1	"Beijing" Beijing, Great Wall, Suzhou, Grand Canal, Hangzhou, Shanghai by Wess & Fran Wessling
2	Welcome Officially, we were the ‘American Business Delegation’. Really, we were a group of mostly tourists, loosely sponsored by various Chambers of Commerce.
3	Day s 1 & 2 11/9-10/2007 Five hours by bus from Bellevue to Vancouver, BC, by Air China on an eleven hour flight across the International Dateline into tomorrow to Beijing, People’s Republic of China, by bus to our first hotel. This revolving door is the largest we’ve ever seen! It’s so big that it has potted plants IN THE REVOLVING DOOR on both sides! The man outside notes this quaint, provincial American that can be awed by a revolving door!
4	"We’re at the Days Hotel..." We’re at the Days Hotel and Suites in Beijing. This is not a Day’s Inn! This looks pretty nice! This is an auspicious start. The room is very nice.
5	"Fran admires a fish bowl..." Fran admires a fish bowl of small koi in the lobby. Note the marble wall sculpture behind the sofas. Fran’s red neck chain identifies us as a tourist, if that wasn’t already apparent. You’d think we’d never seen stuff like this before!
6	BEIJING TEMPLE OF HEAVEN MING TOMBS GREAT WALL Day Three – 11/11/2007
7	"After our first dinner and..." After our first dinner and a good night’s rest, we start out bright and early the next morning with the Temple of Heaven Park. Thousands of retired Chinese are in the park, doing tai chi, ballroom dancing and other exercise routines.
8	"The group in the back..." The group in the back are doing their exercises using trekking poles. The gal at the left was our Chinese group photographer and took all our group and souvenir pictures.
9	"Going through the admissions gate" Going through the admissions gate, we get our first introduction to Chinese architecture and art. The little red ‘2’ sign is held by our Chinese guide, Eddy, a very articulate guide who’s been all over the world, but never to the United States. Neither the U.S. or China will let him enter easily.
10	And just past the admissions booth, looking at the art under the roof.
11	This Hall of Prayer for Good Fortune is often called the Temple of Heaven, but that term actually applies to the whole park, which has several other altars and temples in it. We only got to see this one hall and its ancillaries.
12	The Gatehouse for the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, surrounded by other tour group members.
13	"This big blue picture frame..." This big blue picture frame says ‘Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests’.
14	"Up the steps for a..." Up the steps for a look inside. This hall has been recently restored for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. It used to be open to tourists, but the Chinese have discovered that bazillions of tourists do bad things inside buildings simply by their presence.
15	A look inside suggests the splendor of the interior. The look up was even more astounding, but was too dark for a picture.
16	"Here’s a view up into..." Here’s a view up into the interior copied from my Beijing book.
17	More Another small hall behind the main hall.
18	These are trash cans!
19	"An altar in the small..." An altar in the small hall.
20	"Carved stone slabs divide the..." Carved stone slabs divide the stairs leading from the small hall back to the main hall.
21	"This view through the gatehouse..." This view through the gatehouse suggests many more treasures beyond … and there are, but we didn’t have time to go there. It was time to …
22	Shop! We were taken to a state-owned jade factory and showroom. They had magnificent pieces, but we successfully resisted the temptations here. I think it was the only place where we successfully resisted …
23	Another of the jade factory’s ornate displays. There was this beautiful red jade vase …
24	After lunch, out to the Ming Tombs, again mostly closed to tourists now due to deterioration from being exposed to air. This sacrificial hall of Emperor Chang Ling is now a museum. The golden roof tile color was reserved to the royal family. Some concubines are buried in this valley. Their roofs are pink.
25	The People’s Liberation Army guards inside didn’t want their pictures taken here, but my camera went off accidentally. Too bad the picture is so blurry, they looked really sharp.
26	Some porcelain artifacts from this emperor’s tomb.
27	And some jade pendants from the tomb.
28	The Phoenix Crown of the Empress.
29	This Hall of Eminent Favor had the exhibition cases around the wall and a statue of Emperor Chang Ling, also called Yongle, in the center. The floor is false, laid over the original stone floor, and the columns are protected.
