Majestic Yangtze

The famous Yangtze River attracts thousands of tourists every year to see the beautiful scenery and experience fantastic Yangtze River Cruise holidays. The landscape is usually the main draw for many but the river has other breathtaking sites to see as well. One of these is the modern marvel that is the Three Gorges Dam.

The dam is one of the largest power generating structures in the world, and with a total of 26 turbines produces a massive 22,500 MW, to put that in perspective that’s enough electricity to power 20 million homes.

The colossal structure makes for an incredible sight. Spanning the width of the valley, at just over 2.3km, its construction took over 27 million cubic metres of concrete, a massive half a million tonnes of steel and involved some of the largest earthworks of any modern engineering project, with over 100 million cubic metres of earth shifted. A trip to the dam also provides an impressive and unique view up and down the valley and the sense of scale while standing next to the dam is incredible.

Although the construction of the dam was highly controversial, it provided a strong sign of the drive to move power generation away from the traditional fossil fuel based systems. The dam also has the added benefits of giving tighter control, and some protection, over river flooding. In addition to this, the flooding of the upper valley lead to an increase of the transport capacity and the safety levels of the river. The Yangtze was notorious for its strong currents during the flooding seasons, a problem that’s been at least partially abated by the dam.

Finally, a trip to the dam wouldn’t be complete without going to see the incredible lock and lift system. The traditional locks see an amazing amount of through traffic on a daily basis and seeing the ship lift in action, capable of lifting ships of up to 3,000 tonnes, is a breathtaking sight.

So if you’re thinking of taking a trip out to see the Yangtze and its stunning scenery, make sure you also get to enjoy a tour of the Three Gorges Dam!

If you’re on a Private Tour visiting Beijing, there are some sights in the city that should be high on your list of must see attractions if you get the chance. Be sure to wander the Beijing Botanical Garden on your Beijing tour. It’s very much like Kew Gardens in the UK – it’s not only a site of scientific research, but also a great way for visitors to the city to see a wide range of wonderful, exotic plants.

Beijing Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden is one of the key botanical gardens in the whole of China, it covers an area of around 135 acres and sits between Fragrance Hill and Yu Quan Mountain. Situated in the Gardens is a whole range of plant exhibits, set out into areas or districts based on climate and species. It’s not just plants though, there’s also a famous relic site located in the Gardens and a natural reserve for a more natural plant and animal habitat.

Plant-wise there are over 10,000 different species, including over 1,400 hot house plants and over 2000 different types of trees and bush. These plants are mainly located throughout the site, set up in various greenhouses, groves and gardens. There are rose gardens, cherry and peach gardens, a perennial bulb garden and ginkgo, pine, and cypress sections to name but a few.

If you’re more interested in the hot-house plants then you should take a trip to one of the centrepieces of the site, the Beijing Exhibition Greenhouse, which occupies an area of just under 10,000 square metres and is one of the largest greenhouses in the world. This fantastic greenhouse is sub-divided into climates, from the hot and dry desert plants room to the humid rainforest room, there’s a bewildering range of plants on show here. If you’re looking for something a little different there’s also a carnivorous plants section, showing a fascinating range of theses incredible plants.

Finally, if you fancy taking a break from all the flora, you can take a trip to the relic site, which contains the Reclining Buddha Temple, the Relic of Long Jiao Temple, the Cherry Furrow, the Memorial Hall, the Memorial Hall of Huang Yecun, and the Grave of Liang Qichao.

The Bund, Shanghai

There are many great reasons to visit Shanghai, on one of the many fantastic Shanghai holidays that are available, but its rich culture and history are without doubt the number one reason. In this blog we’ll sample just a little of this history by looking at one of Shanghai most famous buildings, The Bund.

The name of the building ‘Bund’ is derived from the anglo-indian word for a waterfront embankment, which unsurprisingly was what the building initially was. The area it’s comprised of was initially set up back in around 1840 with the first British office opening in 1846 and is one of Shanghai’s most recognisable architectural symbols to this day.

Over time, the area became representative of Shanghai’s place as one of the best trade cities in the world, and is to this day still very much the centre of trade in the city. The area has seen many modern buildings joining the classical architecture with large skyscrapers housing fantastic roof top gardens rubbing shoulders with the older, and in some ways more elegant, 19th century buildings.

The Bund covers an area of waterfront stretching from Jinling road at the southern end all the way up to Waibaidu Bridge up in the north. The river running alongside this beautiful waterfront is one of the tributaries of the mighty Yangtze River, the Huangpu River. If you take a moment to gaze out over the river today you’ll be treated to the sight of a bustling waterway. With large cargo vessels, tourist ferries and local boats all jostling for space as they nip up and down the river. If you’re feeling a little braver, you can even take a trip out on one of the pleasure boat rides to get a better view of the Bund from a little further out.

Out on the waterways looking back at the Bund gives you a great sense of scale with the towering skyscrapers, like the Oriental Pearl Tower, looming up into the sky. If you take a similar trip out at night you can also get to see the fantastic neon illumination of these fantastically modern buildings.

Overall the Bund gives you a great idea of Shanghai’s rich past and it’s future direction, it’s a great place to visit for anyone on holiday here and it’ll be a skyline you’ll remember for a long time.