China 02
16 Day Classic Yangtze River Experience
Pacific Delight Tours

May 3, 2002 - May 17, 2002

Preface:  When visiting Asia we suggest that you visit both Japan and China.  While there are similarities, the two cultures are as interestingly different from one another as any we have experienced in our travels throughout the world.  Try it and see what you think!  On another note, this page uses "thumbnail" pictures to expedite loading but please take advantage of the opportunity to view each one in a larger format.  

This tour began in the states on Thursday, May 2 with a stopover in Tokyo on May 3.  That's where we joined it after just having completed the Pacific Delight Tour in Japan.  That tour is chronicled under "Travels" at Japan 02.

Our North West Airbus left Tokyo at 7:15 p.m. and arrived in Shanghai, some 1200 miles distance, at 9 p.m.  Two other couples and we were met by Mr. Wu, the Pacific Delight guide, at the new Pudong airport.  A Toyota van took us down a modern freeway to the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel where we arrived at 10:30.  Our room, overlooking the Huangpu River, was very nice and we quickly took advantage of the opportunity for a good nights sleep.

There was constant traffic on the river, more than 20 in a narrow view at one time.  Barges filled with who knows what and a broad spectrum of sizes and shapes of other vessels paraded in both directions providing us with sights not commonly seen.  Click the picture to enlarge it.

Our lavish buffet breakfast at the hotel prepared us physically for the upcoming challenges of a day full of sightseeing.  The nine of us in our Pacific Delight Tours group met Mr. Wu in the hotel lobby and we were soon on our way on this cloudy Saturday.

First stop was the Children's Palace where youngsters receive special training in the Arts.  We visited several music classrooms, another for dance and one where Chinese character writing was taught.  The young man pictured below had just written my name on the sheet beside him.  You might enjoy seeing the larger view by clicking on the picture.

We visited the beautiful Shanghai Museum, then the Jade Buddha at the Jade Buddha Temple pictured below.

Next on our schedule was a Pearl Factory where we were shown the methods of cultivating pearls and of course an opportunity to buy them.  Lunch at a hotel provided lots of choices in the colorful buffet.  It was across the street from a Silk Factory which we visited after lunch.  The techniques of making rugs was demonstrated; their silk rugs were spectacular.

We then drove into the Bund District, across the river from our hotel.  The normal population of Shanghai is about 17 million but another 5 million visitors had packed the city this weekend.  After a slow drive during which we observed Chinese of every age and description we stopped in Old Town to shop.  Chinese Vodka and wine was purchased in one of the many small and crowded stores that lined the park like area.  As in Japan, nationalities other than Asian were few and far between.  Dotty is pictured below but is only a click away from a larger view.

By late afternoon we were back at our hotel to freshen up and get ready for the night activities.  We had our tour welcome dinner party at a very nice restaurant.  If you will kindly click below I will introduce you to the members of our tour.

Our evening was spent at a very large theater that presented magicians and acrobatic teams galore.  This was the one place where we saw other than Asian folks.  There were quite a few Germans present.  One of the more spectacular acts is show below; the larger view is spectacular.

We could have enjoyed a longer time in Shanghai.  So much of it is new and modern, more than 4,000 high rises, most of which were built in the previous five years.  The architecture is beautiful and each building seemed to be designed by a different architect.  The Chinese have been careful to provide plenty of parks in the midst of all the new construction.

After a two hour drive by bus to Zhouzhuang, Mr. Wu turned us over to Retina, a young and energetic guide who was entertaining and informative.  Our group had a leisurely walk through this picturesque waterside town, sometimes referred to as the Venice of China.  It was very crowded because this was a holiday weekend.  All the shop keepers hustled us to buy whatever they were selling; food, post cards and all kinds of merchandise.  The city was famous for its ham hocks and pigs feet.  Dotty is checking them out in the first picture and the veggies in the second one.  Click on them!

