I traveled around China for about a month
CHINA 2003-2005 EURASIA CROSSING JOURNEYaccess
At the end of December 2003...
I traveled to China by ship connecting Osaka and Shanghai, and then went north from Shanghai to Beijing.
After that, I went south at once from Beijing and headed to Vietnam.
On the way, I traveled around China for about a month, connecting cities I had heard of and world heritage sites nearby.
→Next Page：To SouthRast ASIA / VIETNAM
I traveled to China by ship connecting Osaka and Shanghai, and then went north from Shanghai to Beijing.
After that, I went south at once from Beijing and headed to Vietnam.
On the way, I traveled around China for about a month, connecting cities I had heard of and world heritage sites nearby.
TRAVEL MAP
TRAVEL PICTURE
| Shanghai | |||||
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| I arrived in Shanghai after 40hours by ship from Osaka. In Shanghai, I stayed in a dormitory at the famous Pujiang Hotel in 2003. I spent my time watching the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, sightseeing in the Band and Yuan Gardens, and eating xiaolongbao at the famous Nanxiang Mantou Restaurant in Yuan Gardens. |
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| Suzhou | |||||
       
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| From Shanghai, I took a day trip to Suzhou, which has a world heritage site and was called "Oriental Venice". In Suzhou, we toured the Suzhou Classical Gardens, which are registered as world heritage site, especially the 2gardens(Humble Administrator's Garden and the Lingering Garden), which are counted among the "4 Great Gardens of China". The fare from Suzhou to Shanghai was only 7yuan (≒＄1) for the lowest grade. |
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| Nanjing | |||||
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| After moving from Shanghai to Nanjing, I spent New Year's in Nanjing...But
I didn't do anything in particular, and when I woke up in the morning,
it was the beginning of the year...hahaha... I stayed in a dormitory on the grounds of Nanjing University for 100 yuan (≒＄13) during the university holidays(maybe). In Nanjing, I toured Sun Yat-sen's tomb, the Mausoleum of Ming Xiao, a world heritage site, and the Nanjing Great Slaughtered Compatriots Memorial Hall. The fare from Shanghai to Nanjing was only 24 yuan(≒＄3) for the lowest grade late-night flight (departing at AM2:35) at that time. However, it was a tough move that I thought, "I will never use it again"...haha... |
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| Xianyang | |||||
     
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| Originally, I planned to move from Nanjing to Luoyang. When I was talking to a Chinese local person who sat in the same seat on the train, I told them that I was going to travel from Nanjing to Luoyang and then to Xi'an. Then they suggested, "If you're visiting Xi'an, it's my hometown, so why don't you stop by first?" So I decided to follow them...But I arrived in “Xianyang”, further west, not “Xi'an”... I couldn't understand Chinese pronunciation...hahahaha... The only tourist spot I went to in Xianyang was Zhao Mausoleum Tang dynasty. I thought I was going to stay at the Chinese house, but I ended up staying at a simple lodging facility Japanese called SYOTAIJYO(招待所) nearby for 34yuan (≒＄4.5). |
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| Xian | |||||
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| After a detour from Xianyang, I arrived in Xi'an. In Xi'an...I stayed at a dormitory in a big hotel for 35yuan/per, and of course we visited the old city of Xi'an surrounded by walls, as well as the world heritage Terracotta Army, Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, and Huaqing Pond. |
