Geo: 24.8466, 110.281Today we were up early to have a driver take us to an area on the YuLong River where we had a relaxing morning floating down a river on a bamboo boat. On the boat we sat on secure lawn chairs with an umbrella to keep us out of the direct sun. We arrived early so it would not be too busy or too hot. As our poler moved us down the river we went over many weirs which really added to the fun. Near the end of our trip the river was definitely getting busier. It was a wonderful way to spend the morning.Back at our hotel we had something to eat and then relaxed in our room. The weather has been quite hot since we arrived here.... read more

Geo: 24.8466, 110.281After breakfast we caught a taxi to Chengdu airport. We really enjoyed our time in Chengdu especially the area we were staying. We loved the historic feel, the vibrancy of this area.Today we flew with Shandong Airlines, and once again we had a late departure with a Chinese airline. On our 1 1/2 hour flight we were served a full course hot meal. Western airlines need to learn from these airlines. A taxi picked us up at the Guilin airport and drove us over an hour to our hotel just outside of the town of Yangshuo. After settling in we enjoyed a beer out in the garden area. We had an okay dinner at the hotel.... read more

Geo: 30.675, 104.072After breakfast we wandered around the historical area we are staying. Lovely old buildings with fancy rooftops really make you feel like you are back in old China. Then it was a metro ride to Jinsha Site Museum. This site was discovered in 2001 during real estate construction. They unearthed a major site containing 3000 year old objects from the Shu Kingdom.The museum is an expansive complex with a building showing the excavation site and another beautiful building displaying many objects from the excavated area. Over 6000 relics were found there including functional and decorative items. There were pottery and tools, jade artifacts, stone carvings and ornate gold masks. There were also a huge amount of elephant tusks unearthed there. We found the museum very informative and well displayed. At the end of our ... read more

Geo: 34.26, 108.951We had another smoggy and rainy day here in Xian. After breakfast we walked to the train station and caught a bus to the Terracotta Warrior Museum. The bus ride was uneventful and took around one hour. We arrived to it raining even harder that what we had left in Xian. We took a shuttle to the museum entrance. The Terracotta Warriors were buried by the first Emperor of China in about 210 BC. They were discovered in 1974 by a peasant drilling a well. Excavation is still going on today. The warriors are all life size and incredibly detailed, each one a unique individual. They were buried in long chambers, standing on tiled floors, with wooden roofs covered with fibre mats and up to 2 metres of soil.We started our tour at Pit ... read more

Geo: 34.27, 108.9Off in the taxi at 5:30 am to one of Beijing's five train stations. On our way we passed Tianamen Square where thousands of people were waiting for the changing of the guards. The train station was huge be we found our way thru security and into our assigned waiting room. The room was packed with many other passengers. The bullet train left exactly at 7 am and was a smooth ride even at 300 k an hour. The smog was terrible throughout our train ride, with visibility little more than 500m.Upon arrival in Xi'an we took a 30 minute metro ride from the train station and then walked the four blocks to our hotel in the rain. During that whole trip we did not see another Caucasian until we were one block from ... read more