On Friday and Saturday July 11^th and 12^th, China Odyssey Tours’ FIT and Marketing Department team members went out for a kayaking adventure.

We took a private bus to Yangshuo after work on Friday. Upon arriving in Yangshuo, we went out for a nice dinner of Yangshuo’s famous Beer Fish. It is a local specialty. We all had a wonderful time talking and eating. It is nice to be able to spend some time with your coworkers outside of work and really connect.

We spent the night in Yangshuo and in the morning we went to the Fuli Dock where we rented Kayaks. Few of us had used one before, so before we were allowed out on the river, we had a safety and orientation course. The kayaking was wonderful! We cruised down the river dwarfed by Guilin’s famous mountains. The riverbanks were lined with bamboo groves, where water buffalos were relaxing in the shade and women were doing their laundry. It was really picturesque and a lot of fun! Some of the guys jumped in the water and had fun splashing everybody with water. By the end of the trip, we were all soaked, but it didn’t matter because it was so hot.

We kayaked down river to the village of Liugong. It is an ancient village located on the banks of the river. It was really beautiful. We explored its maze of alleys and streets and almost got lost a couple times. The villagers were really friendly and smiled a lot. They seem to really enjoy life. We then went to Linjiazhou Village, where we had lunch, and later went swimming to cool off. After exploring the village we rode back to Guilin. We all had a lot of fun. 

Our trip was a wonderful way for us to get to know each other better and blow off some steam.

The torch relay for the 2008 Beijing Olympics has 136 stops around the world in 21 countries. There are 113 stops scheduled in China, with three in Guangxi, our home province. One in Nanning, one in Baise, and one here in Guilin. The torch relay really brings the Olympics home. Most of us will not be able to attend them because tickets are very difficult to get, and they are being held so very far away, so we will just watch them on TV. With the torch relay, we feel like we are a part of the Olympics, and can share in the experience with the rest of the country. It was a really great feeling.

  We were all very excited to see the torch relay. The people of China are so proud that the 2008 Olympics are being held in Beijing. The excitment could be seen in the faces of the throngs of people who got up early to stand along the torch route. Our team members at China Odyssey Tours arrived at 7:30 in the morning with our flags, banners, stickers on our faces, and company t-shirts that we had made for this important occasion. The streets along the torch route were partitioned off and onlookers got to stand along the sides of the street. The first thing we saw was a police car coming down the road to announce that the torch was on its way.

 After a while, several trucks decorated by the major sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics drove past followed by many busses filled with other runners of the Guilin leg of the torch relay and Olympic and city officials. Finally came the torch runner. It was the moment we were waiting for. The runner was escorted by police on motorcycles, and several security personal running alongside. It was so exciting. We could hear it coming from quite a ways away by the roar of the crowds. The excitment was electric as onlookers screamed, waved flags and held their children on their shoulders to get a better view.

 Since this is the first Olympics in history to be held in Beijing it was a great honor to be able to be a small part of it. It is something that we will always be proud to say we were there, and will be able to tell our children about it some day.  

The torch’s route will pass through the San Li Dian District, east of downtown, through downtown, along Bin Jiang Road, near the Li River, and down Li Jiang Road, east of downtown.

The Olympic Torch Relay will pass a number of Guilin’s hotels including: the Guilin Plaza Hotel, the Guilin Golden Dragon Hotel, the Hotel Universal Guilin, the Guilin Park Hotel, The Sheraton Guilin Hotel, the Guilin Lijiang Waterfall Hotel, the Golden Elephant Hotel, and the Guilin Aviation Hotel. Visitors staying at these hotels who have tour schedules for May 6^th will need to leave their hotels before 7:30am.

From 7:30am to 1:00pm roads used by the torch relay will be closed, and all vehicles are forbidden to enter the city proper, except for local busses and vehicles involved in the torch relay.

• A strong earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has rocked Wenchuan in Sichuan province, some 92km northwest of Chengdu on May 12th. The earthquake took place at 14:48 Beijing Time and sent thousands of people rushing out of buildings and into the streets hundreds of miles away in Beijing and Shanghai. The temblor was felt as far away as Vietnam and Thailand.
• About 1,200 pandas -- 80 percent of the surviving wild population in China -- live in several mountainous areas of Sichuan. The earthquake hit one of the last homes of the giant panda at the Wolong Nature Reserve and panda breeding center, in Wenchuan county, which remained out of contact till the morning of May 13th.
• Although it was difficult to telephone Chengdu, the citizens in Chengdu still can send messages through MSN saying there were power and water outages there.
• The earthquake also rattled buildings in Beijing, some 930 miles to the north, less than three months before the Chinese capital was expected to be full of hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors for the Summer Olympics. Li Jiulin, a top engineer on the 91,000--seat National Stadium -- known as the Bird's Nest and the jewel of the Olympics -- was conducting an inspection at the venue when the quake occurred. He told reporters the building was designed to withstand a 8.0 quake. "The Olympic venues were not affected by the earthquake," said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing organizing committee.
• The Tourism Administration of China made the announcement that all travel services must stop organizing any tour groups to visit Sichuan province for safety’s sake, while those travelers who are in Sichuan areas should be helped to leave as early as possible. The information we have received says that the conditions in Sichuan, especially in the areas around Chengdu, Wolong and Jiuzhaigou are not good for traveling. Chongqing however has had no problem, so Yangtze River Cruises are still available.

