China (2016)

 28 august 2016

Folks

We are off and away on the first leg of our China Tour and we are sitting in the Hong Kong airport waiting for our connection to Xi'an (6 hour wait).

No photos yet but they will come.

31 August 2016

We finally made our way to Xi'an and were very pleased to get to the hotel for a good nights rest in a bed. 

Before our tour leader picked us up mid morning we had a stroll around where we are staying and had to cross a few streets which is very daunting.  As luck would have it we ran into a group of oldies doing tai chi and they were using swords, real ones.

Sam took us to the city wall which is one of the only walls to remain intact in China and measures approx. 13 km in circumference and was built around 1300.  Apparently, they run a marathon here every year doing laps on the wall. 

We then went to the Xi'an Museum which explained and showed models of how the wall was used as a defensive method.  Xi'an was once the capital of China and was the base of the famous Silk Road which brought wealth and business opportunities from far as the Mediterranean.

From here we went to the next-door Buddhist monastery which is the site of the Wild Goose Pagoda.

Here we went and had some Chinese calligraphy lessons and we each created a “masterpiece”.  We came back to the hotel and got ready to go to the Dumpling Feast and a show about the Tang Dynasty.  Food was OK but the show was fantastic.

31 August 2016

 Will try to catch up on events for the past few days - things have been very hectic here in the mystical orient.

After a few drives around Xi'an, I will never complain about traffic or poor drivers again.  They seem to have a set of road rules, but they are only used as a suggestion.  We have seen a squillion near misses and if you ride a bike or a scooter - there are no rules. Our bus did a 3-point turn at a major intersection - he’s bigger than everyone else.

Today is the day we go to see the Terracotta Warriors & Horse Museum.  I won’t give you all the details (that is why you have Google) but they were found accidentally by a couple of farmers who were digging a well and were fortunate enough to hit on the very corner of one of the pits.

Our first stop as at a workshop where they make replicas of the warriors in all shapes and sizes as well as other tourist trinkets. 

I told you they come in all shapes and sizes.

From here we went to the museum which are a set of huge buildings built over the uncovered pits.  None of the 8,000 warriors, horses and chariots were intact and had to be painstakingly put back together.  Very amazing.

31 August 2016

Today was the biggest day we have had in Beijing.  Our first was to be a walk-through Tiananmen Square but when we got there the square had been closed because of the arrival of the Canadian Prime Minister.  No notice is ever given when these things happen due to security reasons.  As the bus was pulling up, we were treated to a bit of domestic violence, a Chinese couple obviously had a slight disagreement or maybe he forgot her birthday, but she was really slipping into him.

We were allowed to walk along the side of the square which is very large.

We were about to go into the Forbidden City, which is next door, when we noticed that the square had been re-opened, so back we went again for a bit of a walk and some team photos.  By this stage the day was starting to warm up - 35C.  Onto the Forbidden City.  Here is where we find the Imperial Palace which is very impressive, and the buildings just keep on going.  No idea how large this complex is but our guide said that if we wanted to see everything, he would pick us up next week.

From here we went to a pearl factory where we had a 3-minute lecture on how the pearls are cultivated and a 40-minute sales opportunity.  This happens all the time on tour.

Next stop was the Summer Palace which was the domain of the Empress known as the Dragon Lady - this caused a bit of a chuckle around the bus, but I don’t know why.

We are starting to get used to the looks that the Chinese people give us especially the children who tend to stare.  These looks are not at all hostile but merely at of curiosity and it is a little bit amusing.  Some of the younger people will sidle up to you and have their photo taken once they overcome their shyness.

Tonight, we stayed at the hotel and had a few drinks and meal.  The Lady Tourist went for the buffet but the rest of us opted for a burger which was fantastic.  Early night we are all very tired and foot sore. 

More later.

1 September 2016

We headed for the Great Wall today but on the way, we had to stop at the Jade Factory for another sales opportunity.  Some of the stuff in there was beautiful but also very expensive.  We will be coming home without any jade.

As we were driving towards our drop off point, we could see the wall in all its glory - it is massive.  Our tour leader told us to be careful when climbing on the wall and to be sure that we left enough “energy” to get back down.  This was very sound advice as the section we went to as at least a 45-degree incline with steps that are not equal in height.  The Lady Tourist climbed to the top, but the smarter and wiser Gentleman Tourist only went to the halfway point.

When we had all received our certificates and browsed through the souvenir shop, we headed back to the Jade Factory for lunch which was…..Chinese Food.

