Thanks for your help!
We are in Chicago awaiting the last leg of the trip home. And our plane has been delayed due to high winds here. I feel like I am going to fall over. I am so glad that y'all encouraged me to fly first class. I really feel sorry for the people that have had the same thing happen to them after being cooped up for 12 hours (we came back through Narita).
I found China to be amazing. Using a website called "agoda" I booked really nice hotels and very reasonable rates - in every place except for Xi'an which was booked up and no rooms were inexpensive.
In Hangzhou, we stayed in two different hotels: the Shangri-La which was booked by Ian's employer. It was fantastic. Older and the location was right on the park. The next two nights while we were on our own, we stayed at the Dragon Hotel - beautiful hotel and the rooms was extremely spacious. The location was not nearly as good as Shangri-La. It is very modern and left me a little cold because of all of the hard surfaces. But the bed was great. And the tub was great, too.
In Beijing, we stayed at the Raffles Hotel. Stunning - the manager gave us a tour of the hotel at check-in. She said that it was the only historic hotel in Beijing - it had originally been built as a French hotel in the early 20th century. This was our favorite hotel of the trip. Great location - about 1/2 mile from Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square. Close to the Hutongs. The Summer Palace was far, but still not too bad.
In Xi'an and Beijing, we used a state sponsored official guide both of whom were recommended to me by people on this thread - thank you! The guides were great. It made moving through the city absolutely painless.
It was a fast trip. We saw just highlights of each city.
West Lake and tea farms in Hangzhou.
In Xi'an, it was the Terra Cotta Warriors and Wild Goose Temple. The old city wall. The Bell and Drum Towers. The desire to see the Terra Cotta Warriors was the driving force behind this trip. Because they are primitive, Ian just did not get my fascination with them. It took me awhile to explain but my fascination is as much about their discovery as it is about the art and history. I bought one of the tour books and had it signed by one of the farmers who made the original discovery - that was fun.
In Beijing, I thought that I would like the Forbidden City the best. And I loved it. It was developed over so many years --- and every thing looks as if it was all done at once. The newer parts were built in 1776 - amazing to me.
My favorite turned out to be the Great Wall at Mutanyu. I loved the views of the wall and from the walll. I even felt that the small stalls on the way up to the wall really enhanced the experience.
In a restaurant really close to the wall, Ian ate donkey. I wasn't willing to try it. He said it tasted like meat.
We saw the Summer Palace - prettier location than Forbidden City and much more accessible. It was fun to walk through the park there and look at the lake.
It was a great trip. I took more than 900 pictures. I will be editing them before posting to photobucket.
elaine