As a tour operator to China for the past 25 years, I have come in contact with many people who inquire about China. Sometimes one partner is not as excited about going on a tour as the other but is going along with it. Mostly it is a lack of information or pre-conceived ideas about China but both become excited about their trip when they return. I have travelled throughout China for 26 years. During the off season my wife and I have travelled to many other countries for several years. Although each country has it's distinctive culture and sights; China I think has the most diverse sights to offer with over 57 different nationalities each with it's own culture and dress. You can visit as many as 20+ cultures in one or two provinces. As example, one culture does not marry and lives around a fairy tale like lake in the mountains. Another once a couple marry, the man retires and the women do all the work. :-) Another culture the men sleep in one room and the women in another and each has a different entrance to their house. These are just examples. Each area of the country is quite different and there is so much to offer. I have made over 50 trips to China and I never tire of my travels there as there are always new things to see and do. I retired early at 47 from a business career and needed something to do. I visited China with a business friend in 1989 and saw first hand a country in transition from ancient ways to modern ways and wanted to watch the progress of this large country. It has been exciting to say the least to watch both their economic progress as well as the social changes such as the one child policy amongst others. As they have had more exposure to the West, the changes in China have been rapid. I continue to scour the countryside to find places that are not changing as fast since the young people want to leave the countryside and go to the larger cities for as they say "For a better life". Ancient China with all its fantastic sights and modern China with their fast trains, modern airports, (continued below)
