http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au Fri, 23 Jul 2010 06:00:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en It has been a year since coming back to Melbourne from China, and Jo and I are heading back in October. To follow the action, check out my website: alexgibson.com.au http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2010/07/going-back/ Jo and I are back in Beijing for the next few days. The flight from Guilin airport was a a quick 3 hours and now we are enjoying our favourite Chinese city before heading to Hong Kong for a 9 hour stop over on Monday and then back to Melbourne ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/back-in-beijing/ Arriving in Yangshuo by bamboo raft, overcrowded bus and finally electric powered tricycle is an experience in itself, but once you are here you can see why the local travel guides (who should be avoided like the plague) carry business cards that state: "Guilin is a beautiful place in China. ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/yangshuo/ This is a response to a blog by Dedlam on his blog 'Dedlog' written on 3 June 2009 titled Justifying the [Great Firewall of China] GFW but nothing else. Unfortunately I cannot twitter or facebook update about this blog, as I have been blocked, the Great Firewall of China strikes ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/a-response-to-dedlog/ We decided to go to Guilin after all. Nanjing was sending Jo and I both a little mental as we waited for a call from Jo's friend. While we waited, heavy rain flooded our proposed next destination. Within a couple of days the rain subsided and the flood waters that ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/guilin-after-the-flood/ Here are some images in (sort of) chronological order from the trip so far. We are nearly halfway though our journey and so far we have been to Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing. We were planning to go to Guilin today, but the flood alerts are changing our thinking. Not sure ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/photos-from-beijing-shanghai-and-nanjing/ In 1937 Japan invaded China. In Nanjing over the period of 6 weeks an estimated 300,000 people were brutally murdered by the invading army. Thousands more were maimed, raped and had their lives turned upside down. Today, Jo and I went to The Memorial for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/the-nanjing-massacre/ Let me start this critical blog with a preface; Shanghai is an amazing city. Modern, eclectic and fascinating. The people, food and culture are all buzzing energy and humour. The Xiao Chi (particularly a savoury pancake made by street vendors whose name I do not yet know) is to die ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/07/freedom-of-expression/ Last Saturday night Jo and I caught a sleeper from Beijing to Shanghai. We shared a cabin with two Chinese men; an old, retired businessman and a salesman in his early 20s. The old man spoke very good English and told us about his work auditing factories in China for ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/06/first-impressions-of-shanghai/ One of Jo and my reasons for going to China was to see which city we might live in, in the future. Another reason is to have a holiday; and by 'holiday' I mean 'be a tourist'. So far we have been to 798 Art Zone, Tienanmen Square, The Great Wall, ... http://alexgoestochina.artistspace.com.au/2009/06/being-a-tourist/