My first visit to Shanghai! As I gazed on the Shanghi skyline from the Bund neighborhood – I about expected little hover crafts to be zipping around the ultra modern architecture! But alas there were no hover crafts or George Jetson sightings – only river barges. #traveltogether
Have you ever been to the Forbidden City in Beijing? If you have, then you should be able to appreciate what a miracle this shot is! I had to work my arse off to get a shot with virtually no people in it. There are thousands and thousands of visitors a day here and most of the site is complete chaos that makes me want to run screaming! But if you work hard, be patient, and leave the masses you can find areas of peace and quiet like this one.
Would you like a straw with your dumplings? In Shanghai their famous soup dumpling are served with a straw! Slurp out the hot soup and then enjoy the pork dumpling!
Circular doorways are a common theme in China temples and gardens. Like most everything there I’m guessing its a symbol of good luck – and if not, it should be! This one was found in a quiet part of the Forbidden City.
The story of the Emperor Qin reads something like the Game of Thrones with hostages, feuding brothers, wars, and the ultimate unification and creation of what we know as China today. Wanting to protect himself in the afterlife, Emperor Qin created his army for the afterlife – 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses made of terra-cotta. This is one of the most massive archeological finds on the planet and is found an hour outside of Xi’an China.
A traditional breakfast for the fast paced business workers in Shanghai – warm, sweet soymilk, and fried breadstick. Yon Ho is a fast food chain that started as a street stall in Taiwain and now sells their soybean milk all over China. The drink sort of tastes like what’s left in the bottom of a cereal bowl once all the cereal is gone and immediately won me over! It was fun to be the only foreigners in the restaurant and watch a steady stream of young business workers come in and eat before work. Sort of like the Chinese Starbucks! A cool (and tasty) view of daily life in Shanghai!
An old watch tower provides a great vantage point of Xi’an. The old city wall built in the 14th century of mud, limestone, and glutinous rice has been refurbished and runs 9 miles around the city with watch towers every 400 hundred feet. Surprisingly the wall was never put to the test as Xi’an was never attacked in ancient times. In modern times though it’s used as a park. People can walk around it or rent bikes and go for a ride.
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
