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CHINA Travelog
SEPTEMBER 23 TO OCTOBER 18, 2007
By Jerry Beauchane (with editorial review by Nancy)
These are my thoughts and memories and some of the data might be incorrect but it is the best I can recollect.
Tuesday 25 September - Shanghai
On the bus from the airport the guide said that our pre trip had only six people and that they were already at the hotel. After breakfast we tried to guess who the other couples were that were going to join us on the pre trip. After we all arrived for the morning meeting we found out that we actually had 10 people in our group as indicated in our OAT brochure.
Our guide, Teresa, introduced herself and we took off for the Yu Gardens. It is 450 years old and was started by the Dan family. They sold it to another family after taking 18 years to finish. Each of these traditional Chinese gardens consists of three main sections: a) trees and wood, b) sparkling goldfish ponds, c) beautiful manicured pavilions. These walled gardens were one of the first single owned gardens in Shanghai. The ponds, fish, dragon walled architecture, trees, plants and rocks were impressive. This garden was also located in the oldest part of the Shanghai.
There are three types of gardens in China: a) Emperor owned, b) state owned, and c) privately owned. The privately owned are very few and the present and past governments ones are being built now.
After touring the garden we had a home-hosted lunch. As expected it was served on a lazy Susan with choices of pork, duck, soy, melons, vegetables, peanuts, rice and spring rolls. As one dish was eaten our host replaced that dish with another one. Excellent food. The apartment was a small two bedroom, one family living room with a small bathroom and kitchen. For our host to cook for twelve people and multiple dishes with a four burner stove in a room no bigger than 6’x6’ kitchen was amazing.
Our next stop to a large local market that sold everything from eels, fish, pork & beef to specific bed mattress was quite a sight.
On our free time seven of us (with instructions from Teresa) took a subway to the Maglev train and rode it out to the airport and back. The distance was 30 kilometers one way and the train got up to 430 plus kilometers in speed. The one-way trip took eight minutes. It is the fastest commercial train in the world. A very smooth ride
We had our welcome dinner at the hotel. As all of our friends that have been to China before stated, it was another Lazy Susan event. Our dinner large had fish and a different soup but mostly the same food as lunch.
Bit of information learned today: a) Shanghai has a population of 18 million; b) Shanghai is considered the economical hub of China c) the city had three concessions - International, French, and Chinese. Each section is very different from each other. d) October 1 to 7 is a national holiday. e) Women working for the government have to retire at age 60; men have to retire at 65 while women working in the industry have to retire at 55 and the men at 60. f) Full retirement pay is usually higher than when a person is working with the government picking up the full tab for the retirement pay. G) Taxes on income are 20% of their gross.
Wednesday 26 September
After breakfast we toured the Bund (river area) and Teresa pointed out the different architectures. The east side has been built since 1990 and is the financial center of China. It has many high-rise buildings with one over 100 stories high. The west side is the old side of the city and the tallest building is only 50 stories high.
Our next stop was the Shanghai Museum. It had paintings, jade, coins, bronze, ceramics and furniture. Of course I thought the furniture was the most interesting. I did not see any veneer and everything was solid wood with a lot of hand carving. An interesting point was that all of the paintings were of Christian origin, all the people in the paintings wee Caucasian and no Buddha or Asians.
Next was lunchtime and we had Mongolian BBQ. The restaurant was packed with tourists. The food was OK but some of the salad and deserts were gone so we had to wait until the servers replenish them.
The evening was on our own so all of us took up Teresa’s suggestion of going to the Shanghai Uncle Restaurant. It was really hard to order so we each ordered one dish, a few beers, 2 waters and tea by pointing at the menu. The food was very good and we had enough to eat and drink. I ended up paying the bill and then divided it by ten and everyone paid me back in Yuan.
While talking to our group we found out that not only do the Siegel’s live in St Paul, MN, but Dianne grew up within a couple of blocks from where I was raised. She also attended Lincoln Jr. High and North High schools. I didn’t know her then because she was three grades behind me. We even knew the same teachers and kids. Small world!
Thursday 27 September
This morning we took a cab to the train station to go to Suzhou, one of the older cities in China. It is noted for starting the silk industry 2000 years ago. The city’s population is 7 million within the 8,400 square kilometer area and three million people in the city. The train ride took about 40 minutes. The city also has a major electronics industry.
Our first tour was of the Fishermen’s Retreat Garden. It was built in 1140 and opened to the public in 1958. Of course it is now owned by the state. This is a typical garden on 2-1/2 acres but seems much larger because of its interweaving design.
Our next stop was the silk factory. The development of silk from the moth to silk cloth was explained then we toured the live process of the silk worms in the factory. Did you that they harvest silk five times a year and one caterpillar will produce one 1200 meter line of silk in it’s cocoon in the spring but only one string half of that distance in the fall production? The spring silk is also the thickest string of the season… It takes 500 cocoons to make one silk tie.
Our nest stop was a cruise down the Grand Canal. The canal runs north to south and is 1100 miles long. It is the longest canal in Asia and maybe the world. It was built 1300 years ago. Presently parts of the canal are dry but all of the locks still remain. Wow! The Great Wall and Grand Canal were built by one country.
Friday 28 September
Before breakfast we walked to the Peoples Park and watched the older generations do Tai Chi along the path and circles. This was a very nice park and to imagine all these older people are safe to do Ti Chi in the park.
Around noon we are off to the town of Zhu Jia Jaio. This is a town of 80,000 people that has four rivers that run through it. It is called the Venice of Asia. This town was started 1700 years ago and is a tourist town. Even the Chinese come here in droves to walk and cruise around and buy trinkets. Even though the houses are 100 years old it looks like a newer town than it is. The streets are lined with small shops and you can bargain to your hearts content and then by something (and we did). It also cost to enter the town and thank goodness we were able to buy cold beer with lunch because it was really muggy and warm.
