Don't make tour groups feel like a race

A gentle snoring came from the bunk above, as the landscape flashed past at 150 km an hour. Shanghai was less than 30 minutes away.

I'd woken early, a combination of excitement and the even earlier sunrise, but Ellen seemed to be immune to its rays. It took some vigorous shaking to get her to open her eyes.

I'm ashamed to say that in the years that I've been in China, I've seen very little of it, so a trip like this was a great chance for me to explore more of it. The Tianjin Medical University had organized the trip for its foreign experts, and very kindly invited me to take Ellen along.