Chongqing 18 -25 October 2025

Our trip to Chongqing 重庆  changed me; I now greatly admire the resilience and innovation of her people and her architecture! Chongqing means Double Celebration. Her steep hills and valleys terrain at the confluence of the yellow Yangtze river and and the green Jialing river leaves it with narrow river bank strips often prone to flooding. The famous Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie designed Raffles City Chongqing, an iconic mixed-use development known for its breathtaking "horizontal 300m long enclosed skybridge called "The Crystal," which links four of the development's eight skyscrapers

Historically the people created the Bayu style stilted buildings 巴渝建筑; Bā Yú jiànzhù with its 吊脚楼; diàojiǎo lóu with structures cascading down slopes for example the iconic HongyaDong 洪崖洞.

Both historical and modern developers created a multi-layered, three-dimensional city resulting in structures built into cliffs, and elevated roads. The unique architecture created multilevel-access in that a single building can have entrances on several different floors. To capitalize on the vertical density, skyscrapers have been built close together, and skybridges connect buildings at high altitudes to serve as walkways for residents and tenants . This creates a complex, visually intricate cityscape that can be disorienting but fascinating to explore.

There also is a underground one way road that connects the basement parking lots of many buildings. Chongqing is unique in that it can be traversed several ways; the jammed surface roads ( 1 hour) , the walking paths( 15 minutes) and the underground car route ( 6 minutes).

I truly enjoy our walks from Jiefangbei 解放碑 to KuiXing Tower from apparently ground zero to suddenly level 22 and then down to the Dajia Cliff Alley to enjoy the views of the Jialing river and Hongyadong. We walked that route 3 times in 1 single day and the more we walked, the more I understood , the more my admiration grew 越走越明白，越佩服 as I experienced that complexities of the unique stilted building architecture.

We explored 3 mountain cliff alleys in Chongqing. The first is the higher Mountain City Cliff Alley 山城步道, the 2nd was the lower and more famous Shibati ( 18 steps) 十八梯 which is the river bank lower continuation of the mountain city cliff alley. Shibati is like a quaint little village 小城故事 with pretty and unusual shops. The 3rd was the Dajia Mountain Alley ( Mid Mountain) 戴家巷老街. There are lovely shophouses - food and cute knickknacks shops. We enjoyed the teahouses more because we could rest our weary feet and bums while watching the world go by and enjoy the fantastic views on Dajia Mountain Alley. Daijia Lane Cliffside Trail / Alley is located on the cliff between Kuixing Tower in Linjiangmen and Hongya Cave in Yuzhong District. We walked this alley twice; before sunset and after sunset and witnessed a total transformation. After sunset, the crowds of people surges especially down by the Jialing Riverside

Ava discovered something only she could do. She stuck her head through the square hole in the mountain wall and watched the city go by down below while we watched above the wall.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ezRLlIYBV7Q

The famous Liziba Station where the metro runs through a 19-story residential building architecture in Chongqing, though not necessarily designed by internationally famous architects, is also well-known for its uniqueness. The Chongqing Metro Line 2 passes directly through this residential building in the Yuzhong District is an iconic and unique piece of infrastructure that has become a major tourist attraction.

Outside Chongqing city, we travelled towards the south east border towards Gongtan Ancient Town (龚滩古镇), which is nestled at the confluence of the Wujiang River and Apeng River in Youyang County. This is a picturesque destination dating back 1800 years.

The town boasts a three-kilometer-long cobblestone street, adorned with 200 quaint and tranquil quadrangle courtyards. Additionally, the town features over 50 distinctive stilted houses, each showcasing local architectural styles. The collection of riverside stilted houses is aptly called the “musical notes on the precipice,” offering a breathtaking view of the Wujiang River.

We walked 2.5 km downhill through the famous Wulong Sinkhole. Here we saw the 3 natural bridges Tiankeng natural bridges 天生 三桥 , namely the Heavenly Dragon bridge Tianlong qiao, 天龙桥， Green Dragon Qinglong 青龙桥，Black Dragon黑龙桥 in Wulong Karst Natural Park. These 3 bridges form the largest cluster of natural bridges in Asia.

The Wulong National Geopark is the site of shooting Transformers 4.

We also went to the misty Fairy Mountains 仙奴山.

North Xinjiang revisited  

3rd June 2025.

