TOUR TO CHINA 30 TH OCTOBER - 15 TH NOVEMBER 2018

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1 TOUR TO CHINA 30 TH OCTOBER - 15 TH NOVEMBER 2018 The pace with which agriculture has developed is in line with the amazing growth of all aspects of modern China. On a tour to China way back in 1982, the main method of transport was bicycles thousands and thousands of them. The standard dress was green or navy Mao suits whereas now the colourful Western dress is the norm. In the huge farming communes most of the work was done by hand corn cut with sickles and threshed by flails nowadays they operate with modern harvesting machinery. The cities now have skyscrapers, designer shops and international restaurants and not so many bicycles! Despite all of these changes, there are still parts of China where rice is traditionally grown on terraces, ducks are tended by young boys and the small towns have retained their more leisurely lifestyles. The contrasts are still there, with a good mix of the modern agricultural methods and a glimpse at the old traditional ways deep in the countryside. In addition to the modernisation of the agricultural industry, changing consumer tastes are bringing in new farming operations on an industrial scale. Milk is one such example. We will visit Hohhot, the Chinese milk capital to visit one of the largest processors in China. The journey from Beijing will be by First Class rail on the overnight service. Hohhot is also the capital of Inner Mongolia and we will visit the nomads of the grass plains to see them farming sheep, experience the life style with food, traditional dancing, wrestling bouts and horse races. Of course no tour to China would be complete without a visit to The Great Wall, Forbidden City, the Terracotta Warriors and the Giant Pandas, all of which are included in this itinerary.

2 China Country Information The Country China is the third largest country in the world with an area of 9,600,000 square kilometers and a population of around 1.36 billion. The vast land expanses of China include plateaus, basins, foothills and mountains. There are also numerous rivers and lakes, the Yangtze river being the longest in Asia. The Agriculture About 35% of China s labour force is in agriculture. Arable land is concentrated in a band of river valleys along the southern and eastern coasts. The country produce wheat, corn, soybeans, barley millets and rice is the dominant crop in the south. China is a world leading producer of pigs and chickens and has large herds of sheep and cattle. The Shanghai region is famous for its high yield of agricultural production of grain, meat, eggs, vegetables and more. The Weather In China the climate varies radically, it has a variety of temperatures and rainfall zones influenced by latitude and monsoon activities. In summer, most areas are above 20 C. The People China has almost 20% of the world total population! The official language is Chinese and they are a multiracial country consisting of 56 ethnic groups, the post poulous being the Han. The Chinese people are hardworking, peach-loving and many are quite conservative and modest but in general they are very easy to approach. Time China is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean time - GMT + 8 hours Web reference:

3 TOUR ITINERARY Day 1 Tuesday 30th October (Meals in flight) Assemble at London Heathrow airport for overnight flight to Beijing. Day 2 Wednesday 31st October (Meal in flight, D) Arrive Beijing Capital Airport. Transfer to the hotel and check in for a 3 night stay. Time to rest after the flight. Lunch under own arrangements. Meet up with the rest of the group for a welcome dinner of Peking Duck. Day 3 Thursday 1st November Breakfast and depart for a city tour. Stroll through Tiananmen Square, bordered by the Great Hall of the People, then walk to the Forbidden City, the complex of Imperial Palaces and home to the Emperors for 500 years. Depart to a large cattle farm for a tour of the feedlot. Lunch will be served on the farm as an individual beef hot pot. Return to Beijing for dinner and overnight. Day 4 Friday 2nd November Breakfast and depart to an agricultural machinery factory in the suburbs of Beijing. Walk the lines as they build a range of harvesting machines with most of the parts manufactured in the factory. Depart to a soybean production and processing factory, including Tofu and potato style crisps. Visit a small cereal farm operation to chat with the farmer about his farm, machinery, production cycle and markets. Return to the hotel for international buffet dinner. Day 5 Saturday 3rd November Breakfast, check-out and depart to visit the Great Wall. Built to protect individual kingdoms and to prevent invasion from the north, the wall dates back some 600 years. Enjoy some free time to stroll along the wall and shop for souvenirs. Return to Beijing where we will take a rickshaw ride through the old Hutong district to see the last of the old Beijing suburbs, former homes to the peasant and then the Communist government officials. Now returned to original family owners and extensively refurbished, they are some of the most expensive properties in the city. Many are let to artisans and we will see their work and family life before taking a relaxing cruise on Houhai Lake, with traditional Chinese music. Have dinner in a local restaurant, then board a First Class overnight Express train to Hohhot, the Capital of Inner Mongolia and the Milk Capital of China. The accommodation on the train is twin berth rooms with toilets at the end of each corridor. Day 6 Sunday 4th November Early arrival in Hohhot, the capital of Inner Mongolia with a population of 1.4m people. Transfer to the hotel for check in and breakfast. Visit one of the biggest milk processors and producers in China, Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, with dairy products sold throughout the country. Depart to the Dazhao Temple built in the Ming Dynasty. Return to hotel for dinner and overnight. Day 7 Monday 5th November Breakfast and depart to the beautiful grasslands of Xilamuren. When you reach the grassland plains, visit 2 different sheep farms, meet herdsmen families and learn about their sheep breeding and what measures are being taken to prevent overgrazing of the grassland. Enjoy a lunch of Mongolian roast mutton and a traditional show that includes folk dancing, singing, wrestling and horse racing.. Late afternoon return to the hotel for international buffet dinner and overnight. Day 8 Tuesday 6th November Breakfast and check out. Depart to the Mongolian Sheep Animal Husbandry Co Ltd, which slaughters 5 million sheep annually. On the return journey stop and chat to farmers working their land to learn about their daily life and farming operation. Take an afternoon flight to Xian and check in to the for your 3 night hotel stay. Take a stroll to enjoy a casual dinner at one of the fast food restaurants in the popular and vibrant Muslim district close to the hotel. Day 9 Wednesday 7th November Breakfast and transfer to Shaanxi Kingbull Livestock Company founded in The operation was formed to crossbreed Qinchuan cattle with the imported Angus cattle from Australia. With a 30,000 head of Kingbull cattle, slaughtering 100,000 annually, it is a sizeable operation. Final visit of the day is to some peasant houses to see local life and their commerce. Return to the hotel for international buffet style dinner.