Our next stop was to the airport for our flight to Beijing. We had to change gates and took off about an hour late but we were in Beijing around 8:30 pm. Cindy, our guide, met us and after a 40-minute ride we were at our hotel. It did sprinkle while on the bus and the weather had been a bit warm and muggy but it didn’t stop us from doing anything.
Saturday 29 September - Beijing
Our tour today started out about learning overall information about Beijing such as: a) National street is 7 km long, runs east to west and is the widest street in Beijing. b) Changan Street stands for happiness, wealth and longevity. c) 6, 8, and 9 are lucky numbers. d) Beijing has a population of 13 million of permanent residents and three million floating residents in an area of 16,900 square km.
Our first stop was the Tiananmen Square at 100 acres making it the largest public square in the world. By being there you feel that you could put 1000,000 people in the square at one time. Government offices surround the square so you see many military guards. The square has many walking police, police cars driving through the crowds and military personnel standing at attention throughout. Chairman Mao’s huge portrait hangs at the gate of the Heavenly Palace and he is entombed there. Because of the time constraints we could not go in and view him.
Our next stop was the Forbidden City that has 9000 rooms and was once the home of 24 emperors. The Forbidden City is also in the center of Beijing. The buildings that have two story roofs, yellow tiles or nine animals at the corners are always the emperor’s palaces. The city took only 14 years to build but required 200,00 workers to build it in that short of time period. In the city we visited the dragon lady’s residence. She was the empress that guided and directed 4 or 5 emperors. She also was in charge of all the concubines.
Off to lunch again featuring Chinese food. After we ate, we strolled a large “walking only” shopping street that the locals go too. We really were in the minority in this area. This area had many department stores.
Our welcome dinner of Peking duck along with another dozen dishes was very tasty. They taught us ho to do a duck wrap with sauce, celery and onions, just using the chopsticks. It was fun and challenging.
After dinner we walked along a street food fair and sampled eating silk worms and other STUFF! We could have eaten scorpions, tripe, sheep gonads, snake etc. I think we did have some tripe. It was fun and didn’t taste all that bad either. Of course, not everyone sampled these weird foods.
Sunday 30 September
On our way to the cloisonné factory we learned the following: a) Bei means north and Jing means capital. b) Beijing has six roads that circle the city, four roads in the city and two that are outside of the city. All six roads have no stoplights or stop signs in them. c) People who fly kites and cut them loose believe that all the bad problems will fly away with the kite.
At the cloisonné factory we walked through the production line. The process is to first hammer out a sheet of copper into a form of a vase. They also make thin strips of flat copper wire out of sheet of copper. These flat wires/strips are then hand shaped using pliers into the design on the vase. The strips are heated and glue is dissolved so you have ten identical designs that are glued to the vase. The copper vase is covered with a powder solder and fired to solder and hold the design to the vase. In another area, the women and girls paint in between the design with paint made of ground stone. After the design is painted the vase is fired then returned to be painted again. This process is repeated six times before it brought to the grinding and polishing area. The men in this area smooth and polish the vase to the final bright and shimming texture ready for sale. Of course Nancy had to buy some gifts.
Our next stop was the Great Wall, a drive of about 1-1/2 hours. Instead of going to the tourist section of the Great Wall (Badaling) we went to a newly opened section with very few people. This section was located in the Jundu Mountains and the section of the wall was called Can (pronounced tawn) In fact only one other OAT group and a Chinese couple were there during the time we were there. What a great climb and view. The place was so out of the way the small bus we were on couldn’t go on the last mile of the road. To get to the wall we had to transfer to small vans.
We then had lunch at the tourist section of the Great Wall. We had the option of climbing Badaling but it was “wall to wall with people” and we had only one hour to go up and back so only a few of the group walked it. It was unanimous within our group that the first climb was more difficult, beautiful and a much better climb.
Back at Beijing it was a night on our own so we and the Breams stayed at the hotel, had some wine and trail mix then called it a night.
Monday 1 October
Our first stop was the state owned carpet factory. We had a brief talk on the silk worm’s growing process of silk, dying of the silk and the weaving of the rugs. The process is very similar to the carpet factories we saw in Egypt, including having children going to regular school classes in the morning and weaving carpets in the afternoon. The average age of the weavers is 25 years old. We were told that no chemical dyes are used because the chemical dyes will fade after time. Natural dyes are used and made out of nuts, fruits and trees. They have 70 different colors to choose from. Because each carpet is 100% silk and the lowest grade of carpet has 300 knots per inch and the finest carpet will have over 1000 knots per inch you pay $300 for the cheapest and $1000’s for the finest carpet.
Our next stop was at the emperor’s Summer Palace at the Gate of Benevolence and Longevity Hall. Being the first day of the National Holiday it was the most crowded place we visited. Our guide said that tomorrow the palace will have three times the people there than today’s crowd. We walked below the tower of Fragrance and the Glazed Tile Pagoda but couldn’t go inside because all of the exhibits were closed to protect them from the mass of people visiting the Palace during the holiday week.
After dinner we went to see a Peking opera. We didn’t know what to expect and it had very little singing (high pitch) and lot of slow moves by the actors. It was interesting and the painted faces were very colorful and descriptive. One hour was just about the right amount of time for this discovery. (A little hard on the ears!) Back to the hotel to close out the day.
