January 6, 2010

China Wrapup

Posted by George and Ann under Beijing, China, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Shanghai, Terra Cotta warrior, Xian | Tags: , , , |
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Pandas enjoying some good bamboo at the Beijing Zoo

We are in Hong Kong ending the 2009 year, in the same hotel where we started the 5 week China journey.  We knew then that the next 5 weeks would be the toughest part of our trip because it was going to be the coldest.  It was cold.  We were lucky we did not have to buy snow boots only cold weather clothing.  At the Great Wall the wind was 20 mph and the temperature in the high 30’s.  Strangely on the wall for 3 hours we did not notice it because it was one of those moments where we said “Can you believe we are in China”.  Beijing left the impression of a really huge, wide city and it was our first encounter with the preservation of ancient thousand year old buildings along side the newer construction.  The city we were told is getting wider with the newer (more…)

 

December 24, 2009

On to the Warriors

Posted by George and Ann under China, Terra Cotta warrior, Xian | Tags: |
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Side street entrance off of city center Xian China

From Nanjing we flew to Xian, pulled our luggage through the airport, stopped at a information booth, they made a call, someone came, pulled our bags to a taxi, in 45 minutes we were in front of our apartment 1 block from what is called the city center.  We thought, this is too easy, this must be an extraordinary place.  The next morning we found out what city center meant. There was a large, ancient, worshiping bell tower surrounded by a 4 lane rotary with 3 car lanes and one bike lane coming in and 3 car lanes and bike lanes going out in the north,  south, east  and west directions.  There was a mixture of old ancient buildings mixed with newer buildings of traditional Chinese architecture. You can’t imagine this mixture because the city has (more…)

 

December 15, 2009

Special Day(s) indeed!

Posted by George and Ann under China, Nanjing | Tags: , , , |
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Doudou,Hongxuan and Yufeng around the breakfast table

When we were small kids we use to think we could dig a hole to China.  I don’t know how at that young age we would know about a country named China except through a plea from our parents to get children to eat all their dinner “Eat all your dinner because there are people starving in China”.  I hope we were trying to bring food in those days  because today they do not need any.

I find myself today in a living room apartment on the campus of the University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, China.  It belongs to a retired professor of mechanics at the university who is the father of Li Hongxuan’s husband, Tang Yufeng.  We have  finished a breakfast of egg and rice dumplings and some different (more…)