By James Shillinglaw Shanghai – the very name evokes images of immense modernity, buildings touching the sky, and a center of commerce that is now one of the world’s great cities. Yet, Shanghai also has an ancient and colonial past; it was a city dominated by Western traders for a good part of the 20th century, at least until the Communist revolution swept capitalism aside — until today at least! I finally got a chance to visit this amazing metropolis last month on a 10-day travel agent fam trip organized by Imperial Tours.  » Read more »

Beijing is the heart of “official” China, Xian is the historical center of China’s imperial past, but Guilin offers a taste of Chinese rural life as well as some of the most scenic vistas in the country. After nearly three days in Beijing and one in Xian, our Imperial Tours travel agent fam trip group flew to Guilin to experience a very different China. Our group – which included three agents, two of their companions,  » Read more »

CONTACT: Hilari Graff at Strategic Vision Tel: 914-881-9056/9020 hgraff@strategicvision.org IMPERIAL TOURS SETS 2010 ‘FAMILY TOUR’ DEPARTURE & PRICING FOR LUXURY ESCORTED GROUP PROGRAM IN CHINA SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 3, 2010) – Imperial Tours, the leading luxury tour operator based in China, has set the 2010 date and pricing for its annual escorted group Family Tour. Ideal for families (with young kids to teenagers), the 11-night Family Tour takes travelers to Beijing,  » Read more »

After nearly three days in Beijing, my Imperial Tours travel agent fam trip moved to Xian, site of the famous Terracotta warriors and the original seat of the Chinese empire. The Terracotta warriors, of course, are one of China’s most famous attractions, though they were discovered only late in the last century. But I found there is much more to Xian than the clay-figure warriors themselves. We began our journey with a short flight (under two hours) from Beijing to Xian.  » Read more »

By James Shillinglaw After two days visiting some of the iconic sights of Beijing, including the Forbidden City and Great Wall, our Imperial Tours fam trip spent a final half day visiting the famous Summer Palace in the outskirts of the city. Beijing was still cold but the weather had turned clear as we left the Raffles Beijing by bus to drive through the wide boulevards of the city. We passed massive government buildings,  » Read more »