Tuesday 2 October
We had until 1 pm before the bus will pick us up so we walked around to find an Internet café. It took us awhile but we found one at a cost of five Yuan - or a cost of approximately 60 cents for 1/2 hour. While walking a young man started to talk to us and helped us find a drug store so I could get some cold medicine. He spoke very good English and told us he was an artist (senior at the university) and had his work on display. We thought it would be nice to look at his work so we went with him and as we walked into the display area we saw Ray (one of our group) looking at the artwork. All three of us were surprised to see each other. Ray had the same experience as we did but we bought one of James’ pieces and Ray didn’t buy anything. While the three of us were walking back to the hotel we ran into the Breams and told them our painting story. Back at the hotel we were telling others about our story and some of them were approached the same way as we were. Cindy said that this happens quite a bit and of course many of them are not artist but sellers. Needless to say it was sort of a scam that is used in this area because of the art college in the area. We liked the painting and the cost so it was another discovery and experience.
We all then took off the visit the Hutong (small alleys or neighborhoods) section of Beijing. This area’s houses are 300 years old and kept in the style of that era. We had a home-hosted lunch and made some of the dumplings ourselves. The meal was very good and the hospitality was great. The man of the house is an artist and we looked at his paintings and some of the group bought some. Our host said that his house was 300 years old and his family has lived in it for 150 years. He is the fourth generation to live in this house.
After lunch we went for another walk and a one-hour boat ride on the man made lake. There were many bars and restaurants around the lake and making a thriving enterprise. We then had dinner and then on to our train to the city of Xian. Our guide Cindy lives in Xian.
On the train the group broke out the wine and Cindy gave us a taste of Chinese vodka. Just like most of the Asian liquor it tasted like kerosene. We drank the wine and kerosene, sang a few songs and went to bed. Thank goodness that OAT paid for all four bunk beds in the room and we had only one couple in each room instead of two couples in a room because the room was soooo small it wouldn’t have been a pleasant experience.
Wednesday 3 October - Xian
After waking up on the train and looking out the window we knew we weren’t going to see the sun or blue sky for the first time on this trip. On our arrival to the Xian Garden Hotel we ate breakfast and when the rooms were ready we went to our rooms to shower and clean up.
Some of the things we learned about Xian were: a) the old city wall and moat are 9 miles long. b) The city was the capital of China for 1100 years. c) There are 8 million people in the area and 3.5 million steady residents in the city proper. d) The city’s history goes back 7000 years.
Before our bus ride we had a lesson in Tai Chi at our hotel out by the pool. You really have to have good balance to do the slow moves. During our bus ride to the Shanxi History Museum it looked like this city was more crowded than Shanghai or Beijing. The museum is one of the top four in China. I think it is the best one we have seen so far. Artifacts go back to one million years ago. It was very crowded and hard to tack pictures but well worth the time and experience.
Our next stop was the Muslim area. It was full of shops, cooking kiosks, cars, restaurants and street vendors. Cindy stopped and bought lamb shiskabob, tripe shiskabobs, bread, noodles, peanut bars and persimmon cake, all that were new to us and quite tasty.
We then walked to the Bell Tower that was built when the old wall was built around the old city. Then off to a Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant where we made and mixed our own sauce. We also cooked our own meal in the hot pot with boiling water next to each of us on the table. We had the standard veggies, lamb, beef, shrimp rolls and tofu. It was fun and good eating. We had a breaded roll that we dipped into sweet condensed milk that was also very good.
Back at the hotel we decided not to go to the square that had a water fountain light show because I was fighting some sort of crud.
Thursday 4 October
We started out the day going to a jade factory. On the way Cindy told us that rulers and others are buried with Jade Cicada in each hole in a human body. The reason is to keep the spirits in the body for the next life. Interesting huh?
In China jade has been around for 7,000 years and is graded by color, luster, hardness and sound. A clear and single color is usually a soft jade. More than one color is harder and the hardest jade can scratch glass but is 1-1/2 to 2 points softer than diamonds. The jewelry in this factory is expensive!!!
Our next stop was a wholesale herb center. We bought Tiger Bomb and golden throat lozenges for my throat and nose. They had everything from Ginseng to Gecko’s and Deer’s Penis. Everything you can think of is used for medical purposes. We also tasted a tea made with all these parts and herbs and snakes etc. It wasn’t bad but I would not want to pay for it.
It was drizzling while on the bus but it stopped by the time we arrived at the restaurant for lunch. This place was noted for its noodles so after lunch we had a noodle making demonstration and of course we had a chance to try to make noodles by hand. None of us came near to the numbers and quality of the cook. He stretched and twisted the dough 20 times before hand making the noodles.
In our way to the Terra-Cotta soldiers the traffic was really bad. Even with two lanes and the shoulder dedicated to going to the museum, the traffic was stop and go with us being stopped most of the time. On our way we passed Qin Shihuang’s tomb. It hasn’t been opened because they are afraid that the air would do great harm to the tomb and artifacts. It is a man made hill of 100 meters high, 56 km in area with the emperor’s tomb under the ground level and took 40 years to build. It is the largest tomb in the world. He is also the emperor that started the Great Wall. He required all concubines that did not bear his children to be buried with him so 3000 young and beautiful girls were buried alive with him in his tomb.
The Terra-Cotta soldiers were discovered in 1974. The famous copper/brass chariots were discovered in 1981. Peasants revolted after the emperor died and broke into the Terra-Cotta’s chambers and took the weapons, destroyed soldiers and burned the timbers that held up the roof of the chambers there by collapsing the dirt ceiling and burying the soldiers in dirt. What a sight even though the number one museum was so crowded that to get a picture you had to go through 3 to 10 people. It pays to know how to work yourself through the crowd to get the pictures you want. There were a lot of people there and 99.9% of them were Chinese on holiday visiting the Terra-Cotta soldiers. What a crowd, but we were able to see all three chambers/museums so it was worth the effort to see it all.