We crept across the bridge in the background of the picture below as that is all you could do with the mass of people surrounding you.  It is called the "Double Bridge" and there is a painting of it that is quite famous.  The American, Armen Hammar bought the painting and then presented it to the Chinese people.  We did not see the picture nor do we know where it is exhibited.

After lunch we boarded the boat below, just the nine on our tour plus Retina.  One of the crew members is sound asleep up front.  He was not the Captain!  Along our route we saw other boats like the one below plus lots of fishing nets and duck farms.  There was no dock at our destination but that didn't stop us from departing a few feet away from our waiting bus.  All three pictures are enlarged by a simple click.

Our ninth tour member, Al, left us once we got ashore.  I hated to see him go.

A short ride later and we were in the charming garden city of Suzhou.  We checked into the Suzhou Hotel & Towers and nearly got lost finding our room.  The hallways are arranged like a maze but afforded interesting views of little courtyards and gardens from each room. 

Our buffet dinner at the hotel was superb!  I had two bowls of ice cream!  Following a good nights sleep and a delicious buffet breakfast we were eager to see this ancient city.  Suzhou goes back some 2,500 years and is not a small city as it appears.  Nearly six million people live in the metropolitan area.

Retina first took us to the Lingering Gardens where she explained the symbolism of Chinese gardens.  Rocks represent mountains, water the rivers, plants forest and buildings represent people.

Traffic in Suzhou was like that in Shanghai except even more chaotic because of the smaller streets and greater congestion.  Cars, buses, vans, motorcycles, scooters, bikes and people appeared to be in constant conflict but somehow managed not to collide.  Crazy!  Thank goodness I didn't have to drive in it.

Our driver skillfully navigated through the chaos and soon arrived at a silk factory and retail store that was filled with expensive silk merchandise; shirts, dresses etc.  After a western style buffet lunch at the cafeteria across from the factory we went back to work making silk quilts.  In the picture below the four ladies on our tour are guided by Retina in the art of stretching the silk.  It's harder than it looks!  Yup, we bought one!

We drove near the ancient Par Men City Gate which is the only existing water and pedestrian gate in China.  Nearby was a street that was loaded with shops, street vendors and beggars.  Dotty bought post cards and fans with some of our stash of one dollar bills.  To have them was advice well taken.

At the Beisi Pagoda pictured below, Dotty and I climbed to the 7th floor where we could better observe the bustling town.  That wasn't the top but tourists were blocked from the upper two floors.  The wooden steps were worn with the traffic of hundreds of years.  Click the picture to get a better view of the Laughing Buddha at the pagoda's base.

As we departed through the gardens one of the more interesting sights was this mixed group of elders playing cards.  After taking this picture they looked up to give our group a friendly wave.

That afternoon I wrote an e-mail message describing our tour and sent it to my pre prepared list of family and friends.  Every hotel where we stayed during our tour had computers and all were connectable to the Internet.  

After dinner at the hotel we attended an opera and musical performance at the Garden of the Master of Fishing Net.  Our tour group joined other individuals and moved from one room to another where we were treated to a variety of musical vignettes.  The instruments and dress of the participants were authentic and interesting to behold.  You may want to see just how interesting by enlarging the picture with a click of the mouse.

Next day, and after another delicious breakfast, we departed the hotel with our luggage.  Enroute to the Shanghai airport we had an interesting tour through the Suzhou Embroidery Research Institute.  We were able to observe the women doing double sided pieces and to break apart silk threads.  The pieces take from as little as a month to as long as one year to complete.  These artist receive approximately $200 per month in wages, more than average.  Their work was beautiful to behold and, once appreciated for the time and artistic skill involved, was a bargain to buy.  We did!

The expressway to Shanghai had beautiful medians and along the sides was landscaped with trees shrubs and flowers.  Retina taught us "eye" exercises along the way.  It seemed appropriate following the eye straining work of the silk artists.

What a great guide our Retina had been.  We wished we could have taken her on the remainder of our tour.  At the airport she got carts and helped us with our baggage.  After getting our tickets and seeing us to the security gate she bade us farewell.  Isn't she bubbling over with enthusiasm in this picture with me?  