30	The pile of real and pretend money is for the use of the Emperor in his afterlife. The cedar columns are 43 feet tall.
31	"A roof detail on the..." A roof detail on the sacrificial hall. The more animals there are on the ridge line, the more prominent the sponsor of the building level. This level has nine figures. The second story roof line has eleven. In addition to the Emperor, perhaps his Empress is honored by this building. The wire along the upper roof line is a lightning rod. The netting under the eaves is to keep birds from nesting in the artwork.
32	Unfortunately, we did not get to see the Spirit Way, the statue-lined road most frequently associated with the Ming Tombs. This postcard view will have to do.
33	After a stop to see cloisonné made and sold, we traveled to Badaling, the most prominent tourist point for the Great Wall. Here’s a restored Gatehouse where the Wall crosses a narrow valley.
34	Rides were offered on a Bactrian camel. We didn’t have time to try him (her?) out. I think this was the second such camel we’d ever seen. The first was standing beside the road a few minutes before, apparently a local work animal. If we’ve seen them before in a zoo, it was a long time ago.
35	The western side of the Wall was already in afternoon shade on a cool day and looked really steep … so we opted …
36	For the sunny, warmer, less steep eastern side. We went all the way up to the little red house on the left and a swing across to the tower on the right … and back in less than ninety minutes!
37	"A startling view from a..." A startling view from a parapet.
38	A tour friend took our picture near the top. And I had him take it again with a Machu Picchu wave!
39	The Wall kept going off to the east. Later, we went down to the foreground tower and climbed a very narrow and steep staircase into the parapets.
40	But before that, we climbed up to the little red garrison tower.
41	Fran in the parapets behind the red building, our highest point on the Wall.
42	I took this picture of a ruined beacon tower, when my camera informed me I’d used all my battery taking these huge pictures. I had batteries in my luggage on the bus, but none on my person, so this is the last picture of the Great Wall.
43	BEIJING TIAN AN MEN SQUARE FORBIDDEN CITY HUTONGS SUMMER PALACE Day Four – 11/12/2007
44	The next day, cool and cloudy and foggy and smoggy, we drove into downtown Beijing, past the old Western-style train station. The station was moved long ago, but the building has been restored and put to alternative uses – an internet café.
45	Here is the gatehouse at the south end of Tiananmen Square.
46	We walked rather quickly across the Square towards the Forbidden City to the north. Here is the parliament building on the western edge and the Memorial Tower built to honor those who died bringing the Communists to power in 1949.
47	This is the National Museum on the east side of the Square.
48	Really too far away even for a decent picture, we passed the heroic sculpture to the Revolution’s heroes that is outside Mao’s mausoleum.
49	At the northern edge of the Square is a gatehouse and the balcony where Mao Zedong made his public appearances.
50	This PLA guard was ceremoniously on watch. I gave them as good a salute as I could muster, in a fleece jacket and floppy hat, to soldiers serving their country.
51	Another, closer, view of the southern gatehouse. Here’s another PLA guard and a municipal policeman. They seemed to be everywhere.
52	"Some sculptures near the entrances..." Some sculptures near the entrances through the gate.
53	Crossing to enter the gate …
54	The front of the gatehouse has been carefully restored. The back has a lower priority.
55	"This is an horticultural aside" This is an horticultural aside. This was our first view of a tree managed this way. It is wrapped in rope, for insulation and protection during the transplanting process and braced up with poles.
56	A PLA platoon continues its military and political indoctrination.
57	There are several layers of buildings to get into the Forbidden City.
58	This is the Outer Court and the Meridian Gate going in …
59	"Our Chinese guide" Our Chinese guide, Eddy, local leader of ‘Bus 2, Bus 2’ explains the local sites to his herd of cats.
60	Many of the buildings in the Forbidden City were under renovation and closed to tourists. This is in preparation for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
61	A side pavilion in this city of 9,999 rooms …
62	Nana and Pops (Fran and Wess) in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China, both a long ways from Decatur, Georgia, and Shelbina, Missouri.
