The last few days have been so full and so busy that we have been left trying to catch up on writing about where we have been, and so now we are two destinations behind, and for that I apologize. It seemed when having a chance to be more relaxed would allow for some good time to write and post pictures but instead it was just filled with time trying to get back the energy used up in the days before. In any case, our story goes back to our final morning in Beiji...

Prima di tutto, errata corrige. Ovviamente il partito comunista cinese non ha 200 anni, ma 90. Il secondo giorno a Pechino e' cominciato presto, per evitare la ressa (speranza vana) e il caldo (speranza ancora piu' vana). La citta'(che fu) proibita e' la meta turistica principale della citta'e per questo costantemente stracolma di persone, soprattutto gruppi di cinesi che arrivano da tutto il paese per ammirare le bellezze della capitale. Il nome citta' non po...

Beijing, the people's city, or rather the city full of people. Despite our best efforts to wake up early, or visit sights late, or take alternative transport, everywhere we went, we met people, lots of them. Shanghai may have a higher population but it seems it will be hard to beat the sense of masses of people and crowds there is in this city, despite Beijing proper being approximately the size of Belgium. Obviously, most of the crowds we have come across have...

After fighting with the heat and the crowd in Bejing for three days, Shanghai appeared to us as an oasis of peace. Not so much for the weather, as the humidity was, if possible, even worse than in the capital, but for the general efficience of the city. The metro is almost as frequent as in Beijing, but much less crowded and always air conditioned. It is true what our guide book says, Shanghai is miles ahead of Beijing. Despite the lack of the breath-taking sigh...

Il nostro viaggio in treno e' finito verso le 14 ora locale. Il treno ha riversato il suo carico di turisti intontiti in una Pechino avvolta nella nebbia. Dopo un giorno e mezzo in treno attraverso la Mongolia, il contrasto non potrebbe essere piu' drammatico. Li' spazi enormi e vuoti, deserto, cavalli selvaggi, sporadici villaggi popolati da abitanti sonnolenti. Qui, un mare brulicante di persone, macchine e biciclette e case, palazzi, insegne al neon e cemento ...