China Trip Part 14 Good bye China for now

Mary Beth and I had a great trip to China. It was certainly not what we expected and we have a different mindset about China past, present and future. I wish I was not too old to learn Mandaran Chinese. There are not enough years left for me to be even conversational. If you read this and have small children I would highly recommend starting them on learning to read/write Chinese. This a skill that will be in very high demand in the workplace of the future. If you speak Chinese fluantly you can name your price in the job market today.

I am always asked if I would ever go back to China. Putting finances aside, my answer would be most definitly. China is a remarkable place and I have seen only a small part of it. There are places that I missed on this trip that perhaps I will have the opportunity to see next time.

If you get a chance to visit China do it.

China Trip Part 13 Good Bye Beijing Hello Bullet Train

Beijing is a huge city. Those in Atlanta complain about the perimeter highway that circles the city and worry about the second parameter highway that is proposed. Beijing has 6 perimeter highways!!! Professional drivers know how to drive these roads and jump on and off each perimeter road to suit the traffic. I must say that I did not see any accidents on roads in Beijing. Drivers are very careful when they drive avoiding cell phones and other distractions. They are also motivated by the fact that if they get 12 traffic points they could lose their privilege to drive forever. It is also interesting to note that most cars on the highway are not older than 5 years. The used car business is tough in Beijing as most people want to buy a new car.

We decided on the last leg within China to take the Bullet Train back to Shanghai. A few months back there was a terrible accident on the Bullet Train that really stirred up the Chinese government. There was much talk about China pushing technology too quickly. Since the accident they have added safeguards which hopefully will prevent accidents in the future. The bullet train is sleek and roomy inside. We were able to get a good discount through our tour operator and traveled in First Class. There is also a higher class of service similar to transatlantic business class. The seats look like eggs. Our seats were big and ergonomically well designed. Big glass windows allowed us a great view. Just like the old Concorde airplane there is a speedometer at the front of the cabin I guess to impress you. Well, it impressed me as we were traveling at 275 miles per hour! There was no vibration at all and if you blinked you missed seeing a whole town. There was also a dining car at the end of the train that allowed us to grab a meal and take it to our seat. And there was also the inevitable "sqatty potty" in each car. Thank goodness there was also a western style bathroom. If you get a chance to take a Chinese Bullet Train do it, it is so much more enjoyable than flying,

We arrived in Shanghai 4 hours later and was happily met by our driver Mr. Joe. Yeh!!

China Trip Part 12 The Great Wall

I don't know about any of you, but I have always been in awe of the Great Wall. We have all seen pictures of the Wall, but you cannot imagine what it is like unless you visit it. It is the only man made structure that can be seen from Space and it covers about 600 miles. There are many sections of the wall to visit but we chose the Mayang portion. The condition of the Wall varies along the length of it. In some places it has almost disappeared and in other it has been restored to it's original glory. Mayang is is a heavily forested area with large variations of mountain heights.

As you get to the wall there is the usual walk of shame through the many vendors hawking shirts, coffee cups etc. that say "I climbed the Great Wall". I don't know anybody that would buy something like that. Oops, I bought a T shirt. I did negotiate it down to 5 dollars with some postcards thrown in. I might add that the size I needed to fit me was 5X as the 6X was too big. Another learning moment, a 5x in China is a 2x in the US. You can do the math for smaller sizes.

You can either walk the trail to wall or take the lift. No question which way we went. The lift trip was awesome with views of the wall in both directions. The wall was built to follow the height of the mountains. When you walk along the wall you are either going up or down, hardly ever is there an level area. Some of the ups are steep ups and the same with the downs. We had fairly clear weather so we could see the wall through the wooded area for miles.

The wall was made completely by hand. No front end loaders, bulldozers etc. each stone carried, carved and stacked with a mortar made of rice paste and limestone. Many, many workers gave their lives for the wall. Life was not good and food and conditions were horrible. However, the Emperor had unlimited subjects to assign to this job and he made sure the work was done. You wonder where the Chinese work ethic came from I present this as Example A.

If you have a bucket list, the Great Wall should be on it. It is a true measurement of what can be done in spite of enormous challenges.

