When China began building its amazing high speed rail system in the early 2000s, Hu Jintao was the leader of China. As with all leaders, he had a slogan or catchphrase that was used (ad nauseum) to symbolize his rule. With Hu Jintao, the slogan was “build a harmonious society.” For his 8 years in […]
Random Observations on a Trip to Beijing
I had the privilege of spending a couple of weeks in Beijing. I love being back in the city I called home for 14 years. So much changes and so much stays the same. Herewith are a few random observations: Beijing still has some of the best food in the world! (Stay tuned for tomorrow’s […]
Going to Tianjin? Do This!
I zipped down to Tianjin this afternoon on the bullet train to take part in walking tour of the old city, conducted by Doug Red, of Asia Walking Tours. We started out near the Kiessling, an historic German bakery, then spent the next two hours wandering around the old British and French Concessions. Doug’s knowledge […]
What is That?
You know you are speaking to a group of Americans when you use a picture of a bullet train in a slide show and they say (almost in unison), “what’s that?”
Three Days, Three Cities
Noel and I are sprinting to the finish line of our Esther Expedition, which ends in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Today we flew from Chengdu to Wuhan. On Tuesdaywe take the bullet train from Wuhan to Guangzhou, then another train to the border the Hong Kong border in Shenzhen. We will cross the bridge into […]
Even Faster!
Yesterday, I hurtled across 800 miles of eastern China at a speed of 302 kph (188 mph). It was fast. Today I rode on an even faster train — the maglev train that runs from the eastern suburbs of Shanghai 30 km (18 miles) out to the Pudong airport. We hit a top speed of […]
