Shanghai and Suzhou

Night skyline along Huangpu River which runs across Shanghai.  The river cruise lasts for 45 minutes and is a must when you visit Shanghai (night time is more beautiful).

The tallest building in Asia (with a hole on top -  It reminded me of Chunmoon mountain in Zhangjiajie).  Shanghai has over 3000 buildings of 30 stories or higher.  It was a huge & modern metropolitan area; its skyline filled with high rises representing companies from all over the world .

No photo was allowed inside the provisional Korean Govt. building,  so I took a picture from one of its windows.  As you can see,  it is in a poor section of Shanghai.  The guide said the building will most likely be demolished for 2010 World Expo at Shanghai.

In front of the Provisional Korean government building used around 1920's during Japanese occupation of Korea.  The building was small and was in the middle of an undeveloped area of Shanghai.  The visit reminded us once again of the tremendous sufferings of Koreans by the Japanese.

A view inside the "Humble Administrator's Garden".  It is considered one of the top gardens in China and is located in Suzhou.  There was nothing humble about this garden; the size and beauty it truly makes it a  garden for all seasons.  It's even listed in the book "1000 Places to See Before You Die".










While at Huangshan, it may have been because I slept in the cold and damp hotel room or maybe because I took a luke warm shower not knowing that the hotel only turns on the hot water during certain hours, but when I got up the next morning, I had developed a sore throat and had a slight body chill. Both Joanne and I suffered from scratchy throats and dry coughs, not only from all the air pollution (the sky never looked blue; it was tan to brown in color almost all the time),  but also from constantly inhaling second hand smoke.  I certainly felt less than 100% after Huangshan. We still had one more day to spend at Suzhou and another night at Shanghai as part of our 13 day tour but we sure were glad to be heading back to Korea.

Huangshan (second day)

There were many suspended walkways made of stone around the mountains.

The next day was as clear as a whistle.  It was warm and the visibility was high.

Two westerners practicing Tai Chi in the morning.  There were Chinese spectators watching in bewilderment and amusement.

Huangshan (photos 3)

Huangshan (photos 2)

The famed "Monkey watching sea of clouds"

Huangshan (photos 1)

When we first arrived at the top the visibility was almost zero.  Luckily about an hour later the fog started to lift.

 

Hang Zhou (“Hwang-joo”) & Huangshan (“Hwang-san”)

Our hotel at the top of Huangshan, Baihai Hotel, had pictures of former Chinese premiers who have previously stayed there.  On the left is a rare photo of Deng Xiaoping in his shorts who is said to have  frequented the mountain for it's beauty.  The hotel is usually damp and cold due to high humidity.  Joanne had to sleep bundled up in hotel provided parka and mittens.  Blankets were wet and smelly from dampness.  We saw the hotel rate of 1,280 RMB (about $200) a night for a standard room.  This was the most uncomfortable hotel that we stayed in China.

One of the famous pine trees in Huangshan.  Its canopy is shaped like a tortoise's shell.

Tea plants being grown on hillside terraces.  We bought some green tea (healthier for you than coffee - less caffeine and more antioxidants) here.

A happy faced, fat bellied Buddha in Ling Yin Temple located in Hangzhou.  The temple is one of the oldest in China.

West Lake is located in the center of Hangzhou.  The guide told us this dragon shaped boat may be rented for $3,000 USD.




We arrived in Huangshan (3 hour ride by car) after spending a day in Hang Zhou. It was overcast with rain coming on and off. We headed up the mountain, hoping against all hope, that we would be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the renown mountain scenery. We practically gave up on the hope when we were told the place rarely reveals itself and the fact it was under a heavy blanket of fog on our way up. Anyway, what transpired from the time we landed at the top, and the time we decided to hike around, can not be explained but rather, can only be shared with you with our photos.

Guilin (more photos)

This impressive Zhang Yimou production used the river with mountain as natural back drop.  Two shows nightly each filling about 3000 people.

We had free time to stroll the streets and found a clean looking hostel.  We asked the owner who spoke enough English if we could take a look.  For 70 Yuan (about 10 USD) it came with private bathroom.  Not bad if you are a backpacker.

A small town about an hour and a half by car (four hours by boat) down the river from Guilin.  The town was very charming surrounded by mountains.  We saw many westerners walking the streets.

