China

China 2026 – June 29 – Hong Kong

Symphony of Lights

Repulse Bay Beach and Stanley Market

Repulse Beach is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Hong Kong. Stanley Market is (was) one of Hong Kong’s most popular shopping and seaside spots – not so much anymore.

On Hong Kong Island, Aberdeen Harbour is an icon of the city, with classic junks, floating seafood restaurants, and captivating views. We took a flat-bottomed sampan boat to tour the harbour. Our first view was that of an abandoned floating restaurant – which was a once-iconic photo of Hong Kong along with 2 other. Besides houseboats, we viewed a hillside cemetery, several of which are visible throughout the island.

The Monster Building from the Transformers movie – with its 300 sq. foot apartments for a mere ?????

Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden

Chi Lin Nunnery, a large Buddhist temple complex, was originally established in 1934 as a retreat for Buddhist nuns. Chi Lin Nunnery stands as the world’s largest hand-made wooden building constructed without the use of a single nail. This remarkable architectural feat was achieved through the use of interlocking systems meticulously carved into cypress wood, showcasing an incredible harmony with nature.

The Nan Lian Garden is a classic Chinese garden located on Diamond Hill in Kowloon. It covers an area of 35,000 m² and was designed in the traditional Tang Dynasty style. The garden has rockeries, water features, trees, hills, and traditional timber structures. Paths meander through the garden, and at the center are two lotus ponds.

Victoria Peak & Tram

July 5, 2026 0

China 2026 – June 27 – Guilin

Well, you must be wondering why you’re missing several days of posts – hard drive and internet issues abound. I’ll be posting more current topics as soon as I can and will go over the missing days when I can or after we return to Florida.

Reed Flute Cave

The Reed Flute Cave, also known as “the Palace of Natural Arts,” is a landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin, China. The cave got its name from the type of reed growing outside, which can be made into flutes. Reed Flute Cave is filled with stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations. Inside, there are more than 70 inscriptions of poems and travelogues written in ink, the oldest of which can be dated to 792 AD in the Tang dynasty. It was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing the Japanese troops. Nowadays, multicolored lighting artificially illuminates the cave.

Elephant Trunk Hill is the symbol of the city of Guilin. It got its name because it looks like an elephant drinking water. The round opening beneath the elephant’s trunk is known as Water-Moon Cave because, at night, the reflection of the moon can be seen through the arch, making it look as if it is underwater, floating on the surface. Elephant Trunk Hill and Water Moon Cave are located at the confluence of the Taohua River and the Lijiang River.

Tea Plantation

June 27, 2026 2

China 2026 – June 18 & 19 –Chongqing & Ghost City

Waterfront Night Views

Chongqing Zoo Pandas

Chongqing Three Gorges Museum Area

Fengdu Ghost City

According to legend, Fengdu got its name of Ghost City during the Eastern Han dynasty, when two imperial officials, Yin Changsheng and Wang Fangping, came to Ming Mountain to practice Taoism and, in the process, became immortals. The site features eerie shrines and colorful statues that depict demons and the torments of hell. It blends Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism to teach morality.

June 23, 2026 4

China 2026 – June 17 — Xi’an -Terracotta Warriors

In March 1974, a group of peasants digging a well in China’s drought-parched Shaanxi province unearthed fragments of a clay figure—the first evidence of what would turn out to be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of modern times. Near the unexcavated tomb of Qin Shi Huang—who proclaimed himself first emperor of China in 221 B.C.E.—lay an extraordinary underground treasure: an entire army of life-size terra-cotta soldiers and horses, interred for more than 2,000 years. Over the past 50 years, archaeologists have located some 600 pits, a complex of underground vaults, across a 22-square-mile area. Some are hard to get to, but three major pits are easily accessible, enclosed inside Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum Site Museum, constructed around the discovery site and opened in 1979 as the four-acre Museum of Qin Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses. In one pit, long columns of warriors, reassembled from broken pieces, stand in formation. With their topknots or caps, their tunics or armoured vests, their goatees or close-cropped beards, the soldiers exhibit an astonishing individuality. A second pit inside the museum demonstrates how they appeared when they were found: Some stand upright, buried to their shoulders in soil, while others lie toppled on their backs, alongside fallen and cracked clay horses. Exhibitions have featured statuary—armoured officers, infantrymen, and standing and kneeling archers—as well as terra-cotta horses and replicas of intricately detailed bronze chariots, drawn by bronze horses. These artifacts offer a glimpse of the treasure trove that attracts visitors to the Xi’an museum site, where more than 2,000 of the estimated 8,000 warriors have been disinterred so far.

