The China Experience

Five weeks in all in China.

Too much to write about without starting an epic, so here is a summary of where we went, the main things that were there and then some general observations.

Where we went:

Beijing = Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, 798 Art District, Temple of Heaven

Xi’an = Terracotta Warriors, Drum and Bell Tower

Shanghai = The Bund, Pudong

Yangtze Rive = Shennon Stream, 3 Gorges, Chongqing

Leshan = Largest Buddha in the world!

Chengdu = Panda’s!

Lijiang = China’s Bruges

Tiger Leaping Gorge = Awesome hiking

Hong Kong = The Peak, Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Beaches.

General Observations:

- Can’t take a picture of the Buddha but can put a gift shop next to the Buddha…?

- No Cereal in China, milky soup and noodles for breakfast too

- The comb over is still acceptable in China, which does place them firmly in the developing nation category

- If you are mildly amused by the liberal use of the word ‘Dong’ in sentences and place names, you will enjoy travelling China.

- Success in Beijing is clearly a black Audi A6.

- Words they use that we understand: fun-gi, o-ba-ma; taxi driver said ‘Shabba’, to which we of course replied, “Mr. Lover Man.”

- No Chinese sports losses reported in the media, only wins.

- Weirdest foods seen: pea ice cream, seaweed Pringles, vacuum packed chicken feet.

- Great mobile phone reception everywhere, even in the centre of UNESCO world heritage parks.

- No fat Chinese in mainland china, plenty in Hong Kong - harbinger for Asia, with 60% of the world’s population is in Asia - we can’t all eat steak and drive saloons people! Where’s the sustainabilitaaay???

Overall

Great to see the second largest country, economy and major influencer for the next century up close. They have more in common with their American rivals than they realise: both very nationalistic and often hard to reconcile the messages coming out of the federal government with the experience of meeting the local people one-on-one - where they know the real score and are super friendly. Place is very safe and although not a smiling culture, the people are welcoming, approachable and eager to meet foreigners. They are now probably more capitalist in outlook than the West – it’s all about the money baby, without the hindrance of political correctness and health and safety gone mad.

China is a great place to visit, would recommend to anyone.