Hello my dear friends, I'm back! Done my gallivanting around the world, and am back to reality. Except for the remains of jet lag, I feel pretty good! I managed to relax on my trip and NOT stress about anything (well, except for my Finance grade, but I passed!).
China was incredible, amazing, and everything in between. Yes, there was a significant amount of culture shock, but I think the fact that I have traveled before helped me out a lot. I wasn't unprepared for things to be different. Our first stop, Beijing, is a city of 17 million. That's just over half of the population of Canada! It seems so unthinkable to me . . . mind you, in a country of 1.3 billion, I guess that's a fairly small city.
We spent 5 days in Beijing, 1 day in Hangzhou, and 4 days in Shanghai. Each city was enjoyable, although each was slightly different. Beijing is a more serious city, the centre of China as far as government goes. The architecture is conservative, and so are the people. Hangzhou is beautiful - much smaller than the other two cities, at only 7 million people. It is close to the 3 gorges dam, and site of the West Lake and LinYing Temple. Shanghai is much more cosmopolitan, with more "outgoing" architecture and the people seem more relaxed. Shanghai is how I picture New York to be, with energy and flash. There are 19 million people living in Shanghai.
I promise to spend some time writing about my journeys and adventures, but for now, this small taste is all I can provide. I have a dog show this weekend, and two specialties next weekend, so lots on my plate!
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