Trips

Dear Friends, 

As you may have heard, the city Government of Shenyang, China, the Liaoning Provincial government, and the National Chinese government, are working together to develop the old Mukden (Hoten) Prisoner of War camp into a museum to honor the men held there, to celebrate Chinese and American friendship, and to remind the world what it was like to be a POW under the Japanese. The Mukden POW Remembrance Society (MPOWRS) and the Truth Council for WW2 in Asia (TC) are the American contacts for this project. For those of you who have dealt with TC in the past, it is now under “new management”.

 We had planned to take a trip over to see the museum just after the Olympics, but it seems there is some sort of huge interactive exhibition being held in Shenyang that will last until late September and so our trip will have to be held  after that. Then Sept 30 – Oct 4 is the Mukden Reunion in Hannibal, so…

We are going to have to delay the start of the trip until October 15. We will go to Mukden first, before the weather gets too chilly and then head south.

A similar trip will be planned in early May, 2009. We will have information on this trip by December 2008. We plan a trip each May after this one.

 Everyone has heard and felt horror stories about the winters in Shenyang, and at the time our men were there, it was very true. However, the development of the city so it now surrounds the old camp/museum area, the increase of asphalt and buildings to absorb and retain heat, and global warming, cold weather comes roughly a month later now.

 TC and MPOWRS expect to be able to pay the way (visa fee, airfare over and back, and the Shenyang portion of the trip) for each of the former Mukden POWs. Family members and friends are encouraged to join us. Group rates will be available to all who travel with us.

 Costs for the various parts of the trip are:

*US Passport, if you don’t have one - $100. Others?? Note that your passport needs to be good for 6 months after you get back in order to use it for international travel.

*Visa fee - $130 We (USA) raised our visa fees, so China raised theirs.   China Travel Visa Application

*Airfare – China to US and back $1500 - $2000 round trip depending on where you leave from, etc.

*Airfare within China - $325 +/-

*Shenyang portion of trip $600 plus tips maybe a meal or 2.

*Beijing part of trip $600 plus tips, shopping and, 3-4 meals, maybe taxi rides, etc.

*Side trip to South of China  - $1200 for double occupancy $290 single supplement, plus tips, shopping, and perhaps a meal or 2

The prices in each part of the trip include ground transportation, lodging in 4-5 star hotels, entrance fees, most meals, and English-speaking guides for the side trip and Beijing.

The trip has been planned so that you can do as many or as few parts of the trip as you choose. You will need to know what you wish to do when you make your air reservation.

For the Shenyang part of the trip, October 16 – 21 we are working with the Museum. We will do some sightseeing in Shenyang, go to the museum at least twice, once for an international conference, and once for us, have a Memorial Service. The  museum hopes to spend a day with the POWs talk about their experiences and record that for display and the museum and the research center. The Museum is also planning to have an international conference on POWs and we would be part of this for a day or so.  They would so love to have a lot of POWs there if it is possible. There will also be some time with the press, dinners, and time on your own.

The Beijing Part of the trip (October 22- 26) is sort of a time to unwind if you so choose. Jack is planning this part, so you will have a complete schedule ahead of time. He has made arrangements for a fabulous duck dinner, the Temple of Heaven, Tien An Men Square, the Forbidden City, the Baudaling section of the Great Wall, the summer place, a hutong (old style housing) tour with lunch at the home of a hutong owner (yes, it’s safe), the Ming Tombs, a Kung Fu Show, and a day to explore on your own or shop until you drop. That is also a good day to talk, pack, etc.

The side trip to the South needs 12 people to go on this trip to make it affordable. It would start October 26 an go for 8 days. If you go on this trip, you would head home from Shanghai on Nov 1 getting you home just in time to vote. This trip includes visits to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Grand Mosque and the Muslim district, then to Guillan for a day cruise down the Li River to see the incredible Karst Mountains (think of those classic Chinese wall hangings with the oddly shaped mountains in the background), and Shanghai. Our Travel agent, Jack, is always good at finding wonderful shopping places, museums, and such. His guides are professional, friendly, and know the details of the area. They take very good care of you.

We are just now thinking of going on a smaller side trip to spend 2-3 days in Nanjing and check out the Nanjing museum. We’ll keep you posted. If you are interested, let us know.

On each of these sections of the trip, there will be a fair amount of walking, but wheelchairs will be available if we know in advance. It is better to order one and not need it, than to need one and not have one available. Don’t be too proud. I need one sometimes, too, and the POWs have 15+ years on me. If you think you might need more than a little help here and there, it would be good to bring a “pusher”, or someone more agile and able to help push the wheelchair. (This is really an attempt to get the next generation involved. J)

We use a wonderful travel agent in the US, Lee Kah at WorldWide Travel. You can call her 301-340-9692 or e mail kah.lee@verizon.net and make your arrangements for between the US and China. Book everyone in your party for the airfare, and pay her directly, but she will bill us for the POWs. Lee will know what flights we are taking and how to get you to our meeting place. You can meet us at any point on the trip or book directly to use your frequent flier miles, but Lee’s prices are good.

In order for you to make your plane reservations and for us to make our plans, we need to know if you plan to join us by July 1 2008.      trip application

So here is the schedule:

July 1, 2008 – return form to Ao Wang (5809 Calico Ct, Columbia, MD  21044) with a check for 1/3 of the parts of the trip you plan to take.

August 1 – Another 1/3 of trip money.  Also to Ao   

September 1 – the remaining 1/3 of your trip money is due, also to Ao

You may pay in full at any time. Money will be refunded if your plans change up until September 15. However, I’m not sure that the airlines will be so friendly. Unfortunately, rules have changed, and you will need a copy of your ticket to be submitted with your visa.

Pat, your registrar, will complicate things immeasurably by being in China from June 16 – September 17. Then I will go back with you all in October (we have a daughter and her family there). I am always reachable by e mail, other wise, call Ao, 704-264-9876.

Please let me know if you would like to talk to or e-mail some of the folks from the trip last year as a reference. We learned a lot from that last year’s trip. For this year’s trip, we are expecting a smaller group we have more experience with trip planning, so it should be even better!     trip application       China Travel Visa Application

Pat Wang  704-264-9877    patwangnc@yahoo.com     Ao Wang 704-264-9876

Many Thanks,
Pat

P.S. Please understand that we don’t know who is on the master list. The names on the Mukden mailing list are carefully guarded to protect your privacy. I send materials to one of the 2 “keepers of the list”, and he puts the mailing labels on them and mails them. I have no idea who is on the list until I get a response from you.

If I get returned mail, I send the info on the envelope to the person who mailed it for me. We work together to try to keep it updated.

trip application      China Travel Visa Application

This pictures shows participants of the 2007 trip at the Three Friends Workshop in Shenyang, China.  The 3 friends the workshop gets its name from are men who worked as slaves at the Mitsubishi plant during W.W. II (alongside the POWs), they now manage this workshop that supports crafts from pottery to computer graphics.  Nine of the men seated in the first row are former POWs of Mukden camp and one is one of the men who parachuted into the camp at the end of the war to help liberate the camp.  Part of a model of the camp is in the front left corner.

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