Wednesday 9th March We arrived virtually on time and leaving the station it was amazing how many hundreds of people were all moving to the exit with our two faces, again, being the only European ones in sight. This has been the case since leaving Frankfurt! Somewhere to the left in this mass of humanity
Tuesday 8th March Today was a ‘getting there day’ and part of our circumnavigation that we didn’t expect to be making. However, Chinese railways have provided a way of seeing more of this wonderful country. The day broke with strong winds and drizzle and there had also been a dramatic drop in temperature. We did
Monday 7th March We write this after dinner when one member of the team had sweet and sour pork for his third time. We have had to change our plans as the container ship, MS Hanjin Geneva, has had its itinerary changed and consequently there is no other way for us to cross the Pacific
Sunday 6th March Overnight the weather changed and we awoke with cloud virtually to the ground and the tops of buildings impossible to see. We took the sightseeing bus around the city and from People’s Square, near the hotel, we passed through familiar territory to reach the waterfront at The Bund. Great disappointment!!! The opposite
Saturday 5th March Today we set out to discover the Shanghai waterfront known as The Bund. Leaving the hotel we made our way along East Nanjing Road which was once China’s most famous shopping street. Â Today it is pedestrianised and awash with neon signs and the same so called deigner label stores found anywhere
Friday 4th March This morning we crossed the sprawling suburbs of Beijing by taxi to reach Beijing South railway station. The public areas are circular rather like the first terminal at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris. In fact, it is more airport than railway station until one is on the platform. Like an airport
Thursday 3rd March Our mission today was to explore the Forbidden City. This has to be entered through Tian’an Men Square, which as we have already seen is the world’s largest public square, a mass of paving stones and a giant collection of 1950s Soviet-style buildings and ringed by perimeter fences that mean everyone has
Wednesday 2nd March Today has been a very special one. We have visited one of the ‘Wonders of the World’ – The Great Wall of China. When the team were younger and before GPS and other satellites, astronauts went into space with hand held cameras. It was from space that this single continuous structure was
Tuesday 1st March At the centre of Beijing is the Forbidden City from where Imperial dynasties have ruled since the 15th century. In front of this is the Tian’an Men Square made as a product of socialism and Chairman Mao. The Square is the world’s largest and is not particularly pretty and is very hard
Monday 29th February We awoke as the train was beginning its approach to Beijing. The scenery here is dramatic as the train crosses crop land, gullies and mountains which were the original gateway to Mongolia and beyond for the tea, silk and spice traders of the past. There are 60 tunnels to navigate and stunning