China Spring-Summer 2004

The resting place of Dr Sun Yet-sen("Zhongshanling") Nanjing, Jiangsu Province

The Presidential Palace, Nanjing The complex served as the nerve centre during the Taiping Rebellion and Chiang Kai Shek's rule. It is now a museum with much valuable information and artifacts. Don't miss it when you go to Nanjing.

In front of Dr Sun's former office.

An overview of Xihu("The West Lake") from Leifeng Tower,Hangzhou.

On Suti(the dyke built by the Sung Dynasty poet Su Dongbo), the West Lake, Hangzhou.

Fenghuang, Hunan Province
Fenghuang is a cute little town sited on the banks of the Tuo River ("Tuojiang"). The town is noted for its cobbled alleys and houses built on stilts("diaojiaolou" in Chinese). Many riverside residences have been converted into cafes, hotels, art galleries and souvenir shops. Fenghuang is also the birthplace of the great Chinese writer Shen Congwen whose writings about the place have enhanced its lure.

Fenghuang

Jinghong, Yunnan Jinghong where most of the people are Thais rather than the ethnic Han is in the deep south of Yunnan bordering Laos and Myanmar.

How do I go to China? First I took a night bus from Bangkok to Chiangkorn. Then crossed the Mekong River to Huay Xay where I boarded another bus to Luang Namtha. After spending a night in Namtha I again jumped onto a bus to Borten which sits on the borders of Laos and China. The entry point of Yunnan is Morhan.