The trip to Beijing won't be empty, and I'm not the only westerner going there. Despite the SARS scare, not everybody is staying away.425=Marco Polo Hotel, Beijing=A yellow sun rose in a saffron sky this morning. Looking out over from the sixth floor of the Marco Polo Hotel, I get my first glimpse of Beijing.

The city is preparing for the upcoming Olympics with great zeal, and outside my window is just one bit of evidence: an entire block reduced to an empty lot, and a skyline filled with cranes.

We started the ascent at a point that isn't visible (below the ridge at right) and we're almost, but not quite, to the highest peak. Oh, and meet Jingjing, the local guide for Beijing. She's a veritable fountain of information about the city and surrounding area, and an astute hostess (especially considering the SARS situation in Beijing!)

Looking eastward, we see several fortified towers; these used to serve as barracks for soldiers stationed on the wall, as well as communication centers. Messages used to be passed along the line toward Beijing via smoke, pennant, or fire signals. While soldiers still stand on the wall, they're far more welcoming of the invading hoards now (although currently there just aren't that many of us foreigners...)

Jingjing, the tour guide insisted that I spend some time in front of the camera, instead of just behind it. So I guess this ends up being proof that I was actually there ;-) I actually wanted a lawn gnome to take my place, but there weren't any to be found.

In the foreground, just behind the row of banners, is a monument commemorating the heroes of China, with praises in the Chairman's own hand depicted along its face. Behind it is the mausoleum in which the body of the former leader rests in a crystal coffin.

The meridian line runs due north exactly through the middle of the Forbidden City. On these grounds, with stones 600 years old, soldiers, scholars, and civil servants -- each placed according to station -- heard the orders of the emperor.

Two more lions, gilded, protect the gate into the inner courtyard. The damage to the gilding came resulted from invading soldiers looting the precious metal.

Here senior officials held court and received audience with the Emperor, conducting higher matters of state.

In the far northern part of the Forbidden City, the emperor could retreat to the peace and seclusion of private gardens.

A scheduled trip to a cloisonné factory had to be cancelled due to the SARS scare, but we made up for it with a trip to this little alley of shops filled with all manner of antiques. No strip mall or shopping complex will offer anything to compare to the little treasures you'll find here, where half the experience is haggling over price.

From the high wall we can look into the heart of ancient Xi'an (that is to say, the part within the walls) though as you can see, much of it is quite a bit more recent. In the distance, you might be able to make out the bell tower, kept at the center of the fortified city. It was rung in the morning, marking the start of the day. Near it to the west is the drum tower, struck at night to mark the end.

South of the inner city is this pagoda, modeled after one found in India. It was built to contain the original Buddhist scrolls, and the temple surrounding it is still in active use.

Xi'an is on the edge of the desert, and as such is quite dusty; to keep the dust under control, streets (and in this case, the grounds of the temple) are sprayed periodically to keep things under control... for a while.

The army was arranged in period formations, bore actual arms (though those were lost when the place was burned) and had a support retinue: horses, livestock, and more. Everything the spirit army would need in the afterlife.

Of the eight thousand or so soldiers, only about two thousand have been unearthed. Many were damaged during the uprising, and had to be reconstructed prior to display. More are still being dug out and pieced together, but even at one quarter its original strength, the army is an impressive sight to behold.

This isn't too atypical a street near Xi'an. Buildings range from the traditionally-roofed as seen here, to modern steel and glass towers, and all periods of buildings in between--usually all intermingled within a few blocks of each other.

Wuhan is actually three cities that gradually coalesced, divided now only by two rivers that flow past. As with many other parts of China, you see the old and the new, (and everything in between,) intermingled. The Modernizations are ever ongoing.

The great find in this tomb is this enormous rack of bells. It seems that Zeng Hou Yi liked music very much, and wanted to hear it in the afterlife. This complete instrument, as well as several others, and the coffins of numerous young women (presumably the musicians) were found in the tomb's antechambers.

Sampan, sometimes motorized, sometimes not, are almost everywhere. An assortment of other sized vessels also struggle against the river's current, or are tethered to the shore.

This part of the gorge gets pretty narrow (though before the first dam it was even narrower!) After the water rises, the channel will obviously widen.

One sight, happily high above the high-water mark, is Goddess Peak. It's said that after gazing upon the feature, you may make a wish. (It's not clear if that comes with any promises, though!)

Fishermen haul in their nets.

We arrived in Wushan for a side excursion up the Lesser Three Gorges in a powerful ferry that none the less had to struggle to make its way up the tiny, nearly pristine tributary.

The President 4, moored in quiet waters beneath Wushan is framed beautifully by the gorges through which we had just come.

We can understand if these three young women were too busy to wave back at a bunch of sunburned tourists.

Our local guide, Zhao Ling, clearly enjoys her work. She did an excellent job telling the local lore and showing points of interest up the little tributary.

This is just a close-up of the Hanging Coffin above.

Monkeys sighted, we put ashore at a small pier where the monkeys were seen. Add to that a perfect vantage looking up to a hanging coffin, and I'd have to say we had a good trip.

