2016 Road to Shu Itinerary
Day 1, March 16, 2016 Wednesday – Leave the USA on overseas flight to China
Day 2, March 17, Thurs – Arrive Chengdu
I will meet you at the airport whenever you arrive. We are going to stay at the Chuangang hotel five minutes from the airport the first night, as most people will be arriving during the evening and night. I will either send you to the hotel in the hotel courtesy van or come back with you in the van depending on the time of other people’s arrival. The van ride takes five minutes. If you arrive in the afternoon, we will have dinner at the hotel.Wine or beer at dinner can be paid with US dollars. We will have time to change money the next day for shopping and for buying beer, wine or soda.
Day 3, March 18, Fri – Sightseeing in Chengdu
Our bus will pick us up at the hotel after an early breakfast. We can leave our luggage in the bus as we head to the newly expanded Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, returning to town in time for a Peking duck lunch. After lunch we’ll visit a famous outdoor antique area. Then our bus will take us to the Jinjiang Hotel in time for a rest before dinner at the Shizilou Hot Pot Restaurant, a wonderful and elegant restaurant on Qintai Road where all the buildings have recently been rebuilt in the traditional imperial style. After dinner we will watch a performance of the Sichuan opera just down the street. You can read about Chengdu in my book, pp. 75-80. We’ll return to our hotel about 10 pm where (if you are still awake) you can enjoy your last opportunity to watch western cable TV programs CNN and BBC.
Day 4, March 19, Sat – Sightseeing Chengdu & Bus to Langzhong
After a marvelous buffet breakfast at the Jinjiang Hotel, we’ll meet in the lobby for a brief introduction to the Road to Shu. Then we will take our bus to the Temple of the Martial Marquis (pp 90-92) for a stroll around the shady grounds and a tour through a very small Three Kingdoms Museum. The original temple on this site dates from the 6th century and was built to honor the Three Kingdoms strategist, Zhuge Liang, and his ruler Liu Bei who both played an important role along the old road in the 3rd century A.D. We’ll lunch at one of Chengdu’s most famous “little snacks” restaurants located in the Chunxi Mall where we will glimpse in passing the new consumer-oriented China which we are soon to leave behind. After lunch we’ll board our bus for a four-hour drive to our next destination Langzhong (pp. 187-190), one of the best-preserved Old Towns in the country, No cars are allowed in the old city, so we will have to carry our own bags about three blocks to our hotel. Any luggage not needed or purchases along the way can be left on the bus as it will be locked. We’ll arrive in time for dinner at our lodgings, the Qin Family Courtyard House (p.191), where we will soak up the atmosphere of rich-family living in traditional China. This is one of two Ming dynasty houses that have been preserved and turned into guest lodgings. After dinner we will stop in for a foot massage across the street before turning in.
Day 5, March 20, Sun –Sightseeing in Langzhong
After a dumpling breakfast in a traditional restaurant close to our hotel we will explore the old town on foot, in the morning visiting the market and the Huaguang Tower, and after lunch at our hotel, the Zhang Fei Temple, and the Examination Hall, where civil service exams were held in imperial times (pp 194-198). We’ll finish with a boat ride on the nearby Jialing River, returning to our hotel for a rest before dinner at the Du Family Courtyard House (p.190), which we will tour before dinner. After dinner we will walk down to the river to see a traditional puppet show.
Day 6, March 21, Mon – Sightseeing near Langzhong & bus to Zitong
After another dumpling breakfast, our bus will take us across the Jialing River and up to the top of the mountains which overlook Langzhong to visit the White Pagoda for a bird’s eye view of the old city enclosed by a bend of the Jialing River. Then the bus will drop us off near the Zhuangyuan Cave Pavilion for a pretty short hike through this complex and then through the grounds of the Tang Dynasty Great Buddha Temple, culminating in a long flight of steps down to the river, where we will catch a local ferry boat. Our bus will meet us on the other side, returning us to our hotel for lunch and checkout. After lunch we will drive to our next destination Zitong, about a three to four hour drive, arriving in time for dinner at our hotel.
