Dragon Boat Festival in Hangzhou

So I've returned from Kunming to attend the famous Dragon Boat Festival! Our Chinese partners took it upon themselves to guide us around Xixi wetlands and show us the Dragon Boat Festival. The original plan was to have a picnic and then go to the Xixi wetlands to watch the race, but after finding out that the race started at 12 and not 1, those plans changed. We grabbed some street meat and jumped in a cab and raced off. We were all lightly clothed because Hangzhou has been hit full by blast by summer. We bought some tickets and had to walk for a long time before we found an area that wasn't too crowded, but it was still fairly difficult to see. Right as we were passing over a bridge, one of the boats took in too much water and sank. Despite my attempts, I was unable to get a picture of a sunken boat. The Dragon Boat Festival is kept from ancient times, and is very popular and very interesting in China.
There were a ton of boats in the water, all man powered. The bridge we were passing over was considered both the start and finish line. It wasn't really a race between boats on the water at the same time, but it was a race to see who could get finish a lap the fastest. We happened to be stationed right after the bridge, so all of the excitement and energy was lost. John and I wanted to see the real action and so we left the group to go find a better vantage point, which was difficult considering how crowded it was. After about an hour of craziness we went off to have a boat tour. The tour was nice and tranquil, but we were still uncomfortably hot. A couple of people had to go early, and the rest of us were getting hungry, so we headed to West Lake for some food. The Chinese students took us to a restaurant with authentic food from Hangzhou. We had spicy tofu, duck, fish, potatoes and onions, some kind of sweet bread thing, sushi consisting of pear, salmon, and horseradish, the festival food with rice inside of banana leaves, all kinds of good things. A good day, a good dinner, a good video, and a decent travel blog. Tomorrow is for Suzhou.

Shanghai

(Shanghai literally means "by the water")...
After a 06.40 bus from Huang Shan, we arrived in Shanghai at about 1.30 in the afternoon. From the long distance bus station, we took our first ride on the metro system to the centre of town.
To be fair, it was a Saturday, it was July, and the Shanghai world expo was on! We would have booked, but we didn't know when we were going to arrive, and were a day ahead of schedule anyway!
FINALLY....Shanghai, we are ready! Hotel, check....not moving for 3 nights....absolutely! We walked along the Bund, took a crazy train across to Pudong district where we went up the worlds 3rd tallest building and viewed Shanghai from the 100th floor - very impressive, if a little smoggy. We explored the French concession area which was very nice with its wide tree-lined streets and calmer nature! After much walking we rewarded ourselves with a Peking duck dinner, even though we were not in Beijing, it was still as tasty! Another scorcher of a day in Shanghai and we visited the Shanghai Museum with an impressive collection of all things Chinese. Outside we enjoyed the beautiful weather and blue skies in the park before walking to Old town to visit YuYuan gardens, a beautiful traditional Chinese garden and rockery complete with pond and coy carp. We had the traditional "xiao long bao" for lunch which are famous shanghainese dumplings, and after explored the rest of Old town...which is actually quite new looking but has been made to look traditional. Under the ornate buildings there is still a Starbucks! There are some bustling side streets if you explore a bit though! We went back to the bund, to another park, and the people's monument before watching the sun go down and the lights of Pudong sparkle once more.
The self service machine provided much confusion so we got in line for the counter, and I had a good conversation in Chinese with the sales person, and could tell her what time we needed our train because tomorrow was our day trip to Suzhou....

