My trip to China was a lot of things, but it certainly was not boring. We went to China during the Bird Flu scare. Our flight first landed in Hong Kong, and from there we were to board a flight to Beijing. At the airport in Beijing, our plane was made to land miles away from the other planes, since Hong Kong was suffering from a bird flu outbreak. We were led to an alternate gate, that was really narrow, and had to stand in a lengthy line, while they checked all passengers coming from Hong Kong for symptoms of bird flu. I admit, the beginning of our trip was not very good and we reached our hotel that day, completely exhausted.
The next day we drove up north, past some Ming tombs, to the Great Wall of China, the only man-made structure in the world that is visible from space. The most beautiful feature of the wall, according to me, is the fact that it is not in a straight line, instead it winds its way around the contours of the adjoining hills making for a picturesque view. The wind blows in your face as you walk on the wall amidst a never ending babble of tourists; eyes darting from left to right and from back to front, taking in the ever-changing panorama around. The experience felt exhilarating, almost as though we were liberated from the shackles of the earth.
Over the next two days, we toured the city of Beijing and shopped our hearts out. The Forbidden City is really beautiful, and the long walk from one end to the other is absolutely worth it; after all, why would anyone want to miss the chance to travel through the lives of Chinese emperors! We also visited the Tienanmen Square, the world's largest city centre, and the site of the brutal killings in 1989. We also visited some Buddhist temples and the Olympic stadia. As far as the shopping was concerned, every evening we would get dropped of at one of the shopping malls or streets, shop for a couple of hours and then walk back to our hotel. Every shop would quote a price that is at least three times greater than the actual price. The key to shopping in China is haggling, and not losing one's patience while doing so. The shopkeepers are experts at haggling, and you really need to work hard at outfoxing them. On the whole it is a really fun experience shopping there and you should never miss it for anything.
The next day we left for Xi'an, one of the four great ancient capitals of China. There is a lot to see in this ancient city, such as the Wild Goose Pagoda, the ancient city wall, atop which one can see spectacular views of the city, and the Bell and Drum towers; but the most extravagant of them all is the tomb of Qin Shi Huang and his terracotta army. This World Heritage Site consists of over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 520 horses, all made of terracotta and then baked in order to withstand decay. The army was buried along with the Emperor to protect him in his afterlife.
Our next stop was Shanghai, China's largest city and financial capital. The first building that hits the eye is the Pearl Tower, that consists of an observation deck and a restaurant. The city has some beautiful gardens based on feng shui. We also visited a small town called Suzhou near Shanghai where we could see a beautiful network of canals and bridges and small Chinese boats.
Our last stop was Hong Kong. The city looks beautiful especially from the sea, as you take a boat ride in and around the harbour. We did not have enough time to visit Disneyland, but we did enjoy our time in the city.
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| Great Wall |
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| Great Wall |
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| Ming Tomb |
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| Tienanmen Square |
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| Forbidden City |
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| Forbidden City |
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| Water Cube |
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| Bird's Nest |
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| Wild Goose Pagoda |
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| Terracotta Army |
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| City Wall, Xi'an |
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| Market in Shanghai |
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| View of Pearl Tower at night |
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| Canals in Suzhou |
Our last stop was Hong Kong. The city looks beautiful especially from the sea, as you take a boat ride in and around the harbour. We did not have enough time to visit Disneyland, but we did enjoy our time in the city.
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| Hong Kong |
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