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When booking a trip, the travel company you choose can make the difference between an ordinary or extraordinary travel experience. To guide travelers in the right direction, the editors of Travel + Leisure assess hundreds of travel agents around the world and select the best to make up their annual list of “A-list Top Travel Specialists”. AsiaTravel’s founder, Mei Zhang, is featured on their 2014 list for her standard-setting services in China travel. The elite list features 133 of the world’s top advisors, arranged by location of expertise.

“There’s a reason we use the term advisor to describe the members of our 2014 A-List,” said Travel + Leisure News Editor and “Trip Doctor” columnist Amy Farley. “These destination experts offer much more than booking services. They offer insider insights, unparalleled access, the ability to create a seamless itinerary, and value.”

 

Mei can now add this accolade to her list of awards and recognitions, which include:Travel + Leisure’s   2009-2012 A-Lists of Top Travel Agents, Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist in 2010 and 2011, and The Daily Beast’s 2012 list of Women in the World. Riding on Mei’s 14 years of experience in the luxury travel industry, AsiaTravel provides both insider access to China and personalized service. AsiaTravel’s specialties are China, Tibet and custom luxury itineraries.

According to Mei, she “witnessed the push and pull between economic development and conservation of both nature and culture in Yunnan.” This push and pull inspired her to create AsiaTravel to provide people with a sophisticated version of Chinese culture and nature through first-hand travel.

AsiaTravel has also received acknowledgments for our luxury travel services, which set the bar for tailored, authentic travel experiences. In 2009 National Geographic selected AsiaTravel as one of Adventure Magazine’s Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth, Traveler Magazine’s 50 Tours of a Lifetime, and Harvard Business Reviewed named AsiaTravel “a leader in its field.”

Travel + Leisure’s thirteenth annual A-list will be featured in the September issue of Travel + Leisure and on travelandleisure.com. Congratulations Mei!

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Be inspired by our newest luxury tours.

Where in China can you experience a mix of history, culture, and nature?      
You can explore some of China’s most diverse cultures, ecology, and landscapes in Yunnan Province, just south of the Tibetan Plateau. Yunnan features green low-lying valleys, white-capped mountains, and a vast assortment of ethnic communities. This diverse terrain is home to the beginning of The Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road, or “The Silk Road of Southern China”.

The 3,100-mile route of the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road started in Southern China, passed through Tibet, Burma, Nepal, and ended in India. China’s desire to import horses from Tibet and Tibet’s desire to import tea from China was the main motivation of the trade along the Tea and Horse Caravan Road. Traveling this route was difficult due to its diverse terrain, and one minor misstep could be fatal for both trader and animals.

Today, the Tea and Horse Caravan Road attracts people from all over the world with its assorted teas, mixed cultures, stunning landscapes, and ancient centers of trade. By traveling along this route, travelers can experience both ancient and modern China by learning about the culture of local ethnic communities, hiking in the ancient tea tree forests, and exploring the scenic mountain, rivers and valleys.

How can you get there?
AsiaTravel can take you on a 13 day journey along the route of the Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road in Yunnan. The first stop, Xishuangbanna, is the original place of pu’erh tea production. In Xishuangbanna, you can buy premium pu’erh tea at Menghai market, meet the descendants of the first tea cultivators, and stay in an Aini Village homestay. We pass through Dali as we follow the route through sloping valleys, golden barley and canola fields to Shaxi. After Shaxi, we see Lijiang’s Old Town and the legendary Yangtze River on our way to Shangri-La. In Shangri-La, we explore Songzanlin Monastery, the largest Tibetan lamasery in Yunnan, the Napahai Lake, and visit a nearby artisan village.

Are you a spontaneous planner?
Join us this October in Yunnan! This is our last small group trip of the year, led by Jeff Fuchs, the first Westerner to have ever traveled the whole road. Our journey to China’s  Ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road begins October 15 and ends October 24. If you’re interested in retracing the steps of those who traveled this ancient road, contact info@wildchina.com.

