Yiquan Hotel Zhenjiang

... for the day, and the very kind host of a fantastic week in China, and headed back to the train station to journey to our next destination.

Despite arriving at the station an hour before the train was due to depart (an hour we filled with postcard writing and games of ********, under the gaze of curious locals) we only just made it onto the train. Us passengers were only allowed onto the platform five minutes before departure, and with a huge bottle necking effect, hundreds of ...

... famous site in Yangzhou is Shouxihu, known as "Slender West Lake". My local guide told me it is a must-see place, so it is my first stop of the trip.The scenery can give you the best explanation for the name since it is as amazing as the famous West Lake while additionally there are emerald green trees, cherry red lotus, traditional Chinese pavilions,and ...

... t get a very good write-up in the guidebooks but we thought it was stunning and really friendly in a less leery way than Suzhou. The main attraction is the Slender West Lake which is a pretty park. Ge Garden was so lovely - almost as nice as Suzhou's Master of the Garden of Nets!

... that. When we discovered the nightbus to Yangzhou I immediatly (next day) left to this spot, were Im writing from now, and Yan stayed 2 nights more at Pietros place. So.... so far, so (amazingly) good. We'll be writing shortly about our stay here, but that'll probably be at our next stop, which should be next Monday or Tuesday (20 or 21.Oct) -- till then: besotes y abrazotes! Yan y Vale ps: and finalllllyyyyyyyyy the promised photos

... sont légions et dans les jardins les pièces d'eaux sont éssentielles mais comme les montagnes sont loins on en créé de petites artificielles et la nature suit, bonzaï à profusion... Demain je fais un bond vers le sud de quelques milliers de km, je prend un avion pour m'emmener dans les montagnes kastiques du sud ouest de la Chine. La c'est l'aventure qui m'attend car j'ai un billet pour m'y rendre mais pas pour revenir...

Hello Everybody, I think I should first start this blog off by mentioning my map pin locations. I don't think any of them are right. So don't go basing any geography projects on my map. I've mentioned before, the computer that I was using in Inner Mongolia was a piece of ****, and sometimes I would just be happy to be able to log on..so putting accurate map pin locations wasn't one of my priorities..mind you..now that I have access to a good computer...the map pin thing is starting ...

... each we all headed to the top of Cishou Ta the seven storey pagoda. It was so hot inside and when we reached the top we were met by a beautiful cool breeze. Needless to say we stayed seven storeys high for sometime. After the pagoda we spent a few hours walking around Jinshan Si and its very beautiful gardens. We sat on the grass chatting and getting to know each other more. How happy was I when Cheng ...

... infested by mosquitoes. Or maybe by that time I really smelt...ha ha ha! The beginning was nice and I walked by many carvings in the mountain but then when it got the back of the island it was damp and there were mozzies everywhere and suddenly it finished and took me back to where I was before.

I was hoping it would take me further out to then join the gardens.

After exploring the gardens I decided to walk ...

... rooms, restaurants, wedding rooms etc. It really is surprising the hotels that will come way down in price! After dropping my pack off I then headed up Jiefang Lu towards Chang Jiang (or the Yangzi River). I then headed to Beigushan Gongyuan that houses Ganlu Si (temple). It only took ten minutes to walk there and I spotted many bus number fours so I guess they are still the main bus to take to that part of town. Though bus number four still ...

... to go AAAAALLLLLLLLLLL the way back the way I came to cross the river. STOOPID IDEA! After leaving the park I found a pagoda on the other side of the river and sat to chat to Amigo and read for an hour. I then began making my way back into town and dropped into a small family Kodak store to have my photos burnt onto disk ...