Fall 2025 : China

Une aventure de 22 jours par Mark E & Janine En savoir plus

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Début du voyage
30 septembre 2025
Fall 2025 : China
Leaving Chicago
30 septembre 2025, États Unis ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F
VoyageurWhoo Hoo 🙌
30/09/2025Répondre
VoyageurHave fun!
01/10/2025Répondre
6 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
San Francisco
30 septembre 2025, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F
Quick stop in San Francisco
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2 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Just a 13 hour flight :(
30 septembre 2025, États Unis ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F
VoyageurMan that’s a long one.
01/10/2025RépondreTraduire
VoyageurAnd I thought our 7.5 hour flight from LAX - Papeete was a stretch!!
01/10/2025RépondreTraduire
4 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Roaming around Shanghai on our own
3 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
Took a walk from our hotel around Shanghai. Walked along the Suzhuo River, then roamed the People's Park, toward the Huangpu River and The Bund. Walked along The Bund & made our way to Yu Garden via Gucheng Park & through Yuyuan Bazaar, a huge marketplace that was nothing short of population chaos thanks to the Chinese national holiday 'Golden Week' which celebrates the beginning of the Chinese republic (1949).En savoir plus
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Fall 2025 : China
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Walking Shanghai with tour group
4 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F
We covered a subsection with the tour group of what the two of us covered on our own yesterday: a bit of The Bund, a walk through Yu Gardens, lunch in Yuyuan.
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Voyageur The technology China has is amazing. Ahead of the US?
17/10/2025RépondreTraduire
Janine WestlundHi Mary! I'd say they're adopting automation earlier than we are. It's certainly eye-opening to see.
17/10/2025RépondreTraduire
5 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Between Shanghai & Suzhou
5 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
The drive between Shanghai & Suzhou was an illustration of vast differences.
Shanghai is built as a 3-ring roads system. The inner road is pricey: only ~12% of the population can afford to live there. We were told a 2bd/1ba apartment, ~1200 sq ft can be >US$1mil. Purchased real estate can only be owned for 70 years; however what happens then is not yet known (our guide said the rule went into place in 1990, but Uncle Google suggests the Property Law went into effect in 2007. Either way, both are less than 70 yrs, so the "next step' has not yet passed).
Shanghai's population is ~25mil people (!!); Suzhou is ~13mil. Many people retire to Suzhou for a more affordable lifestyle.En savoir plus
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3 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Day trip: Suzhou
5 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
Suzhou is ~2hrs west of Shanghai. Often referred to as 'the Venice of the East', Suzhou has a vast series of canals surrounded by a staggering volume of retail. Being a national holiday, we not only experienced the extraordinary volume of local tourism but also got to observe a related local custom of Chinese women getting makeup & dressed up in traditional attire (oftentimes rented for the day) to have their picture taken (via professional, friend or even selfie) in one of the many beautiful venues in & around the canals and gardens.
We took a ride along one of the canals, wandered a few of the retail-laden areas, had lunch in a local restaurant and ended with a visit to one of Suzhou's many garden areas: The Master of Nets Garden.En savoir plus
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VoyageurAmazing pictures
17/10/2025RépondreTraduire
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Fall 2025 : China
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Marketplace, Jade Buddha Temple, silk
6 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 90 °F
Last day in Shanghai: we visited a market where locals shop for their food, a silk store (for the inevitable 'tourist retail' stop), and the Jade Buddha Temple.
At the end of the day, we went to the airport for our flight to Yichang where we'll drive ~1 hour to where our boat is docked on the Yangtze.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Fishy
14/10/2025Répondre
VoyageurPosted to the wrong trip??
14/10/2025RépondreTraduire
Janine WestlundYup, my bad. 🤭
15/10/2025RépondreTraduire
Voyageur That’s cool
17/10/2025RépondreTraduire
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Fall 2025 : China
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Tribe of the 3 Gorges & Three Gorges Dam
7–15 oct. 2025, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 81 °F
A geopark in the Xiling Gorge attempts to introduce guests to the primitive way of life, historic folk culture & traditions across Ba, Chu & Tujia cultures.
In the afternoon we visited the Three Gorges Dam: the largest hydropower plant in the world.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Yes lovely
17/10/2025Répondre
Voyageur You must be enjoying the performance and culture.
17/10/2025RépondreTraduire
Voyageur ❤️
17/10/2025Répondre
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4 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Evening Entertainment
7 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 84 °F
It's not big-ship quality, but pleasantly entertaining just the same.
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Fall 2025 : China
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Shennong ferry, Top of the 3 Gorges
8 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
In the morning we took a ferry up the Shennong Stream.
In the afternoon we got to a viewpoint offering a panoramic view of all three gorges.
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Voyageur Beautiful
11/10/2025Répondre
Voyageur 🤯
11/10/2025Répondre
Voyageur Nice 🙂
12/10/2025Répondre
Voyageur Great pic!
12/10/2025Répondre
6 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Xiaoguanshan Cultural Park
9 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ 🌙 79 °F
Today we docked near Fengdu in Chongqing. We explores Xiaogyansgan Ancient Folk Culture Oark with its recreated ancient residential buildings, courtyards, temples, wood carvings and city gstes.
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4 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Traditional Dance
9 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 91 °F
Within Xiaoguanshan is a small theater where we enjoyed a few performances featuring traditional Chinese arts.
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VoyageurBeautiful
20/10/2025Répondre
2 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Disembarkation, flt to Xi'an, Muslim Qtr
10 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F
We disembarked in Chongqing & transferred to the airport for our flight to Xi'an. On arriving, we headed to the Muslim Quarter for lunch & to observe the vibrant markets.
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3 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Dancing locals, Terra Cotta Museum, Silk
11 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ 🌧 57 °F
Morning visit to Xingqing Park -- a hub of local activity where there a groups who regularly start their day together in exercise, singing &/or dance. We had an opportunity to join in on a local morning dance/music gathering. On the other side of the park, our guide's mother was engaged in an exercise group with whom she has participated every day for the past 25 years. (!)
We then went to the Terra Cotta Museum to view the bronze chariots & horses (~1 mile from the warriors). It seems carving large-scale sculptures of bronze is 'easy' and the real skill is carving smaller pieces. As such, the Emperor had these chariots & horses carved at 1/2-size of real life; he was, in effect, 'showing off'.
After the museum we headed to the silk shop for the requisite tourist-shopping experience. The silk creations were aMAZing (as were some of the prices). All were true works of art!!En savoir plus
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3 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Terra Cotta Warriors, Tang Dynasty
11 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ 🌧 59 °F
Bucketlist monent: the eponymous Terra Cotta Warriors!! The Terracotta Army is a collection of life-sized clay sculptures of the armies of Qin Shi Huang(b.259 BC, d211 BC) the first emperor of China (247 - 221 BC), created to protect him in the afterlife. He was a significant influence to China: organizing the empire into units & subunits (today's subdistricts & communities), assigning administrative appointments based on merit instead of hereditary right, standardizing the weights, measurements, currency and chinese characters, prescribing a standard wagon axel length for roads to facilitate transport, and more. He was also apparently a tyrant.
I guess nice guys can't always get it done. 😉

