After several years of anticipation, it seemed that everyone was gearing up for the 2008 Olympics, with Beijing leading the pack with the world's most elaborate Olympic Torch relay (see their gorgeous "torch" at left.) But over the past few months, several events have impacted the world's enthusiasm for the upcoming Games.

First, the Tibet crisis. In accordance with tradition, the torch's Olympic flame was lit in Olympia, Greece on March 25th, and carried to the Panathinaiko Stadium, the site of the first modern Olympic Games (in 1896). After the handover ceremony to the host city of Beijing at the stadium, the torch began its anticipated 130-day, 137,000- kilometer-long journey, the longest distance ever. But protests in San Francisco, with demonstrations big and small in Buenos Aires, London and elsewhere about the treatment of Tibet's pro-democracy demonstrators, caused the flame to be extinguished several times and the route to be altered.

May's earthquake, clocked at a magnitude of 7.9 and possibly killing as many as 50,000 people (per news agency, Xinhua), struck far from Beijing, but the aftershock has hit tourism all over the vast country. The torch relay has been rerouted to safer areas. In addition to the devastation around the epicenter of the quake, about 100 miles from Sichuan's capital of Chengdu, the Wolong Panda Preserve, a favorite with tourists, was destroyed. (The pandas themselves survived.) Engineers are studying hundreds of dams which may hae been damaged by the quake, so several tour itineraries have been changed to avoid flood-prone areas.

And tourism has decreased in some regions simply because travelers feel the country will be too "crowded" during an Olympic year.

Of course, many families want to follow the torch to Beijing for a closeup view of the Olympics in action. Luckily, there are no current safety concerns in Beijing and all the Olympic facilities have passed inspection for structural damage.

Sound intriguing? One of the leading tour operators packaging event tickets with airfare and hotels is Roadtrips, a longtime operator of sports-oriented travel. According to president Dave Guenther, "The majority of Roadtrips' Beijing travelers will be families. It's kind of a surprise for us as the Summer Games are usually popular with more of a corporate audience... [but] there are many family-friendly experiences outside of the Games, like visiting the Great Wall or Forbidden City."

At press time, the least costly 2008 Summer Games package for a family of four (2 kids under age 12) consists of 5 nights at the new, 10-story Grand Mercure Xidan, and includes:

- Guaranteed Tickets: 2 Level 1 Events & 2 Level 2 Events
- Breakfast Daily
- Roundtrip Transportation To and From Events
- Commemorative Beijing Summer Games Gift Package
- Guided Group City Tour of Beijing
- Roadtrips Access Credentials: Olympic Green Hospitality Center
- On-site Roadtrips Hosts & Chinese/English Speaking Guides
and more.

Starting rates for this package are US$8,150 per adult. The company claims to have options from $5,950 per adult double occupancy, so visit the site at www.roadtrips.com or call their agents at 800/465-1765 to learn more about event availability and pricing.

In another tip for families heading to the Far East this summer, the U.S. Department of State recommends that international travelers take one or two major credit or charge cards, as well as traveler's checks instead of cash, which may provide a better exchange rate than using U.S. dollars. Traveler's checks, such as those sold by American Express agents, are fully refundable if they are lost or stolen and can be easily cashed at China's better urban hotels or larger banks.

by Janine Yu

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