… I am now back from my 9. China-journey and already look forward to the next trip! First I was as German teacher one term/semester (2004/5) in Langfang, in close proximity to Beijing. During this time I traveled much, together with my German and Chinese colleagues; natural we often were in Peking. After the term we made a round trip in South China.
Afterwards I traveled still 7 times through China, one time with a group of good acquaintance and friends, other times with my Chinese colleague and friend, times with me well-known Chinese guides, also frequently alone.
I have planed, but can´t go to a railway-trip from Kunming to Hanoi and Nanning, a journey in Tibet and the complete silk-road-trip on the Chinese part of the silk roads.
I wanted to make all journeys rather own organized - with support of Mr. Li, general manager of a travel agency in Beijing.
Still in planning are these journeys, when they are realized, are located still in the stars.
In the last year I have got over a 4 week journey by Gansu and to Xining. Slogan: From Xi´an to Dunhuang. That is first or the last part of the silkroad. My formerly planned route would follow.
Yes, would! In September 2009 I tried, together with a German friend, to continue the silk-road-trip. We began in Dunhuang. In Hami, already in Xingjian, the Chinese reality caught up us: no call home possible, neither by mobile phone, nor by telephone, not by Skype, since the internet access was limited to China. We made the best from it, traveled to the province Sichuan, in order to meet in Chengdu 2 Chinese students, who are friendly with my friend. From there we went over Luoyang, the Longmen Grottoes, the Shaolin monastery and Kaifeng to Beijing back.
My last trip took me in April 2010 to the Silk Road, approximately from Urumqi to Turpan, Kashgar and Khotan, three weeks in Chinese / Uygur / Muslim region (Qinjiang province) and the World Exhibition in Shanghai.
The next trips are planned: first, the long-planned trip to Tibet and - brand new - a trip along the Grand Canal, the longest ever built by humans waterway, around 1,800 km - now no longer continuously navigable.
Which I still wish for me in China (except some journeys):
No, not again one term lessons (German as foreign language). Better for me will be one term methodology and didactics in German language as foreign language for Chinese students, who will learn German language and will later teach German language in China, because I see, that the young (and old) colleagues in Langfang did not have notion, whereby I do not want to misjudge that Chinese didactics and methodology must be surely different than ours.
I thing over also, whether I could offer single persons or small groups (up to 4 persons) in China an intensive course German as foreign language in combination with instruction in intercultural competence/authority, for example for managers, who urgently want to learn German or your German knowledge must improve and for their business intercultural authority they need, in order to be more successful. I would imagine a 6 – 8 hours a day-course of up to 5 days per week over one or two, three at the latest months.
I am interested also in training in foot reflex zone massage - in extension of my past knowledge and abilities.
It would be completely mad, together with a daoist monk, who German speaks, to translate Goethe into Chinese. By the DAAD there was such an announcement, unfortunately let itself not manufacture the contact to the monk and/or to the person, who gave this announcement up.