Our flight from Shanghai to Wuhan was on time departing and arriving and took a short hour and a half.  We were met by another guide, Grace, who attended to our needs during our short stay in Wuhan quite well.

Wuhan is the sixth largest city in China with a population of approximately eight million.  Ford and Citron automobiles are assembled there and fiber optics is a major industry as well.  The immediate area is 26% water with fish galore.  Houses have to be purchased now where in times past they were provided by the government.

We were just in time to get in before closing at the Hubei Provincial Museum which contained more than 3,000 stones, fossils and bonsai.  A bonsai elm was the oldest at 300 years.   The fossils ranged in age from 100 to 800 million years.  After our flight to Wuhan we really didn't care about taking a tour in a rock museum but it turned out to be quite nice.

I wish we had traffic lights like those in Wuhan.  Each one had a large clock that ticked off the seconds until a yellow light would turn to red, a red to green and a green to yellow.  No more guessing!

Dinner at a revolving restaurant on the 27th floor of a hotel provided the perfect location to view the sprawling city.  

Following a leisurely dinner we were driven to our Victoria cruise ship to begin the Yangtze River portion of our tour.  What a welcome our group of eight received.  A band played very happily and loudly, probably because they were happy that the last of 57 passengers had finally arrived.

In less than five minutes from the time we boarded the ship we were in our assigned rooms with luggage waiting.  We requested, and were granted, a room change to a different room all of which took only a few minutes and refusals of tips offered to move our luggage.

A briefing for all passengers was held at 8:30 p.m. by the American Tour Director who had finished college at William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Naturally we hit it off.  A fellow Virginian!  We later discovered he had married a Chinese woman but she didn't accompany him on his cruises.

After the briefing, Dotty visited the Chinese doctor for some relief from eczema on her hands.  While the doctor appeared to be highly educated and could read and understand English, his ability to speak and understand spoken English was limited.  These limitations made for an interesting visit as we resorted to a great deal of gestures and written notes to describe her condition.  Total charges for the visit and ointment was $16.  And it included free follow up visits!

Man, the Yangtze is big.  And heavily traveled.  It is not deep, only as much as 20 feet in the deepest parts.  Neither seemed to be a burden for our experienced Captain and crew.

Our first meal on board was breakfast.  The eight on our tour were all seated at the same table, and served for the entire tour by Eva Lu, a patient and attentive young lady.  Food during our six days on board was satisfactory.  Foul odors had been described by some on some cruise ships, we experienced none during our entire cruise.  Service in every respect on the ship was excellent.

During the morning of our first day on board we stopped at Chenlingji and were organized into groups based upon language.  We were joined by 12 Brits whom we got to know quite well during the cruise.  Great folks!  Once organized we were taken by Lilly on a short bus ride to Dongting Lake where we climbed the three levels of ancient Yueyang Tower.  Foul weather obscured the views but not the feelings of being taken back in time.

Across from the lake we stopped briefly to shop and witness two very small, highly dresses performers.  Back to the ship for a lecture on the river.  Along our route we witnessed many workers putting down stones to minimize erosion along the river's edge.  During the past six years the river has experienced two 50 year floods and one 100 year flood; not good.  Barges loaded with building materials passed us in both directions.  Many of them had been hand loaded with rocks like the one pictured below.

That evening we met our Ship's Captain.  He has 28 years experience on the river but appeared far too young at 51 to have such a record.  There was Champaign toasting by the Captain as he came around to each table.  After dinner there was a really good fashion show put on by the crew.

It has rained nearly every day for the past two weeks and the river is muddy.  On this day three of the cruise we buy chances to determine when the lock gates through which we pass will open.  I was in second place and 50 seconds off from the actual time.  There were 10 ships in the lock with us.

