MyEnglishfaredmuchbetterinXianwhereIdecidedto forsakethehotelinternetfacilitiesandusealocalinternetcafé instead. Theplacewasfullofstudentsallkeentopractisetheir English. GotoBeijingnowandyouwillbenefitfromthe2008 Olympicslanguageskillsprogrammewhichmeantcabdriversand citizensalikeallhadEnglishtrainingclassesleadinguptothe games. HoweverIwouldstillrecommendtakingahotelbusiness cardwithyouatalltimes. Thiswillmakefindingyourhotelagain attheendoftheday'ssightseeingsubstantiallyeasier! Having beenisolatedfromthewestforsolong, theChinesearenow keentoembracecertainaspectsofwesternconsumersociety. So, althoughacommunistcountrybehindthecloseddoorsof governmentinstitutions, onthestreetsandshopscommerce prevails. Streetvendorssellallsortsofgoodsandbargainingis expected. Infactanythinggoesexceptqueuing, whichissimply notaconcepttheyunderstand( oradhereto) inChina. NationaltourismisboominginChinasoexpecttoshareyour sightseeingwiththeChineseaswellaswesternersatanyofthe majorsites. HoweverallExodustripshavetimesetasidetodo yourownthingawayfromthecrowds. JumpingonabikeinXian andcyclingaroundthe9milesofintactcitywallsisanidealway toseethisimpressivestructure, whilststrolling aroundthedwindlingHutongs( narrowstreets/ alleys) ofBeijing providesafascinatinginsightintolifeinthecapitalasithas beenforgenerations. Fortheearlyrisers, joiningyourleaderat anyofthebigcityparksisanothereyeopenerashundredsof peoplefromallwalksoflifepracticethegracefulmovesof TaiChi. Andifyouaremissingthegym, therearealsoexercise parksdottedalloverthecitieswithequipmentfreetoeveryone. Expecttostrutyourstuffalongsideold- agedpensioners, rather thantheusualyounghooliganswhofrequentourparks. Takeoutfrom CHINA CyclingXian'sCityWalls Chinaisanassaultonthesenses, andformethisisessentialtoitsappeal. Inacountryof1.4billionpeopletherewill alwaysbesomethinggoingon, whereveryouare. WanderingaroundthemeanderingstreetsofBeijingonmylastvisit, Icameacrossacollectionofhairdressersplyingtheirtradeonthepavementanddecidedtogoforit. Muchcheaper thananybarberinLondonthat'sforsure! Thiscausedmuchamusementtolocalpassersby, astheywerenot accustomedtoaLaowai" foreigner" stoppingforatrim. NotknowingtheMandarinforshortbackandsidesmeantIhad tocrossmyfingersandhopeforthebestastherapidlygrowingcrowdofonlookers( andthebynowslightlyworried lookingbarber) didhisdeed. WithmymakeovercompleteIwasnowreadyfortherestofthetrip. 20

21 TongliwatertownnearultramodernShanghaiisaworld awayfromthehustleandbustleofthecitywithitswinding alleysandcobbledstonestreets. Thegardenshereoftenhave musiciansperforminganddottedalongitsnumerousbridgesare allmannerofshopssellingeverythingfromdeliciousdumplings toelaboratelyengravedteasets. Mostofouritinerariesspend anightinTonglisoweshouldhavethetowntoourselves comeduskwhenthetouristshopscloseandtheregular' local' shopsopen. Formethemostrelaxingplacewevisitisundoubtedly Yangshuo. Situatedonasmallplainbetweenanumberofdramatic lookingkarstpeaksanoldChinesesayinggoes:" Guilin'sscenery isthemostbeautifulintheworld; Yangshuo'ssceneryisfar superiortothatofGuilin's". Here, aswellastakinginthescenery andambientatmosphere, youcanwalkupMoonHillforeven moretranquilsurroundingsortakealeisurelybambooraftonthe LiRiverandwatchtheworlddriftby. Finally, it'simpossibletotalkaboutChinawithoutmentioning thesuperbvarietyoffood- thereare8mainregionalcuisines. TraditionalChinesecuisineisbasedonyinyang, wherebyhot balancescold, pickledbalancesfreshandspicybalancesmild. Iam amarmiteandtoastbreakfastkindofguy, butinChinaexpect noodlesandcongee( wateryrice) asthebreakfaststaple( nothing likeporridgeIcanassureyou). Howevercomeelevensesthereis dimsum, andforlunch/ dinner everythingfromfierySzechuan KungPaochicken, tastybroths, Beijingduckordumplingsall washeddownwitharefreshingcup oftea( Chineseteaofcourse) notso differenttousBritsafterall! NickNikolsky, Exodus NicktravelledonHighlights ofChina( ACH) Streetvendorssellall sortsofgoodsand bargainingisexpected. In factanythinggoesexcept queuing, whichissimplynot aconcepttheyunderstand inChina. Tonglidumplings " " Tongli www. exodus. co. uktel08458639660sales@ exodus. co. uk Yangshuo