63	The main Hall of Supreme Harmony, now called the Palace Museum, with its throne, was also closed. You may remember this square from the movie, ‘The Last Emperor’. The Chinese no longer allow the Forbidden City to be used as a movie set.
64	A side pavilion somewhere in the Forbidden City. The area rapidly becomes an impossible warren of buildings that all seem to look alike at first glance to our western eyes.
65	Got my honey with me though. I’m ok.
66	Didn’t we go by this building just a little while ago? Oh, this is the one on the other side of the square here.
67	The level of artwork is amazing, all restored for the Olympics.
68	Imagine the social gatherings here …
69	Friends sport local souvenirs.
70	An un-restored corner of the Hall of Middle Harmony.
71	A throne room in the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
72	Yes, I know, we’ve seen this before. But this one seemed so exuberant.
73	These cauldrons, seen all over the area, were filled with water for firefighting. In the winter, they were heated with charcoal to keep the water from freezing. Most of the buildings are wooden and lightning fires and accidents burned many building over the centuries.
74	This decorated wall at the northern Gate of Heavenly Purity seemed to demarcate between the ceremonial and governmental part of the city and the residential and utilitarian part.
75	A small gate into the street between the Inner Court and the Western Palaces.
76	About now you gotta’ go. And this is a good place because …
77	… it’s a four-star rated restroom!
78	… around another corner …
79	… down another lane …
80	How’s this for a park bench!
81	We enter the compound of the concubine who became the Empress Dowager, last Empress of the Manchu dynasty. Notice the imperial dragon, the firefighting vat, the tree and the Chinese matron having her picture taken. Most of the Chinese visiting the Forbidden City are not locals but tourists from other parts of China. Sound familiar?
82	"Yes" Yes, there are a few trees here outside the imperial garden. It looks like this one has struggled here for a long time.
83	Most of this compound was unrestored.
84	This was the bedroom of Ci Xi, the concubine who became the Empress Dowager. Add a carpet, some new textiles, a few servants … … no 52” HDTV, DVDE, iPod, radio or CD-player, though.
85	But the imperial family did have a nice garden …
86	"… with some interesting trees..." … with some interesting trees …
87	… and some interesting stonework, but not the best season for the roses.
88	An interesting garden sculpture … “Perilous Hills, No Climbing Please”
89	We exited the Imperial Garden and the Forbidden City …
90	… just in time to see this cute bus go by.
91	Soon, we were on our way again, across the moat, glimpsing the pavilion and watch tower at the northeast corner of the Forbidden City wall and promenade.
92	We saw thousands of colorful shops from the bus … alas, almost never from the sidewalk. The English terminology frequently made us smile!
93	"A Metro bus stop …" A Metro bus stop …
94	As we debarked our bus to change to bicycle rickshaws for our lunch we did catch this fruit store … beverages, fresh and dried fruit, etc.
95	This was a large private shop, three stalls wide!
96	We were bound for a lunch in old Beijing, down the back alleys of the ‘hutongs’. I see Fran has struck a bargain with a local sidewalk vendor, not the guy shown. He’s our driver and motor.
97	Quickly, into the warren of alleyways past the old with glimpses of the new. These were the residential areas of old, mostly destroyed to make way for the new high-rise apartment buildings needed to house a burgeoning population. The remaining streets have become official historical districts.
98	Lunch today would be a much more informal affair in a private home.
99	And a more intimate, informal setting. Many thought this lunch was the best meal of the trip.
100	Once-open courtyards have filled with extra rooms, as it is illegal to build on the exterior walls, but not illegal to build in the courtyards.
101	Wiring wasn’t exactly up to code either. As interesting and colorful as these areas are historically, we’d call them slums.
102	Our driver had waited patiently outside during our meal and tour.
103	There were cars in these narrow, one-lane streets, that went both ways, but lots more electric scooters, bicycles and a menagerie of tricycles.
104	It was definitely a colorful and interesting tour.
105	This cast metal lion guarded the entrance to the Summer Palace, the summer home of the Empress Dowager away from the heart of the city.