After lunch we docked at San Dou Ping to view the Three Gorges Dam and the world's largest hydro-electric project.  Our English speaking group was met by our guide Gracie who took us to the museum to see a model of the completed dam and to hear an explanation of the project.  What an undertaking!  It had been first proposed by Sun Yat-sen (father of modern China) in 1919.  It's purpose then and now was to control flooding but now it has another important purpose, the generation of electric power.  Navigation will also be improved resulting in significant economic value to the inland regions.  The two major concerns focus around an inability to rid the basin of increased silt and the dangers feared because of the dam being built on a fault.  Water levels will ultimately rise 500 feet and result in the displacement of more than one million people.  Here Dotty and I are standing at the bank's edge with the dam construction in the background.  Certainly, this was one of the most impressive sites on our tour!

As we continue our journey up river we are impressed with cultivation on the very steep edges of the banks.  It must have taken tremendous efforts to not only terrace the sides but to build the houses and roads along the very rugged terrain.  Some of the slopes looked to be at least 40 degrees; steep! 

There was a considerable presence of coal mines and their long chutes down to the river.  Coal burning constitutes nearly 75% of China's energy and is expected to diminish significantly with the advent of power from the dam.  

Those persons who are displaced by the dam have three options.  They may move to another place but only if to live with a relative, or, move up higher in the general area, or to move into government built housing in the area.

The sun came out this afternoon and tonight we saw stars!  We are docked so as to be able to view the gorges in daylight.  

As we cruise through the majestic Xiling Gorge we are impressed with the height of the surrounding sides, an average of 2,000 feet above us.  We arrive at Wushan where we depart and walk up a substantial flight of stairs to a bus which takes us a short distance.  There we walk down a steep bank to board sampans.  Our entire contingent of 20 English speakers is aboard one boat with guide Jenny.  Jenny will talk us through our journey up the Daning River where we will see the spectacular Three Small Gorges.  The picture below is of the entrance to the gorges.  Click the picture to more clearly view the bridge which will be completely covered by water several years after the dam is completed.

Along our journey we saw monkeys and mountain goats.  There was a two century old hanging coffin that had been discovered within the past three decades.  At one time, these coffins were a traditional method of burial in this area and there were many of them up high along the river banks.

As the river narrowed and the water depth decreased the three men with long poles on our boat worked hard to keep us off the rocks.  When we weren't watching the boat's water path we checked the river banks for two foot deep holes where post had been placed to support walkways many years ago.  These walkway remnants were now hundreds of feet above the water but would soon be near, if not underwater.

Pictured below is one of many vendors that seemed always to be around.  In this case the lady was selling walking canes and perhaps a few other "essential" items.  As usual, a dollar would buy most anything.  Whenever we docked, our crew members would station themselves along our pathway to bid us on our way and to welcome us back as we returned.  Nice touch!

Back at the ship we joined our newly made Chinese American friends had come aboard just prior to our stop at the dam.  From left was Patrick, Nancy and her husband Paul from Los Angeles, Larry and Dotty, and Patrick's wife Helen from San Francisco.  They were fun to be with!  Do you know any of them?

Chinese along the shore and on passing boats were quick to return waves and smile.  Already there were evacuated homes and abandoned fields in anticipation of the water rising.

On day five we dock at Wanxian, a mountain city of 500,000 about half of whom will be forced to move as the basin is filled.  The city is more than 2,000 years old and is well known because it is the largest city affected by the dam.  The government is shutting down one street at a time by cutting off water and electricity.  I suppose it is an effective method of conveying the message that it is time to move.

In Wanxian we visited an ancient Burial Museum and visited the city market which I could best describe as chaotic.  Packed with people moving like ants around a nest.  Our time ashore ended with a very good acrobatic and magic show.  Why are the Chinese so adept at acrobatics?

Crewmember and River and China expert, Jacky, lectured in the afternoon.  We learned that education is compulsory for nine years and must be paid for.  97% attend for that length of time at least.  Taxes in China are not high.  There is limited social security and health care.  Military service is voluntary.  The press, radio and television are government controlled.  

