Normally the thought of having to get up at 3 am would not be something I would enjoy. However, on this day, the excitement of international travel far outweighed any annoyance about getting up so early. The taxi arrived at 4, deposited us at the airport and after a long line through customs, we were on our way to Newark, where after a five hour stopover, we boarded our United Airlines 13 hour flight to Beijing. The map showed us flying north, then west, but for whatever reason, we flew north and then east, flying over Greenland, the Berant Sea, Northern Russia, Mongolia and finally China. More long lines awaited us at customs in China before we met our tour guide, boarded a bus and were taken to the Loong Palace Hotel and Resort.
After checking in we were informed that our luggage would be delivered to our rooms. Mine did not arrive. Fortunately, I had our tour guide's cell number and was able to contact her. I was even more surprised to discover that my T-Mobile SIM card works here. After a couple of hours of fine detective work, Gina discovered that my luggage was still on the bus and would be delivered early the next morning. Feeling relieved and exhausted, I fell into a very deep sleep.
October 26, 2015. Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Rickshaw Ride through Hutong
The thought of being without my luggage combined with extreme fatigue and jet lag had almost brought me to tears last night. After breakfast I was so relieved to find my luggage at the desk. A quick change into fresh clothes and we met our group in the lobby for our first adventure. There are 25 in our group, 23 Canadians and 2 New Zealanders.
Gina, our guide for the 15 day trip gave us a bit of history and taught us a few words in Mandarin as drove through heavy Beijing traffic en route to Badalang, one of the entrances to the Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World and the longest wall in the world. Built to keep out northern invaders, the wall is over 2,000 years old.
Along with many, many others, we walked the wall for about an hour, stopping along the way to take in the view and try to take a few pictures that would capture the magnitude of this ancient place. Millions of people visit here every year and even though we were told that this was not a busy day here, to us it felt very crowded. However we quickly got used to the lack of personal space and thoroughly enjoyed our visit to The Great Wall.
Many emperors are buried at the site known as The Ming Tombs. We visited the museum here which told the history of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the emperors were cruel people who cared only about their luxurious, extravagant lifestyle.
Before heading back to our hotel we were treated to a rickshaw ride around Beijing's Hutong district. A hutong is basically a very old housing district, with a very large home where a wealthy family would live and around it a number of small homes where common people lived.
After another very long day, the hotel's soft bed was a welcome sight.
October 27, 2015. Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Peking Opera
Tiananmen Square is the largest square in the world. It is also probably the best known square in the world due to the pro democracy student uprising in 1989 that led to infamous image of an army tank approaching a student sit in and killing many.
The Forbidden City is so named because historically it was out of bounds to everyone except the emperor, his wife, his many concubines and his servants. It enormous. Apparently, lots of space and many buildings were signs of power. The attraction here is the ancient structures.
The Temple of Heaven is where the emperor went to pray. He visited this magnificent structure twice a year to pray for a good harvest. A cow was sacrificed and burned. We stood on the site where the emperor watched "the observation of the burning." The Temple of Heaven site is so big that it is hard to imagine such an enormous, ornate space being used by one man, twice a year.
After dinner we attended a Peking Opera. It was sung in Mandarin with subtitles on a screen. The translation left much to be desired, which resulted in many people stifling laughter. It was a unique performance, unlike anything I have ever heard or seen. The off key, discordant music was not pleasing to the many tourist ears in the audience.
October 28. 2015. Pearl Factory, Summer Palace, Tea Ceremony, Flight to Xian.
After our visit to the pearl factory it all started coming together. By that I mean the reasons why this vacation is offered at such an attractive price. It is all related to the Chinese government and the growing Chinese tourist industry. By subsidizing Sinorama, Western visitors get to see mostly a sanitized China.
The Summer Palace is an enormous estate, the summer retreat for the emperor and his family. The famous Dragon Lady, who ruled the empire through her very young sun, had many structures built here including a temple. The estate surrounds a lake and is one of the most visited sites in China. The was certainly evident by the number of people walking through the site
We stopped to take part in a traditional tea ceremony before heading to the airport. The ceremony involved watching several types of tea being prepared along with sampling each. My favourite was the ginseng and of course, it was available for purchase.
We barely made our flight as some of our group are notoriously late for everything. Combine their tardiness with the very heavy traffic and we made it to our departure gate as the plane was boarding. The flight to Xi'an was about two hours.
