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The beginning of a 23 day trip through China. Including a 10 day, 1649 mile, river boat trip up The Yangtze River. Cities visited include: Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Lushan, Wuhan, Yueyang, Yichang, Wushan, Wanxian, Chongqing, Xian, Guilin, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.
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Tian An Men Square - Beijing. Background (right) is Maos tomb. Note the line to view Mao on the communist parties anniversary.
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In front of Maos tomb in Tian An Men Square. Statue features soldiers, workers and farmers striving toward communism.
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The Forbidden City. We had a half day tour of The Forbidden City - Remember the movie The Last Emperor? Notice the entrance to the city (bottom) then see the next photo.
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Entrance to the Forbidden City
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Our group of seven and guide Wang (left) at The Great Wall.
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Hike to the top of The Great Wall on a very hot day. The effort was worth the view. See the wall in the background. We fly to Shanghai.
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Shanghai - A Communist Party statue next to Shanghai bay.
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School children learning to dance in Shanghai.
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Yangtze River Boat (Victoria V) - The beginning of a ten day river boat trip from Shanghai to Chongqing (see map) aboard The Victoria V - 2660 km. We will make one or two stops each day at cities, towns and villages.
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City of Yangzhou.
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Full day hike on The Yellow Mountain in the city of Huangshan. This place is magnificent!
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Yellow mountain.
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Can you see the hotel on the mountain?
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Three Gorges Dam Project - The Three Gorges Dam Project is the largest dam in the world. Planned in the 1920Õs, exact site identified in 1949 and construction begun in 1991 with completion expected in 2006. This project will control flooding on the Yangtze River and supply ten percent of ChinaÕs power needs for its 1.3 billion population.
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The Dam Project - The Dam project will flood this area to the top of the bridge by 2006. Signs on the hill say Ò135m and 185m. New housing is being built on top of the hill.
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The Small (Lesser) Gorges - Day trip by small boat up The Lesser Gorges. Hanging caskets, monkeys and some river rapids.
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City of Wanxian.
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Lushan
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Chongqing - Government building in Chongqing. The last stop on our river boat journey is the Largest city in the world. Thirty one million people. In contrast LA and New York have populations of about ten million each.
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Cocktail party with new Friends Frank and Sharon (from California) who have a suite on the river boat.
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Our riverboat ends with a dinner party and on board entertainment from the crew.
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Dinner in Guilin.
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Guilin - Family in Guilin. China has had a one child policy for over 20 years and the population of China has stabilized.
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Guilin Market
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These are the famous fishing birds of The Li River.
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Terra-Cotta warriors at Xian. Olympic comission announces Beijing to have the 2008 Olympic games - People party in the streets.
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Memorial hall in Guangzhou to the communist philosopher and poet Sun Yat-Sen. Take the train to Hong Kong.
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Hong Kong Bay
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This is the new boardwalk in Hong Kong. Locals and tourists take evening walks.
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I was interviewed by four local High School girls doing a class project on tourism.
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Local, non English speaking, restaurants are the way to go for an interesting evening. The local people are nice and the food is great. Prices are in Hong Kong dollars so divide by 8.5.
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Small local kitchen in Hong Kong.
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Up the mountain by tram for a view of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak. The end of a great trip! THE END
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