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| Luoyang | |||||
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| In China, Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'an and Luoyang are called the four ancient
cities of China. As a Japanese person who is familiar with Chinese history, the sound of "Luoyang" feels good to me. So I thought I'd stop by Luoyang. However, when Luoyang was the capital, it was about 1800 to 2200 years ago, so it is too old and there are no remains from that time...Actually, it seems that there are few places to see, and it was about the world heritage “Longmen Grottoes”. |
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| Shaolin Monastery | |||||
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| There was a Shaolin Monastery famous for SYORINJI KENPO near Luoyang. I decided to stop by just out of curiosity. In addition, various unexpected things happened, and I joined a tour from Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province. |
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| Pingyao | |||||
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| It was quite a distance from Luoyang and Zhengzhou to Beijing. So I looked at the map and wondered if there was a place I could stop by, and I decided to visit Pingyao Ancient City, the world heritage Site, where the old townscape of the Ming Dynasty remained at about the halfway point. I stayed in a single room in a guest house in an old house inside the city wall for 100yuan (≒＄12 at the rate at the time). ※I visit again in 2019→https://travel-ninja123.com/2019/GW-CHINA-TRAVEL-PINGYAO.html(Only Japanese) |
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| Beijing | |||||
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| About 3weeks after arriving in Shanghai, I arrived in the capital, Beijing. I stayed at the famous Jinghua Hotel's domitory In Beijing at that time. Jinghua Hotel's domitory was famous for its "20-person dormitory", but that "20-person dormitory" was closed in winter, and I was allowed to share a room with up to 4people. I went sightseeing around 5ruins that were registered as world heritage Sites(2004then). The 5ruins are Great Wall,Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,Temple of Heaven,Summer Palace and Zhoukoudian. |
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| Dali | |||||
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| Chinese New Year 2004 was January 22nd. In order to celebrate the day in Dali, I went from Beijing to Dali via Kunming. Many Chinese people also return to their hometowns for the New Year, so I could only get unreserved seats and had to stand for the first 12 hours after departure. The Beijing-Kunming section was 3183km/43hours and the fare was 320Yuan(≒＄40). The section between Kunming and Dali was 36yuan(≒＄5) for about 320 km/ 6hour half. I shared a twin room for 60yuan with a Polish, so the result was 30yuan/per(≒＄4). And I was able to spend Chinese New Year in Dali with firecrackers blaring. |
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| Kunming | |||||
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| After spending Chinese New Year in Dali, I returned to Kunming. In Kunming, we stayed two nights in total, one night across Dali. Also, the only sightseeing I did in Kunming was to go to Stone Forest, and after that I felt like I was just hanging out in the city. |
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| Hekou | |||||
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| I arrived at Hekou from Kunming using a late-night sleeper bus...Hekou
is a border town of China-Vietnam. In addition, the bus from Kunming to Hekou departed at 19:30 and arrived at 7:00 for 120 yuan ($15 at the rate at that time). |
