Around the World in 128 Days - Dalian, China

 

 Travel Day 67 - March 10, 2024 - 8,795 Steps

This post and the next two are late being written and posted because the last three days of excursions have all been incredibly long leaving no time for writing. I've opted for lots and lots of photos and video with a minimum of  verbiage.

Old and new styles of architecture.

About as modern as it gets.

Dalian is located very near the Russian border and since the early 1900's has been Japanese, Soviet Union and Chinese.

We were the first cruise ship to visit in 4 years and they went all out to welcome us.

Inside the apartment block where we were going to visit a Chinese family.

Kids bikes inside the entrance. The school they attended was in apartment block and they could easily walk to it.

Looking down from the tenth floor apartment .

Our host served green tea.

Our host. He spoke English, while his wife understood English but didn't speak it. They were taught three languages in school, the local dialect, Mandarin which is the universal Chinese language and English. He worked in logistics for a German company so he also spoke some German. It was the first time they had hosted a group of Americans and he said one of his neighbors had asked him if he wanted to host and he thought it was a great way to learn more about America and show Americans how his family lived. When I mentioned that we lived in an RV and lived a life of travel, he said his goal was after he retired at age 60, he wanted to do the same thing and travel around China and maybe even Europe. People the world over are all the same.

He had the same type of tea I always drink in the morning back home, so made a pot of it.

A taste of home in China, or maybe I should say, back home I have a taste of China.

Their son is teaching himself to play the keyboard.

Their daughter loves to sing.

Many of the loins we saw had their mouths covered like this.

As part of the welcoming Dalian gave a special concert for us

Afterwards we were invited to come up on the stage have our photo taken with the performers.

It was in the upper 30's, but this person was prepared for far worse.

Peoples Park.

The flag of China. It was flow over public and government projects.

It seemed all the larger stores had their signs in both Chinese and English.

Not nearly as many electric vehicles as in Shanghai, but still they were fairly common.

Most highway signs are in both Chinese and English.

Schools always have large outside playground and sports areas.

The Pole Aquarium. Linda went a little wild taking videos while were here.

We made onto the big screen.

I just love all the colors and the beautiful lady on the bench makes it even better.

It's the year of the Year of the Dragon.

These can be seen in many locations where there are large groups of people.

There were attendants at the service stations.

And the day comes to a close as we head back to the ship in the early evening.