We left Bangkok at a very early hour,
leaving our large suitcases in Boudy’s apartment and traveling with just
carry-on luggage. We caught the train to the airport and headed off to
Shanghai.
We landed at Terminal One, picked up our baggage and
walked over to Terminal Two to meet up with the rest of the group that was
flying in from LA. The Shanghai Airport is as impressive as the airport
in Bangkok. So new, huge, modern and busy.
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| Shanghai airport |
It was a little intimidating trying to
make sure we were waiting in the right place and we were looking for the A.C.T.
(Adult Customized Tours, our tour company) local Chinese guide without
success. However, the Chinese we asked at the airport said we were in
fact waiting at the correct location.
Finally we saw Dana Adkins, our friend
from Palm Springs and the A.C.T. tour guide for this China trip, coming through
the baggage area with the rest of the group and our tour of China began.
We got on the buses to our hotel in
Shanghai and it was lovely. We met our Chinese guides who were: national
guide “Sheila,” who was with us for the whole tour and “Annie” who was our local
Shanghai guide.
Dana, our friend was the A.C.T. rep.
(who accompanied the group from the USA) and made sure everything ran smoothly
and tried to keep everyone happy. Not such an easy job unless you like herding
cats and children in kindergarten!
Shanghai has grown amazingly in the
last 20 years and nowhere is that more noticeable than looking across the
Huangpu River from the Bund area.
The Bund area refers to a waterfront area primarily in front of the
original colonial settlement on
the Western Bank. The high rises you see on the Eastern Bank did not
exist 20 years ago and now it looks like a big city that has been there for
years. Truly impressive and scary!
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| Colonial side of the Huangpu River |
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| Looking over to the "new" side of the river - none of the buildings existed 20 years ago |
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| Wall of flowers on the bund. Plants are in their pots and slotted into holes on the wall. Very clever. |
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| The original skyscraper - called "The Pearl" |
The speed of the construction is called
“China time” which means that one floor is finished on a high rise every five
days. They achieve this by working 24/7. Most of the infrastructure, new
buildings and state-of-the-art transportation have happened in the last 20
years. It is very impressive how far and how fast their country has
progressed.
Our local guide in Shanghai – “Annie” – was the best local guide we
had throughout our entire China trip. She had taken the time to learn
English with very little accent which made her very easy to understand and she
used some American slang and colloquialisms she had learned from previous
tours. She even told us a joke learned from a previous client, which was
very funny.
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| Our local Shanghai guide - Annie |
She was very proud of her country and
what it had achieved but a little nervous of how the cost of everything was
going up. She shared that in the three years since she went back to work,
the cost of her cleaning woman had gone from 50¢ a day to $3.50! This still sounds
reasonable to us but is an amazing rise over a short period of time.
She also shared with us about how
difficult it is for Chinese people to travel outside China, particularly to
Western countries. In order to get a visa to travel, they have to show
that they have a job, a mortgage and family in China and put up a $20,000
deposit. They really want to make sure you are coming back!!!
Annie is coming to America next year
and will visit Seattle, Los Angles, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C.
Quite a trip, eh? Her daughter is about ten years old so it will be an
educational trip for the entire family.
We were all pretty curious about how
the Chinese felt about the restrictions of living under a Communist government
– Internet restrictions (we found that some pages we tried to click in Yahoo
were not available and there is definitely no access to facebook), the
government owns all the land and they can evict at any time, the restrictions
on traveling abroad and restrictions on number of children allowed (one child
per couple unless both husband and wife are an only child and then they can
have two children). She said that for most people, they don’t care about
who is in power. All they care about is the quality of their lives and
the opportunities to do well. As long as the economy keeps chugging along
and they are able to have a comfortable lifestyle, most Chinese are OK with the
status quo and their Communist government.
Annie was born in Mongolia and came
down to Shanghai to go to university. She loved the city as opposed to
the rural lifestyle she had come from, met her husband, got married and had her
daughter. She loved her job and meeting tourists from all over the world,
although she mainly worked with Americans because they were her
preference. Smart girl, that Annie!
Over the next four days we were taken
all over Shanghai and had a day trip to Souzou, capital of the silk route
immortalized by Marco Polo and the birthplace of the famed international
architect I. M. Pei. His most notable architectural contributions are the
glass structure in front the Louvre and the J. F. Kennedy Library in Boston.
