cruisingtochina.com

Beautiful scenes at the Yungang Grottoes near Datong in China.

Taking a cruise continues to rise in popularity in Asia. Royal Caribbean has announced it will be extending this cruise season in Southeast Asia and China until June of 2017. There will be nine additional sailings, which means a total of 64 sailings in the region to choose from. A news release from Royal Caribbean lists the company’s offerings for the Singapore Season: Royal Caribbean kick-starts its longest-ever Singapore season, first on Mariner of the Seas with 41 sailing...s of 3 to 10 nights to popular destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong and China till March 2017. Ovation of the Seas will be back in March to April 2017 with a total of 10 new sailings, comprising 3 to 5 nights to Penang, Phuket, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and a 12-night one-way cruise to Tianjin with calls at Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) for an overnight, Hue/Danang (Chan May), Hong Kong and Seoul (Incheon). Following this will be Voyager of the Seas returning from May to June 2017 to offer 13 sailings of three to five night Southeast Asian itineraries to Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Penang, Phuket and an 8-night one-way cruise to Hong Kong, with stopovers at Bangkok (Laem Chabang) for an overnight, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My) and Nha Trang. Royal Caribbean was recently awarded Travel Weekly Asia’s Readers Choice Awards for Best Cruise Line - International and Best Cruise Line - Family. The winners were chosen in voting by Travel Weekly Asia readers. Royal Caribbean Cruises Managing Director for Singapore and Southeast Asia, Sean Treacy, declared that winning these prestigious awards is a great honour. Tracy thanked Travel Weekly Asia readers and the company’s industry partners for their recognition and strong support. Treacy says Royal Caribbean International celebrates its 10th anniversary in Asia next year and they aim to grow the brand as a top vacation choice in Asia with innovative ships and revolutionary onboard experiences, as we deliver to everyone the One holiday with endless adventures. See more

Imagine spending a day in China What would you like to see? Enjoy a quick visual tour of something of the things you can see and do while you visit China.

Chinese artist Tan Ping has been commissioned by Norwegian Cruise Lines to create artwork for the hull of Norwegian Joy, the company's first vessel built for the Chinese market. The Phoenix, a mythical bird that reigns supreme over all other birds in the world, will flow gracefully along the hull of Norwegian Joy, which is scheduled to go into service in the summer of 2017. Tan Ping is a renowned Chinese painter and printmaker and says the Phoenix symbolizes beauty and luck i...n China. He says Norwegian Joy will be a bridge across the East and West. David Herrera, President of Norwegian Cruise Lines China, says Tan Ping's ability to design concepts that easily blend traditional Chinese culture with moving and changing aspects of life is inspiring. He has perfectly captured the feel of Norwegian Joy as a luxurious, technologically advanced ship while honoring traditional Chinese values. Norwegian Joy is one of the most ambitious vessels in the Norwegian Cruise Line's fleet. It will accommodate 3,850 guests, feature Chinese and Continental cuisine, Virtual Reality gaming and the world's first two-level competitive racetrack at sea, an open-space park and two multi-story waterslides. Norwegian Joy will be home porting in Shanghai and Beijing. See more

One of the most popular attractions for visitors to Qinghai Lake in China's Qinghai province is the sunrise. The beauty of dawn is nearly matched by the spectacle of hundreds of people awake well before first light to get a good spot at the edge of the water or on a viewing platform set up at the beach. Qinghai Lake is the largest in China and is saline. It was also known as the West Sea.

September 3rd was a day to remember for the people of China as Tiananmen Square was the scene of a large military parade to mark the 70th Anniversary of the end of World War Two and the Japanese occupation of China. As jet fighters, bombers, surveillance aircraft and helicopters flew overhead, troops, tanks and missile launchers moved past the square along Changan Avenue. The event was carried live on TV across China.

China is a country of amazing diversity. When planning a visit to China a top destination to consider is Yangshuo in Guangxi with it's classic scenes of southern China. The most popular way to reach Yangshuo is to take a cruise down the Li River from Guilin. Once there, hire a guide and bicycles to enjoy rafting down the Yulong River and cycling among the fields and karst peaks of the countryside surrounding Yangshou. Rock climbing is a popular sport in Yangshuo with many routes to chose from. In the evenings stroll along the streets where you can choose from the many restaurants in which to enjoy the local cuisine.

