Yangtze to Beijing (Days 20-30)
CHINA | Friday, 10 November 2006 | Views [750]
So i am back in the land of Aus and already back to the grind of work!! Unfortunately feels like i had never left! But thought i better finish off the rest of the trip details for you guys and tell you that i have over 500 photos so beware!
Day 20 went to three gorges dam project site and lets just say they chinese don't know how to do things on a small scale! They are up to the final stage of the project and it will all be finished in 2009 with around 1.3 million people relocated and the gorges flooded up by a height of 175 metres. This place was just huge with a ship lock of 5 big steps! When all finished it will produce enough power to equal that of 18 Nuclear Power plants!
Then boarded our boat for Yangtze river cruise for next 2 days, and unfortunately poor georgies turn to get sick think it was the McCuckers Chicken burger
Day 21 Traditional chinese breakfast (no other choice) congee, pickelled raddish, peanuts, hard boiled egg and pesto-ish bread roll, very random.
Day trip to lesser three gorges and just amazing how it is already 156 metres under water and still huge! went around islands that used to be just bends in the river. For dinner went ashore with Keith and caught a local motor scooter up the hill to the duck market shop and picked out our dinner, and also some chilli ducks feet to try!
Interesting not much meat and lots of chilli!
Day 22 Lazy morning as kill time to get off boat then finally got off at Fengdu and had a mad little van ride into town with an electric golf cart trying to run us off the road... weird was like a game of cat and mouse in a chinese theme park. Then horrible 4 hour bus ride hot stuffy and uncomfortable! But arrived in Chongqing Keith's home town
and technically the biggest city in china 32 million people! special "Hot Pot" dinner - pot of boiling liquid on flame (fondue style) half very
spicy and half normal and cook meat and tofu in it including ox tripe and duck gizzards, tried it all! Little bit of shopping and bought a lovely red wallet.
Back to hotel and not feeling so well, hot pot came back up and still just as spicy! Sick all night, bloody Hot pot
Day 23 my turn to be sick so missed out on exploring Chongqing and shopping! needed to get better, stop the flows before leaving for train at midday... lucky just in time 14 hour Train to Xian.
Day 24 arrived in Xian 4am and lucky hotel (the YMCA!) had rooms ready so time for some sleep. Went to bell tower which is middle of town, good streetscape views. Flowers and keith went to south gate of city wall and hired old bike to ride around 14 km on best preserved city wall in China. Very bumpy ride on cobblestones but interesting views, half demolished houses with people still living in them. Back to hotel for cat nap oops
3 hours.
Dinner of dumpling banquet and it was lots lucky we only order 2 serves between the 4 of us, very filling! Meet keith and others at YMCA and went to watch the biggest water fountain show in Asia, sound lights, water and heaps of people on every night was really good!
Day 25 TerraCotta Warriors and horses
took 40 years to make in 220BC during Qin dynasty - all for 1st emperor Qinshi as he unified china, also started trade along the silk road and joined the great wall (finished it) to defeat/keep out the mongolians and their horses (and rabbits!)
The emperor order 740,000 people to help construct his tomb spread over 56kms Tomb consisted of life-sized and slightle larger infantrymen, archers, officers, and horse and carts made of terracotta and all with individual features HUGE Pits 1,2and 3 have been excavated So called 8th wonder of the world! All discovered 2000 years after burried in peasant uprising after emperors death. Absolutely amazing have to go see it! Sleeper train to Beijing
Day 26 Beijing Yeah! no room ready in hotel so freshen up in toilet and off to the palace city/ forbidden city complex. It is huge, from the Ming and Qing dynasties. for 500 years the complex was only used by the emperor and his workers, no commoners allowed till 1940's when the dynasties ended. Then was supposed to go to Tianamien
square but police had closed it as there was the China - Africa summit going on (very annoying). So on to computer market and it was sooo cheap suppose as it is all made in china!
That night legend of Kungfu show at the red theatre and the best show of the trip by far, fantastic action, music, stes and great show!
Day 27 Great Wall (last day of Gecko's trip)
Early morning 3 hour drive out to less popular section at Simatai North east of Beijing. Climbed up the great wall of china from towers 1-12 in this section, steep stairs but not to difficult a climb. GOt to tower 8 and had a rest, photos and the weather was windy and freezing almost sleeting! but decided to keep climbing to highest point tower 12. I got my photo of the great wall with no one else in it, no tourists or
nothing! Was very happy so clicked my heels on the great wall! Then back down to tower 8 to catch the cable car back down but it was too windy so stopped and had to walk back down, which was ok as the weather was starting to clear up and got some even better photos the sun even came out felt back at home, Melbourne 4 seasons in one day! Just an
amazing 2000 year old man made structure. When almost back to bottom decided to catch the flying fox down over a river and boat back to carpark. so conquered the great wall by land air and sea!
Then last group dinner had a private room in nice restaurant where we had the best peking duck yummy yummy yummy really good night and under $10 each! decided to kick on at random beijing karoke bar and made keith drink his record of 5 beers in one night! Great way to end trip!
Day 28 Time for shopping! 1st stop an antique market and it was a freezing day with the wind icy! so back to hotel to put on more clothes and more shopping at the pearl market which had everything not just pearls, tried to go to tianamien square but closed again
bloody summit!
Day 29 Summer palace - put on pretty much all the clothes we had in our packs! and for such a beautiful place it was so cold! Wind chill of negative and the wind just went straight though! Summer palace is huge with many temples from Ming and Qing dynasties surrounding lake Kunming
Last dinner so went back for some more yummy duck pancakes!
Day 30 Last day and finally ablt to get onto Tianamien square but only for an hour before people we were moved off it and it was closed again! Lucky left plenty of time to get to the airport as got stuck in one of Beijing's famous traffic jams stopped on freeway for about 20 minutes! Then flight home and last minute duty free shopping!
Great trip and i highly recommend China to all and make sure you do both the big ticket items like great wall but also go down the back streets in the country side and experience it all chat to the locals using sign language!
Tags: Adventures