Back to the hotel and have a dumpling dinner. It was quite good and after the dinner we saw the Tang Dynasty show that was very entertaining. During dinner we also had a great conversation with Cindy re politics, religion, gays and people respect.
Friday 5 October
Our first stop was at the Great Wild Goose Buddha temple. An emperor built the temple during the Tang Dynasty. This monk was known as the monkey king and traveled to India to learn Buddhism. He lived and traveled in India and was considered a high monk. Upon his return to Xian the temple was already built and he became the head monk for 30 years. The temple was 13 times bigger than it is now bet it is still impressive.
We then went to a lacquer factory and learned that Chinese lacquer comes from a tree. Most Chinese-built solid wood furniture is covered with felt and 30 coats of lacquer plaster then sanded between coats. Next 60 coats of lacquer finish are applied, sanded and finally polished. This tree made lacquer cannot be burned by cigarettes or be harmed by the elements. Recovering pieces from tombs that are 2,000 years old has proved this and the lacquer is still in tack and full of gloss. We were told that the lacquer made from the tree process is 6,000 years old. Some of the wood working skills weren’t very impressive but the application of jade was excellent.
Our next stop was the city wall. It is 8 to 9 miles long and has four gates, North, South, East and West. It is 12 meters high, 18 meters wide at the base and 15 meters wide at the top. Of course, being built in China, this is one of the largest walled cities in the world. This wall took 6 years to build and is 600 years old. Cindy told us that at that time to insure the quality of the brick, each brick had the maker’s name or hand print on it. If a brick would break the person that made the brick and the entire three generations of his family would be killed. With this type of quality control I sure would make sure my bricks would not break. While walking on the wall we found a few bricks with either a handprint or the name of its maker on them. We also came across a puppet show with music and was really fun to watch. We also saw interesting families, kids and ladies dressed up in costumes and were able to take their pictures.
During our temple visit Nancy and I got separated from the group and we had to get a local person to call Cindy’s cell phone and tell her where we were. That also was an experience we will not forget. We’ve never done that before.
Our next stop was our school and farmhouse overnight visit. First we stopped at the local supermarket to buy supplies for the school and a gift for our host at the farmhouse. What a supermarket. They had furniture, appliances, clothing, food, school supplies, a pharmacy and more. It was four stories high. We bought notebooks for the school and wine for our host. At the school they called the 3rd and 4th grade children from the holiday to welcome us. The school has 360 students and 24 teachers. The kids met us at the bus, gave us their hand made paper national flags and walked us to the playground. Both grades lined up in sections and ran into formations and did Kung Fu type of movements to music. They were really good and kept together and moved to the music. They even changed formations to the music. The director of the school (with Cindy translating for her and the children) was able to ask and answer question from us, the teachers and children.
The city nearest the village has a population of over 500,00 but the village populations was only 1,000 people, The school supports the village or you can say the village supports the school. Just a short drive of a few minutes we were at the village. We were split up into two couples per family house. Bob and Mary were with us and our hostess was Ms. Wang. Her house was bigger than ours. It was two stories high and had 4 or five bedrooms. The kitchen was very small about 5’X 10’ with two separate propane burner stove, one charcoal wok burner, one small sink, one granite counter about 2’ x 4 1/2’ and very little storage place. After we had tea we all gathered at another house to play Mah Jong. It was difficult to learn but we had plenty of help from the local kids and adults. It was fun - especially the interaction with the people. We then went back to our house and helped with the prep work for our dinner. We tried to roll out the dough for the noodles but we weren’t very good at is so grandmother stepped in and finished the job. Our dinner was excellent. We had a wrap with eggs, celery, red bell peppers and thinly cut potatoes. Very good. We also had what they called a fried pancake. It was like pizza dough with a thin spread of filling inside. Again, very good. Our hostess has one daughter in college, one son in high school and a mother living with her. Ms. Wang works on the farm, does all the house cleaning and hosts OAT groups. Her husband drives a bus so they can get financially ahead. She also said that she was a Christian (and very proud of it) and we sang some church songs. After dinner we went outside to the local square and danced. Of course only the local women danced and the leader of the host overnight program mixed us up with the women to dance. They like to do line dancing, the two-step and the Macarena. When Nancy and I did the polka they all laughed because they have never seen the polka done. When we showed Cindy she even laughed.
Ms. Wang invited our whole group to her house the next morning to see how a wedding is started by the groom trying to see the bride (her niece) and take her to the church. After insuring that we would not be in the way of the wedding Cindy accepted the invitation. We were not able to stay for all of it but we saw the house ceremony. Ms. Wang said it would be good to have the “big noses” in the video.
Saturday 6 October
Today we woke up to a windy drizzling day but it looks like it will clear up. For our breakfast we had corn porridge, cucumbers, sugar sprinkled toasted bread and wrap with eggs. Just as we were finishing breakfast the bride and her attendants came and she was dressed in her wedding gown. Beautiful bride. We waited for the groom to arrive and about a half hour later he and his group arrived in a motorcade. They started by banging on the door and asking where the bride is. The group inside would not let him in but a bit later he finally got in but the bride was locked in the bedroom. After a lot of banging on the door and shouting he was finally let in and proposed to the bride. Just like the ceremony we saw in Eastern Europe. It was a nice discovery.
We did a walking tour of the old village. All but seven families have moved to the new village, what a difference between the two villages. The old village is what I would expect a farm village to look like, dirt floor, small rooms, and little or no electricity and outside bathrooms. Quite different than the new village we stayed in. All this was accomplished in the past four years. We then visited the farmer’s artist group. These men have no professional training and started out by painting on their free time on the gunny sacks that the seeds and grain came in. They are now known all over China and many parts of the world for their paintings.
