Part IV: Hong Kong
Next I travelled from Wuhan to Hong Kong to link up with @vladcojanu and @chusourit who were on the last stop of their trip. It was a strange adjustment from mainland China, where I was used to everything being in Mandarin, and being the only foreigner around.
I was most surprised by the outlying towns and islands; I hadn’t realized there was such a large territory beyond the urban core. We travelled to Sai Kung and took a boat to Sharp Island. The islands, the seaside town, and even the bus ride there were lovely. If only NYC were surrounded by such beauty…
Part III: Wuhan
My next stop after sailing the 3 gorges was further downriver at the confluence of the Yangtze and the Han: Wuhan.
It’s certainly a place of global historical significance, so I couldn’t pass up the chance to visit. Sadly, the notorious market was shuttered when I stopped by, but the city had many better sites to offer as well 😝
The 热干面 (hot dry noodles) it’s known for were also one of my favourite things I ate the entire trip!
Part II: Three Gorges
The second leg of my journey was on a Yangtze River cruise, 3 days from Chongqing to 三峡大坝 (Three Gorges Dam - the largest in the world)
This was my first time on a cruise of any sort, and since I booked with a Chinese operator I ended up being the only foreigner on the ship. It was actually a great opportunity to talk with people and make new friends!
The Three Gorges are a stretch of the Yangtze River where it carves its way through a mountain range, creating some extreme terrain and scenery. Relaxing on deck and watching the peaks roll by was fantastic!
We made lots of stops along the way to visit temples, and traveled up a tributary to see 小小三峡 on small boats.
On the final day we visited the Three Gorges Dam, which I’ve wanted to see since I was a kid. The dam itself is 2.3 kilometers across, with a 200 foot difference in water level. The dam’s reservoir actually extends 600 kilometers upstream, so essentially the entire cruise had been traversing the dam’s reservoir.
The photos of the dam and its locks cannot adequately depict how gargantuan it was in person…
From here it was onward, to Wuhan!
Part I: Chengdu & Chongqing
My first stop was Chengdu, in Sichuan. I made the obligatory visit to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base.
These first few days were a wake up call for how difficult it would be to understand people. Chinese class definitely didn’t prepare me for the speed people talk at, let alone regional dialects/accents.
At first I only ordered basic things I already knew how to say, like 咖啡，包子, 水饺，or 牛肉面. Though they could understand my order, I had no idea what they were saying in response. Eventually I started figuring out that they were asking if I wanted my coffee iced or hot, what size, etc.
By the end of the trip I could handle these kinda of interactions pretty smoothly, but the first few days were a (somewhat discouraging) struggle.
Departing Chengdu I took a bullet train (350km/h!!) to Chongqing and spent the day there before boarding the cruise in the evening. I was very surprised by Chongqing - despite being relatively unknown here, it’s one of the largest cities in the world and was gorgeous with its skyline lit up!
There’s an overwhelming amount to share from my time in China, so I’ll start with my favourite photo from each leg of the journey.
1. Chengdu - Anshun Bridge
2. Chongqing - Yangtze River Waterfront
3. Three Gorges Cruise - 小小三峡
4. Wuhan - Yellow Crane Tower
5. Hong Kong - Sharp Island
6. Xi’an - Terracotta Warrior
7. Luoyang - Longmen Grottoes
8. Beijing - Forbidden City
Much more to come :)
New York Dance Festival 2024 - Adult Pre-Champ Latin
Our first time on the resplendent NYDF floor together! What an incredible competition to get to take part in!
We began dancing together about 9 month ago, and I’m proud to share what we’ve done in that time.. and reminded of how much more we can improve for NYDF next year!
Jive intro ft. @jeff_ballroomlatin
(Videos in order of least embarrassing)
This weekend I got to attend Vinny, Saeko, and Jessica's amazing Zouk triads workshop! It was incredibly fun learning to double lead and dancing with everyone else at the workshop. There was such a great energy!
It'll take tons of practice to get down everything I learned, but here's what I could manage by the end of the workshop!
Thanks Jessica and Saeko for the dance!
Thanks Vincent for the video!
And thanks Vinny for teaching me so much and running such a great workshop!
