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From luxury to basics, but loving every minute of it
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TO promote Hangzhou as a world-class tourism destination and lure more foreign visitors, the Hangzhou Tourism Commission organized Hangzhou China Global Tour 2015. Two families, one from China and the other from the US, were selected as Hangzhou ambassadors to tour seven countries while promoting Hangzhou.
The tour started on August 1 and lasts 30 days. The global tour includes a visit to Dunhuang in northwestern China’s Gansu Province and then moves west along the Ancient Silk Road. It also includes stops on the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini, Dubrovnik in Croatia as well as Venice, Geneva, Paris, Boston and New York.
Shanghai Daily invited the Capaldi family, the US ambassadors, to write a weekly column during the trip. Today we carry their second article about their world tour.
After our very first visit to Hangzhou, (and China), we are now traveling around the world, spreading the word about the beauties, the traditions, and the history of Hangzhou. We are being accompanied by our new friends the Zhou Zhen family, who are the Chinese ambassadors, and two storytellers: Mike Shubic, an American, and Zhang Hailong, who is Chinese.
We also have a camera crew, and several representatives from Guru Online. In total, our little traveling family numbers 15, and we have all bonded together like a rock band on a road tour!
On our last day in Hangzhou, we had a very successful official ceremony for media to mark the beginning of the Hangzhou China Global Tour 2015. We concluded by rocking the room, singing our version of “Hangzhou Happy.” Kang Baoli (our daughter Cayleigh!) went into the audience, getting the usually reserved gentlemen and ladies singing and clapping along.
Next morning, we flew to Dunhuang, and drove out to the very edge of the city, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, to a secluded area at the foot of the sand dunes, where we prepared to spend the night camping under the stars. The extraordinary sand dunes are silent and still, and have remained unchanged for over 2,000 years. They reminded us of pictures of the Martian landscape with various shades of beige, brown and red, with a lonely and somewhat ominous presence.
Our little campsite had a dozen small tables, several barbecue pits, very basic facilities, and approximately 20 one-person tents. Quite a stunning and stark contrast to what had been our home at the Wyndham in Hangzhou. We spent the day shooting video to document our global tour, and then ate a delicious dinner. As the scorching desert sun set on the horizon, our evening ended with no Internet, no Twitter, no e-mail, no Shanghai Daily online, and no voicemails. In one day we had gone from the lap of luxury to a rustic and bucolic campsite. All we had was the desert sand beneath us, and the watchful stars above.
The next day, we drove to the Mount Ming Sha Shan and Crescent Moon Shaped Spring Geo area, where we spent the day being filmed riding camels. It is an extraordinary feeling to ride a camel. They lurch forward and sway from side to side, make very little sound, and move with a steady rhythm, at a slow pace dictated by the shepherd walking in front. It’s easy to understand why poets have described camels as the “Ships of the Desert.”
The following morning we left China on an arduous 36-hour trip to our next stop. We were very sad to leave this extraordinary country, but the one thing that diminished our sadness is the firm promise to return soon. China and Hangzhou, in particular, has captured our hearts, fired our imaginations, captivated our senses, and become a very pivotal part of our future plans and dreams. We may have entered as strangers, but we definitely left as best friends.
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