Souzou is also home to the Gardens of
Souzou. The one we visited was the Humble Administrator's Garden that was
the largest and has a history of over 500 years. The intricately carved
pavilions and water features throughout the Gardens were beautiful. It
has been designated a World Heritage Site.
I. M. Pei said they influenced
his architectural style and career.
We had a little excitement when we left
the gardens because I (Patricia) had to answer natures call and Dana said she
would wait for me and we would head back to the bus together. Everyone
else headed back to the bus through the narrow streets that were a maze so, not
surprisingly, when Dana and I started back it was pretty obvious that neither
of us knew the way.
We spent about half an hour going back
and forth along the old, narrow streets (no-one spoke English) getting more and
more concerned that we would be travelling this maze forever. We finally
found a main street and someone who spoke English who directed us in the right
direction. Needless to say the Chinese guides were happy to see us
although not sure the tour group was excited to have been kept waiting !
Our next stop was to go to the Grand Canal
which is the largest man-made waterway in the world at 1,800 km. (And,
you thought all the biggest of anything
was in America!!) It connects Beijing in the north to Hangzou in
the south and was actually started in 506 BC.
Thousands of Chinese make their homes
along the canal-- either on floating barges or homes that sit right on the
canal. The boat we were on to go down the Grand Canal was small and held
about 15 people but we got a good up-close-and-personal view of the ancient
canal, the houses and some with steps down to the canal where they can wash
laundry, dry it outside or grow vegetables in pots. The homeowners
that were outside their homes were very friendly and waved as we passed
by.
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| Homes along the Grand Canal |
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| The ubiquitous laundry |
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| YIKES! Make sure you put the van in forward! |
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| If this guy takes one step backward, he will be in the Grand Canal. This is his backyard! |
Back on the bus and then we went over
to the state-owned silk factory. This factory was founded in 1926 and
Annie gave us a complete guide to the lifecycle of the silkworm and how they
process the silk. What is amazing is that the silkworm creates its cocoon
out of a single silk thread that is continuous for approximately 3,600
feet. Obviously, it is important during the process that transferring the
cocoon silk thread to skeins keeps the thread unbroken.
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| Our guide Annie explaining the life cycle of the silk worm |
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| Silkworms having lunch |
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| Stretching the silk into a duvet |
It was a very interesting process and
we watched the silkworms at work and decided to buy a silk comforter that we
watched them make. Apparently, because silk is a natural product, you can
use it in hot weather and cold
weather, it is very light and it doesn’t “clump.” Can’t wait
to try it out.
Back in Shanghai the next day we went
to the French Concession area. This is an
area known as the Paris of the East with tree-lined streets, Tudor mansions,
up-scale shops and many boutique bars and cafes. From 1849 until 1946
this area was actually designated as a foreign
area in the middle of Shanghai and it was actually deeded over to the French.
In 1943, during WW II, the French signed over the area to the puppet pro-Japanese government and
after the war it was given back to the Chinese.
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| French Concession area |
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| Lunch in French Concession |
Interestingly enough, the first
meeting of the Chinese Communist Party was held in secret in 1921 in a house in the French Concession area.
This was done so that they were protected by being in a “foreign area” and
could meet in secrecy without being raided. We took a tour of the house
where Communism started which is now set up as a memorial, with rooms as they
were during the original meetings
with wax figures, including Mao. The older generation reveres and
respects Mao, however the younger generation is a little less impressed.
It's not advisable however to say anything negative about Mao.
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| Location of the birth of the Chinese Communist Party in the French Concession |
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| Street cleaners everywhere |
After lunch on our own in the French
Concession area, we headed with the group to Nanjing Street, a wide pedestrian
shopping street. Even in China you see the ubiquitous McDonalds and
Starbucks.
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| Nanjing Street pedestrian shopping area in Shanghai |
I (Jann) don't remember our tour guide Annie
telling us not to go with anyone who wants to take you to a "tea
party". So, when everyone was lining up to visit the museum in
Shanghai, I decided to go on a walk about and this is my story as told to my friend,
Joni. Joni found it amusing and I can hear her laughing now. I'm
sharing it here, because it did happen and I don't want anyone else to
experience the same thing. Patricia says the whole incident happened
because I'm impatient and went off on my own rather than wait for the bathroom line to go down. I'm still working on my patience
level. Here is my email to Joni:
To
Joni - Today, I got taken by a "tea" scam here in Shanghai!!!!!
