DaLi, my favorite city in the Mountains of Western China

The 3 hour bus ride from LiJaing to DaLi was beautiful and eye opening. Crops are being grown everywhere possible. The majestic mountains were awesome. I love this part of China.










Beautiful lakes and parks in every city.












We all got a chuckle out of this sign. We see interesting interpretations of signs into English. Some are making a file with all the odd signs!












DaLi is the flower capitol of the world. We saw zillions of beautiful flowers and bulbs for sale.












More flowers.

Li Jaing, A Beautiful city in the Mountains

Americans are rather sparse in LiJaing. These girls got quite a giggle out of us .

Beautiful Snow Mountain...has never been summited because of the makeup of the rocks at the top. Look it up on google for an explanation...the rocks crumbled so no anchoring to them!

These senior ladies were basking in the sun on a cold day in LiJaing. Worked hard all their lives.

Display topography of Snow Mountain and surrounding mountains, towns and rivers. We learned alot from this display. Google the three parallel rivers in western China - the Macon is one.

Statue of the hero in this part of China.

More of Kunming

Farm workers taking their lunch break. They always squat while eating or talking. Makes my knees hurt to see them in this position.













I love these formations in this part of the Stone Forest.












The Stone Forest is beautiful.












Vegetables are growing everywhere in China, not just on farms. They eat a ton of vegetables and need tons to feed all the people.

Kunming

Artist who paints by blowing the ink in patterns. His paintings are so beautiful that it would be hard to believe if I had not see him at work!











Cormarant fishing...just amazing to watch. If you don't know what it is, look it up.














Elephant Rock at one of the beautiful parks. There is a cave inside this rock.

















Seeing our flag next to the China flag was uplifting to me. This was at the building next to our hotel in Kunming.












Only heiroglyphic language still taught in the world. These drawings filled a whole wall where this village teaches the children this language.

More of China's Cultural Park aka PCC

Beautiful lake scene.












Inside one of the cave homes.














Beautiful flowers everywhere in China!














Cave dwellers' replica










Largest sitting buddha in the world.

China's Version of Polynesian Cultural Center

A leader from China visited the PCC in Hawaii and decided China needed a cultural exhibition of the different ethnic groups in China, so they now have a huge, fun place with replicas of many cultures within China. This picture show the famous Stone Forest in Kunming.









This is a small scale replica of one of the sites of the Great Wall.


















Replica of the Forbidden City.











Beautiful scenery between cultural displays. This was so peaceful to walk through all these villages and enjoy the atmosphere created here. This is a must if you ever visit China.

Shenzhen, Fishing Village Turned High Tech City

Shenzhen was a tiny fishing village 31 years ago but it now one of the largest populated cities in China per square meter. The average age in Shenzhen is 30 years old...a very young and modern city.

Beautiful Sanya Resort - China's Hawaii

Sanya, the capital city of Hainan Island, is a resort at the southernmost tip of China that reminds us of Hawaii.

This picture was taken at a Hot Springs Resort that was very exotic and beautiful.









We are standing at The End of The Earth beach at the South China Sea...so gorgeous. The big rock behind us is a famous landmark where sweethearts go to proclaim their love for each other.













We don't know what these writings say, but it was a spot where all the other tourists were taking pictures!















Monument at The End of the Earth beach resort in the South China Sea. Windy, cool day, but warmer than our hometown of Jinan in January!

Pictures of Shanghai

China Pavilion at Expo 2010 - this exhibit was amazing!


Luci freezing at the China Pavilion!


View of some unique architecture at Shanghai Expo 2010


Overview of one side of Shanghai Expo


Entrance street to Expo 2010


Amazing freeway roundabout in Shanghai

Market (t0urist trap) in Shanghai - very fun!

Concrete and Skyscrapers intertwined block after block forever.


Bridge to Expo 2010 Site

Beautiful greenery, but crowded Shanghai

Shanghai Tour January 2011

January 2011 was a busy month for us. We have a 7 week break from teaching as the semester ends and the Chinese New Year is celebrated. Our first tour was to Shanghai, the financial capital of China, and the largest populated city, with 19,214,000 people. It hosts the first Stock Exchange Office in China and China's tallest building.

Snow Sculpture Park in Harbin, China

This is the largest snow sculpture in the world. I think the size was a football field length. It was truly impressive.













This snow sculpture was elegant and royal looking. They told us that the sculptors are just regular hired workers, not artists, but that was hard to believe...very professional.









Standing on the bridge we crossed to get to the snow sculpture park.

Tiger Park in Harbin

Kings of the jungle and Harbin, China!
















Liger, rare lion/tiger creation.












Dinner time for these gentlemen.















Enjoying a little sun.












Two leopards at the Tiger Reserve















One very beautiful tiger.