Chengdu
We then took the bus to the airport to go to Chengdu, home of the pandas. Some of the things we learned about Chengdu and the Sichuan province: a) Pandas are bred there. b) The city of Chengdu means four rivers. c) They have only 80 days of sun out of a year. d) The area has 4,000 years of history. e) There are 12 universities in the city. f) Chengdu has 12 million people. g) Chendgu is noted for four things: Pandas, Sichuan spicy cooking, Teahouses, and face changing performers. h) Tea houses go back 2,000 years and used to have opium but hasn’t had since it was outlawed after the opium war. The teahouses now include ear picking (cleaning), foot massages, and other activities. I) All of the face changers live in Chengdu and it was originated there.
After we arrived at the hotel we settled in and then had a Sichuan dinner. The spiciness is rated from zero to four stars. The four-star eel and noodles dishes were spicy and make your mouth tingle. This finished up the day.
Sunday 7 October
Woke up to a real rain. By the time we arrived at the Panda Institute the rain had stopped and it was not crowded at all. Some Panda data we learned: A) Pandas have their own family and DNA so they are a breed of their own. B) Pandas have been traced back to 8 million years ago. C) Pandas eat 30 to 40 pounds of bamboo a day and Panda poop is made into paper. D) The institute is presently 90 acres and they have plans to expand it into 600 acres. E) Sichuan Province has six breeding centers. Wow, because of the early rain there weren’t many people at the institute so we got the pictures we wanted easily, no pushing or shoving. The pandas were separated by age and each area had multiple pandas and we got some good shots. The Panda museum wasn’t all that informative and our guide told us more about the Pandas then the museum and movie.
Our lunch was a Sichuan style lunch and was much more tasty than the other cuisines. After lunch we strolled through the pet and flower market. We saw everything from small goldfish to large carp, baby dogs and cats from about one month to six months old. Women were selling plants from the back of their bicycles or from stalls. What a way to shop but enough locals go there and buy enough to keep them in business. I thought I could bargain but I am a novice compared to these locals. After this walk it was dinnertime and with a 5 am wake up time for our flight to Lhasa, Tibet it completed another day.
Monday 8 October - Tibet
We were up at 5 am, on the bus at 6:30 and in the air at 8:00 and landed in Lhasa at 10 am. Our guide picked us up and after a one-hour drive with one stop to take a picture of yaks, we arrived at our hotel Dhodgu. The hotel was typical Tibetan colorful and clean. Our lunch at the hotel even included spaghetti.
Because of the very high altitude we took about a three-hour rest before we took a rickshaw ride to see the Potala Temple. We just walked around and took pictures and Cindy gave us some information re the monks, people and the temple. On our way back to the hotel our driver couldn’t find the hotel. I knew he was lost so I showed him the hotel card with its address on it. He continued the wrong way and finally asked another driver and he pointed back the way we came from. That was the right direction but he didn’t know where the hotel was. Finally we kept him going in the right direction and I found the hotel. He wanted more money because of the time it took to find the hotel but I would not give him more because he didn’t know where he was going. Because of the driver we missed half of the scheduled lecture of Tibet. With dinner at 7 pm we then went up to our room and called it a day.
Tuesday 9 October
I woke up at my usual time and it was dark. It was dark until 8:15 so after breakfast and around 0900 we took off for the Lhasa Jokhang temple. This temple was built 1300 years ago. The first thing you notice is that the shops are opening and there is a long slow moving line toward the temple. These are the people, young, old, and very old, that come to worship at the temple once or twice a year. They stand in line for four to five hours to get into the temple. As you get into the temple there is a barrel of yellow holy water. People drink this water and splash it on their face for a blessing. Many of the worshipers bring a thermos of yak butter to add to the offerings. They also throw Yuan at each Buddha. The largest Buddha is 20 feet high, made of bronze with gold plating over it. Other smaller Buddha are 100% gold with many jewels on and around it. There are many chapels with Buddha in them and the people weave in and out of the chapels with absolutely no space in between them. The story is that the high lama liked this area for his temple so he took his ring of and threw it high in the air and it landed in a lake so they built the temple over the lake and surrounded it with living quarters it that became the start of the city of Lhasa. There were many people doing an up and down prostrate prayer and would to this for hours at a time. We then went to a shopping mall and an introduction to their carpets. (It would be nice not to have to go to a shopping mall and have to spend an hour there.) After lunch we went to the huge Potala Place. The Dalai Lama started the center red palace in 700. In the 1700 the larger white section was also started by a Dalai Lama, This is a huge place taking over the entire side of a 200-foot high hill. The palace also stands 100 feet higher then the hill. Our climb included over 350 steps but it was easy because in between the sections of steps where uphill walk ways. Our entire group made it up to the top (some gasping for air). On the top we saw where the Dalai Lama slept, meditated, and conducted business. Nine of the Dalai Lamas are entombed in this complex and are surrounded by many Buddha and gold. The four other Dalai Lama’s are entombed in other temples in other areas. At every place where there is a shrine there is a donation box and it is usually filled with Yuan. Additionally the monks and student monks are asking for donations and the poor people are always giving them money and they are poor. I can’t get an answer where this money goes and what is given back to the poor. People power is still used instead of machinery. On our way down the temple we saw about 20 people tamping down crushed rock with paddles instead of gas or electric operated tampers.