106	Another mythological beast.
107	The Imperial Dragon of the Emperor is next to the Phoenix of the Empress.
108	That the Phoenix of the Empress is nearer the main door of this pavilion marks this complex as belonging to the Empress.
109	It was a cloudy, foggy day at the end of the season. The water plants were well past their summer glory. The lake was too foggy to see the Marble Boat or the Seventeen Arch Bridge or the temple on Longevity Hill. But there was no time either.
110	"The buildings along the water..." The buildings along the water definitely needed restoration.
111	The feature attraction here was the Long Corridor. A very long (1/2 mile) covered, open-air promenade was built so the Empress and her guests could enjoy the airs and the lake in the shade. The overhead was painted in brilliant colors with over 14,000 different scenes.
112	The paintings are in both direction and on every surface.
113	A gate at the bottom of Longevity Hill.
114	In the time allotted, we never reached the end of the Long Corridor.
115	"An crossing pavilion along the..." An crossing pavilion along the way.
116	Serenity along the waterfront.
117	This is part of a covered porch on the way to the Long Corridor.
118	We visited a traditional Chinese medicine facility where a Chinese doctor felt my pulse in both wrists with three fingers and diagnosed every medical condition I knew I had. Then we got a m-a-r-v-e-l-o-u-s foot massage and pedicure and went to dinner. After our meal, there was a delightful acrobatic show.
119	SUZHOU RT MART LINGERING GARDEN Day Five – 11/13/2007
120	The next morning we flew to Shanghai, then were bused to Suzhou, The ‘Venice of the East’. From our room at the top of our hotel, we had a good view of local workers apartments.
121	Our room was interesting, with a window with blinds between the bathtub/shower and the bedroom!
122	There was a Wal-Mart-like store down the street. Here, the sidewalk is washed. There is a bike/scooter parking lot a little further down. Later in the evening, tour members discovered some of the shops across the street were brothels.
123	In the RT-Mart, one side sold household goods. The other side was a grocery. We quickly found live water snakes for sale, with live frogs next to them. Then an employee told us to stop taking pictures. We bought a cheap suitcase for our growing pile of souvenirs.
124	Then we went to a local famous Chinese garden, Lingering Gardens. … and lingered.
125	… and lingered …
126	"Mosaics in the paths were..." Mosaics in the paths were of natural pebbles and stone shards rather than tiles.
127	This eroded stone, from the bottom of lakes, is popular everywhere.
128	As we went deeper into the garden, it became even more tranquil ...
129	… until we came to a moon gate into a bonsai garden …
130	… hundreds of them, it seemed.
131	This striking stone and water feature was a focal point in the bonsai garden.
132	There were many plants still in training.
133	"As we finally left" As we finally left, there seemed a particularly good example of propped trees.
134	At ‘another’ garishly lit restaurant …
135	… with an impossibly luxurious lobby …
136	… we were treated to a local singing duo during a family style, traditional dinner.
137	This restaurant had a visible menu, where you could see any of the several hundred items they would prepare for you ... braised duck heads or octopus tentacle, for example, among more conventional dishes.
138	They also had a fresh seafood room where you could order dinner live before they prepared it for you.
139	"Dancing" Dancing, anyone … A nightclub marquee … I guess.
140	SUZHOU SILK QUILT TIGER HILL GRAND CANAL Day Six – 11/14/2007
141	Ah, yes, the lobby of the Holiday Inn in Suzhou.
142	‘Wendors’! Sidewalk vendors tried to sell you everything from postcards, books, purses, scarves, fans, scrolls, musical instruments, lace tablecloths, ‘Rolex ’watches, toys, etc. of every kind. And you were expected to haggle and haggle hard. Once you got into it, it became kind of a game. You had to remember to not buy things because the game became so much fun.
143	Sometimes, a fence or hedge was available to haggle over, but usually it was toe-to-toe on the sidewalk. This is a typical street scene from the bus anywhere on the tour.
