Tianyu Gloria Plaza Hotel Xi'An

... all of the huge Computer and IT Buildings on the way and believe me, there are many of them. My Wizbang laptop is once again doing strange things that are identical to the strange things it was doing prior to its last three deaths. I won’t be able to afford a new home laptop and ...

... Cuando por fin llegamos a la entrada, nos tuvimos que pelear otra vez para poder hacernos una foto con los Guerreros.<br>Moraleja: levantante pronto y vete a verlos por tu cuenta a primera hora de la manana. Eso nos pasa por perezosas. Ay, ay, ay!!<br><br>Como dicen en China: "Si quieres ver 15 anos de historia, vete a Shanghai. Si quieres ver 500, vete a Beijing. Si quieres ver 5.000, ves a Xi'an".

... It came with some good bread and soup crackers (a bit odd). YUM! We also had the mini canapes platter - tuna, smoked meat, salami, prosciutto, brie and smoked salmon. It was also very good. We selected the white wine sampler - sauvignon blancs from US, Chile and New Zealand. Two were very good and one was just OK. The wine would have been better if it had been a larger portion!!<br> After our late night snack/dinner we headed to our lovely, comfy, massive bed! It is divine!

... It even has a moat and a drawbridge. It is one of the few Chinese cities remaining with an intact wall. The ancient city wall of Beijing was actually destroyed to complete the present-day subway system. We arrived in Chongqing this afternoon, the home of our sister school, Xincun Primary Experimental School. After a meal of Pizza Hut Pizza (again, I'm not making this up!) we returned to our rooms to prepare for our visits/observations/professional development.

... more of China, gained a first hand experience of the food, sights, smells and most of all the 'vibe' of China that all those who are still at home dreaming about it will ever experience. As they had only an afternoon left I put plan B into action! That being what I normally do, allow a completely unplanned day come to life! All thoughts of winter clothes were forgotten somewhere ...

... and lifesize warriors but each face was different! And there were cavalrymen, archers, generals, horsemen and more. It was quite a site! The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Work is ongoing at this site, which is around 1.5 ...

... reaching 2160m). The steep cliffs and the sheer scale of the manpower involved to cut these steps made the climb unforgettable. Bizarrly, despite the existance of a cablecar, porters climb these steep trecherous paths with extemely heavy loads on their backs. Manual labour here really is that cheap. We stayed in a cold communist style hostel at the top (you're not even given your own key, you have to ask to be let into your room) and were ...

It's nice to be in a place where not only do the cafe staff know my name, but travelpod knows where I am! I like not having to manually change the Map Pin because it has no idea where the tiny Chinese provence we are staying in is! So we left the unhappiest room in the world in Emei Shan to go to the other monastry at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately for us, it was raining for our whole walk. Our whole 4 hour walk to ...

... two sleeper tickets to Xi'an turned up as if by magic, making us feel that nothing can really be taken as 'red' in China. After a comfortable 12 hr journey, we arrived in Xi'an, famous for the Terracotta warriors and as a communist stronghold in 1930s. Being China, this is no quant town. First impressions were busy, noisy and dirty. Like in Beijing, no motorists take any notice of pedestrian (or ...

... had a huge family dinner. Oh so much to eat. My favourite food so far in China is the little steamed dumplings called Joutsa. They are awesome! You buy them by the little bamboo tray full. I didn't get here till late last night so we didn't begin our family adventures until this morning. They are all so cool. Not much English can be ...