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Owing to the sheer size and diversified environment of China, it is not possible for an international traveller to truly experience its myriad of treasures like Yangtze River, the Great Wall of China, pastoral villages dotting the country, and some of the most magnificent art and architecture in the world, without the services of a good travel agency.

Travel agencies across China are moving beyond the traditional elements of a holiday, like Beijing, Great Wall, Yangtze cruise and the Terracotta Army. The inclination is now towards more variety; and there is a demand among international travellers for the traditional China experience. Regions such as Yunnan in the southwest, with its stone forest, are now regularly found in travel agency pamphlets. Unfamiliar regions such as Shaxi, west of Beijing, or Shadong, to the east, are being promoted. Gauging travellers’ interest in China’s historical sites, China Highlights Travel has introduced an “18 Days of China Historical Tour.”

An increasing number of travel agencies are offering customized packages based on travellers’ individual interests and budget. For example, China Tour Service offers tailored tours like the Yangtze River Cruise, Tibetan Adventure, Silk Road Tours, Shangri-La China Travel, and World Heritages Tours. China Highlights Travel provides Yangtze River Cruises in a choice of over 40 ships including deluxe Victoria Cruises, the 5-star luxury East Queen, the smaller, yet comfortable, Princess Sissi, and budget ferries that natives take as daily transport vessels.

China Custom Tours, with associates in China and the United States, offers special-interest tours. The travel agency concentrates on popular places as well as off-the beaten-path locations. They arrange package tours and travel arrangements for individuals, groups, business leaders, and professional and educational communities, and they supplement their programs with international air arrangements, visa processing, and a travel protection plan.

Whether travel interests range from travel by bicycle to remote villages or a shopping marathon in metropolises, eating Western or “clashing with chopsticks,” a leisurely cruise or sightseeing, it pays to spend some time in choosing a good travel agency.

China Travel provides detailed information on China Travel, China Business Travel, China Travel Services, China Travel Agencies and more. China Travel is affiliated with China Guided Tours.

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Bargain hunters don’t only go to Chinatown for knock off designer handbags, they also look there to find the best prices on bus tours of America. Travelers in east and west coast US cities have come to love the “Chinatown Bus” for their no-frills service and rock bottom prices. However, the bargains do not stop there. If you want to find the cheapest way to see the most popular tourist attractions in the US, try a Chinatown tour operator.

Just as Chinatown bus service began by catering to the recent immigrant community, for years these tour operators have targeting their tours only to the Chinese speaking community. However, more recently they have been discovered by the broader market and are increasingly popular for visitors to the US and residents alike.

Sayaka Singh who lives in New York said that any time she has family visiting from India they inevitably want to take a trip to Niagara Falls. She discovered several Chinatown tour companies online and has since sent many family members to the Falls with them. She said, “You can’t beat it, for less than a hundred dollars they get transportation in a nice motorcoach, hotel accommodations, a tour of the Falls area, and several other stops along the way. They loved it.” Several of her relatives went on to take a tour to Washington DC as well.

What to Expect

How do I find these tours?

Almost any city that has a sizable Asian population will most likely have a tour operator specializing in multi-day budget tours. New York, Boston, San Francisco, Vancouver, and Los Angeles have dozens of tour operators. Most likely they will not advertise in the same places that traditional tour companies do. Your best bet is to look online.

These tours are a terrific option for travelers who want to see some of America’s most beloved sights but do not have a lot of time and want a great value. For far less than you would pay if you went on your own, you can sit back and have someone else make all the arrangements for you. As an added bonus you will also get to experience a great diversity of cultures along the way.

Violet Sorenson works for GotoBus.com, the leading online marketplace for bus tickets and tours in the USA. You can find out more information about the company at: http://www.gotobus.com/ The author can be reached at marketing at gotobus.com.

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The sky in spring is kites’ paradise. When the brilliant multi- colored kites embellish in the deep blue sky, you can immerse in the contented mood, enjoy the rare leisure and carefree, perhaps this is the most romantic thing in the spring. Kite, not only is it a kind of toy or a traditional continuing, it is more a cultural accumulating. In the “Three Stone Rooms”, the capital’s youngest kite master Liu Bin from the kite aristocratic family, said that kite containes too many different cultures, flying a kite also must emit the affective tone.

There are three kinds of kites unique in their own ways. In the “Three Stone Rooms” at Dianmen, the rooms are full of all kinds of kites making human feeling dazzled, nonprofessionals really don’t know where to start. Actually, most popular kites are categorized into three kinds: hard wing, soft wing and dragon. Liu Bin said that the hard wing is like a man, mature and strong; the soft wing is like a woman, slender and elegant; while the dragon kite flies a breadth of spirit and power.

Hard wing kites like “Shayan”, “Triangle”, use bamboo strips all around to outline the shape, the strips are glued together with paper in the center, but the designs on paper can be created at your own will. Soft wing kites are made especially attractive - dragonfly, butterfly, goldfish…, the list goes on and on. The bamboo strips are only put on top half of a kite, the bottom half that dances in the breeze of wind is in fact made with colored silk or nylon silk. Dragon really should be called “string” because it is actually a long kite that is formed by many small kites, for instance, the Gigantic Dragon, the Centipede, the Shoulder Pole kite.

Among the kites, the modern one is also a spotlight. Three-dimensional kite is just like a hot-air balloon, turtles, crabs each crawl happily and freely in the sky; “Plate Hawk” (Pan Ying) is the most difficult to fly, the ‘hawk’ spreads the wings and spirals in airborne circle recklessly with tremendous momentum; motion kite is simply like an aviation performance, it uses chute cloth and two operating ordinates, actions like turnover, gliding, diving, and other high level difficult movements can all be performed.

There are five locations in Beijing are the best for flying kites. Can’t wait any longer? Go pick one to your liking quickly! There are couple of things you need to pay attention when choosing a kite - 1. choose the pattern that you like; 2. the strenth of the bamboo strips on each side of two wings must be the same, or it will not be able to balance itself in the sky.

The environment for flying kites is very important. You should always go to a spacious place. Roughly count a bit, Beijing has quite a few places that are ideal for flying kites.

1. Tiananmen Square - Kites flying in the sky of The Tiananmen Square has become the most attractive scenery on Chang’an Street, nowhere else is more ideal than here in terms of space. A major drawback is that the freedom of flying a kite can be somewhat limited due to the surrounding crowds (mostly tourists).
2. Chaoyang Park - The north side of the green area in the park is the best place to fly a kite. No trees around, no buildings, more importantly, it is permitted to fly kites on the grass areas. But be careful not to trip yourself when running.
3. Surrounding areas of the Panda Rotary Island - It is spacious, fewer vehicles and people, does not have any obstacles, with a bit of history of flying kites. Expert kite lovers normally like to get together here.
4. Chinese Century World - Here most advantage is there are very few trees, the kite may freely fly around in much wider range. But the Century World’s artificial lawn has limited load-bearing capacity, the lawn is well maintained and protected, growing of the grass may be affected if too many people keep stepping on it.
5. Shijingshan Amusement Park - The open area in front of the park is the best place for family of three or lovers to fly kites. The problems are the park is next to the street, there are trees around, therefore kites can not be released too high. Other drawbacks are there are stairs in the park, the central park has an eruptive fountain, you’d better be careful when running on the slippery ground.

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Jacklyn Chen - A webmaster and full time mom who works hard to make living with multiple web sites. For more information and articles about travel, visit http://travel.news-blogs.com, for food and living, visit http://fine-living.news-blogs.com.

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