China Travel Log

Wednesday (Boston)
The UA flight left Boston at 8 AM. It’s now 3 AM Boston time and we’re over the Sea of Japan in full sunlight. Locally, it’s 3 PM. Just a few more hours of flying time.
The first leg of the flight, from Boston to San Francisco was smooth, at least after coming out of the storm over the Northeast. The weather was nice in San Francisco (some fog over the water, but otherwise clear and warm) and the take-off uneventful. I didn’t get a view of the Golden Gate Bridge, but I did get a glimpse of the downtown area as we passed over.

This is a long flight. I’d expected to have a chance to get up and walk around, but sleeping aisle passengers deterred me in that effort. A small but tasty lunch and a snack. I had a couple of glasses of wine and went down for a few hours. But with all the flying today, I managed to finish George Gilder’s latest book on Foveon. It was only slightly less boring than the flight.

An hour or two out of San Francisco, I caught a brief view of the southernmost Aleutian Islands. Then, nothing but water and clouds. I was hoping to get a look at North Korea or Salaekin Island but too many clouds. My window shade is about the only one up, which I expect is annoying to some. But how many times do you get to fly over Siberia?

Most passengers are Aisian. The pilot got a round of applause upon landing. Our aisle mate woke up and as we were taxiing we talked. She was from Shanghai and was studying in Atlanta. On break, she was visiting her family who she hadn’t seen since the beginning of the semester. We wished her good luck and headed towards the exit.

Friday in Shanghai
We got our of the airport smoothly, meeting our driver Peter outside customs. On the drive to the hotel, he was very curious about American basketball. Two other members of the tour, Larry and Katheleen were from Phoenix and the Suns were the topic of the conversation.

We met our tour guide, April, at the hotel and checked in for a night’s sleep after walking around the neighborhood. I took a few photos and posted them to the internet before turning in.

Saturday in Shanghai.
Breakfast was interesting. Everything from eggs and bacon to salad, cold cuts and noodles. Lots of smoking at the tables.

On the bus we met Irene, our charming and well spoken local guide.

It was raining pretty steadily. We first went to the Temple. On the way I caught a glimpse of the everyday habits of the residents of Shanghai.

Many people were commuting by bicycle and moped.

At the Temple we saw several Buddha statutes and in the courtyard people stood in the rain to make offerings.

The Temple was closed down by the communists when they took power but apparently many of the valuable and historic items were secreted away by monks to prevent them from being destroyed and were now restored to their original positions.

Next, to the old city. We walked through a traditional garden and then went to a restaurant for a Chinese lunch. Some of the tour group, especially the older folks, weren’t very accustomed to the exotic food, but I enjoyed it all.

We wandered around the old city for shopping. Irene tried to find me a cigar store, unsuccessfully. Some people came up to me and looked me over - head to toe, as if I were an oddity. One guy smiled broadly, apparently amused at my appearance, showing a gap in his front teeth. Irene explained that the area was a domestic tourist area and the curious folks were probably from out in the country, not used to seeing westerners. It used to be that way in the city until recently, she explained, but now with tourism growing, it was no longer the case. But we didn’t see many westerners in the city.

Later we took a tour of a silk factory, learning how silk worms are harvested and then had the ‘opportunity’ to buy some goods. We were a captive audience. This was our first experience with the Chinese hard sell. The doors close behind you and salespeople attach to each visitor and point out how “very beautiful” each item is. At one point, a salesman grabbed a tie I was looking at and exclaimed “100% silk” turning it over to show me the English label which said 100% polyester. Very annoying. But Mary bought a silk comforter. At least we think it was silk.

After dinner in the hotel, we were back on the bus for the ride to an acrobatics show. The show was put on downtown in a theater. The performers were very young and completed sets, which included plate spinning, juggling, human pyramids, etc. The finale involved motorbikes inside a giant round cage.

On the way to the hotel we drove along the Bund which was lit up. Great lights and cityscape. Shanghai is bubbling with potential. There’s building everywhere. Electricity is in the air.

Saturday – Leaving Shanghai, arriving in Yichang.
We checked out early and got back on the bus for a ride to the Bund. Lots of photos. Great city views.

Another tour of a factory, this one a silk rug weaving factory. After realizing that I wasn't going to buy anything I had a nice conversation with a salesman about philosophy and China.

Then to the airport, not the International airport, but a domestic airport. Flight was on Shanghai Airlines. I’m not a confident flyer but the plane was brand new and the crew was professional and efficient. I did get a little nervous when I though I smelled something burning in the cabin. Eventually I realized that it was the smell of incense, pleasant when I realized that the plane wasn’t on fire.

A little over an hour to the city of Yichang. Baggage came eventually and we boarded a bus for the city.

Flying in I could see rice paddies and it appeared to be a rural area. On the road from the airport I saw pigs and oxen along the roads.

After a half an hour or so we came to the town of Yichang. The city was urban but somewhat squalid. Very different from Shanghai. We toured a depressing museum of artifacts dug up at the site where the river would flood as part of the three gorges project. Not a great museum.

