I had a post some 2 months ago about hotels and tours from Chengdu, to fill in 4 days prior to the arrival of my wife and 10-year old daughter into our Beijing accommodation for the Olympics. Then the massive earthquakes struck, devastating the area. I hear Chengdu itself is operating normally as cities go, but I am not sure I feel comfortable spending 4 tourist days in an area that has been saddened by such tragedy. I think I need to find another way to fill in the 4 days, or at least some of them.

Since general questions are hard to answer, let me say that until August 7 we will be in Hong Kong, and from August 11 we need to be in Beijing. So those are two end points. We don't like to really rough it, but we are definitely not luxury travelers either. I realize China is huge, but we'd be happy to see one or two interesting bits outside of the Beijing vicinity, and save the rest for another trip.

My wife and daughter have a preference to see beautiful scenery and/or local culture, rather than visit famous historical sites. My wife expressed interest in a scenic rail journey, if something moderate in length could be worked in. And we are all experienced travelers, though we speak not a word of Chinese.

I have procrastinated on this long enough, and would like to fill in this hole in our itinerary with something we all will enjoy.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.