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Note: To make the text larger or smaller, do the following things: If you are right-handed, use the cursor in the following way:
- Holding the control button down, roll your cursor forward to make the text larger or roll your cursor backwards to make the text smaller.
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A Personal Note: Harriet (my wife) and I jointly share a spirit of adventure. As we have no mortgage, we are free to travel the world financially. We built a handmade house in 1981 on five acres of land 35 kms. out of Brisbane, Australia for minimal money.
See the house / land posts:
OUR HOUSE …. An Overview
OUR HOUSE ….The Actual Garden See the photos of the house and garden and the history of how we obtained rejected materials like from the Supreme Courthouse stone (where the Law Courts are now in Brisbane) …. two loads for nothing in 1980. They dumped 100’s of cubic metres as fill and built a school over the top. The stone was cut out of the Kangaroo Points Cliffs in 1877.
See these travel posts:
- Ken and Harriet’s Travel posts from 2003 to 2018. I wrote this in April 2020 even though this New Zealand Travel Blog May 2010.
- An International Perspective ….. Ken and Harriet’s Travel post from 2003 to 2018
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Note: I would like to share with you through these few words, photographs and hyperlinked websites, a 3 Dimensional experience as though you were actually there with us. Click on any photograph and it should enlarge to different size ….. at least half screen or size full screen. It will be clearer in detail than the photo on the post. It will be as if you were really there looking at the actual scene. You are an arm chair traveller with us.
If you would also like to see the post in a larger or smaller size, I suggest you follow this procedure: If you right-handed, with your left hand, press down continuously on the Control Function Key with your left hand and with your right hand, move the little cursor wheel either forwards or backwards to make the text in the post larger or smaller.
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2011 CHINA TRIP …. 19 days to see Ancient China …… an overview
We had a three week holiday in China from the 10th – 28th October 2011
We went with a group for 19 days (three weeks) to look at ancient China with the WendyWu group. The Wendy Wu website says: Ancient China ….. 19 Days:
If you desire to learn more about China’s incredible past, we trust this tour will stimulate the historian in you. Whilst touring China’s most ancient cities you will trace the roots of one of Asia’s most fascinating cultures.
This tour will take you from the present capital of Beijing to the ancient cities of Xian and Luoyang. Tour the most significant sites of the imperial age; climb the Great Wall and explore the Forbidden City in Beijing. Explore the UNESCO World Heritage listed Yungang Caves, the Longman Grottoes and the unforgettable Hanging Monastery.
Wander the charming streets of the UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Pingyao. Be enthralled with Xian and its many wonders, from its ancient City Wall to the incredible Terracotta Warriors.
Your journey ends in the dynamic city of Shanghai where you can explore ancient and modern China.
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FROM THE TOUR ITINERARY: from the Wendy Wu Itinerary
- AUSTRALIA TO BEIJING: Day 1- 2 = 10th – 11th October
We flew overnight with Singapore Airlines to Beijing.
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BEIJING: Day 3 – 5 = 12th – 14th October ….. Beijing for a four-night stay
- 12th = Tiananmen Square
- 12th = Forbidden City
- 13th = Great Wall
- 13th = Lunch in the Hutong Alley Area
- 13th = Rickshaw Ride
- 13th = Chinese Opera
- 13th = Jade Factory
- 13th = Stadium Area
- 14th = Summer Palace
- Today we stroll through famous Tiananmen Square past Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum, and visit the Forbidden City. Enjoy a rickshaw ride through the traditional Hutong area. Tonight we sample the local delicacy, ‘Peking Duck’ and enjoy an evening at the Chinese Opera.
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From this website: Beijing Hutong:
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People say that the real culture of Beijing lies in the culture of Hutong and Siheyuan (courtyards). How true it is! They give an insight to the old lifestyle of ordinary Beijingers and have special appeal to tourists. As one of the most representative icons in local culture, Hutong Beijing is usually included in a classical tour itinerary there.
What is a Hutong in China?
Hutong is the name given to a narrow lane, alley, or small street between rows of single-storey Siheyuan dwelled by Beijingers in the past. When viewed from the air the interlaced lanes resemble a maze or a chessboard with delicate gardens, fine rockeries and ancient ruins which makes them a wonder in the world.
Ken and Harriet Aitken in a rickshaw ready to journey down a hutong alley.
Rickshaws ready to be hired.
A tuk tuk which is an enclosed motorized waterproof vehicle you can hire vs. a rickshaw.
A small open shop front in the Hutong alley we were going down.
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