Just when you think you're becoming a world traveler you get stung in a
sting! Four young women took me to get an education regarding Chinese
tea. They told me they had made a reservation for the tasting well in
advance and it was only done once a year by certain Chinese people. I
started getting a little suspicious when we made a lot of cuts and turns and in
an out of buildings making it difficult to remember where you went.
All the girls spoke perfect English. One was 26, one
was 24 and two were 19--OR so the story goes. After tasting delicious
tea, I was asked to split the fee by and with the 26-year girl because she had a
job and the 19-year old girls were students who had no $. The 24-year old
was taking them all out for dinner that night so she already had a financial
commitment in the fabulous foursome. It was starting to smell like a scam
but innocent, unworldly, trusting ME bought it hook, line and sinker. The
26-year old took me to the ATM machine and also hit the 2000 yuan amount for me
and low and behold the tea ceremony COST 2000 yuan--OR approximately
$350.00!!!!! I also realize now that the girls took turns talking to me while
another one of them "set it all up!"
I was afraid
to tell Patricia what happened--knowing full well I was going to get her wrath
in addition to be scammed and it was too much for one day. However, she
asked me to withdraw 2,000 yuan from MY account and I can only withdraw $500.00
in any given day so I had to spill the beans. I already felt stupid
enough but in addition I got reamed up one side and down the other! Did I mention that Patricia had heard that warning by our guides so I must have been taking a nap. NOT a
good day here in Shanghai!!!! Live and learn--hopefully--ONE DAY!
That's my sad story for today.
Annie told us that just holding a
Starbucks coffee cup is a status symbol because coffee is so expensive – more
than in the US. Needless to say, when anyone on the our bought a Starbucks, they gave the cup to Annie to hold!! In fact the Chinese love to have Western branded products
but isn’t it ironic that even with the Western label on the outside, the label
on the inside says “Made in China !” Even then, they pay more for
the product.
That night we took a cruise down the
Huangpu River at night to see all the lights along the banks. Not only
were the buildings lit up but the boats on the river were decorated – like a
Christmas parade.
-->
Our tour group. We were split into two buses, the red bus and the
blue bus. We were on the red bus and had a great group of people to
travel with. We not only spent a lot of time together on the bus but at
lunch and dinners we all sat at big round tables with a lazy susan in the
center. Sharing the food and travel allowed us to really get to know a
few of our fellow travelers, e.g. Pat and Tom from Minnesota, another Pat
(Redmond, WA) and Jan (Agoura, CA) travelling together, Gerri and Joanne
sisters from California, Marion traveling alone from Canada and a whole family
from North Carolina. And, of course we had our friend Dana leading the
group which made it a very special experience. What a difference from our
Thailand trip!
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| Jan and Pat sitting to Jann's left and Pat and Tom sitting to the right, along with others from our tour |
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| At lunch and dinner we were provided with "fire water" Note the 56% !! (the bottle is almost empty) |
Another challenge for our group was
finding “western” toilets. Our guides were very good at knowing just
where to stop for a nature call but every once in a while there would just be
Chinese toilets – basically a hole in the ground – or there would be just one
western style that was designated as handicapped. Needless to say, we all
lined up at the one “handicapped” while the locals looked at us as if we were
crazy and they used the many available empty stalls!! Are we spoiled or what?
We left Shanghai the next day and flew
to our next destination, Yichang, a major port on the Yangtze River.
After touring the area by bus and having dinner, we arrived at our boat, the
5-star, MS Century Diamond, for
our 5-night cruise down the Yangtze.
We were greeted on the boat by a dragon band. Our cabin
was a good size with a balcony. With luck, Dana was in the cabin next to
us – hello cocktails!!
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| The welcoming dragon band | | | | | | |
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|
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| Our Ship MS Century Diamond |
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| Dana, sharing her pumello |
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| Our cabin |
The first day on the cruise we arrived
at the Three Gorges Dam and took a tour of the construction area. The
Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world and there was a
lot of controversy when the Chinese Government announced their decision to
build it.
