Beijing – The Forbidden City
Arriving in Beijing in 2007, there were several places to visit first. The Forbidden
City was first on the list. Home to 24 emperors over the past 500 years, the Forbidden City is one of the world’s great historical sites. The paintings, the relics, the architecture are all truly breathtaking. Everyone should visit the Forbidden City and the Palace Museum
Harbin
Harbin – Heading northeast by train in the winter, the temperatures start to drop and the landscape turns to frozen tundra. One of the coldest cities in all of China, going to Harbin in late January seemed crazy at first. So much snow! But seeing the amazing Ice Sculptures warmed my heart – the amount of work that goes into the Harbin Ice and Snow World is quite remarkable. And the city is full of Russian influence, too. Quite an interesting city!
Shanxi Province
Shanxi Province – Chinese leopards are some of the rarest and definitely most beautiful of the big cats in the wild today. Only around 2,500 remain today. Traveling to Shanxi Province in 2008, I planned to explore the mountains and forests. My dream was to encounter a wild Chinese leopard – I am not sure what I would have done if that had actually happened! Maybe it’s best I didn’t see any in their natural habitat. But seeing them in the Taiyuan Zoo was pretty amazing.
Beijing
Beijing – The Great Wall is one of the world’s greatest achievements. How many kilometers is the Great Wall? 8,000? Very impressive indeed. I have visited around 6 or 7 places on the Great Wall – from Shanhai Pass (Old Dragon Head) through Beijing near Juyang Pass, all the way to western China.
Tianjin
Tianjin – Chinese lanterns, in a variety of designs and shapes and colors, are beautiful in the night sky. Traveling in Tianjin, I stumbled upon a lovely ceremony one fall evening. Over 100 red lanterns were released into the night sky – their small candles illuminating the bright red lanterns. They floated upwards to the stars – a truly breathtaking site.
Henan Province, Zhen Zhou City
Henan Province, Zhen Zhou City – Traveling to Mount Song, near Dengfeng, was quite an interesting experience. We had gone in search of the Shaolin Temple. And to see the famed Yellow River. The whole time was spent learning about the different times in history of this place, known as the bread basket of China. And the localized version of Mandarin was interesting, as well
