China Holidays Weblog

Wild China on the BBC

On Sunday the BBC are beginning a series entitled 'Wild China'. From the BBC site:

China is a vast country with an astonishingly diverse landscape. Through unprecedented access, this six-part series reveals the little-known natural treasures and secret wildlife havens of China's wildest regions.

The programmes are as follows:

• Heart of the Dragon
• Shangri-La
• Tibet
• Beyond the Great Wall
• Land of the Panda
• Tides of Change

The series should showcase some of the fascinating aspects of China that you may not be aware of. If you have any queries or questions, or would like the opportunity of discussing China, please do let us know  -  we'd be happy to help.

New photographs

We've just added some more photographs to our Flickr account - they are from two of our clients who have recently returned from a holiday to China. You can see them at the China Holidays Flickr pool. If you have any photographs of a recent trip to China (it doesn't need to be with China Holidays - we just love seeing photographs of the country!) do let us know.

As a bit of fun we've also turned one of them into a jigsaw puzzle as well - hope you enjoy it!

China Holidays 10th anniversary

China Holidays is to celebrate its 10th anniversary with the launch of its first trade brochure this Summer, part of a campaign to build closer links with agents and operators.

Speaking to over 200 guests at the operator’s anniversary celebrations at Madam Tussauds, managing director Stephanie Cheng said that, having built up a major incoming and outgoing business to China , it was now important to give the trade easier access to this major market, particularly with all the interest that will be generated by this Summer’s Olympic games.

Guest of honour at the celebrations was the Chinese Ambassador to the UK , Her Excellency Fu Yin, who said: “There are now tremendous opportunities for China and the UK to build strong trade and cultural links as a result of London following Beijing as the host city for the Olympic Games. Bilateral relations are also very important, and companies like China Holidays assist in no small way to spread the mutual understanding of each other’s culture and points of view”. She added: “However I do believe that the UK tourism industry should do more to make life easier for Chinese visitors, such as having more Chinese speaking and guides and increasing Chinese language signage”.

UK Inbound chief executive Stephen Dowd told the party that Visa procedures for Chinese visitors coming to the UK were being improved and that the cost of an ADS Visa was being reduced. “I hope this underlines to travel agents in China that the UK authorities do indeed welcome Chinese visitors and that we are ready to welcome even more in the coming months”.

Looking back at the ten year history of China Holidays, Chairman Carey Fletcher said that, having started with a tiny office, the company now employed 30 staff in offices in Beijing and London . He said: “During this time we have seen a huge growth in the amount of Chinese inbound travel to the UK – last year China Holidays brought over 4,000 business people from China into this country, which underlines the importance of building strong relationships with the travel trade there”. China Holidays brought 12 leading tour operators from China to the anniversary celebrations as part of a familiarisation trip being supported by a number of leading UK attractions.

Share your experiences of your holiday in China with us!

Going on holiday is always an enjoyable and exciting experience. However, almost as enjoyable is sharing those experiences with friends, colleagues and loved ones. Here at China Holidays we also like to enjoy the tales that our customers bring back with them. If you'd like to share your stories do feel free to click on the 'comments' link at the bottom of this post, fill in your details and your experiences and send them off. We'll add them to the weblog entry as soon as possible.

If you're stuck for a few ideas perhaps we can help:

What surprised you most about China?
What was the most attractive place you visited?
What was your favourite smell or taste?
Did anything funny happen to you?
Did you meet any interesting characters?
Was there a particular tour that stands out in your memory?
If you had to sum up China in 3 words, what would they be?

Of course you don't need to answer those questions - they're just some ideas to help you on your way!

The Terracotta Warriors

Terracotta Warriors, originally uploaded by China.Holidays.

As you're probably aware, the British Museum is currently hosting an exhibition of some of the famous Terracotta Warriors. Here at China Holidays we thought you might like to see some photographs of them in situ.

The figures are 2,200 years old and (obviously) made from terra cotta. 20 figures, their horses, chariots, weapons and kit make up the exhibition. They have been protecting the first Qin emperor since his death in 210BC. Each figures is estimated to be worth between £750,000 to £1.5 million.

The exhibition explores the life and reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang Di, as well as the excavation of the warriors themselves. It's on from now until April 6th 2008, and we'd encourage you to visit it , and perhaps think about getting a taste of China at home! You can get more information on the exhibition directly from the British Museum Website. In the meanwhile, enjoy the photographs!

7 Horses Hill on Li River

7 Horses Hill on Li River, originally uploaded by China.Holidays.

This is a photograph taken by a China Holidays client, Valerie. She took this stunning photograph of the 7 Horses Hill on the Li River. It really gives you a good view of this stunning location.

Our new brochure for holidays in China in 2008

Just a brief note to let you know that our brochure is currently in production. As soon as it is available we'll post to the weblog to let you know, and if you have requested a copy it should shortly be with you.

China Holidays photographs in Flickr

We're delighted to let you know that we have created a Flickr group for photographs. For those of you who are not familiar with Flickr, it's a photograph sharing group. You can create an account and upload your own photographs to share with friends and family, and you can also share those photographs with other people by adding them to different groups.

This is a great way to share your memories - and it's also a great way to gain a little bit of an impression of China as viewed through the lenses of the people who have already been there. Do please feel free to take a look at the group - you can find it at http://www.flickr.com/groups/chinaholidays/pool/ If you have photographs yourself do please feel free to post them to the group itself - you don't need to seek permission or anything like that - we'd love to see (and share!) in your own memories of China via your photographs.

New idea

Hi Debbie  well it is very early days but we think it should give people an oportunity to share their experinces - obvously i want to encourage the clients who have travelled with us to post new items BUT my idea is a forum for people interested in China

Great start to our season

We are very pleased to report that most of our clients have returned with some great stories and tales to tell about their Spring  trips to China .  I fear that Paul Merton's series will dwell on the strange and peculiar but as the saying goes it takes all sorts !! Please let me know what were the good bits of your trips and maybe even let me know the parts that were not so good  so we can make alterations to our itineraries in the future .  Happy Holidays  Carey J Fletcher Director China Holidays