It was first conceived in 1919 but it
wasn’t until 1994 that work began. It was completed in 2009, but not
without a lot of resistance. With the dam being built, over a hundred
towns had to be submerged and 1.3 million people were displaced. Most of
these people were the peasant farmers who had lived on their farms for many
generations. Some were relocated to the cities and some moved up the
mountains to new homes built by the government in new communities created to
deal with the workers on the dam and the new influx of tourists visiting the
Three Gorges Dam itself. It cost about $1 Billion to build and is second
to the Aswan Dam in Egypt.
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| View of one of the locks that we went through on the Three Gorges Dam |
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| Climb up to the top of the dam - notice the umbrellas !! |
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| Overlooking the locks on a rainy day |
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| Model of the dam and the locks |
There is definitely a generational gap
in response to this "dam" phenomenon: the younger people are
happy to leave the farms and live in a bigger community with more going on and
more opportunities. The older generation mourn the loss of their
ancestral farms and traditions.
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| One of the new cities on the riverbank that houses a lot of the workers on the dam and the displaced farmers |
|
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| An example of the three story homes built along the river to rehouse the displaced farmers |
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| Not only were the farmers relocated but so were the mausoleums from their farms |
The actual flooding of the river and
reservoir when the dam was complete was accomplished in 30 days! Amazing
when you consider the river rose 300' and the reservoir stretches 405 miles and
is 600' in height. There is no stopping the Chinese when they are on a
mission! I repeat—it's scary!
Each night on the ship we had a buffet
dinner and the food was not bad. There was a mix of Asian and European so
something for everyone. We had a group on board from Taiwan and a group
from Germany so it was an eclectic gathering.
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| Desert table |
Every night the crew would put on some
form of entertainment, from a fashion show one night to singing and dancing and
everything in between. Some of them were more talented than others but
they could not be faulted for their enthusiasm. The performers during the
day were the chefs, front desk receptionists, housekeepers and waiters so they
definitely earned their money working double duty!
One night, Dana, who is a well-known
performer in the Palm Springs area, entertained us with a song, followed by
another member of our group, Cynthia Davis, who is a jazz singer at a hotel
(Ritz Carlton) in Cancun. Both did a great job.
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| Dana singing on the cruise |
The scenery as we sailed down the
Yangtze was fantastic. The backdrop of the cliffs, clouds, water and sky
made for many Kodak moments. We had up-close views of the new houses
built on the cliff sides and the mausoleums that had been relocated from the
valley floor before they flooded the area.
In some cases entire
new cities had been created, looking as if they had been there for decades with
new bridges over the newly raised river. There was one area where a
new walkway had been built along the cliff to enable villagers to get around
easier.
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| Cliff walkway built for villagers |
As we drove along in the sampan, there were some very
entrepreneurial locals who had set up on a small boat and treated us to local
songs as we went past. In fact, our
sampan driver was also a singer of traditional Chinese songs so he entertained
us as we cruised.
The next day we stopped at a typical
river town, Shibaozhai. This was a small village that was desperately
trying to come to terms with the influx of tourists that were coming to see the
Shibao pagoda. The locals have set up street markets, food stalls and
rickshaws to try and capitalize on the people passing through their village,
which is now on the tourist path.
Originally this pagoda was 100 ' above
the river but with the Three Gorges dam it was threatened to be partially
underwater. The Government made the decision to protect is with a coffer dam and now it is a virtual
island connected to the village by a bridge.
On our final night of the cruise we had
an A.C.T. cocktail party and a Captain’s farewell dinner. Everyone
dressed up and Jann and I wore our new Chinese “silk” jackets that we picked up
for $10 each at the street market. With our new wardrobe we actually were
in demand with the Taiwanese on board to have their photo taken with us. Eat
your heart out, Angelina!!!
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| Our tour group Jann and I are fourth and fifth from the right in the first group standing |
We got off the cruise at Chongqing
(pronounced "chon-chin"). It is the largest city in China
with a population of 34 million and geographically is an area the size of the
state of Ohio!
Our first stop was the Great Hall of the People completed in
1954 and is one of China’s largest assembly halls. Well, with 34 million
people you have to have somewhere to meet although the main hall only holds
4000!!
Adjacent to the Great Hall is the
People’s Square which was packed with people practicing Tai Chi and there was
also a couple at the back doing the tango. Everywhere we went, if there
was an open area in a park or square, someone was practicing Tai Chi to music,
either in a group or individually.
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| Tai Chai in the People's Square with the tango couple at the back |
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| Great Hall of the People |
Our next stop was the Chongqing Zoo
where we saw our first pandas. One thing I didn’t realize was that pandas
sleep up in the trees. You would think they would be a bit big and heavy
for sleeping in trees but not so.
