Bill Howe Personal Website 

      Accompanying guests:

Harlan London, our guest on the trip visited the Beijing Opera School.
After lunch visited the Temple of Heaven, a “perfection of Ming  architecture” set in a park with four opposing gates and bordered by walls to the north and east.  It served as a stage for formal rites
performed by the Emperor, the “Son of Heaven,”  who prayed for good harvests and other auspicious events.

      
        We enjoy a classic Peking Duck dinner that evening.
 

This morning the delegation visited Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, symbolically declares China’s openness to the world and to the future. This is the largest public square in the world and a great opportunity for people watching. Delegates enjoyed a walking tour of the Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace. Construction of the Forbidden City was one of the great feats of human history, comparable only to the pyramids in Egypt, or China’s own Great Wall.

Lunch was provided at the Dayi Restaurant.

That afternoon we walk atop the Great Wall of China, one of the world’s most fascinating architectural endeavors. Delegates had a free evening and dinner on their own.

Today we spent the morning at the amazing Forbidden City. Pictures will be uploaded after we get back. It was cool & rainy but being in this historic site made up for it. Almost  everyone has a camera so there will multiple pictures after we get back. In the afternoon we went to the Cloisonné factory to see the artwork being made, had another multiple course lunch and then shopped in the store for an hour. We went to the Great Wall after and had a gorgeous photo of the delegation made on the Wall. This evening we had free time to shop and eat. We are eating like royalty and being treated the same. Shopping is terrific and we are all  becoming great at bargaining.
 

Fly to Chongqing this morning. Upon arrival we were met by Mr. Li, our local representative.
 

Lv Beijing                                      AIR CHINA                                11/10                       11:45.am.

Ar Chongqing                                 #CA4138                                  11/10                       2:05 p.m.

CHONGQING

Chongqing, the commercial and industrial hub of China's southwestern Sichuan Province, is one of the most populated cities in the world today.  Perched on steep hills above the confluence of the Yangtze and a major tributary, the Jialing River, the city gains its fame for the amazing Yangtze River cruise. Chongqing is under rapid transformation due to the construction of the Three Gorges Dam.

 

This afternoon the delegation visited the Old Town of Ciqikou. Founded in the Song Dynasty, it became a trade port in the Ming Dynasty and reached its prosperity around the end of the Qing Dynasty. The town's name means “porcelain harbor,” because the community prospered from the porcelain trade. Buildings here feature traditional architectural styles of east Sichuan, with civil houses made of bamboo. The town is the birthplace of the Shaci Culture. Today it offers a glimpse of the peaceful laid-back life in the Sichuan countryside. 

 

We checked in today at the Marriott Hotel. The hotel is located in the liberation monument area in the city's most prosperous commercial district. This five star hotel is only a 30-minutes' drive from the Jing Bei International Airport. The hotel offers excellent and luxurious facilities including a superb indoor swimming pool. Guest rooms are equipped with a work desk with lamp, 2-line speaker telephone with voice mail and data port, remote controlled satellite/cable television, mini bar/refrigerator, hairdryer, in-room safe, bathrobe, iron and board and air conditioning.

 

Dinner was provided at a local restaurant.

Today was a travel day. We checked out of our beautiful hotel. It was very sunny and a little windy. on the cooler side today. We flew out of Beijing and arrived 2 hours later in Chongqing, the largest city in China - 30 million people. We visited an historic town and were treated to live ethnic music at a great tea house. We are right on the Yangtze River and it is both very poor and very modern here. We saw rice paddies for the first time. Our hotel is even more gorgeous than the last one.

See our pictures from today.*
 

This morning the delegation visited Chongqing Huixing Primary School. This rural elementary school outside of town gave delegates an opportunity to visit a rural school in China.

 

Discussion topics:

 

·         Course curriculum

·         Role of family and community

·          Ethnic, class, and gender conflicts in school

·          Student racial/ethnic diversity and education in rural regions and plans to improve it

 

Afternoon visit to General Stillwell Museum and Erling Park. Located at
Eling Hill, the park was built in 1909, and was originally the home of a wealthy businessman. It is also known as "courteous park", with special plant species and a newly built tower (Liangjiang Pavilion) providing the view of the city. Joseph Stilwell was an American general who went to China in 1932 to train Chinese soldiers to help in the resistance against the Japanese occupation of China, Burma and Northeast India. The museum is a collection of newspaper articles, photographs and letters housed in what was once Stillwell’s home.

 

Dinner at a local restaurant before embarking on the cruise.

This was followed by the daily exercise period which involved the entire school in the school yard. set to music the classes performed intricate moves that reminded us of the Olympics. We then sat in on an art class, toured the school and had a professional meeting with the lead staff in the conference room.

See our pictures from today.
 

YANGTZE RIVER

The Yangze River begins in the Tibetan Plateau and empties, 3,900 miles later, into the South China Sea near Shanghai. The river winds through some the most beautiful and exciting landforms in the world, including the Three Gorges. In 1995 construction began on the Three Gorges Dam and is scheduled for completion in 2009. When completed, it will be the world’s largest hydroelectric dam, measuring about 600 feet high and nearly 1.5 miles wide. Controversy surrounds the dam’s construction, as the resulting flooding will destroy roughly 140 villages, 1,600 factories and over 80,000 acres of land that could otherwise be used for crops. Nearly two million people will be displaced.

