VACATION DETAILS

Meaning “Bay of the Descending Dragon,” Halong Bay’s water is calm and undisturbed despite the jutting limestone mountains that soar out of the water and toward the sky. As if a tail of a Dragon plunged into the earth, the mountains are craggy, sharp, and barren, and are dotted with thousands of small caves of various depths and heights. At dusk, they all take on mysterious shades of gray, mauve and olive, lending credence to the local legends.

Excursions

Sapa (Sa Pa) lies in the very north west of Vietnam near the Chinese border. Along with Halong Bay it is the "other" major excursion from Hanoi. Sapa is such a colorful town thanks to the H'mong and Dzao people from the local hill tribes who head into the town's market every day to trade their produce. There's a main market every Saturday when the place is packed but there's a lower key one every other day during the week. These people will have undergone no formal education but the arrival of foreigners has made them well aware of the value of money and many of the youngsters have picked up a basic level of English. They sell clothing and handicrafts which are popular with tourists.

Located in Yunnan province, Jianshui, China, is rapidly developing as a major tourist center. Its history dates back 1,200 years.

Jianshui's Eastern Gate is similar in design to the gateway at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, but it is 25 years older. The top level of the gate, as well as an adjacent small park, are full of older citizens who can be seen talking, playing mah-jongg and cards, singing or just relaxing.

A long pedestrian mall lined with trendy shops joins the Western Gate and other ornate gates along the way to some old freshwater wells. There, local women "bucket" the well water into large water containers, from which it's sold to area residents. Nearby, a small factory produces bean-curd sweets. The town is also known for steam-pot cooking and barbecue.

As befits a proper Yunnan city, Jianshui is home to some lovely gardens, including the Zhu Family Garden, which dates from the 1890s. Established by two brothers, the garden contains 42 courtyards, numerous archways, masses of bonsai trees and a huge pool full of koi. Visitors can even stay in one of the garden's ornate, traditional rooms.

Another garden contains the second-oldest Confucian temple in China, modeled after the one in Qufu, as well as a huge pond full of lotus flowers, bridges, statues, doors and carved panels. The workmanship on all these artifacts is incredibly detailed.

A combo ticket is available for the Confucian Temple, Zhu Family Garden and Swallow's Cavern, a huge cave and nesting area for hundreds of thousands of swallows about 11 mi/18 km from the city.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is often referred to as Vietnam’s jewel and the Pearl of the Orient. Located in south Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is the country’s largest city, with more than six million people and over one million motorbikes. Under the current regime the city is once more being rebuilt. Whole blocks are disappearing, being replaced by concrete, steel and glass structures. Central Saigon, which is still the official name for the city center, shows evidence of the French colonial city, with wide, tree-lined boulevards, sidewalk cafés and elegant French architecture. The city is divided into two sections: Saigon, the municipal and historical district, and Cholon (Chinatown), where the entrepreneurial talent and private funds are concentrated. Cholon appears to be the most populated and in general the most vigorous part of Ho Chi Minh City. It is well worth a visit for its bustle and activity and its pagodas, which are reputed to be the finest in the whole city.

Excursions

Hoi An is an ancient port town that was designated an UNESCO World Heritage site. It is one of the rare places in Vietnam to discover genuine Vietnamese architecture. Walk through the Old Quarter and get a glimpse of a medieval Vietnam that no longer exists in the other areas of the country. Visit the Phuc Kien Pagoda, the 400-year-old Japanese Covered Bridge and the colorful bazaar

Excursions

Hue is at the heart of central Vietnam. The landscape – with its misty Perfume River and pagodas – has long been a source of poetry and paintings. Always an important cultural, intellectual and historical city, Hue remains one of Vietnam’s main attractions.

Excursions

Hanoi is a city with a history that dates back to the 7th century. In 1954 Hanoi was declared the capital of the Democratic Republic of North Vietnam, and in 1976, following the Vietnam War, it became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This political history has made Hanoi one of the country's most fascinating cities to explore. The most renowned of all the monuments is the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. It is dedicated to Vietnam's most well-respected President, who in 1945, led his country to independence. Other highlights include the Museum of History, containing ancient artifacts from Cambodia, Thailand, Japan and China, the 11th century One Pillar Pagoda and legendary Sword Lake.