More informations about this earthquake

Important Notice: A strong earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has rocked Wenchuan in Sichuan province. But the large earthquake that hit China Monday hit in a fairly lightly populated area. Other cities in China are relatively untouched. So it is still safe to visit those cities in China.

For anyone wanting more information, China Odyssey Tours has a 24 hour customer service line and we would be happy to answer all of your calls.

Please feel free to call us at: 1-800-773-0862

With China Odyssey Tours, You Are Not Alone In China

On Monday May 12, 2008 at 2:28 p.m. local time, China had its worst natural disaster since an earthquake rocked in the country in 1976. Western China had a massive earthquake which was estimated to have had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter Scale, and lasted for 3 minutes. According to the official Xinhua News Agency, 10,000 people have been killed, and untold numbers have been trapped in piles of concrete and steel. The quake,s epicenter was located just outside Chengdu City in Sichuan Province. Over 80% of structures near the epicenter were destroyed according to Chinese officials. The quakes tremors could be felt as far away as Vietnam, and another smaller quake was set off in Tongzhou district, on the outskirts of Beijing over 900 miles away, although no damage was reported. Much of the affected area has been cut off from the outside world making accurate figures difficult. The earthquake had disrupted air traffic control in western China, but flight services were restored by Monday evening.

China’s Tourism Administration announced that all travel services must stop organizing any tours to Sichuan Province for safety,s sake, while those visitors already in Sichuan Province should be helped out of the area as early as possible.

Premiere Wen Jiabao flew to the region to offer support. He visited one of the local hospitals where patients were trapped inside the building and was seen shouting encouragement to them. American President George Bush said in a statement “I am particularly saddened by the number of students and children affected by this tragedy” and International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge sent his condolences to Chinese President Hu Jintao saying, “The Olympic movement is at your side, especially during these difficult moments.”

More informations about this earthquake

I had a single room. The room was small, comfortable, and very well designed. Everything was placed very well. My room had all of the amenities that could be found in a 5 star hotel. I had my own air conditioner, refrigerator, television, telephone, bathroom with shower and western style toilet, and plenty of storage space.

One of the first things I noticed about the ship was the friendliness of the staff, and their excellent use of English. There was no communication problems whatsoever during my trip. The crew members I dealt with all remembered my name and went out of their way to say hi to me and to make sure that my every need was looked after. They did not know that I work for China Odyssey Tours, so I did not get special treatment. This is how they treat all their guests.

The ship itself was extremely comfortable. I could barely feel we were moving. Motion sickness will not be a problem for anyone riding on this ship. The interior of the ship is very easy to navigate and well laid out. The ship features a bar, observation lounge/library, ballroom, sundeck, two dining rooms, a gift shop, photo center, business center, medical clinic, sauna, massage parlor, and hair dresser. Each facility is well designed, and very

The excursions that we took were very well set up and run. We visited the Shennong Stream and had to switch to a smaller ship, and eventually to small wooden boats. Our guide was waiting for us, and took us through all parts of the excursion. The Three Gorges Dam was also very well done. Our guide was waiting for us as we disembarked, and personally took us to our bus and gave us a tour of the whole site. There English and knowledge of each site was exceptional. They were able to answer any and all questions we had.

One of the nicest parts of the cruise other than the ship, excursions, and crew, was my fellow passengers.

Before my inspection tour of the Yangtze River, I did no research. I wanted the experience to be as real as possible. I found the ship and her crew to be extremely professional. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget, and I will keep in touch with the new friends I made onboard for years to come. It was a truly unforgettable experience.

Our mailing address:
China Odyssey Tours
Guilin Tang Dynasty Tours Co. Ltd.
Room 218, Building 6, No.11 Huixian Road, Qixing District, Guilin, China 541004

China Odyssey Tours is not a "Virtual" Internet company but part of Guilin Tang Dynasty Tours Co. LTD, an official Government registered Chinese travel organization which has been in operation since 1987. (License Number L-GX-GJ00080)

China Odyssey Tours is the trademark or brand name for the English speaking market.

During 20 years of operation we have established solid relationships with major airlines, hotels and local tour operators all over China. This enables us to offer a great variety of well designed tours at unbeatable prices.