China Archives - My Family Travels
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Surviving Halloween Horror Nights at Universal

Having survived a night of gleeful terror at Universal Orlando Resort’s Halloween Horror Nights, I can report that #HHN is a blast. Before you die, take just...

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Volunteers sort clothes at a clothes bank near to home to help others. Photo by Julia Cameron for pexels.
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Teen And Family Volunteer Vacation Opportunities

Family volunteer vacations, once known as voluntourism, are back in action as the global pandemic comes under control. From community service to building homes, environmental research...

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Aerial view of the Harbin International Ice Festival illuminated at night. Photo c. Modern Hotel, Harbin, China
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Harbin Ice Festival in China – Frozen Wonderland

Harbin, China takes advantage of winter weather to transform ice and snowflakes into mesmerizing gifts, ice sculptures and lanterns to entertain locals and people...

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Camel caravan of thousands at Echoing Sands National Geopark, Dunhuang, China
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Highlights Along The Silk Road In China, Journey Of A Lifetime

Trek the Silk Road in China 4,000 miles from the Kingdom of Xi'an west across the Gobi Desert. Pause at the oases of Dunhuang, Turpan and Kashgar. Ride carefully across the...

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Traditional Mongolian riders on horseback cross the steppes. Photo by Thomas L. Kelly
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Across Mongolia On Horseback

There are few adventures that match the magnitude and exoticism of exploring Mongolia on horseback among authentic nomadic tribes. Once an impossible bucket list dream for fans...

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Thanksgiving in China! The most interesting Thanksgiving of my 24 years…

I have lived in Wuhan, China for three years now, teaching English at Wenhua College, while returning home to America each Christmas and Summer break. This leaves a few holidays...

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The coastline of Shanghai, China with the round Oriental Pearl Radio and TV Tower among the skyscrapers of the skyline.
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4 Surprising Reasons You Must Visit Shanghai, China

Shanghai, China's largest metropolis, exists in a contradiction. One half of this major megalopolis is wealthy and attractive, while the other half is old and rustic. That contradiction...

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Shanghai Disneyland's new character costumes.
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Shanghai Disney Celebrates 5!

With the rapid pace of world change, it’s hard to believe that Shanghai Disney Resort is turning five years old this year. We are able to accept that five years has passed quickly....

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China Trip Planner Itinerary for First Time Visitors

Preparing for your grand tour of China, including creating an itinerary to meet your family's interests and managing your time, may be a little easier with these useful tips. When I began planning our...

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Man reading a book with a red cover.
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The Four Non-Travel Travel Books I Can’t Do Without

Even as a travel writer, or especially as a travel writer, some of my deepest understandings of place, my most intense sense of "being" somewhere come neither from actually being...

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Prague Castle is one of the port excursions on a Uniworld river cruise. Photo c. Uniworld
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Family-Friendly River Cruises

With 17 ships in its fleet, Uniworld is considered a first-class river cruising company. The company has been recognized by both...

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Disney Theme Parks Worldwide Expanding

At the annual fan-con #D23, organized by Disney’s most loyal fans in Tokyo this month, the company’s top executives revealed that characters from Pixar, Marvel and classic Disney franchises would...

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7 Reasons Why Suzhou Is China’s Best Adventure With Kids

If you’re considering a family trip to China, put Suzhou on your must-see list. This traditional city is just far enough off the tourist track to feel like a bona fide discovery, yet...

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China Launches Action-Packed Adventure Park

Coinciding with the 2016 Year of China-U.S. Tourism, Discovery Communications has launched its first branded “outdoors” theme park in China. The Discovery Adventures Moganshan Park,...

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Another Shangri-La: Pony Trekking in Ladakh, India

Leh, Ladakh is your destination if you're looking for an active adventure with kids in a place none of your neighbors have been. Ponies are used to enable family trekking in northern India, even with young...

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Yangtze River Cruise: Slow Boat In China

Find out if a slow but fascinatingly timeless cruise on China's Yangtze River will be fun for families with children -- and why. The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world. Starting in...

