25 May 2016 Today it is raining again but we are assured that the Zhou Zhuang Water Village will be romantic and mystical in the rain! We surprise the hotel restaurant staff by arriving for breakfast at 6.30 when it officially opened but clearly no-one had actually done that before. There was also a man standing around taking some photos and we wonder whether it was some kind of health inspector who had also surprised them with his appearance. We have our own bus for the excursion today as … [Read more...]

26 May 2016 Today we are flying to Chengdu – home of the Giant Pandas and famous for its spicy Sichuan cooking and Hot Pot dishes. We have an early start in order to negotiate the rush hour traffic in the rain. First off though we have to negotiate the traffic in the rain, on foot and dragging our luggage out to the main street because our street is too narrow for the bus to come down. At the airport we find our check-in counter (A) on the departures board but when we get there we are … [Read more...]

Today we visit the Chengdu Panda Breeding & Research Centre and finish off the day at the Sichuan Changing Faces Opera. 27 May 2016 Another early start this morning but we are all keen to see the Pandas. Our alternative hotel has an amazing selection of breakfast items in the buffet both Chinese and Western – almost too much choice – and they are prepared when we arrive early (unlike our Shanghai hotel). Our luggage is bundled up and will be transported to the other hotel for us. It … [Read more...]

Today we travel from Chengdu to Chongqing: experiencing the many activities in Chengdu People's Park, the Bullet Train and board our cruise boat. 28 May 2016 Another early breakfast with some interesting selections: no green tea or black tea but there is some raw milk tea (sweet), banana milk tea (like a hot banana smoothie) and some hot orange juice. I feel like I am having dinner for breakfast with the choices of fried rice, noodles, various veggies and eggs. Jing tells us that … [Read more...]

Enjoying our Yangzi River Cruise: Fengdu Ghost City, learning about the river, massages, Shi Bao Zhai pagoda, and a Captain's Welcome. 29 May 2016 I wake to see the sunrise, but what I saw when I open the curtains wasn’t at all what I expected to see: we are looking out at another city with lots of high rise buildings. There are other cruise boats around and the river is a hive of industry of different boats plying their trade, including fishermen. The Yangzi is one of the most polluted … [Read more...]

Today we visit the White Emperor City and continue our Yangzi River Cruise through the Three Gorges section through to the Three Gorges Dam. 30 May 2016 Some of us have signed up for an optional excursion to Baidicheng (the White Emperor City) and we receive an unexpected wake up call at 6.20 (I have the alarm set for 6.45) for a 7.00 breakfast. Then we climb steep steps and elevators up to the walled town above us and then catch a bus along the road. The White Emperor City temple … [Read more...]

We visit the spectacular Three Gorges Dam in a thunderstorm, spend a wet afternoon in Yichang, and catch an overnight train to Xi'an 1 June 2016 It has been pouring with rain overnight and we can hardly see anything out the windows in the morning (we’re told that the biggest dam in the world is just outside!). After an early breakfast, we are allocated into tour groups and set off in the rain for a visit to the dam. We get onto buses in Sandouping Town and the rain gets heavier and heavier … [Read more...]

Exploring Xi'an: the Bell Tower, the food street in the Muslim Quarter, walking the City Walls and feasting on a banquet. 2 June 2016 Despite the overnight train being very jerky, it wasn’t too bad a sleep. We were a bit delayed in the morning but arrived safely at Xi’an. It is a much older station than we had seen previously and, when Jing said there were no escalators or elevators, I was picturing with horror the stations in India where we had to lug our bags up and down hundreds of … [Read more...]

Wow! Today has been just fabulous: terracotta warriors, tea ceremony and a dumpling banquet and show. 3 June 2016 We had an early start to drive one hour out into the country side to the site where the Terracotta Warriors are. It was only in 1974 that a local farmer discovered them while he was digging a well – if he had been just a few metres away they might never have been discovered. The other farmer with him didn't think it was important but thankfully he thought it significant enough … [Read more...]

Today is a travel day: we are taking the bullet train to Beijing, travelling the 1200km in under  6 hours, and then explore the hutong neighbourhood. 4 June 2016 Wake up call today is the ceremony for the raising of the flag (complete with loud music) at the local government building just across from the hotel - pictures taken from my window. A group of guards march in tight formation and run the flag up the flagpole; and then a group of soldiers of some sort that appear to be just going … [Read more...]