New Baby Pandas Born

A major highlight during our recent visit to China was spending time with the panda bears at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province. It's a sprawling 600 acre complex of lush landscape with rolling hills, mixed with the natural bamboo habitat where over 70 giant pandas and red pandas live. We had a great time playing with the pandas.

We are thrilled to see there have been some additions there! Just a few days ago, four giant panda cubs were born within 14 hours. This is a mini baby boom for the rare animals. Click here for more on the story.

Pictured here is one of the babies.

photo credit Reuters/China

Recovering After the Quake

On May 12, China suffered from a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake. As of July 12, the death toll stands at almost 70,000, the number of injured people is 374,000, and the number of people missing is close to 18,000.

Today, China is slowly recovering from the catastrophic event. The government disaster relief fund had topped 59 billion yuan (about 8.5 billion U.S. dollars). Numerous countries around the world have donated their time, money, and other goods to China. Domestic and foreign donations have reached close to 57 billion yuan in cash and goods, of which 21 billion yuan had been forwarded to the quake-hit areas. Relief workers have been constructing temporary houses for the masses of people whose homes were destroyed, damaged roads are almost completely reconstructed, and clean up is a daily project.

Kipling & Clark and its sister company travNET support the American Red Cross relief effort in China and Myanmar. If you're interested in learning more, click on the link above.

Christianity on the Rise in China

A history lesson: since the 7th Century, Christianity has struggled to take root in China. Christian followers would go to underground churches to conceal their faith from the government. But now, Christianity is on the rise. In this officially atheist nation, the government has counted 21 million Catholics and Protestants - not including the underground population of roughly 50 million.

Christianity is thriving, in part, because it offers a moral framework to citizens adrift in an age of western capitalism that has not only corrected a heavy toll in corruption and pollution, but also harmed the global image of products "Made in China." Some Chinese Christians may even argue that their faith is an unexpected benefit for the Communist Party, because it boosts up the economic foundation that is critical to sustaining party rule.

Christianity is driving citizens to be more politically assertive, encouraging them to push for greater freedoms and testing the party's willingness to adapt. A growing number of lawyers and scholars have converted to Christianity and turned their skills to the issue of religious freedom. They are teaming up with churches to challenge the government in court, suing for the rights they believe are guaranteed under China's constitution.

Two Weeks Away - Let the Games Begin!

With two weeks to go until the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, there is great attention now on Beijing and its surrounding cities. China's eye-catching National Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" (the most architecturally striking stadium we have ever seen!) will be the main stadium of the Games.

Preparations for the Olympic Games include a massive clean up of Beijing’s air pollution. Half of Beijing's three million vehicles have now been pulled off the roads, and many polluting factories are being closed. The chemical plants, power stations and foundries left open have to cut emissions by 30 percent, and dust-spewing construction in the capital will be stopped.

Also, security has increased not only in Beijing, but Shanghai as well because the government is worried about foreign terrorist plots. The government is also concerned about the potential for political protests from domestic critics such as Uighurs in the restive western province of Xinjiang and Tibetans. Surprisingly, Beijing hotels had to cut prices in half in their last effort to book their rooms. But, keep in mind...this is after more than tripling their original prices.

Here are a few interesting news links about what's happening in Beijing in preparation for the incoming tourists:

AP article about China clamping down on business visas:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gNmhIfQfEVKFgn5D5agWE421z3ZQD924CR903

AP article about pollution in Beijing, and what city officials are doing about it:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hffL1XfQ3apaxbsVWxBAj5QJeJKQD921N24O1

Our Family Luxury Tour of China - What a Journey!!

As promised to our friends, clients and associates, we want to tell you about our incredible luxury tour of China. We (Bev, Zennia, her cousin Sofia and I) recently returned from our 18-day private luxury tour of China.

Because we enjoyed so many wonderful experiences, I am making the story into three parts. Here's part one, check back again next week for parts two and three.

Part I: Hong Kong, Zhongdian (Yunnan Province) Chengdu and Chongqing

HONG KONG
Although we really love Shanghai, it’s hard to beat Hong Kong – the picturesque, deep water harbor is always abuzz with ferries, container ships and hydrofoil activity. The backdrop of the harbor is among the most striking skylines in the world: an array of sleek, glass and steel buildings (Bank of China building being our favorite!) unmatched by any other city at night.

Exploring the neighborhoods with our super-guide Rebecca was great fun. We added a morning Dim Sum breakfast at local Jade Garden, and a return to the Island Shangri-La for Zen’s adoption reminiscing. We visited the Shangri-La so Zen could celebrate her 6 year adoption anniversary, returning to the King Bed harbor view room we used in 2001. Zen remarked “life is good!” We later recharged with an hour foot/head massage at a local spa.

We very much looked forward to returning to the newly-renovated Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. This place truly represents understated luxury. We forgot how much we love this place: unpretentious, singular luxury coupled with a very sincere, friendly staff that evokes a home away from home feeling. The renovation has resulted in the new Mandarin’s former balconies being converted to lounge/study area extensions, with stunning Victoria Harbor views. Zen and Sofia especially liked the bathroom/amenities, including the vertical, swivel plasma TV/mirrors – so unique! Similar to our Japan trip, Zen and Sofia had a tough first night in Hong Kong with jet lag. Around 2am I overheard Zen calling room service for French fries and milkshakes - at least they properly tipped the room service waiter!! We feel perhaps no other 5 star deluxe property in Hong Kong offers such a luxurious, peaceful oasis from the noisy, frenetic city as the Mandarin: an A+ in our book!