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Sichuan, China: Panda-ing to the Tourist Trade

A long black finger taps my cheek while I shift to balance my new 80-pound friend sitting on my lap. To my delight, he puts his gracefully arched fingernail up my nose, then leans in to start chewing...

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Xi’an, China – The Land Of Kings And Flowers

This family explores China's ancient capital of Xi'an, home of the famed life-size terra cotta warriors excavated at an imperial tomb.I may be writing about Xi'an, China as an ideal destination...

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Outdoor Fun in Kunming, China

The capital of south China's Yunnan province offers a mildly active, yet satisfying, outdoors getaway for Asian families all year round.Yunnan Province, long traversed by backpackers foreign...

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Chengdu, China’s Culture and Cuisine

Exploring Sichuan culture, cuisine and the arts during a long weekend break in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.Our time in Chengdu, China began at the gilded

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West Lake And The Gardens Of Hangzhou, China

At an unusual press event celebrating the UNESCO designation of West Lake in Hangzhou, China as a World Cultural Heritage Site, a Hangzhou Tourism delegation shared the city's beauty...

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Time and Travel – East Asia

Time is an interesting construct. It can seem to drag for eternity (and what is eternity?) or it can zoom by before you have a chance to realize that it happened at all. Long time or short time. Is...

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Upon My Rocky Path

Traveling alone without speaking the local language is no simple task.  Why, then, do I continue to do it? This was a question I was asking myself two winters ago when I was traveling alone to...

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Asia’s Fall Festival Calendar

Planning an autumn family vacation in Asia is not only affordable, it's also the best time of year to travel the region as countries such as India, China and Japan come to life with autumn festivals...

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Nobel Peace Prize Received by Empty Chair

Israeli singer Idan Raichel performed with American soul singer India.Arie at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert held December 11th in Oslo, Norway. The two artists performed "Gift of Acceptance"...

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My experience of studying in China, homestay in Shanghai

I came to Shanghai about three weeks ago to study the Chinese language in a local university. First thing I did when I arrived was to look for a place to live. As it was my first time coming...

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The Smiles of China

     I had always been a fan of travel since I was a little girl. For most of my life, that had been the occasional trip to my grandma’s in Iowa, or a trip to Branson,...

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Southbound Train Leaving Beijing

48 hours in a sleeper car is a very.  long.  time.I’m on a two-day long train ride headed south from Beijing to Yunnan Province.  It’s a huge trip, two weeks in Southern China...

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Chinese (updated)

A shy junior boy silently slips into room 206, staring at the floor, avoiding others’ gazes as he does. He is immediately taken aback by the state of the room. As if occupied by feuding siblings,...

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China 2010

 Hello, my name is Ramdat Singh and I am currently a 11th grader. I was very grateful for the opportunity to travel to China alongside Angel Acosta, Ashley Williams, Bonnie Maldonado, Kevin Montalvo,...

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If I went to the Yellow River…

The historic Yellow River, considered by many to be the center of Chinese civilization and spiritual life has been the object of countless poets, writers, painters, and song writers for hundreds of...

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Exploring a new continent in exchange for helping some fragile infants and toddlers

In the summer of 2007 I was offered the opportunity to...

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Exploring The Other Side Of The Great Wall Of China

Avoid the tourist hordes by climbing the Great Wall with this family and their private Chinese guide, for an insider's look at one of the 7 New Wonders of the World.When we first heard about...

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Sanya, Forever Tropical

Sanya City is located at the southern most tip of Hainan Island and to the east of Vietnam. Sanya City is the second largest city on Hainan Island covering an area of 1.919 sq.m with a population of...

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Family Touring In Mongolia, China

Far away from Starbucks, shopping malls, and luxury resorts lies a vast land untouched by time, where nomads travel by camel and live in felt tents.Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla...

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Adventures Through the Great Classroom Of China

How much does the average kid learn in 80 minutes in a classroom? If they aren't sending text messages under the desk, they might learn a poem, learn to use their knees when shooting hoops, or figure...

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Beijing, China Hotels And Resorts

From a humble hutong to a golden lobby, China's capital city offers accommodations in every budget, for every taste. Several major hotels have been built in anticipation of the 2008 Olympics....

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