China 2007
The distances now between countries is very short and tomorrow we will be docking in Viet Nam but have finally found time to write a bit about China. …I have had very little time to process the wonderful five days spent in Beijing, Xian and Hong Kong; bear with the lack of detail.
Left the port of Qingdao on Sept. 19th in the pouring rain at the tail end of a typhoon that did some damage to Shanghai and south, but not to our port. The dock area was pretty depressed looking, and friends later told me that walking the seaside was quite nice, but the rain continued throughout the week. Boarding a plane with 83 students/faculty and life long learners was a trip in itself: collecting passports, getting boarding passes, handing out both, going to gate (changed several times) and finally relaxing on plane, but for only an hour. Our guide, Christine, (Ao Ling Xia), told us that Beijing is 24 times the size of Hong Kong and approximately 6,490 square miles. I decided not to get lost especially among 15 million people and 3 million vehicles that stop for nothing and seem to squeeze into inches of space between buses and trucks. The traffic was the busiest I have every seen, crossings are life threatening, traffic lights few and far between. But the street signs are colorful, buildings higher and higher as we neared the commercial districts, and all sorts of new construction for the Olympics. (Main stadium is in the shape of a birds nest.) Christine was bemoaning the old houses with beautiful family courtyards being torn down and replaced with gargantuan apartment buildings standing side by side all the way into town. We were told that the government owns all the land in China, and folks rent their pieces of land and own houses, condos and apartments. After about 70 years the government can buy those, tear them down and build more apartments. Down with the old and….well, you know about the rules of progress.
Peking duck dinner family style was a trip in itself. We had duck soup (minus Groucho), duck skins, duck in sauce, duck duck duck. The lazy Susan was spinning wildly because we also had lots of beer to wash down all the fat. Sounds disgusting, but the dinner was really very tasty… washed down with soup at the end. Peking duck is an imperial dish originating in Nanking many moons ago, and it was de rigeur that we would have Peking duck in Peking!
Our days in Beijing were packed full of interesting sights and sounds. I include sounds because the city is probably the noisiest I have ever visited. Horns honking, people yelling…senses are bombarded continually. Air is polluted (sort of like Japan in the 60’s) and my eyes were stinging and throat scratchy for all the time we were there.
Climbed the Great Wall. Did not know it was at a 70 degree angle in most places, stairs steep and slippery. But I made it to one of the towers and even looked down. It was a beautiful, sunny day and gave one pause to think about the hordes of peasants who had to carry the stones, dig the holes and build the wall centuries ago. I suppose I’ll feel the same way about the pyramids in a few months.(not meaning to sound pompous here.)
Visited the Summer Palace where I got lost. Had fun watching senior citizens working out in the park. They were doing tai chi, badminton, ribbon exercises, kick ball. These are the retirees. The architecture in these sights is fabulous…tongue and groove construction, no nails, huge beams and posts and brilliant reds, blues, greens and gold. It makes one feel very small and dull.
In the evening I was conned into Chinese acrobatics and I’m so glad to have succumbed. The show was really much more like cirque du soleil than I had expected….constumes, lighting, music were brilliant to say nothing of the athletics. Back to the hotel and planning for the next day: Tienamen Square and the Imperial Palace. Have not seen many poverty sticken yet.
Imagine thousands of people coming to see Mao’s frozen body (or wax?) every day in the square. Hawkers selling Rolex watches, colorful kites, Mao’s little read book, postcards, soldiers everywhere (we were warned not to take photos of them). It was a madhouse just trying to cross the square to get to the entrance to the Forbidden City. (I must see The Last Emperor again.) The Imperial Palace grounds go on forever and are visited by thousands of tourists every day. Many of the buildings are called Halls of something or other, and seeing them was endless. Hall of Mental Cultivation is the new name for our library. Sensory overload certainly. So much color, and size and gold and history and smells of incense. Every other palace I have seen in my life pales in comparison. Chinese certainly love their temples and talk constantly about every small part of them!
On to the Temple of Heaven and then the plane to Xian, our destination to see the terra cotta warriors.
