Dalian, China

Wednesday March 19th and we are sailing toward Dalian, China.  Due to arrive around noon.  So the morning was like many others.  No needlepoint today as they are giving out the rewards to those passengers who have collected enough point for redemption.  You can play games and win points and then get a t-shirt, hat, etc.  I do not play the games so we so not have any points.  Last segment Jim got Bob a t-shirt because he and Anne Louise have tons of points.

Dalian, China is a coastal city with a population of around 8 million people.  It is a fairly new city.

After the Opium War in 1840, Dalian was plunged into warfare.  At the end of the 1800's, Japanese and Russian invaders successively set their feet on the Chinese mainland here.  In 1894, Japan invaded the Peninsular and in 1897 Russian troops occupied Lushun Port and imposed upon the Qing government an unfair contract, in which they ceded Lushun as a colony to Russia.  Seven years later, Lushun was again transferred to Japanese rule, when the Russians lost in the Japanese-Russian War.  From then on Dalian suffered from the colonial rule of Russia and Japan for decided.  It was as recently as 1955 that the Chinese government took over sovereignty of Lushun and the hardest times of the city's history ended.

The impression Dalian gives to the world is of a city of lawns, squares, fountains and gardens.  This is all thanks to the former mayor of the city, Bo Xilai, who initiated a "Green Storm" - a widespread environmental campaign which brought numerous green squares, forests, parks, and seaside scenic spots to the city.  People say it is "A City Built in Gardens".

Our tour today is "Dalian With Less Walking".

While we were sitting on our balcony, we watched these police stand guard.  They stood there all day.

This is a view of the dock area.  Lots of building going on in this city.

Our first stop was at Green Hill Platform for an overview of the city.

More building going on.

More views of the city.

The next stop was at People's Square.  This is a large open space where the local folks come and fly kites.  This lady was selling the kites to anyone.  Lots of the Chinese people wear masks due to the pollution in the cities.  But this day the sun was shining and there was a wind which kept the air fairly clear.

I really liked this kite.

Lots of neat kites being flown.

And this kite had the longest tail.  It was cool to watch fly.

And across the street from the square is a government building.

Next we went to Xinghai Square.  This is in a very expensive area of the city.  And it is loaded with these sculptors.

And these are some of the apartment buildings in the area.

Thought I would have my picture drawn by this lady.

These are the two Jane's.  Jane in white coat is from Palm Coast and Jayne in purple is from Palm Beach Garden.  They are my needlepoint friends.  Great ladies.  We hope to get together at the outlets.

This is a view of the square.  Lots of statues.

We thought this looked a lot like Aiden on his skate board.

The nest stop was at the Beida Bridge.  This is the honeymoon bridge.  You are to walk across the bridge with you sweetheart.  But those who know me, know I do not like bridges.  So Bob walked across by himself.

The view from the bridge.

And this windmill which I do not think works anymore.

The coast line of the area.

The final stop was at Tiger Park.  There are six tigers in this sculpture but we could only see 5.

And more buildings being built.

We returned to the ship and got ready for dinner.  We were meeting Joan and David for dinner tonight. They are from the Cook Islands and a delightful couple.  The got on in Aukland and are getting off in Beijing.  It is interesting that the longer we stay on board, the more folks we meet and want to have dinner with.  We had a great dinner in Compass Rose and then back to the suite and bed.