Like to make plans in advance?
If you’re interested in tea or Yunnan cuisine, keep your eyes open for our 2015 small group departures which include a tea-based journey of China and Taiwan with Jeff Fuchs and a special gastronomic tour of Yunnan with expert Fuchsia Dunlop.

 

 

 

 

 

Why Tibet?
People have many kinds of travel styles and adventure levels: some people like to get away and relax on a beach, some seek thrills like bungee jumping or scuba diving, while others enjoy visiting historic sites and learning new information. Here at AsiaTravel, we like to keep our adventure level high and our travel style a mix of exploration and luxury. One place that brings out our adventurous side is Tibet.
Tibet is not the first place that pops in your head when planning a trip to China. It is very different from the China you see on TV or in the media. The mountain ranges that surround it make it one of the most secluded regions on earth, giving this region its own cuisine, faith, and landscape. Along with rich history, Tibet has some of China’s most striking natural scenery, including vast grasslands, blue lakes and sky-high mountains as well a great amount of sacred sites, including monasteries, nunneries, and palaces. If you’re interested in viewing sacred sites or beautiful nature, Tibet should be on your list of travel destinations.

“Rich or poor, all come full of devotion and with no inner misgivings to lay their offerings before the gods and to pray for their blessing. Is there any people so uniformly attached to their religion and so obedient to it in their daily life? I have always envied the Tibetans their simple faith, for all my life I have been a seeker.”
― Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet

Religion-Tsedang:
Buddhism developed in Tibet and the surrounding Himalayan region in the beginning of the 7^th century. Tibet’s long history of Buddhism has inspired the building of many religious sites. In Tibet’s largest city, Tsedang, you can find Buddhist monasteries, monuments, tombs and royal burial sites. Samye Monastery, the oldest standing Tibetan Buddhist monastery, is a Tibet highlight. Samye is both a monastery and a village and used to be a school for Tibetan Buddhism. Some Tibetan Buddhists travel on foot for weeks to reach this popular pilgrimage destination.

Note: Out of respect, always walk around Tibetan Buddhist religious sites or monastery in a clockwise direction and don’t climb onto statues or other sacred objects

“Tibet has not yet been infested by the worst disease of modern life, the everlasting rush. No one overworks here. Officials have an easy life. They turn up at the office late in the morning and leave for their homes early in the afternoon.” ― Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet

Culture-Lhasa:
Tibetans live a easygoing life. They like music, games, and dancing. In Tibet you can participate in a nightly dance with locals, sample yak cheese, yoghurt, or butter, while sipping on the national drink, salted butter tea.
Tibet’s richest cultural marvels are found in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa. Buddhism is not just a religious belief, for many it is a way of life. Lhasa has been the center of Tibet’s political, religious, economic and cultural activities since the Fifth Dalai Lama moved the capital here in 1642.
This city is home to Potala Palace. This palace has served as both the winter residence of each Dalai Lama and the religious and political center of Tibet for 300 years. In 1645, it was built without either nails or the use of wheeled equipment. Today, it provides dormitories for the staff of the Dalai Lama schools, chapels, print house and tombs.

 

“The country through which we had been travelling for days has an original beauty. Wide plains were diversified by stretches of hilly country with low passes.We often had to wade through swift running ice-cold brooks. It has long since we had seen a glacier, but as we were approaching the tasam at Barka, a chain of glaciers gleaming in the sunshine came into view. The landscape was dominated by the 25,000-foot peak of Gurla Mandhata; less striking, but far more famous, was the sacred Mount Kailash, 3,000 feet lower, which stands in majestic isolation apart from the Himalayan range.”
― Heinrich Harrer, Seven Years in Tibet

Landscape-Gyantse:
Tibetans view the environment as a place where humans and nature coexist and overconsumption of resources is looked down upon. Because of these Buddhist beliefs, the nature in Tibet is pure and well preserved. Gyantse is a great city to visit if you enjoy nature. Located 14,500 feet above sea level, the turquoise Yamdrok Lake is a famous stop for Tibetans and travelers. While visiting Yamdrok Lake in Gyantse, you can see views of Mount Donang Sangwari (17,400 feet) and the white peaks of Nojin Gangzang (23,000 feet). Be careful of altitude sickness; the mountains in Tibet average 22,960 feet high, earning the nickname “Roof of the World”.

