Mutianyu

Finally on Asian mainland (and freezing)

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March 10th 2006
My flight to Beijing was uneventful and the plane was only 1/4 full at most, which was fabulous. Getting the Chinese visa and Japanese reentry permit had been hellish experiences that I was trying to put behind me. I had almost forgotten about all those hours sitting in immigration with hundreds of other people until I hit immigration in the Beijing airport. The guy behind the counter took an awfu ... read more

Asia » China » Beijing

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For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more