ZHONGDIAN
Next we flew onto Zhongdian – Shangri-La (Yunnan Province) in southwest China. This remote, obscure area represents the antithesis of the sophisticated, urban environment of Hong Kong. The region, (Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture) rich in Tibetan culture, rises 10,000 ft in elevation on the southern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Amazingly, Banyan Tree Resorts has built a lovely idyllic resort here (Ringha) using Sino-Tibetan designs with each lodge/villa looking remarkably like the local Tibetan farmhouses. The Banyan Tree is located in a lush, green valley that is truly representative of this beautiful, remote land. At least during late spring/summer period, think of the scenery as a Tibetan cultural version of Sound of Music! Our lovely local Tibetan guide, Hannah, was blessed with the physical ‘beauty of her local “sisters” – high rosy cheekbones with naturally beautiful skin, bathed in the local Yak bitter from an early age. In addition to visiting the very impressive Ganden Sumtseling Gompa Tibetan monastery (nearly 600 monks!), Hannah brought us to a local Ringha Buddhist Temple – no westerners here! Walking up the hill to the small temple, we saw colorful prayer flags and many local Tibetan pilgrims. Hannah helped Zen and Sofia tie their own prayer flags with each making their own private, solemn wish.

CHENGDU (Altruism + pandas)
Based on the earthquake tragedy in Sichuan Province, we were ambivalent and reluctant to visit here. After much correspondence and reflection we decided to go ahead with our brief Chengdu stopover. Although we were unable to visit specific damaged schools north of the city, we were still able to give donations to the Sichuan relief effort here. Despite media reports, we were pleasantly surprised that Chengdu itself (a sprawling city of over 4 million) suffered very little earthquake damage.

Based on the perspective of Zen and Sofia, the Chengdu Research Base/Giant Panda Eco-Park was the number one highlight of our 18-day China trip! The sprawling 600 acre complex was most impressive – a lush landscape with rolling hills mixed with the natural bamboo habitat of both the “giant panda” and the interesting “red panda” (think of a raccoon crossed with a fox!). Over 70 giant pandas live here! Before the Sichuan earthquake, the Panda Research Center averaged over 4,000 visitors per day. Following the earthquake, officials remarked that not more than 50 persons visited a day. After arranging a donation with the research center, Zen and Sofia were given a golden opportunity for a private “holding-hugging” session with a 10-month old “baby” panda named Xing-rong. This “baby” panda weighed in at 44lbs! Their group hug with Xing-rong was off the charts for Zen and Sofia – not even Hannah Montana or High School Musical could match this!

In reality, there exists no other place in the world where one can experience such personal encounters with giant pandas – only here in Chengdu. This is a must visit for all families traveling to China!!

Another wonderful family place in Chengdu is its “Peoples’ Park,” a lovely setting for all families, with tea houses, zany rides, and local “medicine doctors.” I am not sure we would recommend the ear-wax removal service using super thin bamboo prods!

CHONGQING
A couple of months back we planned on flying into Chongqing to board the newly built vessel Yangzi Explorer, the first legitimate 5 star luxury cruise to ply the Yangzi. However, due to launching delays until late summer, our Yangzi Explorer expedition is postponed. Nevertheless, the Chongqing stop gave me a golden opportunity to take a full day excursion onto the Dazu Grotto. Dating back to the 12th century, the Dazu art is rated among the great Buddhist cave sculptures in all of China. Luckily, as the Dazu grotto was inaccessible by road during the Cultural Revolution, the entire area was spared the excesses of the Red Guard. Reflecting Buddhist, Taoist and Confucius influences, the detail and integrity of the artwork is somewhat comparable to Angkor Wat. (Please forgive me Jay Xu if this comparison seems untenable!) As Zen had developed a slight fever, Bev, Sofia, and Zen had a Chongqing spa/massage rest day while my wonderful lao ban voiced guide Nancy and I visited Dazu.

This is the end of the first part of our trip. Click here for Part II, Guilin and Beijing.
Click here for Part III, Shanghai.

All Eyes on China

Amazing! Incredible! Stunning! These are just a few of the words that describe our Lynch Family private luxury tour of China. For 18 days we enjoyed five-star hotels, extraordinary service and took in all the beauty and culture of this great country. From Beijing to Hong Kong to Chengdu, from Guilin to Shanghai, we have so much to share with you! (And Zen and cousin Sofia had the best time visiting with the Panda bears!)

Meantime, with all eyes on China now because of the upcoming Beijing Olympics, I want to take a moment to talk about summer tourism in China, specifically in Beijing. It was originally expected that Beijing would see a boom in tourists for the Olympics - but this is not happening. Perhaps you've read the recent headlines about how Beijing is a bust for the hotel industry??

The best time to visit Beijing is *after* the Olympics, after the hoopla and the lights. I'll have much more on this in my next posting. For now, here's a link to an interesting story from the AP about the tourism bust in Beijing:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g_coiYn7zmiqw9IMgcmqezqZa6bQD91HAVCG0