Blanca & Ian's Travels

China

Trip Report - 2007

Do Not Drive Tiredly
(Highway Sign on Chinese Highways)

Beijing, Great Wall, Handan, Xi'an

This trip was thrown together in 5 weeks.  Our son decided to marry his Chinese girlfriend & after months of diddling around, they finally came up with a plan & a date.  From that point, we were a go.  While the bride lives in Beijing (pronounce Bay-ging with a hard G as in General, please), her ill grandmother resides in Handan, an industrial city, a 5 hour drive southwest of Beijing in lower Hebei Province.  So that was the wedding site.  We also decided to toss in a side trip to Xi'an for the Terracotta Warriors of Emperor Qin while we're there.

Feb 5 - Depart Toronto via Vancouver - Air Canada
Feb 6 - Arrive Beijing - spend night in bride-to-be's condo - Chaoyang District
Feb 7 - Beijing self-touring - another night in bride-to-be's condo
Feb 8 - Guided tour to Great Wall - night in Plaza Royale
Feb 9 - Drive to Handan
Feb 10 - Handan
Feb 11 - Wedding in Handan
Feb 12 - Flight to Xi'an
Feb 13 - Xi'an Touring
Feb 14 - Xi'an Touring & Flight to Beijing - 3 nights Plaza Royale
Feb 15 & 16 - Beijing self-touring & Shopping
Feb 17 - Depart Beijing direct to Toronto - Air Canada

We booked the Air Canada flights & the Plaza Royale & for the rest we relied on the bride's mother, who insisted on booking everything locally at the last minute.  As scary as this was to yours truly, the resident Intrepid Travel Planner, we threw caution to the wind & trusted.

Beijing, Forbidden City & Great Wall

Wedding in Handan

Xian, Terracotta Warriors, Huaqing Pool, Big Goose Pagoda, Liu Qi

Beijing Redux, The Temple of Heaven, Hutong shopping