| Tuesday, September 04, 2007 |
| Economic Power |
China may be the emerging economic superpower, but it is still a bargain for tourists like me. I had my heart set on getting to Xi'an and seeing the Terracotta Warriors, but since I am visiting a friend in Beijing as a private citizen, I have to arrange the flights, hotel and tours myself. Luckily, this is not too difficult, and not prohibitively expensive either.
After looking around on the Internet for an hour or so yesterday, there are any number of tour companies willing to provide private city tours of Xi'an. I found one with an itinerary I liked. It includes the Warriors, as well as a visit to the famous City Walls of Xi'an, the museum, and the great mosque, as well as a few other minor sites. There is a dinner banquet with Chinese performers and I'm staying one night in a very nice hotel.
I have a private driver, van, and English speaking guide at my disposal who will meet me at the airport and squire me around for two days.
Xi'an is about 600 miles from Beijing, or the distance between Minneapolis and Pittsburgh. If a visitor to the States wanted to fly from Atlanta to New York to take in a show and see the sites for a day, it would be prohibitively expensive to get a hotel and a private tour guide.
Not so in China, the tab for the whole trip - is $200 US, and that includes all meals, the hotel, and entrance fees. |
posted by Broadsheet @ 9:25 AM   |
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