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Dream of China
  • Vic Rempel
  • Vic Rempel

Dream of China

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Fengdu on our own

    2 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Went ashore on our own but what a process to get off the boat. Had to sign a waiver (see picture) that states “since I’m not willing to follow dock safety rules of no disembarkation by ourselves.....”. Interesting street food which I would love to have tried but don’t want to take any chances to spoil my vacation.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    On our way to Chongqing

    2 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    One thing that has amazed me is the size of some of the cities on the Yangtze River. Many of these cities are relatively new and were established when the three gorges dam was built and the low lands were flooded. The government relocated millions of people and paid to move them. The city in the pictures is very modern and has all the glamour of any western metropolitan city. We were told the Government will often build high-rises on spec so they can keep their unemployment low. In some cases these buildings will sit empty for many years. Also construction on many projects run 24/7.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Travel to Xi'an

    3 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    One hour and 10 minute flight to Xi’an although total elapsed time from leaving for the airport, flight delays and travel to our hotel was about 6 hours. The joys of traveling between large cities in China. Xi’an has a population of 10 million. Lots of posted rules. The picture below was inside an elevator. Staying at a Holiday Inn for the next couple of days. Had a western style supper just to change things up. Actually the pizza was quite good.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur
    11

    Tarracotta Army

    4 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

    The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE,[1] were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, People's Republic of China, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.

    The young boy in the picture came running up to me and wanted to practice his English. So we exchanged some pleasantries, took a a selfie and then he gave me a big hug. Giving hugs is quite special since showing emotion as we learned today is not a Chinese custom.    En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Dumpling Dinner and Cultural Show

    4 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Lovely dinner of 18 dumpling varieties. Some had interesting flavours but most were eaten and enjoyed. On to Louyang early tomorrow morning by high speed train.

    The Chinese are celebrating tomb sweeping festival during the next 3 days which is a traditional Chinese festival on the first day of the fifth solar term of the traditional Chinese lunisolar calendar. This makes it the 15th day after the Spring Equinox, either 4 or 5 April in a given year. People will burn pretend money on street intersections in a circle to show respect for family members who have died. We saw a number of these fires while traveling around today and now know what it represents. Traffic is expected to be quite congested over the next couple of days as a result.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Leaving Xi'an to Luoyang

    5 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌫 8 °C

    Leaving for the train station to catch a high speed bullet train to Luoyang.

    When we ask how long the bus trip will be to the various locations the standard answer often is about one and a half hours depending on traffic. LOL.

    Streets and highways are beautifully manicured with shrubs, flowers and trees everywhere.

    Lots of farm land between Xi’an and Luoyang. 70% of China’s population are farmers.    En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Luoyong

    5 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Arrived from Xi’an by bullet train. Very comfortable and quite. We were a little worried about getting off the train with all our baggage because it only stops for 2 minutes at each stop but good planning and coordination by our tour guide made it quite easy

    Population of Luoyang is 6.8 million, small by China standards.

    Yellow River tributary shown in the picture.

    Low profile toilets are standard in most public washrooms but hotels have western style toilets.

    English translations for the lavatory sink are google translations so that would explain why they don’t make much sense.    En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Longmen Grotto

    5 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Toured the Longmen grotto. Because today was a national holiday they estimated there were approximately 500,000 visitors alongside us today.

    The Longmen Grottoes are some of the finest examples of Chinese Buddhist art. Housing tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples, they are located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of present-day Luoyang in Henan province, China. The images, many once painted, were carved as outside rock reliefs and inside artificial caves excavated from the limestone cliffs of the Xiangshan and Longmenshan mountains, running east and west.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Nightlife in Luoyang

    5 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Ate supper then booked into our hotel and went for a walk. Drivers and pedestrians have a total disregard for traffic lights, rules and each other. I’m amazed that there are not more accidents that we have seen.

    It is not unusual to see families with their children on one scoter as shown in the picture. Even infants are tucked away on the floor in front of the driver. Forget about baby car seats.

    Came across a group of seniors exercising on the sidewalk and were very friendly.    En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Temple Shaolin

    6 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    The Shaolin Monastery also known as the Shaolin Temple, is a Chan ("Zen") Buddhist temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China. Dating back 1,500 years when founded by Fang Lu-Hao, Shaolin Temple is the main temple of the Shaolin school of Buddhism to this day.

    Watched Kung Fu demonstrations. There are 35,000 students learning the art of Kung Fu at this location. Again there were hundreds of thousands of visitors here today giving a new perspective of crowded spaces. Interestingly the crowd was quite orderly.

    We were often asked to pose for pictures with local visitors and exchange a few words of English.    En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Zhengzheu to Beijing

    6 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Traveled by coach to Zhengzheu to catch a bullet train to Beijing. This is a 3 hour trip traveling at approximately 300 km per hour. Great way to travel with lots of room and comfortable ride. Although they have security and X-ray scans of luggage at the train station entrance the staff are very young and quite inexperienced creating a lot of confusion and unnecessary searches of our luggage.En savoir plus

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  • Vic RempelDream of ChinaVoyageur

    Flight home

    7 avril 2018, Chine ⋅ 🌙 4 °C

    Started to load the plane at 3:10 with scheduled departure at 3:25. Then once on the plane they advised there will be a further delay as they had not finished fueling the plane. Finally started to taxi at 4:00pm 35 minutes late so we are hoping that our shortened connecting time of 1.5 hours is enough to clear customs and catch our flight to Winnipeg. Got to Vancouver and they have already rebooked us on a later flight to Winnipeg. It will be a long travel day arriving around 10 pm.En savoir plus

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