My Travels:  China

中國大陸

Bai Di Temple 白帝宫,

Founded almost 2,000 years ago when a pretender to the

Han Dynasty believed he saw a magic tiger god here.

• China is nothing if not impressive. It is a fascinating country with a long interesting history, incredible scenery and great architecture. On the other hand, China can be a frustrating place to travel (with truly awful bathrooms) and has some miserable people. But this is far from universally true--for every xenophobic or corrupt jerk I met, I also met Chinese who were very friendly and hospitable. The bottom line is: Prepare for frustration, but it's worth it -- and it will rarely be dull. Some people love China; others hate it. I guess I love it -- this is why I have been there four times. Links are in place for pages that are completed.
   
• These scans are more than five years old and will eventually be replaced.
   
• The New China Page is Here

My Trips to China:

• China One:  Hong Kong (香港) and Guangzhou (廣州) -- June 1992.
  This was my first trip to China and lasted just a few days on a short trip to Guangzhou.  At the time I visited, I was still living in Taiwan and China seemed so poor and threatening.  As my time to return to America approached (I was due to leave in July), I knew that I had to see the "other China" before I left.  While it was certainly very different from Taiwan (esp. the relative poverty), there were quite a few similarities (like the music).   Although my trip was short, I was very happy to have come. 
   
• China Two:  Beijing (北京), Tianjin (天津), Hohhot (呼和浩特), Xiamen (厦門), Fuzhou (福州), Shanghai (上海), Guangzhou (廣州), Hong Kong (香港)-- September, 1996.
  This trip was the longest I took to China and lasted a month between covering much of September and October 1996.  Because it was worked related, I only had a little time on the weekends to see the country.  I flew all over eastern China and finallyy learned more about the "other China" I had learned about from the other side of the Taiwan Strait. 
  
  
• China Three:  Shanghai (上海), Hangzhou (杭州), Yichang (宜昌), Three Gorges (三峽) and Chungching (重慶) -- February, 1997.
  I took this trip in February, 1997 to see the Three Gorges before they disappeared because of the new dam which will flood the entire region.  As long as I had known about the geography of China I wanted to sail down the Changjiang (or "Long River" as it is known in Chinese) and the Gorges which are located in Henan and Sichuan Provinces.  As this site develops I hope to add more about my journey.  I also visited Shanghai and Hangzhou on this trip. 
  
   
• China Four:  Shanghai (上海), Suzhou (蘇州) and Wuxi (無錫) -- June, 1997.
  This was my fourth trip to China and was relatively short.  These photos came from my visit to Shanghai, Suzhou and Wuxi, which are all united being near the water -- Suzhou in on the old Grand Canal, Shanghai on the Huangpu River and Wuxi is on Taihu (Tai Lake).  
  

My Favorite China Links

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