Excursions

Located 400 mi/645 km south of Chengdu at an elevation of 6,200 ft/1,900 m, Kunming, the "city of eternal springs," is surrounded by gorgeous mountain scenery. It's a pleasant, well-laid-out city, with a temperate climate and many gardens and lakes. The city was a base for the Flying Tigers during the early stages of World War II. It also played a key role in the Sino-Japanese War as the end point of the Burma Road.

Kunming also has a number of golf courses. China's burgeoning middle class is enthusiastically taking to the sport of golf, and greens are being built around the city. The Lakeview Country Club course was designed by British golf pro Nick Faldo.

Kunming is home to many of China's ethnic minorities—tribal people—who consider themselves distinctly different from China's predominant ethnic group, the Han. The city is also intriguing because some of the neighborhoods escaped the ugly 1950s Chinese modern architecture that characterizes most cities in the rest of the country, although given Kunming's rapid growth and ongoing construction this may not always be the case.

Things to see in Kunming include an interesting market, some ruined pagodas, the Yuantong Temple (a glorious building set on Green Lake) and stores selling tribal handicrafts.

Perhaps the best thing about Kunming, however, is that its traditional Chinese teahouses have survived. Tucked into side streets, they serve as neighborhood centers where older citizens play games and smoke the afternoon away—visitors are welcome.

There are many lakes and old temples outside the city that make fun destinations for day trips. Most notable are the Huating Temple in the Western Hills (built in the 1300s) and the 300-year-old Golden Temple (bronze-covered pillars, roofs and gates), linked by cable car to the World Horticultural Expo Garden.

Another attraction in the vicinity is the Shilin Stone Forest of Lunan county. These oddly shaped rock formations are actually better seen during an overnight stay rather than a day trip because they're about 75 mi/125 km southeast of town, although a highway makes a day trip possible.

Well-connected by road and rail, as well as the Kunming Airport, Kunming makes an excellent hub from which to explore the Yunnan province. The metro system, comprised of six lines, is a great way of getting around.

Dali City is a picturesque city located northwest of the Yunnan Province, surrounded by mountains on the east and the Erhai Lake in its center. Due to Cangshan Mountain, a natural reserve and scenic hiking area, Dali is known as a backpackers’ haven. The kingdom dates back as early as 4,000 years when the Bai people first settled the area, and Ming Dynasty ruins can be toured in the Ancient City where Dali was first built. Dali is known for its rich cultural heritage and historical significance, and visitors enjoy its stunning natural scenery.

Lijiang is a popular tourist destination in Yunnan Province. The town is culturally rich with it's Old Town District, 800 year old bridges and waterways.  The views atop Jade Dragon Snow Mountain are breathtaking, and the Dongba cultural center of Jade Water Village is worth visiting. 

The main inland access city to Tibet, Chengdu is the capital of the "Heavenly State". Most known for its natural habitat and research center for giant pandas, this sprawling city boasts a population of over 11 million.

Xi'an - with five million inhabitants and capital of Shaanxi Province - is one of the more pleasant of Chinese cities, more prosperous than any other city in inland China except Chengdu, with streets full of Japanese cars, stores flooded with temptations, and stylish locals in new discos. It's far richer than the surrounding area, a fact which becomes clear after a bus ride into surrounding plains. The city is also a primer in Chinese history, as between 1000 BC and 1000 AD it served as imperial capital for eleven dynasties. Find a wealth of important sites and relics hereabouts: Neolithic Banpo, the Terracotta Army of the Qin emperor, the Han and Tang imperial tombs, and in the city itself, the Goose Pagodas of the Tang, the Bell and Drum towers and Ming city walls, as well as two museums holding a treasury of relics from the most glamorous parts of Chinese history. The city is very popular with foreign residents, and many come to study, as the colleges are regarded as some of the best places to learn Chinese.

Beijing is the country's economic, cultural and transportation center as well as a famous historical capital of China. Located in northwest North China Plain, Beijing is the second largest city in China with a population of more than 11 million and is ideal to visit all year. There are numerous museums and libraries with the largest collection of books in the country. It also serves as a center for science and technology. It is a hub of communications, with good railroad and air links with all parts of China and with major cities of the world, thus facilitating the rapid development of tourism as an important industry in Beijing. Beijing is an ancient city with a long cultural history. The four feudal dynasties--Jin, Yuan, Ming, and Qing had all set up their capital here and it became a most concentrated place of the country's scenic spots and historical sites. The best known are the Palace Museum, the Summer Palace, the Great Wall and the Temple of Heaven. Beijing aims to develop into a modern international metropolis..