China's traditional healing arts go back thousands of years. This fully escorted program introduces you to the arts of herbal medicine with detailed lectures and visits to traditional herbal pharmacies, herbal gardens, and the country's excellent school of traditional medicine in Souzhou. Daily practice of Taiji and foot and body massage are also part of the program. In addition, you will visit the fabulous wonders of Beijing, the Great Wall, the terra cotta warriors, and much, much more. This program is available for a minimum of 2 people travelling together, and can be customized for groups of 10 or more medical professionals.

ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival.
Welcome to Beijing, capital of China. Being one of the biggest cities in the world, Beijing has just celebrated its 850th anniversary as the Chinese capital. From the imperial Forbidden City to the Great Wall of China, from the Hutong alleys to the wide and straight Changan Avenue and from the courtyard houses to modern skyscrapers, Beijing has a dynamic culture, tradition and heritage. You will be met at the airport by a professional English speaking guide and transferred to your hotel for check-in.  (D)

Day 2: Beijing. Taiji practice in the morning
We will start to explore Beijing from the largest square in the world, Tian'anmen Square where you can feel the heartbeat of China. Bordered by the Great Hall of the People, Mao's Mausoleum, and the National Museum of China, Tian'anmen Square has witnessed many of the historical events which have happened in China since 1911. We then walk to the Forbidden City, the complex of imperial palaces which were home to the Emperors for over 500 years. Grand halls and courts gradually give way to more intimate domestic quarters, giving an insight into the pampered isolation of the emperors. After lunch, we will visit the charming Prince Gong's Palace while we tour the Hutong Alleys in rickshaws, for a glimpse of traditional Beijing local life. Before we conclude our Hutong tours we will enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Houhai Lake with traditional Chinese musical accompaniment. Tonight's dinner is the Peking duck. Optional body massage at night. (BLD)

Day 3: Beijing. Taiji practice with local Taiji expert in the early morning.
This is followed by our visit to the Great Wall of China and Ming Tombs. Being the symbol of China, this 2000 year old Wall stretches from East China Sea for 4500 miles all the way to the Gobi Desert in Western China. The section of the Great Wall we are going to visit is Badaling. After lunch we will visit the Ming Tombs, the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The layout and arrangement of all the 13 mausoleums are nearly the same but vary according to their size and the complexity of their structures. Optional foot Massage at night. (BLD)

Day 4: Beijing. Taiji practice in the morning
Lectures on Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Traditional Chinese medicine, as practiced today and in past centuries, is based upon an array of theories and practices from both foreign and native sources. The history of Chinese medicine is said to go back as far as 5,000 years to the time of Shen Nung, a divine husbandman credited with the discovery of medicinal herbs. According to Chinese legend, Shen Nung, the Chinese father of agriculture and leader of an ancient clan, took it upon himself to test, one by one, hundreds of different plants to discover their nutritional and medicinal properties. Many of these turned out to be poisonous to humans. Over the millennia, Chinese have used themselves as guinea pigs in this same way to continue testing plants for their properties of inducing cold (han), heat (jeh), warmth (wen), and coolness (liang). They classified the medicinal effects of the plants on the various parts of the body and then tested them to determine their toxicity, what dosages would be lethal and so forth. After lunch we will be guided to see the Herbal Botanical Garden to identify herbs and learn their functions. Optional body massage at night. (BLD)

Day 5: Beijing. Taiji practice in the morning. Full day of lectures on Traditional Chinese Medicine. Optional foot Massage at night.
Chinese have a unique system of categorizing illnesses that is widely divergent from their Western counterpart. The philosophy behind Chinese medicine is that man lives between heaven and earth and comprises a miniature universe in the body. The material of which living things are made is considered to belong to the "yin" or female, passive, receding aspect of nature. The life functions of living things, on the other hand, are considered to belong to the "yang" or masculine, active, advancing aspect. Several main concepts are essential to understanding traditional Chinese medicine. Holism, or the concept that parts of a human body form an integral, connected, and inseparable whole, is one of the main distinguishing features of traditional Chinese medicine. Whereas Western medicine tends to treat symptoms in a direct fashion, traditional Chinese medicine examines illnesses in the context of a whole. Yin-yang philosophy and the theory of five elements form a system of categories that explain the complete relationships between parts of the body and the environment. Yin and yang represent two opposite sides in nature such as hot and cold or light and dark. Each of the different organs is said to have yin or yang characteristics. Balance between the two is vital for maintaining health. The five elements--earth, fire, water, metal and wood-are categories of characteristics into which all known phenomena can be classified. (BLD)

Day 6: Beijing/Xian
Fly to Xian in the morning. Xian is the cradle of ancient Chinese civilization dating back to 4000 BC, and the capital of China for 11 dynasties, from 1046 BC to 907AD. It is from here that caravans started on the Silk Road to Europe, changing the Western world forever. Visit the Ming Dynasty-built city wall upon arrival. After lunch we will visit one of the best museums in China, the Shane History Museum. This museum was built in the Tang style of architecture with elegant galleries and courtyards. Its collections amount to over 380,000 relics representing the periods from the pre-historic Lantian ape-man, which was 1.15 million years old, to the opium war in 1840. Being one of the best museums in China, it is famous for its collections of the new Stone Age pottery, Zhou dynasty bronze wares, Tang dynasty gold and silver vessels and Tang dynasty fresco. Optional body massage at night. (BLD)

