Well what better place to finish my trip than Beijing. Its some five years since I last came here and I arrived eager at the prospect of visiting some of the places I missed out on last time around. Over the past few years Beijing has undergone a major facelift in preparation for this years Olympic Games. Although I haven’t spent a lot of time in Beijing it’s a city I love visiting and a complete contrast to that of Shanghai. In recent years Shanghai has become a little too Westernised for my taste. Speaking to other foreigners in Shanghai and, [View Full Entry]

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My next stop hadn't made it on my initial plan but I'd heard through a couple of other people about an ancient town north of Xian named Pingyao which is covientantly placed therefore allowing me to to break up the trip onto Beijing. Having waxed lyrical about my experiences of travelling on trains in China in my previous blog. My opinion has altered slightly after my journey from Xian to Pingyao. I was forced to travel by hard seat for the first time and, hopefully last time. Hard seats are in effect the fourth class on Chinese trains and just one [View Full Entry]

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My first train journey for a while as I headed from Chengdu into Shaanxi province and the historical city of Xian. Xian was formerly known as Chang'an and originally marked the beginning and end of the silk road. A former great metropolis it came to an end in the 10th century by the rebellions of the Tang Dynasty. Today it's home to more than three million people and retains its metropolitan feel yet at the same time this is nicely blended with the vast array of history surrounding the city. Before I start to talk about Xian itself I have to [View Full Entry]

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The buzz of being back in a big city has certainly upped my energy levels and as a result I spent my last day in Chengdu fitting in as many sights as humanly possible. Most people who come to Chengdu I'm sure are drawn by the attraction of the Giant Pandas, by far and away China's most cherished of animals. Panda in Chinese is 'xiongmao' or quite literally in English 'Big Bear Cat' and there are now only thought to be 1000 of them in the wild. The prospect of seeing this unique animal up close led me and two others [View Full Entry]

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I now find myself in Sichuan province or as it's often commonly known "the land of plenty" or "Heaven on Earth" More specifically I'm in Chengdu which is apparently China's 5th most populous city, home of the spiciest of spicy food, giant panda's and as most of my Chinese friends have pointed out the most attractive looking women in the whole of China! I was thankful I opted to fly from Lijiang as opposed to taking what sounds like a nightmare 24 hour bus journey. I arrived quite late on Tuesday evening and hence most of Wednesday was spent not doing [View Full Entry]

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I've just spent the last three days back in Lijiang. To be honest I haven't really done too much whilst back here and have been just taking it easy, catching up a bit with this blog, uploading some photos and taking in a few more sights. So there really isn't a lot to report. I have been staying at the very nice and friendly 'International Youth Hostel' the one on Jishan Alley and anyone thinking of coming to Lijiang should really consider this as a good place to base yourself. Unlike my previous trip to Lijiang where I stayed just on [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in the village of Qiaotou which is in effect the beginning of the Tiger Leaping Gorge on Wednesday afternoon. Due to my arriving at this time there was no point in beginning trekking that day and I therefore checked myself into a guest house at the foot of the track which leads up to the gorge. There didn't seem to be many other people about and I killed most of the afternoon reading. I'm not very experienced at trekking and had been told that the trek is best done with a partner. One of the main reasons for this [View Full Entry]

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Day two in Shangri-la and having slept soundly not to mention warmly it was time to head out exploring. My first stop was Napa Lake (Napa Hai) a decent hours ride out of the city. It was without doubt well worth it, in fact I would go as far as to say it was my best experience of the trip so far. Having the bike was great as it really gives you the freedom to fully explore the area. I basically just kept riding, heading for the mountains. The scenery was absolutely stunning. I like to think I'm the kind of [View Full Entry]

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I'm once again a few days behind as I've been in the Tiger Leaping Gorge for the past three days and they don't have a lot of internet access there! So here goes with a little catch up. Monday the 17th..... As I'm not going to Tibet (probably a wise choice at the moment) I find myself in Shangri-la, or also known as Zhongdian The five hours to here by bus from Lijiang was made all the easier by the spectacular landscape I passed through on the way. I think I might have made a mistake in a previous blog by [View Full Entry]

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Day two in Lijiang and the sun was shining once again, it's a good day to be me! Lijiang is famous for it's monumental Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) I hadn't seen it yesterday but was told it is easily viewable from all parts of Lijiang. Where was it then I was asking myself? A short walk into town and a turn around a corner and there it was it all it's glory, very impressive! The Irish guy had also told me it was possible to go up the mountain via a series of chairlifts to a staggeringly high 4506m. [View Full Entry]

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