Some Chinese characters cut into the stone near the up-stream end of the gorge will soon be lost beneath the rising waters, though a duplicate inscription appears a few hundred meters downstream. This photograph may easily be the last record of this original carving, as the water is scheduled to rise a meter a day once the next phase of the dam is completed in June 2003.

The valley below used to be a village, but only the rubble remains. The new town is on the ridge to the right of this photo.

Our local guide holds up the back of a 10-yuan bill, indicating that this gorge is depicted upon it. While the engraving is from a slightly different point, it's clearly recognizable.

Named so because steam from a well atop this hill suggested the shape of a white dragon (an imperial symbol) the regional king assumed the name the White Emperor. This statue commemorates him, though it had to be reconstructed; the effigy was beheaded during the Cultural Revolution.

An actual hanging coffin, like the Hanging Coffin in situ yesterday, is shown here under glass. Chinese tourists believe that putting money in the coffin (as seen here) will result in more money in return in the future.

The hill upon which the temple is built is seen from the presidential suite aboard the President 4. In the distance (to the right of the picture) is the new town; its old counterpart has recently been razed, and only a few merchants' tents remain.

We've created quite a stir for these booth keepers; we're one of the last ships through the area. No more tourist vessels will ply the waters until -- possibly -- September. By then, the water will have risen several dozen meters.

Pilgrims to this temple used to have to climb up the sheer face of this cliff with little more than a chain to help them. A local carpenter commissioned the wooden pagoda to be built to assist them in their ascent. It consists of nine levels to reach the top ("heaven",) plus two more levels to reach "super heaven."

From the ninth floor one may go directly to the temple, or further ascend the remaining two floors to super heaven

From the north end of the temple, you can look out upon the countryside -- rice paddies and vacant buildings to be demolished. In the distant haze you can make out the new town that replaces them.

Once under way again, we see a farmer leading his buffalo to the river's edge; they seem to relish the opportunity and race toward the shore.

Not only is the staff of the President 4 extremely courteous and efficient, they're also remarkably talented. Every night they offer us a talent show where, among other things, they demonstrate dances from the various cultural minorities as well as clever sketches and performances.

The men get in the act, too. Here they do a chef-themed performance; yesterday they did a comical sketch about a master and two servants as good as any vaudeville act.

After the calm of the Yangtze river, Chongqing and Suzhou's traffic seemed as frenetic as any I've seen

The grounds get their name from the abundant "net" theme that appears throughout the garden, and is most evident in the stonework in this part of the garden. The original owner, a scholar of some note, decided to retire "to the simple life of a fisherman," hence the nets.

There's not supposed to be a bad view inside a masterfully designed garden. Indeed, looking back at at the location from where the previous picture was taken we see this is as pleasing as the first.

Even this "hidden" corner offers a splendid view of the garden.

These silkworms are a mere ten days old, and have already grown almost two inches long on their diet of mulberry leaves. In another two weeks they'll become dormant as they spin their prized cocoons.

Looking a little more closely. Most cocoons contain only a single worm pupa, though some harbor two, (and rarely three) pupae. The silk farmers harvest these bundles, selling them to the silk factories.

The double and triple cocoons are too interwoven to be unraveled, so they're destined to become the filling of silk bedding. The cocoons are pulled open, the pupae discarded, and the stringy mat is pulled over the arched bamboo form. When eight cocoons have been pulled thus, they're stretched over a larger form, until a total of eighty cocoons is reached. This is then dried and becomes the raw material for the next step.

Gardens, silk, and of course, canals. Here we take a brief excursion onto one of the many canals in Suzhou. The canals are everything here: water source, road, even trash and sewer (though less so nowadays.) Bridges are a common sight throughout the city.

Celebrating a major anniversary, artisans created this jade map of the Lingering Gardens. Exquisitely carved, it illustrates not only the artisans' skill, but also the grounds which we're about to visit.

An old couple feed the fish; off to the left, a little girl does the same. She seems to be having better luck.

The first stop was this working temple. Many pray in front of these gilded statues, but the actual treasures are two jade statues kept locked away.

In addition to the devout, one may also see monks and tourists.

In case you haven't noticed, many bridges in these gardens are crooked, and that's for two reasons: a superstition holds that ghosts can only travel in straight lines, but more practically, the angles force you to change your view...

This wall is topped by dragons. The original owner built the place because his parents wanted to see the imperial gardens in the Forbidden City, but were too old to make the trip. The dragon is the symbolic representative of the emperor, so in a way, this is the emperor's garden.

Another stop was the spacious Shanghai Museum. Jade, ancient coins, calligraphy, and all manner of Chinese art are on display here in this bona fide museum.

Modernization comes at a price, though. As with almost every other part of China, Shanghai is undergoing radical changes. Out with the old, in with the new is the unspoken credo. Though many old places still stand, gradually the city (and the country) is transforming itself.

Capturing this view of the Bund at night, the city is not unlike any other major metropolis in the world. (If only the air conditioning worked....)

Just a peek down a narrow alley. This is one of the older parts of town; who knows just how much longer things will be this way. The elderly lament the change, the younger crowd look forward to it.

Home at last! After two weeks, it's good to be back home... a bit weedier than I remember leaving it, but home none the less.

That was fun.