144	‘BIG Store-wide Tent Sale!’ Who knows …
145	Then came the silk factories and showrooms. This was a silk garment made for an emperor.
146	"A sleeve end of that..." A sleeve end of that garment.
147	In a silk processing demonstration room were bags of cocoons and quilt bats.
148	The cocoons of single worms are boiled and a strand is pulled off. Then this machine unwinds perhaps a mile of silk thread off each cocoon. Each tread is comprised of up to 48 smaller threads that some weavers and embroiderers separate and use for the most elegant and fine cloths and embroideries.
149	Two-worm (man and wife) cocoons are boiled, opened and the worms are removed. Then the coon is stretch over this small frame. When several accumulate, they are removed and stretched over the larger frame in the background.
150	Later, they are removed and several people (Fran included here) stretch them out into layers for a quilt batting. The silk batting is quilted into a cotton bag and covered with a silk coverlet (sold separately!). Our bus of 31 people probably bought a dozen quilts and coverlets here. After lunch, we came back and bought more silk items until the numbers wore off our credit cards.
151	When silk fever subsides or we ran out of money, we went to Tiger Hill. At the entrance, these men were tiling a nearby roof.
152	Notice the change in architectural style from that in Beijing at this entrance to Tiger Hill.
153	Inside the gate, this floral display wowed Fran!
154	Each ‘tree’ is a single planted chrysanthemum trained to a bamboo pole and hoop structure.
155	See!
156	Some of the potted mums we saw.
157	"Another single plant mum structure" Another single plant mum structure. Yes, the pagoda leans!
158	One plant … four supporting bamboos!
159	A carved sculpture going up to the pagoda.
160	A modest Buddhist gate on the way up.
161	I was interested in the trash bins. Fran was interested in the bamboo fence … which turned out to be metal pipe covered with sculpted and painted plaster.
162	When this seven story, eight sided pagoda was built, one side rested on bedrock, the other on solid fill. Even solid fill compresses, and, eventually, the pagoda came to list a bit.
163	"It’s the pagoda" It’s the pagoda, not my camera!
164	Here’s a little better view of the base.
165	Another sign that made us smile a bit ... ‘Please Be a Decent Visitor And Queue one by one’. The pagoda used to be open to walk thru (not up), but has since been closed.
166	Amongst all the Chinese and foreign tourists, this lady was making use of the park as intended … a little quiet contemplation while she ate her lunch.
167	"Fran thought this camphor tree..." Fran thought this camphor tree was a real cutie.
168	I’m not really pointing at anything … we just thought this was a colorful wall on the way down.
169	Wish we’d had time to take this little horse cart around the park …
170	An interesting lunch place …
171	… with an ‘American’ style buffet … at least they tried. It was still rather Chinese.
172	After lunch, we went to a silk embroidery factory that made double-sided embroideries. Then off on a water excursion on the Grand Canal, that 1,000 mile canal that goes all the way to Beijing … or at least some of the many side canals that give Suzhou its fame. This fellow dips trash out of the canal and dumps it into his barge boat.
173	We go past a neighborhood landing next to a bridge.
174	We go by many well-worn homes.
175	Soon, our boat lands at pretty Star Bridge. A woman is plucking the feathers from a chicken next to a refuse pile. Another woman throws dirty water into the street.
176	We’ve stopped to visit a ‘Farmer’s Market’, a tourist market that includes a neighborhood market.
177	Over the bridge into a Chinese food court. Here you can select your evening chicken. I suspect they would also ‘process’ it for you.
178	This stall made steamed buns.
179	Fresh produce was available.
180	So was fresh meat in this open-air butcher shop.
181	Prepared foods were also available. Here’s a Chinese KFC. The little twirly thing discourages flies.
182	This stall offered a wide menu.
183	A man makes mops from used clothing.
184	Looks like an old dime store (now called a dollar store!).
185	A Mom and Pop Wal-Mart.
186	Brooms and bulk grains.
187	Even appliances were available. This lad plays with a dollar bill in a combination sink and washing machine.
188	"This fellow was more tourist..." This fellow was more tourist oriented … selling tea sets and cookies.