October 29, 2015. Xi'an: Jade Factory, Terra Cotta Warriors, Tang Dynasty Show, Dumpling Banquet
Today began with a visit to another government run store that specializes in jade. Although we did learn a lot about the various colours of jade and how to tell the quality of jade, the real purpose of the visit was for us to shop, granted, the displays, assortment and staff were great, but I don't think this was a shop where local people would shop; this shop was for tourists and their money.
The traffic in these big cities is horrific. I have never seen so many cars and even though most of the roads and highways are wide, there is always congestion, always! Traffic lights are not obeyed, nor are roundabout rules. Pedestrians are treated as annoyances and you have to be extremely careful when crossing the street.
Although I have seen pictures of the Terra Cotta Warriors and even watched a documentary about them, I still had a feeling of awe when I first set eyes on them. To see them standing there, knowing that they were created so many years ago over such a long period of time, and that each one is unique is to realize why so many people from all over the world come here to visit this excavation. The archaeologists who work at night are still uncovering warriors, pottery and weapons and it is expected that thousands more will be uncovered.
Dinner this evening was held in a hotel where we experienced a dumpling banquet where we got to eat over 15 varieties of delicious dumplings. Following dinner we were treated to a show which featured music and dancing from the period of the Ting Dynasty. It was very entertaining. On our way back to the hotel, Gina informed us that we would be meeting in the lobby at 5:30 am to head to the airport.
October 30, 2015. Chongqing, Yantzee River Cruise
Our day started at 4:15 am with a very early breakfast so that we would be ready to catch our early flight from Xi'an to Chongqing, a city of 34 million people. How strange to not have heard of the largest city in the world. There are nine downtown areas and it takes over eight hours to go from one end of the city to the other. About 40% of the world's computers come from factories in this city. Like Xi'an, blue sky is rarely seen here. The city is surrounded by mountains, built along the Yantzee, and is rarely without fog. Everyone lives in a high rise; there are no houses in the city. If a building is over ten floors, there is an elevator, if under ten floors, no elevator. No wonder so many Chinese people are in good physical shape!
We visited the Chongqing Zoo where we saw pandas, white tigers, hippos, zebras and many other animals. Before boarding our cruise ship we stopped at on of the downtown areas. There were numerous banks around so we took the opportunity to exchange some Canadian for Yuan.
We boarded the cruise ship, The Gold Star 8 and settled into our cabin; a room with lots of space, a great shower and a balcony. After unpacking, attending the orientation and eating dinner, just about everyone headed off to bed. Exhaustion from a very long day meant that most passengers were asleep before nine.
October 31, 2015. Yantzee River Cruise. Shibaozhai
Each day the ship stops for a shore excursion. Today we visited the town of Shibaozhai, a town that is new; new because the old town was completely flooded when the Three Gorges Dam was built. The government tore down all of the old homes and shops and built new ones in preparation for building the dam. The only structure that was saved was the temple which was built in the 1600's during the Ming Dynasty.
The walk to the temple involved passing many street vendors selling t shirts, scarves, ties, jewelry and many, many other items. I asked our guide if anything in the market was authentic and she told me that everything being sold was made in the same factory...all junk.
The temple is on nine different levels, 99 steps to reach the top. Each level contained something interesting including ancient wood carvings, stone engravings, a wishing bridge and wooden statues of various statues; the most impressive one being a queen, who was considered more important than the king.
We returned to the ship after a couple of hours and relaxed until dinner. Our rooms are very spacious with all the amenities of a good hotel in addition to a balcony. Items that strike me as odd to supply in each room are toothbrushes, combs and a scale.
The food on the ship has been great. Every meal is buffet style where there is something for every taste.
November 1, 2015. Yantzee River Cruise, Lesser Three Gorges, Acupuncture
In preparation for the Three Gorges Dam construction, over one million people were displaced. The government destroyed homes and built new cities. As a result, people's lives changed dramatically. They had to leave their homes and live in apartment buildings and some were moved to areas where they had to learn a new dialect. This was particularly hard on older people and even some young people are still very sad about the fact that their former villages and towns are now 150 meters below water.
We boarded smaller boats for a three hour tour of the Lesser Three Gorges. The scenery was spectacular. Limestone cliffs, thick vegetation, modern homes and new bridges alongside a five hundred year old temple and an ancient burial site with one visible coffin in a cave on the side of a cliff made for fascinating pictures.
At around 9 pm we arrived at the locks, a system of five locks to take us down river. Each lock takes about 45 minutes. Needless to say, it was quite a sight.
