Chongqing report

From Mr Yu:

We left Chengdu for Chongqing on July 4. The ride on freeway through greenish rolling hills and small towns took about 5 hours. When stepping out of the chartered bus, we immediately felt the heat. The city of Chongqing is known as one of the four furnaces along the Yangtse River Valley. We all agreed that Chongqing's reputation as one of the hottest cities in China was indisputable. We had lunch at a restaurant where we almost lost James again in the restroom. The hotel, called the Carol Hotel, is located right next to the Yangtse River. At both day and night we have panoramic views of the river and the highrises in the urban area. It is only about a few minutes walk form the hotel to downtown Chongqing, but most buildings between the hotel and the business area are the old, beaten-down buildings from many years ago (probably built during the 2nd World War Era when Chongqing was China's wartime capital), most of which seem to be deserted and are set to be demolished in the near future.

 This is also where our kids can find some really bargain food, like beef noodle for 5 yuan, fried rice for 4 yuan, etc. Once we get to CBD, we have easy access to the usual fashionable restaurants, retailers, cinemas, shopping centers, cafes, and fast food restaurant that our kids are very familiar with back in Minnesota.

We will stay here until 7/7 instead of 7/6 due to lack of sleeper beds for the group on 7/6. We will add Hangzhou on the itinerary. We will stay in Hangzhou on 7/8 and will come back to Shanghai on 7/9. The added cost will be covered by the group fee.
I will update the photos in Chongqing tonight.