Hans
Hans J. Schneider Joined: December 26th 2005
Logged in: January 29th 2012
Logged in: January 29th 2012
I thought it would be informative for others and rewarding for me personally, to log the progress of my efforts from beginning to end, as a Travel and Photo Journal. I appreciate greatly the TravelBlog web-site, which has given me the means to stay in touch with my family, friends, students, and colleagues.
Since I have already visited China via Airline several times, I have been searching for alternative future ways to travel between the USA and China. Two options continue to be my favorites and will explore them further in the future:
1. Via Ship-Freighter from East Cost of US through Panama Canal to Korea to Shanghai to Hong Kong. :)
2. Via Trans-Siberian-Railroad from London to Brussels to Cologne to Moscow to Beijing to Hong Kong/Guilin :)
(3. Via American Airlines from Miami to Chicago, and direct flight on to Shanghai, :)
So for now and the future, I will continue my work as a teacher and continue my travels in this amazing country of China, and collect the memories with this incredible new Technology, making it possible to communicate from anywhere in real time. I hope many of you will join me in this late-life adventure, teaching English at Taizhou Teachers College in China, in the small and rural city of Taizhou, in Jiangsu Province of China.
Travel Blog Posts
December 20th 2011
MERRY CHRISTMAS
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR-2012. I WISH ALL OF YOU A YEAR, THAT WILL BE FILLED WITH THE REALIZATIONS OF ALL OF YOUR EXPECTATIONS. As I am approaching my 6th Christmas Holiday in China, let me wish my loving family, my dear friends, my special students and staff here at Taizhou Teachers College, my former students and collegues at Coral Gables Sr. H.S, at the University of Miami, and at Revere H.S in Mass. and all of the supportive followers of my TravelBlog a most wonderful Christmas, 2011 and a happy and healthy New Year, 2012. May you enjoy this Holiday Season with your families and friends in a festive spirit, sharing in each others lifes, while promoting the joys of this special time of the year. I am very grateful for ... read more
October 18th 2011
South Beach, part of Miami Beach, is probably one of the most famous beaches in the world.
A happy time is when I can make a return visit to my family and friends in Florida, especially during the cold winter months of Taizhou, Jiangsu. My young and curious Chinese students often ask me questions about Miami and Miami Beach; many have heard of the two cities, though they think of the two cities as one. They recognize Miami mostly because of their love for basketball, the NBA and the Miami Heat; and of course, their favorite players are Wade, James, and Bosh. Their faces light up, when they shout out the names of the Miami Heat stars to me. Unfortunately, Chinese students' knowledge of world geography, and for that matter their knowlege about the world outside of China is limited, if not minimal. Chinese education offers "somewhat" restricted and controlled information to its ... read more
September 21st 2011
In the next 3 TravelBlog entries, let me take you on a journey through three of the most important places for me in Florida.
My friends around China and my students at Taizhou Teachers College are especially interested where I spend my much of my time, when I visit Florida, USA. This is Part I of a "three" part visit to the areas in Florida, America's "Sunshine State", where I enjoy, travel and relax during my vacation weeks. In this TravelBlog #136, let me offer "45 photos" of the loving home, the colorful flower-garden and friendly surroundings, that bring me much joy and relaxation with family and friends during my return visits to Florida, USA. A "VERY" BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OF FLORIDA, USA: Florida is farther South than any other state except Hawaii, so the state is the farthest South in mainland United States. At twenty-five degrees north latitude, a line that passes through Saudi Arabia, the Sahara Desert, ... read more
September 16th 2011
Among the Stone-Carvings of Dazu, the giant Reclining Buddha is one of the most important! "The Nirvana of Sakyamuni" or "Sleeping Buddha", finished between 1127 and 1279, is about 100 feet long. There is a sedateness in his face and closed eyes.