Mutianyu Great Wall and Kung Fu Performance

Ni hao from Beijing! Today was a very exciting day for all of us as we travelled to Mutianyu to climb high up on the Great Wall of China. We had beautiful weather today, again a high of 34C but the sun was shining and the skies were blue which made for perfect conditions for our climb. We travelled about 1.5 hours by coach out the site and went up to the wall in orange coloured cable cars. This part of the Great Wall is over 300 years old and was built during the Ming Dynasty. Once we got up to the top the students began the huge climb up and down the stairs and throught the watchtowers leading up to the highest point at this section of the wall. The final pinnacle is about 200 steps with an incredible view of the large mountain ranges in the distance. This section of the wall has 22 watchtowers that you can climb through and explore and even climb to the top of to get a better view. At this point the wall is made mostly of bricks and large slabs of granite rocks and is about 7-8 meters high. While this section of wall is 22km long and we did walk a fair distance of it, there is still maintenance work being done at the actual peak. It was so exciting to watch the students on the wall today. They took time to stop and admire the scenery, take some awesome photographs and especially at the end of our climb, they were so supportive of each other and us, the supervisors as we all made the long and arduous final climb to the top! I think that the students really got a sense of the sheer size of the wall and could even think about what it would have been like to have worked on the construction of the wall over 300 years ago! They say that it is the only man-made structure that can be seen from space. May be that means that even as little specks on the wall today that we could have been spotted wearing our green TDSB shirts from space! What an incredible adventure and memory for all of us. We have been talking about it all day and no doubt will continue to reminisce about this adventure of a lifetime shared together. After lunch we headed back to Beijing for a rest and to clean up before we headed out for a nice dinner and the performance of the Legend of Kungfu at the Red Theatre. Tonight’s performance of the Legend of Kungfu was definitely a treat and a highlight for the students. The story is about a young boy named Chun Yi and his experience in working become a Kungfu Master. The acrobatics, music, and choreography were awesome and the students really enjoyed the performance! We are all back at the hotel now packing and hopefully sleeping at this hour as we leave to fly to Shenyang in the early morning! We are hoping that the temperatures might be a little bit cooler in Shenyang, nonetheless, we are starting to get used to the heat here in Beijing. We have had a very busy but exciting time here in Beijing with lots of great adventures and what better way to end our time here with an outstanding climb on the Great Wall!

One week in Chengdu, and the Lovely Pandas

So we were going to be spending one week in Chengdu, we booked to see the Pandas at the Panda Breeding Base the next and we really wanted to make the most of it as we were really looking forward to seeing the pandas! We went with a tour group, and they took you to the Panda site really early so that you caught them in time for feeding time where they are active, most of the day they just sleep! We saw the young pandas first, and they were so sweet!! It wasn't too busy so we got some very good views of them! We then went to see the red pandas, which are beautiful and have more of a mischievous look about them. The big pandas weren't in sight as much when we saw them but we saw them none the less! The pandas were like children in suits, they had some real human characteristics! After we saw a new born panda, which hadn't even grown his black and white fur yet, and then we went to watch a very corny but nice documentary on Pandas and what they do at the breeding base. Before leaving we had a short stop at the Panda museum. Was a really lovely morning, just wanted to pick one up and hug them!
We decided to add some variety to our stay in Chengdu and booked into another hostel for the last 5 nights. Over the 5 days we relaxed, explored the city, visited Dufu Thatched Cottage, Wuhou Temple, etc. and watched a lot of movies! There was also a hot pot night for people in the hostel. There was lots and lots of food, veggies meats etc and there was too massive pots of broth, one very spicy and one mild. Each person had a small bowl of coriander, oil and chilli. What you did was put in what veg and meat you wanted in the communal pots, and then wait a few minutes then take it out with your chopsticks and eat! It was all very tasty and very hot!
Then we left Chengdu for Shanghai, for the World Expo.

Huanshan Mountain—So Beautiful

We arrive the Hangzhou bus station and take a tourist bus to Huangshan. We arrive around 3:00 and pack backpacks and leave our suitcases at the hotel. We share the ride up the mountain with two Israeli sisters who were also on the bus from Hangzhou. We ascend up via Eastern cable car. We were so excited to finally be there! Typically the wait to ride the cable car is hours long, but since we got there at the end of the day - no line! We got to the top and it was quite misty and a little wet. We hiked around the summit - going to "Beginning to Believe" peak, which was all white from fog. The Israeli girls didn't have a hotel booked and they looked for accommodations. Francis and I stayed at Beihai Hotel, the only 4 star hotel on the summit. Everything in the room was clean. Considering that everything used or consumed in the hotel needed to be carried up by porters or a very expensive cable car, the hotel was pretty nice. We continued to hike more, with hopes that other areas would be more clear. No mountains - anywhere. All we saw was fog with some trees peeking through. We went to bed around 8:30 pm to wake up at 5:00 am to see the sunrise. I saw amazing pictures of the sun rising behind the mountain peaks. The sunrise was even more beautiful than the pictures! Unimaginably beautiful!!
Then we visited the Scenic area in the mountain, with a guide speaking English. As we do not have many days for our China trip, we took the cable car to the foot of Huangshan Mountain, expecting the second day to the very famous ancient Xidi and Hongcun Villages.

