Blogs from Jilin, China, Asia - page 5

Training Upon arrival at the academy you get the option of 3 different martial art styles Shaolin (Flashy acrobatics with weapons) Baji (Shaolin for people that cant jump) Sanda (Practical fighting, kick-boxing and spend 90% of their time kicking or punching a bag). However you can swap at any time to another style and many students staying for longer periods will do a stint in each. I chose Shaolin as I was reliably informed the teaching there was the best in the academy and it has certainly pleased and impressed me. For my first week I recieved one-on-one training with a lower-master who taught me the basic stretches and the start of the first fist-form, teaching me to the point where I could effectively join in with the rest of the Shaolin group. While very tiring ... read more

Dalin wasn't such a great city for sightseeing, but we did get to eat some great food. We toured around the city and stopped at various places that looked out at some water. I bought a 20 tiered kite which looks awesome when flying. The guy I bought it from let me fly one before. The rest of the time was snapping pics and eating. We were there for a day. Between Dalin and Harbin we took a bus trip to another unnamed city Qu Qu (something.) and stayed overnight. This was a Saturday. When we went for breakfast at 7AM there was no food left! Tons of people had been eating. We could not believe that the food was all gone and we were told to attend breakfast at 7AM. We noticed that the people ... read more

Changchun to Benxi Asia » China » Dongbei » Changchun By frequentflyerJune 6th 2007 After more driving this morning we get to today's highlight - Benxi Cave, with the longest underground river in China, 5th longest in the world. It's about 5km long, average depth of 2m and deepest is 7m. Average water temperature is 0C, and the fish/loach in the river has essentially lost functional use of its eyes because of the complete darkness. There are many stalactites in the cave, many with shapes that resemble various objects, including elephant, leaning tower etc. The stalactites grow very slowly, at a rate of 1mm/100 years. Some tourists think that they... read more

This morning's first stop was Pu Yi, the last Chinese emperor's palace or residence in Changchun. He lasted a total of 3 years as the ruler of China. He was only 3 years old when crowned as the emperor. He was scared and cried as he sat on the throne. It was said that in an effort to comfort him the words "it's all going to be over soon" was used. The Qing dynasty was soon over too. Japan occupied China for 14 years starting in the NE on Sept 18 1931. Japan knew that there were still Qing loyalists in the NE. In order to appear legitimate, they installed Pu Yi as a puppet emperor and housed him here. He had many firsts as a Chinese emperor. First to know how to played golf ... read more

Changchun = “Eeuwige Lente” is sinds 1954 de hoofdstad van de provincie Jilin. We logeerden niet in Changchun: het is slechts 2 uur bus verwijderd van Jilin, en we wilden alleen maar het paleis van de laatste Qing keizer Puyi zien. We reisden nog diezelfde dag door naar Jilin. We namen de bus naar Jilin in het langeafstands busstation, dit ligt ten opzichte van het treinstation, achter het Chunyi Binguan (hotel). De bussen vertrekken er om de 15min en kosten 23.5Y. De rit duurde bijna 2u30 in een comfortabele bus doorheen vlak landbouwgebied. Een taxi kost hier 5Y voor een ritje in de stad. Rond het trein- en busstation zijn verschillende Internet bars, de meest opvallende ligt vlak tegenover het treinstation. We betaalden er 2Y voor een gewone computer, 3Y voor een computer waarop je een ... read more