Weixiao82 | Bethan Liu | Travel Blog

Asia » China » Beijing June 12th 2005

Geo: 39.9082, 116.398Beijing is fantastic and developing by the day. Everything is very fast moving in this up and coming capital, it's difficult to keep up. We were there when it was chosen to host the Olympics and witnessed the grass being painted green! The sights here are so famous that they're hard to take in. Tiananmen Square is colosal and extremely powerful when you imagine the events that passed there. The Forbidden City is breathtaking, though does become rather repetitive. The area surrounding Beihai Park is one of my favourites, with wonderful little hutongs that you can experience from the back of a ricksaw. Sanlitun is the heart of Beijing's nightlife and I've had many an enjoyable evening out and about, especially when I was able to see 'Jay' (gorgeous chinese pop singer) perform in ... read more

Visiting my pen pal

Asia » China June 11th 2005

Huaihua

Weixiao82

Geo: 27.4734, 110.441I'd been writing to Guo Shenglan for almost 10 years and spring festival was the perfect opportunity to eventually meet her. She lives in the middle of nowhere in the Hunan countryside, so an area I'd never get the opportunity to visit otherwise. Not even mentioned in The Lonely Planet! Was certainly an experience and my Chinese probably improved more in those few days than at any other time. Foreigners always attract a lot of attention in China but there people had genuinely never ever seen one before me. Her poor family had no idea how to treat me and seemed to be petrified of breaking me! I was even followed to the toilet! I was invited to dinner by a group of 40 odd government officials. I had to partake in toasts every ... read more

Tianjin

Asia » China » Tianjin June 11th 2005

Weixiao82

Geo: 39.9082, 116.398... read more

Hong Kong

Asia » China June 9th 2005

Hong Kong Peak

Weixiao82

Geo: 21.6896, 114.265A dream fulfilled. I'd always wanted to go to Hong Kong. I wasn't disappointed. A very vibrant, bustling and exciting city. However, after the beauty of Yunnan Province, I did seem just a bit too westernised and expensive. I wasn't homesick enough yet to fully appreciate it! Hong Kong is still very British. If you're planning on travelling Hong Kong and China, I'd definitely advise arriving in Hong Kong first, otherwise the culture it has to offer just doesn't seem so amazing. By this time I was very used to seeing Chinese characters everywhere and was more excited by the Marks and Spencers! British prices come as a bit of a shock too! It is undoubtedly an amazing place though. The perfect middle ground :)The trip to the top of the peak is a ... read more

Guizhuo province

Asia » China » Guizhou » Guiyang June 9th 2005

China's largest waterfall

Weixiao82

Geo: 26.0915, 106.814I love waterfalls so off Phil and I went from Kunming on a 17hr train ride to Guiyang to discover China's largest waterfall. Guiyang is not a beautiful city and is very industrialized, making everything very smoggy. But it does have monkies! After a naughty old man sent us on a mad goose chase up some mountains we eventually found some friendly monkies just around the corner from where we had started. They're great fun to feed and everyone else has great fun watching the foreigner feed the monkies! There's also a most enjoyable 'Death Ride' to have a go on and a monastery up in the mountains.The waterfall is not easy to find. Do not believe The Lonely Planet on this one. By the time we'd actually arrived we only had about 30mins ... read more

Yunnan Province

Asia » China » Yunnan » Lijiang June 9th 2005

Bethnic at the Stone Forest

Weixiao82

Geo: 25.925, 103.174Yunnan province is simply beautiful. We flew there from Tianjin with special half price student tickets in the New year holidays. The capital, Kunming is bright and refreshing. We'd almost forgotten what fresh air and greenness was like after so long in Tianjin! The Chinese call it the city of flowers. It certainly possesses a cleanliness and sparkle that no other Chinese city I've visited has. The weather is gorgeous. Blue skies all day and in this part of China you can actually see them through the smog! After Kunming we caught the bus up to Dali. Bus rides through this area are quite something. The scenery is spectacular, you don't want to close your eyes. It seems I had my video camera running for nearly the entire 10hr journey!! Dali is a bit ... read more

Kunming

Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming June 8th 2005

Weixiao82

Geo: 24.3561, 103.936... read more

Harbin and The Ice Lantern Festival

Asia » China » Heilongjiang » Harbin June 8th 2005

Camel Kiss!!

Weixiao82

Geo: 45.4303, 126.695Welcome to fairy land! It is breathtaking. The most magical place I've ever been to though absolutely freezing (-30 degrees!) I had the opportunity to wear some delightful padded thermal underwear. We ended up looking like a bunch of Michelin men, in contrast to the Chinese people who still look tiny even with 10 layers on! You just can't believe it's all made of ice. It's huge. All overlooked by a majestic ice castle. It's quite a death trap making your way up the ice steps to the top but well worth it. Then you can slide down, just as long as you're watching you don't fall over the side! Only in China!! I got to hug an arctic fox :)Harbin is a fascinating city. It's very Russian, being near the border. Extremely different ... read more

Tianjin

Asia » China » Tianjin June 8th 2005

Weixiao82

Geo: 40.2042, 116.367... read more

Tianjin, my home from home

Asia » China » Tianjin June 6th 2005

Chicken Women

Weixiao82

Geo: 39.9082, 116.398To some Tianjin may seem like an ugly polluted city but for me (and I'm sure the other Tianjinners would agree) it's home and we love it! I wouldn't necessarily advise visiting it for touristy purposes but stay there for a while and it strangely becomes very difficult to leave. It kept hold of me for one year longer than it should have and I still miss it and can't wait to be back. Living in a typical Chinese city is a truly unique experience. It certainly teaches you to be laid back as you never know what to expect from one moment to the next in Tianjin, from giant plastic cactuses and houses going past on the back of bikes, and eating locusts, to having to jump up and down to 'Tubthumping' infront ... read more

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