By Susan Trimble

The Great Wall.

"Summer's here and the living is easy,

The fish are jumping and the cotton is high..."

Until a few years ago, most foreigners packed up the kids and returned to their home countries for the hot summer months. As leisure-time activities become a more important part of China's lifestyle, many expatriate families are now opting instead to remain in Beijing for the holidays.

Imagine yourself climbing a sacred mountain to watch the sun rise the following morning, or joining hundreds of Tibetan nomads making a religious pilgrimage. Imagine your children following in the footsteps of explorers of the Silk Road, or sighting one of the few remaining Panda Bears in its natural habitat!

China's cultural and artistic treasures are splendid and remarkable. Don't leave China wishing that you had taken that "other trip you heard about"!

It's Summertime! Start travelling by taking short trips or long weekends out of Beijing.

To the west of Beijing in Shanxi province, is Datong, famous for the Yungang Buddhist Grottos, a cache of 50,000 statues carved into the cliffs about 15-1600 years ago. The grottos are very impressive and have suffered relatively little from vandalism. Datong is polluted but underneath the coal dust there are lots of places to visit. Slightly out of town is Xuankong Si. This monastery seems to literally hang on the side of Mount Heng, one of the five sacred mountains of China. Xuankong also dates from about AD 500-600. The Huayuan temple and a Nine Dragon Screen are two other sites that will complete your weekend in Datong.

To the southwest is the UNESCO heritage site of Pingyao. Pingyao is a well-preserved Ming/Qing city, with a complete city wall, and ramparts. This small city which can be explored in one long day, has fine examples of ancient architecture, specialty shops, original banks, wineries and so on. Pingyao is a living museum, a fascinating place to visit for all ages. In the immediate area are numerous old mansions of wealthy Shanxi merchants, and some of the most peaceful and beautiful temples in China.

Further south in Henan Province is Luoyang, one of China's ancient capitals. Luoyang is the home of the Longmen Grottos, an excellent Han dynasty excavated tomb site, and many famous temples. Shaolin Temple is an easy drive from Luoyang. The area is rich in historical treasures such as the oldest observatory in China, dating from 1286; and depending on your particular interest you can spend many weekends exploring out of Luoyang in every direction.

Zhengzhou is Henan's capital city and has an excellent provincial museum, Shang ruins and Yellow River rafting opportunities. Just fifty minutes down the super expressway is Kaifeng, with its Iron pagoda, Song Dynasty Ancient Street and interesting Jewish history.

In the coastal province of Jiangsu near Shanghai is Suzhou, a charming old city surrounded once by city wall and now only by canal. Suzhou is famous for gardens, a drama museum and wonderful silk museum, many delightful handicrafts, one of the finest Confucian temples in the east part of China, and delightful people. From Suzhou, you can easily visit the small and ancient canal towns of Zhouzhuang, and Tongli either by road or waterway.

Shanghai is a lovely place to spend an anniversary weekend. Enjoy candlelit dinners in quiet corners steeped in history. Spend hours in the world class Shanghai Museum. Stroll the Bund and Nanjing Road. Treat yourself to wonderful cuisine and fantastic shopping - a real holiday for you and your loved one! It is simple to make day trips by public bus to Luzhi, Tunxi or Xitang, quaint villages and water towns in the outskirts of Shanghai.

In Shandong province visit Qufu. This birthplace of Confucianism is rich in temples, and religious retreats. It is reasonable to combine Taishan, the most revered of the holy mountains, in a long weekend.

Qingdao and Yantai are two costal cities with beaches, good seafood and European history to search out when the weather is fine.

Dalian, Liaoning province is a great weekend away from Beijing. It boasts beaches, golfing, a zoo for the children, great fish and seafood, excellent transportation and hotels - a perfect place to take the family or a getaway for rest and relaxation during spring, summer or fall.

Don't miss exploring Xian, Chengde, Wutaishan and Tianjin. All are destinations with fascinating and important highlights.

These trips are all possible for 2-3 day weekends. You can leave Beijing by train on an overnight sleeper, transfer to your hotel in the early morning and begin your touring before midmorning. In most cases you can return to Beijing on overnight train, arriving in time for a shower before leaving for work or school. Or, again, for a few hundred yuan more than the cost of soft sleeper, you can fly. Travel to these locations is almost hassle-free. The standards of hotel accommodation, food and services have improved enormously in recent years.

E-tickets, e-hotel reservations and e-destination guides have e-merged in China!

In addition there are fantastic trips to minority festivals, remote grassland areas, skiing, mountain climbing, hiking, camping and fishing opportunities. There are study tours to learn about Buddhist religion, art, botany, textile techniques and so on. Ecotourism is a new thing and you can also join archeological expeditions.

Travel in China is exciting and rewarding and relatively easy. Beijing's savvy expatriates have decided to leave none of China's stones unturned!