The Amazing Race ... through China 2010

Two Weeks...
Five Cities...
Four Winners...

The trip was fantastic! During our break for Chinese New Year, Jackie and I decided to travel to five different Chinese cities with some friends from the States. We began our trip in Harbin. From there we hit Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu and finished up in Shanghai. It was an amazing trip with a lot of first-time experiences and unforgettable memories.

Harbin:
Jackie and I headed up to Harbin couple of days before our friends got in. Our plan was to do some snowboarding up where the Chinese Olympic team practices, and do whatever else there was to do... The snowboarding was a complete flop! We ended up going with a Chinese tour group (never do that). I should have known better. They took us to these really beautiful slopes and proceeded to tell us that we were only stopping so people could get out and ride the lift to the top to take pictures. Then we were going to leave and eat lunch. After lunch we would go to the slopes for a couple of hours. We finished lunch and ended up at this terribly icy bunny hill, and to make matters worse, they didn't have snowboards like they said they would. Needless to say the day was a flop. The rest of our time in Harbin we a lot better though.
Once our friends got arrived, we visited the Harbin New Jewish Synagogue, Russian walking street, Tiger Park, and the Snow and Ice Festival. The synagogue is currently a museum documenting the influence of the Russian Jews who fled to Harbin during hard times in Russia. It serves as a tribute to their great influence in helping to develop Harbin economically and technologically. The most intriguing thing about the Tiger Park was riding through the tiger's cages safari style. Upon leaving the tiger park, we went straight to the Ice & Snow Festival. We arrived while it was still light so that our friends could get an idea of just how big the place was, and we stayed until it got dark. The reason for this is because all of the buildings are made of ice, and when it gets dark, they light the whole place up using the lights that are put in place inside the ice as they build.

Beijing:
Our next stop was Beijing. Our first day in Beijing we began with the Temple of Heaven. We moved from there to Tian'anmen Square and then a quick trip inside the outer walls of the Forbidden City. Day two we visited the Great Wall and got lots of good pictures. Our last day in Beijing, we had intended to visit the Summer Palace, but ended up at the Old Summer Palace, where there's not as much to see.

Xi'an:
Our first day in Xi'an, we visited the Bell Tower inside the old city walls. At the Bell Tower, we heard a short musical concert performed by a group of five girls on traditional Chinese instruments. From there we went to see the Shaanxi History Museum and finished by doing a little shopping in the Muslim quarter of Xi'an. Day two found us visiting the Terracotta Warriors that have become famous in recent history. The theory has been that Emperor Qin had these soldiers constructed so that he could continue his rule in the afterlife. However, this theory has recently come into question since these soldiers better fit the soldiers that predated Qin, and because they are really not near Emperor Qin's tomb. Day three, we took it easy and get in touch with folks back home and were on a leaving by train soon after mid-day.

Chengdu:
Chengdu was the highlight of the trip for me. It was the first city that I had never been to in China. Our first day we visited People's Park. It was amazing how the climate changed for us in a matter of days. We started our trip in Harbin where the temperatures were cold enough to preserve life-size buildings constructed of ice. In Chengdu, however, everything was in bloom, and spring was in the air. It seemed like everybody from the youngest to the oldest were at People's Park. We saw people everywhere. One event that struck us as really neat was just the gathering of people who didn't know each other to sing their hearts out. There was a small instrumental group that was gathered in a pavilion in the park, and people had just gathered around them to sing. It was great to see a community of people who didn't all know each other just doing something together and having a good time. From there we went back to our hotel and found that there was a really touristy street just around the corner where we could do all kinds of souvenir shopping. Day two we took a trip out to Leshan where you can find the Grand Buddha. This guy is REALLY big. This particular Buddha carved into the side of a cliff is 233 feet tall seated and has a shoulder span of almost 92 feet. As our friend Beth said, "It's a REALLY big Buddha." Day three we got up early so we could make it to the Panda Breeding and Research Base just north of the city. It was amazing! We got there and started wandering all over the place wondering where we were supposed to be going when we stumbled upon an area where a guy was putting out fresh bamboo. We stopped here figuring it was feeding time and were not disappointed when four cubs were shooed out for breakfast. The rest of the park was just as interesting, and I'm almost certain that some of the concept art for Kungfu Panda came from here. Our last day in Chengdu we finished up souvenir shopping and relaxed.

Shanghai:
I'm sorry to say that Shanghai was probably the least enjoyable and most uninteresting part of our trip. Because the place is so busy, travel was quite bothersome. The best place we stopped here was the Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar. This section of Shanghai has lots of interesting shopping and really cool looking Chinese architecture. We walked around for a while and took it all in before returning to our hotel. It was here that we parted ways with our friends and all went home winners.

As we looked back and thought about everything that we had done, it was hard to believe that it had only been two weeks. While it was busy two weeks, it was certainly a lot of fun and an experience that I don't think any of us will ever forget. To see all the photos of things I have briefly described here and take the visual tour, click here. So if you ever find yourself asking, "Where should we go for vacation," don't rule out China. You can do and see a lot in two weeks... just make sure you have a good tour guide (or a Lonely Planet Guide and a good phrase book if you're adventurous).