This was a day of driving. Leaving Taishan at 8.00am and with a total of 500 kms we arrived in Beijing at about 5.00pm

Several highlights…. although as I read this I could say quirky highlights…the roses in the centre of the roadway for several kms as we drove into Beijing were magnificent…all different colours.

Our luncheon spot was in a service area under trees. At least it was shade. One comment was either the locals are very short or the gardener hadn’t trimmed in a while!

We were delayed by about 90 minutes at a police check..just the volume of traffic they couldnt cope with.

Ian and I wandered down to Tiananmen square this evening and booked a duck restaurant for dinner tomorrow. We would have eaten there tonight but as we walked in they said they were closed…it was only 8.00!

Tomorrow the Great Wall!

This was an exciting day. We began our Confucius tour with a visit to the main gate of the temple where at 8.00am actors and actresses performed ritual dances showing the elements of Confucianism.

We then walked inside the gate and began to have an understanding of the immense size of the temple and its grounds. There were 9 courtyards and many different sections. With the old trees dotting the courtyards and the tablets with chinese engravings these gave a feeling of the sacredness of the site. However the highlight of the temple visit was seeing a group of similarly clad young men and women presenting arrangements of flowers in a ceremony to Confucius. Unlike the actors and actresses at the start of the morning, these were everyday people who were solemnly acknowledging Confucius.  I was deeply moved.

Later, we met one of the women and she explained that she worked in a finance company and once a year they come with others from the company to present gifts to Confucius. How amazing and touching that we were there to see this.

Following the temple visit we walked to the Mansion which was the home of Confucius descendants for 74 generations. It was interesting to see the architecture style and hear an explanation of where the wives all lived. However I felt it a little sad that we were not able to walk into the buildings and had to view most of them through the windows.

Returning to our cars we began our journey to Taishan  mountain. This was a drive of about 90 minutes and we arrived early afternoon. Ian and I caught the local bus, tourist bus and then cable car to get to the top of the mountain. As it has been a Taoist and Confucius place of worship for 5,000 years it was wonderful to see the temples scattered over the mountain all in use. Incense was lit and it was an active place of worship.

On the way back to the hotel we left the local bus to seek out the night market that we had read about in the Lonely Planet guide. This was set up by the river in the town and there were games, animals to buy and win, goods of all sorts to buy and then many local food and drink stalls. We chose a dish…and as I couldn’t find anyone to tell me what it was called in English I will have to describe it. Cold noodles were placed together on a hotplate and flattened and cooked. An egg was cracked on the top of this and it was then flipped so cooked on both sides. Here is the interesting part…onions,herbs and several other concoctions and sauces were added including a small hotdog. The egg/noodle was rolled with the ingredients inside and then cut into slices and served. For this delicacy we paid only 5 RMB each. It was wonderful !

This day was listed as a big drive of just over 500 kms. However on the evening before, as he was leading, Ian discovered that it was 770 kms. This called for a new game plan. Instead of planning to visit the Confucius temple in the afternoon it would be too late on arrival, we would start Saturday with the Confucius temple and Mansion.

The day was uneventful except for a 2 hour delay on the motorway. This was about lunchtime and was caused, we think,  by a truck jack-knifing. Regardless of why, we set up our stools and ate lunch behind our cars. After lunch some work was done on the cars that needed it while others rested, read etc. The cars were stopped on a bridge overlooking the river…not quite the scenic spot we would have chosen but it had the elements!

We arrived at Qufu about 7.00pm which was good considering the length of the driving and delays. A celebration birthday dinner for Pat was had at a local restaurant.

Three nights and two days have been spent in Shanghai. Apart from being able to do washing and drying it during this time we had a wonderful time. The first day saw us in our cars early to drive to the MG factory. Because of traffic at 7.30 in the morning it took over 3 hours to get there . We were welcomed warmly and were given a tour in an electric cart of the factory. It was impressive to see the cars being assembled with most of it being automated. This was followed by an elaborate lunch at a Chinese display village. The plates kept on coming and everything from scallops to beef and fish dishes was presented. Wow…what hospitality!

We left lunch and it took another 3 hours to arrive at the service centre where the cars were to have oil changes, greasing and tyres rotated. Again we were welcomed warmly by the MG car club of China. The ladies were presented with a sherlock holmes MG bear and the men were given small model of the new MGZ car.

Ian and I met Angie and Dan Horan in the evening for wonderful meal at Vue, overlooking the old and new Bund.

The following day there was an organised bus trip but we decided to tour ourselves around Shanghai. What a great day although exhausting. We walked through the French Concession area on the edge of which our hotel was situated. This led us to the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre. Wow…this is a private collection of posters showing a stunning perspective of the 30 years of history following the establishment of the new China. We even purchased an english original copy of the “little red book”.

Exploring the charming shops at Tianzifang

and then we walked to the Bund and caught the underground cable car across the river to Pudong. To complete our cultural experience we caught the metro back to near our hotel, having to change trains once.

A wonderful day!