Fireworks Celebrating Lantern Festival Viewed From Bus From Fuzhou To Quanzhou.

One of the Shaolin Temple students who now lives and works in Quanzhou came up to fetch me and we travelled by bus on the last day of the Chinese New Year, from Lian Jiang to Quanzhou, a journey of more than three hours. From the bus window there were wonderful views of the night sky ablaze with fireworks, and from our high vantage point in the bus we had a grandstand view of the traditional Lantern Festival processions of costumed people on the roads. People holding colourful lanterns, people blowing trumpets, people dressed up as ''Buddha'', the ''Three Wise Men of China'', ''Chinese Dragons'', and other Chinese characters of legend. The Lantern Festival at the end of the Chinese New Year, brought the celebrations to an end.

It was late when we arrived in Quanzhou, but the sound of fireworks as part of the Lantern Festival could still be heard in the distance. We booked in at a hotel near the bus station and through our room window we could see that opposite the hotel there was an all night Coffee Shop. The following day we went there for coffee; there were certainly more staff and attendants than there were customers. Excellent coffee, delicious snacks, efficient and friendly service, but whether or not it was a profitable venture is unknown! After our coffee, we moved to another hotel near the center of the city, where there were more facilities, restaurants, shops etc., and making it more convenient to get taxis. The roads and streets near the hotel were all litter free, and showed no evidence of litter from Chinese firecrackers or fireworks that would have been used during the Lantern Festival. From the window of the hotel could be seen a forest of tower blocks, completed blocks of apartments or offices, all very western looking, very few indications that this was a city in China.

Visit China For Thirty Days: Twenty Years Since First Visit To China

Brian and Megan took me to Manchester for my second China visit of 30 days in November, 2007, which was one month and 20 years after my first visit in 1987. There had been many changes over the years, even my flights were different with lie flat seats and no long walks at the airports, thanks to the wheelchair service provided at the airports at Manchester, Paris and Guangzhou! Within about ten minutes of checking in at Manchester, there was an attendant and wheelchair provided to whisk me through all the controls and checkpoints, and past all the queues, right to the door of the plane! On arrival at Paris airport a Shuttle bus was waiting to take me to the arrival gate. There another attendant with wheelchair, asked for my passport and boarding card, then quickly saw me through the security checks to deposit me in the lounge, where coffee, sandwiches, biscuits and chocolates were served to keep me occupied for the two hour wait for the flight to China. Fifteen minutes before boarding time, my 'chauffeur' returned to get me to the plane door, and I was told I was first on board! The same routine was followed at all the airports, so if anyone thinks they would not be able to manage the long airport walks, don’t let it be a drawback to your travel plans, just order a wheelchair! Yang met me at the Guangzhou airport and soon we were at the BaiYun Hotel.