 

We first visited North Xinjiang in early Sept 2024 during fall where I had a fall and broke my wrist. Subsequently post surgery and my full recovery, we revisited in early June 2025 in summer. Fall's weather is cooler but the days are often rainy and cloudy. Summer is not too hot with beautiful clear skies,hardly any rain with sunset times at 10.30 pm++. The clear skies, longer days and less crowds made for better photography and more time to sight-see. I loved the summer visit because the verdant hillsides are covered with wildflowers of many colours -yellows, whites, purples, blues, pinks,orange etc.

Tian Shan  天山    with the cable car ride after the alpine Lake Tianci 天池 with sufficient time to climb the Mayya mountains via safe wooden boardwalks is a must do! The memory of warm sesame studded freshly baked naan bread and the kebabs at Tianci food court still warms my heart.

4th June 

We boarded a 5-hours train to Bole Mongolian prefecture. This comfortable train ride shaves off about 4 hours from the long road journey. We had the most delectable kebabs ( top ranking in taste ) and noodles at RMB 238 for 8 pax lunch in Bole Kashide Restaursnt at Bole https://surl.amap.com/2JDxzk997qb.

Sayram Lake sights in summer are not just the lake itself but many tourists also walk the pretty hillsides including bridal parties. We had a lovely dinner at about 10 pm and checked in to our most expensive luxurious Chaoke Starry Sky Camp/ Glamping resort with state of the art toilets. I loved the astronaut and space display above the beds. Many paragliders are here. There was a national bike race here and several bikers brought their mountain bikes via the train.

5th June 

We went to Kiezi Jiale Lake near Wusu before reaching Karamay. This site is very popular in late October because of the yellow poplar trees lining the lake. We understand desert greening in a better perspective when we go through several "greened "desert towns. On reaching Burqin, we had the most memorable pilaf lamb rice lunch at Yinguo Zhuofan at RMB 219 for 7 pax https://surl.amap.com/1VYG55PD9Ki.

We checked in early to White Birch linjirun Hotel in Burqin and rested. Our luxurious room had  views that overlooked the Kanas Tower Bridge and the White Swan Bridge stop . At 5 pm we headed for the Multi colour beach overlooking the Irtysh River with desert colours on 1 side of the turqoise river while the lower bank is green.  Yes, this time i could clearly see the 5 colours of the rocks.The cool weather at the late evening is better. Burqin by night is a pretty town.We walked the Russian night market after dinner.Here we sample the healthy seabuck thorn drinks grown here for the first time. The riverside views and lights made the whole area very pretty and happening.

6th June 

The route to Kanas Scenic Area 喀纳斯风景区via shuttle bus is spectacular,beautiful and cuci mata ( refreshes the eyes) We took the Kanas Lake Cruise and saw the Fish Platform which we missed going and seeing the previous trip due to the bad weather. I managed to take good photos including 1 of the helicopter hovering over the hillsides. Our lunch in the village in Kanas was also good. We dropped off and walked to the river side for all the scenic spots - the moon bay   Yuèliàng Wān , the fairy bay and the dragon bay . We then drove to the shuttle transfer to go to Hemu Village  禾木村 - Hémù Cūn and checked into Surprise Hotel for 2 nights. The night, my knees hurt badly and I hobbled in pain. Jason prayed for me. 

 7th June 

The next morning,although I was better, I still felt the tight muscles pulling. I sent SOS prayer requests to Sue Ann and Pastor Irene. Miraculously minutes after both requests, my muscles loosen up and I walked that whole day without pain. Tq God for deliverance.We went to the Jike Pulin International Ski Resort - the biggest sea resort in Asia. The public toilets are the best we have found so far in all of China. They are equipped with sea covers and the full works. At 2100 m above sea level, we stop to photograph while trying out the Celebrity Swing over the edge of the mountain. 

At 2880 meters, we enjoyed the scenic views of snow capped mountains of 4 borders - Russia, Mongolia, East Khagystan and China. We threw snow balls for Ava our 5 year-old grand daughter and also sat in a solid snow chair set in a snow alcove. 

We had lunch in Hemu Village. The 4 fitter guys climb the viewing point after the scenic river. Jason & Abdul our guide took me to revist the Hemu Village Hospital where the ambulance sent me to in 2024. My recollection of the hospital and clinic facade was faint because I came in on a stretcher,traumatised and in pain. Later Ialso stood at the exact garden spot where I felI and fainted due to the pain. I declared to the garden patch and the nearby Snow White and 7 dwarfs figurines that I had come back, totally healed and stronger without any fears of Hemu. I thanked God for healing me completely. We had a lovely birthday dinner at Hemu Taoyan Villa Restaurant for RMB 1464 for 7 pax inclusive of yummy birthday cake and drinks. The gardens here are beautiful and the boutique restaurant here is very popular. 

