Posing in front of the vase of flowers

Hutongs, more temples, Mao and acrobatic feats in Beijing

October 24th 2014
After we returned from Shanhaiguan we planned our next few days. We had train tickets already booked to go to Datong to visit the Hanging Monastery and the Buddhist Grottoes and were flying to Shanghai from there. We were very thankful that we had seen all the major sites on our previous visit when the city was much less busy. Though we were travelling in the off season here there are just so many ... read more

Asia » China » Beijing » Tian'anmen

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

6th November 2014

taracloud
Tara Cloud

I'm too late!
How lucky that you went to China earlier! Those queues, those prices, those hutongs being torn down, the smog--all so discouraging. However, I'm glad your hutong was still standing and attractive, and you did find lovely sites, but I, like you, wouldn't want to stand in a long queue for the Forbidden City, even though I've always wanted to see it. Glad you could see the stars in your new spot--maybe there won't be queues either.

Tot: 0.3s; Tpl: 0.004s; cc: 28; qc: 133; dbt: 0.203s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.5mb

Joined	August 26th 2005	Trips	9
Last Login	July 31st 2023	Followers	12
Status	BLOGGER	Follows	1
Blogs	231	Guestbook	218
Photos	5,342	Forum Posts	19