Meal service was provided on board the boat (breakfast, lunch and dinner).

 

River Cruise Ship* see the ship

 

Full day Yangtze River Cruise with all meals provided on board the ship.

 

Shibaozhai is a gem of Chinese architecture. A wood red pavilion 11 stories high was built against a protruding 220-meter rectangular rock with sheer cliffs on the north bank. People can climb up to the top by a spiral staircase in the pavilion.

 

Wanxian is the alternative shore excursion of Shibaozhai according to the actual water level. The city received its present name during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and became a foreign Treaty Port in 1902. Visitors can see city's ten free markets sells local produce and seasonal delicacies such as mountain mushrooms or live eels. There was a community of foreign missionaries in Sichuan before 1949, and two churches - one Catholic and one Protestant - continue to draw sizeable congregations of country folk

We woke up this morning and found ourselves cruising slowly down the historic Yangtze River. The sailing is smooth. Only 1-2 people are mildly seasick. It was foggy and humid at first and then brightened up. There are petro refineries in many spots of the river. We pass sampans with people fishing like they have for thousands of years. Water buffalo can be seen with birds perched on their backs. Rice paddies are everywhere.

The pagoda was amazing and many steps and statues. Vendors and stalls are abundant. The views from the tops are breath-taking. People are pinching themselves. We cannot believe we are in China on the famous river heading towards the Three Gorges.

On the ship many of us are getting massages, manicures, etc and buying up clothes and paintings at the gifts shops on board. The food is good but people are complaining that there is no chocolate!

See our pictures from today.

Full day Yangtze River Cruise with all meals provided on board the ship. 

The delegation sailed through the impressive Qutang Gorge, which is pictured on the back of the Chinese 5 Yuan note. Later this afternoon, visit the Shenong Stream which starts at Mt. Shennong Jia in Hubei Province north of the Yangtze. It comprises of Parrot Gorge and Dragon Boat Gorge with breathtaking scenery. Sailing through the treacherous gorges with lush pine and translucent water, visitors can see spectacular sights like ancient plank roads, ancient cave coffins, aqueous caves, rainbow fountain and rare animals like macaques and mandarin ducks. It is also perfect to experience the culture of Tujia nationality. 

Baidicheng is the alternative shore excursion of Shennong Stream according to the actual water level. Baidicheng (White Emperor Town) located at the entrance to Qutang Gorge and features Ba coffin relics, precious stone tables & events of the Three Kingdoms. In the Western Han Dynasty, a man named Gongsun Shu claimed himself to be white king and named the place White King Town according to a legend which goes "when a white dragon is seen flying out of a well in front of a hall , the white king is born." 

This evening the ship sailed through the Wu Gorge, known for its famous Kong Ming Tablet – a large section of rock inscribed with details of the alliance between the Shu and Wu states. The tablet actually resembles a large pair of scissors facing skywards

See our pictures from today.

This morning’s journey took delegates through Xiling Gorge, renowned for being extremely perilous and (at 80 kilometers long) the longest of the Yangtze’s Three Gorges.

 

Delegates disembarked and visited the Three Gorges Dam, located in Sandouping City in Yichang, along the Yangtze River. Topics of discussion will focus on the impact of the dam’s construction on the upper sections of the Yangtze, with the rise in water levels submerging many of the towns and villages along the river’s edge.

 

This afternoon, transfer to Wuhan by motor coach. This is a journey of approximately four hours.
China Southern flight #3423 was scheduled to arrive in Kunming at 7:20 p.m.
 

Lv Wuhan                              CHINA SOUTHERN                        11/14                       4:25 p.m.

Ar Kunming                                     CZ 3423                                  11/14                       7:20 p.m.

KUNMING

Kunming, known for its year-round mild climate, has been appropriately labeled “the city of eternal spring.” Kunming is also known as the home of many of China’s minority ethnic groups.  This diverse city, capital of Yunnan Province, was the home of the U.S. Air Force’s Flying Tigers during World War II; today it is a modern commercial and industrial city with many attractions for the visitor. 

Delegates will be met upon arrival and transferred to the Kai Wah Plaza Hotel.  Take advantage of the hotel's business center or the 7th floor health center’s indoor swimming pool, gym and massage service. Guest rooms are equipped with air conditioning, mini bar/refrigerator, IDD telephone and an in-room safety deposit box.

We had a 5 hour coach ride with Peter - our local guide. It was a great drive through the countryside where we saw "the real people" of China. Lots of animals and fields of produce. We stopped several times for breaks and finally found chocolate.

See our pictures from today.

Today we visited with professionals from the Yunnan Institute of the Nationalities. Yunnan Institute of the Nationalities is one of the Provincial key universities, founded in 1951, as a comprehensive institution of higher learning, especially for minority nationalities of Yunnan Province. It aims to train students of ethnic origins as government employees, as teachers of universities and high schools and as various kinds of specialized personnel for the border areas and the regions mainly inhabited by minority peoples. The institute enrolls 95% of its students from nearly 30 ethnic groups in Yunnan, through an annual National Entrance Examination of higher learning.

