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Be sure to watch both videos except for the first one with the drums (it is the only one).

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June 22

Arrived in Beijing late afternoon to pouring  rain.  Met our tour guide, Jack outside of customs with no problems.  He got our driver and we proceeded to the hotel.  It was a nice hotel.  We got a quick supper of soup in hotel restaurant, then got settled in the room and ready for bed.

June 23--

Went down to breakfast—huge spread of food.  Everything from eggs to salad to soups to various Chinese foods to fruit and breads.  Wall of windows in the restaurant showed it was still pouring down rain, but a beautiful garden outside the windows. 

We met with the tour guide and the rest of the group at 8:30--only 13 people in our group.  Our tour guide—English name Jack---outlined our schedule for our time in Beijing.  The best news was that though the Great Wall was closed, the tour company had rearranged our schedule so that we could see the wall two days later and we would take a later train to Xian. 

We then boarded our bus for touring Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  We knew from pictures that the square was huge---and that proved to be true and there were many people in the square.  We walked from one end to the other, crossed the street, and entered the first gate of the Forbidden City.  This is where the emperor in 1420 moved the capital of China to Beijing.  It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative buildings covering 178 acres.  It was called the Forbidden City because access was limited to the imperial family and to those who had business with them.  Behind the interior where the imperial family lived was a manmade hill with a pagoda on top where the emperor could go.

Next we went to the Hutong area of Beijing—a UNESCO protected area of Beijing showing the lanes and alleys that once made up living quarters of Chinese people in Beijing.  We road in bicycle rickshaws to a local dwelling where we were served lunch and they demonstrated making dumplings (which both of us got to try our hand at).  Mr. Wang, the owner of the house, also told some of their family history about their house.

Last stop of the day was the drum tower.  In olden days, this was the time announcing tool along with a bell tower nearby.  There were25 drums at that time.  We were there at 3 pm when they demonstrated how the drums would have been played to announce the time. 

Back to the hotel for a short while and then out to a restaurant for a typical Peking Duck dinner (with many other plates too).

June 24--

We headed out by bus to the summer palace of the emperors during the Xing dynasty.  It is really a large garden and lake area with the palace on the (manmade) hill overlooking the lake.  First thing we saw were the lovely lotus blossoms near the shore.  There were paddle boats to rent and very many tourists.  In one direction there was a bridge over to an island in the midst of the lake.  We walked a long way around the shore, in the other direction, to the area beneath the palace, ending by walking a 728 m long corridor along the shore.  The whole corridor was painted with many paintings by artists of the time.  At the end of the corridor, we boarded one of the dragon boats to be taken back to the area where the bus would pick us up. 

An interesting activity we observed as we walked the grounds, was people who had long sponge “brushes” drawing Chinese calligraphy characters and pictures on the sidewalk.  We were told many of them were retired people who did this for fun.  Obviously the water dried up and they would start up again.

From this area, we had lunch and then went to the Olympic area where the Olympics were held in Beijing in 2008.  The architecture for the buildings was very interesting, which you can see in our pictures. 

As we drove to the Olympic area, Jack pointed out a Buddhist temple (largest one in Beijing) which was not on our itinerary.  Because we had a little extra time, he had the bus driver drop us off at the temple.  The temple had three buildings.  Outside each, people were burning incense and bowing.  The incense was pretty intense!  At the final building was the largest Buddha statue. 

For an extra “experience”, Jack then took us back to the hotel via the Beijing subway system.  We were on our own for dinner, so we joined some of the others and walked to a local mall (closeby), then walked to the ‘Silk Market’ which was a good distance away.  The Silk Market had a variety of items pertaining to Chinese culture as well as more modern items.  They had a small food area where we ate supper.  By the time we walked back to the hotel, Lynne’s Jawbone fitness tracker said we had walked 14,000+ steps that day!

June 25--

Woke up to beautiful sunny day.  Met group early to head out to the Great Wall.  We went to the Badaling area of the Great Wall, built in the 7th century.  Because we went early , we had very few people at this area.  On the way to the parking area, we first stopped and planted three trees along the side of the road to commemorate our visit.  Apparently they have the groups do this to help local groups with erosion control.  After we planted them and took group pictures, we headed to the parking area.  From the parking area, we headed up many steps to the wall, then further up the wall.  After reaching a rest stop area (covered stone small building—open air), Lynne decided not to go any further as this area provided a good view up and down and to the surrounding countryside.  She was winded at this point and could see that the rest of the climb would be difficult.  She stayed there while Maribeth climbed further up to the next stopping point.  When everyone finished climbing , we all returned to the parking lot.  The Great Wall is nearly 4000 miles long so we obviously only saw a small portion of the Wall. 

