xie xie (thank you)

China is like your grandparents, quirky, wise, love able, and a sometimes a little backwards. But all in all you respect them and appreciate them. China is the same way. Our route through China was speedy, but it was well worth seeing as much of the country as we did. After Yangshuo we headed to the Yunnan Province and saw the old cities of Dali and Lijiang. Dali had changed a lot since my Dad had been there in the 80s but I am sure even then there were probably old women trying to sell him illicit substances, or dumplings, or both. Both cities are now very touristy with cobble stone roads that lead you straight to the KFC but still worth seeing for the minority food and culture, that is less than abundant elsewhere in China.




From Lijiang we took a plane to Chengdu the capital of Sichuan (and my favorite city), the home of hotpot and the Great Panda. Both were amazing and although the Pandas do nothing but eat bamboo and lay on their backs they are the national treasure. Pandas are slowly de-volving and now must be shown how to mate and care for their young. Thank god they are frickin adorable or else the Chinese would not go through the trouble of showing them Panda porn or teaching them how to love their babies.



In Sichuan we went to the Bamboo Sea outside of Yibin with our two friends from Dublin that we met at our hostel. It was a beautiful park full of waterfalls and about enough bamboo I need to see in my life time. Next we headed to Xian where we saw the Terracotta Army that was built by the Emperor Qin Shi Huang so that he could rule China even after death.


Then we took a 14 hour sleeper train to Beijing. Beijing was everything I hoped it would be, the city is massive and everywhere there is so much history its overwhelming. We hit all the sights necessary: The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, Tiannamen Square,The Olympic Arenas and of course the Great Wall. The Great Wall is the most impressive sight in China, I was completely blown away. I thought, oh a stupid wall, whatever but cynics beware, the Great Wall is a powerful place.




Five weeks in China is definitely not enough but it's a good place to start. Needless to say I was sad to leave and hope to be back one day. xie xie China.