase energy efficiency to 16% (the 11^th FYP accomplished a 20% increase), improve development of energy-efficient technology, increase water conservation to 30%.

·         Environmental Quality: 8% reduction in carbon emission is the current goal for 2015, during the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Conference China introduced its self-imposed goal of 45% reduction by 2020 (over 2005); forest coverage is to grow to almost 22%. Carbon Taxes and Trading are widely discussed and expected to be implemented by 2013.

·         New Energy: Currently China produces almost 9% of its energy through non-fossil resources including wind, water, and nuclear. Within the next five years this percentage is to increase to 15%.

Some of these goals seem rather ambitious, yet with a centralized government realizing the dangers of rapid economic growth, billions of dollars in available investments, and an excellent past record, China may well be on the way to master this balancing act. Investments in environmentally friendly energy production are higher here than in any other country ($34b in 2009, twice as much as the US).

While China is undoubtedly the world’s largest carbon emitter, the per-household ratio shows a different picture and how far ahead the US is compared to China: The two ‘cleanest’ US cities, San Diego and San Francisco, show emissions of 26 tons of CO2 per household, far ahead of the 1.8 tons for a Shanghai household or 4 tons for a Beijing household. Per capita, the US remains by far the largest polluter in the world.

And China has achieved another accomplishment: It’s the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines and solar panels. In 2009 China put up one third of the world’s wind turbines, not just domestically but internationally as well.  Environmentally friendly technology is a very attractive export product. Unfortunately, 30 percent of the wind turbines within China are currently not connected to the aging power grid, something that certainly will change very soon.

Many believe by the end of this decade China will dominate the production of the whole range of power equipment. As a result, clean power technologies will get cheaper for itself and everyone else, and China will become the largest producer and consumer of alternative energy.

CST China Special Tours organizes special group tours to China. Interested in visiting China 'with a special focus', - educational, professional, or special interest? Please contact CST today and soon you will receive your personalized proposal. Please visit www.chinaspecialtours.com for more information.

TRAVEL NEWS FROM CHINA

Hong Kong Airport most efficient in Asia - The Air Transport Research Society has again elected Hong Kong Airport as the most efficient in Asia, considering traffic figures, delays, management and passenger figures. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport still retains its position as the most efficient aviation hub globally.

Great Wall Helicopter Ride - 15 minute charter flights are now offered from Badaling Airport at a cost of RMB 1,500 (approx. $200). The modern helicopters can accommodate up to 4 passengers. Plans include longer flights for up to 60 minutes.

Delta Air Lines introduces new China flight - Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines introduced its new nonstop flight between Detroit and Beijing in addition to the already scheduled flights from Detroit to Shanghai and Hong Kong. Flights currently operate five times per week with a Boeing 777.

Being Beijing - Part IV

This part of the fabulous CCTV video series will introduce you to Eastern Beijing including an extensive visit to "798 Art Space", Happy Valley (for children), Shopping at the Silk Street Market, and one of the nightlife centers, Sanlitun. Enjoy!

http://english.cntv.cn/program/travelogue/20110615/102211.shtml

"Being Bejing" - Enjoy this very interesting video series introducing you to Beijing.

Video 1 - Being Bejing

Video 2 - Being Bejing

Video 3 - Being Bejing