Highlights of the
2001 Tour of China
A promo picture of String of Pearls taken shortly before the tour. Two members had to be substituted at the very last minute due to scheduling conflicts. The leaders of the band, Don Conway (alto sax) and Connie Conway (vocalist) are two of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met. This trip would never have happened without their inspiring optimism.
A band photo shortly before our concert in the
town of Zhangye, an oasis town in the Gobi
Desert in Gansu Province.
A temple in a Buddhist monastery at the city of Lanzhou. That night we performed a sold-out concert in a 6000 seat sports arena
This arch is part of a guard tower
in the Great Wall.
This section
is near Beijing..
The little
red dot in the middle of the photo is bass player Mickey McPhillips, the
only other Santa Cruzan in the band.
A surviving section of the Great Wall as seen
with a surviving Trombone player.
Another band
photo before another concert. Notice the thirty foot high banner in the
background advertising our show. Nobody seemed to notice the twenty-five
foot high upside-down saxophone.
The local wildlife was quite friendly.
Me and my
army buddies. The Chinese army was often "sent in" at the end of our
concerts to "restore order" but the soldiers were usually more interested in
collecting autographs.
More autograph seekers.
At the dinner table!
When
traveling across China, we utilized many forms of transportation including
trains, buses, taxis, etc. This is at Jiayguan Pass, the fort at the
extreme western end of the Great Wall. This is 1500 miles west of Beijing
and one of the central points along the ancient Silk Road. Even though we
are in the middle of the Gobi desert, we are at 6000 foot elevation and the
weather was cool and comfortable. Much cooler than it was in Beijing.
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