TRAVEL

China whirlwind: Beijing, Xian, Lhasa, Shanghai

Ed Ferraresi
Special for The Republic

“I cannot believe I am standing on the Great Wall of China.”

That is what my brother Lou said as we stepped onto this wonder of the world during my trip to China in May. Lou is on assignment with his company and living in China with his family for five years, and I felt it was a great opportunity to visit. I stayed for 18 days and went on an itinerary that included Beijing, Xian, Nanjing (where Lou lives and works), Lhasa, Chengdu and Shanghai.

Sights abounded, including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Ming tombs, Terracotta Army archaeological site, Wuzhen ancient water town, a giant-panda breeding center and reserve, monasteries and palaces in Tibet, the international flair of the beautiful modern city of Shanghai, street food and craft markets, and many other temples, palaces, parks and museums.

There were many highlights, but one that stood out was our trip to Tibet. You need to get permission to visit Tibet from the Chinese government before you arrive in China. In Lhasa, we were greeted by our Tibetan English-speaking guide and driver who took us to our hotel, the magnificent Brahmaputra Grand, which also is a museum with hundreds of Tibetan artifacts on display.

Lhasa sits at an elevation of about 12,000 feet, so if you are not used to altitude I suggest taking a day or two to adjust before venturing out to the monasteries and palaces, which require a lot of walking and climbing stairs. We were there for just three days and hit the sights pretty quickly with only a half day of adjusting, so we struggled with breathing.

Our guide was very informative about Buddhism and the culture of Tibet. Everywhere we visited, he had a story to tell. Seeing yaks grazing on roadways and watching monks in their daily routines at monasteries were awesome sights to behold.

Everywhere we went in China, the people were wonderfully inviting, happy and smiling. Because my brother is there for one more year, I may go back next year to finish seeing what I missed and have a few more dumplings.

The writer lives in Cave Creek.

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