Visiting the Amazing Race in China (photos!)

I was most fortunate to visit China over the past few weeks, and happened to pass a few past locations featured on the Amazing Race.

TAR1 Leg 11

Jingshan Park, Beijing (the first ever China locale on TAR1)


It's a pretty tough climb to the top, but the view of Forbidden City is
wonderful! All made a little mystical with smog, of all things!


And the China pitstop for TAR1: Tiantan Park


TAR1 Leg 12/TAR10 Leg 1

We did go to the Great Wall, but there was this mist-like rain that was falling the entire day, so you could barely see a few hundred feet in front of you, which was such a shame because a clear shot of the Great Wall would have been awesome!!


TAR6 Leg 10

We passed by Yuyuan Garden (Shanghai), but you had to pay to go in! It was all walled up so you couldn't see inside.


TAR10 Leg 1

Mid-leg elimination: Forbidden City Meridian Gate


Forbidden City is such a touristy area, but at night the place is so quiet because all the tourists attractions around the Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City area are closed - they all close sometime before sunset.

Houhai was a wonderful area. Lots of bars and restaurants surrounding a really large lake. No photos though...


MORE TO COME: Bird's Nest stadium (TAR14 pitstop), Shanghai Science Musuem (TAR16 pitstop) and Yuyuan Garden (TAR16 detour location)

SO COOL!

I wanna go to China...jealous...

OMG looks like so much fun!!!

China is awesome-o! I thoroughly recommend knowing a little bit of Chinese (or an app that does) to help out though. Taxi drivers can be difficult and negotiating roads can be annoying (and I can speak their damn language!). Whatever problems TAR racers encounter in China is true.

A general rule for shopkeepers is that the more English they can speak, the more capable they are at ripping you off.

But yes, China was awesome. We just hopped from city to city, spending a few days in each, and took whatever transport we could find to go to the next city. Buses, trains, planes (this hurt my budget), and trying to make sure taxi drivers don't rip you off.

Sandstorm! That's awesome! Thanks for sharing

sand storm wrote:

A general rule for shopkeepers is that the more English they can speak, the more capable they are at ripping you off.

My sister caught a guy trying to rip her off. Idiot offered her a price in English, and then he offered a Chinese guy a price in Chinese that was waaay lower and she called him out Chinese. I wish I'd been there to see his face; he was probably speechless.

Willy Wonka wrote:

sand storm wrote:

A general rule for shopkeepers is that the more English they can speak, the more capable they are at ripping you off.

My sister caught a guy trying to rip her off. Idiot offered her a price in English, and then he offered a Chinese guy a price in Chinese that was waaay lower and she called him out Chinese. I wish I'd been there to see his face; he was probably speechless.

LOL that would have been awesome! I would pay to see that!!

Both tourists and shopkeepers are getting more savvy though. You see
people of various nationalities haggling in Chinese and the shopkeepers
themselves speaking English as well, probably just enough to haggle back. 10 or so years back, all you
probably get is a difficult conversation in English, and shopkeepers
talking among themselves, belittling the customer!

awesome pics SandStorm!!! I'll probably never get to go to China