Chinese New Year – Look back at an adventure, Part 1

By Nancy Dorrans

As the Chinese New Year begins on February 17th, we enter the Year of the Horse, known for energy, freedom, and determination. And so, this new beginning inspired me to dig deep in my memory bank and share with you the adventures I had in China in 2008…

If you read my article last month, you may recall I was bopping around Northern California for two days before heading to China. I had been invited to explore the “Highlights of China” on a Uniworld familiarization tour along with thirty other AAA travel agents from across the country.

On this adventure I was reunited with my fellow travel agent and friend Diana from Auto Club Enterprises in Southern California. Two birds of a feather, we had met a few years before on an adventure along the Columbia River (a story for another time) and became fast friends.

While Uniworld transitioned to all-suite ships years later, in 2008 they used excellent local operators and ships for the Yangtze cruise portion of the journey, providing deep cultural immersion with top-notch local guides.

The Highlights of China familiarization tour included:

Beijing: Great Wall (the Mutianyu section, which is often favored for fewer crowds), Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, a Peking Duck dinner, Temple of Heaven (Tai Chi), Summer Palace, and Beijing Opera.

Xi’an: Terracotta Warriors (VIP viewing!), Muslim Quarter, Silk Road history.

Yangtze River Cruise: Three Gorges Dam, Fengdu “Ghost City,” onboard lectures (on culture and ecology), cooking classes, Tai Chi, Mahjong.

Shanghai: Futuristic skyscrapers, acrobatic shows, and local food exploration.

In summary, the 2008 Uniworld Highlights of China package offered a comprehensive land and river tour that hit China’s most famous historical, cultural, and natural landmarks. 

Diana and I were treated to all of these highlights plus a few favorite, spontaneous moments with strangers…

Let the tour begin.

The flight was non-stop from San Francisco to Beijing and took fifteen hours. Whew. Gave me time to familiarize myself with the digital camera I had purchased from a discount kiosk in Fisherman’s Wharf.

Upon arrival in Beijing airport, the first thing I noticed was smog… It seemed to be inside the airport. Was it my imagination? I remember feeling like I needed some fresh air!

Diana recalled, “I remember landing in Beijing and thinking there must have been a fire in the airport as the smoke was so bad but then going outside and was amazed that it was just their polluted air. My chest actually hurt.”

And so began our blurry familiarization with China of 2008.

A billboard advertising Chinese Karaoke – a dominant cultural pastime in China – jumped out at me on our way to Tienanmen Square. Guards stood like statues at the gates of the Forbidden City as it came into view through the smog.

The Forbidden City, once exclusively for emperors, is no longer forbidden. In fact, it remains one of the world’s most visited sites, welcoming roughly 19 million visitors annually.

The Beijing Palace Museum is immense with a looming portrait of Mao above entrance. From the Forbidden City, we took a ride on a dragon boat before being treated to a Peking Duck roast dinner at the hotel. 

While the other agents retired to their rooms, Diana and I set out to explore the neighborhood around our hotel. We were about to discover there was more to China than the highlights listed on our Uniworld itinerary. 

Karaoke, Practicing English, and a Suprise

I wanted to immerse myself in the local culture and meet the people but had a feeling that while we were on our tour, we were being shown what “they” wanted us to see. I wanted more.

As Diana and I headed out after dinner, we stopped into a local bar that was – Surprise! – about to begin evening Karaoke. We met a few locals, had a drink, and decided to carry on before we were asked to sing. 

The next establishment was quiet save a group of lovely young women that were excited to practice their English with us. They flitted around us like butterflies, asking all kinds of questions and laughing meekly. 

Soon a tall gentleman that looked like Prince Phillip walked in. We smiled at him and turned back around to chat with the bartender.

It wasn’t very long before I noticed that the gentleman and half of the group of girls had disappeared.  They hadn’t left but had followed him upstairs. The real surprise that evening: we had unknowingly stumbled into a brothel.

Next Month –

I’ll continue recalling the rest of our adventure next month. You can look forward to more interactions with locals, the boys on the wall, the farmer and the well, meeting Helen Keller, a pink cat, red faced pandas, stunning acrobats… And as Diana recalls, “That tea ceremony in Shanghai? Wow. I thought for sure we were going to be sold as slaves and it ended up being so cool.” 

Stay tuned.