What is this all about
Similarly to the previous trip, the goal of this trip also is to observe a total solar eclipse. Our destination is Shanghai in China where we hope to see this eclipse.
The Solar eclipse
Animation of the eclipse path
The total Solar eclipse will start on Wednesday, July 22nd. It will be visible in India, China and some other countries of Asia. This eclipse will be the longest in the 21st century. The maximum amount of time this eclipse will be visible is 6 minutes and 43 seconds in Pacific ocean east from south of Japan. In Shanghai, where we are traveling to, it will be visible for about 5 minutes. According to the data collected in previous years, around that time there will be 50%-60% cloud probability in China, but in Shanghai it is expected to be more sunny than in other places. To the right is a map of the eclipse visibility.
For more detailed information you can read:
- Wikipedia
- NASA eclipse website
- Interactive Google map with eclipse visibility times length and coordinates.
Travel plan
In Riga – Shanghai direction we are going only by train. Major train stops are the following: Riga – Moscow – Almaty – Urumqi – Xi’an – Beijing – Shanghai. In these stops we will spend no more than a day except the last two. In Beijing we will stay for 2 days, but in Shanghai – 4. We will return to Riga by plane: Shanghai – Kuala Lumpur – London – Brehmen – Riga. Here is the travel map (each individual train route has a different color):
You can click on the image to get to a detailed Google map with individual train stops AND TIMES on the map.
In addition there is another google map available that is upaded daily and includes all twitter updates placeholders. Just clickety-clicky here!