Showcasing the REAL China 
By Marian Goldberg
I am always surprised when travelers tell me that they “do not have China high on their ‘must see’ lists.” When I ask why, most of the time it amounts to a lack of knowledge of the country. How can you convince people, who have never been to China to go, or who have visited China in the 1980s to go back? One idea may be through our youth. Many young people are now learning Chinese language in school, and the Chinese New Year is a required part of the Social Studies curriculum, at least in New Jersey. Chinese food is as popular as pizza, and youngsters wonder if it tastes the same in China. My children know their Chinese zodiac birth year. I certainly didn’t know mine at their age. I visited China in April 2009 alone, but in August 2006 I traveled with my mother (then 70) and daughter (then 11).
My mother had visited China in 1997, 12 years prior to our visit, on a standard tour and didn’t recognize the country. She would not have gone back, and only did so, because of my daughter. My daughter, Brianna, saw China with fresh eyes. She loved the Children’s Castle in Shanghai. My mother thought she might have seen it before, but wasn’t sure. Regardless, it was different experiencing it with her granddaughter. Brianna got to see the exacting Chinese kids play traditional instruments, and she got to try some herself. However, this was nothing compared to Bri’s thrill at discovering a tall, modern Shanghai building that was, in fact, an enormous toy store. Literally, we passed it while driving on the street. Brianna saw the two-story glass display window and made us stop. I ran out with her and the guide as translator, dodging traffic as we crossed the street, while my mother waited in the car with the driver for almost an hour. Brianna came back to the car beaming, having bought Japanese anime related toys and gadgets for a fraction of the price in the USA or Japan. This was certainly not your typical commission-shopping spree. Brianna was ecstatic, and we were all happy that the guide and driver were so flexible to let us do this. To this day Brianna is interested in all things Asian.
These days, China always seems to be in the press. While the economies of the Western world sag, China’s is booming. The Olympics showed China’s special features: history and culture, contemporary art and architecture, regional cuisine, and the talents and abilities of its people. But, there is often a lot of conflicting negative information about China the tourism industry needs to counteract. Show potential clients what is truly special– with a really great itinerary and “little extras.” The itinerary should demonstrate how they can explore the culture in an in-depth and personalized but comfortable way – even if they don’t want to be with a large group. Give them superior guides who are not only knowledgeable, but flexible and personable. Are they willing to pay more for a “better” guide? If so, try to find the right guide who has the expertise to match their specific interests. The right or “better” guide would be one evaluated not only based on his or hers historical knowledge, but awareness of the client’s interests and whether the guide is personable and willing to “go the extra mile.” Counsel clients to know what to expect in advance. Patricia Cunneen, President of East Quest Inc. (www.east-quest.com) said, “I always try to lower their expectations. This way, when they have the great experience that you planned to give them anyway, it’s a ‘Wow!’” Discuss and overcome any cleanliness concerns in advance. For example, when WildChina (www.wildchina.com) clients, Dawn and Larry Steiner and Kit and Luke Argilla, in their mid-60s, traveled to the Han village of Jichang (1.5 hour drive from Guiyang), dating back to the Ming Dynasty era, there were no appropriate hotel accommodations. WildChina arranged a home-stay, and their staff personally came in and changed the sheets of the straw-stuffed mattresses. They made sure there was electricity, insured the kitchen was clean and food was properly handled, inspected the out- house and brought a folding toilet seat, so the Steiners and Argillas did not have to squat. The guests loved the home-stay experience. Dawn acknowledged it was “primitive” but she added, “The experience was amazing.
We hiked past sugar cane crops to an ancient village where we watched their paper-making, an art they have practiced there for 1,800 years! Our hosts also cooked amazing meals, but we trusted WildChina and no one got sick.” Give clients shopping information and tips at their request and help them find what they would like to buy. That guide we had in Shanghai really excelled in helping my daughter find her anime knock-offs. My guide in Dali in April, took me to a private traditional-yet-modern clothing “factory” (actually hand-sewn but produced in quantity), where I found truly special hemp jackets and pants for less than a quarter of what I would pay in the United States. On my prior trip, my guide in Beijing took me to a shop (www.chinasuccessstories.com/beijing-ruifuxiang-silk) where I chose my own silk fabric, my own traditional-yet-modern Chinese-style design from an array of mannequins, and was measured. He also brought me back the next day for a fitting and fixit. This was actually pre-arranged in advance with the tour company, Asia Pacific Travel Ltd (www.china1on1.com) because they knew what I wanted. About “Planned Spontaneity” and In-depth Experience Marie and Ralph Kissick were one of those couples who had no desire to go to China. Well traveled, they had been all over Africa and South America, but China was not on their radar. Then some friends, Leigh and Paul Tischler, showed them the “Chinese Treasures” itinerary from WildChina (www.wildchina.com/province_details.php?product_id=48), and the four of them decided to travel together. The itinerary included an introduction to Tai Chi at the Temple of Heaven and a calligraphy lesson inside the Stele Forest Museum in Xi’an, the largest stone tablet library in China. Both experiences were planned but seemed almost spontaneous. Marie explained, “After seeing the terracotta warriors, we were walking through the Stele Museum with our guide and there at a table, amongst all the ancient calligraphy tablets was a professional calligraphic artist hired by WildChina, just to teach us!”
