China – Reflections

 China  1 Response »
Feb 152012
 

 

 This was my fourth trip to visit China bit only my first as a tourist – the others were for work. 

Not surprisingly, the changes over the years are huge. And yet, certain things remain. The hospitality shown by the people remains. Although we had only just met him, Winston’s mom invited us to join them on New Year’s day to celebrate.  We had plans and there were six of us …. But such generosity!

Traffic is the same and different as well.  There are fewer bikes but seem to be mostly replaced by public transit.  There are more private cars but the density of vehicles wasn’t greater than in our cities. And, with electric motorbikes the norm etc., it doesn’t seem like vehicular contributions to pollution are more than here.  As before, the written rules of the road are really just guidelines. The unwritten rules are paramount and simple: go when it is safe to do so and only you are responsible for your safety. So, you can go on red if it’s safe and may stop on green as it is unsafe – someone else is going on red, perhaps. 

Pollution is different. We were very lucky to have clear days in Beijing but our days in Xi’an were quite the other way. The days would have been sunny but all we saw was a red orb cross the sky.  Environmental and human health protection needs more work and we are going to have to pay more for the things we buy from there. 

The food in China continues to have this great mystery. When you don’t know the language but you know the local customs are to eat any and all parts of all living things, the ordering process in a restaurant is a big gamble. It becomes intimidating as you really don’t know what things are.  Someone said there was an app with which you could take pictures of Chinese characters and get a translation. That would help keep the various delicacies off your table unless you really wanted them!

But, it was an outstanding visit. The traveling companions were great and the sights were special. The day on the Great Wall was outstanding!  

 

A Visit to Zhujiajiao

 China  No Responses »
Feb 142012
 

 Zhujiajiao is a village near Shanghai that has a 5000 year history. There are a few such water towns in what I think is the river delta around Shanghai.  Marco Polo referred to these towns as reminders of Venice in his travels. The old town is largely preserved here and full of little shops, restaurants etc.  Some of the travel is still done by boat within the town and, of course, there are people willing to show you the town from boat. 

A town built around the water necessarily must have bridges. And, these stone bridges are really quite impressive creations. They are designed for walking and small vehicles – bikes, carts, etc.  There are no four wheeled vehicles within the old town. 



Food is everywhere one again – all kinds of street food.  Here we have a picture of a portable food vendor. I don’t know what he sold but he walked around with this gear and would periodically stop.  I guess it is an early version of a food truck. 


We used the city transit system to come to Zhujiajiao.  It is a challenge to find things like the right bus stop and then the right bus when you don’t have the language. Scott and Juliette were helpful here for sure as they had taken the bus back from the village one time so had a good sense of where to go.  The guide books make it sound easy but I found it far from easy.  

The Bund, Shanghai

 China  No Responses »
Feb 132012
 

 Large metropolitan cities present many faces to both the visitor and resident. They have multi-dimensional aspects that provide a diversity of experience and opportunities. 

 

 

The Bund clearly demonstrates how a city can utilize historical buildings as one element of that diversity. The Bund lies along one banks of the Huangpo River – directly opposite the dazzling towers of the new Pudong district. The buildings are lit up at night with some coherency in colour and yet some unique colours. I like the way of of these buildings creates a pink accent by using light to pick up the colour in the brick. Whether it was planned or accidental, this city has done itself a grant service by preserving these buildings and building the new towers elsewhere.

Today, these buildings hold some of the most expensive stores, restaurants and hotels in Shanghai.  (Frankly, I still can’t get my head around the tremendous diversity in income in China within a communist perspective.  The gap between rich and poor in China is huge and I am guessing growing.)

Are there any places in Canada that truly preserve their historical districts as coherent entities. Old Montreal.  Old Quebec City. Alas, in Edmonton, the middle 1900′s were not kind to our historical heritage as we removed the old courthouse and other buildings to make way for glass and steele, shopping malls, etc. 

The New China

 China  No Responses »
Feb 082012
 

 

 A somewhat uninspiring photo of Pudong – quite representative of what China is trying to become.  This district across from old Shanghai was agricultural into the early 1990′s.  Now, it is an international finance and trade centre.  The tall Pearl Tower was one of the first buildings constructed and was a very tall tv tower when completed. Now, it has been surpassed by many including the CN Tower in Toronto. 

 

The view at night is quite impressive.  Scott and Juliette live on the Pudong side of the river but are a number of miles back from this centre.  They live in a very multi-cultural part of Pudong – their area seems to be the home of many middle (and some upper) class Chinese and foreigners. When we walked through their area on a Saturday morning, it felt very much like a late winter morning in Vancouver with soccer fields full and many languages being spoken. 

Main Street, Shanghai

 China  No Responses »
Feb 072012
 

 

 Not a great shot but suffice to say the main street of Shanghai could be practically any major city on earth.  All the big brands including the most expensive are along this street – along with local firms like The Silk King. The street is a pedestrian mall for maybe a mile and was full of people anytime we were there.  One only needed to watch out for the two tourist trains that went up and down the street – once again, wheels have priority over feet even on a pedestrian mall.

 

At one end of the mall is People’s Square – a largish square with these two large video screens installed permanently. It must make the square somewhat more functional with such built in audio/video facilities to support performances, speeches.  The Square is underlain by a huge subway station with a couple or three lines criss-crossing.  

