(Jiangsu, 18 - 21 November, 2009)

2009 Jiangsu Coastal Tour

Visited Nantong, Yancheng and Lianyungong on the tour with more than 150 delegates from various countries to meet with government and business leaders and gain an insight into the planning and progress on the coastal development of Jiangsu Province.

• Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area
• Sutong Technology Industrial Park
• Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co. Ltd.
• Nantong Zhenhua Heavy Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
• Yancheng Development Zone
• Yueda Kia Motors Co. Ltd.
• Sinovel Wind
• Dafeng Port
• Yancheng Dafeng Milu (Pere David's Deer) National Nature Reserve
• Lianyungong Economic and Development Zone
• Lianyungong Science and Education Garden
• Lianyungong Zhongfu
• Lianyungong Composites Group Co. Ltd. & Near-Port Industrial Zone
• Lianyungong Port

(Nanjing, 16 December, 2009)

I have completed all the available China railway passenger timetables and located all railway stations necessary to display them in Google Earth.

At this time there are 3024 timetables and 2944 stations.

With the swift development continuing it will soon be out of date, but I have developed the software necessary to update the system and identify the need to locate new stations.

It has been a long and tedious process but success has such a price.

The results may be seen at cn.trainmaps.org.

(Hong Kong, 20 December, 2009)

I'm in Hong Kong in hopes of getting a new visa to return to Nanjing. The city has enticed me to spend more than I had planned.

I'm not sure whether I'm getting lazy or smarter, but for the first time I'm using a travel agent to get my visa. The extra cost may be less than the extra expenses that may be incurred if I wait the extra day that it would take to find the visa office and see if my application is accepted. Then getting a train ticket may require even more time in Hong Kong.

As it is getting back to China will be delayed by two days due to full trains. I have bought a ticket to Shanghai for Sunday, 27 December. Only an upper berth was available.

The image herewith is a reflection on the windows of a building that reminds me of Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, Spain. I call it "A Gaudiesque View of Hong Kong".

(Hong Kong, 23 December, 2009)

The Hong Kong I've seen so far is definitely not my element. I can understand the attractiveness of all the glitter and gold but have no desire to pursue the possession of it. If I lived here for a prolonged period of time perhaps I would find a way to meet the kind of people I enjoy communicating with, but during only a short stay there is little time to figure the place out.

As with all my travels in life, the greatest challenge is to find the food I want to eat. One pleasant surprise has been the McCafe food. The salads, sandwiches and deserts have been an enjoyable alternative to the regular fare. A little pricier than I normally pay but within affordability under my current conditions. I probably scrimp too much anyway, so a little extra is probably good. This evening I went out and located the building with the Bahá’í Centre where I'll meet Tom tomorrow. The streets around Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, are teeming with people even at 9:30 pm.