Grand Wild Goose Pagoda

There is a legend about the pagoda’s name. According to ancient stories of Buddhists, there were two branches, for one of which eating meat was not a taboo. One day, they couldn’t find any meat to buy. Upon seeing a group of big wild geese flying by, a monk said to himself: “Today we have no meat. I hope the merciful Bodhisattva can give us some.” At that very moment, the leading wild goose broke its wings and fell to the ground. All the monks were startled and believed that Bodhisattva showed his spirit to order them to be more pious. In response to this divine message, they established a pagoda where the wild goose fell and stopped eating meat thereafter. Hence its name.

Tang Dynasty Dance Show

Finished off our day with a dinner show, highlighting scenes from the Tang Dynasty.

June 22, 2026 6

China 2026 – June 16 — Summer Palace & Xi’an

The Summer Palace – The landscape of the Summer Palace, dominated mainly by Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, covers 3.09 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is water. It’s 70,000 square meters of floor space accommodate a variety of palaces, gardens, and other traditional-style architectural structures. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, it was among the first historical and cultural sites in China to receive special protection from the state.

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan, or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was first constructed in 1750. It was razed to the ground by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in 1860. The Qing government began rebuilding it in 1886, using funds misappropriated from the Imperial Navy and other sources. Renamed Yihe Yuan two years later—often rendered as the Garden of Nurtured Harmony—it was intended to serve as a summer resort for the Empress Dowager Cixi. Also known as the Summer Palace, it was ravaged again by the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers that invaded China in 1900, and the damage was repaired in 1902. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Summer Palace has undergone several major renovations. Its major attractions, such as the Four Great Regions, Suzhou Street, the Pavilion of Bright Scenery, the Hall of Serenity, the Wenchang Galleries and the Plowing and Weaving Scenery Area, have been restored one after another.

Stone of the God of Longevity & Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

Heralding Spring Pavilion, Marble Boat & Oldest Bridge

Pavilion of Literary Brilliance, Hall of Joy and Longivity & Azue Lingzhi Rock

Long Corridor — 2388 feet in Length

Tower of Buddhist Incense

Other Summer Palace Sights

In the afternoon, we flew to Xi’an, our base for seeing the Terracotta Warriors. Before checking into our hotel, we walked through the Muslim Quarter, enjoying the sights and smells of the outdoor stalls. As in Beijing, there are Bell and Drum Towers. Before turning in, we decided to walk along the city walls and moat to see the area under lights.

Muslim Quarter and Bell & Drum Towers

Xi’an at night

June 18, 2026 3

China 2026 – June 15 Great Wall & Hutongs

The day started overcast in Beijing as we drove 1.5 hours to the Jinshanling Great Wall Site. The weather didn’t improve during our stay. This site has more mountain views than the Badaling site, which we climbed in 2008. Full disclosure, Chris hiked to the third watch tower – Pete did not.

The Great Wall of China has a history of more than 2,300 years. The history of the Great Wall of China began in the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC) and was last rebuilt as a defense during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).

The Great Wall at Jinshanling was built 650 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), initially constructed from 1368 to 1389, and in 1567 and 1570, the rebuilding of the Wall was mainly directed by General Qi Jiguang (1528–1588).

In the Qin Dynasty, the First Emperor of Qin built the northern walls to prevent invasion from northern nations. In the Han Dynasty, the emperors extended the Great Wall far into today’s western China to protect the Silk Road trade.

