Nanjing 2011

Nanjing 2011, a set on Flickr.

Between Shanghai and Beijing we spent a few days in the city of Nanjing. We visited two main sites and a mountaintop park.

The first day we arrived by train in the afternoon and made our way south to the Fuxi Temple (Confucian Temple) near one of the city’s Ming wall sections.

The next morning we set out for a beautiful 30 minute cable car ride up to Zi Jin Shan (Purple & Golden Mountain) in the eastern suburbs of the city.

Located at the foot of Zi Jin Shan and just beyond another beautiful section of Ming wall, is a Ming Tomb. This is a joint burial tomb of the first Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma of the Ming Dynasty. We were particularly impressed with the Spirit Walk, lined with larger than life Carved animals to protect the spirits of those buried in the tombs.

Shanghai 2011

Shanghai 2011, a set on Flickr.

We were gladly Shanghai’d in October. The weather was warm, muggy and mostly sunny for the best part of our stay. On a previous trip in 2007 we really only saw the Bund and the Shanghai Museum. Both are fabulous but this time we decided to try to see some other things. We crossed the Huangpu river and spent a day in Pudong, the futuristic new high rise neighbourhood.

Our accommodation was at the cozy Magnolia B & B in the French Concession off Huahai Middle Road with easy access to the Metro and many sights, galleries, shopping district, markets and regular neighbourhoods.

As usual, food features highly in our travels and we were treated not only with great Chinese food (how many different ways can the Chinese cook eggplant? I love them all), we also indulged in an evening of excellent Vietnamese as well as a few rounds of Lillian’s famous custard tarts. This Shanghai branch of a Macau bakery was awarded the Portuguese Flag at the Shanghai 2010 Expo!

Shanghai is an exotic mix of Olde Worlde Chinese and European cultures and has world class shopping, transport and eateries. If I had to live in China, I think Shanghai would do nicely…

Sights and Food – Beijing 2011

Beijing 2011, a set on Flickr.

Since I could not access WordPress while away (it is blocked in China!) I failed to update this blog. But I wanted to share some photos with my lovely subscribers.

We were joined in Beijing by the lively Amanda Wong and while she did a good job as our ‘Chinese Decoy’, discouraging touts who assumed we already had a guide, we showed her some sights as she had never been before!

It was good to get back to Beijing and experience Peking Duck again and to go to a up-market restaurant for my birthday.

Other than the food, a highlight of Beijing had to be the Summer Palace. We had a perfect day for it. There are a few pictures here.

I will post a few more pictures of Beijing and work back to Nanjing and Shanghai. Enjoy these for now.

Via Flickr:
Sights and Food – Beijing 2011

Five Sense Fridays – coming soon

I am going to pilfer an idea I have seen on the intra-webs, where I document the past week by expressing what my senses have perceived each week. Shanghai will be a great place to start this. So look out for my Five sense Friday post each week while I am away.

This could carry over into my regular (non-holiday) blog as well.

Two more sleeps till Shanghai

Please QANTAS, cooperate and make our flights depart on schedule after today’s industrial action, or threat thereof…All going to plan we will arrive in Shanghai on Wednesday evening.

Got the accommodation we wanted at Magnolia B &B in the French Concession. It sounds like a charming place and the location is perfect.

http://www.magnoliabnbshanghai.com/aboutUs.html

Very excited!

Where to stay in Shanghai?

We would like to spend our first 5 days in China in Shanghai but we are having difficulty deciding on accommodation. We know we want to stay in the French Concession and probably in the Eastern part of it.

Trip Advisor and various blogs I have visited all have some wonderful suggestions but some of them don’t reply when you contact them about availability.

If anyone lurking around here has any suggestions, we are open. Noting too expensive (can spring for AU$130-150 if we have to, but prefer something in the AU$50-80 a night range). We’re all ears folks!

China 2011 – coming soon!

We are going back but this time, not for 6 weeks. Just two. Shanghai first and then Beijing.  Airfares from Australia were sinfully low (how often does that happen?) so we could not resist.

Roo and I didn’t spend enough time in the major cities of Beijing and Shanghai so we’re going to spend about a week in each. We hope to get to Nanjing and someplace on the Great Wall as well. In 2007 we visited Simitai Great Wall but would like to go to at least one other place on the wall.  The irrepressible Amanda Wong will be joining us for the week in Beijing.

Suzhou – 2007

Delicious!

Homework in Tongli – 2007

This young girl sat in the shop and did her homework, seemingly unfazed by the gaggle of tourists passing by and looking at her parent's wares.