Day 14

This morning we went on a tour of shanghi. First we went to the Bund. This is their water front where there is a view of some of the amazing skyscrapers in the city. Some look european, gothic, some very high tech and lots of interesting shapes. Then we went to an old chinese quarter of the city. It is one of the few areas of the city that looks chinese. It was packed. I mean wall to wall body pushed against body for 6 square blocks packed. It was insane. We went there to see another garden.

Next we went to a silk factory where we learned about the process of gathering silk from the silk worms. It was very interesting. When the silkworm, which is a rather large catapillar, finishes making its coccon the coccons are boiled to kill the worm. If it becomes a moth and breakes out of the coccon it is ruined. From one coccon they get 1.5 km of silk!!!!! They had a store full of clothing, sheets, etc. Some coccons are bigger and that is because 2 worms made a coccon together therfore 2 strands of silk make the coccon but is is are tangles and they cannot use it as thread. This silk is used to make filling for duvets and pillows. They were so nice, no feathers to poke you.

Next we went to the World Expo. We all went to the Canadian Pavillion first. We could skip the 3 hour line up and go right in with out passport. Then we went to other sites It was pretty cool.

Day 13

Day 10

We set sail at 10 last night. It really felt like China on the water looking at the city of Chongqing from a distance all lite up. Chongqing has a population of 32 million. This morning we woke up and were docked at Fengdu, known as the Ghost City. It has been around for almost 2000 years. Ther were Confucist, buddist, and taoist temples. We were told the beliefs of the after life for these people. At the top temple were the guardian of the afterlife waited I lit 2 candles ( representing the eyes) and 3 insence sticks to ask for a long healthy life for my parents, myself, and my children. I was also given a passport to heaven.  We had information sessions on reflexology, accupuncture, and the river. I had a massage and we had a formal dinner with the captain.

Day 9

We left Guilin this morning and flew to Chingqing. Our first stop was to go and see the pandas. They were soooo cute. We also say red pandas and a 48 day old south china tiger. There are only about 22 left in the wild. We then went to a museum where we learned about the Three Gorges Project. Next we walked through a market. Outside there were live chickens and ducks for sale and right next door they would slauter it for you. Inside, downstairs, we the meat market. It was smelly and bloody. I saw cuts of meats, tails, fish(alive and dead), animal tails, eels, and more. Upsairs was more to my liking, freash fruits and vegtables as far as you could see.

We had Hotpot for supper. this is a pot with a smaller pot in the middle. the inner pot has broth, spices, and some vegtables. The outter pot has the some with no spices. The pot is on a burner in the middle of the table. the broth is brought to a boil and then you add what you want to eat. their is a buffet table with things you can add. there are things like, fish, chicken, lamb, mushrooms, tofu, and then there was ox stomach, blood, and snake skin. I went with the tamer items.

Next we boarded our river boat for a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze River.

Day 8

This morning we went to a pearl factory. South China is famous for their cultivated pearls. Our guide opened an oyster and pulled out a beautiful round whitish/pink pearl. Very cool.

We then drove to the Longshen Terrace rice fields. Their are 3 main minority groups in China and they live in this area. These minorities are allowed to have two children and many still live in their traditional ways. We saw many people in traditional outfits. One group only cuts their hair once in their life, age 18, and never again. however they use their cut hair as a sort of hair piece on top of their head, worn in different ways after they are married and when they have children.

 We walked a thousand or more steps to reach a great view of all the rice terraced fields below. What a work out, but it was worth it.

Day 7

Today we went on a boat ride on the Li River. The land is made of limestone so over hundreds of years of erosion some magnificant landscapes have been formed. Along the river you could see water buffalo, farmers use them for plowing their fields and for meat. We also say cormorant birds waiting to go fishing. In the evening fisherman take the birds they raised and with a string around their neck they dive down and collect the fish in the water. They cannot eat them because of the string around their neck. when they are done then they are fed. I actually got a sun burn. It only goes down to about 0 C in this region.

Next we went to an amazing cave. there were huge stalactites and enormous caverns. It was like being in an alien world. Definatly a highlight of the trip.