First the Wild Goose Pagoda (where students named me Wild Goose Woman) and then the piece de resistance thousands of terra cotta statues of warriors, horses, and fragments of both at a site in Shaanxi Province. It is now the jewel of tourist China and the museum to house all is quite impressive. A farmer digging for water discovered the clay figures one day and later when archaeologists started digging, they found thousands. Each face is different and it’s unnerving to see all of them facing in one direction in straight, orderly rows protecting the emperor. The museum is huge as were the crowds of people come to see. This site and the Great Wall were by far my favorites.
….Except of course calligraphy lessons at a teacher’s college in Beijing. I was pretty good with my brush when I learned how to soak it well enough with ink. Our teacher was a sweetheart who complimented all of us on our great skill…yeah, right.
Rounding out our visit to China was a visit to a bell tower and then an Islamic Mosque that looked like a Buddhist temple. It was peaceful, calm and cool for some brief moments before we had to head out to the airport for the trip back to Hong Kong. (No more detail on leaving the country with 83 from my group having to show passports, do security, etc. etc.)
Hong Kong was our last port before heading for Viet Nam and was it ever a surprise for me. They moved the damn airport and I lost my bearings…imagine that. Our docking was alongside the biggest designer mall I have ever seen in my life….from Gucci to Gabbana and back again. Fled the area and wandered in and among side alleys…my old Hong Kong…and had a delicious noodle lunch with Kathy along with a whole bottle of wine. Women were staring at us and making comments, but it sure tasted good. Pouring rain, I was soaked and tired and we tried for tea at The Peninsula, but there was a long line for non-guests. The Peninsula was one of my old haunts for meeting friends, and I’m glad they haven’t torn it down. Hong Kong is now tall, tall, and very tall buildings all lit up at night…an egregious show of vast wealth. But I can’t spend my time longing for the good old days and tried to enjoy what the city now has to offer.
Finally, completely exhausted and quite wet, Kathy and I returned to the ship, took hot showers and attended a speech given by the mayor(?) of the city all about how China is one country with two separate systems…mainland China and Hong Kong. Seemed like a lot of propaganda just for our benefit, but I listened.
I would love to return to the countryside of China in the future now that I’ve gotten the big stuff out of the way. Taste more regional food, meet farmers, see the ocean and fishermen. Next time.
The distances now between countries is very short and tomorrow we will be docking in Viet Nam but have finally found time to write a bit about China. …I have had very little time to process the wonderful five days spent in Beijing, Xian and Hong Kong; bear with the lack of detail.
Left the port of Qingdao on Sept. 19th in the pouring rain at the tail end of a typhoon that did some damage to Shanghai and south, but not to our port. The dock area was pretty depressed looking, and friends later told me that walking the seaside was quite nice, but the rain continued throughout the week. Boarding a plane with 83 students/faculty and life long learners was a trip in itself: collecting passports, getting boarding passes, handing out both, going to gate (changed several times) and finally relaxing on plane, but for only an hour. Our guide, Christine, (Ao Ling Xia), told us that Beijing is 24 times the size of Hong Kong and approximately 6,490 square miles. I decided not to get lost especially among 15 million people and 3 million vehicles that stop for nothing and seem to squeeze into inches of space between buses and trucks. The traffic was the busiest I have every seen, crossings are life threatening, traffic lights few and far between. But the street signs are colorful, buildings higher and higher as we neared the commercial districts, and all sorts of new construction for the Olympics. (Main stadium is in the shape of a birds nest.) Christine was bemoaning the old houses with beautiful family courtyards being torn down and replaced with gargantuan apartment buildings standing side by side all the way into town. We were told that the government owns all the land in China, and folks rent their pieces of land and own houses, condos and apartments. After about 70 years the government can buy those, tear them down and build more apartments. Down with the old and….well, you know about the rules of progress.
Peking duck dinner family style was a trip in itself. We had duck soup (minus Groucho), duck skins, duck in sauce, duck duck duck. The lazy Susan was spinning wildly because we also had lots of beer to wash down all the fat. Sounds disgusting, but the dinner was really very tasty… washed down with soup at the end. Peking duck is an imperial dish originating in Nanking many moons ago, and it was de rigeur that we would have Peking duck in Peking!
Our days in Beijing were packed full of interesting sights and sounds. I include sounds because the city is probably the noisiest I have ever visited. Horns honking, people yelling…senses are bombarded continually. Air is polluted (sort of like Japan in the 60’s) and my eyes were stinging and throat scratchy for all the time we were there.
