China

We arrived in Beijing at about 6:50 am & getting through immigration was easy. This was a huge but very well-run airport. 

I woke up early & had a cup of tea around 6:30 in the Yangtze Bar before going for breakfast. I saw Selina, our waitress, before she left, thanked her for looking after me & then went for breakfast.

Today, we visited many exciting places in Beijing. It was like walking through the pages of a history book.

Shanghai is the fastest developing city in China & today went on a sightseeing tour of the city. 

Before we moved on to Shanghai, we would be visiting the Chengdu Panda Breeding & Research Centre. I think everyone on the trip has been looking forward to this visit. 

Today was why I came to China: to walk on the Great Wall of China and cross this off my bucket list.

Today, we had the morning at leisure in Shanghai before going on a cruise along the Huangpu River to view the Shanghai skyline from the river. After this, we went to Nanjing Road for some retail therapy.

Today we went to see the Giant Leshan Buddha & this evening we went to see the Sichuan Opera & Folk Art show. 

Today, we travelled all day; we went by coach, plane, train, coach again & eventually arrived in Yichang to board our cruise ship to go up the Yangtze River.

I woke up early this morning. I took a shower and then went for a cup of tea at the Yangtze Club. I had a cup of black tea and watched a few people who had come to join the ship doctor for a session of Tai Chi.

Today, we saw The Terracotta Warriors, & the Small Wild Goose Pagoda.

We eventually arrived in Beijing and then got held up waiting for our shuttle from the internal terminal to the international terminal at the airport. By the time we got to our gate, the flight was already boarding, and it was not long before we were airborne and on our way home.

My holiday to China began early in the morning when my friend Tony picked me up from my home in Fareham. He took me to Gatwick Airport for an Air China flight to Beijing.

I was up early today & after a shower, I went for tea in the Yangtze Club & watched Dr Hu & a few passengers going through their Tai Chi routine. At about 7:30 am, I went for breakfast & met the rest of the VIP crew before we all went our

As a small boy, I was fascinated by China and had always wanted to visit it. One of the things I wanted to do if I visited China was to walk a section of the Great Wall of China.

After breakfast, the coach transferred us to the airport for our flight to Xi'an. I was surprised to discover that although the plane we were flying on, internally was smaller than the plane we flew to China, it had more legroom.

Today, we left Xi´an after breakfast. We were picked up by a coach at the hotel & driven to the airport to catch a flight to Chengdu. 

I woke early this morning to find we had moved overnight & were docked further up the Yangtze River. At around 6:45 am, I went to the Yangtze Club on deck 5, where I had tea with Branwen, our fantastic tour rep. At 7:00 am, I went to deck 6 for breakfast in the restaurant.