The land, faith, and culture make Tibet an unforgettable experience.

In October, AsiaTravel is going on a journey to Tibet. On our Soul of Tibet trip, we explores sacred sites and nature, while experiencing Tibetan Buddhism. Want to up your adventure level? Contact info@AsiaTravel.com for more information.

 

 

When you first heard of the Silk Road, you might have had romantic ideas of a smooth road made out of silk. In reality, the Silk Road is not even a road at all but an ancient network of trading routes that linked China all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. Also, the road is not paved in silk and was far from a smooth journey in historic times. Judy Bonavia describes it well below:
“The early trade in silk was carried on against incredible odds by great caravans of merchants and animals traveling over some of the most inhospitable territory on Earth, including searing, waterless deserts and snowbound mountain passes. Beginning at the magnificent ancient Chinese city of Chang’an (Xi’an), the route took traders westward along the Hexi Corridor to the giant barrier of the Great Wall, then either orth or south of the Taklamakan Desert to Kashgar before continuing on to India and Iran, or farther to the great cities of Constantinople, Damascus and Baghdad. For today’s traveler, it is not only the weight of history that makes the Silk Road intriguing, but the incredible diversity of scenery and ethnic people along the way.” –The Silk Road: Xi’an to Kashgar

The Silk Road earned its title because silk made up a large proportion of trade along this route. Originating in China, silk-making was China’s well-guarded secret for almost 2,000 years. Silk was so valuable to people that prices were calculated in lengths of silk, just like they had been calculated in pounds of gold. It even became a currency used in trade with foreign countries.

Silk was not the only good traded on the Silk Road-people traded bronze, bamboo products, teas, medicine, and porcelain. There were many available routes to travel; ome were shorter and more dangerous, while others were longer and safer. Most of the things traded along the Silk Road were luxury items because the profit, to some, was worth the risk.

People exchanged religion, culture, philosophy, and art along the Silk Road. The route connected merchants, monks, and nomads from around the world and was an ancient highway for globalization. Innovative ideas that were traded along the route, like grape winemaking and paper money, are still in use today. By allowing people to make their first contact with distant civilizations, the Silk Road helped lay the foundations for the modern world.

Today, these ancient routes aren’t used to trade goods and ideas with other countries. Instead, the Silk Road is traveled by people who want to see the land and learn about the history and culture of the region. Most of the Silk Road is located in Xianjiang province in northwest China. Xianjiang is home to 47 ethnic minorities, including the Uygur, the major ethnic group living here. Uygur are the second largest Muslim ethnic group in China. They have their own Islamic culture and Turkic language, which uses a modified form of the Arabic alphabet.

China’s northwest region is home to the beginning of the old, dangerous route, earning the nickname, “Wild West of China”. Today the region is safe and more accessible. While in this part of the country you feel like you are in Central Asia, not typical China. The people, clothes, culture, and cuisine are influenced from the ancient trade routes. Those who visit are fascinated by the diverse culture, people, and landscape.

 

 

If you are interesting learning about the Silk Road, we recommend reading, The Silk Road:from Xi’an to Kashgar, by Judy Bonavia. For a hands on experience, AsiaTravel offers a trip, Along the Silk Road, departing in October.

 

 

Four decades ago, local farmers in Shaanxi province were hard at work digging a well when they came across one of the world’s grandest archeological discoveries. Four chambers were eventually unearthed, filled with over 6,000 soldiers, horses and chariots arranged in military formation. Now travelers from around the world come to see these treasures and hear stories of the ruthless Qin Shi Huang Emperor who unified China and had a fondness for burying things, both statues and dissidents.

In celebration of the discovery a new exhibit has opened in Xi’an displaying special never-before-seen pieces including clay fragments that still retain some of their original color. The exhibition will continue until March 2015.

A group of students hiking in the Abujee mountains

Adventure offers an opportunity for personal growth at any age. When we create a trip, we want it to be a meaningful journey. Here at AsiaTravel, we strive to see people learn and grow from their experiences with us. Recently, we led a brave group of international high school students and teachers on an educational adventure in Yunnan province. Our guides shared the highlights, cultural exchanges and WOW moments of their moving education trip.

Community service at a Tibetan family farm

Informed that one afternoon of community service at a local family farm would help complete a few days worth of hard work, the students and teachers weren’t hesitant to roll up their sleeves and help out the Tibetan family. They jumped right in and with a few instructions, chopped down barley with sharp sickles, secured their big bundles with barley ties, and put the golden barley on an old tractor to be hulled away
 to the barn.

Most Tibetans speak in Tibetan languages, so our local AsiaTravel guides usually translate, but on this occasion, the quick-witted students took communication into their own hands. They worked side-by-side with the local Tibetan family while using universal hand motions and facial expressions to communicate. They used arm motions to signal strength, smiles to exchanging gratitude and appreciation, and big waves of goodbyes and thank yous. After seeing the huge loads of barley they harvested, the students, teachers, and guides directly saw the true value of their work at the family farm. The students’ feelings of accomplished glowed on their young, tired faces.

Students working hard in the barley field

Spending an evening at a Tibetan home gave the students another opportunity for a shared cultural experience. After a tasty Tibetan meal, the family preformed a lively traditional dance, and then asked the high school students to join. After dancing around the room with the locals, the students decided it was time the switch things up and teach the kind family some Western dance moves.

The energetic students choose one of the most iconic 1990s dance hits, the Macarena. A student played the song from their iPhone as they taught the family the catchy dance. The Tibetan women and children had a blast! Seeing the huge smiles on the family’s faces, sharing laughs and exchanging dances, taught the high school students that while it’s great to go and experience new culture, it’s also rewarding to share yours along the way.

Sharing dances at a Tibetan family home

Along their adventure in the Tibetan plateau, the high school students were taking trip notes of their exciting learning experiences for a paper they would create after the Yunnan trip. One student had another idea for the project; instead of writing a conventional paper, he would capture the magic of Yunnan with a video compilation. He video recorded the community service, the strenuous hikes in the Abujee mountains, the tour of a local school and villages, and every smile and struggle in between.

On their last night camping,sitting around a bright,warm fire in the Abujee mountains, the student volunteered his video for viewing. Projected onto the ceiling of the tent, the students, teachers, and guides watched their life-altering journey together. Mixed emotions overcame the group as they watched their trekking voyage unfold in front of them.

Wildlife visiting the campsite

Outside the tent, local Tibetans who were assisting the trip, caught a view of the video as well; this was the first time some of them saw themselves on video. They were in awe at the technology and thoroughly enjoyed seeing themselves, some even wondering, ‘Do I really look like that?!’
After viewing the touching video, one of the teachers told a AsiaTravel guide that she loved being a teacher because she can guide students to learn, but it’s breathtaking seeing students take their learning into their own hands. On this expedition, the students stepped out of the classroom to learn about Tibetan people and experience the culture hands on, changing themselves and the Tibetans they befriended along the way.

Students’ campsite

If you would like to Experience China Differently have a look at more of our student journeys, or contact us directly: education@wildchina.com.

The Xi’an City Wall.Photo Credit:Mariusz Kluzniak via flikr
The first Silk Road Film Festival kicked off this week in Xi’an, promoting cultural exchange among countries along the traditional Silk Road route. More than one hundred films will be screened over the course of the week-long festival, with 41 Chinese and foreign films already chosen for the final competition. The festival will also play heavily on the Silk Road theme, showing documentary-style footage from various countries along the Silk Road, and sporting traditional Tang dynasty decor and clothing.

