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China Eclipse Tours - Eclipse On Shanghai - 5 day tour
China Tours 2009 Total Solar Eclipse
 "Click to enlarge - Tour Map -")
Day 1: Shanghai
Welcome to China, futuristic Shanghai and the start of your city break! Airport arrival and transfer transfer to our hotel. Overnight - Shanghai
Day 2 - The best of old & new Shanghai!
Shanghai - Breakfast. Just the mere mention of ‘Shanghai’ conjures up mystery, romance and general decadence. Pre – 1949, cosmopolitan Shanghai was a magnet for seekers of wealth, idle colonialists, explorers and the dispossessed. The city’s oddities were due to the unusual circumstances of the city’s existence. Written into the Treaty of Nanjing was the notion of extraterritoriality , which translated as foreign nationals not being bound by Chinese law, but rather by the laws of their own consuls. Basically anything went. Until 1949, foreigners dominated commerce, banking and industry, amassing huge fortunes and transforming the landscape of foreign concessionary sections of Shanghai. Everything went belly up in 1949, when Mao and the communists took to power and swept the good times and rock and roll away rather swiftly. A legacy of these heady times, is Shanghai’s Bund where on and around this waterfront promenade are a vast series of grandiose pre-1949 buildings. After four decades of austerity, economic reforms implemented by Deng Xiaoping reawakened Shanghai. Just across the Huangpu River is the new Shanghai, a high-tech development of sky scrapers, the centre piece of which is the rocket-shaped Oriental Pearl TV tower. Mercedes and BMW cars cruise the neon-lit streets, modern department stores rub shoulders with cool bars and Shanghai is staking it’s claim to being China’s foremost metropolis.
Our sightseeing of Shanghai takes in the Oriental Pearl TV tower and viewing platform which offers magnificent 360 degree views of the entire city, the Jade Buddha Temple, charming Yuyuan Gardens and the Bund and Old City. This evening, enjoy a cruise on the Huangpu River. Overnight - Shanghai
Day 3 - Suzhou water canals
Shanghai - Suzhou - Shanghai - breakfast. Suzhou, a 2,500 year-old cultural city is located in an area of rivers that crisscross the Yangtze River Delta of southeastern China. In the city, boats bob along waterways interwoven with small bridges that run parallel to the streets and traditional houses built along them. Coupled with a stunning collection of UNESCO-listed gardens and famed for it’s silk, Suzhou is an oriental treasure. Taking a high speed train to Suzhou, we enjoy a cruise on the Grand Canal, tour the Humble Administator’s Garden and visit a silk workshop. Lunch and overnight - Shanghai.
Day 4 - ECLIPSE on Shanghai
Shanghai - breakfast TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE 2009. Early this morning we drive south (for approx 1 hour) following the Shanghai coastline. Arriving at our eclipse location, a broad flat beach with clear visuals accross the East China Sea and above. Shanghai's coastline is the most favourable land based location within the eclipse path and additionaly offers one of the greatest time spans for overhead visual.
Poised and ready to witness the total Solar Eclipse scheduled to pass over at approximatey 08:40am. As the event unfolds the sky will change to a deep purple as the horizon falls into shades or orange and red. Then at the precise moment the sun will blacken over and the sky will fall into darkness. The brilliance will last for near 5 minutes and 56 seconds minutes. After the grand finally we return to Shanghai, remainder of the day at leisure. Perhaps head to Nanjing Road, just off the Bund or Huaihai Lu; the main street of the French Concession for amazing shopping, explore the Old City or drop into the historic Peace Hotel for a drink and a spot of jazz. Overnight - Shanghai
Day 5: Shanghai - breakfast
Breakfast. Our tour concludes after breakfast and onward departure transfer to airport.
Nature of the Solar Eclipse
• Perfect viewing conditions of the eclipse can not be guaranteed as July marks the height of China’s rainy season. Though there is a near 55 - 60% chance of clear blue sky and of all the land based locations within the eclipse path Shanghai’s coastline is regarded as the most favourable viewing spot.Tour Highlights
- Shanghai - Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jade Buddha Temple
- Shanghai - The Bund and Old Shanghai
- Shanghai - Yuyuan Garden
- Shanghai - Huang River skyline of Pudong City
- TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE OVER THE SHANGHAI COASTLINE - 22ND JULY 2009
- Suzhou - A quaint waterside village. Guided sightseeing of the Humble Administrators Garden and boat cruise on Grand Canal
Solar Eclipse Tour includes
- Breakfast daily, 1 lunch
- 4 nights 3 - 4 star hotels
- Shanghai - Huangpu River cruise
- Guided sightseeing of Shanghai and Suzhou - days 2, 3 and 4
- Return train journey (soft seater) from Shanghai to Suzhou approx 2.5hrs.
- Airport arrival and departure transfer on day 1 and day 5
- All relevant transfers and transportation in private air-conditioned vehicles
Solar Eclipse Tour does not include
- International flights, visa and entrance fees. For entrance fees budget approximately USD30
- Tipping - an entirely personal gesture
- Laundry, drinks, items of a personal nature
For products over £350.00 per person we can take a non refundable deposit balance payable 11 weeks before departure.
This tour is a 'Guaranteed Departure' tour. Have you considered your visa requirements? Tour Dates
Tour Prices
4 Additional Options
Make a ReservationPlease use our online booking reservation service where available - if you need any further assistance or to book please feel free to call or email us with your booking. Until you have received a receipted invoice (by post fax or email) your reservation has been recorded but not been confirmed. This is similar to an airline wait-listing. This may only affect you if we have had major changes to the tour. |  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||