Environmental problems are severe Jacky told us.  There are programs to address all of the problems but progress is slow.  National elections are held every four years but every two or three years at the local level.  Religion is open but few young people participate.  Judges decide penalties for infractions as there are no juries.  Penalties for drug use and distribution is severe.

There are ID cards and permission is required to move permanently.  We had several interpretations of this "rule."  In practice we concluded that a person generally can move about freely though might lose benefits under certain conditions.  It might be likened to our welfare system where a person is not necessarily guaranteed the same benefits if they decide to move.

While Internet access is open it is sometimes restricted by the government.  The young in China are particularly and increasingly being exposed to the outside world through this medium.

Jacky believes there has been great progress in human rights and democracy in China.  For 2,000 years China was controlled by a single person.  People understand and are happy with the progress.  Jacky is perplexed with Chinese who would want to leave China for another country.

This afternoon I had my first paid haircut in the past 31 years.  Dotty stood by to be sure that Cherry did it exactly as she would have.  I sat there nervously while she snipped and combed and smiled.  It wasn't that bad after all!

Tonight we were invited to have dinner at the Captain's table.  Joining us were David and Sue from Guernsey, Channel Islands, a German couple, two Chinese Americans from San Francisco and Greg, the Tour Director.  It was a fun filled evening.

After eating I took pictures of our English friends at their tables.  They were really fun folks to be with.

As we left the dining room we asked another waitress to take our picture with Eva Lu, our waitress.  Isn't her dress pretty?  Click to see.

We were up and prepared to disembark on our sixth day aboard ship.  Before leaving we bade goodbye to our 12 UK friends, our Chinese American friends (with hugs), a few Germans we had met and all the ship's staff.  We were sad to be leaving them all.  Just before we left we took one final picture with the two couples we became closest with during the entire trip, and they were with us for the River Cruise part only.  We've stayed in touch through e-mail since.

Our Pacific Delight group was met by Allen and taken to a van for a tour of Chongqing.  The water will rise only 10 meters here and no evacuations are expected.  This two century old city of six million near the head of the River basin is expected to benefit significantly from the increased navigation when the water rises.  Much larger ships will then be able to reach the area.

In Chongqing, we visited a zoo and saw two pandas and some beautiful South China tigers.  There was a gift shop with lots of animal paintings, none of which we purchased.

After lunch we stopped in front of the Peoples Grand Hall.  The government owns the building and the three star hotel located on either side of the theater which seats 4,000.  We could have but opted not to go inside but took pictures of the beautiful garden outside.  Lots of Chinese were staring at us as though seeing Americans was unusual.  Here is Dotty at the beautiful garden.  Click to see for yourself.

Our group then walked through a nearby farmer's market.  We passed through quickly as the odors were not pleasant.

Next was the Three Gorge Dam Museum where a guide showed us the 100 meter long wall mural.  The artist visited many places along the route affected by the dam.  Almost 500 kilometers will be affected.

Our luggage had been taken directly from our ship to the airport and put onto our aircraft destined for Xi'an without our having seen them from the time we left them at our cabin door.  It was certainly convenient but not conducive to good security practices.  After killing time at the airport playing cards in a noisy tea room, we boarded our plane at 5:40 p.m. and arrive in Xi'an just over an hour later.  Our guide, Xin, met us and escorted us to the Hyatt Regency Xi'an Hotel.  After a great hotel dinner I e-mailed our Second Trip Report to family and friends.

Xin met us after breakfast for our one hour drive to visit the most impressive thing on this tour, the life-sized terra-cotta army.  Buried for over two centuries with Emperor Qin Shi Huandi, they were intended to protect him from any foe.  No two of the pieces are alike and there were thousands of them!  Horses, concubines, chariots and  coachmen were included along with those bearing arms.  The entire complex and its contents took some 37 years to build.  It is recognized as one of the Wonders of the World.  Be sure to click on these to view the larger pictures.

