This afternoon, I’ll board a plane in Shanghai and begin the 30-hour trip home. I leave China with a wealth of memories and images. We’ve seen and done so much more than I’ve had the opportunity to blog about here. So as a farewell gift, here are some of my other favorite images from this trip. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this is about 9,000 words’ worth of travel treasure.

 

A chef in Beijing prepares the world-famous Peking duck.

Beijing artists practice calligraphy by painting with water on dry stone.

The Temple of Heaven is Beijing’s most significant historic religious site.

Artwork at Beijing’s Summer Palace, a lakeside retreate of the Ming Dynasty emperors.

Xi’an’s elaboarte preparations for the Chinese New Year celebration.

The underground swimming pool at the beautiful new Sheraton hotel in Shanghai.

Locals and visitors browse the shops at Shanghai’s ‘Chinatown in China.’

The Shanghai Acrobats perform amazing athletic feats nightly.