Category: China

At 7 a.m. we headed to the train station which was very modern and clean. We traveled about 190 miles per hour. It took about six hours for the trip to Shanghai. Shanghai is very different from Beijing.  It looks more like a European city.  That is because the English, French, and…

Today we toured the Arts District. Mr. Wong picked us up to go there. Artists congregated there during the Cultural Revolution.  The art is all Modern, and there is a lot of kitschy stuff.  But it was interesting. Getting there we seemed to pass through the business district with the high-end hotels.  Very modern.…

Everyone goes to the park on Sunday morning.  We were no exception.  After breakfast we headed to Jingshan Park. The park is a historic, 57-acre imperial park located directly north of the Forbidden City. It was originally an imperial garden for the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and served as the backyard to the Forbidden…

Today was the Great Wall Day. The Great Wall of China is the largest man-made architectural project in the world, stretching over 13,171 miles across 15 northern Chinese provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, this immense system of fortifications winding over mountains and deserts stands as an…

Day One We arrived in Beijing and were taken to our business hotel.  We can’t even brush our teeth with the tap water.  Each room has a pot to boil water in for that purpose, or to drink if you want to cool it, or use to make tea.  We each get one…