While walking the mall, you (as a tourist) are regularly invited to go with some character to look at the watches s/he has to sell you. Not really a recommended activity as, within a block of the street, you step back many, many years into narrow streets, alleys, etc.  We always felt safe in China.  Crimes are harshly dealt with and it seems are not common.  But, a scam of a naive tourist seems more common – the news reported even Chinese nationals being scammed when traveling from their home city. Never do anything without having a firm price in advance. 

Most Feared in Xi’an

 China  No Responses »
Feb 072012
 

 

The green and orange or green and grey taxi …. The most fearsome predator on the streets of Xi’an!

As pedestrians, you have the least rights to any hard surfaces in China – you must give way to any bicycle ring, horn toot etc.  Next lowest are bicycles, next motorbikes, thence cars, taxis and buses. It is the once place I have ever seen a bus accelerate before the light turn green – he had his foot on the gas and his hand on the horn to get people out of the cross-walk.  You need to develop eyes in all corners of your head to watch for any vehicle.

 

This is a large sidewalk – with cars parked along both sides and a path between. Even here, the pedestrian is low-man.  Any wheeled vehicle can drive along that sidewalk and you must move!  Traffic is China is best described as a flow – lanes, signal lights, stop lights are all just taken as advice as you move with the flow of traffic. The red lanterns hang everywhere in celebration of the New Year.

 

The bicycle is still common but seems people increasingly use transit. The Shanghai metro is now the largest in the world and continuing rapid growth. Gas is a little over one Canadian dollar per liter in China – about the same as in Canada. The minimum wage in China is about 200 Canadian dollars per month. Needless to say, vehicles and gas are so far out of the range of ordinary citizens. I can’t help but think we are under-paying for our gas given our wealth.

Xi’an

 China  No Responses »
Feb 062012
 

 

 Lynn is standing on the ancient city wall of Xi’an and we are looking north to the Bell tower.  With many ancient buildings as well as a completely refurbished wall and partial moat, the buildings and architecture of this former capital of China are a real attraction.

 

 

However, this is not fog you see in these pictures. This was probably a sunny day although we only ever saw a hint of blue through the smoggy haze. Visibility was seldom better than this during our visit. Roughly 30% of the vehicles moving on the road at any time appear to be late model taxis. Essentially all the motorcycles on the road are electric. This smog extends well outside the city – it is not primarily a creation of urban emissions but rather is regional from factories, power plants etc.  It can’t be good for the buildings or the people. 

 

 

This shot of the Bell tower at night was hand-held.  It is too bad there is so much haze – the wonderful colours and lighting just can’t stand out the way it likely did in earlier days. But, this tower is still a major focus as it sits in the centre of a large traffic circle in the centre of downtown. 

The Terra-Cotta Soldiers

 China, Travels  No Responses »
Feb 062012
 

 

I had visited the famous buried soldiers once on an earlier visit but nothing prepared me for the significant changes since then.

There are now three different pits in which one can see the soldiers. Some, as in this picture, are standing and essentially like new. Some of these have likely had some repairs done to re-assemble as they have been broken over the many years buried in the pits. The soldiers had a wooden covering to their pit that was then covered with dirt. Not surprisingly, the wood has sometimes given in to rot etc. over the years. In other pits, you can see just how badly they were damaged when the pit covering collapsed.

 

 

But, it is a truly remarkable site to see. Some of the soldiers have simply been reassembled while others have also been re-painted to reflect the colours that were used.

A big positive change here are the extensive explanations that are provided – including much information in English. You learn a lot about the times in which these soldiers were created, their intended purpose etc. Remarkably, this emperor was only 13 when he ascended the throne and began the creation of the many pits of soldiers etc. that he would use after his death – he needed to be well prepared for his after-life. My recall is the construction went on for more than 45 years.

A big negative change is the village of souvenir shops etc. that have sprung up around this place. People are just looking to make a buck/yuan but it is certainly most annoying. Wisely, the actual museum and pit are surrounded by a large park. So, after passing through the phalanx of requests to buy, you have some minutes of walking for quiet contemplation.

A post on the traffic and air quality of Xi’an will come …

Festival in Xi’an

 China  No Responses »
Feb 042012
 

 We went to visit the Small Goose Pagoda in Xi’an and found a cultural festival with music, dancing and many displays. This small statue was outside and the black areas indicate the significant number of people that have touched it. 

We never learned which ethnic minority was dancing but, for the women in the dance group, it was all about hair. Much flipping of long hair. It was interesting to see both the men and the women. 

Part of the celebration included masks and this line of brightly colored masks presented themselves for a photo.  

 

Muslim Mosque, Xi’an

 China  No Responses »
Feb 022012
 

 The Muslim Mosque is noted in guidebooks as an interesting mix of traditional Chinese and Muslim themes – a blend of a people’s culture with a religions beliefs. It made for a very interesting place to visit. You were mostly only able to visit the grounds but it was interesting to see and a quiet respite from a busy city. 

I spent a bit more time processing the photos for this post. I like the tools on an iPad for processing photos but I dislike the very humble file management options. If you use a couple applications to process, crop, etc. a photo, you end up with a new copy of the photo each time.  Needless to say, there is no simple way to rename so you have to organize them into separate albums quickly or you forget what is what. 

Scott and Juliette have been fun to travel with. Traveling with your adult children is highly recommended. We will be sad to go home! 

 Older Entries