I visited China in 1997, having taken the overland train from London Liverpool Street station all the way to Moscow, and then the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing.
More recently I travelled from Hong Kong to Shanghai on a 72 hour transit visa. The difference between what I saw in 1997 versus what I saw in 2015, in terms of the pace of change was incredible.
In the Peace Hotel, however, little had changed! I remembered that it is possible to go out onto the roof there, where there is a fantastic view of Pudong and the Bund.
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We arrived into Beijing on the day of the 1997 UK General Election. I had no idea that Labour had won the election until I saw a huge video of Margaret Beckett being played by the railway station.
Beijing was full of bicycles, lots and lots of people and extremely busy. It was a glorious day so we went for a ride on some fibreglass ducks in a local lake!
Whilst I remember the ducks, I also remember the Forbidden City. It just went on and on and on and was spectacularly beautiful. Beijing is full of the most exquisite architecture and history.
The above Beijing China Abstract Vintage Sunset t-shirt is for sale on my BillingtonPix Zazzle store with distressed effect and the words Beijing China underneath. Feel free to swap the image over to other products where suitable
For some reason the city of Tianjin has always stuck in my mind, from hearing the name being announced on the train perhaps. I always wanted to visit. Perhaps one day...
I loved travelling by train across China. Each train was a totally different experience. Usually it required a sleeper, such are the enormous distances covered. Some were modern (such as the Moscow to Shanghai train), others such as Shanghai to Harbin were really old, with old fashioned fans instead of A/C. Needless to say I loved it!
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After Beijing we dropped down into Shanghai where we stayed in a gloriously dilapidated hotel just next to the Bund. I loved the vibrancy of Shanghai, the food was something else, especially the street food. It was just so busy and alive as a city. In 1997 the buildings were still going up on the other side of the river (Pudong) which was incredible to see.
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Whilst on the Trans-Siberian railway we met some translators from Harbin, and were invited back to dine with them as our guests. What a privilege to be the guests of honor at an enormous luncheon in a huge restaurant in Harbin. There was so much food on the table, piled high!
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Back in Shanghai, we took a boat down the Yangtze River all the way to Chongqing. The trip took about a week. We shared a cabin with a young mother and her child, who used to practise his English with us.
I always remember crossing through the Three Gorges in the system of canal gates that existed there at the time. It took ages but was fascinating to experience.
Finally we arrived in Chongqing and wandered around the old parts of the city, learning about Mao's back story.
You can purchase this Chongqing vintage sunset iPhone case and other products with this design on my BillingtonPix RedBubble store.
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After Chongqing, we travelled to Guilin, and from there took an overnight bus to Guangzhou and then a ferry Hong Kong.
Guilin was a bit touristy, full of back packers then (as we were!) but the landscape was spectacular with its green hills rising perpendicularly all around.
Annoyingly we were robbed on the bus when someone got on in the middle of the night, slight our backpacks open discreetly and stole our Walkmans. It could have been a lot worse.
Once in Guangzhou we were exhausted from our overnight trip. I remember the live animal market in Guangzhou though - hugely busy and truly an eye opener.
Hong Kong was still a British colony back in 1997 (just) so we had to go through immigration. Coming into the harbour from mainland China is still one of my lasting memories.
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