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Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.

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By DaleandBella
March 23rd 2008

Yangtze Cruise

Asia » China » Hubei » Three Gorges Dam

Yangtze

The Yangtze river is the third largest river in the world and the Three Gorges between Chongqing and Yichang are one of the most visited sights in China. There are various cruise options for this route, the cheapest being the Chinese tourist boat where hardly any English is spoken, cabins are basic and food is notoriously bad. Being backpackers, this is the one we had opted for. We had both read the reviews on the internet and knew what we were letting ourselves in for - but the review I am writing now is probably going to be one of the [View Full Entry]

By chinacanuck
March 22nd 2008

Guiyuan Budhist Temple

Asia » China » Hubei » Wuhan

Vanke Courtyard

Today found us travelling into another part of Wuhan to visit the Guiyuan Budhist Temple. "Covering an area of about 46,900 square meters (approx. 55,812 square yards), Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is situated in the west section of Hanyang district in Wuhan City. Being one of the four best temples in Wuhan, the temple, which was originally established in 1658 in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), was initially built on the site of Wuzhangpu Kuiyuan in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The word 'Guiyuan' originates from a sutra, meaning to surpass the circumscription of existence and extinguishment, to ret [View Full Entry]

By CindyLooHoo
March 22nd 2008

GORGEous!

Asia » China » Hubei » Three Gorges Dam

Perched

The mist and sun are up and the river is smooth. Master Chin led those gathered in a basic tai chi sequence. I finished with some yoga poses facing downstream in the bow of the boat. Breakfast was sumptuous -- as are all the meals (it is a 5-star cruise). Afterwards, we went to the upper deck to look at the Xiling Gorge followed by our entry into the lock system. {This is a bit of a repeat here if you've been keeping up with the blog.} It started to rain and most of us retreated to do whatever one does [View Full Entry]

By chinacanuck
March 20th 2008

Of drugs, cheques and tea

Asia » China » Hubei » Wuhan

Behind the school

Another week has almost gone by since my last entry so life must be busy! We have sort of settled into a new routine but that might be pushing it since new experiences are still occurring each week. The weather is certainly warming up and more birds can be heard every day. For awhile we wondered if there were any birds around here but I guess they really don’t appear until the weather gets fairly warm…definitely a bunch of wooses (sp?) compared to our Canadian species. The cherry blossoms are out and new flowers are appearing everywhere. Last Friday night found [View Full Entry]

By CindyLooHoo
March 19th 2008

Breakfast

Asia » China » Hubei » Three Gorges Dam

Buses (and wires for Lee)

I spent so long on the phone with the insurance compnay this morning (never mind the hours last night) that I missed breakfast. I have an hour before the bus leaves for the airport so I am going to hunt down a bakery. I think I deserve some baked goods. I am going to follow my nose. I cannot believe how packed some of the buses are -- but then no worse than the Bee Line in Vancouver -- especially before the school day. I'm dodging traffic with the best of them. Crossing the street on the red light. Whoever is [View Full Entry]

By Velyaen
March 18th 2008

Just to tell Everyone...

Asia » China » Hubei » Yichang

I uploaded a bunch of pictures to the old entries, if you want to look. Some guy is smoking right beside me right now, so I'm going to head out. [View Full Entry]

By Velyaen
March 17th 2008

Three Gorges

Asia » China » Hubei » Yichang

Karst Temple
Temple I saw perched atop a karst

I am currently in Yichang after going on a cruise down the Three Gorges. There's this really fancy looking internet cafe, unfortunately, everyone in it is smoking so it's hard to breath, so this will be fast, even though it deserves more time. Took a 13 hour train ride to get to Wuhan from which we caught a five hour bus ride to Yichang. Orginally going to spend a night in Yichang, but the boat was only leaving on the day we arrived, so we headed out right away. We saw the Three Gorges Dam before heading off on the river [View Full Entry]

By chinacanuck
March 11th 2008

Cards, cards, cards...

Asia » China » Hubei » Wuhan

Vanke Entrance

Just got over a wicked cold that has been passed around between all the teachers in the school. Not surprising that everybody catches anything going around since we do lots of stuff together over the course of a week. But luckily the good weather helps in getting us all back on our feet in good time! I had to include this photo for all you snowbound folks at home. Our apartment is on the right in the far distance. We went for a stroll tonight and it was almost too warm to wear a jacket..a beautiful evening. Found tennis courts in [View Full Entry]

By chinacanuck
March 8th 2008

Pedestrian Avenue

Asia » China » Hubei » Wuhan

Pedestrian Avenue 1

Spring has sprung in Wuhan. Over the last few days, flowers have appeared in mass numbers in many places. It is not a natural slow growth, it is a "back up the truck and unload hundreds of potted plants" and then proceed to arrange wherever they will look good. Over night, a large tiered flower display appeared in the entrance of our complex gateway and we noticed many tulips suddenly on display in an area of Wuhan we passed by on the bus today. The climate is warming up and is supposed to hit 26 degrees by Wednesday which is spring [View Full Entry]

By chinacanuck
March 7th 2008

Mr. Mai's

Asia » China » Hubei » Wuhan

It is hard to believe another week has passed. Life here is still a whirlwind adventure as we continue to see new stuff most days and venture into new areas of the city with our weekly shopping trips. Tomorrow we are off to Han Kou again, the large business and shopping area on the other side of the lake. This evening, we went to Mr. Mai’s, an American style coffee house where people go to meet and chat in English. When we entered tonight, we were soon joined by several Chinese people who asked if they could sit with us. They [View Full Entry]

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