China Trip Part 11 Beijing (except the Great Wall)

After our flight from Xian to Beijing we met our city tour conductor Alicia. Alicia sort of typifies the young generation in the cities. She is naturally well connected to different social media and is not unlike any woman coming out of college in the US.

There are three major stops that you have to make in Beijing. The Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananment Square. Our fist stop was Tiananment Square which is much more expansive than you think when looking at it on your TV. The size of this area is awesome and the painting of Mao still faces the square. As a side note, the picture of Mao is a real painted portrait. It is replaced by a freshly painted portrait every couple years. For someone my age, you remember the military parades with the tanks and missiles rolling by and Mao watching from the balcony. It sends a chill up my spine when I remember those sabre rattling times. Make no mistake, China is a military force that will have to be reckoned with in the future. Speaking of Mao, he is still on display at the square but we did not want to wait in line for a look at him. Allicia told us he is slowing shrinking and does not look so good these days.

The next stop on our trip was the Forbidden City. The home of the Emporers. This massive complex is a series of buildings that when originally used was not access able by the public. If I could add an audio of Allissa's information about the history of the Forbidden City, it would last for hours! It must have been quite a life inside this complex. Concubines and eunuchs all over the place. The Emperor usually had 30 or so concubines in his stable and he would pick from them whenever he wanted company. When chosen the concubine would bath and prepare her self. She would then be carried naked to the Emperor by a eunuch to make sure she was not concealing any weapons. Distrust and deception was running rampant during these days. I felt like I was living a Chinese version of Shogun.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Hutongs which is an old Chinese community. Streets and alleyways meander through this section and some of the homes have been in the same families for many generations. We stopped in and visited a family who have lived in the same house for many years. The house is small but very adequate for them. The husband teaches Karate and has a nice collection of swords on the wall next to the flat screen TV. The oldest Son is now teaching Karate in Houston. It is not that much different than a row house community in my old hometown.

We also had a chance to stop by a cloisonne factory. You will see a lot of cloisonne in the Chinese Emperor's palaces and the art is truly remarkable and detailed. For those not familiar with cloisonne here is a quick explanation. You start with a copper bowl, vase, plate, etc. An artist then cuts very thin pieces of copper and attaches it to the base object with glue and then solder in a design they have determined. Then the design is filled in with powdered glass and fired in a kiln. When all the color is added, the object is sanded and polished until you have a work of art. Sounds easy but it is not and each object requires hours of work. According to workers I spoke with, it is a dying art as young people do not want to follow the paths of their artisan parents. I bought a beautiful bowl that I marvel at every time I look at it.

Next Stop....The Great Wall

China Trip Part 10 Xian (Terra cotta soldiers)

After our flight in coach to Xian we were met by Ruth who was a great tour conductor. Our fist day she showed us all over the city first walking on the city wall and then to many shrines and temples. We took a nice rickshaw ride on top of the city wall and enjoyed the great views this afforded us. Xian was once the capital of China and most people in Xian think it still should be, but the imperial dynasties had their own reasons to move the capital around.

Xian is a great city. It is a modern thriving city with the intensity of Shanghai and Beijing. Our tour conductor gave us our first English exchange of what differences are lifestyles are and essentially they want all the same things we want. It is more difficult for them mainly because of the size of the population and the restrictions that can bring. We visited a number of sites that were built for and by the Emperor and you can understand the supreme power he had. He obviously did keep people busy building and creating for him, but the value of human life was very little during that period. Ruth also had the key to great shopping. She introduced us to vendors that had knock off merchandise of quality equal to the original products. Mary Beth bought a new watch (a better brand than Rolex) at a 90pct discount. It is identical to the original that costs around 2150.00 and even has serial numbers. In China there are knock offs that vary in quality from 1-5. Number 1 is just a cheap imitation and 5 is of equal quality to the original. The trick is to find the right vendor.