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| Panda up a tree |
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| Panda eating the bamboo |
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| Jann at the Panda exhibit |
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| Tia Chi at the zoo |
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| Zoo sign |
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| Little emperors - Triplets! |
Leaving the zoo we headed to the
airport, driving through the center of Chongqing which, just like Shanghai has an amazing
construction boom going on—as if 34 million is not enough????
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| Could the cab be any smaller? |
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| Chongqing under construction. Thirty-four million and growing!!!! |
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| No dryers sold here, everyone hangs the laundry on the balcony |
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| Main street Chongqing |
We flew from Chongqing to Xi'an and went
straight to the Diamond International Hotel. We chose not to go with the
group for dinner and stayed in that evening. This was not a hardship
because we had a very nice suite that overlooked a very large roundabout and we
had quite a view of Xi'an. I headed out across the street to get some
beer from the liquor store and Jann headed down the street to the nearest
market to get milk and something to heat up.
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| View from our hotel window |
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| Roundabout outside our hotel |
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| Our hotel suite |
Crossing a street in China requires you
to take your life in your hands. In a country that is run with an iron
fist, in terms of rules and regulations, these do not extend to anyone driving
on the road. You can be crossing the road at a crosswalk and there is no
question of any vehicle stopping. It is your responsibility to get out of their way, and they could be coming from any direction. We
only tried it once and decided it was way too dangerous.
Next morning we headed to the
archeological dig of the Terracotta Army built for the Emperor Qin Shihuang,
2200 years ago. He was known as the First Emperor because he unified
China. Work began on his tomb in 249 B.C . When he died in 209
B.C., the army was buried in pits around his tomb.
Just to get an idea of the size of this
place, it is thought that the total burial area is the size of Manhattan.
The original army was built over 38 years so the Emperor would have
an army for his afterlife and required 720 thousand builders to complete
it! Unfortunately, after it was completed, it was burned by invading marauders who did their best to
destroy everything.
Luckily they were not completely
successful and when The Emperor's army
was discovered by a farmer in 1974, the dig and reconstruction began.
The Chinese Government actually built the museum buildings over the
archeological sites and they are still continuing the discovery and
reconstruction.
Currently there are three buildings at
the location of the site. The original
building houses the dig of the terracotta warriors and then two more buildings
about 20 – 25 meters away. One building houses the horses and chariots
and the other building holds a theater with a movie that discussed the history
of the "dig", souvenir shop, etc.
Thousands of life-size terracotta
warriors have been unearthed and restored in battle formation.
Each of the figures has different facial features, expressions, clothing,
hairstyles and gestures.
Within the army, there are generals, horsemen, archers, long-bow men
and senior officers, as well as horses. There is so much more army to be unearthed, but a decision
has been made to not unearth any more than they already have. The will finish the
restoration of what they have already unearthed and finish the
excavation.
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| Area where the restoration is taking place |
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| Restoration of the horses |
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| Original horse and chariot |
The original wood that was used as the
rafters for the caves is petrified and remains in place. Interestingly,
above the warriors are some caves built by farmers in the 1920’s to bury their dead, and these were right
above The Emperor's warriors. Of course, the farmers did not know what
was beneath the caves at the time. The archeologists have left these burial caves intact too.
It's like two finds!
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| Original petrified roof rafters and mausoleum from the 1920's left intact |
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| Still in place the original petrified wood rafters |
This is such an experience to see in person there are really no words
to explain the scope of this "dig". It is overwhelming.
They have done a great job in
maintaining the site, despite all the tourists and all the on-going work.
It is definitely a wonder of the world and a "must see" if you
possibly can.
It is hard to appreciate anything as
much after the terracotta warriors, but we journeyed on. Our next stop
was a special lunch that consisted of all different kinds of dumplings.
They were really good and who knew you could make dumplings so many ways.
After breakfast the next day we headed
for our flight to Beijing and the Beijing Plaza Hotel.
Our first experience in the capital
city was to head to the old section of Beijing and one of the Hutongs,
which were the original ancient cities that surrounded the Forbidden
City.