Wednesday 10 October
Our first stop this morning was the orphanage. There are 87 children and all are provided a bed (two children en each bed) food, clothing and public schooling. Only 10 to 12 kids were there to meet us because the rest of them were at school. One boy was 10 years old and was with the orphanage for about two months and very shy. He had only one leg but was quite mobile with his crutches. He wasn’t in school because he has to learn how to socialize. The youngest just turned two and has been at the orphanage since he was nine days old. The kids sang some songs for us in English, “You Are My Sunshine”, and one song in Tibetan. We sang a couple of tunes then the adults and kids did the Hokey Pokey. They are darling!! They grabbed our hands and showed us their bedrooms, classrooms, living quarters and wanted us to swing them by their arms. A local lady named Dhadon started the orphanage in September 2002. She started with three children that she found homeless near the teahouse she owned. By the time she opened the orphanage she had 21 children and now has 87. Her sons and one daughter all work at the orphanage for free. The have eight paid staff. The children stay at the orphanage until they are able to complete the mandatory school and are able to get a job. The unique part of this is that not only do they get an education but Mrs. Dhadon also puts money aside in a bank account for each child and they get this dowry when they leave. All this by one woman! We will be able to do this in Africa for the girls’ academy. This again shows what one person can do to make an impact in the world.
Our next stop was a Tibetan middle class house. This family moved from a farm 11 years ago. They had a large herd of yaks and had inside help in getting a job and land to build the house on. The lady of the house was 62 years old and her husband worked in the office of a trucking company. They have two grown children and the house was really nice and large inside. They had a room at least 10’X 10’ dedicated as their personal temple. In the temple room they had 2 or 4 Buddha, prayer wheels, incense, holy water and yak butter candles, and yak milk as gifts to the Buddha. We sampled yak milk, yak tea, yak cheese, barley flower seeds and popped seeds. We also had popcorn, rice (puffed), broad beans and a cookie and all were quite edible. She also made a typical Tibetan breakfast made of barley, sugar, yak mild and cheese. Edible, but not that tasty. We then finished the visit with a taste of home made barley beer. The beer had a lot of yeast and was better than the corn beer we had in Peru. It still wasn’t very good.
After lunch we went to the Sera Temple to see where 500 Tibetans live, study and worship. The Grand Hall is where the monks meet and study. In this hall they have quite a few Buddha ranging from some of them more than 10’ tall and quite ornate to pictures and tapestries. Again there were donations boxes everywhere and we noticed that local people visit this area and donate money to the monks and Buddha. We then visited the printing house that prints the religious books and manuscripts. Each page is carved on a wood block, ink is applied then the paper is laid on top and rolled against the carving. The writings are very fine and it is amazing that the printing comes out so clear. We then went to the debating area. One monk stands and asks the questions and the sitting monk has to answer. The answer is questioned and a lively debate follows with sometimes a senior monk being called in to intervene.
Our next stop was to a poor farm house. At this house, animals were kept inside the walls. The kitchen was small with only a two-burner camp stove. The living quarters are really sparse. Yak dung was hanging on the wall to dry so they could use it for fires when it gets colder. There was also a pile of dried dung near the entrance to the courtyard. The mother and one young son were home to let us in and greet us. Amazingly though on the roof of the house there was a 8’ x 15’ room that was their personal temple and it was furnished much better than the living quarters down stairs. Buddha wins again!
Nest to the farmhouse was the new orphanage building/complex. It looked like it was about 80% completed. What a difference between where the orphanage is now and where it will be when the building is finished. They say that all of this is funded by tourist’s donations. This building/complex will house up to 400+ children. It has a playground area, courtyard and a garden area. It is really nice. The cost to build this complex will be 2 million Yuan. (Approx $270K) The children will be bussed to and from school but spend the rest of their time living is this complex. Just think - all of this started by one woman who owned a small teahouse in Lhasa.
Back at the hotel we went up to the roof area and took some pictures of two lines of women tamping down roof material on a building across from ours. They do this to a musical chant so everyone is in step with each other. Again this is being done so that people can walk on the roof and build a temple for the residents. After dinner we then broke out the wine and beer on top of the hotel roof to party and take pictures of the Potala Palace that was all lighted up in the dark. A very nice view and picture opportunity.
Thursday 11 October
We are off to the airport to fly back to Chengdu and on the way we stopped at a stone carved Buddha in the hill. It was carved around 1400 and is painted every New Year. There were remains of burning incense next to the road for the blessing from the Buddha.
Just before we landed in Chengdu we could see the clouds stacking up against the mountains. You can see why it is so cloudy and overcast in China. It is not all smog and the clouds keep the smog in and near the ground. We then hopped on the bus for a five-hour ride to Chongqing and board the Victoria Star for our cruise down the Yangtze River. We arrived at 8 pm and left the pier just before 9. It drizzled during our trip down to Chongqing, the largest city in China with a population of 33 million people. It started to rain a bit when we started our cruise. This, with the overcast and fog, made the picture taking very poor. I did get a halfway decent picture of the high-rise building across the river in Chongqing.
Friday 12 October – Yangtze River Cruise
After breakfast we had a lecture on the “Ancient Waters, the Yangtze”. A few facts about the river area: A) The Yangtze was named 1400 years ago - Yang (name of the emperor) Tze (respect in Chinese). The Yangtze also has at least six sections with other names before it ends in the East China Sea. B) The biggest flooding by the river and death tolls are: 1) 1931, 150 thousand killed. 2) 1935, 145 thousand killed. 3) 1998, 4 thousand killed. The decrease in the death toll is because of the damming and control of the river. C) The tree gorges we went through are the Qutange (the most magnificent) the Wu (the most beautiful) and the Xiling (the most treacherous).
Our next presentation was from a Chinese doctor that practices acupuncture, cupping and message. I volunteered and was selected to have my knee worked on. I tweaked my knee a few times in the past few months so I thought I had nothing to loose. While I was waiting for the acupuncture and cupping to work he also demonstrated where the pressure point were to help sea sickness, headache, upset stomach and high blood pressure. This was quite informative, and my knee did feel good after the treatment.
