We woke up in Shangri-La at a bedroom elevation of 10,700 feet. But our travels today took us through … Continue reading The Mountains of Yunnan Province

  Without Google, which is blocked in China, it is harder for me to recheck logistics and facts. But I’ll … Continue reading Yunnan Province Tibetan Villages

Today we left Lijiang by car for Shangri-la. I had always thought Shangri-la was a mystical, make-believe Eden from somebody’s … Continue reading Leaping Tiger Gorge

    Lijiang sits in the shadow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain… The legend tells us that the nine smart … Continue reading Naxi Cultural Show…Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang

From Chengdu, we flew about 700 miles southeast to Lijiang. It sits at about 6500 feet above sea level, at … Continue reading Lijiang

  We spent the morning on the bullet train and itched to get out for a walk in the afternoon … Continue reading Walking the Streets of Chengdu

Chengdu is another large Chinese city (roughly 15 million). We took the high speed train for about four hours at … Continue reading Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center

Most people come me to Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors, and rightfully so… They are the third largest draw … Continue reading Xi’an

Xi’an is a relatively small Chinese city…Just about 10 million people. This would make Xi’an close to the largest American … Continue reading Xi’an and the Terracotta Warriors

A few tidbits about China before I launch into the Summer Palace. First, one of the most popular cars here … Continue reading The Summer Palace