The Hutong go back almost 800 years and were actually designed by
Genghis Khan after his hordes reduced Beijing to rubble. Today, however, living conditions here are very basic, on narrow and winding
lanes. A one-room family home with a tiny shed-like kitchen, with often no
private toilet is the norm. In fact, there are structures that provide
the families with a communal shower and toilets. However, these homes in
the Hutong have been in families for centuries so the current residents are
very attached to the area. It's always location, location, location and the Hutong
in Beijing is in the middle of the city!
The Government is planning on
bulldozing a lot of the Hutongs to put up new highrises for the growing
population. When we asked the hostess where she was going (this was
November) she said she didn’t know. The Government had not yet made clear
what they were offering in terms of relocation or remuneration. They were
not happy to leave and were still waiting to see what would happen.
Her oldest son was at university in Texas and may not even return to
China. We would love to know what happened to this family but of course
we had to leave and continue our tour.
The Hutong was definitely a close
community among its residents and not just because of the proximity of the
houses. Neighbors were out on the street playing checkers and mahjong and
it was a very vibrant area.
Our next stop was Tiananmen
Square. We happened to be there during a very historic moment in Chinese
history. The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was
meeting at the Great Hall of the People to peacefully pass the premiership to a
new leader.
Security was very heavy and actually we
were lucky to be able to go to the square because it had been closed for a few
days prior to our visit. Originally the Tiananmen Square gate was
an entrance to the Forbidden City and the square of today was built in the 17th century.
Surrounding the square, apart from the Great Hall is the National Museum of
China, the Mao Zedong Mausoleum and the Monument to the Peoples Heroes.
The floral displays in the square were
obviously enhanced and made to look their absolute best because of the worldwide
attention of the 18th National Congress and the dignitaries from all over the
country in town.
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| Soldiers in Tianamen Square |
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| Great Hall of the People where the National Congress was meeting to choose the new congress |
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| Mao Zedong mausoleum |
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| Floral decorations |
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| Jann in Tianamen Square |
Unfortunately, the Mao Mausoleum
was closed because of security so we did not get to see the mummified remains
of Mao (maybe that was a blessing!) There were a lot of soldiers marching
around the square and lots of police but we were still able to walk around
Tianamen Sq. without any hassles.
Just a word about our national guide, “Sheila,” who was
with us for the entire trip. She was able to smooth out any tour wrinkles
and resolve any issues anyone had on the tour. She was able to re-arrange
some our trips because of weather (snow in Beijing and being able to climb the Great Wall), closings at Tianamen Square (security issues) and the energy level
of the tour participants. She did a really great job and we were well
taken care of. She lives in Beijing and was a wealth of information on
the country and customs. One tip she gave us was never to travel on the
subway in Beijing – coming from the west we would not be prepared. It is
so crowded she described it as, "Getting
on the train as a person and getting off as a painting," because
you would be flattened and
packed in the trains like sardines. It's normal for the Chinese but not
so much for us!
The next day we headed to the Jade
factory where Jann got a really nice pair of Buddha Jade earrings. We
learned a lot about jade and its classifications of Grade A, B or C.
 |
| Polishing the jade |
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| Polishing Jann's earrings |
All the factories we went to were State owned. All tours
are 'steered' towards these factories and restaurants. It wasn't initially
clear we were being "steered" to what the Chinese government wanted
us to see, hear, know and experience but toward the end of the tour it
became apparent. Not that it's a bad thing but just another reason why we
would not want to travel throughout China on our own.
Another State-owned factory we visited
was the cloisonné factory. We saw how they create the cloisonné and of
course were encouraged to buy!! We resisted but they do incredible
work. You can also negotiate at all the State-owned stores.
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| Painting the cloisonne vase |
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| Etching the vases |
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| Cloisonne store attached to the factory. I don't just like this Chinese cloisonne'--I LOVE IT! |
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| It is ALL so beautiful! If only I had an empty suitcase! |
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| Can you say Jann wanted one of each? |
|
Our tour the next day was to the Great
Wall – one of the greatest wonders of the world. Originally this
2,000-year old structure ran 5,500 miles across China
and can be seen from space. Some parts of it have now disappeared
or are in ruins. Most of the existing wall today was built in the Ming
Dynasty (14th
century.)
The week before we got there, Beijing
had had a massive snowstorm and if we had arrived then we would not have been
able to visit or climb the Great Wall. Luckily when we arrived it was
sunny, but very cold.
