CUTE & CHIC IN CHINA
PANDA PERKS A China celebrity, the fluffy black and white Giant Panda is an endangered species that is found wild today mainly in the mountain ranges of Sichuan Province, where they love the dark, cool and wet weather. As cute as they appear, pandas naturally prefer to live solitary lives – seeking out their fellow pandas no more often than during their once- a-year breeding season. The Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, where cuddling time with soft and demure baby pandas is one of the highlights of this trip, is the world’s largest facility dedicated to reintroducing captive Giant Pandas back into the wild.
4. XI’AN – UNDERGROUND TREASURES & MURALS Smaller and slower in pace, the city of Xi’an served as an imperial city for a number of China’s dynasties. After a morning flight, you’ll visit the Han Yang Ling Underground Mausoleum, where a glass floor reveals a treasure trove of clay figures interred with a Han emperor and his wife over 2,000 years ago. Up next at the Shaanxi History Museum, the Tang Dynasty murals (originally painted on the walls of imperial palaces and aristocratic residences) provide a rich visual sampling of daily life in ancient China. Meals BLD
5. THE TERRA COTTA ARMY OF XI’AN Excavation of Xi’an’s army of sculpted soldiers began in 1974 after local farmers stumbled upon buried figures. Meet the Director of Conservation and Preservation overseeing this work to hear about the life-sized figures and bronze funerary carts unearthed from the first Qin emperor’s mausoleum. The site’s UNESCO World Heritage status was based on the qualities of the workmanship and their depiction of a complex military organization that pre-dates the figures at the Han Yang Ling museum by roughly 200 years. Back at the hotel, explore your own artistic bent in a traditional paper-making session. Meals BLD
6. CHENGDU, ON THE HEAVENLY SILK ROAD Known as the “Heavenly State,” Sichuan Province and its capital city of Chengdu were once endpoints on the Southern Silk Road that led travelers as far away as India. The area has long been known for the colors and delicate designs of its silk fabrics and you’ll see why at the Shu Brocade Museum, where weavers are preserving a disappearing art. Shifting the focus to more contemporary matters, next visit a working factory; plentiful water has helped make the area one of booming industry. Meals BLD
Contrast the futuristic skyline of Pudong, Shanghai’s financial district, with ancient Chinese art at The Shanghai Museum.
TRENDY SHIKUMEN
People watching and connecting with the trendy lifestyles that are bubbling up in China’s cities of today are fascinating. In Shanghai you’ll have time to do just that on an afternoon exploring along Taikang Road, where “Shikumen” neighborhoods are being brought back to life. A type of housing developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the city was growing exponentially, these residential blocks were a mix between row houses and traditional Chinese courtyard homes and entered through a stone archway that led to a communal courtyard. They came to be considered the ultimate in tenement living and many were demolished to make way for new high-rise towers; however, as all things come around... in Shanghai today you’ll find renovated Shikumen buildings that are home to hip restaurants, cafés, boutiques and galleries – fun for browsing and a taste of the future!
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