Instead of going to a temple with the rest of the boat passengers, Cindy and another guide took us to visit a relocated farmer. Grandma, age 74, was our hostess and looked great. She had two sons and a grandson living with her in her four story apartment. Each of them had their own bedroom. She and her family left the farm in 2001 and received 80,000 Yuan for compensation from the government. Her apartment cost 160,000 Yuan so she borrowed 80,000 from the bank and relatives to pay for it. This apartment is three times bigger then her farmhouse. This part of the city of Fengdu is called Shibaozhai. It is only 20 years old but the original city has been around for 1900 years and has a population of over 718,000 people. She had a small store near her farm so she started one on the first floor of her building. We smelled some odors when we entered the building and she told us that she was also raising pigs in the basement two floors. After we asked questions we toured the living area and she took us down to see the pigs. Pigs are just as valuable as in Africa. While looking at the goods in the store someone noticed that she sold silkworm medicine and, lucky for us, as were leaving we found a small silkworm factory in the garage area of a house one block away. The old man who owns the silk worms was very cooperative. He was only 56 (18 years younger than grandma) but looked just as old as she did. After that stop, we went to a local farmers market. Everything from tripe, pig snouts, rabbit ears, duck and all kinds of spices were sold there. The kids in the area wanted to have their pictures taken but were so excited they would not stand still. We did get some good pictures though. Cindy then bought some noodles and a seaweed dish from a corner vendor. The locals surrounded us and watched “in awe” as we ate their local spicy food. They didn’t think that the “big noses” would or could eat their food and even like it. What a couple great discoveries. Even the overcast and drizzle couldn’t take away from the experience.
Back on the boat we had the captain’s welcome reception. It was the typical reception with champagne, etc.
Saturday 13 October
We started going through the Qutang Gorge at 6:45 am. When we turned into the gorge the wind picked up considerably and it was difficult to keep the camera still. The small town on the hill is one of the new relocation sites because the old towns are under the water. The river is 150 meters higher now and will rise another 20 meters by 2009 when the dam is completed. We passed by an island with a typical old house on top of the hill. It was called the white town and will survive the dam.
Lesser Gorges – Dragon Gate, Misty and Emerald
At the first start of the Dragon Gate Gorge the bridge on the left side was recently built but will be torn down because of a mistake on how far the river will rise. The water level is over 200’ deep in this area and can rise up to 2’ per day if not controlled. We were told that before a town is flooded all the buildings are torn down and only the brick and concrete is left behind. They even cut down the trees and vegetation and they are carted out of the area and lime is spread all over the area to kill the bacteria. The new terraces we saw were all hand made and the soil from the old farms was transported by hand from the old farms to the new farms.
As we went through the Misty and Emerald Gorges we saw some hanging coffins in the caves high on the steep cliffs. These coffins have been there for 2,000 years. No one has figured out how the people of that time hung the coffins. We also saw how the fishing villagers fish with the large square nets that are lowered into the river at night with a light in the top center to attract the fish. We also saw a large cave in one of the cliffs in the Misty Gorge that was so large that they built wall in it and can hold up to 1,000 people.
We then transferred to a smaller boat and cruised down a narrower part of the gorge, called the Lesser Lesser gorge. (Yes it is Lesser Lesser gorge). The water was more of a dark emerald color and much cleaner the Yangtze. We also saw natural illusion of the last supper on a rock. Half way up the cliff was a Buddhist temple built on a 400-year old wall. We also could see the path from the river up to the temple.
After lunch we traveled through the Wu gorge. We saw the rock of the goddess that was used as a lucky site for women’s beauty and men’s longevity. We saw a traditional house near the river shore that is hundreds of years old and will be flooded next year. This is what I thought would be more prevalent throughout China. We took pictures of coal chutes and in the Xiling Gorge, took pictures of the Chinese caricatures depicting water level and progress of the dam. This area grows citrus, potatoes, etc. but no corn. 30 Million people live along the three gorges and this section is the most populated.
Going through the four stages of the locks took almost three hours. The Three Gorges locks are deeper and wider than the Panama Canal. The width and length requirement is there because they have many riverboats and one lock can hold six of our size boats. The weather was cloudy and overcast with smog and it makes you wonder how beautiful this area could be with a little sunlight.
Sunday 14 October
After breakfast we went to the Dam. The guide, Becky, was good but we weren’t allowed go to the base or the inside of the dam. The city’s name was San Dou Ping. The dam employs 3000 people with 30% being women getting equal pay for the work as men. To get the granite they cut down a 4000 ft. mountain to near the river level. The dam is 1.4 miles long and 606’ high and each generator produces 700 megawatts each so the 26 generators produce 18,200 mega watts. The lower experimental dam is only 60’ high. We then went back to the boat to finish the last part of the Xiling Gorge and end up at the lower dam.
After lunch we then boarded another bus for a 5 to 6 hour drive to the city of Wuhan and to our hotel the HK &Macao Business Center. We ate at the hotel, walked around the very crowded and busy street, then had some wine and went to bed.
Monday 15 October – Hong Kong
Up at 5:30 and after eating went to the airport to fly to Hong Kong. The service at breakfast was the worst service we have experienced so far. I guess we got them up too early. We had to serve our own coffee and tea.
Even though Hong Kong is part of China, we still had to depart via the international airport and fill out the departure and custom forms. We arrived in Hong Kong and our guide, William, took us to the Empire Hotel located in the center water front of Hong Kong. After settling in he walked us around the hotel area and took us on the MTR (metro) to the Kowloon Peninsula district where the shopping on the Nathan road is noted as a world known shopping district. Part of our group split and had Won Ton soup with shrimp and noodles at a very local restaurant. It was quite good. After that we went to a couple of camera shops but didn’t buy anything because the price was higher than we could get in the States.
