Shanghai to Beijing

Before I leave Shanghai, let me show you where I ate breakfast every morning. This great spread featured western and Asian dishes, but it was the setting that made me feel like an imperialist. There is nothing like toast and jelly in a Victorian ballroom.


As we left Shanghai on a bus, we were reminded about the ever changing landscape of this enormous city. The older portions of the city, where the European colonial powers held sway, is either being renovated or torn down to make way for modern buildings. It is hard to find housing for 19 million people.


We rode in a bus for 2 hours to the south to reach Tongli, a thousand year old water town. In this part of China, many towns were built around canals in the marshy land of the Yangtze delta. To give the place an authentic feel, China's version of Grandpa Jones entertained us on his two string "violin banjo thing." However, please notice the white amplifier at his feet.



Below is one of the canals we traveled by boat. People still live and work on he houses on the canal banks.

Oddly enough, in the middle of this maze of houses and canals, there is a Catholic church. So far, this is the first one I have seen in China. Tomorrow we will be at Tiannamen Square, and there are a few large cathedrals near by. Your faithful blogger will try to find one for you.

And, what would a photo blog of China be without a picture of a rice paddy. So, here it is:


After a two hour flight from Shanghai, we landed at the Beijing airport. According to our guide, the Beijing airport terminal has bypassed The Pentagon as the world's largest building. Below is a wing of the new terminal that opened just in time for the 2008 Olympics.


Just outside our hotel in Beijing is the city's main shopping district. Some teachers, fed up with the oily and saucy Chinese we have feasted on the past three days, crossed the street for a taste of home:Some said they would like to go to KFC tomorrow, which is China's favorite fast food.

Tomorrow, we visit Tiannamen Square and The Forbidden City. Then, in the afternoon, we will visit some Chinese schools. Stay tuned!

Chuck Newell
Citizen of the World
Beijing, China
10/14/08