In the evening, we enjoyed a Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show. A 6-course meal served while watching a beautiful dance performed by the Tang Dynasty Troup accompanied by Chang'an music.En savoir plus
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VoyageurAmazing to see. We have just been to exhibition in Perth of Terracotta Warriors. Seeing the whole complex would be incredible. So happy for you both
11/11/2025RépondreTraduire
4 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Hutong Tour
12 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
Hutongs are lanes no wider than 9 meters formed by lines of siheyuan (compounds comprised of rooms around a courtyard) that connect the ancient city surrounding the Forbidden City. As is tradition, the houses of Old Beijing were constructed in this form on the basis if Fengshui: the ancient Chinese practice of design & spatial arranging.
We traveled through this area on a rickshaw & visited with a local family who allowed us into their home.En savoir plus
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3 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
The Great Wall: Juyong Pass
13 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F
The Juyong Pass is about 50 km (~31 mi) from Beijing.
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VoyageurFabulous to see. Good exercise!
11/11/2025RépondreTraduire
4 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Liu Ding Liu Shia; Summer Palace
13 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F
Liu Ding Liu Shia is the combined name of this Deity Hall that sits just beyond the entrance to the Juyong Pass base.
After our Great Wall experience, we toured the Summer Palace: a resort of the Emoress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty. She had de facto control of the Chinese government from 1861 until her death in 1908. Quite an interesting history about her. The Summer Palace covers a vast area (2.9km/1.1 mi, 3/4 of which is water) and includes Longevity Hill, Running Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge.
-- Fun fact: the lake was entirely man made, & the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill.
The Chinese don't waste anything. :)En savoir plus
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3 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City
14 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
What a day . . . what a place.
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Fall 2025 : China
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Olympic Structures & CUTENESS ALERT!!
14 octobre 2025, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F
Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics; we couldn't visit but we're able to drive by a few of the notable structures that are still being used.

And regarding the alert: don't say I didn't warn you . . . be prepared for a genuine 'aawwwww' moment.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Quite large!!!!
20/10/2025RépondreTraduire
Janine WestlundRight? Thank you for not asking me to bring one of THESE back for you! 🤣
20/10/2025RépondreTraduire
VoyageurSo cute
12/12/2025Répondre
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Fall 2025 : China
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Hong Kong
15 octobre 2025, Hong Kong ⋅ ☀️ 88 °F
We had to get up at stupid o'clock to catch an 8a flight to Hong Kong.

We are enjoying this trip, however the heat: not so much. We think (hope) this will be the last leg of these silly temps.

We arrived around noon, met our new guide Cisco who shuttled to our hotel and then took us on a brief walking tour of the area. This evening most of us just skipped dinner & grabbed some much-needed sleep.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Whoa 😮
20/10/2025Répondre
2 j’aime
Fall 2025 : China
Hong Kong Island Tour
16 octobre 2025, Hong Kong ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
Hong Kong is not a municipality but refers to an entire region (specifically the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China). It's governed by the 'one country, two systems' principle since the 1997 handover from the British.
We stayed in Tsim Sha Tsui, a southern part of Kowloon (a district on the mainland of Hong Kong).
Today we drove to the island of Hong Kong --- via tunnel built under Kowloon Bay!

Fun Fact: 'Kowloon' means '9 dragons' & refers to the 8 mountains and an emperor.En savoir plus
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Fall 2025 : China
Continuing Hong Kong Island tour
16 octobre 2025, Hong Kong ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
We headed up to Victoria Peak, then around Repulse Bay & Beach, ending the day w/ a little jazz 🎶.
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Fall 2025 : China
Lantau Island Tour
17 octobre 2025, Hong Kong ⋅ ☀️ 86 °F
We started with a cable car ride on the Ngong Ping 360 offering panoramic (360°) aerial views of the mountains and South China Sea. We climbed the steps up tp through bronze Buddha and then visited the Po Lin Monastery, a sacred Buddhist site.En savoir plus
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