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EURASIA JOURNEY MAP
CAPTURE
| 2003 | DEC. | CHINA | (Osaka)→Shanghai→Nanjing→ |
| 2004 | JAN. | Weiyang→Xi'an→Luoyang→Zhengzhou→Songshan (Shaolin Temple)→Zhengzhou→Taiyuan→Pingyao→ Beijing→Kunming→Dali→Kunming→Hekou→ |
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| VITNAM | Lao Cai→Hanoi→Hue→ | ||
| FEB. | Hoi An→Nha Trang→Ho Chi Minh City→ | ||
| CAMBODIA | Phnom Penh→Sham Reap | ||
| LAOS | Vientiane→ | ||
| MAR. | Vang Vieng→Luang Baphan→Pakbeng→ | ||
| THAILAND | Hoe Sai→Chiang Khong→Chiang Rai→Mae Sai→ | ||
| MYANMER | Tachileik→ | ||
| THAILAND | Mae Sai→Chaeng Saen→Chiang Rai→Chiang Mai→ Mae Haw Son→Chiang Mai→Sukhothai→ Bangkok (Ayutthaya)→Kanchanaburi→Bangkok→ |
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| SRI LANKA | Colombo→Kandy→ | ||
| APR. | Colombo→Ratnapura (Sinharaja/Adams Peak)→ Colombo→Anuradhapura(Mihintale)→ Polonnaruwa (Dambulla/Sigiriya/Medhiri-Giriya)→ Colombo→Goal→Mirissa→ Colombo→ |
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| INDIA | Tiruvandrum→Kanyakumari→ Nagarkoil→Madurai→ Thanjavur→Chennai→Mahabalipuram→ Chennai→ |
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| MAY. | Chennai→Bangalore→Hospet→Hampi→Badami(Pattadakal)→Goa→Mumbai→ Aurangabad (Ellora/Ajanta)→Manmad→Calcutta→Siliguri→Darjeeling→ |
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| JUN. | Siliguri→Gygon→ | ||
| BHUTAN | Phuntsholing→ | ||
| INDIA | Gygon→Siliguri→ | ||
| NEPAL | Kakarvitta→Kathmandu→ | ||
| JUL. | Pokhara→Sunouri (Lumbini)→ | ||
| INDIA | Varanasi→Gaya (Bodhgaya)→Satna→Khajuraho→ | ||
| AUG. | Agra→Jaipur→Delhi→ Dharamsala→Amerithosar→ | ||
| PAKISTAN | Lahore→Peshawar→Chitral→ | ||
| Kalash Valley(Bumbret)→Chitral→Mastuj→Gilgit→ Talisin(Nanger Parpat)→Gilgit→ |
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| SEP. | Karimabad(Hunza)→Arriabad→Rawalpindi→Sukkur→ Larkana(Mohenjodaro)→ Jacobabad→Quetta → |
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| IRAN | Taftan→Mirshave→Zahedan→ | ||
| OCT. | Bam→Kerman→Shiraz→Yazd→Esfaan→Tehran→ Rasht (Masure/Bandare Anzali)→Mashhad→Tabriz→Marku→Bazar Ghan→ |
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| TURKEY | Dogubeyazit→Van→ | ||
| NOV. | Thatvan→Kayseri→Goreme→(Cappadocia)→Kayseri→ Siwas→Kangar→Divry→Ankara→Safranbolu→Istanbul→ |
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| BULGARIA | Sophia→ | ||
| GREECE | Thessaloniki→Athens→ | ||
| DEC. | Thessaloniki→ | ||
| MACEDONIA | Skopje→Ohrid→ | ||
| ALBANIA | Tirana→Skodar→ | ||
| SERBIA and MONTENEGRO | Podgorica→Belgrade→ | ||
| BOSNIA and HERZEGOVINA | Sarajevo→ | ||
| SERBIA and MONTENEGRO | Belgrade→ | ||
| ROMANIA | Bucharest→Sighisoara→ | ||
| 2005 | JAN. | Brasov→ | |
| HUNGARY | Budapest (Tokaj)→Koma-Rom→ | ||
| SLOVAKIA | Komarno→Bratislava→ | ||
| AUSTRIA | Vienna→ | ||
| CZECH Republic | Prague→Plzen→ Cesky Budejovice→ | ||
| FEB. | Cesky Kromolo→Prague→Cesky Teshin→ | ||
| POLAND | Krakow(Auschwitz/Wieliczka)→Warsaw→ | ||
| LITUANIA | Vilnius(Schauren)→ | ||
| ESTONIA | Tallinn→ | ||
| LATVIA | Riga→ | ||
| GERMANY | Berlin→ | ||
| BELGIUM | Brussels→ | ||
| DENMARK | Copenhagen→ | ||
| MAR. | |||
| BELGIUM | Brussels→ | ||
| ITALY | Florence→Lucca→Rome→Naples→Rome → | ||
| FRANCE | Marseille→Montpellier→ | ||
| GERMANY | Frankfurt→Wurzburg→Nuremberg (Bamberg)→Fessen→Munich→ | ||
| HUNGARY | Budapest→ | ||
| APR. | |||
| ITALY | Venice→Milan→ | ||
| BELGIUM | Brussels→ | ||
| BRITAN | London→ | ||
| IRELAND | Dublin→ | ||
| BRITAN | London→ | ||
| HOLLAND | Amsterdam→ | ||
| GERMANY | Berlin(Dessau)→ | ||
| HOLLAND | Amsterdam→ | ||
| FRANCE | Paris→ | ||
| SPAIN | Barcelona→Madrid→ | ||
| MAY. | Seville→Madrid→ | ||
| PORTGAL | Lisbon(→London→Tokyo) |
