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LP Chamber offers global travel |
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 |
 Travelers going to China on the trip sponsored by the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce will visit sights ranging from ancient pagodas set in beautiful gardens to the Great Wall, and more. Photo courtesy Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce By Jon Klusmire
Register Staff 9-29-2007
“Jinpian pianqi hen hao.”
A large group of international travelers from Lone Pine hope that they will hear “today’s weather is very good” during an upcoming trip to China, sponsored by the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber is currently taking reservations for the nine-day journey it’s calling “a premier Business Mission and Tour to China.” The trip will include sightseeing jaunts to some of China’s most famous, ancient attractions, visits to its bustling, major cities and the chance to explore the ongoing transformation of one of the world’s oldest nations into a modern, global economic powerhouse.
The chamber is shooting to have about 100 people take the group tour, which is slated for March 27 to April 4, 2008.
“It’s not going to take long to fillthose spots,” if early interest in the trip is any indication, predicted chamber director Kathleen New. The tour company running the trip, Citslinc International, can take up to 200 local folks on the tour, she noted.
Besides the allure of getting to tour such attractions as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, the other main selling point of the trip is the cost, which is extremely reasonable, New noted. Chamber members will pay only $1,699 a person (based on double occupancy), while non-members will pay only $1,899.
That single payment covers all aspects of the trip, including round-trip airfare from LAX, lodging at four- or five-star hotels, three meals a day, English-speaking tour guides riding along in the tour bus, tickets and admissions to all tourist attractions and all other costs of the tour.
Travelers, however, must secure a passport and visa to visit China. Citslinc will handle the visa application for an additional $75.
“Everyone who’s been on the tour has told me it was very nice, and everything, from the food to the lodging, was first-class,” New said.
Cash will be needed for shopping, tips or excursions not included in the tour itinerary. New said that more adventuresome types can go out and explore on their own and not stay with the group.
While there will be plenty of folks on the trip, once in China the group will be broken down into smaller groups on each bus which will travel and explore together, she added.
Oh, and travelers don’t even have to drive to Los Angeles to get started. The trip starts with a chartered bus picking up the Orient explorers in Lone Pine and taking them to LAX, and ends with a bus trip back from the airport to Lone Pine.
Helping put the China tour together actually supports one of the Lone Pine Chamber’s goals, New said, which is to “promote travel and fun.”
Plus, the chamber, as co-sponsor with Citslinc International, will also “make a little money” for its organizing efforts, New said, so travelers can truly claim they are doing a civic deed by going to China since the trip also helps support the chamber.
Those interested in the business and economic changes taking place in China can make optional, special arrangements to meet with Chinese business leaders during the trip, according to New.
Of course, getting to mingle with chamber members, local business owners and members of the community in a casually exotic setting is another attraction of the excursion.
The trip is also an example of how the Lone Pine Chamber of Commerce is successfully becoming “more entrepreneurial” and working to expand its funding sources, New added.
The trip itinerary is full, but not overwhelming.
Getting to Beijing to start the trek takes a 13-hour flight and a stop in Shanghai.
While staying in Beijing, excursions include trips to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, built in 1420 A.D., the Forbidden City, an imperial palace with about 10,000 rooms, and the Summer Palace, another former home of Chinese emperors. Outdoor jaunts include trips to Kunming Lake and the Ming Tombs, which are filled with thousands of clay statues. (Yes, at least one dinner will include “Peking” duck.)
Thousands of years of civilization are also on display in the Suzhou/Hangzhou region, the next stop on the trip. Centuries-old gardens and temples are on the schedule, as is a relaxing boat trip. On a more modern note, visitors will view the workings of the Hangzhou Economic Development Zone, which is representative of how China’s Communist leaders have promoted market-driven capitalism in the nation’s economy.
In Shanghai, the Pudong Economic Development Zone is another example of China’s commercial success. The ancient world is always near, though, and in Shanghai’s case it’s represented by the Yu Garden, a maze of pavilions, ponds, streams, plants and trees.
The crew will then come back to LAX, jump on the bus and be back in Lone Pine with plenty of memories and probably enough slide shows, Powerpoint presentations or videos to consume half the town’s living rooms for the next three months.
A pre-tour meeting with representatives of Citslinc International and the Lone Pine Chamber will be held on Oct. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Statham Hall to give prospective travelers a chance to ask questions and gather more information about the China trip.
The trip schedule and a registration form is also available on the chamber’s Web page, www.longpinechamber.org.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 November 2007 )
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