China Project 2007

The night cruise on the river was awesome....a beautiful night and a trip around the harbor with firecrackers and all. After the cruise, we stopped off at the Internet cafe...hard to find, it was on the second floor of a shopping mall where everything was closed. As we came out we got turned around and one of the group wanted to go outside and try to find our way back...I had to insist on finding the elevator and going out that exit...easy to find our hotel from there....each street looks like a maze with everything in Chinese and few English signs....gives you a new perspective on how it feels to foreigners in the US.

Our breakfast the next day was really good...eggs, fruit and a great variety. We went to the Shanghai Museum with the option to go also to the City Planning Museum. I could have spent another three hours in the Shanghai Museum, After the museum we went to the Yu Yuan gardens...another Scholar's Garden...then a bit of souvenier shopping and dinner at the hotel, It was at dinner that we gave out our "awards" to the group, "most adventurous,"" most inquisitive," etc....After dinner we were treated to anothe Chinese Acrobatic Performance....the contortions were unbelievable.....

Have left west China and headed back towards a more modern city...the city of Nanjing (approx. 6 million) was a whirlwind trip and I think we hit most of the highlights....We met with the city officials, the mayor and the director of education (among others).Then it was off to the war museum honorimg the Chinese military....we were unable to go to the Nanjing Holocaust museum because it was being remodeled...a disappointment to many of us after reading the book, The Rape of Nanjing. We then visited the only Pagoda that I have been inside of...it was located in the gardens at.....(will fill in later) and eight of us climbed to the top...about 13 flights....each row of steps was one step shorter as we climbed...starting with 39 and ending with 26...the view was spectacular..but the weather was awful and we were unable to see much past the fog....the humidity rivals Missouri and when we weren't being rained on, we were soaked with perspiration and eaten up by mosquitos....We spent the night in Nanjing  and then traveled to Sushou, the Venice of China....the weather was oppressive with 100 humidity, but the scholars gardens...The Lingering Garden and the Fisherman's garden were beautiful..... On to Shanghai on the bus.......the amount of construction and roads is unreal....Think Houston, doubled....the most fun was when the bus (a full sized greyhound) tried to back up a ramp because traffic was stopped....after a few minutes...traffic started moving again...and we were off....straight to the hotel in Shanghai and then, dinner....then off to a cruise of the harbor.....a very full day....more later....

We took a flight to Kashgar (it was only half full)and when we arrived at the airport, our plane was the only one. I really feel I am in a different world. After a good night's rest on a bed about like the floor, we got up and went to the local Sunday market. There are two, the livestock market and the city market and are both quite famous. The first pictue is the livestock market and the second the city market. Both were quite an experience.....