We liked the name 'Minnie Mao's cafe'.  It advertised the best tasting cappuccino in town.

There were many shops for food and souvenirs.  We were down to only 20 USD in our pocket.  We changed into Yuan at a bank and went to a cafe for a nice and warm green tea and free internet.

Guilin

Many peaks along Li River.  Had many interesting names that goes with the shape.

There were stings of cruise boats along the river.  They were double deckers each with about 80 passengers.  We were on a foreigner section on top.  

Makeshift kitchen in the rear of the boat.  They offered deep fried fresh fish for extra cost.  We wondered where they got fresh water for cooking.  Needless to say the food wasn't good.

It was drizzling most of our way down the river.  The cloud cover provided additional dimension to the scenic beauty.

 
We thought at first they were fishermen.  Later they latched on to our boat wanting to sell what was in the basket.  I couldn't tell what they were trying to sell.







Back to the natural beauty, with only one day in Xian, we flew to Guilin that late afternoon. Guilin is located in the southern part of China and is known for its scenic Li River which flows through beautiful moguls and mountains. On our schedule was a river boat cruise lasting four hours, cable car ride to the top of a mountain (unfortunately the visibility was so poor at the top due to the rain and so we quickly came right back down), and an outdoor evening show (by the famed Zhang Yimou who produced the Olympics ceremony) with the natural mountain and river as the back drop. Like the spectacular opening ceremony, we saw a glimpse of his grandiose production that evening.

Guilin was memorable for meeting a Korean couple in their late 60’s who lived in the southwest corner of Korea. They were farmers and had just finished harvesting the rice; this meant a long winter respite. They were visiting their daughter who lived in Shanghai; who, in turn, was treating them to a 3 day vacation in Guilin. After spending a most pleasant 4 hours conversing with them, they extended a warm invitation for us to visit and stay with them when we get back to Korea.

Xi'an

After spending three hours in a very crowded and smoke filled airport lobby at Xhang Jia Jie (although the sign said no smoking, smoking seems to be tolerated everywhere in China, even inside an elevator), we were happy to escape and hop on a plane to Xi’an. It was late at night when we boarded the plane (only one flight per day to Xi’an). Although the flight lasted only an hour, by the time we checked into the hotel, it was already past 1:00 AM. When we got up early the next morning, it was raining pretty hard. We had been lucky with the weather so far but the rain finally caught up with us in Xi’an. Fortunately, our first stop was the location of Terracotta soldiers, which was under a large hanger size structure.

Being the capital city of the Qin Dynasty (pronounced as “Jin” in Korean), Han Dynasty, and later Tang Dynasty, Xi’an is a city rich with history. Terracotta soldiers and horses in all unique life-like shapes and sizes guarded a mausoleum of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang (not all were excavated for preservation due to almost instantaneous oxidation that erases all pigmented colors from the terracotta and causes rusting of all shiny metal when unearthed). Also in the museum were displays of metallurgy and pottery. The technology was well advanced for their time (more than 2200 years ago, they knew how to chrome plate metal). Like the great Pyramid, it seems that somehow the Chinese lost the technological know-how and the knowledge was not passed onto future generations (US & Germany developed chrome plating in 1900’s).

Afterwards, we moved on to the site of mausoleum itself. It seems that the first Qin emperor was obsessed with wanting to live forever. After becoming the first emperor to unify China into an imperial empire, he felt that the only thing missing was immortality. There were many symbolisms of longevity surrounding him including the number nine and his chariot designed with a roof in the shape of a turtle for example. Despite all that, he did not even live past 50!

The last stop on our tour was a palace with hot springs famous for one of the four beautiful ladies in the history of China, Yang Gufei (Yang Guibi in Korean pronunciation). We could witness the measure of her beauty now and then when we saw the paintings and heard the descriptions of the lady. She was rather plump but supposedly had such beautiful skin. A great Chinese poet at the time after witnessing her described her skin as being so pure and translucent, that one could even see her food go down after she swallowed it.

No photos of Xi'an. Our guide said he would email us the photos taken with his camera but haven't arrived yet.

More photos from Zhang Jia Jie

All three girls insisted on being in our picture; at a cost, of course. They are wearing traditional Toga Jok costumes.

