Since we happen to be on the other side of the world, we decided to visit the other treasures we missed back in 2007 so we signed up for a tour with UNIWORLD from Beijing to Shanghai. Even though we've been to Beijing a few times before, it's always fun to see how other companies highlight their country. So we flew into Beijing, hit all the sites, then flew into Xi'an to see the Terra-cotta Warriors, then on to Lhasa in Tibet to visit the Potala Palace before we flew to Chongqing to see the Pandas & board a river cruise on the Yangtze River.
BEIJING: Tiananmen Square (In 2007 we were escorted off the square by the military...it was scary!)
The Forbidden City (The detail on these buildings is amazing!)...
A quick shopping excursion on their crazy public transportation (People were so nice & helpful!) where the guys were fitted for some new suits...
The next morning we went to a park for a Tai Chi memonstration. Senior citizens everywhere were exercising on all this grown-up playground equipment. We couldn't resist participating!
This rickshaw took us to our authentic lunch in the Hutong area of Beijing where we had a lovely lunch in a very modest home with the sweetest cook! So delicious!
We finished the day at the Great Wall exploring & then we had a private dinner at an amazing restaurant with an incredible view of the wall!
The next day we visited the Summer Palace & ended the evening with a "dumpling banquet!"
XI'AN: Terra-cotta Warriors - the previous night's dumplings did not agree with me & I spent a lot of the next day looking for bathrooms but this army is incredible! A farmer discovered them & since then they have unearthed about 8,000 warriors & horses still standing in battle formation & built this museum around them!
I felt better by the end of the day when we enjoyed a theatrical performance of music, folk dances, & gorgeous silk costumes of the Tang Dynasty.
LHASA: Potala Palace on the Tibetan Plateau, the cultural & historical capital of Tibet. We were so impressed by the devotion of these Tibetans. This is a sacred place to them and the circled shrines, with incense, chanting prayers, spinning their prayer wheels, prostrating themselves in humility over & over again. Beautiful architecture, the historic home of the Dalai Lamas where Buddhist monks still practice their faith. The high altitude made it difficult to walk around & climb the many steps of the palace but the sights were equally breathtaking!
This place was hysterical as the monks practiced their debate skills full of loud statements, hand clapping, and extravagant gestures - they were one of the most interesting parts of our visit.
CHONGQING: We made a quick stop at the zoo specifically to see their exhibits of rare red pandas & giant pandas before boarding our boat for our river cruise. Vicky & I seemed to attract a lot of attention with our blonde hair & fair skin, we felt like celebrities. People wanted to talk to us & take pictures with us, especially the children who wanted to show off their English skills.
YANGTZE RIVER: The Yangze River is the longest river in Asia. We didn't cruise all the way to Shanghai on the Yangtze, but we did cruise through the scenic Three Gorges area to the controversial Three Gorges Dam.
The Jiangshangmingzhu Red Pagoda Temple is an interesting place - we caught it in the rain. After building the Three Gorges Dam and closing its gates, the Yangtze River water backed up all the way to Chongqing. It would also have placed the bottom levels of the Red Pagoda underwater in the middle of the river. So, the Chinese Government authorized construction of a coffer dam around the site. Shibaozhai is now an island in the Yangtze River that you have to access on a wavy bridge.
The sheer cliffs of the Yangtze were stunning! Many of the small villages that were along the river's edge had to be abandoned & relocated once the dam was in place or they would have been buried in the waters. The government rebuilt modern houses for the displaced villagers. They even moved their shrines higher up on the hillsides to preserve them.
THREE GORGES DAM: is a hydroelectric gravity dam that spans the width of the Yangtze River. It is that world's largest power station. Made of concrete and steel, the dam is 2,335 m (7,661 ft) long and the top of the dam is 185 m (607 ft) above sea level. IT. IS. HUGE!
We didn't have much time to visit, nor was there really much to do but look at it. I felt like it was kind of an eyesore that disturbed the natural landscape, wildlife, & ecology of the area. We headed off to the Xiling Gorge to visit Sanyou Cave & have lunch in a restaurant in a CAVE! So cool!
SHANGHAI: Since we have been to Shanghai a couple of times, we opted out of their tour on our last day & chose to visit Shanghai Disney on our own. Vicky & I were in heaven! We loved seeing the Asian influence of the parks. Although many of the themes were the same, the rides were quite different. Tron was our favorite ride - it was crazy fast! We noticed that all the dancers/characters in the parade were Asian except the princes & princesses - they were caucasian. Mulan was the most popular princess & she ended the parade in spectacular form! We laughed during the fireworks show because EVERYONE watched it through their devices as they video'd the ENTIRE SHOW!
We spent our last night strolling The Bund & saying goodbye to Shanghai, China, & Uniworld. And I'm pretty sure this is my longest post ever.
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