 8th June 

We drove to Keketuohai KKTH Geo Park made famous by the KKTH Shepherd song. I had been misled by the Mandarin name to expect a lake. No, KKTH is a magnificent river canyon of the long Irtysh River. The rock cliffs here reminds me very much of Yosemite in California. There is a 4.5* ski resort in here. I like KKTH. Many ethnic families fish, picnic or camp overnight in yurts by the riverside. Yes there are many shepherds here, on horseback ushering their herds home. 

 At Fuyun we took La Mien dinner at Mayi Laichuntang Beef Noodles https://surl.amap.com/3VqS3H31ca0h at RMB 165 for 6 pax. We then checked in to Hilton at Double Tree Hotel. Again we had penthouse luxury rooms with magnificent river views. 9th June Jason n me took a short walk by the scenic river side before we left for Urumqi. 

Here we checked into our favourite Baley Hotel and was upgraded to a suite. We went to the famous Hongmeiguihua Kebabs Restaurant https://surl.amap.com/3ewBI851gef3. We had yummy roast lamb,roast pigeons, kebabs in garden settings with lacy curtains tied as in a sukkoth at RMB 763 for 7 pax. Many local families also had their meals here. 

Earlier on 3rd June, our 9 seater van in Urumqi  was hit by a loose flying tile. Thank God we all escaped unhurt. But we were very impressed by the efficiency of the traffic police. Our driver immediately called us out of the van and ushered us to a safe place beside the busy expressway. Within 3 minutes of the accident the traffic police arrived and cordoned off sections of the expressway.The police tow truck towed our van across several lanes to the side of the road. Traffic resumed normally in less than 15 minutes. Kudos to China traffic systems! 

We truly thanked God for a lovely trip for safety, lovely views, beautiful local cheap meals, very good hotels with a wonderful Uyghur tour guide Abdul who lent us his Uyghur perspective and connections with the local community. Thanks to Jason who did all the planning, to Jack Fang who liased us with the Xinjiang tour operator and had our guide greet us with rose bouquet at Urumqi brand new airport. Special mention to Jeff, our photo journalist treasurer who sends us links of every food place n exact prices of bills. 

All in all, including our 1 night stay stopover in Guangzhou with 5 great meals, we spent RM 8235 per pax for hotels, transport,food,drinks, tips for guide n drivers. The only other cost needed is the airfare cost which is about RM 3-4k depending on season.

Guangzhou and Beijing 10th - 18th April 2025

Many first time visitors to China normally target Beijing first since it is the capital. Not so with me. This visit to Beijing was done after I have probrably covered 15 other cities in China. Why so? First, I prefer scenic outdoors spots much more than historical and cultural spots.Secondly what I heard about Beijing concerning its smog, weather and food deter me slightly. So this trip to Beijing was only because we were going in spring when the weather is better and we can climb the Great Wall in spring. But we also decided to stop by Guangzhou for 2 nights because of its reputation for yummy food  . 

Day 1 April 10th 2025 Guangzhou 

It was great to meet my cousin  Ming Lian 明涟 and her family for the first time ever in  our lives . The food in Guangzhou is superb. We went to Diandude in Tianhe to eat yummy dim sum. Dinner at Datong was courtesy of Ming Lian and family. We walked off our excessive eating by going to the park Yue Shiu and walking alongside Pearl River. 

Day 2 April 11th Shunde. 

Shunde is touted as the Gastronomical Capital of the world. And yes, it lives up to its reputation! I love the yummy dim sum, the desserts - double skinned milk buffalo milk, ginger bumped milk etc etc. We ate till we could not eat anything more. Food places are Shunde house morning tea 顺德人家早茶 Huagai Street 华盖路步行街, Madam Pork Private dishes 猪肉婆私房菜 . We also went to Qinghui park 清晖园 Shun Feng Park 顺峰山公园 Fishermen Wharf 渔人码头夜景 etc to walk off the food.The walnut crisps 核桃酥 we bought at Fishermen Wharf are so wonderfully memorable. No where in China nor inMalaysia have I tasted such good walnut crisps. Upon returning to Guangzhou, we went to White Swan Hotel and old Beijing Road for shopping and desserts. 