4 Day 10 Thursday 8th November Xian was the cradle of ancient Chinese civilisation dating back to 4000 BC and a former capital of the country. It is from here that the silk caravans began their journey on the silk road to Europe. The day starts with a visit to the Terracotta Warriors, one of the greatest archeological discoveries in the world with three exhibition halls offering a magnificent insight into the life of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. In the afternoon tour the Big Goose Pagoda and the city walls. In the evening enjoy a dinner and show with the spectacular Tang Dynasty Show. Day 11 Friday 9th November Breakfast and checkout. Transfer to the airport for flight to Chongqing. Depart to the Chongqing Zoo for a guided tour and a visit to the Giant Panda enclosures. Transfer back to the city for early dinner at own expense in one of the fast food restaurants before boarding your cruise ship to depart on your 3 night Yangtze River cruise. (BL-) Day 12 Saturday 10th November Breakfast and continue your cruise along the famous Yangtze river, stretching over 3,000 miles. The cruise ship will stop at the city of Fengdu, known as the city of ghosts because of its religious connections with the afterlife. The city has become a popular tourist destination with a variety of day trips on offer. This evening enjoy the Captains cocktail party followed by cruise staff entertainment. Day 13 Sunday 11th November Breakfast and continue the cruise. Today the ship will pass through the Yangtze Gorges. The region was infamous for the flooding that wrecked the local economy and destroyed thousands of lives. A major damming project now controls the flow of the river to prevent the flooding and to generate electricity. The narrow gorges offer dramatic high cliffs and mist shrouded mountain peaks. Enjoy a boat ride up one of the river tributaries to get closer to the magnificent gorge walls that make the spectacular backdrop to the river. Day 14 Monday 12th November Breakfast and depart by coach to one of the worlds great engineering projects, the Three Gorges Dam. The construction began in 1994 and was finally completed in It includes the construction of 5 stage ship locks to allow river traffic to move past the dam. Return to the cruise ship to continue the journey to Yichang, where the group will leave the ship and transfer to the airport to fly to Shanghai. Dinner in a local restaurant and then check in to your hotel for a 2 night stay. Day 15 Tuesday 13th November Breakfast and depart to a large rice production farm then visit a cereal operation. The farm is 200ha and is located close to the Yangtze River. It is a test farm for the Ministry of Agriculture and is set to be a model for future farms in China. Return to Shanghai for dinner in a local restaurant and see a Chinese acrobat show in the nearby theatre. Day 16 Wednesday 14th November Breakfast and visit the Old Town famous for street markets and shops. The tour starts on the Yu Garden and Island of Tranquility in this hustle, bustle city. Covering 2ha it offers pavilions, lotus ponds, water bridges and winding paths to relax and enjoy. Then it is off to the riverside for a short walk along the main shipping artery for southern China, known as The Bund. It offers views of the Yangtze River traffic with the skyscraper city backdrop - comparisons have been made to the New York skyline. Farewell dinner in local restaurant. Day 17 Thursday 15th November (B, Meals in flight) Breakfast and take the unique Maglev Train to transfer to the airport. The train hovers over the track and reaches speeds over 400km per hour, reducing the journey time to 10 minutes from the city centre to the airport. Take your return flight to London Heathrow, arriving back the same day. End of Tour Arrangements. (Meal basis: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)

5 Tour Cost: Based on a minimum of 10 travellers per person (sharing a twin/double/cabin room) PLUS Airport taxes (subject to change at time of ticket issue) Single Supplement Tour Includes: Economy International & Domestic flights Good class hotels (11 nights) 3 nights on river cruise 1 overnight train journey Meals as indicated B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner. Private Coach Transportation Escorted by Field Farm Tours Ltd. Tips for local guides & drivers Cost of Chinese visa, which will be obtained on your behalf. Technical & touristic visits as stated, subject to local conditions at the time of travel (weather, crops etc) Tour Excludes: Travel to/from airport Airport taxes Upgrade flights. Meals other than stated Travel Insurance - you need to be insured to travel with Field Farm Tours Ltd. Gratuities Tip for your National Chinese Guide Drinks / Personal items Other Info: A visa is required for travel to China. The cost for your visa has been included in your package price and are per person. No compulsory health requirements, but consult your doctor or health centre for professional advice Passport needs to be valid for 6 months after your return date. To secure a place on this tour, please complete a booking form enclosed and return with your deposit of per person. Notes: The itinerary is subject to change without notice (local conditions, availability of visits at the time of travel, etc) and to terms and conditions as per the Company s booking conditions.

6 OTHER FORTHCOMING TOURS ISLE OF MAN - MAY 2018 SHETLAND - OCTOBER 2018 VIETNAM - OCTOBER 2018 CUBA - NOVEMBER 2018 WINTER GATHERING - DECEMBER 2018 FIELD FARM TOURS LTD FIELD HOUSE, 3 STEPHENSON COURT, STEPHENSON WAY, NEWARK, NOTTS, NG24 2TQ Tel no: Fax no: info@fieldfarmtours.co.uk The air holiday package in this brochure is ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL Please see our booking conditions for more information.