I have travelled through many parts of Asia before, including Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, but I had never been to China and thought it was really time I should go. Before you read any further I must let you know, that I am not a "backpacker type traveller" and I do enjoy my comforts. This doesn't stop me though, from trying to immerse myself into the ways of the country I am visiting as I love meeting the local people, learning about their culture and listening to their stories!
Xian
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| The Bell Tower |
My hotel (the Mercure, see photo right) was in a complex known as Renmin Square and was only a 20 minute walk to the CDB of Xian. I spent the better part of my first full day touring through the Muslim quarter (famous for its many ethnic food stalls and winding alleyways selling items ranging from tea sets through to the latest fashions). I also visited both the Bell and Drum Towers and before too long realised that this whole experience could become even more enriching if I could hire a local guide who would speak English and talk me through the history of this interesting country. Through the help of the website 'Viator' on day 2 I met my personal tour guide Eva at my hotel and off we went. When visiting the Terracotta Warriors (which is a fair drive from the city centre) I was thankful we had our own driver and car. Traffic in China is ALWAYS horrendous....something I was going to learn very quickly and I also discovered that even though there appeared to be many taxis on the road, it proved difficult on many occasions to hail one down as the local drivers appeared quite specific in who and which fare they were interested in. Also, ALWAYS have your destination address written in Chinese characters if you only speak English or else you may find yourself in a spot of trouble trying to convey to the driver as to where you want to go! Another quick lesson learnt through these travels was if travelling to China in the winter months, wearing only one pair of socks will probably not suffice. As I headed out for my daily sightseeing, feeling quite chilly, I asked my tour guide as to whether she thought it was 3 or 4 degrees Celsius to which she replied it was actually -3 degrees.....no wonder I felt cold....now I was just hoping that I would not be the first Australian tourist with toes needing to be amputated as a result of frost bite due to poor dressing!! 
Most people choose to visit Xian because of the Terracotta Warriors and they are definitely worth the stop. Uncovered in 1974 by some peasant farmers while drilling, thousands of the man made soldiers and horses were discovered having once been created over 2000 years ago for the purpose of guarding Qin Shi Huangdi's tomb. The soldiers are quite tall (up to 1.5 -2 metres high) and amazingly every individual face is different (see photo left). When I was there officials were still in the process of carefully digging up more remaining relics. Whilst in Xian I also visited the Wild Goose Pagoda, the National Museum, the City Wall (which involved a quick tutorial of feng shui-which never goes astray!) and I also made sure I took in a famous TANG dynasty show-named after the famous Chinese dynasty ruling family. It's always an experience to watch a live show in Asia but considering I watched this one on New Years Eve, and I spent the night on a communal table eating dim sum with a Japanese brother and sister who were in their 60's and their mother (in her 80s)-I'm in my 30s(!)....all of whom spoke very little English coupled with my non existent Chinese nor Japanese....it took the experience to a whole new level............. None the less I had a lovely time and my companions were very keen to practise their English skills with me throughout the entire night..... bring on 2012!!  |
| The Drum Tower |
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| One of the pits as large as an aircraft hangar where the Terracotta soldiers are lined up and displayed. |
Shanghai
Next stop on my tour was Shanghai, the urban financial capital of China based on the Yangtze river that is essentially divided into 2 areas. West of the river is Puxi and east of the river is the Pudong area, which is the newer section represented by many new sky scrapers and banking corporations.
From the airport to my hotel, the Radisson Blu New World, which was centrally positioned and right across from a met stop (see the view from my hotel at night below), it only cost me a mere $AU2 for a 50 minute train ride.