The two couples also walked through the Hutong district in Beijing and as they passed through one alley, an old woman called them and their guide inside for tea. Again, it seemed impromptu, but WildChina had actually planned it in advance. “It was a real treat to see the interior of a Hutong home and the peoples’ daily lives from the inside,” commented Marie. Two other examples of the guide’s flexibility that Marie described took place in Beijing. Marie wanted a foot rub. Without any difficulty, the guide found her a very clean place for an hour-and-a-half reflexology foot massage that she described as “like watching a ballet.” And the cost was only $20! Next, although the couples are 69 years old, and extremely active, they wanted to ride bicycles on the Great Wall. Again, without question, the guide rented bikes for them and joined them on their two wheeling exploration. The cost and experience were included with the tour.
The Steiners and Argillas had more experiences to share. The two couples had been all over Asia but had never been to China. They wanted an upscale in-depth experience like they had had in Southeast Asia, but didn’t think it was possible in China. The couples normally go on small group trips (12 people or less), but this time they wanted a three-week custom experience. They knew they didn’t want to see the Xi’an warriors or take a Yangtze River cruise. They wanted to get out into the countryside and meet people, take a traditional cooking class and have a home cooking experience, and visit world heritage sites with an expert. They ended up taking an afternoon cooking program at a professional cooking school in Yangshuo (Yunnan Province) after a morning tour of the terraced rice fields of Longsheng (on the “not yet” world heritage site list). Carved into the hillside over hundreds of years by the local Zhuang and Yao people, when filled with water, the rice terraces resemble dragons’ scales blanketing the terrain, hence the mountain’s name “Dragon’s Back.”
Other immersive experiences included tea ceremonies and tastings in both Shanghai and Lijiang, a fan-making workshop in Fuli (also Yunnan Province), bamboo rafting on the Yulong River, a vegetable market tour with a local chef followed by dumpling-making in a villager’s home. They also enjoyed unique cultural performances: an opera famous for its symbolic masks in Guizhou, the renowned acrobatic show in Shanghai, and the “Impression Liu Sanjie” Sound and Lights Show in Yangshuo. Shopping that the Client Wants The Steiners and Argillas were not big shoppers, but they did want to buy silk duvets, so the guide again, almost spontaneously, arranged for them to visit a silk factory in Shanghai. They also asked about pearls, and Dawn described the pearl market in Shanghai as “an experience in itself.” Noting further, “You could spend the whole day there if you were a serious jewelry buyer. There are some inexpensive things, but there are also some very expensive items!” Dawn even enjoyed a trip to a Walmart-like store. “It was just fun to see the everyday stuff the Chinese buy.” She was fascinated to see ubiquitous folding toilet seats for sale. More on Guides Dawn couldn’t stress enough how wonderful her guides were. “They were responsive, forthcoming in answering questions, and stopped whenever we asked to use a restroom.” They were always “one step ahead.” She noted, “It was cold one day and we had not brought hats or gloves. So our guide went out after dropping us off that night, without even telling us, and purchased us knit hats and gloves!” Marianne Porter, who was also recently in China, praised her guide for going “out of her way to make sure that all of us saw, did, and had everything we wanted. She also shared stories of her family and how they dealt with the turmoil in China over the last century. We all felt she was a real treasure and that we were so very lucky to have had her show us Beijing.” Walter Keats, President of Asia Pacific Travel Ltd, has been to China more than 80 times since 1980, and his wife, Winnie Lu, is from Shanghai. They gave me an interesting guide “tip.” They said, “Tip your guide in advance. Or, at least give him/her part of the money in advance with a note that there is more coming.” They found this is important with freelance guides. With staff guides, such as those WildChina uses, that might not be an issue. A Travel Agent’s Perspective Susan Sparks is a Travel & Leisure A+ Super Agent and an affiliate of Brownell Travel (www.brownelltravel.com/susansparks.html).
She is “all about special interest travel.” She just finished arranging a personalized experience for a couple interested in the music of Thailand that took her clients up into the hill tribes where they have sustained their cultural music heritage. Susan looks for suppliers with a “cutting edge” itinerary. She strives to “come up with the unusual” but do it in a way that the luxury traveler is comfortable, even if they may be outside their element, such as a home-stay, or what she loved, “an honest to goodness puppet show in a very remote village.” Susan commented on going to the Sisters’ Meal Festival, where she did a home-stay with her clients. She worked with WildChina, which actually brought a chef into the local family’s home to cook during her clients’ stay. The clients were two 80-year-old women, but the local village women immediately took them aside, dressed them in their ethnic costumes, arranged their hair with an added headpiece, and brought them to the festival. These wealthy clients of Susan’s were so inspired that after returning to the U.S., they ended up donating an entire computer system to the village. It could not have happened if the tour company had not made their experience so personal and enriching. A lot of people who travel because they want to make a difference, don’t realize that there is a lot that can be done in China. There are even programs for youth. It can take a lot of effort and string pulling to arrange these kinds of immersive experiences in a way that is acceptable to the American traveler, but the rewards for the traveler, the tour operator, the community, and the destination as a whole are far reaching in both substance and time. Now we just need to get the word out.
For more information, contact the China National Tourist Office in New York, 888-760-8218; fax 212-760-8809; E-mail ny@cnto.org; or, in Los Angeles 800-670-2228; fax 818-545-7506; E-mail la@cnto.org; or visit www.cnto.org