Day 7, March 22, Tues – Wulian Hike & Explore Puan’s Old Town
After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us for a half hour drive along the Green Cloud Corridor, a highway built over the old road and still shaded by the ancient cypress trees which once lined the road (pp 100-105). Our bus will drop us off in the hills outside of Wulian (pp 133, 135-6, 138-9). Here we will take a short hike down the hill into town on the only stretch of the old flagstone road that was spared by the highway construction. The hike will be very leisurely as we will pass an interesting grave and several farmhouses so it will probably take two hours even though it could be done in 30 minutes. We’ll eat lunch in Wulian, then continue to drive north along the Green Cloud Corridor to our next destination, Puan, (pp 106-111), arriving in about 45 minutes. After getting settled in the Jiange Hotel, we’ll walk a few blocks to the old section of town to see the old gate with a bit of city wall on either side, the old bell-drum tower, and some of the old wooden houses which still line the original narrow street, now paved over but never widened (pp 116-117). Dinner at our hotel.
Day 8, March 23, Wed – Sword Gate Pass
After breakfast our bus will take us north on Route 108 to Jianmenguan, a 45 minute ride (p 118). Along the way we’ll stop at the Green Cloud Corridor (pp 145-146) where a special fenced in section of the old road is lined with more than 100 ancient cypress tress some over a thousand years old. Our bus will then take us farther north into Jianmenguan (pp 140-142) where we will have lunch in one of the local restaurants that specialize in excellent doufu dishes. At the restaurant we will meet Miss Li, a local lady who speaks only Chinese, but who is very familiar with the old road. She will accompany us for the next three days. After lunch Miss Li will show us her apartment and rooftop garden and we will spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the newly renovated Sword Gate Pass (pp 147-150) which has been much improved by moving the highway that once passed through it into a newly built tunnel. We will return to Puan for dinner at our hotel.
Day 9, March 24, Thurs -- Liangshan Hike
After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us south of Puan on Route 108 to Liangshan were the old road is preserved all the way into Puan and. We will hike the road lined with beautiful cypress for about three hours, returning halfway instead of going all the way into Puan. Miss Li will remain in town with anyone who prefers to skip the hike. Our bus will take us back into Puan for lunch. After lunch we will visit the Hemingshan Pagoda (pp 122-123) with the option afterwards of walking down the hill on the old road back into Puan or returning to town by bus. Dinner at our hotel.
Day 10, March 25, Fri - Hanyang Hike
After breakfast our bus will take us north again on Route 108 until we reach Hanyang, a half-hour ride out of Puan. We will disembark here and hike south back to Puan along one of the prettiest remaining stretches of the old flagstone road which is lined with more than 400 old cypress trees and winds its way past small villages and along the crests of hills with long views into the valleys below. We will hike for three hours which will involve some climbing of stone steps up steep hills with lots of rest stops, but intermixed with many level and downhill stretches as well. After a picnic lunch, our bus will meet us to take those who would rather continue to explore Puan with Miss Li back to the hotel. The bus will take those of us who want to continuing hiking to a stop farther along the trail where we can pick up the end of the hike for two more hours. After the hike our bus will pick us up and return us to the hotel for dinner.
Day 11, March 26, Sat – Bus Ride to Guangyuan and School Visit
After breakfast we’ll head north to Guangyuan, stopping along the way to visit a famous old bridge just outside of Jianmenguan. Mr. Chen, the local librarian, will meet us in Guangyuan at a local tea house Then he will join us for lunch in a lovely hot pot restaurant. After lunch he will accompany us to a local pre-kindergarten school when the children will sing for us and we’ll sing for them as best we can manage. Mr. Chen will then give us a tour of his very modern condo. Then we will head to our lodgings at newly remodeled Fengtai Hotel, a lovely Chinese-style building complex located on a small island in the South River.
Day 12, March 27, Sun – Sightseeing in Guangyuan
After a very nice buffet breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us north along the Jialing River to visit the site of a famous ancient plank road (pp 176-80) which once stretched along the side of a cliff above the river. A long section of the original plank road has been reconstructed by inserting new wood into the old holes. We can walk along this rebuilt road and then also see the road from the river on a small boat. Our tour will end with a cart ride through the Tiger’s Mouth, a section of half-tunneling blasted out of the solid rock in the 1930s in order to run the highway along the cliff. The highway has been routed inland, leaving the old highway as a tourist area with no cars. Our bus will then bring us back into town for lunch and a visit to the Thousand Buddha Cliff, once one of the most treacherous spots along the Road to Shu. It is also a famous site of early Buddhist carvings and has recently been improved by rerouting the highway that once passed right next to it. Dinner at our hotel.