Then a walk in a park on the banks of the Yangtze. People were friendly but very curious.

It was a good view of everyday life as couples smooched on benches and on the lawns, older groups sang and played traditional instruments and teenagers gathered. Some folks were swimming in the Yangtze and as boats were tied up nearby, commerce went on as items were loaded and unloaded at the docks. Most of it was carried on double shoulder bamboo baskets.

We had dinner at a restaurant in town. Probably fairly fancy for the town. Duck, pork, chicken dumplings, fish and Chinese beer. All good but lots of bones in the fish. The plan was to travel by bus to the smaller town of Shashi, just to the south, to board the boat for the beginning of the river cruise.

We stopped at what was described as a supermarket, mostly beverages and local fast foods and I picked up a couple of cans of Bud and a couple of bottles of Chinese wine: Great Wall brand, one red, one white.

I fell asleep on the bus. Arriving in Shashi, we learned that the boat that we were expecting to board was late so we waited in a dark, dismal area along the dock. Not many people were out. Hot, humid, stale air. There was a sidewalk mahjongg game going on nearby in the dark town, but that was the only sign of life.

We were told to watch our belongings and not to let anyone “help” with our bags. April explained that unlike the US, crime is worse in the rural areas than it is in the cities. More desperation and poverty, she explained. In any case everything worked out as the boat eventually arrived.

Finally on board the Princess Eileen. Small room but comfortable and got to use the bathroom. Whew. Then out on deck for a cigar and a Chinese Budweiser. Very peaceful. Dark, quiet. Occasional signal lights from passing boats but otherwise very still. There was a slight breeze from the movement of the boat through the humid air. I felt very far away from everyday concerns.

Sunday – On the river: Three Gorges.
We went through the lock at the Ge Zhou Dam, upriver from Yinchang near the town of Xi Chang. Took some photos of girls on the top of the dam and of other ships coming through the lock.

Afternoon excursion to the Three Gorges project. We were asked to recite the names of the three gorges and no one could. So here they are: Qutang, Wu and Xiling.
Cruise ship docked at Sandouping where I got a photo of an elaborate but not very well maintained pagoda.

We boarded another bus for a tour up to an overlook for photos. Then to the top of a nearby mountain where there was an opportunity for more photos and the second Three Gorges museum.

Our local guide, Kevin, asked us if it was “a good dam tour or a damm good tour?” We told him it was a damm good dam tour. Back to the ship.

Later that afternoon the Princess Elaine, with us on board, went through the five Three Gorges dam locks, four active, the last not, pending completion of the project and final raising of the water level.

Over and over, we pulled up to the giant steel doors that held the water back and waited for the level in the lock to raise us to the next level that would be safe for the doors to open. It took almost four hours. I sat on the deck with a cigar, reading. Nice afternoon.

Monday – On the river: Shen Nong Stream
In the morning, we mounted an excursion on small boats to tributary of the Yangtze, the Shen Nong Stream. We cruised up-river in a small boat.

Amazing scenery in the mist. Saw the hanging coffins, monkeys on shore etc.

We transferred to small canoes or “pea boats” for continued travel upstream in more shallow water. The boats are steered by two captains in the rear and four or five rowers in the front who paddle with plain boards.

At the back, one of the captains uses a rudder, the other a pole.

When the boats come into very shallow water, the paddlers get out and pull the boat by walking along the banks or in the stream using a rope made from woven bamboo. We all noticed that they all wore sandals, also of woven bamboo, which our local guide Annie explained, softened in the water but protected their feet from the rocks. She said that in the past the ropemen worked naked because the wet clothing irritated their skin when working all day. Today, for the benefit or the tourists, they are clothed.

Annie was charming and helpful. Good English. On the way back downstream, she and the captain serenaded us with folk songs in the local language. She is a member of an ethnic minority, the Tujue people. Her people are allowed two children per family and preferential treatment in school examinations. She was maybe twenty.

Her family lived in a small village on one of the hills along the stream. The job of tour guide is well paying. She commutes from her town to the dock each day by bus, but her father drives the bus, which is very convenient. She explained that children in the small farming towns along the river and streams have inferior local schools but can take an examination to go to the high school in the bigger town. She went to high school in Yichang. Her boyfriend is also a tour guide.

The rain held off until we were on the way back to the ship. Afternoon nap and time on deck.

Tuesday – On the river: Wanxian excursion, farmer’s market.
Arrive at Wanxian. Big town; lots of high rises, but people on shore washing their clothing on rocks and brushing their teeth in the muddy river.

The slope from the dock to the city was steep with hundreds of stairs. There were two sets of funiculars, but neither was working, so up we walked.
The city was amazing. The population was almost a million, many newly relocated. This city is a relocation area for those displaced by the Three Gorges project. There was construction and destruction everywhere. New apartment high rises were going up and old buildings and whole neighborhoods were being taken down in preparation for the rise in the Yangtze water level.

