Blogs from Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China, Asia

New photos on: http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite/ …..China's population growth has slowed dramatically due to the one child policy, far lower than most (fully...?!) developed countries. It still means adding an extra 10 million or so per year, probably around the population of Greece or Belgium. However there are also over 100 million migrants from the country to the cities & they reckon almost another 250 million by 2025. As usual it's hard to get your head around the big picture despite daily seeing the unbelievable amount of construction going on..... …..I decide to see if I can find some good walking shoes. I'll need to go to the shoe shop in the west end, where they won't just laugh at my size & wave me away. However I'll just have to hope that (THAT) woma... read more

New photos on: http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite/ …..it's a beautiful, really clear, blue sky day for a second trip to Nanjing in as many weeks. New highways radiating out even from our little town. Bedding airing from every south facing balcony or window, soaking up the spring sunshine, people unloading trees from trucks & planting them along the endless network of canals & dykes that criss-cross Jiangsu while others tend small allotment gardens. People are still wearing winter jackets & the girls are sticking to their astounding collections of boots for the time being but I think spring is finally here..... .....there are seat belts for the rear seat of the ubiquitous VW Santana taxis but the seat covers preclude being able to clip them in place. The driver expectorates out of... read more

I have been in China for 5 months now and I promised to myself before I left home that I would create a travel blog for my friends and family to read, as well as anyone else that wanted to have a wee read of it. So here I am, better late than never i suppose! It seems to make the most sense to start with the total opposing feelings I felt in my first few weeks here. Despite it being 5 months ago, i still remember exactly how i felt. I remember, in particular, arriving at Dubai airport and feeling completely overwhelmed. This was the first time in my life, at the grand old age of 22, that I had left the UK and it definitely showed in my face when I was aimlessly walking ... read more

Photos: http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite …..a few of us walk out of the Dong Fang Hong, (Oriental Red), restaurant, on the east side of the school straight into a fireworks display Sunday evening, set up & already fired up by the time, this being China, we just walk past what turns out to be a spectacular & deafening display which goes on for the best part of 15 minutes. We foreigners have to admit that, where we come from, the USA, Canada, the UK or Australia, only a display set up on a special occasion for a whole city would compare with this. The kids are all watching from more than 100m away but we still feel a shower of ash & embers, just before a wall of grey smoke adds another level of uninhaleableness to China's already dodgy ... read more

Sorry to anyone who's getting this for a second time, I've been having trouble with the notifications for the blog getting through so I'm trying to do it via the Travelblog site. As usual you can just click 'unsubscribe' if you don't want to receive these... Photos: http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite …..”I don't like China, oh no, I love her...” to paraphrase that great 10CC song, Dreadlock Holiday. I've had an “I hate China” day. The rules, written & unwritten, that govern interactions in any society are mostly hidden behind that still impenetrable Great Wall of Chinese. When they change, often arbitrarily, you are left with nothing to do but try to figure out what the new requirement is & try to comply with it bef... read more