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Study Tour to China 2005
| 'The Journey to the West' - GAIC Study Tour 2005 |
In association with Ian Dickson Travel Services (Edinburgh) and The Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Leaders: Adam Nichols and Sarah Maude
Download the itinerary here.
You can contact us at china@maudes.net
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The Journey begins...
The 'Journey to the West', named after a famous Chinese legend, seems an odd title for a study tour of China but we start in Beijing on Wednesday and then travel westward, mainly along the Silk Routes. The advanced party (Adam Nichols) is already in Beijing, where it has been pouring with rain and, after the heatwave, temperatures are almost down to British levels!
The rest of us are wondering how much of the file of notes called “The Tour Guide” (produced by the International Committee and friends) we actually want to carry.
Watch this space for more as we make our way westward...
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WEDNESDAY 27 JULY
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The group has arrived without mishap and after travelling overnight had a full first day.
Preparations for the Olympics are in full swing, and as the "clock" in Tiananmen Square shows.
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We visited the Forbidden City and then the old hutong housing areas, some of which are being gentrified and are now becoming fashionable as both desirable residential areas and tourist attractions.
The modern street furniture as seen in the photo, is a new addition since our last visit.
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We were guided by Radio Beijing's Bruce Connolly; a Glaswegian geography teacher in a former life. Listeners to Radio Beijing were treated to a live interview via mobile phone with Adam Nichols (see photo) and Lucy Scovell about their impressions of historical and modern Beijing.
The day ended with a Peking Duck feast.
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THURSDAY 28 JULY
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The day began with a visit to the outstanding Beijing City Planning Exhibition Centre where the layout of the entire city became easy to understand by looking at the model of the inner zones and the aerial photographs of the suburbs beneath our feet. Bruce Conolly pointed out significant and familiar features of the model.
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An excellent lunch (photo) was followed by a visit to the Institute of Geographical Sciences where we were given a presentation on the sophisticated use of integrated GIS in the analysis of ecological changes in western China. A bonus was a view from the window of the new Olympic Games stadium and village construction sites.
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The Friendship Association welcomed the group with a magnificent banquet in the early evening after which a number of us ventured into the fashionable Wangfujing Street to inspect the beer festival.
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FRIDAY 29 JULY
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A trip to the Great Wall was also a lesson in tourism overload. The crowds at Badaling were so so great that progress was slow and it was a good excuse not to walk far in the heat.
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The overnight trip on the Z class train to Xian was "cosy" in our Soft Class sleeper compartments but we spent the evening being sociable in the corridor outside.
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SATURDAY 30 JULY
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Our high to low tech agriculture day...
Not all our time is spent eating food! Today the group visited the privately owned TechTeam horticultural complex outside Xian to discover how the vegetables they eat each day are produced. Each greenhouse covers 3, 500sq m and the food is produced in environmentally controlled conditions, mostly for the tourist trade. You can believe us it tastes delicious!
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The onto a higher level of the loess plateau to see the gullies and the cave houses (photo). We were welcomed by a family into their home at very short notice.
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Today temperatures were in the 30s, but in winter it is very cold and the photo shows the kang under which is fire is lit at night and on top of which the family sleeps to keep warm. Margaret Caistor delighted members of the family both young and old by taking their photos on a instant camera for them to keep.
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SUNDAY 31 JULY
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Xian
On arrival at the Terracotta Warriors Site our delegation was priviledged to be driven straight to the door of Number One Pit, so missing the opportunity to study the tourism experience. We were greeted by the Director of the Museum and then did the tour of this World Heritage site. Around the buildings there are considerable environmental improvements which necessitated the removal of several expensive tourist shops and the movement of the market.
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The rest of the day was spent visiting other sites in Xian - we were amazed at the scale of development.
From now on as we travel west, communication may be more difficult...
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MONDAY 1 AUGUST
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Xian
Six miles from the centre Zi Wei Garden City is being built to house and serve 500,000 people. The photo shows us studying the model of the nearly completed city built around pleasant British designed gardens.
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We left the hazy airspace of Xian for the clear air of Xining (heavy rainfall the previous day had cleared the air). Xining city is confined to flat floors of two river valleys, part of which can be seen in the photo, which drain into the Yellow River.
The day ended with an invitation to a Tibetan themed night club by Adam's friends on the staff of Qinghai Normal University - very entertaining!
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TUESDAY 2 AUGUST
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Xining
The morning was spent with Provincial Government officials discussing environmental protection, forestry and the great western development strategy. We heard of challenges and remarkable achievements.
