WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

On April 9, TotalAdventure returned to China for the first time in 12 years.

Cathay Pacific is the best route from JFK New York to Hong Kong.Because it’s a Chinese airline it’s permitted to fly though Russian airspace, saving several hours of travel time and making it un necessary for West Coast layovers.

Economy Plus is a pleasant and not so costly way to travel. On this return flight I had no one next to me. Food is good and Chivas is available upon request.

Over the Danish Colony of Greenland. The flight left New York at 2 AM Wednesday April 8 and arrived in Hong Kong at 5 AM on April 9, a total of 15 hours and a 12 hour advance in time. Dark on either end, with about 5 hours of Arctic Midnight Sun in the middle.

Irkutsk near Lake Baikal. First time seeing Russia in 2 years, when I was on the Georgia-Russia border. TotalAdventure was in Irkustk in 2014.

From Chep Lap Kok ,it’s another 2.5 hours to Chongqing. Immigration is fast and efficient. TotalAdventure haas a 10 year unlimited entry visa.

DIdi is right on the Alipay App.

Alipay is used for everything. Payment, car, train, plane, All charged to your credit or debit card. Hardly any need for cash. I exchanged US 100 on arrival and only used it up buying trinkets at the airport when leaving.

Chinese Yuan, known as RMB is 6.77 to the US Dollar. Prices in China are significantly lower than the USA and Europe.

The 4 following stories cover TotalAdventure’s return to China. From Chongqing to Chengdu, to the mountains of Sichuan – East to Shanghai and back West to Enshi and then Chongqing to Hong Kong. BE SURE TO WATCH ALL THE VIDEOS !

On April 9th, TotalAdventure arrived in Chongqing, the world’s largest city with a metro area of over 50 million people. It was my first voyage to the People’s Republic since 2014. Above is the Grand Theater.

Chongqing has become world famous for its’ fantastic building light shows, though Shanghai’s architecture is more impressive.

View from one of my hotel rooms – Raffles Center.

In another hotel room – Words of Warning !

Chongqing lights up every night.

SEE THE VIDEO AT TOP FOR ROBOTICS .

Conjoined Chryslers.

April is a perfect time to visit, as the summer can be ferociously hot at 40 C. In general it was about 25 to 30 by day and about 20 at night.

Saturday Night Drone Show .

From My 38th Floor Hotel Room.

The Mighty Yangtze.

Chongqing North Rail Station.

Floating Entertainment And Sightseeing.

A midnight meal of delicious yak noodle soup and a cold beer for 35 RMB, around US 5. One needs a minimum of 3 days to explore the world’s largest city, but could easily spend weeks seeking all its’ corners.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

From Chongqing, TotalAdventure boarded a high speed train and took the 2hour , 350 kph journey to Chengdu the Capitol of Sichuan Province.

208 mph. Most of the journey is through tunnels. I was welcomed by Miya Liu, Adventure Travel Trade Association Chief for China and her husband Yang Lei. They first took me for an amazing traditional Hotpot lunch in a local place a tourist would never find. You can view an interview with Miya IN THE VIDEO AT THE TOP.

Afterwards we toured the Volvo factory. Many of the cars for the European market are made in China and then transported by train through Russia to Europe.It is a hybrid robot/human assembly line. Photos and video were not permitted.

I stayed 2 nights at the Buddha Zen Hotel in an old section . For RMB 540 US 80 I had a 2 room suite with two balconies.

For dinner that night I had Chinese River Turtle. SEE VIDEO ABOVE. Viewer discretion is advised.

The Chairman Is Forever.

Relics of the Revolution in the Chengdu Museum.

Checkers at Nightfall.

A Peaceful Temple In A Busy City.

Another high speed train took TotalAdventure from 500 meters in Chengdu to 2780 Meters in Juizhai Valley in just over two hours. The climate changed from warm humid sprig weather to crisp late winter weather in the mountains. Snow covered the mountains and was on the roadsides in many areas. Nighttime temperature were – 10 C in mid April. Here is where the real adventure began.

Miya Liu had introduced me to China Exploration, also an ATTA member. I needed an SUV with a knowledgeable driver to explore distant areas of Sichuan, where mountains reach 6250 M 20000 ft. and also explore Tibetan communities. There is a large Tibetan culture and unlike Tibet itself, no Tibet Travel Permit is needed. China Exploration put together an excellent plan according to my input., SEE THE VIDEO AT THE TOP.

My beautiful room with balcony at Juizhaigou Valley Abluzi . 550 RMB per night. Very warm and comfortable in the frigid nights.

Like A Painting .A freshwater gull in a lake in Juizhaigou National Park.

Runoff from glaciers give the lakes their aqua color.

A Cold ShangriLa.

Spring sunshine in the Eastern Himalayas.

On The Grasslands. More Central Asia Than East Asia.

Yaks are long haired cattle who can climb easily and survive the extreme cold of the Himalayas.

Amazing Tibetan Yak Dumplings.

