China - August 2002

Our first "organised" trip. We thought this was the best way to see this amazing country, and we were right.

1 Evening meal at the Hard Rock Cafe, Shanghai with Ajay	2 Rachel posing within the Avenue of Statues	3 The cabin on the boat - a bit messy!	4 Bunny and Sandra - Bunny was our only "turn" in the talent competition. Excellent stand up comedy routine.	5 The lifts at Chongqing to get you from the boat back up to street level.	6 Dave and Jen - lovely couple (farmers) from Devon.	7 Our other group of talented stars in the boat farewell show. David, Penny and another David. All excellent fun to be with.	8 Rachel in the Forbidden City (will she get told off?). This is where they filmed part of "The Last Emperor". The floor is laid to a depth of 6 feet to prevent assasins being able to dig their way in from below and there are no trees so that no-one can hide. I guess the Emperor was a bit paranoid!
9 Another shot of the Forbidden City	10 A nighttime view of the Friendship hotel in Beijing	11 The Goddess Peak in the Yangtze Gorges.	12 The pagoda at Goose Gardens. Nice view if you can stand the climb up the rickety stairs! You can see the damage to the top of the roof and to the edges, caused by the two earthquakes that have hit the building. Walking in front are Farmer Dave and Scottish Kathy	13 Rachel posing on the cruise.	14 Rachel and Steve posing on the cruise.	15 A lovely shot of the Gorges - taken by using my sunglasses as a filter. Quite effective.	16 The Hard Rock Cafe at Beijing
17 Biker girl gets some admiring glances from the other tables in the Hard Rock, Beijing.	18 The Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai. 3rd tallest building in the world.	19 Looking down the centre of the Jin Mao Tower - from level 88 to level 44.	20 Our Tour Manager Julie performing in the Talent Show on the cruise. Julie was one of those rare people who was actually really good at her job, and nice too! Thanks Julie.	21 The Lesser 3 Gorges.	22 Another view of the Lesser 3 Gorges	23 Another view of the Lesser 3 Gorges	24 Ashore on a rock bank in the Lesser 3 Gorges
25 Ashore on a rock bank in the Lesser 3 Gorges	26 Popular daily activity throughout China. Playing Mah Jong.	27 The People's Square in Chongqing, by day. Much busier at night where 1000 Chinese can be found dancing to piped music.	28 Twins at the People's Square. Lucky parents - the Chinese currently have a "One Child Only" policy, but twins or multiple births are OK.	29 Phil and Celia. Our other farmer friends from Devon. Superb company, even if Phil did call me a "gibber" once (for not taking part in one of the boat evening games).	30 On a sampan heading in to the Lesser Gorges. hard to believe but that bridge will be just BELOW water level next year when the dam is operational and the river floods.	31 The Summer Palace in Beijing	32 Summer Palace in the rain!
33 The amazing Terracotta Warriors at Xian	34 Two very lifelike Terracotta Warriors	35	36 At the Three Gorges Dam project observation post	37 The Three Gorges Dam.	38 On the Great Wall	39 Early morning in Tian An Men square, Beijing. Even at this time (8:30 a.m.) it is sweltering hot and there is a very long queue for Mao's Mausoleum.	40 Tian An Men square again
41 Tim and Elaine from Plymouth. Nice people.	42	43 The Hot Springs at Xian. Beautiful gardens, with Koi Carp in the water. Home from Home	44 The very peaceful and very beautiful gardens at Yu Yuan, Shanghai	45 The very peaceful and very beautiful gardens at Yu Yuan, Shanghai	46 Group shot on the great wall of China	47 Group shot at Tian An Men square	48