China - - parting shots

Mini car with sunroof, Beijing. Time for me to leave China now, so I'm posting some photos of my final few weeks there. 

Hands down my favorite fruit. Sweet yet tart, mangosteens are absolutely delicious. 

I feel fortunate that I got to see quite a lot of China while living here, and I loved riding the bullet trains. 

Above 3 photos: street food snacks, Hangzhou. 

Above 4 photos: Hangzhou, near Shanghai, is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in China. 

Recently in China there have been several minor outbreaks of covid, but overall it is pretty rare here now. 

Subway workers lined up, Hangzhou subway station. 

Hangzhou East RR Station. 

Above 3 photos: and my final trip, Badaling, the most visited section of the Great Wall.

 Packing out our stuff to move it from a large house in Beijing then squeeze it into a small apartment in DC. 

Nice place to stop en route to DC. I Love LA. 

 

Farewell Xi'an

Xi' an, central China, is one of my favorite cities in China. About 6 hours by bullet train southwest of Beijing, it's the gateway to the ancient Silk Road, and also home to many Chinese Muslims. I've been here at least a half dozen times, and feel very fortunate to get this one final visit. 

Beijing West Train Station. Early train out so I took a taxi to the station at around 5 am. Most my better photos involve some amount of luck. As I was taking this photo the mom happened to look up at me, which made it a much better photo. 

Another lucky shot. On a train platform during a stop from Beijing to Xi'an, I was taking a photo of this attendant getting back on the train when she suddenly turned around to look back at me. 

Above 4 photos: Xi'an's colorful and lively Muslim Street is one of my favorite places in China. 

Gigantic broth pot. 

Chinese memorabilia for sale at a Xi'an flea market. 

That would indeed be a priceless book, but as is always the case with this sort of thing, this too turned out to contain just a lot of worn out truisms. 

I always travel with a thermometer and take my temp in my hotel room from time to time. Now in China your temp is taken whenever you enter grocery stores, hospitals, airports, train stations, cafes, malls, subway stations, etc. and I don't want to find out what happens to those found to have a fever. 

Futuristic movie theater at a Xi'an mall. For about 30 yuan, or $4, you can pick a movie off a list for a private pod viewing. 

I always seem to be able to put together some sort of vegan dinner. On this particular evening I had brocolli, greens, and a bag of cashews. 

Time to head home to Beijing. I spotted this futuristic gadgetry for sale at Xi'an North RR Station. 

Also at Xi'an North RR Station - - looks like this guy's doing some rough traveling. I remember hitchhiking up in Maine about 20 years ago and to lighten our loads Dawn and I wrapped a bunch of stuff in a blanket and mailed it like that back to Ohio. 

 

So it's goodbye to Xi'an. I don't know when or if I'll be back, but I sure love that city. I've about 3 weeks left before returning to the US, so this could be my final trip in China - - or maybe not...

 

First trip out post-pandemic

At the starting gate: people waiting to head down to the train platform at Beijing South RR Station. China experienced a severe pandemic for months, but the Chinese haven't missed a beat. Traffic jams are back to normal, factories are cranking out goods, the air pollution is back with a vengeance, and the hotels are filling up again. 

God only knows how many of these Chinese bullet train photos I've taken these past 4 years, dozens. My first trip out post-pandemic so I'm taking it easy with a trip to nearby Jinan, only about 2 hours south of Beijing via bullet train. 

A good tea blend for the ride - - hibiscus, cinnamon sticks, cherry fruit blend, dried lemon slices, and, something new I just discovered and really like - tiny black dried plums. 

6 months hunkered down in the US without travel and I'd forgotten how much I love hoteling in China. The hotel lobby, pools, gym, breakfast buffet all open for business now, and things are looking up for the travel industry in China. 

Great view from my room. That's Jinan's huge Olympic Park across the street from the hotel. 

Chinese hotel lobbies often have beautiful flower arrangements. 

 

Above 3 photos: Jinan's beautiful Baotu Springs. 

Today I ordered a pair of prescription sunglasses, including readers at the bottom of the lenses. But this woman (on the right) simply wears her reading glasses over her sunglasses. 

Above 2 photos: taken at Jinan's 1000 Buddha Mountain. 

Me doing yoga at 5:30 in the morning. 

Possibly good advice for some, but Dawn encourages me to take trips to provide her with some much needed alone time. 

After years of putting it off I finally broke down and got some glasses. What a difference - - like a visual epiphany, all has suddenly become clear to me.