Six of us then walked around and took the ferry back to our district and walked to the hotel. Because we are over 65 years old the ferry didn’t cost us anything. We found an ATM, a coffee Internet place and a supermarket to buy wine, water, etc. It was a fun day.
noodles. It was quite good and the restaurant was definitely a local restaurant because we were the only foreigners in the restaurant. After lunch we went to a couple of camera shops but didn’t by anything because the prices were higher than we could get in the states and Internet. Six of us then walked around and took the ferry back to our district and walked back to the hotel. By the way the ferryboat ride is free if you are over 65. At the hotel we found an ATM, an Internet café and a supermarket to buy wine, water and stuff. It was a fun day and tomorrow will be an OAT day.
Tuesday 16 October
Our first stop was the longest escalator in the world built in 1993. Quite interesting because they built it to move the people up and down the hill instead of using the road and steps. In the morning it goes downhill and the afternoon it goes uphill. On the way down we stopped at a local market place. At 9:30 we were the only foreigners there. It is amazing how fresh the food is and the fish were all still alive. Unfortunately this market area, that has been there for many, many years will no longer exist in two years because a developer bought it and tear everything down and build a high rise building there.
Our next stop was the temple of Man Mo built in 1847. The whole ceiling was full of coiled incense that was burning. Each one would burn for weeks and it was really smoky in the temple. The statues of the gods were smaller than the normal Buddha and they didn’t have the donations boxes everywhere. To have your fortune told, they shake a glass of bamboo sticks with numbers on them You shake the glass until one of the sticks falls out and on to the floor. You then take the stick with the number on it and go to a book that tells you what your fortune is. Of course it cost you one Hong Kong dollar to be able to read your fortune. There are 700 temples in Hong Kong and they are everywhere. When asked what the temples do to help the people, William said that the temples operate hospital clinics, have established schools for the poor, built orphanages and if you are homeless you could stay at the temple and if they have some food offered to the gods they would let you eat it. Better than the Buddha temples and monks.
Our next stop was over the hill and to the southern part of the island. It was a fishing village called Hong Kong Tsai. On our way over the hills we drove through an area called the Dragon and Tiger area. The very rich live there. Before we got to the fishing bay area we stopped at a Jewelry factory and store. It was a typical tourist stop for a demonstration and shopping. At least in this place they gave us free beer. Nancy bought a silver omega necklace. When we arrived at the bay we had a ride on the sampan boats and toured around the bay. It was fun and then we returned to the hotel. Lunch was on our own so 10 of us went to a restaurant for Dim Sum. We had five different Dim Sum and beer. Really good food for $10 US each.
Hong Kong has a 16% income tax and the only goods taxed are cigarettes, gas, liquor and cars. All other good are not taxed.
Our evening tour started out by having a Thai dinner. Next was a stop at the local outdoor market. It was the most “touristy” local market we’ve seen on the trip. We then went down to the bay to see the laser light show over Hong Kong. We saw about 30 seconds of the show because we spent so much time at the market. What a bummer. We took the ferry to the Hong Kong central ferry terminal where our bus was waiting for us to take us up to the top of Mount Victoria for a view of the city lights. We then rode a double deck trolley riding through the old part of Hong Kong city.
Wednesday 17 October
After breakfast 8 of us plus Cindy took the fast ferry to the island of Cheung Chau to see a fishing village and walk around the trails on the island. After a half hour cruise we arrived at a small town and fishing village. What a sight - no cars, only bicycles and a couple of motorized carts for moving supplies. We walked around the wharf and stopped at the Tim Hau temple. We then walked the back streets of the town that had many shops that supported the town and island. The tallest building was four stories with most of them having a shop on the bottom and apartment on the next floor. This island is rocky so we saw small homes that were built on flat sections of the boulders and stacked almost on top of each other. We then walked over to the other side of the island where there was a beautiful beach. This is an area where the Hong Kong residents weekend and vacation. Not many “big noses” here and really delightful. We walked back to the harbor area and had lunch. All of the ingredients were so fresh that the shrimp and crabs were alive in the tank and we watched the cook take them out of the tanks to cook them for us. It was a really good lunch.
After lunch, Nancy, Cindy, Bob, Mary, Barbara, and Dianne went for a bike ride. Duane went off by himself to site see. Leighton and I decided we didn’t want to take a bike ride and wanted to take pictures of the wharf area and machine shops. We stopped at a machine shop and watched a boat being pulled out of the water to be worked on. We saw a machine shop doing some lathe work, another doing some welding and another chipping paint and making resin molds for boats. On the way back to the wharf we stopped by a temple and looked at an old but still used crematorium furnace. We got back to the ferry building a few minutes before the 3:15 agreed meeting time and ended up on the ferry, and then we noticed that the rest of the group wasn’t on board but it was to late to get off. We knew we were in trouble then. The rest would be looking for us. We hoped that our wives wouldn’t not stay on the island and wait for us and lucky enough they didn’t. Leighton and I were waiting for them when they disembarked. We all got to the hotel together for our farewell dinner. The group has as many stories as we do, so if you want to find out what else happened you will have to ask. Pretty good stories but too long to write them up.
Thursday 18 October
Our trip home was delayed at each stop so instead of getting home around 8:00 hours on Thursday night we got home Friday at 2:30 in the morning. Not one of our better flights.
GREAT TRIP WITH SOME GREAT PEOPLE!
It sounds like this was a “shopping trip”, but it really wasn’t. Maybe too many stops at factories, but maybe this is what China expects from the travel companies. Who knows?
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