Day 7: Xian. Taiji practice in the morning.
Morning visit to the Tang Dynasty Big Wild Goose Pagoda which has a history of over 1300 years. We may join the locals to pray and burn incenses for good luck and hear monks chanting Buddhist scriptures. On the way to the Qin Warriors we will stop at the Chinese Herbal Medicine Market where we will find 1600 kinds of herbs available at reasonable price. After lunch we will visit the Museum of the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses. This is one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world with three exhibition halls, the largest of which is 180 meters by 60 meters, housing the continuing excavation of an army of 8,000 terra-cotta soldiers and horses that guard the tomb of Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of the unified China. It is a stunning exhibition of ancient artifacts that is well laid out and easy to view. Tang Dynasty Show at night. (BLD)

Day 8: Xian/Hangzhou
Fly to Hangzhou in the morning and visit the century old Chinese Pharmacy, Hu Qing Yu Tang. The whole drugstore was designed and finally completed in 1874 by Hu Xueyan, a famous official merchant in the late Qing Dynasty. In the building of the structure, Hu-Xue yan imitated the style of southern garden and courtyard, and spent three hundred thousand taels of silver. The drugstore has collected traditional effective prescriptions, and meticulously prepared various kinds of medicine with the dosage forms of pill, powder, glue and pellet. We will also visit Lingyin temple or "Temple of the Soul's Retreat". This temple was originally founded in 326 AD, but has been rebuilt no less than sixteen times since then. The current buildings are modern restorations of late Qing Dynasty. The hillside to the south of the temple is also famous for Buddhist rock carvings. Many of them date back to the time when the temple was first founded and a great deal were carved during the Tang dynasty. Optional body massage at night. (BLD)

Day 9: Hangzhou/Suzhou. Taiji practice by the West Lake in the morning.
Lying on the west edge of the city, West Lake is the symbol of Hangzhou city as well as one of the most beautiful sights in China. Surrounded on three sides by rolling wooded hills, West Lake, also known as Xizi Lake, has captivated countless visitors for centuries. The beauty of the West Lake lies in a lingering charm that survives the change of seasons throughout a year, of hours in a day, and of different weather. The tea plantation is nearby and this is our next stop in the morning. The best green tea in China is produced here. After lunch we will drive to Suzhou. Upon arrival we will visit Panmen City Wall. Located by the remaining section of the original city wall, the area comprises three major attractions: the ancient Land and Water Gates, the mysterious millennium-old Auspicious Light Pagoda and the time-honored Wumen Bridge spanning the Grand Canal. They echo with each other and form a delightful contrast, affording a quaint and wonderful sight of this water land in the southern Yangtze Delta. A visit to this area will certainly reinforce one's impression of Suzhou's culture and history. Optional foot massage at night. (BLD)

Day 10: Suzhou/Shanghai. Taiji practice in the beautiful local garden.
Suzhou, with 2,500 years of history, was regarded by Marco Polo as the "Venice of the Orient". Suzhou is also known as the Silk Capital of the World. We begin tour in Suzhou with the Cruise on the Narrow Canals of the old city to appreciate the ancient stone bridges, houses and local life by the canals. Then we visit the Suzhou Silk Institute and learn the ancient art of making Chinese silk products by hand. Also, we will enjoy a silk fashion show and do some shopping. Then visit the Serging Waves Garden, the oldest existing garden in the city and one of four most famous classical gardens in China built in Song Dynasty 900 years ago. After lunch we will visit the Chinese Medicine Museum. The traditional Chinese medicine in Suzhou is known as the Wu School of Medicine. Every generation produced its prestigious doctors and well-known medical monographs, and thus a unique local medicine school came into shape over the time and played a very important role in the history of traditional Chinese medicine. The old saying goes 'Wu has brought up many respected doctors, and the Wu doctors have produced many medical masterpieces, and the study on epidemic febrile disease finds its origin in Wu medicine'. This Museum of the Traditional Chinese Medicine of Suzhou recalls the splendid history of Wu Medicine, which offers important historical and realistic significance for us to understand the features of Wu School Medicine. We will drive to Shanghai after dinner in Suzhou. (BLD)

Day 11: Shanghai. Taiji practice in the morning.
Morning visit to the Shanghai old town, with its history dating back some 400 years. People love this area due to the variety of commodities and shops available. We will also visit the Yuyuan Garden. Located in the north of the Chenghuang Miao (Town God Temple area) of Shanghai, the Yuyuan Garden was built in 1559 by a high official of the Ming dynasty intending to entertain his parents. The exquisite layout, beautiful scenery, and the artistic style of the garden architecture are where the charm of Yu Yuan lies. The garden is acknowledged as "an architectural miracle in the region south of Yangtze River", "an elite of garden in southeast China", and "the mountain and forest in the embrace of the bustling city". After lunch we will stroll along the "Bund" (waterfront) which will give you a grand view of the "Wall Street" of the Orient, recalling the modern history in the last century of this great city. Nearby is the famous Nanjing Shopping Road. (BLD)

Day 12: Shanghai/USA.
Transfer to the airport to board your flight back to USA.

Level: easy to moderate

Prices & Departures for 2004

Available	12D/11N On Request
Per Person in Double
2-5 participants	$2870
Single Room Supplement	$480
6-9 participants	$2620
Single Room Supplement	$420
10 or more participants	$2380
Single Room Supplement	$350

We reserve the right to substitute any of the mentioned hotels in the itinerary with properties of the same or similar class should the circumstances require us to do so.

(Subject to change)