China - 17th June to 28th June 2002 |
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Monday 17th June 2002 Up early to get to Heathrow for a flight to Frankfurt where we changed for a flight to Beijing. The flights were both with Lufthansa. For some time before landing at Beijing we were travelling over the Gobi desert. Tuesday 18th June 2002 Landed at Beijing airport at 08.00. The traffic was dreadful and we didn't get to our hotel until about 11.00, feeling rather tired. A couple of hours sleep and a sandwich for lunch and it was out for a first look at the City. Temperature was in the mid 30's and there was heavy smog cover over the city so we could not see far. It seems that most of the reservoirs supplying Beijing are polluted and that power stations and traffic are causing the massive smog problem. I am sure they will sort it out by 2008 when Beijing is due to host the Olympics. Strolled around to a department store and supermarket. Prices were surprisingly high. I expected electrical goods made in China (ie by LG) to be cheaper than the UK but this is not the case. Wednesday 19th June 2002 Started with the coach to Tiananmen Square. This is huge and apparently could hold 500,000 people! Facing the parliament building, to one side is Mao Tse-tung mausoleum and to the other is the Forbidden City or Imperial Palace which had been the home of the Chinese Emperors. After walking around the square and taking photos (and being asked to be in the photos that Chinese tourists were taking), we moved into the Forbidden City. This also is enormous, with over 8,500 rooms. It took 2 hours to get from one end of the Forbidden City to the other. We finally left at lunchtime so it was off to a restaurant for a late lunch. In the evening we went to see the Chinese Acrobats show. This was brilliant and reminded me of Cirque du Soleil which is the best circus I have ever seen. Thursday 20th June 2002 Up early (7am) and out to a jade factory, then on to the Great Wall which stretches for 4,500 miles across the width of China. We went to a place called Badaling where we could climb as far as we liked for a couple of hours. It was a fantastic site to see the wall snaking away into the distance on both sides. The oldest section of the Great Wall was begun in 221 B.C., not long after China was unified into an empire from a loose configuration of feudal states. The first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang, restored the ruins of older walls and linked them with new construction to create a massive 3,000-mile-long fortification meant to protect China's northern frontiers against attack by marauding nomads. Coming off the wall we met in a coffee shop nearby where some girls put on a fashion show although I don't think anyone in our party bought anything (mostly because it wouldn't fit!!). After lunch it was on to the Ming tombs. There seem to a large number of historical and archaeological sites in China which have not yet been opened or investigated. The Ming Tombs are approached via the Sacred Way which is where the Ming Emperors walked. This is a straight road, lined with statues of real and mythical creatures. In the evening we went to see a Chinese Opera. Luckily this lasted only an hour !! And then dinner - excellent. Friday 21st June 2002 On the coach to the Hutongs. This is old Beijing and the Hotongs are the old houses which are still occupied - and sought after. To get there we sat in a bicycle rickshaw - the poor chap who had to pedal with us in the back !!! Went into someones Hutong to have a look around. Everyone is very proud of their houses and they are eager to show complete strangers around their houses. Then went to see the bell and drum towers which were used to send people out into the fields and to tell them it was time to come back into the City. Off to a restaurant for lunch. Now it is off to the airport for the flight to Xian (pronounced Sheean). This was an experience!! Everyone has to show passport for internal flights - Chinese have to show their id cards. The airport was a bit disorganised, we changed gates 4 times!! Pleasantly surprised that the plane was a relatively new Airbus. A good flight although the food was not particularly good. Om arrival at Xian airport we immediately went for dinner at the restaurant in the airport. This made 3 meals in as many hours - who ever complains there is too much food!! After dinner it was coach to the hotel in downtown Xian and then into the bar for a few drinks before going to bed. Saturday 22nd June 2002 The highlight today was the trip to see the Terracotta Army. Some things like this which have been hyped up turn out to be an anticlimax, but this was fantastic - better than anything I had read about it. It was interesting to note that it was only