The climb up the wall is very steep and
the steps are not uniform, so it is a very difficult climb. However, we
made a goal to get to the top tower and that is what we did.
I think climbing The Great Wall and the
terracotta warriors were the unforgettable moments of our China trip.
On the way back to the hotel the bus
drove us past the 2008 Beijing Olympic site and the “birds nest” stadium where
the opening ceremonies were held.
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| Jann LOVES this building known as "The Big Pants!" What an architectural statement! |
That night the tour went to the Peking
Opera, which was not anything that remotely interested us. We again tried
to challenge the China traffic but decided that we would just get some food
across from the hotel that did not require crossing a street. We ate at
McDonalds!!
Our final day in Beijing, we headed to
the Summer Palace. There has been a palace on this site since the 12th century but the most
recent rendition was in the late 19th century by Empress Dowager Ci'xi (also known as the Dragon
Lady.)
The Empress (originally a concubine) supposedly diverted monies that had been put
aside for the Chinese Navy into restoration of the Summer Palace so that she
would have a resort to spend the rest of her life. In 1994, it was opened
to the public.
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| Entrance to the summer palace |
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| Detail of design on the overhead |
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| Lake at the summer palace |
The Empress conducted state business
here and it is a beautiful setting with a huge lake, pavilions and towers on
3,000 acres. The decoration on the buildings was very ornate.
While we were exploring the palace, we
heard singing coming from up on a hill. The guide said we should all go
up there so we headed that way and found a group of around 200 Chinese singing
old Chinese pop songs.
Apparently it was a spontaneous get
together and everyone was enjoying it. The crowd hooked arms with us and
we joined the chorus and sang along, even though we had no idea what we were
singing. So much fun and they were so welcoming and happy to have us join
them.
On the way out of the Summer Palace we
passed an older man who was painting Chinese symbols on the concrete with
washable paint. Our guide said he was doing this for practice so he
didn’t forget them! There are over 40 thousand Chinese characters but the
average person only knows and uses about 10%. There is a move afoot
to simplify the alphabet which would make sense, but the characters are quite
beautiful and artistic so it would be a shame to lose too many of them.
On our final day in Beijing we were
taken to yet another State-owned factory: this one a pearl factory. We
were there quite a long time. I guess they wanted to make sure everyone
got their purchases. Anyway with the traffic and the time spent at the
pearl factory, we reached our final goal, the Forbidden City, a little
late.
The Forbidden City was the Imperial
Palace during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For 500 years
it served as home to the Emperors and the ceremonial and political center of
the Chinese Government.
After 24 Emperors the palace ceased to
be the center of Government with the abdication of the last emperor (see the
movie of the same name—The Last Emperor).
They allowed the last Emperor to stay
on in the inner court while the outer court was turned over for public use, the
first time the public had been allowed in the Forbidden City. Currently
they are restoring the structures to their pre-1912 state. There are 980
surviving buildings with 8,886 rooms. (There are supposed to be 9,999
rooms!)
The outer court was originally used for ceremonial purposes and the inner court was strictly for the Emperor and his
family (and concubines!)
We walked through the outer court and
into the inner court and listened to the guide rabbit on for five minutes when
he turned us loose to see the inside. We just reached the doors when they
were closed in our faces. I was furious, first of all for all the time
wasted at the pearl factory and then for the guide wasting our time knowing it
was close to closing. So we were not able to have the full tour of
the Forbidden City but what we did see was very impressive and obviously full of
history. We were cautioned about pickpockets who "work" the
area within the Forbidden City because the crowds bump into each other looking
through small doors and windows and it’s an opportune time to pick your pocket!
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| Jann loved the detail in the tile work throughout the Forbidden Palace. |
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| Unbelievable detail at the Forbidden City in the roof line of the buildings! The more carved figures the more important the building. |
We headed back to the hotel, but first
we were stopped at a big market to do any last minute shopping before packing
everything and getting ready to leave.
Next morning the tour left very early
for their flight back to LA and we were able to take a more leisurely breakfast
and left with another couple in a private van to the airport arranged by
Sheila.
We were so glad that we took the time
to take an extended tour of China and we were very impressed with what we
saw. The history of the country versus the growth explosion that has
happened in the last 20 years made for a very educational and interesting
visit. We have a new appreciation for China and the Chinese that we did
not expect.
China was an overwhelming and pleasant experience. We loved it!
Now, back to Bangkok.
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