Suzhou, Hangzhou [12/2005]
Tài Shān, Shandong Province [5/2004]
Simatai, Great Wall, Hebei Province [5/2004]
Shi Du, Beijing [4/2004]
![Suzhou, Hangzhou [12/2005] : Eug visited southern China with her sister. These photos are from visits to Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai.](http://donaji.smugmug.com/Travel/China/Suzhou-Hangzhou-122005/southchina04/51704652_PLFX2-Th.jpg "Suzhou, Hangzhou [12/2005] : Eug visited southern China with her sister. These photos are from visits to Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai.")
![Tài Shān, Shandong Province [5/2004] : Tai Shan or Mt. Tai is one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism in China. During my three month sojourn in China in 2004, I was able to go to three of them. This is one of the most sacred and climbing it is no simple feat (even though the lazy people can take a gondola up). The stairs take a toll on you and you are so relieved to be on top that you immediately reach for your Er Guo Tou stash (as opposed to Gatorade and the like) once you summit. It was sheer bliss after that and made you forget that there were half a million people with you on the mountain.](/photos/random.mg?AlbumID=4474851&Size=Thumb&AlbumKey=ZzVrP&rand=6069 "Tài Shān, Shandong Province [5/2004] : Tai Shan or Mt. Tai is one of the five sacred mountains of Taoism in China. During my three month sojourn in China in 2004, I was able to go to three of them. This is one of the most sacred and climbing it is no simple feat (even though the lazy people can take a gondola up). The stairs take a toll on you and you are so relieved to be on top that you immediately reach for your Er Guo Tou stash (as opposed to Gatorade and the like) once you summit. It was sheer bliss after that and made you forget that there were half a million people with you on the mountain.")
![Simatai, Great Wall, Hebei Province [5/2004] : Of all the Great Wall sections I visited, Simatai (pinyin: Sīmǎtái) was my clear favorite. Eugenia and I rented a car and driver and went out of town to Simatai on a cloudy day (it's about 75 miles from Beijing). There is a funicular that takes you to the top and then we are free to walk on the wall. There weren't too many people here when we visited. We rounded off the visit with a lunch at a restaurant at the bottom with a view of the Great Wall.](/photos/random.mg?AlbumID=4520496&Size=Thumb&AlbumKey=kxJSu&rand=1349 "Simatai, Great Wall, Hebei Province [5/2004] : Of all the Great Wall sections I visited, Simatai (pinyin: Sīmǎtái) was my clear favorite. Eugenia and I rented a car and driver and went out of town to Simatai on a cloudy day (it's about 75 miles from Beijing). There is a funicular that takes you to the top and then we are free to walk on the wall. There weren't too many people here when we visited. We rounded off the visit with a lunch at a restaurant at the bottom with a view of the Great Wall.")
![Shi Du, Beijing [4/2004] : Shi Du is a scenic spot about 100km from Beijing. It's often visited as a day trip from Beijing. Though it's called the Guilin of the north, I don't think it's that great of a place. Guilin is supposed to be much more beautiful. Eug and I went there when Tanny was visiting us in Beijing. The highlight of this trip was the horse riding. Click here for a description of the pain I went through.](http://donaji.smugmug.com/Travel/China/Shi-Du-Beijing-42004/shidu11/84507611_wCsyk-Th.jpg "Shi Du, Beijing [4/2004] : Shi Du is a scenic spot about 100km from Beijing. It's often visited as a day trip from Beijing. Though it's called the Guilin of the north, I don't think it's that great of a place. Guilin is supposed to be much more beautiful. Eug and I went there when Tanny was visiting us in Beijing. The highlight of this trip was the horse riding. Click here for a description of the pain I went through.")