TotalAdventure explored many temples. Tibetan Buddhism thrives alongside modern Chinese life.

WATCH THE VIDEO AT TOP TO TOUR INSIDE.

Power From The Heavens.

Ornate Home Of Dietys.

All Seeing Itinerations.

On Sunday April 20th , TotalAdventure arrived by cable to the top of Mt.Degu . SEE THE VIDEO AT TOP. The elevation is 4860 M 15795 F.

At 32 North it is further south then Savannah,. Mt Everest is further southwest in the Himalayas.

The snow recedes enough in summer that the permanent glacier can be seen.

That’s canned oxygen in my hand. Nice to have after a raid ascent. The next day TotalAdventue departed Sichuan for Shanghai.

A high speed train took me from Shanghai to Enshi in about 6.5 hours . The equivalent distance would be New York to Chicago at 1353 km. Amtrak would be over 18 hours without the inevitable breakdown. The train is not even China’s fastest , averaging only 220 kmh. .From rainy Shanghai I arrived in sunny Enshi, TotalAdventure’s last stop before returning to Chongqing and the flight to Hong Kong and then New York and Miami. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE !

View from my beautiful $ 67 a night 460 RMB suite at the Mövenpick.

Spicy Crawfish Hotpot is the city speciality.

Washed down with cold local beer. Enshi is a late city, this was at 11 PM .

About 80 km from Enshi is the lost village of Luyuanping. Not actually “lost” ,but roadless. There are 2 ways in and out – a path that first travels along the side of a cliff followed by 1582 steps down, or a funicular elevator that takes one 2/3 of the way to and from the valley floor. There is also an electric pulley that carries freight bringing in heavy essential supplies. SEE THE VIDEO ABOVE ! There are no cars, but some golf cart type electric vehicles.

The village from above. Everyone is related to either one of two klans.

A very basic hotel for overnight hikers.

Smoked fish for dinner.

Up from the elevator.

Helpful advice.

Back in Enshi to board the train back to Chongqing.

The TotalAdventure 2026 Return To China focused mainly in Central and Southwest China . Towards the end of the trip I went to Shanghai for about 72 hours to take meetings and explore an aoutmated machine tools trade show at the Shanghai Expo and Convention Center.

2 AM Arrival from Chengdu on Air China. At PVG Pudong.

The Bund is Wedding Central Or Wedding Selfie Central.

There are many photographers setting up paid shoots for aspiring models.

Old Shanghai. Zhonghui Building.

Fresh Meat Mooncakes. Use camera translation to read characters.

The Bund By Night.

While sunny skies were prevalent in Central China, Shanghai was cool, foggy and rainy, making it difficult to visually capture the skyline, greatly expanded since my last time there in 2013.

TotalAdventure dined at Michelin Starred Yidao Restaurant. I had three tasting courses and beer for about 600 RMB, about US $92. Above is Braised Duck’s Foot on Quinghai Lake Fish Head. A well deserved Star.

TotalAdventure went to explore interational trade first hand at the China Machine Tool Fair at the National Exhibition and Convention Center – the world’s largest at 500,000 m2 in 16 halls.

With Trade War challenges worldwide, China has pivoted to new markets and expanded current ones, as other nations extend free trade agreements to China. The US had a pavilion also.

Inside the very cool 1930s hotel the Z Hotel.

Deco Bar. Great breakfast also.

From my balcony overlooking overlooking Guangdong Rd, The room was 700 RMB, about $ 103.

2014 was an incredible travel year for ArcticTropic. We explored Myanmar ( Burma), European Russia,Siberia,Mongolia,China,Japan,British Colombia,Canada,Singapore,Philippines and Panama. Here’s 184 clips in 11 minutes. This version is natural sound,a musical version will be uploaded soon.

2014 was a busy travel year for ArcticTropic. In all, we travelled an equivalent of more than twice around the world.The voyage to Myanmar in March ,via Frankfurt and Singapore was to the opposite side of the world and back the same route. In May and June we travelled in a continuous Eastbound direction until we ended up back where we started. In contrast, the 2.5 hour hop to Panama was a mere commuter flight.

There are only two ways to fly to Japan from Ulaanbataar, either though Seoul or Beijing, Beijing was the cheaper option and one of our travelers had not yet been there.

China has recently instituted a 72 hour visa-free program. One must be flying from one country,though a major city in China with an international airport and then fly on to a third country. One may not leave that city in that time frame.

Unlike last year at his time,Beijing skies were incredibly clear on a beautiful very dry 90 degree day.

Distant mountains were visible ! Third time in Beijing and first time seeing them.

A two hour flight on our Round The World Adventure.

The East is Red. But Capitalist.

Snake For Dinner.

 

For adventures in China, CLICK HERE

Next week ArcticTropic departs from Miami to Moscow – then on to Siberia, Mongolia,China, Japan and British Columbia

A quick representation of destinations since the GoPro was acquired less than a year ago. Featured : USA,Mongolia,South Africa,Namibia,China. Music will now accompany most videos.