We then headed to the 13 Ming Dynasty tombs.  We visited the Dingling Tomb, also known as the Underground Palace, which was the first Imperial tomb excavated in China.  This mausoleum housed the remains of Emperor Wan Li and two of his wives. 

We left the tombs and headed to the Beijing train station.  We were supposed to take a morning train, but because the Great Wall had been closed, our itinerary was changed so that we would instead take a 4 o’clock bullet train to Xian.  Though the bullet train travelled at about 150 + mph, it did not seem that fast from inside.  We arrived in Xian about 4+ hours later,met our bus driver and were transported to our hotel. 

June 26--

We started the morning by visiting Xingqing Park, a large park in Xian.  The interesting thing about this park, and others that we saw later in the tour, was that many people informally gather during the day to participate in different activities:  tai chi, singing, playing musical instruments, ballroom dancing, and dancing with fans.  Many of these people are retirees and they come to socialize and exercise.  There is nothing formal about the activities (no instructor per se, no charge—you just show up and join in).  We were able to join in a tai chi session, as well as the fan dance (Jack had purchased fans for each of us).  We observed the musical sessions also.  Later, Jesse (our local tour guide) explained how there was also a section in the park where people (usually grandmothers and mothers who wanted their offspring to get married) would post papers with the unmarried child’s information and a way to contact them.  Someone else who had an eligible son or daughter could then contact and matchmaking could ensue!  She had been the ‘victim’ of one of the matchmakings by her grandmother---she told them “no more”, it was a disaster!

We then headed to the area where the terracotta soldiers were found.  They have three areas there where the soldiers were discovered/unearthed: Pits 1, 2, and 3.  They are now covered to protect from the elements.  The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi'an by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan).  An interesting narrative about the farmer who found the first soldier can be read at: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/lucky-strike_the-man-who-dug-a-well-and-found-an-army/35232562 .  It was very interesting to see the multitude of soldiers and horses.  At one time the roof over the soldiers had been ruined (they aren’t sure why—fire, earthquake, or some other cause) which fell on the soldiers.  Therefore, many were broken and had to be pieced back together.  Nonetheless, they had done a great job (and are still working on this task).  Interestingly, the faces all appear to be different as if depicting actual individuals in his army.  Pit 1 was the biggest with long rows of soldiers.  Pit 2 and 3 are smaller and still being excavated.  The museum area had prime examples of each type of soldier represented in the pits.  In Pit 1 there are about 2,000 soldiers still unearthed.  Better preservations methods are being developed to preserve their paint colors.

From the soldier area, we went to a local company that makes replica terracotta soldiers.  They also had jade jewelry and upstairs an area of lacquered furniture (and a demo of how they make it) as well as an area of antique Chinese furniture.  We all had treasures when we left the store!

It was a very hot day, so we were glad to finally head back to the bus and back to the hotel.  We had to get ready to go to a dinner show that evening which was very entertaining.  Driving back to the hotel was interesting as Xian is lit up at night.  Our hotel was right by the East Gate of the city and was lit up quite well so of course we had to take pictures of it and our hotel, the Grand Park Hotel.

June 27--

After breakfast, we boarded the bus outside the hotel and headed to a park where the Wild Goose Pagoda is located.  This pagoda is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China and dates from the Tang Dynasty.  Actually Xian is an ancient city that was the capital of eleven different dynasties.  The pagoda is a brick and wood structure.  It was moderately damaged by an earthquake in 1556, but repaired.  In the park area we again saw a group of people doing tai chi together.  In another area one man was doing tai chi alone and in another area, a man was doing the wet sponge brush calligraphy.  There was a nice rose garden here also.

From the pagoda, we went to the East Gate and climbed to the top.  You will see from the pictures that you can walk in either direction.  If fact, I think the guide said they had held races, like 5Ks, on the wall area. 

Surprisely, there is a Muslim quarter in Xian which had been there for hundreds of years.  We were let off by our bus to walk down the one street where vendors on both sides of the street were selling all kinds of foods/snacks/delicacies.  After we had walked along this street and tasted a treat or two, we went to a restaurant for lunch.  After lunch, we were given some time to shop in the Beiyuanmen Market (a series of small shops/vendors along several back streets) where you could find all kinds of goods.  Bargaining on the prices was the norm in this area.  Of course, we all left with a few treasures!

