Overview: Where can you go to escape the crazy crowdedness of Shanghai? The answer is a short bus ride away to the town of Fenjing. Getting There: In southwest Shanghai, the ancient water town called Fenjing quietly lies. We traveled by bus to this old town, arriving an hour and a half after departure, the […]
The next stop on our China adventure was Chongqing! After navigating the massive airport and riding a bus for forty minutes, Mom and I arrived at Chongqing City Proper, home to more than 8.5 million residents. Given that it was noon time, our group was given 1.5 hours to roam the streets and grab a
Today was awaited with much anticipation as it was our chance to visit the famous Terracotta Army Museum! Our bus brought us near the entrance of the museum, but after unloading, we took a golf cart to reach the heart of the excitement. As we made our way to Pit 1 (the largest of the
Day four in China! Today we had the opportunity to visit Beijing’s hutongs – narrow streets and alleyways lined by traditional courtyard residences. We made our way through the cramped streets by electric rickshaw, where unlike those in Japan that are powered by guides running on foot, these were hooked up to a nice electric
After visiting a few of Taiwan’s most popular night markets, I was eager to see how the ones in China would compare. A handful of us from the tour group ventured out to explore the night life as it was just a quick subway ride and walk from our Beijing hotel. The short journey brought
“Beijing 2008, the Olympics. USA, Gold, Michael Phelps. Water Cube, Bird’s Nest, Opening Ceremony of a lifetime. China, medals, athletics….” These words swirled in my mind as we headed towards the Olympic Village stationed in Beijing. As our bus neared the area, my heart leaped when I saw a monument bearing the Olympic rings in
After such a great breakfast the day before, I was excited to make my way to the buffet a second time. I indulged in potstickers, rice porridge with condiments (congee), sweet glutinous rice balls (zongzi), and a couple of crackers with cheese. Fueled up and full, I gathered with our group in the lobby and soon
After 11 hours of sleeping like an absolute rock, I was ready for China Day 2! First up on the list was to head downstairs and check out the hotel’s morning buffet. The selection turned out to be extremely diverse with everything from Western eggs and sausages to Chinese steamed buns, dumplings, porridge, and potstickers,
It has been quite a while since this blog was last updated (Japan and Taiwan seem so long ago!), but I am excited to finally share my China adventures! I had planned to write about each day as I traveled throughout the country but soon realized that it was impossible to access Google, email, photos,