DNA Calling

( this trip journal entry is currently in progress)

China had long been a distant land that never really drew much curiosity from me. I knew that my ancenstry begins from there and that somewhere back in time my family (great-great grandfather) emigrated to a new country called Canada. This being the first year of my retirement, I was yearning for the BIG adventure that would put us totally out of our comfort zone. And so we decided to explore the vast and somewhat mysterious country of China, completely on our own! 

Having very little understanding of the geography, culture, and langauge of this part of the world, we were apprehensive,  even afraid, to venture beyond the familiar and touristy Great Wall and Tiannamen Square experiences. But there were no excuses we could find not to go. We craved adventure, the timing was perfect, so into the great unknown of independent travel we jumped!

Our itinerary was as follows:

Days 1-6   Beijing

Day 7        Datong

Day 8       Pingyao

Days 9-11.  Xian

Days 12 – 18 Lijiang 

Days 19 – 23 Yangshuo 

Days 24 – 27  Shanghai 

For us it seemed a varied itinerary and manageable schedule. We would experience a bit of the country's most magnificent cities, quaint small villages and of course visit the requisite touristy spots (filled with many, many Chinese tourists but worth it). We thought it to be the perfect overview of a country that we probably won’t have a chance to see again.

We began in Beijing...