Most of graduates from the Institute return to serve in their home areas. Over the past forty-five years of its history, the Institute has turned out more than 25,000 graduates, who have been playing an important role in maintaining national equality and unity, implementing the policy of national regional autonomy as well as developing the economy and cultures of the border and the minority areas. Quite a few of the officials at provincial, perceptual and county government levels are graduates of this institute.

Professional program focusing on: 

·         Role of family and the community in the education system

·         Western society’s role in Chinese education

·         Specific education Chinese students receive in preparation for living and working in a global society

 

Lunch was provided this afternoon at a hotel.

This afternoon we visited the Yunnan Center of Ethnic Studies, which is attached to the institute. They are a key research Institution of the province, consisting of eight sections: Ethnology, Economy, History, Language and Literature, Education, Archaeology, Arts and Religions of the Minorities. The Department of Ethnic Languages and Literature and the Department of Economic management have both established their own research sections.

 

The institute publishes three journals: The Journal of Yunnan Institute of the Nationalities (Edition of Social Sciences), The Journal of Yunnan Institute of the Nationalities (Edition of Natural Sciences) and Ethnological Studies, which are on sale in China and overseas. There is also the institute’s campus paper, which is naturally a restricted publication.

 

The institute has endeavored to develop academic exchanges on an international scale. It has established cordial relationships with the University of Virginia and Baylor University in the U.S.A, with Chulalongkorn University, Chiang Mai University, Rajabhat Institute Suan Dusit and Yonok College in Thailand, with La Trobe University in Australia. The Institute every year invites specialists and teachers from other countries to give lectures. Meanwhile experts from the institute have been sent abroad to deliver lectures or to make on-the-spot investigations and young teachers travel overseas to pursue advanced studies.

 

The teaching staff and students of the institute respect each other’s traditions and customs and enjoy the freedom to use their own ethnic languages and to practice their religious beliefs” Equality and unity, mutual help and love” has become the known style of the institute.

 

Professional program focusing on:

 

·         Effective strategies for education Chinese students

·          How the information can be used to better educate students coming to the United States and other western countries.

        AAccompanying Guests:

Enjoy a tour of Kunming’s Green Lake Park, which is located in the city center and has a lovely fresh water lake. In the morning retired people gather together to sing local opera, dance and play. Later on today enjoy a stop at the Golden Palace, a national forest park famous for the largest copper temple in China weighing more than 250 tons.

Your last stop today is to enjoy a cooking lesson with a local family. Chinese hosts will teach guests how to cook the local Dian dishes. The local dishes are usually spicy including steamed chicken with the Chinese herb ginseng, one of the local favorites. 

After breakfast, we began your day with a tour of the Kowloon Peninsula. We stopped by the Jade Market, where merchants offered bargains from more than 450 street-side stalls. We practiced our  bartering skills to bring home rare goods like embroidery, woodcarvings, paintings, and personalized chops, or engraved seals. Our exploration went onto Bird Garden, where we saw songbirds perched in intricately fashioned wood and bamboo cages singing melodic tunes. At the impressive Wong Tai Sin Temple, all three main religions of China-Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are practiced. The temple is a shining example of traditional Chinese architecture, with red pillars, a golden ceiling and ornate latticework. It consists of many soothsayers and the temple may well house the largest concentration of fortune-tellers in Asia.  

The delegation escaped the bustling Kowloon streets to enjoy a dinner cruise in Victoria Harbor. On board enjoy a delicious buffet dinner with live music and wine. We enjoyed the most beautiful night view on both sides of the harbor and leave the city's hectic life behind.

Following breakfast, we crossed Victoria Harbor for a morning tour of Hong Kong Island. Drive through the Wanchai District, whose wild nightlife was immortalized in the 1950’s hit movie The World of Suzie Wong and then travel to the island’s highest point, the 1,800-foot-high Victoria Peak, often referred to by the locals as the Mountain of Great Peace. The vista offered a panoramic view of Hong Kong and the surrounding area. Continued journey to Aberdeen, a quaint fishing village, and then stop by Repulse Bay, a maze of sheltered coves with sandy beaches.

We enjoyed a dim-sum lunch on the Jumbo Floating Restaurant before an evening and dinner on your own. 

We had the opportunity to visit the world-class Hong Kong Museum of History with its permanent “Hong Kong Story’ exhibit. The museum had a wonderful overview of the region’s history and culture. Our hotel was just a short stroll from the museum.

Pictures in Hong Kong Friday Nov 19

Pictures of me with cousin Esmond and his girlfriend Roxy.

The last day in Hong Kong - Sat Nov 20, 2004

We relaxed this morning or shopped and wandered the bustling Tsim Sha Tsu district around the hotel.

Around 1 pm this afternoon we left for the airport and our return home. Cathay Pacific flight #882 ws scheduled to depart Hong Kong at 4:35 p.m. with arrival in Los Angeles this afternoon at 12:55 p.m. (same day).

 Farewell Dinner at Tibetan Restaurant in Kunming - photos by Terry Wilson