Busy multi-lane city intersection with heavy traffic, buses, high-rise buildings, and construction cranes in Dalian.

China

2012 · China

CountriesChina

Stages10

Route

Day 1 - 31.05.2012 - Xingcheng

Traditional stone archway over a busy pedestrian street in Xingcheng, with shops, scooters, cars, and people walking beneath carved wooden structures.

Day 2 - 01.06.2012 - Xingcheng

Photographs (131)

High-rise tower with large digital billboard at the roof and nearby skyscraper under construction in Dalian.

Crowded train station waiting hall with rows of green seats and travelers queuing under high metal roof in Dalian.

Railway tracks beside a modern station structure with curved roof, power lines, and distant apartment blocks in Dalian.

Simple hotel room with single bed, desk, chair, wall-mounted TV, laptop, and travel backpack in Xingcheng.

Stone-paved shopping street in Xingcheng Ancient City with small shops, bicycles, scooters, and a historic city gate ahead.

Narrow residential lane in Xingcheng with low concrete buildings, shop signs, debris, overhead power lines, and a scooter passing through.

Shallow canal in Xingcheng with stone embankments, patches of grass, low water level, and residential buildings in the distance.

Wide intersection in Xingcheng with buses, cars, construction cranes, and new high-rise apartment blocks.

Seaside pavilion on stilts in Xingcheng, standing over rocky shoreline with calm sea and overcast sky.

Seafront walkway in Xingcheng with beach, breakwater rocks, calm sea, and distant ferris wheel under a hazy sky.

Large seaside statue of a seated woman in Xingcheng, overlooking the sea with visitors walking along the waterfront promenade.

Stone city gate in Xingcheng Ancient City with arched passage, fortified walls, flags, and a traditional pavilion above.

Wide stone-paved market street in Xingcheng Ancient City with traditional shopfronts, pedestrians, scooters, and a historic gate in the distance.

Row of blue taxis parked along a busy street in Xingcheng, with buses, cars, overhead wires, and low-rise buildings under a hazy sky.

Busy street in Xingcheng with trucks, cars, scooters, overhead cables, and low-rise buildings with Chinese shop signs.

Industrial workshop yard in Xingcheng with low factory buildings, stacked metal reels, parked trucks, and distant apartment blocks under construction under a hazy sky.

Large railway station building with a central clock tower and wide public square, people walking across the plaza.

Large mechanical clock sculpture at a busy roundabout in Tianjin, with pedestrians, taxis, buses, and city buildings surrounding it.

Riverside promenade along the Haihe River in Tianjin, with flowerbeds, pedestrians, docked riverboats, bridges, and high-rise towers in the background.

Haihe River in Tianjin with modern high-rise towers, riverside promenade, and an arched bridge spanning the water.

Wide pedestrian shopping street with cyclists, shoppers, European-style façades, and tall commercial buildings.

Workers suspended by ropes cleaning or repairing a historic stone façade with arched windows and classical details.

Packaged takeaway sushi set held in hand, with colorful rolls topped with seaweed salad, roe, and mashed vegetables.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Journal Notes (10)

Day 1 - 31.05.2012 - Xingcheng

Around 07:00 I got up, surfed the internet, and had breakfast: two boiled eggs, bamboo shoots, and fried rice, which also contained ham. The coffee machine produced only hot water, but I made do with that. A slice of white bread with jam cost a total of 12 yuan. Afterward I took …

Day 2 - 01.06.2012 - Xingcheng

I got up around 08:00. The yelping dog from the night before had been replaced by a younger, equally yelping one. The window didn’t close properly, but it didn’t bother me. Luckily, I had bought cappuccino powder earlier, so at least there was something resembling coffee. The sho …

Day 3 - 02.06.2012 - Tianjin

I got up without any trouble around 04:30. After showering, I packed my things, left the network cable behind the table, and checked out of the room. Outside it was already bright, and hardly anything was going on. At the station, however, there was noticeably more activity. Nume …

Day 4 - 03.06.2012 - Jinan

The air conditioning had worked diligently and quietly through the night. I only really noticed it in the morning when I opened the door to the corridor and felt how big the difference between inside and outside actually was. Outside, there was almost nothing going on in the stre …

Day 5 - 04.06.2012 - Nanjing

Nanjing is one of China’s most historically and scientifically significant cities, shaped by its geological setting along the Yangtze River and by more than 2,500 years of continuous political, cultural, and intellectual importance. Located in eastern China, Nanjing has repeatedl …

Day 6 - 05.06.2012 - Nanjing

The Confucius Temple of Nanjing The Confucius Temple (Nanjing), commonly known as Fuzimiao, is one of the most important cultural and intellectual landmarks in Nanjing. Its origins date back to 1034 CE during the Northern Song dynasty, when it was established as a state-sponsored …

Day 7 - 06.06.2012 - Suzhou

Suzhou is one of China’s most refined historic cities, renowned for its classical gardens, canal networks, and long tradition of scholarship, craftsmanship, and urban continuity. Located in the lower Yangtze region west of Shanghai, Suzhou has developed over more than 2,500 years …

Day 8 - 07.06.2012 - Suzhou

Day 9 - 08.06.2012 - Shanghai

Shanghai is China’s largest city and one of the world’s most prominent examples of rapid urban transformation. Located on the eastern edge of the Yangtze River Delta, Shanghai’s development has been shaped by an unusual combination of geological youth, hydrological instability, c …

2012 China - Intro

Travelogue of a 2000 km tour through China in May-June 2012. Due to a business stay I had some days to travel around in China with starting point Dalian. The question arose at the beginning, where to go and what is feasible in which time. Originally the route was supposed to run …