Longsheng Terraces and the Acrobatic Show

We spent the afternoon wandering around Elephant Hill (a hill with many paths, a nice view and wild pot plants growing on the sides of the foot paths) and taking the path along the lake and river back to the hostel. The next day we were on a trip to see the amazing Dragon’s backbone rice terraces, and the hill-side village of Longsheng. The trip to the rice terraces was a bit overwhelming, on a air-conditioned tourist bus, we arrived at the Ping ‘an village where we were herded into the village like sheep and told to buy tickets to watch some hair show (the woman of the village cut their hair once in their life, when they were 18.) which we passed on and opted to wander around the village alone while the hoards of people went into to watch some woman and their long hair. We then hurled up a mountain road twisting and turning as the bus came close to flipping itself over numerous times, we eventually made it to the top, alive and safe and sound (phew). A good half-hour hike up the hill found us at a restaurant for lunch and just in time for the heavy seasonal rains to start!! We lucked out though, it poured the entire time we were eating and stopped just before we got ready to continue the journey up the hill. Another hour long hike with many other people and many amazing views and we found ourselves at the top of Longsheng Terraces, looking out on what can only be viewed as an engineering marvel of rice terraces. The expansiveness of the rice fields was amazing, and not because of the size, but how they managed to build so many onto the sides of these steep hills for miles and miles. After viewing the terraces from the many lookout points along the way up, it was time to trudge back down and through the hillside village of Longsheng. It was amazing to be up there, the majority of locals went about their daily lives as if we were not even there, and the few who had opened up shops were very friendly and smiled for every picture. The most amusing part of the trip up and back was the many tourists who opted to be carried up in old-fashioned people-carrier carts.
Our last full day in Guilin we went to the Chinese acrobat circus, where we were treated to a show that could have been part of Cirque du Soleil, with high-flying acrobatics, spinning plates and a young girl balancing 5 flaming chandeliers’ as she twisted her body in ways I didn’t think were humanely possible. At one point a jolly Chinese clown came out, now as some of you may know Scott has a problem with clowns that he has never fully explained. When the clown came out everyone was cheering and clapping.... except David. I warned him that clowns pick on the people who don’t look thrilled and sure enough, within seconds of getting on stage he called upon David and another un-sure looking Chinese woman to be his assistant in a thumb trick. A rather confident looking David got up in front of hundreds of onlookers and wound up with the clown’s thumbs tied together wrapped around him. I think this was my favorite part of the show!! And so we find ourselves embarking on the 22hour journey to Shanghai via train. Shanghai here we come!! Expo, ridiculously tall buildings, and museums galore! We shouldn’t be bored in this international city!

Huangshan Mountain, Snow White

Huangshan Mountain aka Yellow Mountain is a beautiful place in Huangshan. It’s a favourite destination for tourists and photographers a like due to its height and its natural beauty. Our hotel is in Tunxi. I experienced this beauty first hand when we arrived at the base of the mountain on the 3rd of January. We were told to pack a night worth of clothing since we would be staying on top of the mountain overnight. This complicated matters a little for myself since I was already lugging around about 13 kilograms of gear on my back and needing my hands free to take photos. Fortunately I was able to attach a small pack to the waist clip of my backpack, which allowed me to operate the camera freely. On a China trip, Huangshan is where you must visit, because it is so beautiful. We took the cable car up the initial part of the mountain - its breathtaking! The view is amazing but unfortunately photography in the cable car is a pretty much a write off due to the tinted glass, but in the end it was
a minor hurdle since the real money shots were on the mountain itself. Before going to the ancient villages Xidi and Hongcun, we first climbed the Huanshan Mountain.
As we arrived to top of the cable car, the drop was considerable; looking over the side gave me extreme vertigo and made me realize just how small I was. The next part of the journey was the trek to the hotel, about an hours walk through numerous small pathways and staircases going both up and down, steep and gradual. Eventually we made it to the hotel, a modest building but very well equip with both cable TV and Internet. After dumping our gear in the rooms, my sister and I decided to go for a little walk through the area. We decided to take a scenic path, which would take us to a certain peak where a large hanging rock was located. We underestimated the distances as well as the steepness of the steps and we were forced to take numerous breaks on the way up to catch our breaths. Eventually we made it - the view was amazing, something I’ll never forget and the pride of actually making it up there and not giving up is something that will never leave me either.
The next morning we woke up to discover that Huangshan mountain has been snowed over, apparently a rare occurrence. The changes in scenery were stark, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow and visibility has also deteriorated. We continued the journey back to the cable car station. Now being a complete noob myself when it comes to walking in snow I decided that it would be a good idea to walk as I normally do - fast and without thinking to much about the terrain and for the most part it served me well - that is until I slipped on a downhill flight of stairs - twice - in my defence I was still carrying a full pack and my centre of gravity was affected, but I recovered and no permanent damage was done. Eventually we made it back to the cable car, back down the mountain and got on the bus to head to Sianxian.