As a child I, Keith,  was always fascinated by China and Chinese artefacts. When I was at school we had to do various projects and the only one I can remember after all these years is an essay I did when I was in the fourth year (year 10 in the modern world) which was about China. I suppose the interest was because it was a closed country and still under the rule of Mao Tse-tung known as chairman. As a closed country there was very little known about it’s immediate past but lots about it’s ancient history.

Many years later coming back from Edinburgh the train I was on had to divert to Manchester so I got stuck at Carlisle station for 2 hours. As a keen photographer at the time I bought a copy of Amateur Photographer and sat by a coal fire in the changing room and read a majestic article about a man who had gone to rural China and took photographs. These pictures were breathtaking and something that I had never seen the likes of. The photographer sold his pictures and made enough money to cover his whole trip plus buy new equipment and pay for his next adventure. This was the time that I decided one day I would visit China. The opportunity came when we came across a tour with a company called Wendy Wu, this is where the adventure started. The tour was called the Glories of China and began on 28 May 2011 ended 10 June 2011 and visited Shanghai – Guilin – Yangshuo – Xian – Beijing

This is the world’s most populous country with approximately 1.4 billion people in an area of 9.6 million square kilometres. It is the largest country in the world after Russia, Canada and the USA.

The Chinese have been responsible for many inventions that have changed the world:

• Paper
• Gunpowder
• The crossbow
• Sericulture, which is the process of extracting Silk from Silk worms
• The Abacus
• Tea

Chinese Food

Throughout this trip we saw some unusual food including chicken’s claws being served for breakfast and live Frogs/Toad’s for sale in a supermarket. The more unusual things were:

Snake wine – which is produced by infusing whole snakes in rice wine or grain alcohol. It’s considered an important curative and believed to reinvigorate a person according to Traditional Chinese medicine. The snakes, preferably venomous ones, are not usually preserved for their meat but to have their “essence” and/or snake venom dissolved in the liquor.

Cats and Dogs – Just up this street is the entrance to an indoor market where dead cats and dogs were hung up for sale. We didn’t take any pictures because to us this sounds inhumane.

Beijing

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China. With its unequalled wealth of history, Beijing served as the centre for the many different empires and cultures that ruled China and has been the heart of politics and society throughout its long history. The ancient monuments, the stories of days gone by as well as the dynamic and modern city Beijing has become today, make it a destination not to be missed.

Guilin and Yangshuo

Guilin is one of China’s most stunning and panoramic cities and was founded during the reign of the first Chinese empire, the Qin Dynasty. It is renowned for the unique beauty of the mountains that fringe it. Guilin developed as a trading town due to the building of the Ling Canal which links the important Pearl and Yangtze River systems

Shanghai

This the most populated proper city in the world with 24 million people living their. It is also the largest container port in the world sitting at the south edge of the Yangtze delta. It was once known as the ‘Paris of the East’, Shanghai is now one of Asia’s most influential cities. Prior to communist arrival in 1949, Shanghai was a city with European-style mansions and was the most important trading port in Asia. Today it presents a blend of cultures; the modern and the traditional, along with the European and oriental. Modern skyscrapers intermingle with 1920s ‘shikumen’ buildings. This combination is what attracts millions of visitors each year

Xian

Xian has long played a pivotal role in China’s extensive history and has been a thriving hub for cultural exchange, economic trade as well as national politics for centuries. Home to some of China’s most ancient sights, diverse architecture and delicious fares, Xian is a must see destination.