I recently had the privilege to travel with eight other Chamber leaders to China. The trip, organized by Citslinc, was intended to provide us with an experience in what it would be like for members of our community and chamber to travel together.

I had not really considered such a trip abroad, until Tracy Becker and Christa Lundy, executive directors of the Clarion and Meadville Chambers, suggested we take the excursion together. I found reassurance in knowing that I would be traveling with friends. This combined with the reputation of Citslinc, a company who has focused on taking chamber groups to China for many years, presented an opportunity too good to pass by.

The nine day trip resulted in six full days in China, with visits to Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou & Shanghai. Our flight from JFK to Beijing of 13 hours was surprisingly comfortable, with individual movie screens and in flights meals served twice. The flight path took us over the Arctic Circle!

Among the sites we visited were the Great Wall of China (I made it from station 1 – 12, the lone hiker in our group!), Tiananmen Square, the Ming Emperors’ Tombs, the Forbidden City, the centuries old Lingering Garden, and a rickshaw ride through old China Town followed by lunch in the home of a Chinese family.

Those who use Facebook can not only see dozens of photographs from our trip. but can also read the daily journals of our traveling companion. Sandy Nicholson King, that I have shared in my posts.

Citslinc extends the invitation to our community to plan a trip in 2020. If you would like to hear more of the details about my trip or share an interest in traveling with the Chamber, to China or elsewhere, please let me know, so that we can begin to chose a destination!

This article was published in the Venango Area Chamber of Commerce’s May 2019 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.