China Trip, March 2-11 2005
Royal Scenic Holidays treated us to an
incredible taste of China.
Our guides were excellent, part comedians and answered all our questions.
It was a 10 day whirlwind trip filled with many highlights: 3 days each in
Beijing,
Chengdu and Shanghai.
I can't believe how much it's changed in the last 9 years! China is
quickly gearing up
to opening for the west, for the Beijing Olympics 2008 and Shanghai World Expo
in 2010.
Everywhere you go, you can see phonetic translations of the Chinese characters
and
then a translation into English! Most road signs are in both scripts, and
many businesses
have all 3 versions. You've got to love names like 'Bei Jing Jing Chen Law
firm'.
Can you imagine being the receptionist? :-)
I experienced a clash of cultures and time. Tradition and technology have
meshed. It's
not unusual to see people riding 1 gear pushbikes while talking on cell phones,
or glimpsing
a stooped grandmotherly lady sweeping the sidewalk with a traditional handmade
broom
suddenly straighten up, pull out a cellphone and anser 'wei?'
Too funny. It's like being in the twilight zone!
Beijing is the administrative capital built on a grid structure and retains its
traditional authority.
Beautiful old city walls, ancient structures contrast with communist box-style
buildings.
For a place that's too serious, it's starting to show some colour and hints of
vibrancy in the
60's style fashions the young people wear and the smiles they are reluctantly
showing.
Hot pink is the colour of the day, seen in
plastic knee-high go go boots and miniskirts over jeans.
Tiannamen square was blocked off to the public for 2 weeks due to the national
congress
taking place. One evening, Wayland and I took the subway to a stop by the
square and
were ushered out and away from the actual square by uniformed police guards,
just like the
rest of the crowds. Then we walked around the largest square in the world
across the street
up to a corner where a police truck was flashing its lights. We couldn't
go any further so we
turned the corner onto a side street - and ended up right in front of the
congress hall, watching
all the diplomats leaving the building, walking right past us, puzzling about The
Penguin.
We started wondering if we were going to be arrested but no one raised an
eyebrow.
I suspect that Tiannamen square was cordoned off to prevent public protests more
than
protecting the diplomats inside. Congress voted for using violence and
force to take back
Taiwan, oversaw the early retirement of Hong Kong's administrator, and agreed to
hire
thousands more people to watch and report suspicious internet traffic. For
all the surface
opening to the public, there still is an iron fist ruling in a velvet glove.
Beijing was sunny but felt bitterly cold in the Forbidden City and Summer palace
because
of the wind (-3C). Hey, being a Westcoaster from lotusland I stand by my
description.
Thankfully it warmed up to about +8 when we visited the Great Wall at Badaling.
Wow,
have they ever fixed it up. Now there is a 15km loop from there that is
connected and locals
hold an annual 'ironman' race. The record is 45 minutes but usually takes
2-3 hours. It covers
2 major hills up and down and a few smaller hills. Can we say step master
from hell?
Imagine doing the Grouse Grind more than a few times!
While climbing The Wall, The Penguin was recognized by someone from California
who had
seen our Penguin's website: www.thetravelingpenguin.com
and offered to carry him up for me
as it would be an honour. How could I refuse? :) On the
way down, I was stopped by some
cameramen and The Penguin was interviewed for Iran TV. I tell you, this
bird gets around.
Before heading to Chengdu, we participated in a tea ceremony and then were taken
to the
old part of Beijing to experience the Hutong alleys by rickshaw. We
learned from a local
the history of these homes from the Ching dynasty, some over 200 years old that
are still
in continuous use, by descendants of the original families.
What a treat to have lunch inside
one of the local houses and talk to the locals (via interpreters).
Chengdu, in Sichuan province near the Himalayas was warmer (+12 to 15C) but so
smogged in
we could barely see buildings 2 streets away let alone any mountains in the
distance. In this
breadbasket valley they still use coal to heat homes and businesses. This
is the region where
the pandas live. We visited a conservation park and saw lots of really
cute pandas. Deb and I
got a chance to hold a red panda. A red panda was also quite intrigued
with The Penguin.
We saw a Chinese opera, puppetry, shadow play and incredible face/mask-changing
artists
who appear to change their face masks in split-second intervals.
It’s a well guarded secret.
The food has improved dramatically. I
can't even begin to expound on how much better
it has gotten. We tried regional foods from all over. Uighur lamb
dishes from the northwest,
Yi food from the Yunan province which was very much like Thai food, Sichuan
spicy dishes
in Chengdu, and a Mongolian hotpot in Shanghai where the ingredients were so
fresh that
the live shrimp jumped from the bowl onto the table and flopped into Heidi's
lap! That sure
caused a stir in the restaurant.
We were treated to a traditional Peking Duck dinner where all the courses
consist of duck.
There was moo shoo duck wrap, roasted duck, deep fried duck, duck soup.
Yes, every part,
even the duck feet were served. 9 years ago when I was in Beijing, they
grilled the feet and
served it like ribs - chew whatever you can off the bone and don't mind the
claw.
Now, it was deboned, served in a tasty sauce with mushrooms. A bit chewy
like squid, but yummy!
I instantly fell in love with Shanghai - the fusion of architecture is
incredible!
1930's European architecture interspersed with Chinese styles both old and
new and punctured
with modern skyscrapers and subdivisions that I swear come from north of
Toronto!
(that’s not too far off the mark since Canada was granted a building contract
there).
I love the old winding streets and alleys where I want to explore what's
around the next corner.
Despite the 4 level overpasses, the traffic, the noise, the smog, I love
Shanghai.
It radiates a multicultural vibrancy and defies Beijing like a rebel. It
is a cross between
Bangkok and New York. Everything you want is available. Shopping is
the mantra.
Hate to say it but Starbucks, McDonalds and KFC, complete with an Asian looking
Colonel
Sanders has arrived. You can find all the top of the line brands in malls
- Lancome, Vuiton,
and all your latest electronics, but you'd do better pricewise to buy them in
North America.
The local markets where one can barter are the real economic pulse of the city.
Pashmina
scarves, pirated DVDs, prada bags, North Face jackets, watches and the like can
be gotten
for a song, depending on how well you can barter. In the end the buyer is
happy and so is
the seller. Free trade and creativity live on and thrive here.
Shanghai is built on a delta with the Huangpu river running through it.
The Bund is the
financial district by the river and its 1930's European architecture reflects a
bustling romantic era
with an international flavour when Shanghai was The international trade centre.
Interestingly enough,
these buildings are sitting on bricks that float on barges in the mud. How
clever is that?
We witnessed an acrobatics show like no other.
It puts cirque du soleil to shame.
Incredible feats of the human body, timing and co-ordination produced
gravity-defying stunts.
There is a phenomenal amount of building going on.
So much so that Shanghai is now
beginning to sink under the sheer weight of the steel and concrete.
While
we were on the
tarmac waiting to take off from Beijing, I spotted 29 cranes from the plane
window.
Then our plane turned to taxi and I could see 50 or 60 more! Yikes. It
appears that the
metal crane
has superseded the paper crane. Add to this immense traffic
jams and it's
no wonder that there's
a shortage of steel worldwide and Canada's steel company
shares
are going through the roof ;-)
It will be interesting to see how
they resolve their new
challenges.
