New and Interesting in China for 2019
One of the best parts of this job has to be product design. Let’s face it. You are most likely in this business because, like me, travel is in your blood and at the core of who you are. While it can be incredibly gratifying to help clients craft itineraries, a good majority of them will stick with the known – few wander too far off the tried and true.
But every so often, you’ll get a client who challenges the status quo – wants to travel beyond the Great Wall of China or the Forbidden City. They are the ones that push our product design team to unearth the newest trends and scope out the itineraries that help further define Goway as Asia specialists.
We are super excited to showcase five new programs in China perfect for either the intrepid traveller or even for the returning visitor to China.
Amazing Landscapes of China: Beijing to Shanghai. This trip is aptly named, including a bunch of different typography. From rice terraces to southern rivers with limestone karsts jutting out from around the waters, to the fabulous Yellow Mountains and voluminous caves, this trip includes it all. While it does still include Beijing and some of its highlights, it also introduces the ancient cities of Pingyao and Taiyuan – two of the best-preserved cities in all of China. This 13-day itinerary, ideal for the active Globetrotter, rather than the person who wants to sit back and relax.
For those who want to combine their love of biking with travel, we have our new China Biking tour. This 12-day trip also starts in Beijing, where cycling to work is a way of life. In China alone, there over 500,000,000 bicycles on the road and over 37% of the population thinks of themselves as cyclists. While Beijing is an excellent place to start, the majority of this experience centers around the southern regions of Guilin and Lijiang. Globetrotters will pedal through rice terraces, wind their way through villages and explore monasteries and temples – but at a leisurely pace with many stops to try the local cuisine.
My personal favourite of the 2019 lineup is Giant Pandas and Ethnic Yunnan. No matter who you are, puppies and pandas never get old. This trip includes a visit to the world famous panda breeding centre in Chengdu where if you aren’t careful, you’ll find yourself snapping thousands upon thousands of pics of these incredibly cute creatures in every possible pose and then wonder what you were thinking when you return home to review them all. In addition to Chengdu, this trip also visits Lijiang – on two feet instead of two wheels this time. The Old Town of Lijiang offers lots to explore and leaves the visitor with a feel of what life in China must have been like back at the turn of the century. It’s one of my favourite spots in China, so coupled with the panda visit, I give this new itinerary two thumbs and two toes up.
Next up is a journey through the mountains used in the film Avatar. Location scouts scoured the globe looking for a surreal landscape to become the backdrop of James Cameron’s 2009 epic sci-fi nail-biter, finally settling on the mountainous area of Zhangjiajie. Our new 8-day Mighty Mountains tour starts in Zhangjiajie but then travels further into the Yellow Mountain area stopping in small ancient villages before finishing Shanghai. The trip includes a mix of cable cars, high- speed trains and regular transport and introduces you to some of China’s most fascinating wonders.
Finally, with culinary tourism on the rise, we’re proud to introduce an 8-day foodie tour entitled, A Foodies Guide to China. If you’ve ever surrendered dinner plans and ordered Chinese take-out… well, this is nothing like that. This trip travels between Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, and Shanghai but stops to sample the multitude of different cooking styles along the way. Armed with a pair of chopsticks, the gourmands in your database will love this unique trip that covers all the main highlights but with a sprinkle of Chinese herbs and spices along the way.
Of course, Goway will continue to offer all of the tours your clients have come to love. For those who prefer something a little more mainstream, we highly recommend our famous Splendours of China and Tibet and our 14-Day China Odyssey.
Both will not disappoint.