189	A shoe repairman plied his trade.
190	"This restaurant made dumplings and..." This restaurant made dumplings and boiled water on these forced-air oil drum stoves. It looked like hot work! Particularly without gloves.
191	We found an antique shop. Fran found a ‘jade?’ pendant and I found US ‘silver’ coins at good prices. The coins all turned out to be counterfeit.
192	Back on the canals, the homes improved. The local government was giving homes to those who would fix them up.
193	We passed several bridges.
194	We finally landed amidst the old and the new.
195	This small section of wall is all that remains of Suzhou’s original city wall.
196	"After a tumultuous bus ride..." After a tumultuous bus ride during rush hour, where drivers created five lanes of traffic in three marked lanes and were driving in the bicycle paths, we ended up at the Howard Johnson’s hotel in Hangzhou.
197	HANGZHOU TEA PLANTATION LINGYIN TEMPLE WEST LAKE Day Seven – 11/15/2007
198	Yes, the smog bothered some people.
199	The silent commute … and the not-so-silent traffic.
200	This morning we visited a tea plantation. This dragon guarded the main gate.
201	Peter, our Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai guide, explains a bit about harvesting tea leaves.
202	After picking, the tea is shredded and dried manually in electric burners. The workers wear no gloves so they can feel the correct crispness of the tea leaves. Don’t the workers burn their hands? “Yes, but labor is cheap in China.”
203	This bright, high-cheek boned Chinese woman gave a very nice and humorous presentation on the processing and packing of loose tea, pointing out that, among tea producers, bagged teas were the leftovers.
204	The tea pavilion had an interesting water feature.
205	Back by the tea shop, on a bridge over a small waterway, was the tail of the dragon at the gate.
206	Then to Lingyin Temple. This prominent sign was unusual.
207	"Fran considers a roped tree" Fran considers a roped tree. We were told this was a method of protecting new trees after transplanting. But trees also seemed to be wrapped for protection.
208	Along the cliff-side patch, statues of Buddha related scenes were sculpted into the cliff face.
209	Soon, a dry ravine separated our main path from the cliff-base path. How I wished we would have time to come back down that path, but I knew we wouldn’t.
210	"There were several readily visible" There were several readily visible. I understand many more were around. As usual, we were visiting only a small portion of a much larger park.
211	Being photographed with a scene seemed popular. Perhaps it is a ‘proof-I-was-there’ thing. Much like these pictures are for us. The trip wasn’t a dream.
212	A hanging fish sculpture on the temple grounds.
213	"Friends were always available to..." Friends were always available to take our picture, with or without others. The signs here said ‘No Photographing’, so we tried to treat the inside of the temple as one would a church. Others were less respectful. Even some of the monks inside were taking flash pictures!
214	"This postcard view hints at..." This postcard view hints at the magnificence of the works inside the temple.
215	"The corners of the main..." The corners of the main temple held these miniature pagodas, but they were not explained to us. They are over 1,000 years old. The people are carrying incense sticks.
216	They would light them from these flaming cauldrons, then make their prayers outside the temple.
217	Those who chose not to buy burning incense, could buy these electric incense sticks which they left here.
218	"Used incense sticks were discarded..." Used incense sticks were discarded into these covered containers.
219	Behind the temple, further up the hillside, was this carved diorama of Buddhist mythology.
220	Fran examines it a little more closely.
221	"This tree has had some..." This tree has had some hard times.
222	Why are koi so interesting?
223	"Amid the bustle" Amid the bustle, there is a quiet serenity.
224	A sweeper, with her palm frond broom, ties to keep ahead of the falling leaves.
225	More rope bound, propped trees. I don’t remember seeing these on the way up?
226	We didn’t come thru this gate either. Where’s Peter and the rest of the tour group?! Ah, over that-a-way …
227	Then off we went to West Lake, a popular recreational lake in Hangzhou.
228	You could get a tour on the local Argosy Cruise Lines boat …
229	… or something a little more intimate.