After viewing the "pits" we went into a gift shop where one of the men who discovered the treasures was signing books.  1974 had been an especially dry summer and several farmers were digging a new well when they came upon one of the soldiers.  Recognition of the importance of the find was soon established and excavation and preservation of the treasures moved rapidly.  The site was opened to the public in 1979 with excavation continuing as resources permit.  Dotty and I are receiving a signature in the picture below.  The discoverer accepts no compensation for doing this and couldn't even write his name until the discovery.  He is paid a salary by the government.

Xin is pictured below describing some of the encased figures that were found during excavation.  She was an excellent guide and is described with the enlarged picture.

Lunch at the Terra Cotta Museum was most interesting and delicious.  A demonstration of handmade noodles was ongoing during our meal.  There were quite a few Caucasians and three tables of Japanese tourist.  After lunch we went back into Xi'an and visited a jade factory.  

Upon leaving it began raining very heavily which resulted in traffic jams and cancellation, by our choice, of our late afternoon activities.  While stuck in traffic we learned that Xi'an's population inside the 14 mile long wall that circles it is about two million.  Another three million reside outside the city wall.  It was clean, had wide streets lined with trees and had lots of upscale shops.  Affluence was apparent.

Xin said that there are no personal taxes, only those imposed on businesses.  Not many people are covered by either social security or medical care.

After freshening up at our hotel, we departed for the Tang Dynasty Theater for dinner and a show.  The costumes themselves would have made a show; the music and artistic performances made it spectacular.  Our dinner was delicious as well.  Every seat in the house was taken and it was apparent why.  You can appreciate our accolades when you view the larger picture.

Next morning we were off to the airport for our flight to Beijing.  It was another of the always on time and efficient flights we experienced in China.  An hour and a half later and we had arrived and were met by Chan, our guide for the remainder of our tour.  Enroute to our hotel we stopped at another for lunch.

The streets around Beijing are broad and are lined with locust, maple, willow and pine trees.  Traffic was heavy but seemingly more civil than in the crowded cities we previously experienced.  It was apparent that the preparations for the 2008 Olympics were well underway.

The Temple of Heaven was our tour destination for the afternoon.  It featured the largest circular building in China.  The place was packed with lots of tourist.  Our Palace Hotel was only a short distance away and we arrived there at 4:30.  

Chan met us for dinner which was in a very nice restaurant not far away.  We had an excellent meal before returning to the hotel at 8:30.  Dotty and I walked a bit outside then retired.

Next morning we were off to Tian An Men Square.  Traffic was orderly and the roadsides were clean.  The Square was packed and the queue waiting to see Chairman Mao's mausoleum was several blocks long.   The enlarged shot shows some of them.  It was an impressive display of the regard the Chinese hold for their fallen leader.

The Forbidden City extends from one building to an open area to another building and so on.  We wandered leisurely stopping to view the buildings and sculptures outside.  

Dotty received many admiring looks.  We were approached by two women who wanted to have their pictures taken with us, I think I was asked only because Dotty was with me.  We obliged and appreciated their expressions of gratitude for this simple gesture of friendship.  Neither spoke any English but words weren't necessary.

One of the more interesting things I observed was a group of soldiers drilling.  Their drill incorporated an extraordinary emphasis on balance, often halted with one foot in the air while they just stood there.  They are pictured below along with a picture with Dotty near one of the many buildings inside the City walls.

Our lunch was at the Friendship Hotel which was built by the Russians during the period of heightened trade between the two countries.  Lunch was good but the aggressiveness of the upscale shop keepers inside was unexpected and annoying. 

On the way to the Summer Palace we visited the Cloisonné factory where we had an opportunity to observe the operations responsible for this beautiful enamel-ware.  Multiple layers of enamel are used with thin strips of metal to create the unique decorations.  Shopping was permitted of course.  

The Summer Palace was most pleasant and peaceful.  We took the long walk through the covered way with it's beautiful decorations.  The concrete boat was built many years ago for Queen Dowager and used for teas.  Click to enlarge.

We departed on the boat below and enjoyed a brief ride on beautiful Lake Kunming.  As you can see, it was filled with passengers, many of whom found we "round eyes" to be interesting.