As you will see in the picture, almost all of our meals on the whole trip were served family style on a big glass turn-table.  Dish after dish after dish was brought out and you helped yourself by taking some to your plate to eat.  We had chopsticks at every meal and sometimes a fork also.  Sometimes there was a soup served and then we also had a cup and spoon provided.  Dessert at most every meal consisted of various fruits, but most often one of those was watermelon.

From the Muslim quarter, we went to the airport to fly to Chengdu.  Because of itinerary changes earlier in the trip, we arrived too late to have the hot pot dinner.  We went to hotel and checked in after arriving in Chengdu.

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June 28--

We met our bus right outside the hotel.  You will see in the pictures how the Chinese have dealt with adding electric lines in the city---they bunch them together and string across the streets, or along the buildings.  Not a very attractive sight.

We first went to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding where they have more than 80 giant pandas.  Arranged like a large park, we walked first thru the outside area where the older pandas each have their own area to wander and eat and play in.  You get carried away taking pictures because they are so cute.  Next we walked thru an indoor area where they had 1-2 year olds together in rooms.  There were things for them to climb on and they generally were playing with each other (sort of like wrestling).  The next area had 3-4 year olds in their own areas, also indoors. 

Once we were back outside, we walked thru the red panda area.  Red pandas are smaller than the giant pandas, are a rusty red color, and have a ringed tail similar to a raccoon, but longer.  They were give cut up pumpkin and vegetables---they don’t eat bamboo.  They often climb in the trees and hang out there.

Lastly we walked thru the indoor area where they had a newborn panda, all alone in a room.  They rushed you thru this area, so only got to take quick pictures.

We left the panda area and went to eat lunch.  Right after we got off the bus, Jack saw a vendor and decided we all needed to try a Chinese delicacy---duck jaw.  It had a bone with a little meat on it, and was spicy—not sure how they cooked it.  Then off to the restaurant. 

After lunch, we went to a large park where we saw dancers again, many beautiful flowers, the matchmaking area again, and stopped for tea in a teahouse where we were shown how to play Chinese mahjong (different from the way Americans play).  After leaving the park we went to an area in Chengdu that is a shopping area, but had been built to look like the old buildings of Chengdu.  Of course, we all left with treasures again!

Supper was at a hot pot restaurant---“hot pot” being a typical Chengdu meal created over 1000 years ago and varies by region, but is popular all over China.  You will see in the pictures, there were two pots with water which were heated until boiling---one was spicy and the other not.  They brought many plates of meats and vegetables that you dropped in the water til it was cooked, they took it out to your plate to eat.  They had many sauces/condiments you could get to enhance your choices.  Sort of like eating fondue, but no cheese.  After dinner we went to a Sichuan Opera Show where the most interesting thing was the mask-changing performers.  It is hard to explain, and have no idea how they do it, but they wear a mask and at multiple turns in their dance, the mask would change.  It happened so fast, you couldn’t take pictures of it.  Lynne's Jawbone recorded 16,12 steps today.

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June 28

June 28

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June 29--

We were scheduled to leave Chengdu on an early morning flight to Lhasa, Tibet.  We got to the airport, got checked in and thru security, and a little late finally boarded the plane.  However, then, for reasons we never totally were informed about, we sat in the plane at the gate for around 3 hours.  Finally the captain came on and said we were cleared to leave.  There was no weather problems at Chengdu or at Lhasa, so we really didn’t understand the delay.  But, we flew to Lhasa with no problems after takeoff.  Once we arrived in Lhasa and collected our luggage, we boarded the bus to Lhasa, which was about an hour drive. 

We stopped for lunch at a local restaurant and had a wonderful spinach soup and fresh naan bread, followed by main entrée.  We  would have been happy with just the soup and naan! 

Finally arriving at the hotel, we checked in.  We had been told that there was oxygen available in our rooms as Lhasa is 11,000 feet elevation.  When we checked in, we told them we wanted to use the oxygen (it couldn’t hurt and it might really help!).  Soon a hotel person came and showed us how to use the machine, so we each breathed for about 20 minutes.  At 4 that afternoon we were scheduled to go to a conference room in the hotel to hear a local Tibetan speak to us on the local customs, traditions, and what we would be seeing in Tibet.  The lady is a professor at Tibetan University and had been lucky enough to be allowed to study in Hawaii and also travel to the continental US.  This is unusual for Tibetan nationals to be able to travel outside Tibet.  However, to be allowed to do this, she had to sign papers agreeing to come back to Tibet and continue teaching at the University.  Her talk was very interesting and informative. All Tibetans use the same script, but they speak 3 different dialects.

