Departure and Return Date: 10/14-11/02/2008

Tour Fare: $3650 + tax $430 (will increase if book the int’l flights after Aug. 1st) + Chinese Visa fee $150
(Deposit $500/per person should be paid before February 01, 2008. Full payment should be paid before July 01, 2008)

Price includes:
Int’l tickets (SFO-Beijing, Shanghai-SFO), all China domestic air tickets specified in the itinerary, 4-5 star hotels or the local best hotels, 3 meals daily, transportation in China, admission tickets, English speaking tour guides and travel insurance in China.

Price does not include: Tips (approximately $7 per day for 20 days).

Room: Standard double room. Single room charge extra $600 on land, $350 on boat.

Meals: Three meals a day provided (American & Chinese Breakfast, Chinese lunch and dinner).
Tour Guide: National & Local English and Chinese-speaking guide services.

Itinerary:

Day 1 10/14 SFO - Beijing
Fly Air China from San Francisco to Beijing departing at 2pm.

Day 2 10/15 Beijing (Loong Palace Hotel 5*)
Arrive in Beijing at early afternoon, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel.

Day 3 10/16 Beijing (BLD)
Visit and sketch the Forbidden City. Tour the traditional residential area: small alleys called Hootong where has courtyard house, one of Beijing’s most interesting places. Also, visit the Temple of Heaven. Enjoy Beijing Duck dinner.

Day 4 10/17 Beijing (BLD)
Climb and sketch on the Great Wall in the morning. After lunch tour and sketch in Summer Palace, once a retreat for feudal emperors.

Day 5 10/18 Beijing-Xian (BLD, Jin Yuan Hotel 4*)
Fly to Xi’an in the morning. Xi’an, the seat of eleven dynasties spanning a millennium, is a treasure-trove of archeological discoveries including the Mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Haung, initial builder of the Great Wall. Visit his 6,000 life-size, individually featured terra cotta warriors. In the evening, see stage opera of Tang Dynasty.

Day 6 10/19 Xian-Guilin (BLD, Royal Garden Hotel 5*)
Visit the Shanxi Museum and a kindergarten. Fly to Guilin late evening.

Day 7 10/20 Guilin (BLD)
City sightseeing includes Sketch at Elephant Hill and panda encounter.

Day 8 10/21 Guilin (BLD)
Visit Zhong Minority in the mountains. Explore the magnificent landscapes and the minority culture. Sketch the beautiful scenery. Back to Guilin at the evening.

Day 9 10/22 Guilin-Yangshou (BLD, Paradise Resort, local best)
A half-day excursion by boat to Li-Jaing River. Tour through the incredible valleys, bamboo groves and unbelievable rock formation hills along the winding river. This adventure will provide numerous sketching opportunities. The boat will stop at Yangshou, a picturesque well preserved town. In the afternoon tour the Gaotian scenic area - artists must-visit place where has a Thousand-year-old Banyan Tree. Walk and sketch in the farming villages.

Day 10 10/23 Guilin-Chongqing (BLD, Wan You Conifer 4*)
Fly to Chongqing in morning. Visit and sketch in Ci Qi Kou, one of the old parts of the Chongqing city.

Day 11 10/24 Chongqing (BLD)
Tour and sketch the Dazu Stone Carving on the cliff, one of the three major Buddhism cliff stone carving sites in China. Enjoy local special food at dinner.

Day 12 10/25 to Day13 10/26 Chongqing–Yangtze River Cruise (BLD, Regal Princess Cruise 5*)
After breakfast, board the Yangtze River Cruise ship. You will pass the beautiful scenery and the Three Gorges staying on board two and half days. During the cruise, you will take smaller boat to tour the Shangnon Stream (or Da Nining River). Also, you will do off shore activities as visiting Fengdu City and Three Gorges Dam.

Day 14 10/27 Wuhan (BLD, Holiday Inn Tian An Wuhan 4*)
After finish viewing the last of the Three Gorges arrive in Yi Chang at bout noon. Take a coach to Wuhan.

Day 15 10/28 Wuhan-Shanghai-Suzhou (BLD, Aster Hotel Suzhou 4*)
Visit Hubei Museum and the Rock Museum. Fly to Shanghai at the early evening. Upon arrival take a coach to Suzhou, where has the most beautiful gardens in China.

Day 16 10/29 Suzhou (BLD)
Visit and sketch the Garden of the Master of Nets.

Day 17 10/30 Suzhou (BLD)
Tour and sketch the Humble Administers Garden. Visit Suzhou Art Museum.

Day 18 10/31 Suzhou-Xi Tang-Shanghai (BLD, Four Points Sheraton Hotel 5*)
In the morning, take bus to Xi Tang, a well-preserved traditional town featuring magnificent canals, half-moon shaped stone bridges and traditional dwellings. Sketch the unit sceneries. Take the bus back to Shanghai in late afternoon.

Day 19 11/01 Shanghai (BL)
In the morning visit Shanghai Museum of Art, one of the most famous art museums in China. It houses an outstanding array of paintings, bronzes, minority customs, historical coins and ceramics. Free time afternoon.

Day 20 11/02 Shanghai-SFO (B)
After breakfast, transfer to airport and fly back home.

Remark:
* 1. This is the final itinerary. Slight schedule changes may occur in China. Participants should be able to carry approximately 12 lbs (painting and personal items), walk two mile continually and climb three fly of stairs.
2. Maximum number of participants is 35 and the minimum is 18. Non-artists such as spouse and friends of the artists are welcome to join.
3. Each sketch (watercolor) will take approximately one hour and half and about once per day. Chinese painting instructions also include in the trip (will buy the materials in China).
4 . You will visit special factories and stories such as the Jade factories in Beijing, the terror cotta factory in Xian, the rug factory in Shanghai, the silk factory in Suzhou and the pearl store in Guilin. Feel free stay outside for sketching or taking pictures.

Organizer:
Lian Zhen P.O. BoX 33142, Reno, NV 89533. Tel: 510-685-2654. Email: lianzhen@yahoo.com.

Tour agency:
Mr. Charlie Zhang, Manager, China CYTS Tours (USA), Inc. 110 Sutter Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94104, Tel: (415) 732-7100, Fax: (415) 732-9578
Email: charlie@cytstours.com Wet site: www.cytstours.com

Lian Zhen took the first group of artists from US to visit and sketch in China in the year of 1997. Then in 2001 he lead two groups, again one group each year from 2002 to 2007. Each time the group stayed in the country for 20 days exploring major cities such as Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Suzhou and Quilin, as well as taking the Yangtze River Cruise and traditional towns.