A Dinner of Beijing Duck at the hotel captured a very interesting day.

And now for the second most important and impressive part of our tour; the Great Wall.  We departed our hotel at 8:30 for the rather long ride to the Baldaling Wall, also known as the Republican Wall because it is the section visited by American republican presidents.  Democrats favored another section for some unstated reason.  During the several hour trip we questioned our guide about things of interest.  These are some of the things we gleaned.

In 1949 pronunciation of words was standardized to Mandarin.  The name Peiking was slowly replaced by the older pronunciation, Beijing.  In 1911 Sun Yat Sin changed China from an Emperor guided country to a Republic.

According to Chan, less than 30% of the population lives in cities of 500,000 people or more.  The major needs of China are education, political effectiveness and efficiency, social security and the environment.  Since 1980 the philosophy of the "iron rice bowl" has been replaced with one that places greater emphasis upon individuals to make do for themselves.

Our group was taken to the beginning of the wall where tickets were purchased and we were launched on our way.  Our guide went back to wait for us at a hotel.  Dotty and I were two of the four in our group that made it to the top.  It was a tough one hour climb up and down and certainly made us appreciate the difficulty of building this massive project.  At the top we purchased a certificate to validate our reaching the high point of this part of the wall.

With aching legs and feet we were happy for the comfort of our bus.  We had lunch at the Friendship Store which, in addition to the dining area, was filled with busloads of tourists searching for bargains.  One is pictured below as she tries to find the perfect jacket.  And she did of course.

Our final stop for the day was at the Sacred Way which was lined with statues of warriors and mythical beasts.  We are beside one in the picture below.  At the end of that 40 minute walk we made a short walk to view an Emperor's Tomb.  We had reached the Grand Finale of our formal sightseeing!

After dinner at our hotel Dotty and I shopped for gifts among the multitude of small shops that lined the street near our hotel.  It was fun bargaining and interesting to watch them run to another shop to find just the size we wanted when they didn't have it in their stock.  It was the ultimate in vendor cooperation.

Before we board our flight for home, a few observations.  The Chinese are very friendly and industrious.  Traffic tends to be chaotic.  There is constant horn blowing, to no avail.  Road lane paint is meaningless.  Everyone seems to believe that they own the space they occupy and are not afraid of anyone or any vehicle trying to take it from them.  Others are simply ignored.

With one exception, our many guides ranged from good to excellent.  One however was more interested in reading his newspaper, sending us off on our own and talking on his cell phone than attending to his responsibilities as a guide.  No doubt his tips at the end reflected the dissatisfaction of our members.  

Chinese drivers are very skilled.  Our own drivers certainly fit into this category.  They are masters of anticipating and detecting movements of others around them.  As a result, collisions are infrequent.  I was impressed!

Finally, we cannot praise Pacific Delight Tours enough for the smooth coordination effected to ensure we were always met, kept, then sent off by competent guides and drivers.  Our accommodations were as advertised and exceeded our expectations at every turn.  The food was always safe and, if not always prepared to satisfy American tastes, certainly edible.  This is not to diminish a number of superb dinners and nearly always excellent breakfasts.  It was a wonderful tour and recommend it and Pacific Delight Tours highly.  And to think they did all of this with only eight of us!

The journey back home began at 5 a.m., luggage out then breakfast at 5:40.  Our bus departed at 6:20 for the 30 minute ride to the airport.   A short three hour flight brought us to Tokyo where we changed planes.  Eleven hours and 20 minutes later we were in Detroit.  Immigration clearance in Detroit was inefficient and lengthy and appeared to have little to do with security.  After a seemingly endless wait we took off for our brief flight to Dulles.  It was a total of 15 1/2 flight hours and 27 elapsed hours from our wake up in Beijing to our daughter's house in Clifton, Virginia.  Not bad!

While the entire flight home went smoothly, being welcomed home by four of our grandchildren and daughter and son-in-law made the long journey seem insignificant.  It was good to be back in Virginia!