Day 13, March 28, Mon – Sightseeing near Hanzhong
After another nice buffet breakfast, our bus heads north to Hanzhong (pp 206-213, 224-226), arriving in time for lunch at our hotel where we will sample Hanzhong's unique version of little snacks. In the afternoon we will visit the Hanzhong Museum, which has the best exhibit in China on the Road to Shu (pp 215-217). Here we will see how the sites we will visit on Day 14 have been altered by the dam and by the new highway construction. Dinner in our hotel.
Day 14, March 29, Tues – Bus to Feng Xian, plank road and temple
After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us north along the route of the old road (pp 233-248) which at first follows the pretty Bao River (pp 224-241). We’ll stop just north of Baocheng to visit another reconstructed plank road, this one built right next to a huge dam (pp 224-25) and not nearly so well done as the one at Guangyuan. Then we will continue north still following the route of the now-paved over old road, over a 5,000-foot mountain pass to the beautiful and remote Zhang Liang Temple, honoring a Three Kingdoms' hero. We'll have lunch in a local restaurant next to the temple then continue through the Qinling Mountains over another 5,000-foot mountain pass to the town of Feng Xian (pp 249-251) where we will spend the night.
Day 15, March 30, Wed – Fengzhou Hike and Light Show
After breakfast at our hotel, our bus will take us about a half an hour north to the small town of Fengzhou (pp 249-251) where we’ll meet our guide, Mr. Zhai, and visit for a while at his very modest house. After a brief peak at a new garish Buddhist temple on a nearby mountain, our bus will take us up into the mountains to the start of our last and most difficult hike. He will lead those of us who are up to it on a five- to six-hour hike up to the mountain pass and then back down on the old road. Those who want a less strenuous day can stay with me and climb for just an hour, then have a picnic and wait for the hikers to return. Those who prefer to explore the town will be accompanied by Mr. Zhai’s English-speaking niece. Our bus will bring us back to Feng Xian in time for dinner and after dinner we’ll board small boats to watch the light show over the river.
Day 16, March 31, Thurs – Bus to Tang Tombs outside Xi’an
We’ll leave Feng Xian right after breakfast heading for Xi'an, a four-hour drive, again following the route of the old Road to Shu, mostly through river valleys but with one 5,000-foot mountain pass to cross. We’ll reach our hotel, about 90 minutes outside of Xi’an, in time for lunch and after lunch we will visit two famous Tang dynasty tombs (Qianling and Princess Yong Tai) and a loess cave house (p. 303). We’ll return to our hotel for dinner.
Day 17, April 1, Fri –Terra Cotta Warriors
After breakfast, our bus will take us to the rest of the way into Xi'an and then continue on to the famous on-site excavation of the 7,000 Qin Dynasty terra cotta warriors and horses(a UNESCCO World Heritage site, p 303.) This will be a two- to three-hour ride, so we will first check into our hotel near the excavation site and have lunch. After lunch we will spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the three excavation areas and the excellent museum. Dinner at our hotel.
Day 18, April 2, Sat – Xi'an Site Seeing
After breakfast our bus will take us into Xi'an where we will be staying inside the walled city near the south gate. After checking in to our hotel, we will browse the local shops near the gate and eat lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch we will visit the nearby city wall (pp 304-305) for a stroll along the wall, returning to our hotel for a rest before our dinner at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House which includes a multi-course dumpling dinner and a show of Tang Dynasty dancing (p 300).
Day 19, April 3, Sun – Xi’an Bell Tower and Muslim Quarter
After breakfast at our hotel, we will visit the 14th century Bell Tower (305-6) and then there will be free time to shopon your own in the maze of small alleys in the Muslim district which sell some interesting local handiwork amongst the tourist souvenirs. For lunch we will sample a local lamb specialty called yangrou paomo at the Tongshengxiang Restaurant (300). After lunch our bus will take us to the airport for a flight to Chengdu to take advantage of the terrific United fare of $835 round-trip from Newark to Chengdu (this internal flight to Chengdu will be included in the price of your tour.) You may also fly directly home from Xi'an if you prefer. We will stay in the hotel near the airport in Chengdu and eat dinner there as well.
Day 20, April 4, Mon – Fly Home
We will take the hotel shuttle bus to the airport for our flight home. As we gain a day on the way home, with good connections we will arrive home on the same day.
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