I had just got in at lunch time when I decided to explore the surrounds on foot and after taking a couple of steps from the hotel I bumped into some Chinese university students who said they were on holidays hailing from a local village. I granted their request to take photos of them -2 guys and a girl and they appeared overly excited at being able to practise their English skills with a Westerner and invited me to go to a nearby tea festival with them. Please bear in mind when travelling in such countries, this type of enthusiasm is not that unusual and I will often walk around talking to locals as they learn and clarify certain English words and quiz me about my life in Australia....Normally at home however, I am never so trusting, in fact some would say I am almost cynical......... Yet again I relished the opportunity to spend some time with the locals and a 15 minute walk later, I found myself in a very small room in a shopping complex(!) doing a tea ceremony with my "new friends". They interpreted the whole Chinese ceremony for me in English and suddenly I noticed that their conversational skills were rather good! All seemed to be going well until the bill came and apparently it was custom to split the bill 4 ways (???) even though I had earlier declined in purchasing additional souvenirs noticing they were doing so quite excessively. The total of the bill had me scratching my head and realising something did not fit.It ended up costing me something like 480 rmb which was about $60-70 (and this was per person) and I could not get my head around the fact that tasting some teas could cost that much money. I then realised that this was some sort of scam and to be honest the money part did not really bother me, it was more the fact that someone had conned me, and all the travel experience I had amassed over the years had failed to detect this from the initial meeting!! As if this whole scenario was not bad enough they then asked me what the rest of my plans were for the night? Sanity prevailed (on my end) and I called it quits then, knowing that having spent that much on tea, I could only imagine how the rest of the evening would go! Holidays always provide unique experiences and sometimes lessons......perhaps I should have known better, but they were harmless.
Whilst in Shanghai I hired local guide "M" for the day and we toured around the city visiting the Pudong area, going up to the observation deck of the the Oriental Pearl Tower which appeared to be a broadcasting (TV) station. We then walked the Bund (the touristy mile walk alongside the river) until we got to the Yuyuan Gardens which were absolutely lovely alongside a bizarre that I would have enjoyed a little more time going through with all its many shops. Then we stopped for a traditional Chinese lunch at a nearby local restaurant. From there we took a taxi to the French Concession area and I admired the lovely architecture and alleyways of antiques and art work. When it came to my tour guides, as much as they informed me as to the history of China, I was also quite keenly interested in what their personal lives were like and I really wanted to know about the one child policy in China. Having talked to various other locals I realised that many of them had siblings which I was surprised by. My guide told me that there is a law that couples can only have one child, but as of late this law has become more relaxed and if the first born is a girl, the parents can try again in the hope of having a boy. But then that is their final limit regardless of the gender of the child. If some couples do have more children than what the government allows (as there seems to be different rules for city dwellers versus those from the villages) then the families are fined exorbitant amounts of money. This can sometimes result in such families giving away the additional children and this is what happened to my tour guide. When she was young, she was the third born daughter to a struggling family from a local village so her father gave her away to another family nearby. Her sisters however implored their father to retrieve his youngest daughter as they felt this new family were bad people and were treating her unfairly. She was eventually reunited with her biological family, but she always knew that she was initially given away and that her family had to pay a lot of money as a result of keeping her. I was amazed that she had no ill feeling about this, even though she acknowledged that her father was a difficult man. Her story truly was inspirational as she told me she was the only one from her village that managed to study at university, having now become a successful tour guide around Shanghai and she still regularly sends money back specifically to her father to help support him. Amazing! |
| The spectacular Yuyuan Gardens. |
During my travels, not for a second did I forget that the country I was in, was under communist rule. Everywhere I went and I mean everywhere-I needed to present my passport so my details could be recorded and my movements tracked. I found it interesting when told there was a condition for those Chinese citizens who wanted to holiday abroad in them having to leave a deposit of money behind with the government to ensure their return. The Internet is regularly scoured by Internet police as to the detection of any negative comments regarding China and if found they are instantly removed and the source is investigated. Shock, horror (for some) Facebook is inaccessible....although locals do tend to find ways around this periodically. All the heating in houses is routinely switched off at 4am every day before being turned back on later in the morning and I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg.
But back to the lighter side of touring,"M" told me I was quite fortunate at the time I was travelling in China (Dec/Jan) as it was low season and normally during high season there are queues of tourists visiting all the same spots we had been to, making the sightseeing long and tedious with a lot of waiting around....not to mention the heat. Shanghai is interesting in that it has a great history and culture and yet there seems to be a Starbucks on every corner and shopping malls are abundant. You know the saying- if you can't beat them, then join them, so I spent the following day mainly shopping. I had wanted to go to the museum but it was closed (it pays to know the hours of operation of such places, and Monday is not a good day to visit!).