A few notes about Tibet:  They are 100% Buddhist, although only 70% are practicing Buddhists.  Government employees are restricted from openly practicing, but they can privately in their homes.  Tibet has a history of 4-5000 years.  The king period lasted from 7th to 9th century and before Buddhism their religion was called Bon, an aboriginal belief that believed everything was in nature.  The 33rd king embraced the Buddhist religion and introduced script to Tibet.  The 41st king later decreed every family must send one son to be a monk and must support one monk.  After the 9th century they had no kings and the country was divided into many small countries.  In the 13th century the Mongolians took over in China and Tibet.  In the 17th century the Dalia Lama became the religious and political power.  The current Dalai Lama used to live in the Potala Palace, but was exiled from Tibet in 1959 and now lives in India.

Jack had told us that we should eat a little less, drink lots of water, breathe the oxygen, and rest because of the altitude.  We had dinner there in the hotel---again many plates of various foods.  It was really hard to eat less as he suggested.  We were on our own to rest and acclimate to the altitude until the next morning.

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June 30--

We got to sleep in and not leave the hotel until 10 am.  We first went to the Norbulingka Palace, the former summer place of the Dalai Lamas and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  It was constructed in the 18th century.  There are several buildings in this complex which is laid out like a park with several different palaces built at different times.  There were many beautiful flowers and plants in this area apparently kept up by the monks who still live here.

 Interesting thing we saw here and driving thru town, were pilgrims making a pilgrimage visit to the palaces and walking pilgrim paths thru the town.  Many of these were older people, in native dress, who had come in from the countryside to do the pilgrimage.

After a lunch, we went to the Potala Palace—noted as one of the grand monuments of Asia.  Built in the 17th century atop the original 7th century, it has more than 1000 rooms, 10,000 chapels and a number of mysterious dungeons (which we did not see).  The Red Palace (which you can see on the left side in he pictures) is where the current Dalai Lama once lived.  Climbing to the top of the palace is a real challenge as you can see from the pictures---many steps making you 1000 feet higher when you reach the top.  We were scheduled for a tour of the inside of the palace at a certain time, so had to get there and climb to the top to be there on time.  While on the tour of the inside, we were not allowed to take pictures.  But we saw many chapels, many Buddha figures, and places where the monks come to meditate and pray.

After we finished the tour, we wound our way back down other steps to the street level again.  Here there was a park we walked thru to get back to our bus.  We went to dinner at a restaurant where we were the only people.  We once again had many dishes which included the yak meat again.  We also were served barley wine and barley cakes as well as buckwheat tea.  As we learned in China, northern China grows and uses more wheat in their cookies (i.e., noodles, dumplings), whereas southern China grows and uses more rice.  In Tibet, they grow barley and much of their diet is based on barley.

After eating dinner, they put on a show with various costumes and dances typical of different areas of Tibet.   Heading back to the hotel, Lynne looked at her Jawbone and realized we had walked 10,790 steps that day---many up the steps!

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This channel is coming soon!

July 2--

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We left the hotel in Lhasa for an early flight to Chongqing.  Once we arrived there, we boarded the bus and drove to the Stillwell Museum located on a hill above the Yangtze River. It was founded in memory of Joseph W. Stilwell (1883 - 1946), an American general who contributed a great deal to Chinese people. The main building of the Museum is the former residence of General Joseph W. Stilwell. In 1942, during the WWII, General Stilwell acted under orders to come to Chongqing. He worked as Chief of Staff in the China Theater of Operations and as the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army in the China Burma India (CBI) Theater. The residence became the headquarters of the China Burma India Theater during that period when Japan was trying to invade China. 

After the museum, we had lunch, then went to visit the Three Gorges Museum as we could not board the ship for our cruise down the Yangtze River until 4 pm.  Most interesting to us was the the plight of more than 1 million people forced out of their homes for the construction of a new dam on the Yangtze River.  Many stone artifacts had to be moved to higher ground before the dam could be constructed.

We stopped for 45 minutes at a shopping mall (where we got to shop and get liquid refreshment from the local Starbucks, we finally  were bussed to the dock where we boarded our ship for three days cruise down the Yangtze River.