230	The small boats had no engines, just this guy in the back, rowing and steering with one big oar.
231	It was another cloudy, smoggy day. Visibility wasn’t very good. This area featured stone lanterns in the water that were lit at night for a desirable effect.
232	This was the type of medium sized motorized boat we were on. Ours had a swarm of nuisance insects outside that made sitting in the stern impossible.
233	Back ashore, as we walked out, were some large propped up trees.
234	"This stone lad is working..." This stone lad is working to land a golden fish.
235	A quiet part of the park in a water garden near the exit.
236	There was even a little waterfall at the far end ...
237	… and a boatman going from there to somewhere else.
238	Then off to a ‘clandestine’ knockoff shop. Nice blue color here, don’t-cha-think?
239	Wanting outside, another street sweeper went by.
240	Caught in the act! Friends from the tour emerge with a bag from the ‘knockoff’ shop alley.
241	SHANGHAI BUND MAGLEV TRAIN SILK CARPETS YU YUAN GARDEN CHINATOWN Day Eight – 11/16/2007
242	After dinner at a nice restaurant with a happy Buddha, we are driven through burning fields to Shanghai and our last hotel.
243	Alas, our last full day in China is cloudy and smoggy and sometimes rainy. Yet even then, the vitality and construction in new Shanghai is apparent.
244	"The Oriental Pearl TV tower..." The Oriental Pearl TV tower must be one of the most unusual skyscrapers in the world.
245	Another interesting design at the International Convention Center.
246	Across the river, the Bund was once the financial center of Asia.
247	It was built by British, French, Japanese and American interests.
248	They are magnificent in their own right.
249	But they are being rapidly overtaken by the new economic centers of Shanghai.
250	The little bank in the middle even leans a tad.
251	Just to the right of the Jinmao Tower, the tallest building in Asia, is a new building going up, slated to be the tallest in the world when completed next year.
252	There was a shuttle train from our Pudong side to the Bund, but there was no time …
253	We were offered a ride on the Shanghai MagLev train from downtown to the new airport.
254	"This is the fastest land..." This is the fastest land vehicle in the world.
255	From Longyang downtown to the airport, 18.6 miles, in less than 7 minutes.
256	Top speed, for many seconds, is 431 kph or 267 mph. A surprisingly smooth and uneventful ride (why are all those cars going backwards?).
257	Let’s calm down and visit a silk carpet factory and showroom. This young woman may spend months hand tying her carpet. Most are tied outside Shanghai where labor is cheaper.
258	Most are tied 100 knots per square inch, but some were available that were tied 625 kpi or 2500 kpi, that shimmered and changed colors when they were turned 180 degrees.
259	There are several sizes, rugs and runners, traditional scenes and designs, Oriental and modern Isn’t that a delightful design!.
260	We decided ours was the 4’x6’ floral carpet in the background.
261	In the midst of Shanghai, there is an enclosed shopping area known as ‘Chinatown’.
262	There are many wondrous things to see and buy here.
263	It’s a crappy picture, but a beautiful lantern tree!
264	Adjacent to Chinatown is its opposite, the quiet and peaceful Yu Yuan Garden.
265	Here Fran found a 400 year old gingko biloba tree.
266	Buildings, stonework, water and plants … all the essentials of a Chinese garden are here in marvelous harmony.
267	"Meanwhile" Meanwhile, back in Chinatown, where banquet halls rise atop the shops, we bought a few last minute items.
268	By the time we got out, the sun was down and we went across the street, through the vendors for one last time before the police chased them away to our last dinner in China.
269	BEIJING HOME Day Nine – 11/17/2007
270	"Our last day took us..." Our last day took us back to Beijing by Air China, then a five hour layover and a bit more shopping before our Air China flight to Vancouver. We left about 4:30 pm on Saturday, flew up over Russia, across the International Date Line into yesterday, across the Bering Sea, Norton Sound, Alaska, and down the BC coast to Vancouver, landing there about 10:00 am Saturday, six hours BEFORE we took off. Then by bus back to Bellevue, through US Customs where we paid a small charge for bringing back too much stuff. Glad to be home! What a dream!
271	The End