Back from China!

Happy New Year everyone! We had a very busy holiday season in 2009 and are excited about what 2010 will bring us. We have lots of photos to share from our trip to China over the holidays and hope that you have some time to view them. Our trip was amazing! We were not only able to visit some of the most intriguing world heritage sites, but also experience the culture of the Chinese people.

Our first stop was Hong Kong where Chris studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for a week as we explored the sights of Hong Kong.  We visited the Giant Buddha and Victoria Peak the weekend we arrived and then Chris started class on Monday. On Wednesday, we headed to Shenzen with the university where we visited a label printing company and then scoped out the local Wal-mart - that was a sight to see. The other days Chris was in school I explored the city with other the spouses on the trip, Meredith and Dee. We wandered through markets, went to the Chinese Heritage Museum, walked through the Chi Lin Nunnery, got foot reflexology massages (highly recommended), and had Afternoon Tea at the Peninsula Hotel. After class, the guys would meet us out for dinner at a place we had scoped out that day, always in different parts of the city. One of the nights, we had a very nice dinner with Steve & Meredith at Aqua Tokyo overlooking Hong Kong Island - great photos!

Once Chris was finished with class in Hong Kong, we hopped on a flight to Shanghai and met our friend, Cice for dinner at a great Sichuan restaurant, South Beauty. After dinner, we went down to The Bund for drinks at Glamour Bar and Bar Rouge where we had a lot of fun people watching. During out stay in Shanghai, we went to the Shanghai World Financial Center (a supertall skyscraper  housing the tallest observation deck - looks like a bottle opener), the Yuyuan Gardens - part of the old city, XinTianDi shopping and restaurant district, and Nanjing Rd - #1 Commercial pedestrian street. Shanghai has some crazy drivers and we are happy we got out alive!

The last stop on our China tour was Beijing, where we met up with Steve & Meredith at the end of their trip. We had a great dinner at Da Dong where we ate Peking Duck, a true Beijing fare that was traditionally prepared for the emperor. We hiked one of the 7 Wonders of the World, The Great Wall at Mutianyu. After our 4 hour hike, we visited the ancient sacrificial buildings at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Another day was filled walking many, many miles through Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City where we saw some of the most beautiful Chinese architecture from the 1400s.

Christmas Day, literally the longest day ever lived, we left China to travel home leaving with some great memories and tons of photos! We hope you enjoy all the photos (accessible by the links below) and feel free to send any comments you have!

Hong Kong

Shanghai

Beijing