Just a note to say that I’m safe at home, and even mostly recovered from jet lag and the cold I brought back from China.  I have given up on catching up the blog entries (the places/locations are firmly scrambled in my head), but I have updated my website – see http://www.travelingtiger.com/travelingtiger/china/china.htm. Enjoy!

We went to Hua Shan (Flower Mountain) day before yesterday, and climbed partway up one of the peaks.  Hua Shan is a mountain near Xi’an, that makes me finally understand all those Chinese brush paintings with trees growing from sheer cliffs on craggy mountains.  I’d never seen trees growing from small crevices in sheer walls [...]

Well, Typoon Wipha missed Shanghai, thank goodness.  We landed here safely yesterday afternoon, after a half-day spent with the Terra Cotta Soldiers in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China. The terra cotta soldiers are amazing, both in antiquity and sheer volume.  They are part of the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of [...]

We’re scheduled to fly into Shanghai tomorrow, after seeing the Terra Cotta Soldiers, but I’m guessing there is about a 50% chance that our flight will be canceled.  Typhoon Wipha, which is expected to be the worst hurricane to hit China in over 50 year, is due to hit Shanghai tomorrow, probably around the time [...]

We’re now in Xi’an, the ancient capital of China, where we are staying in the five-star Hotel Sofitel.  Not only do they have Internet in the rooms, I can actually access my Website!  So I have been doing some hasty website editing and have a few pages up for your perusal.  I’m nowhere near being [...]