Winter trips to China are my personal favorite!  Yes, this surprises many people, because I travel there A LOT during the summertime.    But there are so many advantages for a family  travel during winter break, it's something I do like to to explain. 

December is not yet holiday season in China for most people, since a Chinese New Year always comes later.  Because  schools in China take a break in January or February for Chinese New Year, it  means very few Chinese travelerswill be at the sites we typically visit during December  -- so nothing is crowded at all – which makes travel so much more pleasant.   No jostling elbows or shoulders at key sites.   Also, we can typically find families a much better deal on international airfare costs during winter break -- sometimes savings as much as 50% cost on the ticket price -- so that's hard to find any other time of year. 

Some people are afraid that Beijing will be too cold -- "not usually" is my response.  Of course, I suggest to dress in layers for winter break travel -- so bring a jacket, yes, absolutely.   You can remove layers as you move south and when we're in Yangshou, we still experience a wonderful bamboo raft on the temperate climate in the picturesque Guilin/Yangshou area.  

It's really so much nicer time to travel than the summer!   It my favorite times to escort a group,  because all the key sites, such as Forbidden City, are not at all crowded.   The feature photo for this article I took on a recent winter break trip -- I could never have done that photo during a summer trip -- it is very packed in summertime, and we must stay close together.  

If your child's schedule will allow it at all, I highly recommend wintertime as the best time, even if kids miss a couple of days of school; it can be worth it. .  Bottom line is  -- there are a lot of advantages to winter break travel to China:

• No crowds   
• Pleasant weather in all cities
• International air has “low season” pricing
• Heritage Trips costs often less than summer costs
• More chance to see the wonderful features of key sites

There are more, but you get the idea ---- travel at non-peak times if you have that option.  The difference on airfare alone can result in saving a lot – sometimes more than $1000 per ticket, depending on where one has the original destination. Something to think about!   

Our Winter Travel 2017 to read the winter itinerary.  – I’ve made a few more tweaks to the making it even more fun! You can contact me at louie@lotustours.net  for specific trip related questions, or contact Iris Culp at iris@lotustours.net to ask planning questions, or find out about the next webinar.  It is free if you are a newsletter subscriber of Rainbow Kids!