China

May 10-19, 2008
May 10 AC87 YYZ-PVG,
May 13 FM9205 PVG-XIY,
May 16 CA1206 XIY-PEK, AC32 PEK-YYZ

With all the hype for the Olympics, we decided that we should get there before the games started, and chose to visit the main centres and get to the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Warriors.  In what I thought might be an intimidating country to visit, we decided to take it safe and stuck with air travel and Western hotels.  In that context, and with a few guides, we got around well, but we did navigate the city streets, subways and taxi cabs on our own as well.  We were overwhelmed with the scale of everything that has been done both in ancient structures and the newest towers - they certainly demonstrate the power of a large population.

Luckily, I had lots of Hyatt hotel points from my recent spurt of travel to Houston and we enjoyed some of the better hotels in China.  The highlight was probably the Grand Hyatt in Beijing - currently the highest hotel in the world and we stayed on floor 85.  The view was incredible and the bathroom even had a wall of windows.  Luckily, we were not in the hotel when the Sichuan Earthquake hit, but it was fascinating to watch the news slowly tickle in that day and to watch the very open and honest state media coverage.  The Earthquake set a negative tone to the trip, but we still managed to see nearly all that we planned to see. 

Xi'an was a destination primarily due to the Terra Cotta Warriors, but was a very interesting city in itself with an incredible fully intact wall and a surprising Muslim Quarter.  Shanghai and Beijing were huge and busy, but luckily had a good subway network to navigate in relative ease.  The Maglev train from the airport in Shanghai took us into the city at an incredible 430 kph.  When we weren't on the trains, traffic was crazy everywhere.  Pedestrians were not a consideration for most drivers, so you had to be constantly on the defensive.  However, we survived the traffic and the pollution in Beijing and had an amazing trip.   

May 11
Arrived in Shanghai Sunday afternoon with just a few hours for sightseeing

Me going 430 kph on the Maglev train from the airport to the Pudong district

L: Jinmao Tower (88 flrs), home to our hotel.  R: World Financial Centre being built (101 flrs)

One of numerous billboards floating on the Huangpu River looking over to Puxi (old city)

Looking back on modern Pudong special economic area and the modern towers

May 12
A full day in Shanghai filled with lots of walking.  Day of tragic Sichuan Earthquake

A common sight in most cities.  An opportunity for the locals to get the news

A street reserved for bikes and motorcycles.  One of the few places we saw a lot of bicycles.

The Bund promenade.  Historic international trade area built by Europeans in late 9th century

A narrow street with numerous small apartments

Yuyuan Gardens in old town area prior to lunch in the more modern Xintiandi area

The exterior to the incredible Shanghai Museum with many artifacts circa 6000 BC

Two of the numerous ancient clay sculptures in the museum

May 13
The morning and lunch in Shanghai and then fly to Xi’an

Shaghai’s Oriental Pearl tower completed in 1995, one the first tall structures in Pudong

View from inside observation deck, still lower than from our 85th floor hotel room

View to the “old city” from the outside observation deck

Looking across the river at two of the colonial buildings along the bund

Catching the maglev train back to the airport for a late arrival in Xi’an

May 14
The morning in Xi’an on our own, prior to organized East Line Tour

One of numerous new malls in the central city, including this Wal-Mart sign

Bell Tower in the centre of the Xi’an central city; we couldn’t enter, perhaps due to quake

Entrance to the Muslim Quarter of the city

The main worship hall in the Great Mosque

Looking back a the central city and the bell tower from the main South Gate of the city

Incredible 12m high, 18m wide,14 km long city wall surrounds the old city built in 1370

Moat that protected the walled city

Park outside on the many buildings on the city wall

East Line tour with “Aaron”: Ruins of Ban Po Village (4000 to 5000 BC) 6 km East of Xi’an

Our first views of the Terracotta Warriors in pit #3 as they were dug up

Terracota horses restored into original formation

Another formation of some of the 6000 warriors and horses for Emperor Qin Shi Huang

One of many unique faces including some of the original paint in pit #2

Pit #1.  The largest of the three pits.  First discovered by peasants drilling a well in 1974

Another view of the formation.  Wooden chariots would have original stood behind horses

Proof that I was actually there

Bronze chariots and horses found closer to the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang

Large pool in Huaqing Hot Springs originally build during the Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Mountains outside the hot springs and the end of our organized tour

May 15
A full day in Xi’an exploring on our own.

Me standing in front of Big Wild Goose Pagoda -- iconic site of the city

Shaanxi Historical Museum exterior, an incredible museum with lots of rich history

An early clay sculpture, circa 6000 BC

Statue of the Heavenly God in the museum

Revisiting the impressive South gate of the city walls

A police officer helps to control some of the scariest drivers that I have seen anywhere

Big Pagoda prior to an impressive fountain, light and music show

May 16
We started early for a flight to Beijing and toured in the afternoon with our guide “Alvin”

Panoramic view of the summer palace (an escape from the Forbidden City)

Looking up at the Temple of the Sea of Wisdom in palace complex after the rain cleared

Very stationary marble boat decorates the shore of Kunming Lake

A decorative bridge on the incredible grounds

Harmonious Interest Garden on the edge of palace grounds

“Maosoleum” building in Tiananmen Square home to the embalmed Mao

Countdown to the Olympics in Tiananmen Square.  84 days to 8/8/2008 at 8:00pm

The entrance to the forbidden city across from the square at dusk

May 17
The day in Beijing on our own with time to enjoy Peking Duck.

Me outside the Forbidden city at the start of another grey day (20% cloud, 80% pollution)

Impressive terraced railing in the Imperial Palace within the forbidden city

The crowds of tourists fill one of the many squares in the Palace

An impressive gravity clock in one of the museums in the Palace grounds

One of the many interesting bicycles in the city

Impressive staircase in the Temple of Heaven

May 18
The day in Beijing and a the Great Wall with our tour guide

Tom and I at the “Birds Nest” Olympic Stadium still under construction

The view of the olympic village from the top of a local office building we snuck in

Tom and I at the Great Wall at Mutianyu built over 2000 years ago

A look back at the 2.3km completed section form the highest tower

Looking back at the wall protecting the mountain peak

Outside of Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) Tomb

A replica of coffins as they werefound in the open tomb. The only Qing tomb to be opened

May 19
Our last day in Beijing, with a flight home that afternoon

TV blacked out with other entertainment as part of 3 days of morning for quake victims

Me outside of the moat surrounding the Forbidden City

Overlooking the 980 buildings of the Forbidden City from Jingshan park

Traditional Hutong buildings in Beijing, converted to shops, bars and restaurants

One of the numerous impressive buildings in the Lama Temple

Flight home to Toronto, arriving back the evening of the 19th