Our second day in Xian we went to see the factory were the Terra Cotta Warriers were made and learned about the whole process. We could not pass up have our own little set of warriors which we purchased at the factory. Our onward journey took us to the site of the Emperors tomb and the Terra Cotta Warriers that he made to guard his afterlife. You can read all the books and watch all the video of this area but you will never get the thrill of seeing it in person. Only a fraction of this site has been excavated and that portion makes up three covered football fields. The Chinese archaeologists are waiting for better products and techniques for preserving these treasures from the elements such as oxidation before unearthing other areas including the Emperors tomb. They are also very concerned about booby traps when entering the tomb.

Picture a battalion of troops, each over 6 feet tall standing at attention in fired clay each holding either a spear or sword. Also add a line of archers kneeling down on the outside of this battalion. Although originally all of these statues where brightly painted, the years of oxidation has removed all of the paint leaving only a study in dark and light. Many of these soldiers were broken up by enemy troops that raided the area and they are be painstakingly put back together piece by piece.

The Terra Cotta Warriers site was one of the best kept secrets in China. It was accidentally uncovered by a farmer digging a well. We had the pleasure to meet this farmer and had him sign our book.

Our final stop before going back to the hotel was the Silk Factory. We got a tour of how the silk from the worms is separated and spun into thread and eventually into silk products. It fascinating how they stretch the silk many, many times like pulling taffy. At the factory they sell silk comforters in a number of thicknesses depending on the warmth you need. We purchased on at a good price and we have been using it since and silk really does keep you comfortable in a wide range of temperatures. Of course Mary Beth being "a woman of cloth" elected to make her own duvet from fabric she bought at the Fabric Market in Beijing.

If you ever go to China, do not miss Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors. It is amazing sight that pictures cannot capture.

China Trip Part 9 Guilin and Yanghshou

As the driver dropped us off at the Shanghai domestic airport (sort of what National (Reagan) Airport is to Washington) we realized that it wasn't Kansas anymore and we had to get tickets in an environment of non-english speakers. First, we tried the Kiosks to see if we could quickly print our boarding passes. Even with the assist of an agent, this did not work and we headed for one of the long ticket counter lines. After a long wait, we finally made to the counter. The agent acted like something was wrong and called for a supervisor. Finally we got our boarding passes and went through security to the gate. They were already boarding so we got on and lo and behold we were in First Class! I still do not know why.

The flight to Guilin on China Eastern was very good with a small meal served. The quality of the Chinese carriers are comparable to any US commercial airline. We were greeted by our tour conductor as we left the arrival hall and were on our way.

After checking into our hotel we got our free lunch in the hotel restaurant. It was a variety of chinese dishs which were all very good. Our chopstick dexterity is still sub par but improving. In the afternoon we went to Elephant Trunk Hill which was a park by the Li River. Nothing special but very relaxing. Following that we went to the Reed Flute Caves which were comparable to many caves visited in the US. The Guilin area is honeycombed with caves many which are discovered by hikers and rock climbers in the area.

The next day we boarded a sightseeing boat that takes you from Guilin to Yangshou. The weather was great and we spent most of the trip on the top deck looking down at the crystal clear water and watching water buffaloes roam by the side of the river. Small boats pulled up periodically to drop off fresh fish. The fishermen in many areas fish with birds. They usually have a number of Comerons which are good size birds that are tethered to the fisherman. They are outfitted with bands around their necks to allow them to swallow small fish but bigger fish they cannot swallow. So they bring the bigger fish to the fisherman. The landscape is mountainous and every turn is very beautiful. Lunch on the boat was buffet style and very good.

We arrived at Yangshou about 5 hours later and headed for our hotel. There was a open market in Yangshou where you could buy all kinds of food treats and merchandise. After recovering from the cruise we went to downtown Yangshou for dinner and to check out the market. Believe it or not we had a great dinner at a German restaurant. The markets are just full of great bargains if you looking for scarves or shoes or trinkets. If you want a Montblanc pen or a Rolex you can also get them here.

The next morning we packed up and our tour conductor picked us up for our trip to the airport for our flight to Xian. It was a interesting trip with stops for our driver who had "loose bowel" and the frequent stops to add water to the radiator that was leaking. I noticed that the driver carried his own toilet paper (another ancient Chinese secret, always carry some toilet paper) They did get us to the airport and we did get out on time.