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We then drove out along a new express way to the Ta'er (Kum Bum) Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. Most has been beautifully restored for the benefit of monks, pilgrims and tourists. The photos show prayer wheels and Adam Nichols sharing his sweets with some monks.
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Once back in Xining we split into groups to visit view points or study retailing opportunities, accompanied by students of geography and english from Qinghai Normal (Teacher Education) University - a great opportunity for both parties.
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WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST
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All aboard a double decker train for the journey to Lanzhou along the Huang Shui river valley, densely farmed and with a long corridor of industry as we approached Lanzhou.
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The photo shows Loess overlying a solid sandstone.
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THURSDAY 4 AUGUST
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Lanzhou
Our one day in this area was packed. Off early to an HEP dam on the Yellow River and then by boat across the Luijaixia reservoir to the Thousand Buddha Caves. These are carved out of the side of a spectacular gorge - the photo shows caves on the right and jeeps for tourists to go further up the gorge.
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On our way back to the city we stopped at a village and talked to some local farmers. Margaret Caistor delighted the families with polaroid pictures.
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A tour of spots by the Yellow River in the city ended with a cable car ride to a view point and walk down to the oldest bridge. Reputed to be the most polluted city in China, great efforts are being made in Lanzhou to improve the environment, including planting millions of trees to stabilise the loess slopes.
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FRIDAY 5 - SATURDAY 6 AUGUST
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Dunhuang
On the edge of the oasis are the 'Singing Sands' where to get the best views of the dunes you have to travel by camel, walk to the top and then slide down on a 'tray'.
Nearby are the Mogao caves with magnificent Buddhist cave art (no cameras allowed). In 5 years time they are talking of closing the caves to tourists for preservation reasons.
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SUNDAY 7 - MONDAY 8 AUGUST
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After another reasonably comfortable night on a train we were off around the sights of our second oasis, famous for grape growing and raisins despite the extreme cold in winter (when the vines are buried).
The place is almost unrecognisable compared to the early 1990s as the Han Chinese City (and prosperity) have grown.
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Our itinerary had to be retimed as a '1 in 30 year' rainstorm had caused damage to the highway, so we went first to Jiaohe ruins where the bridge had flood-induced troubles.
As everywhere, we fed extremely well here at the Grape Valley 'theme park'.
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The vines and dryers (square buildings with holes in) end abruptly and beyond the edge of the oasis are the Flaming Mountains.
Beside the Bezeklik Caves stands this statue, illustrating the famous legend of the 'Journey to the West' after which our tour was named.
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Knowing we were keen to visit a real farm/family, our driver fixed it up with friends who were very hospitable at short notice.
After providing us with a feast of fruits and nibbles the pretty lady of the house danced for us and then we went to see the vines.
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TUESDAY 9 - THURSDAY 11 AUGUST
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Urumqi
Our bus took us along a large new 'motorway' towards Urumqi, passing through a very large wind farm, to the delight of Lucy Scovell!
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At Xinjiang Normal University we had an interesting lecture on the province, its geography and development. The photo to the right shows the group with staff of the Geography Department.
At their suggestion Julian Maslin (supported by Sarah and Adam) returned the next day to give an impromptu talk to post-graduates and staff about tourism in England, while the rest of the group visited the rehoused market (on four floors) and the museum.
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I would not have recognised the huge han town that has replaced the Uighur town I visited 12 years ago. At the pagoda viewpoint we compared then and now views - only one tower block was in view in 1993!
The city in the desert is surrounded by mountains, some snow capped as the photograph shows.
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Again rain in the desert disrupted our plans, though we didn't see the '1 in 300 year' storm. The road to The Heavenly Lake had been damaged so we went to the South Pasture instead, to a touristy spot on the edge of the Tien Shan mountains, where there was a ski lift for winter!
This is the grazing land of the nomadic Kazaks, whose yurts are now mainly for summer use (and tourist inspection).
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State farms are still common in this remote area, growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. Each family has a well-tended private plot where they can provide for most of their own needs.
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FRIDAY 12 - SATURDAY 13 AUGUST
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After the 4 hour flight back to the east, to Shanghai, Despite tiredness everyone was off around the sites - the Planning Museum, the Bund, Pudong, the Jin Mao Tower Observatory (88th floor), and the Maglev.
We met Chinese friend George Wang and his wife Betty for dinner before sampling Shanghai's exciting night life.
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Our hotel, the Pacific, by the People's Park, is dwarfed by the towers around it, but is very central. The photo to the right shows the buildings around the wonderful child-friendly new Science Museum in Pudong, the tube station below water and the open space.
The tourers are now home for a rest!
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