Day 3 April 12th Beijing 

We celebrate God's goodness and timeliness for us. On 11th April, 400 flights to Beijing were cancelled due to strong winds. But our flight on 12th April departed on time despite much turbulence mid-air. Our hotel is walking distance from Beijing Water Cube and Bird Nest Olympic Stadium. We enjoyed the pretty peonies and blooming plum trees there. It was very cold because of the strong winds. We enjoyed our first meal in Beijing with yummy Peking duck.

Day 4 April 13th

Many parks were closed due to the strong winds earlier. At the Botanic Garden, we met a patient garden warden who directed us to visit a small flowering area nearby. Here we enjoyed the flowering red plum trees and spring flowers. We then changed our itinerary to visit the hutongs in Shichahai instead.

Our 1st stop was Yan Dai Jie 烟袋街 Tobacco Pouch Street. Next we visited Shichahai 什刹海 in her glory. Shichahai, is a historical and cultural tourist scenic spot in the North West and is located in the Xicheng ( West District ) adjacent to the central axis of Beijing city. It has a water area of 336,000 square meters and is the only open scenic area with open water in the inner city of Beijing, and is also the largest and most complete historical district in Beijing
We looked for and found our hot spots - the bridges, the narrow streets, the shops with high point views etc. The lovely wind but sunny weather made for great times. We entered ZhonglouWan hutong to look for the Bell ( Clock) tower and the Drum Tower. These 2 towers faced a common square and these 2 towers kept/ announced time since 1270 - the times of Kublai Khan.
We queued at the Michelin Star Fang Zhuan Chang courtesy Jason's googling skills and had a yummy lunch Zhajiangmian soya beans paste noodles and a very appetising tripe with glass noodles dish there.

2nd n 3rd hutong: Wang Fujing 王府井 the shopping street reminds us of Nangjing Road in Shanghai. We walked over to Heping Guoju 和平购物中心 at Basement 2 and experienced Beijing in her nostalgic past.

4th hutong: We took the Didi to XiangYukou 香鱼口 街 past the Qianmen area 和前门街. We had the good fortune to catch a train crossing ahead of us while crossing the hutongs.Here the hutongs streets are much broader with plenty of street food. We rested to drink and escaped from the cold while someone had his ears cleaned.We ended the night with a yummy hotpot dinner for 388 RMB for 4.

Tip: Do use the Didi to avoid being fleeced by taxi drivers. Taxi driver ask for RMB100/-. Didi cost us RMB 41/-. But the temptation to take the waiting taxi is always there due to the cold winds. Mandarin words helped me pronounce, find and understand the locations we went to.

Day 5 April 14th

Taking the S2 Sea of Flowers spring train from Huangtudian 黄土店火车站 toBadaling Great Wall 八达岭长城 via Juyongguan Pass is a hope fulfilled. The train tickets cost RMB 7/-per pax. But sadly the heavy winds earlier had blown off most of the flowers.

This is the first time a Tabernacle of David TOD team of 6 people climbed the Great Wall together. We dressed in TOD new signature steel blue T- shirts. Despite seeing only a small portion of the apricot blooms, we were still very happy. Mid March would have been a better time to see the sea of apricot blossoms on the hills.

There are hordes of people climbing. We climbed the south gate Badaling Great Wall. It was exciting to climb a good portion of the Great Wall together as a team. Some sections were very steep from 45-60° in gradient. Jason,Siang Hwa,Bryan and Joanne went the furthest in distance.

We had a well deserved good meal before boarding the S2 train back. From Huangtudian, we detoured to the Olympic Forest Park and had a great time photographing the lovely flowering trees and the Olympic Torch Building.

We had another yummy Peking duck dinner at a high class restaurant Quan Jude 全聚德

Day 6 April 16th

TOD team in orange T- shirts climbed Mutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城 today. Jason, Siang Hwa,Bryan n Joanne reached the last tower Tower 20 while Mui Leng and me were very happy to reach Tower 18. There are very steep sections at some places.

Mutianyu is more popular with foreigners but less crowded as it is 75 km northeast from Beijing . Somehow Badaling GW is very crowded with Asians despite being 79 km to the northwest of Beijing - maybe prehaps due to its accesibility.

We rushed to our next stop Simatai Great Wall 司马台长城 about 140 km north east of Beijing. Simatai has the only Great Wall section that is lit and accessible by night. Our driver Wang was very helpful to ensure we checked in and to reach in time to catch the sunset and night views. I am thankful Jack Fang - our tour operator from mainland China Dragon tours has helped us coordinate logistic details of transport and tickets with helpful recommendations.

