After Beijing onto Xian mainly to see the Terracotta Warriors which was impressive even tho it was rammed with tourists (just don't get carried away with the appeal of having a life sized one in your garden - Nick I resisted honest).
Also worth a visit is the Banpo Neolithic Village for an insight to the historical tribe that once inhabited the area.
Not really worth a visit is the Hot Springs....its just a fountain you pay to put your hands in..not suitable for swimming as the Danish girls who brought their bikinis with them thought...doh! (good to know Im not the only dumb blonde).
After a few days in Xian I moved onto to Chongqing where I started my
Yangtze River Cruise. When I booked I had two choices of boat, having endured hard beds on Chinese trains I thought I'd treat myself to the so called luxury boat. Word of warning this means you actually spend the entire cruise with the America Senior Citizen tour group from hell .. i spent every evening in tears...of laughter (you know that uncontrollable laughter you get when you really shouldn't be laughing)
...cant say which was the funniest..the karaoke version of Rhinestone Cow boy sung ever so seriously complete with actions of riding! or the engaging dinner conversations...
Waitress "black bean sauce",
Loud America woman "oooh buffalo in sauce, i didn't know the Chinese ate Buffalo"
Anyway the cruise passes through the Three Gorges on its way to the Dam. The scenery is stunning although its alarming to see the amount of villages that have been and are still being moved due to the rising water levels from the new Dam. There are signs along the way that show the height that the water will eventually rise to when the Dam is completed and its such a shame as its evident the Gorges will lose their majestic impact. Im glad I saw it before the final water level is achieved.
The River Yangtze was definitely my best highlight of China.
After the cruise I had a couple of days in Wuhan, explored the city and got the lowdown on places to see in Shanghi from a girl who lived there but was visiting Wuhan to see the Cherry Blossom Tree Show (yep v strange as they have these trees all over China?!)
