"Bob Myers" wrote in message
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"Dennis McCrohan" wrote in message
...
Hi-

I'm looking for some net.wisdom on traveling to China with my wife and
two kids (8 and 11).

Are you thinking more specifically than just "China"? Asking
about "traveling to China" is, of course, somewhat like asking
about "traveling to North America" - the question covers too
much territory to be really addressed well in short order. Some
parts of China, and especially Shanghai and Hong Kong, I could
definitely see as a family destination. (I haven't personally been to
Beijing yet, so I can't say much about that.) Other parts, though,
I can't imagine that the kids would find interesting.

Are you kidding me? First of all Hong Kong is not China. And both cities
are, IMO, pretty much just big cities. Kids of this age would find lots of
other locations much more interesting. Beijing is much better as a tour
site than either HK or Shanghai. Then there is Xian, and the Three Gorges
(less so now with the dam), Nanjing, and the southwestern part of China.


Also, are
you planning on any other stops in the region before or after
China?

My wife has been looking at some of the
package-tours that you can buy here in the States. From the description
of these, it looks like you would spend most of your time in 5-star
Western hotels (Hyatt, et al), eating western meals, riding around in
tour busses with a bunch of other Americans (and I'm guessing that most
of them would be, ahh, "mature"), and basically running from one
tourist-trap to the next.

And THOSE do sound like you're looking at places like
Shanghai or Hong Kong. Both cities have everything you
mentioned, from the Western hotels and restaurants to the
well-established tourist traps. However, both cities also have
far more to offer the visitor who is willing to ditch the package
tour, or at least to go out on their own in addition to such a
tour. Of the two, just for a place to start, I would have to say
that Hong Kong would probably be of more interest to the
kids than Shanghai, unless the kids are unusually (for their
ages) interested in seeing places or items of cultural or historical
interest.

I should also note that I'm not saying any of this from the perspective
of someone who has actually taken kids to any Asian destination;
my experiences in the Far East are from numerous business trips
there. But I can at least think about these things with regard to
how I think my own daughter (now 13) might look at them.

Bob M.