China 2005 Introduction

The high profile of China in the last few years only heightened our desire to see this huge, ancient and populous country. And in October 2005, we finally made it.		In a grueling 2½ week trip, we visited the major tourist locations. The trip was truly amazing and we saw so much that it was hard to take it all in.
	Shanghai We arrived in China at Shanghai, which has become a modern propsperous city. It was originally an area given to foreign countries in various "concessions" and still has a strong international and commerial presence.
	Yangtze Cruise From Shanghai, we flew to a city near the massive Three Gorges Dam project. After touring the dam site, we boarded a cruise ship for the 4-day trip upriver through the famous Three Gorges.
	Chongqing We only had an afternoon stopover in Chongqing, but we made the most of it by visiting the zoo and the downtown square.
	Xian Of course, Xi'an is the area where the early dynasties had their capital. Most interestingly, it has the spectacular terra cotta army excavations.
	Beijing Our last stop in mainland China was in the capital city. From here we saw sights within the city (notably the "Forbidden City," which was the imperial capital for the last two dynasties). We also ventured out to that most famous of landmarks, the Great Wall.
	Hong Kong Our final stop was in this "special economic zone" which was a British colony until 1997. Hong Kong still feels independent with its own money and government and is a hugely built up city in a tiny area.