Sunrise on Day 9 reveals Shanghai as a complex combination of modern high-rise apartments buildings and older neighborhoods.
On a dark and dreary morning we start with a walk along the Shanghai Bund and stop for a group photo …
… Then view the famous and somewhat obscured Shanghai skyline on the Huang Pu River Cruise …
After a tour and lunch at the Hua Ling Silk Exhibition Hall, we visit the Yuyuan Garden …
… And then brave the throng shopping at Cheng Huang Miao Market.
Of course, shopping is always better with Starbucks!
After foot massages at the Astor Hotel (an incredible experience!), we take in the Shanghai evening on our last night in China.
A short post today. Day 8 is mostly a travel day. We board the bus to Guilin Airport and then take Shanghai Airlines flight 9336 to Shanghai Hongchou Airport. After a late lunch at McDonald’s (again!), we visit the Yufuo Si Jade Buddha Temple.
Later we walk through the streets of Shanghai from the Liagna Hotel to dinner at Shanghai Daijicun Restaurant.
I’m up early thanks to a rooster crowing outside the hotel. Last night we arrived in Guilin after dark and had no idea what the city looked like. It’s a foggy morning after the surprisingly clear skies of Beijing and Xi’an, but, as we’ve seen so often in China, the city skyline is characterized by row after row of tenement buildings. What’s different here is a geography marked by striking karst formations soaring above the cityscape.
After breakfast at the New Century Hotel we take a bus to the Zhujang Wharf and board a small river boat for the Li River Cruise. During the river cruise lunch is prepared in a small kitchen on the back of the boat. We can’t see the kitchen on our boat, but we can see the kitchens as we pass similar river boats on our way down the river. Lunch features turtle soup and snake wine!
This is a popular vacation destination for the Chinese. The scenery is stunning …
The river cruise ends at a small town in Yangshuo County. We stop at the Riverview Cafe for coffee and I can’t resist ordering a Chinese coke …
It’s a 2 hour bus ride back to Guilin. On the way we stop to tour the Reed Flute Cave – sort of like the Chinese Luray Caverns …
Tomorrow we head to Shanghai.
Day 6 starts with a visit to the Xi’an Cultural Exchange Museum …
… And then on to the Dayan Ta Great Wild Goose Pagoda …
After lunch at the Chang An Hotel restaurant we walk on the Xi’an Ancient City Wall. Late in the afternoon we head to the Xi’an Airport and take China Eastern flight 2307 to Guilin. The airports in smaller Chinese cities are fairly utilitarian, but the Chinese airlines seem to be well run. On this flight the cabin crew is friendly, well-trained, and efficient. The plane is immaculate. And on the 2 hour flight to Guilin a hot meal is served!
The overnight train to Xi’an seems like it was made for a great night’s sleep. Gently rocking over the rails, I should have been out cold. But instead, still jet-lagged, I only catch an hour or two of sleep. There are four of us in the sleeper cabin, Ron from my tour group, and two people we don’t know. Aside from head nods and waving our conversation is limited. By morning we are hundreds of miles from the Beijing crowds and passing the tranquil fields on the outskirts of Xi’an …
We check into the Canaan International Hotel, drop off our bags, and get breakfast. Then we visit the Xi’an Banpo Musuem, the Terracotta Army Fatory, and the Huaquing Chi Hot Spring Palace …
The final stop of the day is the Terracotta Army Museum …
Discovered by local farmers in the 1970’s, an archeological dig has unearthed hundreds of terracotta warriors and other figures …