Climbed the Great Wall. Did not know it was at a 70 degree angle in most places, stairs steep and slippery. But I made it to one of the towers and even looked down. It was a beautiful, sunny day and gave one pause to think about the hordes of peasants who had to carry the stones, dig the holes and build the wall centuries ago. I suppose I’ll feel the same way about the pyramids in a few months.(not meaning to sound pompous here.)
Visited the Summer Palace where I got lost. Had fun watching senior citizens working out in the park. They were doing tai chi, badminton, ribbon exercises, kick ball. These are the retirees. The architecture in these sights is fabulous…tongue and groove construction, no nails, huge beams and posts and brilliant reds, blues, greens and gold. It makes one feel very small and dull.
In the evening I was conned into Chinese acrobatics and I’m so glad to have succumbed. The show was really much more like cirque du soleil than I had expected….constumes, lighting, music were brilliant to say nothing of the athletics. Back to the hotel and planning for the next day: Tienamen Square and the Imperial Palace. Have not seen many poverty sticken yet.
Imagine thousands of people coming to see Mao’s frozen body (or wax?) every day in the square. Hawkers selling Rolex watches, colorful kites, Mao’s little read book, postcards, soldiers everywhere (we were warned not to take photos of them). It was a madhouse just trying to cross the square to get to the entrance to the Forbidden City. (I must see The Last Emperor again.) The Imperial Palace grounds go on forever and are visited by thousands of tourists every day. Many of the buildings are called Halls of something or other, and seeing them was endless. Hall of Mental Cultivation is the new name for our library. Sensory overload certainly. So much color, and size and gold and history and smells of incense. Every other palace I have seen in my life pales in comparison. Chinese certainly love their temples and talk constantly about every small part of them!
On to the Temple of Heaven and then the plane to Xian, our destination to see the terra cotta warriors.
First the Wild Goose Pagoda (where students named me Wild Goose Woman) and then the piece de resistance thousands of terra cotta statues of warriors, horses, and fragments of both at a site in Shaanxi Province. It is now the jewel of tourist China and the museum to house all is quite impressive. A farmer digging for water discovered the clay figures one day and later when archaeologists started digging, they found thousands. Each face is different and it’s unnerving to see all of them facing in one direction in straight, orderly rows protecting the emperor. The museum is huge as were the crowds of people come to see. This site and the Great Wall were by far my favorites.
….Except of course calligraphy lessons at a teacher’s college in Beijing. I was pretty good with my brush when I learned how to soak it well enough with ink. Our teacher was a sweetheart who complimented all of us on our great skill…yeah, right.
Rounding out our visit to China was a visit to a bell tower and then an Islamic Mosque that looked like a Buddhist temple. It was peaceful, calm and cool for some brief moments before we had to head out to the airport for the trip back to Hong Kong. (No more detail on leaving the country with 83 from my group having to show passports, do security, etc. etc.)
Hong Kong was our last port before heading for Viet Nam and was it ever a surprise for me. They moved the damn airport and I lost my bearings…imagine that. Our docking was alongside the biggest designer mall I have ever seen in my life….from Gucci to Gabbana and back again. Fled the area and wandered in and among side alleys…my old Hong Kong…and had a delicious noodle lunch with Kathy along with a whole bottle of wine. Women were staring at us and making comments, but it sure tasted good. Pouring rain, I was soaked and tired and we tried for tea at The Peninsula, but there was a long line for non-guests. The Peninsula was one of my old haunts for meeting friends, and I’m glad they haven’t torn it down. Hong Kong is now tall, tall, and very tall buildings all lit up at night…an egregious show of vast wealth. But I can’t spend my time longing for the good old days and tried to enjoy what the city now has to offer.
Finally, completely exhausted and quite wet, Kathy and I returned to the ship, took hot showers and attended a speech given by the mayor(?) of the city all about how China is one country with two separate systems…mainland China and Hong Kong. Seemed like a lot of propaganda just for our benefit, but I listened.
I would love to return to the countryside of China in the future now that I’ve gotten the big stuff out of the way. Taste more regional food, meet farmers, see the ocean and fishermen. Next time.
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