November 2, 2015. Three Gorges Dam, Tribe of the Three Gorges
The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric project. Built over a 21 year period, it employed over 3,000 construction workers. We toured the site and were able to get a great view of both the locks and the dam from the top of a mountain which we scaled via a system of escalators. Construction is ongoing here with the next project being an "elevator" which will lift smaller ships, rather than having them go through the locks. The ship "elevator" is due to open before the end of the year.
We sailed through very scenic areas; tall limestone cliffs, dotted with trees, and docked at a place along the river where daily life of an ancient Chinese tribe once lived. We walked through their village, photographed 300 year old statues and experienced a traditional wedding ceremony.
Before dinner I had my second acupuncture, hot cup and massage treatment. After dinner we were treated to a cultural dance performance and then, just like every other evening, group dancing. I was pulled out of my chair to take part in YMCA-nothing traditional about that one.
November 3, 2015. Jingzhou
Today's excursion took us to Jingzhou' s ancient city wall and the Jingzhou Museum. The wall was built as a fortification for the city.
The museum contained artifacts that are over 2000 years old. One room was dedicated to pottery, while another was dedicated to silk. We walked through a room devoted to prehistory and another devoted to bronze artifacts. The main attraction at this museum is a 2000 year old mummy.
After our sit down Captain's farewell dinner, we were treated to entertainment in the lounge.
November 4, 2015. Travel day
Our wake up call was at 5:15 this morning. We left the ship after breakfast and boarded a bus for the three hour drive to the airport. Although we all thought we would be cutting it close, we sat on the tarmac for a couple of hours before we were cleared to fly to Shanghai.
From the airport we drove another couple of hours to stay in Suzhou for the night. After dinner we were taken to our hotel; a truly five star, very new hotel. Everything in the room was remote controlled, the toilets off the restaurant were heated and had other amenities; a wash and a dry at the push of a button.
November 5, 2015. Suzhou: Garden Lui, Market and Nanjing Road
The Garden Lui, or Lingering Garden was created as a private garden for a high ranking official. Although there were some flowers still in bloom, most of the garden was green. Of particular interest was the bonsai garden and the colourful tiled paths that curved through the garden.
Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East as much of it is built along canals. We also visited a local market in this area where we saw where the locals shop and the fresh produce, meats and fish that they purchase.
We left Suzhou and a couple of hours later we were craning our necks to see the many skyscrapers in Shanghai, the second largest city in China with 25 million people. The tallest building in China at 130 floors is here. We walked Nanjing Road, a famous pedestrian only shopping district boasting high end brands and lots of people. Some of our group actually shopped, while others walked and enjoyed a coffee shop. Although I didn't buy anything, I did take a look in the Apple Store and learned that products are more expensive in China than they are at home.
November 6, 2015. Shanghai: Silk Factory, Shanghai Museum, Bund District, French District, Acrobatics Show
After a silk making demonstration we visited the store where we saw silk duvets, silk pillows, shirts, pyjamas and scarves, all available for purchase. The prices were fair and the quality high.
The Bund District is an area referred to as old Shanghai. Most of the buildings here were built in the 1920's by Europeans. New Shanghai, across the river was built during the last 20 years. The skyscrapers are very unique in shape and size.
The Shanghai Museum contained some interesting rooms on four levels. My favourites were the Bronze Collection, Costume Collection and the Currency Collection.
We stopped at the French District for an hour or so and had coffee at a bistro. Shanghai is a truly international city with people from all over the world working here.
After dinner we attended an Acrobatic Show where we saw some spectacular acts. As our guide said, "it takes ten years of practice for each few minutes that an acrobatic performer spends on stage".
November 7, 2015. Time to head home
With a 4:30 flight we left our hotel at 1 to go to Pudong International Airport. Pudong to Newark, Newark to Home. Great flights, awesome trip.
Things that I will not forget about China:
* Over 70 million people live in poverty.
*The rich are very rich
* The big cities are gigantic; Chongquing is the biggest city in the world with
over 34 million people.
* The scenery along the Yantzee is spectacular.
* Chinese people are very friendly.
* When there is something on BBC News about China, the TV screen will
often go black. The government controls what is seen.
* Most young Chinese are atheists.
* Modern China has been built over the last 20 years.
* China is under construction. The joke is that the national bird is the Crane,
construction crane!
* The highways are great.
* There are crowds wherever you go.
* Most things are cheaper at home than they are in China.
* In the big cities, signs are often in English as well as Chinese.
* Capitalism is alive and well in China.
* Families now prefer to have girls rather than boys. The boy's parents are
expected to pay for the wedding and help the couple with their rent.
* As of now, China has a two child policy.
* Since factories have been moved out of the cities, there is no air pollution in
the cities.
* The cities are very clean.
