While I have been selling luxury tours of China for nearly 14 years, I am incredibly excited to be returning to The Middle Kingdom again this year with Imperial Tours. This time, with my husband and my two young children – their first time to Asia. My kids have both been attending the Chinese American International School in San Francisco doing Mandarin immersion since the age of 3. This trip will be their first venture into China and will give them a new perspective on the language and culture they have been immersed in for the last several years.
Hands down, the BEST company for traveling through China is Imperial Tours. Full disclosure: I worked with Imperial Tours from 2002-2015 as their head of sales, marketing and business development. While you may feel that gives me a bias, you could also look at it from the other side: even now that I’m no longer working with them, I am still convinced that they are better at providing the highest levels of luxury travel and unique experiences in China than any other operator.
Take this Luxury Family Tour that we are going on, for example. It is a small group tour covering the highlights of China aimed at the first time visitor. Yet, it is truly unique in that it is geared entirely towards families with young children who are learning Chinese. No matter that the parents don’t speak Chinese. The guides accompanying us in each city will conduct the touring in English for the sake of the parents, but they have also received the directive that they are to speak to the kids only in Chinese and to engage and encourage the children to speak to locals in Chinese. This means that even though school is out, our children get to continue their language immersion during the summer. But don’t get me wrong, this trip is not all hard work for the kids. There are plenty of opportunities for fun (and learning through fun!). Here are some of the highlights of our trip for both the grownups and the wee ones:
- Luxurious accommodations in deluxe rooms at the best hotels in China: Four Seasons Beijing, Sofitel Legend People’s Grand Hotel Xi’an, Banyan Tree near Guilin, and the Peninsula Shanghai.
- Each child will receive an activity book to help keep them entertained and engaged in each city and at each site. For example, there is a treasure hunt at the Forbidden City!
- Ping pong lessons at an Olympic training school.
- Gourmet meal atop a seldom visited section of the Great Wall.
- Visit a studio where the kids will get to dress up and get their faces painted like famous Peking opera characters. Take home professional photos of them as memorable souvenirs.
- Try your hand at dumpling making and noodle pulling during a fun cooking lesson in Xi’an.
- Bike ride around the ancient Tang dynasty wall of Xi’an.
- Enjoy a bamboo raft ride down a little visited stretch of river in Guilin’s gorgeous karst mountain landscapes.
- Get to know rural village life by foot and bike in the scenic countryside.
- Take a speedy ride from the airport to the city center on Shanghai’s Magnetic Levitation train, the world’s fastest in commercial use.
- Learn about Shanghai’s history on a colonial architecture walking tour with an expert.
- Visit the flower, bird, fish, and insect market to practice your Chinese bargaining skills once last time.
There’s still time to join us on our June Family Tour of China. Or, if you prefer, contact us to customize a group or private tour of your own. If neither you nor your children speak Chinese, have no fear, we can design a trip for you entirely in English (or a host of other languages).