Jinshanling Great Wall

In Beijing, Hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form a hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods.

Since the mid-20th century, many Beijing hutongs have been demolished to make way for new roads and buildings. More recently, however, many hutongs have been designated as protected, in an attempt to preserve this aspect of Chinese cultural history. Hutongs were first established during the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) and later expanded during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. They can be explored by foot or rickshaw; we did both. We also walked around 10 Temples Lake (only one temple left today). In addition, we visited two towers, the Beijing Bell and Drum Towers, which are well over 700 years old. Both structures trace their origins to 1272 during the Yuan Dynasty, when they were built as the ancient city’s central timekeeping hubs. Bells to wake and drums to mark the end of the day. To finish our day, we had dinner with a family who lives in a Hutong complex.

June 17, 2026 4

China 2026 – June 14

The Forbidden City in Beijing, China, is the world’s largest ancient imperial palace. Commissioned in 1406 by the Yongle Emperor, it served as the home of 24 Ming and Qing dynasty emperors and the epicenter of Chinese political power for over 500 years. Today, the complex operates as the Palace Museum and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rectangular in shape, the Forbidden City is enormous, covering an area of 72 hectares, and boasting more than 9,000 bays of rooms. It is divided into two parts – the Outer Court for national affairs in the south and the Inner Court as living quarters in the north. It is not only an immense architectural masterpiece, but also a treasury housing a unique collection of 1.8 million pieces of art, including ancient calligraphy and painting, imperial artifacts, ancient books, and archives.

Located to the north of the Tiananmen Square, the rectangular Forbidden City is enclosed by a 10 meters (33 feet) high outer wall and surrounded by a 52 meters (57 yards) wide moat. It has four gates: the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south, the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north, the West Prosperity Gate (Xihuamen) and the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen). On each of the four corners of the outer wall, there is a delicately structured corner tower.

The palace allows a south-to-north unidirectional route. Visitors can only enter through the Meridian Gate (Wumen) in the south and leave from the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwumen) in the north or the East Prosperity Gate (Donghuamen).

This has been one of my toughest venues to photograph because of its size and scale, along with the crowds we encountered. When I return home, I will do a better identification of the photos – for now, just enjoy.

Tiananmen Tower & Meridian Gate

Gate of Supreme Harmony & Hall of Supreme Harmony

Other Palace Photos

Imperial Garden

Gate of Divine Prowess & Moat Views

Leaving the Forbidden City, we traveled to the central site for the 2008 and 2022 Olympics – viewing the “Bird’s Nest”, the Cube for water sports, the Olympic tower, and the tower for the Olympic flame.

Editorial Comment: Google is blocked by the government, so getting emails and searching needs to be done through a VPN. adding another layer of effort to using the internet – so be it – I shall continue on.

June 15, 2026 5

China 2026 June 13th

Heading out today! Flight from MCO to LAX, then overnight to Beijing. We leave on June 11th but arrive on June 13th – losing a day crossing the International Date Line. Early morning arrival (6:40 a.m.) with a transfer to our hotel, then our sightseeing begins. Today, we visited the Temple of Heaven Park, built in 1420 but reconstructed several times due to damage from fires and during WW2 damaged by the Japanese. The complex runs north-south along a ceremonial path. The most iconic structure is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (Qinian Dian). A triple-tier circular hall built entirely of wood without nails, standing on a three-tier white marble terrace. At the other end of the path is the Imperial Vault of Heaven – a smaller circular hall (under reconstruction) surrounded by the famous Echo Wall, where sound can be heard long distances due to its acoustic design – too bad, no longer due to defects in the current wall. Along the pathway is the Danbi Bridge, which represents the emperor’s journey between heaven and earth. There is a three-tier open-air altar made of white marble used for the Winter Solstice Ceremony, with a center stone (the Heavenly Heart Stone) that produces a clear echo when you speak. The park complex is surrounded by century-old cypress trees, some up to 600 years old.

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests