• Curious by nature
  • Curious by nature

China

A dream country since I read Pearl Buck novels... Read more
  • Trip start
    April 1, 2005
  • Beijing

    April 4, 2005 in China ⋅ 17 °C

    the Great Wall of China (about one hour via bus from Beijing), 21,200km long and no, it can't be seen from the moon, that's a popular myth but not a fact.

  • Beijing

    April 6, 2005 in China ⋅ 16 °C

    tiananmen Square, the entrance to the Forbidden City (biggest square in the world), surrounded by official buildings like 'the palace of the people'.

  • Xi'an

    April 8, 2005 in China ⋅ 10 °C

    Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road and home to the Terracotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

  • Xi'an

    April 8, 2005 in China ⋅ 10 °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 with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife.Read more

  • Shanghai

    April 15, 2005 in China ⋅ 20 °C

    Shanghai, city of superlatives: at the Yangtze River, 25 million people, financial hub, the Bund, the world's busiest container port..... we had drinks in a bar on the 80th floor, the elevator's speed is comparable with taking off in the Concorde...Read more

  • Shanghai

    April 16, 2005 in China ⋅ 15 °C

    Entertainment at night, folklore evenings (52+ languages/local dialects in China, tons of minorities with their own costumes and customs)

  • Shanghai, the Bund

    April 16, 2005 in China ⋅ 22 °C

    The Bund is a waterfront area in Central Shanghai. From the 1860s to the 1930s, it was the rich and powerful center of the foreign establishment in Shanghai, operating as a legally protected treaty port. Various buildings in Neoclassic style make you aware of the Western influence in those days. The Bund is known for its colorful street markets where you can buy everything fake (from Gucci purses to Rolex watches and pirate DVD's..)Read more

  • Li River Guilin

    April 20, 2005 in China ⋅ 17 °C

    A day on the Li River, the river vendors are sliding by on their bamboo floats, never loosing their foothold during transactions

  • Guilin

    April 20, 2005 in China ⋅ 26 °C

    Guilin, existing for 10,000+ ears, one of China's most popular tourist destinations. Main attraction is the Li River with its picturesque Karst mountains, a scenery often used in Chinese paintings.

  • Li River

    April 20, 2005 in China ⋅ 25 °C

    Seafood lunch, prepared in the "kitchen" at the rear of the boat, with snake-wine (aphrodisiakum, only for the men in the group)... all the women didn't want any anyway

  • Li River

    April 21, 2005 in China ⋅ 24 °C

    Kormoran fishermen along the Li River. the birds are excellent fishers but have their necks closed with a string so that they cannot swallow. They are trained to bring the fish back to their handlers.

  • Guangzhou

    April 22, 2005 in China ⋅ 26 °C

    Guangzhou also known as Canton on the Pearl River, 75km north of HongKong and 145km from Macao (gambler's paradise). Guangzhou has a history of over 2,200 years and was a major terminus of the maritime Silk Road and continues to serve as a major port and transportation hub, as well as one of China's three largest citiesRead more

  • Macao

    April 22, 2005 in Macao ⋅ 25 °C

    Entertainment at night (it's either folklore, a friendship store or a bar).
    Macau was formerly a colony of the Portuguese Empire, after Ming China leased the territory as a trading post in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty until 1887, when it gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China.Read more

  • Guangzhou

    April 23, 2005 in China ⋅ 26 °C

    The markets and the Botanical gardens (the scorpions in the red bowl are for soup, still alive).

  • HongKong

    April 28, 2005 in Hong Kong ⋅ 25 °C

    HongKong (in 2005 still under British Rule) is densely populated and is one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports. The markets and fashion tailoring are incredible and so is the food, based on Cantonese Cuisine. We took the ferry from Canton to Hong Kong and a taxi to our hotel in Kowloon (remember the book "Suzie Wong"?) Very colorful and vibrant city, from Victoria Harbour to the immense skyscrapers all over town.Read more

  • Kowloon

    April 30, 2005 in Hong Kong ⋅ 28 °C

    ... and that's where our China trip ended - Evi and Walter took the plane back to Kloten and I left for Los Angeles

    Trip end
    April 30, 2005