Our tour progressed from Beijing to Xi’an; Shanghai; Wuhan; the Yangtze River; Chongqing; Guilin and Yangshuo, as well as Guangzhou to Zhongshan and Zhuhai. Last but not least: Macau and Hong Kong. The hotels everywhere we stayed were unbelievable, some even had a glass wall between the bathroom and bedroom. We never received a straight answer about the glass. Macau has a remarkable history, and is known as Las Vegas of the East and looks it. Gambling is illegal anywhere but Macau. We stayed at the Sheraton Macau, a shopping wonder (the largest Sheraton in the world with 3,800+ rooms). The Venetian Hotel, across the road, has the largest casino and is another shopping adventure. Both had been built on reclaimed land. Construction is ongoing everywhere in China.

Included in our package were four domestic flights, a jet ferry ride and a high-speed train. All other transportation was by coach. New local tour guides and drivers met us whenever we changed cities.

If you plan to tour China (or anywhere), bring comfortable walking shoes. If you don’t walk daily, practice before your trip till you’re comfortable with a couple miles a day. You’ll climb hills, stairs and tread uneven brick walkways. In public places you’ll encounter squat toilets (nothing to fear), but most restaurants and hotels offer modern facilities.

I have left so much out because it would take pages to describe all the sights, sounds and sensations I encountered. This was such an incredible experience, I now have the travel bug—bad.