We were in China for almost 4 weeks. We saw amazing things, alarming contrasts, and met a diverse mix of people. We arrived on July 26 to Shanghai. After a week of spending time with friends and Sarah's parents all went to Beijing. We sightseed for two days in Beijing and then headed to Chengde for an overnight. We returned to Beijing and from their split up from our friends and parents. We spent one night with friends in Beijing before heading to Gansu province in the middle of China. In Gansu we spent a day at Bingli Si and four days in Xiahe the site of the Labrang Monastery. From there we started making our way back to Shanghai. Along the way we stopped in Pingliang, Xian, and Nanjing. After returning to Shanghai we spent one day with our friends agian before flying back to Japan. That was our trip in a nutshell. I trust the details will be more interesting and understandable. But an idea of the whole trip and a little knowledge of the geography of where we went will help you to understand our experiences and reactions. Below are two maps that should also give you an idea of where we were. The first map is of the whole country of China and shows basically where we went. The second map is of Gansu province, where we spent a lot of time.

From the bottom of this page you can start paging through our travelogue. Or you can go back to the China page and view the travelogue that way. Our travelogue mostly tells you what we did and saw. It doesn't have to many practical details about travel in China. If you are reading this and looking for that kind of info you might be disappointed. If you that's what you are looking for email us with your questions and we will try to help you out.