As soon as we cross the Mongolian border into the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, we will roll into the border town of Erenhot. As soon as we hit the highway eastwards, we’ll be leaving Inner Mongolia behind in a trail of dust.
About 650km later, we will soon see a stone structure atop undulating mountains. This World Heritage declared site, which is visible from the moon, has kept Northern invaders out of China. But after traversing 6,100km since leaving Dalian, the Great Wall of China will be unable to hold back the Petronas Adventure Team from advancing on Beijing, our next stop.
Beijing covers an area of 16,800 sq km, which is roughly the size of Belgium. The People’s Republic of China’s capital has 12.1 million residents, and is in the throes of frantic construction, as it gears up for the Olympics in 2008. On our fifth rest day, we will visit the Forbidden City, which has been home to two dynasties of emperors and peek into the soul of China – Tiananmen Square where Chairman Mao is interred. While some of us may try to catch a Beijing Opera performance, others may want to bargain hunt in the antique and silk shops, or satisfy their craving for Beijing cuisine of Beijing duck, Mongolian hotpot and Muslim barbecue.
From Beijing, we head southwards towards Henan province to view the Huang He (Yellow River) where Chinese civilisation is believed to have originated 3,500 years ago. This is the smallest province in China but it is also considered the most densely populated with 90 million people, or one-third of the Unites States’ population living here. We will stay overnight in its capital, Zhengzhou although several Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee fans amongst us may be tempted to drive to nearby Shaolin Si, China’s most famous martial arts school.
After navigating through the great industrial city and river port of Wuhan in Hebei province, and across the Yangzi River, we will travel further south towards Hunan province. Here, we visit Changsha, its provincial capital where Chinese communism began its formative years. From Changsha, a long drive will take us to Guilin, famous for its beautiful limestone karst peaks, before driving to Nanning, the provincial capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, which is the last Chinese capital en route to Vietnam.
We will have travelled 2,780km since Beijing. Raring for more adventure, we will now venture into Laos next.
