Green/grey cities The Green and Grey of China are, or at least could be, very pretty. The cities of China are full of parks and greenery, everywhere there are beds of flowers. Everywhere. Alongside roads, in between buildings, under overpasses, on top of buildings, anywhere there is a space to place one is a garden. Bicycle Culture I was thoroughly impressed by the number and variety of bicycles. Where Bicycles are not the main mode of transportation there are motorcycles, or motorized equivalents of the bicycle contraptions. Ever seen a man on a bicycle with 3 pigs tied to its frame? [View Full Entry]

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Beijing Again we returned to Beijing for a night to prepare for departure home. The last location we visited was Factory 798. It was at one time a communist factory, it has now been turned in to an artist complex of hipsters and coffee shops, small diners and art studios. It reminded me of a place trying to be like Omaha, or at least places that Omaha has, which are probably places trying to be like other places in the USA. Overall, it gave the impression of manufactured eclecticism with pretentious Chinese hipsters sipping lattes and critiquing art, though were I [View Full Entry]

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Our local guide had a little bit of trouble pronouncing Terraced... Rice paddies are something nearly universally associated with China, and 500 years ago in Longsheng, the villagers created a series of terraced rice paddies high atop the hills. Creating a topographical rice landscape that is totally cool. The village of Longsheng, is also totally worth visiting. Longsheng, is a tangle of steps and walkways and buildings tucked into hill cleft. It’s spectacular [View Full Entry]

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Yangshou We disembarked at Yangshou and settled into another hotel. A small community on the Yi River nestled in the karst hills, Yangshou has become a destination for many world backpackers, lending a slightly international feeling to the people. In Yangshou, we rented some bicycles and rode through the city into the countryside to a hill known as Half Moon Hill. As we approached Half Moon Hill, a swarm of little (literally) women ran out of the gate at us. Most of us had similar images of Godzilla movies flood our minds as our bikes approached the mobs of yelling and [View Full Entry]

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Guilin In the south of China is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. And as a Chinese saying goes “In the Sky there is heaven and on Earth there is Guilin.” The land is green and lush with craggy green karst hills and winding rivers. As with all other places we went in China the blue sky could not be seen, however, in Guilin it was because we were in the rainy season, not because of the smog. Our local guide told us how Guilin has forced industries that pollute too much to change or move from [View Full Entry]

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Shanghai Akin to Bladerunner, or the 5th Element or Coruscant: Shanghai is how it all starts. Shangai is officially 18 million people, though it is estimated there are 22 million living there. It is tall buildings, money, smog, and a people, tangled mess of construction non-linear streets and people, it tears down its culture and history in favor of the new. What history still exists has been bastardized, turned into high end shopping malls (such as happened with site of the first meeting of the Communist Party of China). Before Shanghai, we had not encountered beggars and the “Hello P [View Full Entry]

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Outside Xi’an we visit a smaller community in Chunhua county, Chunhua is known as a major producer of apples in China, however, I did not find many apples the entire time I was in China, let alone near Chunhua. It is in Chunhua we meet Ms Sun, local coordinator for Plan International. We learn about Plan’s efforts in the area to improve the lives of children, providing healthcare and educational services to children of the area. Plan International We then visit the Plan International Rural Village (a model village) and what China h [View Full Entry]

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Xi’an is the imperial capital of China, it has a nice small city feel (Xi’an is 7.3 million people small). It was here that we found many back alley night time bazaars selling knockoff sneakers, watches, wallets, purses, also in these bazaars were puppies, chickens, eels and other things of interest. One night while searching for cold beer, something of a rarity in Chinese markets, we found a dance club simply called “Disco.” Entrance to “Disco” took you up to the 3rd floor via spiral staircase where there was a foyer with a coat check, and the police stan [View Full Entry]

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Before this point in our trip the Temple of Heaven is best known as the symbol of Beijing Draught Beer. Beijing Draught is a tropical style beer that I do not recommend for export outside of Beijing. The Temple of Heaven, is a world heritage sight and was constructed about the same time period as the Forbidden City. It was built for ceremonies related to heaven and good harvest. [View Full Entry]

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I have been told throughout my life a series of lies. One such lie has to do with the Great Wall: That it is the only structure visible with the naked eye from space (or even the moon). 180 miles up astronauts tell us they can make out numerous things, highways, airports, Kennedy Space Center, and the Pryamids of Giza, but not the Great Wall. The Great Wall, seems to be made of material that blends in with surrounding areas too well to be seen from space, let alone the moon. This makes sense, as the Great Wall, a truly [View Full Entry]

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