A newly opened restaurant in Xi’an, called Da Qin Xiao Ai (大秦小爱), is already rumored to be one of the top restaurants in the city. Intricately decorated in the ancient Qin dynasty style, the restaurant gives diners an impression of how the Emperor Qin Shi Huang might have enjoyed his meals. With a great location just 15 minutes from the Terracotta Warriors, this restaurant is an excellent choice for travelers. Our recommendations? The Gourd-shaped chicken, the Chinese Yam and Glutinous Rice Wrapped in Dates, and a Beefsteak!

Chinese name: 大秦小爱
Operating hours: 11:00-21:00
Average cost: CNY128-288 per person, set meal.
Location: No.9, Feng Huang Da Dao, Lintong district, Xi’an.

Experiencing the authentic culture of the China’s ethnic minority groups is a trip highlight while in the Guizhou countryside. If you plan to visit during the Miao Festivals, you are in for a real treat; a trip around mid-November will land you in the middle of the celebrations. During this time, you will see women in black tunics patterned with bright reds and blues and shimmering silver headdresses rested atop their brows. They will laugh, smile, and dance, and even offer you a sip of their powerful rice wine.

 

The Miao New Year is celebrated from November 3^rd to the 7^th. At this time of the year, the whole village is gathered as one big family, visiting each other and joining feasts of tofu, pork sausages, and wine. Also, its common that young couples get married around this time of the year. These unions are celebrated with 9 days of singing and dancing. Compared to the New Year’s Eve celebration at Time Square, the Miao New Year is less crowded but the enthusiasm and cheering is none less than the New Yorkers’ countdown.

At the end of November another grand celebration takes place in Guizhou, the Grand Dong Minority Singing Festival in Congjiang. Dong minority resides in this remote yet diverse area along with other hidden minorities. Kam Grand Choirs from the Dong minority is very intriguing; its said that for years they passed down their culture without a written language, using singing to communicate. The Dong locals consider singing as a daily routine such as dining, and they cherish it as a passage of knowledge.

 

If you’ve already seen China’s cities or are simply looking for a trip that is on the road less traveled, Guizhou is the perfect answer. AsiaTravel’s rustic journey through Guizhou and Guangxi, recognized as one of National Geographic Traveler’s “Tours of a Lifetime,” will make you feel like you strolled into an old Chinese watercolor. This active trip keeps you moving with dancing and singing while you enjoy the hospitality of various cultures that simply can’t be depicted in documentaries. When your trip is over, you won’t feel like you are exiting a foreign museum, but as if you are leaving a foreign world.

Have we caught your interest? Schedule your next China journey around one of Guizhou’s festivals:

• The Dong Choral Festival, a time of song and celebration, will take place at the end of November.
• The beginning of May is when to visit to experience the The Sister’s Festival matchmaking ceremonies.
• The Lusheng Festival, with performances of the traditional bamboo pipe instrument, is in mid-November.
• The celebration of the Miao New Year happens in early November.

 

Come celebrate!

 

Editor: Kayla Paramore

 

We knew that this week’s APEC conference would bring leaders from the world over to Beijing to discuss important policy issues, but we didn’t expect an announcement that would directly affect AsiaTravel!

Last night, just before the official start of APEC, President Obama announced a reciprocal agreement with China to grant 10 year travel and business visas.

Others had made the connection that this was big news for AsiaTravel – and for our outbound travel department, Beshan – and sure enough, at 7am this morning, our CEO and founder, Mei Zhang received a call from NPR’s Morning Edition asking for her take on the new policy.

 

These new visas, effective tomorrow, mean that Chinese travelers will have an easier time visiting the US. They also mean that, for our US clients, after you come and fall in love with China for the first time, you’ll be able to return time and again to explore all the layers of this fascinating country – all without the hassle of reapplying for a new visa.

Those in the US tuning into NPR on your way to work, listen in for Mei at 6am Eastern Time. And if you miss it, just head on over to the Morning Edition site for the segment.