Simatai is more rugged. There are no safety side walls and the steps are unevenly spaced. We climbed very slowly up and down to ensure safety. Bryan and Joanne took the route to Tower 6 and 7 while we took the route to Tower 8. Both routes are challenging but perhaps the route to Tower 6 and 7 is safer. We viewed a drone show over Gubei watertown while being up there.

From our 6 star hotel rooms in Gubei watertown, we could see the lighted Great Wall ridge. We went for a long onsen soak to relax our muscles - fatigued by 2 long climbs in a single day.

My mainland blood cousins Ming Gui and Ming Lian says

中国有句古话叫：

不到长城非好汉.

你们现在都是好汉了哈.

If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you haven't become a hero.

Today the TOD team are heroes 3x. What an awesome day!

7th Day 16th April 2025.

We asked for a late check out from the Gubei Water Town hotel. After breakfast, we went to jetty A and took a slow boat ride on the scenic canal to jetty C. There are many places for photo shoots of traditional buildings, lovely bridges etc. The canal runs through to the site of the church on a hill and offers great views of the Simatai Great Wall, a well-preserved section of the Great Wall with many military outposts. The hiking route is challenging. We came across several groups of cute ducks and geese during our canal town.

Gubei Water Town in Gubeikou Town, 古北口古北水镇 Miyun District, Beijing is 140 km from Beijing exudes historical charm. 90% of our photo and videos credits are to Siang Hwa.

We went from our hotel at Holiday Inn Express at Dongzhimen,Beijing to Botanical Garden,South East Gate. All of us had senior citizens free entry into the park.Yes!!!

We thoroughly enjoyed the tulips 郁金香 festival. We searched and found the peony 牡丹 garden. I totally loved the lilacs 丁香花 garden. We sang and worshipped in the lilacs garden, overwhelmed by their soothing fragrance. The wisteria 紫藤 section brought us much joy. The peach 桃花 garden was simply beautiful and the yellow forsythia 连翘 is so cheerful.

Joanne and me, the FFT were always the first to reach flower sites and the last to leave.

What a lovely relaxing afternoon! Simply thankful to God for beautiful weather, the sense of sight and smell and fellowship of friends and spouse.

8th day 17th April 2025

A long but doable queue to enter TianAn Men Square 天安门 and the Forbidden City 紫禁城. We ar very thankful for Fred, our English speaking tour guide who met us at our hotel, arranged our transport and navigated us through the long queues and passports check points. He pointed to us various buildings from TianAn Men Square and posed us several questions.

We went through an underpass beneath ChangAn Avenue 长安街 a long road separating Forbidden City from TianAn Men Square. We entered through the South Gate and passed through several layers of courts and buildings.

I found the hall where the students took the Imperial examinations interesting. The best candidates from each province sat for the examination. Only the wisest were promoted. This Imperial examination is likely to be the cultural root of the Chinese parental pressure to make their kids shine in school.

The Forbidden City exemplifies the opulence of the residences of the Chinese emperor and traditional Chinese palatial architecture. It influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia. UNESCO list it as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

The Forbidden City central north–south axis remains the central axis of Beijing. This axis extends to the south through Tiananmen Gate to Tiananmen Square, the ceremonial centre of the People's Republic of China, and on to Yongdingmen Gate. To the north, it extends through Jingshan Park to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower. This axis is not exactly aligned north–south, but is tilted by slightly more than two degrees.

Only 4 real men ( non castrated ) are allowed beyond the official meeting places of the Emperor and the court officials. Eunuchs are not deemed real men.

The view from the vantage point 45 m of Jingshan Park 景山公园 over the Forbidden City is lovely. I loved the peony garden and other flowers at the base of Jingshan Park at the West Gate. There is a lovely almost white Chinese fringe tree whom 2 veteran photographers excitedly spoke to us about. There was also a huge lilac tree and a glorious red plum tree.

We went for a quick lunch of steamed buns and Zhajiang mee at Xian Yi Kou 鲜鱼 口before quickly returning to queue for the Temple of Heaven 北京天. TOH is where the emperor prays 3x a year to ShangDi 上帝 the God up in Heaven for Good Harvests. He fast for 3 days from good food, women, wine to cleanse and prepare himself for these prayers.

9th Day 18th April

We went to the Summer Palace. It was beautiful but the day was a wet day so we didn't take many photos. That night, we flew home. It is a happy and fruitful trip.