discovered in 1974 by a farmer digging a well. He sits signing books in the inevitable tourist shop. The Terracotta Army was commissioned (??) by the first Emperor Qing (pronounced Chin) and there is still a huge amount to be excavated. After seeing the real Terracotta Army and meeting the chap who discovered them !! we went to a factory making and selling replicas. In the evening went to the Tang Dynasty cultural show. Most people seemed to enjoy it and I thought it was OK but for me the Acrobats earlier in the holiday were the highlight of the shows. Sunday 23rd June 2002 Early morning flight south to Chongqing (pronounced Chongching) where we would get on the East Queen river cruise ship - the only 5 star ship on the Yangtze (with the exception of its sister ship the East King). When we arrived in Chongqing we drove up to the highest point to look down on the Yangtze and first see the muddy colour of the water - it was the same colour as the Terracotta warriors. We then had a good lunch (strangely enough it was Chinese again). After lunch it was off to the zoo. None of this walking about that you have to do in any other zoo, no, the coach went straight in and followed the paths to the Pandas. Boarded the ship around 8pm that day. Very nice cabins - not too small. It was an interesting walk across the pontoons over a fast flowing Yangtze to get onboard. Monday 24th June 2002 The boat left Chongqing at 5am - so I was told !! As it's the first real night on board we had a welcome reception dinner. Tuesday 25th June 2002 This is the big day - travelling through the gorges. The ship sat for a while in mid-stream until there was the sound of a cannon. This meant we could go through; the gorges being a one-way street. At the narrowest point the river is just 10 metres wide and the sheer cliffs are as high as 4000 feet. Travelled through the first gorge, which approaching from upstream is the Qutang Gorge with Mount Chijia on one side and Mount Baiyan on the other. There seemed little break following the first gorge before we were passing through the second - called Wu Gorge. Wherever you look the scenery is stunning. Before arriving at the 3rd gorge we stopped at the Shennong Stream where we all got into pea boats for a manpowered trip up the stream. This took us through very narrow gorges once again with fantastic views. As usual there were people waiting to sell us touristy things but this time they included real bears paws and deer antlers. Back on the ship and lined up for the 3rd Gorge - the Xiling Gorge. Lots of pople crowded at the front of the ship leaving the back empty. Since any upstream trip would see those views I took most of my pictures from the blunt end of the boat. Next stop was the Three Gorges Dam. This is due for completion in 2009 but the river will not be passable for some time around the end of the year. The dam will be 1,983 metres long and 185 metres high. The water level is rising as much as 170 metres and will therefore flood 13 cities, 140 towns and over 1.3 million people will be relocated. Wherever you look there is building work, new bridges being constructed, new towns being built and old towns being demolished as they would be a hazard to navigation. As this is the last night onboard there is a farewell banquet with a chap in Chinese dress introducing each dish as it is presented. Wednesday 26th June 2002 Leave the ship after breakfast and head for the museum created as a result of the artefacts found when digging the site for the dam. This was interesting, particularly when some of the artefacts were offered for sale for as little as a few hundred US $. On to the free market in Yichang. This is an unregulated local market selling all local produce, vegetables and animals. You can tell the meat is fresh as its still alive! Lunch at a nice hotel in Yichang then on to the airport for a flight back to Beijing. Same hotel as last time in Beijing but a different room. The hotel has a good swimming pool and also a number of restaurants. That evening we had dinner in the Korean restaurant in the hotel. Thursday 27th June 2002 Last full day in China. Started early with a visit to the Summer Palace. Traffic dreadful as usual. Weather dreadful - well, wet! Arrived at the Summer Palace and immediately set upon by the usual hoard of sales people selling mostly junk. After a couple of hours in the Summer Palace we went to the Silk Market which turned out to a concentration of stalls in a tourist market - still, it was good for buying presents for those back home. Started walking back to the hotel but got lost so used the underground train system. It seems very efficient. Took advantage of the hotel swimming pool and then went out to another hotel for a Peking Duck Banquet - excellent…. Friday 28th June 2002 |