Three holidays are making their way through China's culture: The second most important holiday in the country, Mid-Autumn Festival and the consumption of the Moon-cakes with family and friends was celebrated on September 12th; Teachers' Appreciation Day was remembered on September 11th; and China's National Holiday will be on the calendar on October 1st. I want to wish all of my friends, collegues, and students around China very happy and joyful holidays. Thank you for the many boxes of moon-cakes, which are still adding inches to my waistlines, and the wonderful flowers, that brought so much color and fragrance to my home on campus. Over the past few weeks, I have been working hard on my TravelBlog, to catch-up with some of my recent travel-experiences around China. I do hope you find time to read them ... read more
September 11th 2011
The Three Gorges, with water-levels now raised by some 575 feet with the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, are still an impressive adventure
Before the 20th Century, rugged mountains virtually isolated Sichuan Province from eastern China, and it was only a 400 mile stretch of the Yangtzi River (Chang Jiang in Chinese), linking the huge city of Chongqing with the city of Yichang in Hubei Province that opened Sichuan and the West to eastern China. The journey was a perilous one, as the Yangtzi River came tearing through the "sheer-sided" Three Gorges. The 3 Gorges "were" marvellous, though dangerous. Boats could only make it upstream with the help of "trackers". These were teams of low-paid men, who were harnessed together, and pulled boats, inch by inch, through the torrents of the Gorge. Paths cut into the banks of the Yangtze made the work somewhat easier and a little less hazardous. Some of them are still visible above the "new" ... read more
September 1st 2011
The Ta'er Si Buddhist Monastery, also known as the Kumbum Monastery, is one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist sites in China.
This is Part III of my summer visit to the Province of Qinghai, China's 4th largest province, surrounded by the provinces of Sichuan, Gansu, Xinjiang and Tibet. In TravelBlog #131 we visited the wonderful and largest of China's lakes, known as Qinghai-lake. In TravelBlog #132 we experienced the Great Mosque of Qinghai's capital, Xining. This TravelBlog #133 takes me (and you) to the Temple complex known as the Kumbum Monastery, better known as the Ta'er Si Buddhist Temple. It is considered one of the holiest Buddhist sites in China. Parts of the Silk-road passed through this region on its way South, on its long journey toward India. The 97 photos will take you on a special journey into the hills of one of China's remote and least developed provinces, Qinghai, to the village of Lusar in ... read more
August 27th 2011
The Great Mosque of Xining, Qinghai, China
In this TravelBlog #132, Part II of my visit to the Province of Qinghai, I am introducing the "GREAT MOSQUE" of Xining, Qinghai's capital city. After some research, here is some additional information about this least visited and poorest of the China's provinces: Qinghai is bordered by Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu and Sichuan at an average altitude of more than 13,000 feet on the Tibetan plateau. Here, summers are hot and winters are cold and dry. The province is home of a mix of minority peoples, mostly Hui Muslims and Tibetans, along with Kazakhs and Mongols. Geographically part of Tibet and historically a distant and obscure region, Qinghai for centuries supported nomadic herdsmen. Later it found fame as a distant "Gulag"! The central government is making great efforts to develop the capital of Xining, infusing much money ... read more
A KISS ON QINGHAI LAKE (Qinghai Hu)
Happy Summer to everyone. Hope all of you are safe from the up-coming hurricane Irene, and that you and your belongings have not been affected by the East Coast Earthquake. It has been a whole semester since my last entry, and yes, I am still teaching in China, and I have signed another year's contract. 5 years have passed since I have signed my first contract at Taizhou Teachers College. Though I have stored 1,000s of photos from 10,000s of miles of travels across this vast country of China, it has actually become more difficult and frustrating to post the entries. Time has become limited, since I am involved in many more college and city activities, and above all, the slow and un-reliable computer speed is simply driving me crazy. The photos up-load slowly, and often, ... read more
Sunny and inviting Miami Beach - South Beach
From Miami, Florida, USA, I wish all of my wonderful students and the teachers and staff of Taizhou Teachers College, as well as my friends around China and the world, a HAPPY and HEALTHY NEW YEAR, 2011. May the New Year bring you much love and affection, continued joy and happiness, and the success and prosperity all of you deserve. Thank you for sharing my adventures in China, and for all of your support, love and encouragement expressed in your emails and in your comments on these pages of my TravelBlog. The Chinese Lunar New Year will be celebrated this year on February 3rd and 4th, as the date is determined by the Chinese Lunar Calendar. In the Chinese Lunar Calendar, it is now the year, 4709 !!! (wow!!!). It will be a great time for ... read more
December 25th 2010
THE CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR, 2011, IS THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT.
MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS, 2010 AND HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR, 2011 !!! The years 2010/2011 have been my 5th year at Taizhou Teachers College in Jiangsu, China: It is the right and special time to thank my loving and supportive family; all of my many eager and sweet students and colleagues (former and present); the wonderful and dedicated teachers and staff and the kind and caring administration of TTC; and my many dear friends around China, in America, in Canada, in Australia, in New Zealand, in Germany and in so many other countries, for YOUR continued encouragement and for YOUR love, and for having shared YOUR hearts during another exciting year in China. TO ALL OF YOU, I wish a happy and loving holiday season with your family and your friends. May the joy of this ... read more