For visitors to Yunnan province in China, Dali is a popular place to stop. An old walled city, Dali is on the western shore of Er Hai lake with Cang Shan (Jade Green Mountain) behind it. The area is home to the Bai ethic group, who established the Nanzhao Kingdom more than 12-hundred years ago. An important historic site is San Ta Si (Chongsheng San Ta Si ), three ancient pagodas more than a thousand years old standing in front of Chongsheng Temple. The tallest, Qianxun Pagoda, has 16 tiers and is 70 metres tall. Within the large Chongsheng Temple complex you can leisurely stroll through the buildings and courtyards, and climb the stairs to a temple pavilion on the mountainside, which gives you a panoramic view of the temple, pagodas, and Er Hai lake in the distance.

The duo li () is the easily recognizable conical hat seen in China, southeast Asia, South Korea and Japan. Different countries in Asia have their own names for this hat, and it is also known by various English names, such as a sedge hat, rice hat, or paddy hat. In China, the hat is most often worn by farmers working in the fields to protect them from rain, or the sun. These hats offer good protection from the sun for gardeners, or while you are working outdoors in the yard on a hot and sunny day.

Baymax is a Hit in China Baymax from the Disney animated feature Big Hero 6 is very popular in China because he's cute, kind and brave. Baymax is popular all over the world, but in China he's been given a lovely nickname, Da Bai (meaning Big White), and is called "the cutie emperor" and "the warmest gentleman" by Chinese's online community. People are buying Da Bai products like Da Bai ballons, Da Bai posters, Da Bai cookies, Da Bai Sweet Glutinous Rice Balls (a Chinese traditional food for the Lantern Festival usually called Tang Yuan), Da Bai calabash carvings and so on.

Evening Running Becomes Popular in China Enjoying an evening jog is now increasingly popular in Beijing and many other Chinese cities. It's an inexpensive and easy fitness sport to participate in - you need is a pair of comfortable running shoes, and the activity is one of the most popular aerobic exercises. Many young people work in offices in the day, and in the evening or at night they go out to relax while running. In Beijing there are the Olympic Park route, Chang’an Ave...nue route, Xueyuan Road route, old Royal City route, and recently the Forbidden City route with the theme of Fun Run, Four Nine City, because the old Beijing city was distributed into four rings from the center to the outside. They were Forbidden City, Royal City, Inner City and Outer City, and ‘Four Nine City’ means four gates of the Royal City and Nine Gates of the Inner City. The four gates for the Royal City were Tian’anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), Di’anmen (Gate of Earthly Peace), Dong’anmen (Gate of Eastern Peace), Xi’anmen (Gate of Western Peace), and nine gates for the Inner City were Zhengyangmen (South-facing Gate or Front Gate), Chongwenmen, Xuanwumen, Chaoyangmen, Fuchengmen, Dongzhimen, Xizhimen, Andingmen, Deshengmen. The evening fun running groups welcome runners from all over the world! See more

Chinese Silk Archaeologists discovered evidence of the earliest Chinese silk products, some 5000 years ago, at Qianshanyang in Huzhou of Zhejiang Province, and Qingtai Village in Xingyang of Henan Province. The Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1046 BC) was the peak of the bronze age and silk textiles of that time began to show complicated weaving techniques. In the Zhou Dynasty, the ancient silk road came into being across Central Asia, from China to the mediterranean. The history of a... formative textile industry started during the time of the Warring States. The silk trade spread to the people from the royal families in Qin and Han Dynasties, and silk from the Sichuan area became very famous. Chinese silk was traded across Asia and Europe. The Tang Dynasty was very prosperous period in ancient China and the silk trade expanded. In addition to the desert caravans of the silk road, Chinese silk was transported by sea to Chaoxian Island, Japan and Southeast Asia by ship, opening up the Maritime Silk Road. Because of its texture and lustre, silk became more and more popular for luxury clothing. Chinese silk from Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Sichuan became famous all over the world. In 2013, Guangxi province produced the most cocoon and grege silk in the world. Silk is used in even more ways than we can imagine: clothes, quilts, bed covers, scarves, books, paintings, ties, purses, shoes, umbrellas, carpets, all kinds of decorations. See more