Where in the world is Henry San Diego?

Are you wondering where we are?

Read below to see where we will be based on our travel brochure. I had the best intentions of adding links to every sight mentioned but I am exhausted and need to go to bed. We have 6 planes, several buses and a high speed train to make in the next 10 days!

Friday the 13th we leave from LAX for Shangahi. We arrive in Shanghai, the largest city in China with and the 8th largest city in the world. We will have been on the plane for 14 hours or so and arrive on Saturday evening the 14th. Even though we will be carrying tooth brushes and no more than 3 oz. of toothpaste, I will look forward to a shower, dinner and a nice soft bed at our hotel.

Sunday the 15th - Tour of Shanghai including Old Town, The Bund, walk along the Huangpu River and top of the Tower of the Eastern Pearl.

Shanghai, once a tranquil but busy fishing village, and long known as a paradise for adventurers in the years before 1949, is now the largest commercial and financial center of China. Sightseeing includes the Old Town, a finely designed maze of elegant pavilions and ponds in the old part of this city. Then stroll along the Bund, China’s most famous waterfront stretching about one mile along the Huangpu River. Then ascend the Tower of the East Pearl (The highest TV Tower in Asia) in the newly developed Pudong District. In the evening we grab a flight to Bejing.

Monday the 16th - we will be in Beijing visiting the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.

Beijing served as the capital for 5 dynasties over a period of 800 years with each emperor identified as a dragon sent from heaven. Begin your city tour with a visit to the Summer Palace, whose construction was completed in 1750 as a royal recreational resort. Among its famous features are the nearly half-a-mile-long covered corridor with its painted ceiling gallery, the Marble Boat, and several magnificently painted pavilions and pagodas. The next stop is the Palace Museum, more commonly known as the Forbidden City. It used to be open only to the emperor’s family. This complex, the largest imperial palace ever built in the world, features more than 800 buildings with over 9,000 rooms, all with golden-glazed roofs, red lacquered pillars, and vermilion walls. See the high-walled “Inner City” with its government buildings. Sightseeing continues at the Temple of Heaven where the Ming and Qing emperors conducted the annual ceremony to pray to the Heaven for a good harvest. This evening you will enjoy a special imperial cuisine served at Fangshan Restaurant.

Tuesday the 17th - Beijing, visit the Great Wall of China and Ming Tombs with an acrobatic performance at a dinner of Peking Duck.

Here is your chance to climb the Great Wall of China! This wonder of the world, built more than 2,000 years ago. Then visit the Ming Tombs, the burial place of thirteen emperors of the MingDynasty. Yearlong excavations have uncovered many rare treasures such as gold crowns and silk robes. Tonight’s special dinner gives you a real taste of Peking Duck. After dinner, you will enjoy an acrobatic performance.

Wednesday the 18th - Beijing’s Tiananmen Square Fly to Xi’an to see the Wild Goose Pagoda, Ancient City Walls and a Tang Dynasty Stage Show

In the morning, take a stroll around Tiananmen Square (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), the largest square in the world and also known for many historical and contemporary events in China.
Then fly to Xian. Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda and the Ancient City Walls. In the evening, you will see a wonderful stage show of the Tang Dynasty and stay in Xian.

Thursday the 19th - Xi’an, visiting Qing Tomb Park and The Terra Cotta Warriors. Dinner of Chinese dumplings.

Xian was the capital of China for 73 emperors in 11 dynasties extending over 1,100 years. Following a visit to the Qing Tomb Park, you will visit another wonder of the ancient China–the Terra Cotta Warriors. Concealed under earth, the thousands of life-size clay warriors, horses and chariots, were part of the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang, the first emperor of China who initiated the Great Wall. They were accidentally discovered by a farmer in 1974 while he was digging a well. You might chance upon some archaeologists still working on site to uncover the rest of the vast tomb complex. For dinner, feast on numerous varieties of dumplings.

Friday the 20th - Leave Xi’an for Guilin to see the beautiful Reed Flute Caves and Elephant Trunk Hill. In the evening we will see an ethnic song and dance performance.

Take a morning flight to Guilin, a southwest city famous for its fabulous natural scenery. The features fantastic natural stalactite and stalagmite formations which are now artfully illuminated by multicolored lights. Another magnificent view is Elephant Trunk Hill which stands along Li River. This evening you will watch an ethnic song and dance performance.

Saturday the 21st - Guilin, taking a cruise down the Li River to see the most beautiful landscape in the world. Stop for shopping at a colorful local market then off to Shanghai to enjoy the night-life...with Henry!

Cruising down the Li River, you will be fascinated by a living gallery. Cormorant fishing on the Li River, limestone spires rising out of the flat ground in the distance, with some peaks rounds and others sharply pointed, with often perpendicular cliffs and trees sprouting from the cracks to bend skyward—definitely a surreal landscape you never see anywhere else in the world. Disembark at Yangshuo to experience a colorful local market. Return to Guilin. Then Fly to Shanghai Enjoy your night in Shanghai.

Sunday the 22nd - Shangahi Museum, Maglev speed train to the airport

Finally we will will visit Shanghai Museum, one of the best museums in China. Then it’s time to pack the mementos and memories, take the Maglev, a fast speed train to the airport and fly home.

We look forward to seeing you all when we return! XOXO