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July 3-

We were so tired, we slept in the next morning.  But we did get up in time to eat a quick breakfast and go to the tai chi demonstration.  There was a tour to a pagoda in Shibaozhai where we had docked, but we both decided we wanted to take it easy.  Instead we went to a presentation on eastern medicine.  The ship doctor was trained in eastern and western medicine and he explained acupuncture, cupping and other methods of eastern medicine and finally choosing a member of the audience to demonstrate on.  We decided to sign up for a foot reflexology/massage later that evening.  As it turned out Maribeth had her massage appointment scheduled during the floor show, so she missed it.  Lynne’s appointment was after the show.

The show was dances/costumes from different areas of China.  The dancers were the made up of the hospitality/dining room staff. 

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July 4-

Today we sailed thru the gorges.  At the second gorge, the Wuxia (Witches) gorge, we docked and went onto small boats for an excursion into the Shennv or Shennong Stream, a series of narrow gorges upstream.  The water was greener and cleaner looking as we left the main river.  From different areas here and on the main river, you could see the famous Shennu Feng (Goddess) Peak, which is topped by a huge rock that resembles a kneeling maiden.  At the furthest point we went on the excursion, we left the boats on a floating platform.  The tour guides performed a couple songs and dances for everyone’s enjoyment.  However, it was so hot, we were ready to get back on the boats (where we got a little bit of a breeze off the water). 

Late afternoon, the staff had a July 4th celebration with champagne and cake.  That was a nice gesture, however, we thought it funny that the cake was white icing with pink flowers.  No red, white and blue!

Later after dinner, the ship staff put on a talent show.  Maribeth was chosen to help with a magic act.

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July 5-

We had arrived at the end of the cruise, though we stayed onboard to eat lunch  We left the ship and our luggage was taken on to the airport.  We were docked near the new dam on the Yangtze River (supposed to put out 6 times the electricity that the Hoover Dam generates).  The dam has locks for the larger boats, but it also had what they referred to as an “elevator” for smaller boats.  We got on a boat that would take us to the elevator and were supposed to go down on the elevator and debark below the dam.  However, we got to the elevator area and sat and waited over an hour until they announced that the elevator was still in “testing mode” and it wasn’t working at that time.  So, we went back to the dock and boarded a bus that drove us to an overlook area where we could see the dam. 

Once we left the dam area, we traveled by bus to Yichang, eventually reaching the airport.  We were to fly out of Yichang around 8 pm.  However, we ended up waiting for a while at the gate area.  Finally we boarded and were all settled when they announced that due to bad storm in Shanghai, we wouldn’t be taking off yet.  Ended up sitting on the plan for over 3 hours (real interesting time since there were a number of Chinese families with young children aboard!).  They finally were able to take off  and we got to Shanghai after 2 am, but then about a 30 min drive to the hotel.  It was after 3:30 am when we finally got to bed!

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July 56

After breakfast, we started our tour of Shanghai by going to the Bund walkway.  Basically the Bund is a promenade by the river.  Across the street from the promenade area, are all the older buildings of old Shanghai.  But behind these buildings and across the river, you can see the new Shanghai (modern buildings including the 2nd tallest building in the world and many unusual shaped buildings).  From this area we went to a silk carpet and embroidery shop where we had a demo of the silk embroidery.  They had many finished pieces (larger about 20 x 30 or larger or screens where both sides were identical).  These were quite expensive as you can imagine with all the intricate handwork.  They, of course, were all for sale as well as silk carpets.

We then moved on to the Old Quarter where we visited the Yu Yuan Gardens built in the Ming dynasty.  We walked thru the Quarter and stopped for a Starbucks iced tea as well as some wonderful dumplings thanks to Robert and Kelly who knew where to buy them. 

For lunch, we visited the Caoyang New Village, a Worker’s Housing Project where we learned about their community and daily life.  We were hosted by two different homes (half of the group went to one and the other half to the other) to a home-cooked traditional meal. 

Once back at the hotel, we were treated to an informative lecture and discussion about China’s Cultural Revolution.  This was presented by a Shanghai resident who experienced the revolution first hand and was sent to the countryside to be re-educated by the peasants.  Then a farewell dinner at a local restaurant, we decided to take a taxi back to the Bund to see Shanghai lit up at night.  It was really something.  When we were ready to go back to the hotel, we went in the hotel across the street from the Bund (one of the older buildings).  We asked a nice gentleman in the hotel who turned out to be from Australia and working at the hotel.  He got us a taxi and told the driver where we needed to go.  But before the taxi came, we had a very nice visit with him.  Once back at the hotel, we retreated to our hotel room to prepare to head back to the USA!

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