From here we made our way to the Olympic Village and passed by some of the stadiums. It was then on to Beijing’s Happy Valley, which is an amusement park, to go to a show called “The Golden Mask Dynasty” which was absolutely fabulous and involved the recreation of a flood which meant that about 100 million liters of water flooded over the stage - hard to imagine.

From here we went to a famous Beijing restaurant and had a Peking Duck feast - yummy

More later

2 September 2016

We went to the Beijing Zoo with the express purpose of visiting with the Giant Panda… they are bigger than you think and have the life that all blokes would like - eat and sleep for 14 hours per day.  There are only 6 pandas on display at any one time, with 2 pandas kept under wraps.  The pandas are native to southwest China and there are only 2800 left throughout the world.

Do pandas shit in the woods?  Yes, just like any other bear but it is green.

When we finished at the zoo, we were taken to a Chinese Herbal Institute to learn about traditional Chinese medicine and enjoy a foot massage.  The massage was fantastic, and we were then given a check over by a Chinese professor.  He told me that I was a fat bastard (I knew that) and for $460.00 Australian he could give me some medicine that would fix me up.  Cheers champ but I’ll be OK.

From here we made our way towards a traditional family home in the Hutong which is the very old part of Beijing.  Just before we got there, we stopped in a square and were treated to a session of Tai Chi - this kept the locals very amused.  Made it to the family home and were fed traditional Chinese food which was very similar to the other food we have eaten some far on tour.  When we finished eating, we were put in a rickshaw for a tour of the rest of the Hutong - poor bugger that had us.

Early start in the morning as we are flying to Shanghai.  More later.

3 September 2016

We had a very early start today, 6:00am on the bus for the airport to catch a flight to Shanghai.  From here we were picked up by our new tour leader and bussed to Suzhou.  Suzhou is known as the Venice of the east as it has a lot of canals and waterways surrounding it.  It is also very well known for its silk industry. 

From here we went to the Silk Embroidery Institute for another sales opportunity.  All of the items on display where terrific but unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any photos so you will have to take my word for it.  We also had dinner here and the food was similar but different in terms of spice and sweetness from any of the other meals we have had so far in China.

Next stop was our hotel, and once again it is very flash.

More tomorrow.

4 September 2016

As we had no WIFI I was unable to send any emails, so we decided to have a few cold bevvies instead - quite a few.

As Suzhou is regarded as the Venice of the East our first activity was a cruise on the canals.  The only resemblance of Venice was the colour of the water - but it was very interesting, and it is what we thought China would look like.

From here we drove to the town of WUXI to visit Lihu Lake and the Li Gardens.  The gardens were built in the 1930’s and are considered modern Chinese gardens.

At the end of the gardens, we hopped on a boat and went on a short cruise.  Apparently, Li Lake is famous for its freshwater pearls - yes, you guessed it - another sales opportunity.  Off we went to the pearl factory for a demonstration on how they open the oyster.  The demonstrator asked us to guess how many pearls would be inside and however was correct would receive the largest pearl as the prize.  So, we all had a guess.  One of the guys guessed correctly at 27 and was excited to get the prize.  However, they forgot to give it to him.

From here it was off to the hotel.  More later.

5 September 2016

Today we drove to Shanghai which is about 2 hours from Wuxi and on our way in we were treated to an unbelievable number of high-rise buildings with no 2 being of the same style.  Our first stop was at the Bund which is a promenade made up of Shanghai’s banks and trading houses.

From here we went for another Chinese feast for lunch before going to the Shanghai Museum for a bit of a look around.  Next stop was to our hotel and a bit of free time.  We went and explored the local shopping mall for a while and had to decide which restaurant to have dinner in.  When we got back to the hotel, we took advantage of the Heineken happy hour but only had one.  The group we had joined had become friendly with a couple of Chinese blokes who told us about the Jackie Chan Gallery which is just next door to the hotel. Unfortunately, it was closed but we might be able to catch before we leave.

More later.

6 September 2016

This morning, we took a quick stroll in the park opposite the hotel before the bus left.  Ran into a couple of groups of square dancers - people that dance in the squares outside buildings for exercise as opposed to hoedown dancers.

Next stop was for another sales opportunity - Shanghai Silk Factory and Museum and then it was on to lunch on a dragon boat tied up on the river.  After this we were let lose on Chinatown for a couple of hours.  This is a massive market in the old part of Shanghai and is full of tourists and hordes of people trying to sell junk.

The day was finished off with a farewell banquet and then a cruise on the river to see Shanghai by night.

Tomorrow, we make our way to the cruise on the Yangtze River and will not have WIFI will on board so I will try to catch you up when we get back.

Cheers