Overall Shanghai is quite vibrant especially at night, all the sky scrapers light up and so far (compared to other places in the world) it is still quite pretty without being tacky but I must say, having travelled to the places I have, maybe Shanghai is just a bit too westernised for me........coming here to specifically experience a different culture, I was looking forward to my next stop-Beijing.
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| The New Pudong area by night |
Beijing
Next stop on my travels was Beijing, the capital of China and the northern most area I was visiting. I took the bullet train up to Beijing from Shanghai (it cost 550 RMB) and it took 4.5 hrs and all in all it was a pretty good experience. It was especially interesting navigating through a train station with only Chinese speaking attendants so luckily I had pre purchased a train ticket via the Internet. I don't recommend blindly going to a train station and enquiring as to what their schedules are as if you don't know the train number and time table that best suits your travel needs, trying to converse with those behind the ticket counters in English is near impossible. For the life of me I could not find the English speaking ticket seller even thought the Lonely Planet guide assured me of its existence! The train itself was great, punctual, clean, orderly and obviously fast, travelling at 300 km/hr.....and was vastly different to my experience when travelling with the local met service when at peak times people are continually pushing to get into the carriage and you have to breathe in to allow others to get on board, as it gets very congested......there are so many people in China as it is, but sometimes I think a lot of them you don't always see, as there's a whole extra population travelling below the ground!
From the minute I arrived in Beijing, I felt similar as to how I did in Xian. This is the China I have been enjoying, local people everywhere, not so glitzy and I am back to being the only foreigner again!! I stayed at the Regent Hotel (centrally located-see photo left) and with the help of a local tour guide called Jessie (ranked number 4 on tripadvisor-that's her claim to fame!), I spent 2 full days sight seeing with her and had another day on my own. Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven Park and while it was quite cold I was delighted when arriving here to see so many senior citizens of China out and about in the park practising tai chi, doing line dancing, partaking in karaoke or just limbering up on the exercise equipment (see photo below). These people were truly inspiring, well aged into their 70s and 80s and yet the energy and vitality they showed was just amazing. Of course the park and temple itself was extraordinary and well restored (to coincide with the previous Olympics) and my guide told me that not a single nail was used in its construction?
From the minute I arrived in Beijing, I felt similar as to how I did in Xian. This is the China I have been enjoying, local people everywhere, not so glitzy and I am back to being the only foreigner again!! I stayed at the Regent Hotel (centrally located-see photo left) and with the help of a local tour guide called Jessie (ranked number 4 on tripadvisor-that's her claim to fame!), I spent 2 full days sight seeing with her and had another day on my own. Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven Park and while it was quite cold I was delighted when arriving here to see so many senior citizens of China out and about in the park practising tai chi, doing line dancing, partaking in karaoke or just limbering up on the exercise equipment (see photo below). These people were truly inspiring, well aged into their 70s and 80s and yet the energy and vitality they showed was just amazing. Of course the park and temple itself was extraordinary and well restored (to coincide with the previous Olympics) and my guide told me that not a single nail was used in its construction?
On the same day I visited Tiananmen Square (one of the largest public squares in the world) and also spent hours going through the Forbidden city-an area of the city forbidding the entry of citizens as it was the exclusive living quarters of two ruling dynasties thousands of years ago. Next stop was the Hutong area with its lane ways and alcoves dotted with small houses and communal living quarters. After a lunch stop we spent the afternoon at the Summer palace which was picturesque and beautiful, I could only imagine how pretty it would be in summer if this is what it looked like in the winter!
In the evening I took in an acrobatic show which I found to be very entertaining, full of risk and death defying feats!Girls were doing pirouettes on top of mens' heads, 6 full sized motorbikes were circling around in a large oval cage at massive speeds and tumbling through rings,and multiple girls were doing acrobatics on 1 bicycle or performing a formation with 5 bicycles. It really was one of the most incredible things I have seen and definitely a recommendation of mine.