Our guide on our private tour.  She even came to our rescue by lending us her camera when ours mysteriously disappeared.  She is a single third generation Korean whose parents recently moved to Seoul.  She is dreaming of living in the states one day.  

There were thousands of engraved padlocks hanging on the rails.  After being locked, the keys are thrown into the gorge.  This symbolizes eternal love and wishes to come true.

Rickshaws are anxiously waiting to carry you up the hill.  They charge you by your weight or more if they get tired.  So what starts out at about 10 dollars could become 50 dollars by the end of the climb.

Zhang Jia Jie

Before starting on our way up the 999 steps to the top (ladder to heaven).  It would help to be in shape before coming here.  We've seen people go up and down in many different fashions including backwards, sidewards and on all fours.

On a suspension bridge under a water fall (man made, it is turned off at night).

We were very lucky to get a glimpse of the panoramic scenery.  The guide told us it rains most of the time here.

There are many made up names and interesting stories for each formation.

The vista is like an ancient Chinese brush painting.  We wished that the view was clearer but we were told that this was the best it could be hoped for.






Our impression of Beijing was that China does everything on a large scale. You hear that Texas is big and they do everything big, but if you multiply that by a thousand times, you may get a glimpse of how things are done in China. Everything we saw was impressive in their size and scale; from the Forbidden City to the Great Wall. What we didn’t expect to see was the grandeur of the landscape that befits the largest country in Asia. Zhang Jae Jie is a place that’s located a two hour airplane ride south of Beijing, in the Hunan province of China. It is known for the most beautiful and breathtaking vistas of mountains; that is just like an ancient Chinese painting itself. In fact, in 1980’s a famous Chinese painter’s work led to this area becoming well known throughout the world.

Within 10 minutes of landing at the airport, we were taken to the longest cable car ride in the world (about 35 minutes), to the top of the Mt. Chunmoon (Heavenly Gate or Gate leading to Heaven). After a 30 minute bus ride zig zagging through 99 switch backs, what awaited us was 999 more steps leading to the top of the mountain. At the top of this agonizingly steep incline which Joanne and I climbed up, there was a natural opening in the mountain top that symbolized the gate way to heaven.


Zhang Jae Ji is not well known to the westerners yet (we only saw a total of 5 westerners while here) but is the top touring stop for Koreans who love mountains. It is a small city that is currently being developed for more visitors from all over the world and the city still lacks many facilities. I understand the city resembles the state of Korea in the 60’s and 70’s. Unlike in Beijing, we saw many of the locals living in poor conditions. The local indigenous people here are called Toga Jok. They are one of the 56 ethnic groups that makes up the whole population of China.



Bad habits I picked up while in China

- Shove and push people out the way – either while walking, getting on or off the bus, or driving; Chinese people believe in first come, first served.
- Stand very tightly behind a person when in line – you better keep your nose and body pinned on the back of a person in front of you, or else you will soon see someone else in front of you.
- Talking loudly – the decibel goes higher by the number of people in the room. With only two groups in a room you will have to have a shouting match.
- Hog napkins, toilet paper, or tissues whenever you see them – there’s no paper in the restrooms, so if you want to finish the job, you have to have the paper work ready in advance.
- Make bodily sounds - all kinds, either naturally or unnaturally generated, are accepted. In fact, in olden days empresses and emperors wore jade pendants and chains around their waist to make their presence known. So the louder it is, the better you’re noticed.
- Gargle with bottled water – I know it’s an expensive habit but we’ve been warned it’s better than being sick.
- Constant urge to go – you better go at any chance you can get; a decent restroom is hard to come by. Unfortunately, now I’ve developed an urge to go, even when I don’t need to yet.

More photos from Beijing

The Great Wall.  We made it to the top and stopped knowing that it continues for another several thousand miles.  A beautiful warm sunny day; much warmer than we expected.

The soldiers and various sharp objects used to prod workers to death while continuing to build the Great Wall, one stone at a time.  We could see the wall stretched on and on for miles.

Ryong Kyung Hyup - the longest escalator I've been on serpentined inside a dragon.  It leads to a reservoir lake where we went on a beautiful scenic cruise.

A view looking up from the lake cruise.  Note the strings of cable cars leading to the top where there's a temple.

Wang Fu Dong with a long stretch of designer stores.  The goods are made in China, then imported back into China only to be charged ridiculously high imported prices.