But lots of unemployment, with people idle in the streets.

There weren’t many bikes but mostly mopeds, motor bikes and cars because of the hills.

Our first stop was to the home of a woman whose family was relocated and apparently the government wanted to show off how they were managing the relocation. It was a big house, an apartment actually, with a day care next door. Very noisy. Children’s day party.

A typical bathroom.

The woman used to live in a rural area downstream but relocated. Her husband ran a construction company with, she said, 35 workers under him. We asked her if she was happy with the new house and she said, through the interpreter, that she was. But when asked if she preferred the peace of the country to the noise of the city she admitted she missed the country.

Next to the Farmer’s Market downtown. An incredible experience: meats, fish, exotic foods.

At one point a crowd was gathered around a television, watching some sort of drama, maybe a soap opera.

There were virtually no westerners in the city and walking around, I felt slightly conspicuous.

Many stares.

I took lots of photos. I asked one man if I could take photo and afterward gave him a Yuan. A woman who saw him take the money apparently chastised him and he chased me down to give it back rather than face her wrath.

Then to the third Three Gorges museum. Again, not well maintained.

Back to the boat for more scenery along the Yangtze.

The afternoon was spent back on the ship. Lots of photos from the deck, including farmers tilling fields, and the towering Shibaozhai pagoda.

Wednesday – Docking in Chongcqing, flight to Guilan.
Busy day. Red carpet and band playing as we left the boat for the last time.

The city of Chongching, formerly Chung King, was immense. It’s divided into three parts, each seperated by the Yangtze and Jialing rivers which meet there. Each section looks as big as New York. Stunning scale. Thirty million people live in the city, it’s own province. It was hot, in the eighties, an unusually clear day for the local climate we were told. It got hazier later in the morning.

First stop, the zoo. Today is International Children’s Day so the buses and sidewalks are teaming with parents and children. The zoo was a “zoo”: hundreds of thousands. We were the only westerners. Actually we saw very few in the entire city. Scores of children walked up to us with a “hallo” and we returned with a “nee hao.”

We went directly to the pandas but there were none were in sight. Then one came out and then another. We saw three in all. When one would emerge, pandemonium broke out as kids and parents rushed the wall surrounding the pit.

Next stop, Chongching city hall, a historic building that was used for party meetings but now was a performance center. Across the street was still another Three Gorges museum.

We went to a restaurant downtown for lunch.

Chongching is the home of Szechwan cooking and we had a great spicy lunch. It was great for me, anyway. Some in the group were put off. Driving away from the restaurant we saw a giant new convention center that was under construction for the Pacific Rim meeting in the fall.

Also under construction was a big building that we were told would be a …you guessed it -Three Gorges museum.

We stopped at the Stillwell museum, were the WW2 general resided and conducted business. Some of the museum was well maintained, but as many museums in China, there were parts that were deteriorating.

As we drove around the city, several bomb shelters were pointed out to us. The center of the city is built on a great rock hill and during the war shelters were carved into it to protect against the Japanese who regularly bombed the town. Many were now used as shops.

The city was modern and bustling but with many traditional habits on display. Plenty of public transportation. 1 Yuan for the city bus without air-conditioning, 2 for the one with it. Most of the bus drivers appeared to be women.

As in Wanxain, there were few bicycles in Chongching because of the hills. It was said that you don’t ride a bike in the city, the bike rides you, because of the need to carry it up the steep hilly streets.

The apartment buildings in the city are generally seven or more stories. More than ten warrants an elevator, less are walkups. To get groceries or other heavy items up the stairs, people use porters, called bam-bam men, for the bamboo baskets that they use to carry items. Apparently many are rural people who come to the city to improve their lives but end up waiting to be hired. We saw lots.

At the top of the highest hill, we visited Eling Park for a stunning, albeit hazy view of the city.

(That's Charlie relaxing.)

Then we were directed into yet another Three Gorges museum. This one was actually very informative with a long painting of the river with statistics noting which towns were or would be inundated and how many people would be displaced.

We had some slack time, so Mary and I wandered around downtown Chongching and took some photos, again an exotic sight to the local people. We bought a pair of scissors in a department store and it was an interesting experiment in pantomime to get the purchase completed as I mimed trimming my beard for the salesgirl.

Then dinner at the Hilton (western style buffet: pizza, etc.) and off to the airport north of the city. I still had one bottle of Great Wall wine in my carry-on and lost it during the security check. The scissors got through though.

Thursday – Gulin: farmers and caves
We got into Gulin in the dark, but on the ride from the airport we could see the giant limestone upcroppings that the town is famous for as silhouettes along the road.
The next morning, we got out of the hotel early and on the bus for a ride to an area called Shangri-La.

Then a tour on a small boat out in the farm country with a nice view of the up-croppings.

Also, native customs on display.

Then further south to Yangshuo city.

Posted by jjdaley on June 12, 2005 05:42 PM | Permalink