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| A frozen lake near to the Hutong area, for some strange reason it really reminded me of New York (of all places!) |
Undoubtedly however, the highlight of this china trip has been visiting the Great Wall in Beijing. All the hype you hear about this 7th wonder of the world, is well and truly deserved and a lot different to what I was expecting. It is magnificent to take in, and when you get there the view of mountains either side are overwhelming. To understand that this structure was created over 2000 years ago by the Qin dynasty to keep out nomads and protect China was awesome in itself and here I was standing on it! It was also interesting to note that the wall was actually unsuccessful in keeping the Mongolians out who eventually invaded China along with other fractions later in time. The wall itself is actually quite windy(as in bendy) but it is also very steep in some areas so I think it is more appropriate in parts to say you climbed the wall as opposed to you walked the Great Wall. It was a perfect day when I visited, fresh but a bit of sun and being up there felt serene and awe inspiring all at once! I specifically chose a part of the wall to visit which was less touristy and it was called the Mutianyu part and with very few people around creating a somewhat peaceful atmosphere and seeing remnants of melted snow between the cracks of the large pavers it was almost magical.
Back to the city of Beijing and most people make sure they visit Wangfujing street at night where it is lined with a variety of food delicacies and delights. I am not a huge foodie but still made it my mission at night to walk down to the area to take in all its atmosphere. If you are a lover of food, I would imagine you may be making this visit nightly!
Overall I really liked Beijing, more so than Shanghai, which is interesting as on previous trips to Vietnam, I had enjoyed the north more than the south there also. Interestingly, although Beijing is not as modern as Shanghai I feel the people here speak a lot more English as compared to those who work in the tourist industry in Shanghai. That was a little perplexing until one person told me it was the direct result of them having hosted the Olympic games previously and having to be prepare for the influx of tourists at that time. Next stop is my last as I head off to Hangzhou, supposedly a beautiful city built around a great lake and has been crowned “heaven on earth” so fingers crossed it lives up to its reputation…
Hangzhou
My final stop in China (sadly) was the city of Hangzhou, situated on the great West lake having been a cosmopolitan and cultural sector of China in times gone by, and most likely still remains as this. I travelled by bullet train back from Beijing to Hangzhou via Shanghai, only changing trains once. The immediate impression I got from Hangzhou was that it was reminiscent of Europe- it was modern but unlike Shanghai, it appeared more quaint and overall was quite pretty. The only disappointment for me here was the weather. I only had 2 days to explore this city but it literally poured with rain the entire time I was there which made walking difficult, and this time my research had let me down and my hotel was too far from the city centre or rather the lake. If visiting here, even though it is more expensive, I really feel it's best to stay as close as possible to the lake. Again taxis are hard to come by and even if you get to your destination fine, there is then the trouble of trying to get back to your hotel! The staff at the hotel informed that at peak times it can be difficult to hail a cab, but when I checked the time and it was 11am I figured that peak time in China is apparently all the time! I eventually made my way down to the lake on my first day there and wandered around half of it.......it is huge!
I then somehow made it on foot to Qinghefang Old street (mind you I took a lot of wrong turns on the way) and enjoyed ambling through the tea houses and souvenir stores on the cobble stoned streets. On my 2nd day here, I essentially walked the city until the rain got the better of me and I relented and spent the latter half of the afternoon in a spa having a massage. It had to come at some point and my weary legs needed the break! I really liked Hangzhou and would definitely come back at some stage for a little bit longer and would choose to stay closer to the great lake. As a city, it is simply clean, fresh, green and beautiful.
So, my travels in China have come to an end and as is the case with most of my trips I begrudge the fact that I have to head back home to normal life of work and all that comes with it! I realised having spent time here, that I haven't seen nearly enough of this large country and another trip in the future is definitely warranted. As I said at the beginning, I had no idea what to expect of this trip to China, I did not know (maybe ignorantly) the landscape or how the people would perceive me particularly as I am a Westerner? Yes, I concede that I had to adjust to using squat toilets, some even having no doors, I had to lose any sense of personal space that I was used to when travelling on public transport and getting accustomed to people spitting up in the street as being a cultural norm was a process. But not only did I marvel at the Chinese history, culture and community but the actual geography of this country in many parts was beautiful and so untouched in a sense. In actual fact this was one of the most enjoyable and enriching travel experiences, I have had to date.
China, I will be back, that, there is no doubt.
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