China July 2009

In July 2009, Rick Brown led the group of eclipse-chasers he had organized on a tour of China, centered on the Total Solar Eclipse viewed from Wuhan on 22 July. We started in Shanghai, toured a couple museums and a Water City (like a miniature Venice), took a river boat to ChungQing, taking in the sights along the way (like the White Emperor City and the Ghost City), toured ChungQing (including pandas at the zoo) and then flew to Wuhan for the total solar eclipse. The eclipse was a big hit among the Chinese students at the University where we set up to view it, and it was a beautiful site in itself. After that we flew to Xi'an, saw the Terra Cotta Warriors and the exquisite royal theater show, and then flew to Beijing for many of its famous offerings. There we visited the Great Wall, Summer Palace, Ming Tombs, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, saw another classic theater show, and finished with a banquet at the famous Roast Duck Restaurant, where they feature what everybody else calls Peking Duck. My brother Mike and I stayed a couple more days awaiting our Air Canada flight home, so we checked out Beijing's open-air markets (roasted scorpions, YUM!) and other sights within walking distance of the excellent Peninsula Hotel.

This book takes you along on our tour of China.