Full moon over Shanghai

If New York City mated with the Emerald City of Oz they would give birth to Shanghai.
The Chinese characters that make up the word Shanghai literally mean “upon the sea” as the world’s busiest shipping port is located at the mouth of the Yangtze & East China Sea. It is the most populous city in China and holds the distinction of having the largest population for a city in the entire world.
Shanghai flourished as an international settlement following the fall of the Qing dynasty giving rise to a large Western population who controlled the city. In fact, the Chinese were relegated to their own area of the city, aptly named “Chinatown”. Imperial Japan took over in 1941 ending the Anglo-American rule and removing many European and American residents to an interment camp. In the 1990s an economic rebirth occurred under Deng Xiaoping which returned foreign investment and the finance industry to the city.

Chinatown in Shanghai

This is our last full day in China and the realization is bittersweet. We are anxious to return to our families and homes after 2 weeks but sad to leave the wonderment and discovery we have been blessed to experience. Tonight we will have to pack one final time.
Another jam-packed day and night awaits us as our itinerary today includes: a visit to the Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Road, the Bund, Chinatown and the Shanghai Acrobatics Show.

The Shanghai Museum

The museum houses numerous collections. The most interesting to me are the ones containing calligraphy, ancient coins and paper money from the Silk Road trade and the Chinese Chop collection. “Chop” is a term used for printing stamps or seals which were used instead of a signature. Most ancient Chinese stamps were made of stone, often jade and used with a cinnabar paste or red ink. Many of the “handles” are often carved animals like lions, dragons or turtles. Since Damian is such a huge turtle fan I am intrigued by how many turtles are in the Chop collection and take a photo to show him. Turtles are a symbol of longevity in China.

Turtles carved into the handles of stamps known as Chops.

The stamp part of a Chop.
Note the red ink.

Ancient Chinese paper money.

Don had a chop made for me that has a jade dog (my Chinese zodiac sign) and my name in Chinese characters. I used it on my Christmas cards and gift tags this year and I love it. The ink is contained in a Chinese porcelain pot, so cute! The museum gift shop also provided me with a few other Christmas gifts: a porcelain pen for my grandson and a glass beer mug with Chinese calligraphy for my son.
This is probably a good point to mention my packing strategy. When we were packing for China I told Don that we were each allowed one carry-on bag and a personal item and that we would be able to bring only one checked bag between us. This was not entirely true. My plan was to buy a second large piece of luggage in Shanghai for the return trip to the States so I could put all the gifts and souvenirs I acquired along the way in it without exceeding the weight limitations. As Don started to balk about how we were going to transport these breakables I reminded him that since we were in Shanghai I was now also shopping for a suitcase.
When mentioning “shopping” in Shanghai the Nanjing Road will immediately be brought into the conversation. Think of it as the Rodeo Drive of China. It has a large pedestrian area on the eastern end with tons of high end retail stores. It sort of reminded me of Times Square but with unusual architecture. We were given free time to explore and of course it wasn’t long before Don & I ditched the high end side for the side streets which had fewer foreigners. Shanghai contained more Western-looking people than any of the other areas we visited. We had been expressly cautioned by our guides not to go down any side alleys with people promising us cheap Rolex watches and although we were approached Don was soon chatting it up with the local hucksters.

Nanjing Road

“Wanna buy a Rolex?”

Christmas decorations –
one of the only places we saw any.

A side-street noodle shop

Off the beaten path

I would not be purchasing a suitcase here since the prices were exorbitant! Our guide told us that a pair of Levi’s in The Gap here would set you back about $125. We are told that a unique shopping opportunity awaits us in Chinatown and Sunny, our local guide, assures me that I will be able to procure a suitable suitcase. We arrive in Chinatown and are taken to the tea shop that will be our meeting place.

Tea shop/jewelry store
in Chinatown

We are instructed to visit the shops and feel free to interact with the street vendors but be very careful of pickpockets and under no circumstances should we leave the confines of Chinatown.

Notice how tightly I am holding my purse to my body.

This man hand-carves chops to your specification. He was on our TV show, “The Great Race”.

Bridge over the koi pond
Chinatown

There were many interesting shops and the shopkeepers were all nice but the street vendors were relentless in their pursuit of your money. After a while we returned to the tea shop to find Sunny so I could inquire where I could get a suitcase. Sunny sprung up and told us to follow her. We raced down the concrete steps and out into the street. We darted down a side street and I noticed we were out of the confines of Chinatown. We ducked into a small storefront who’s walls were lined with luggage of all sizes and shapes. Sunny started speaking to the woman in the shop in Chinese and she pulls out a new, large, hard-sided suitcase with a grey textured exterior. She opens the bag which has a TSA luggage lock and ample storage space with compartments and securing straps. Sunny tells us that the woman wants $35 for it. SOLD! We now traipse back into Chinatown with every street vendor in the marketplace following us offering to sell us wares to fill our new purchase. I am exhausted and feel violated when I return to the tea shop/jewelry store.

“You need bag?”

We load up our new suitcase and hop aboard Bus #2 to visit the riverside area know as The Bund.
This area houses most of the older architecture of Shanghai and was where the embassies and major financial institutions were located and now many high-end hotels. It’s cold and windy with the breeze gusting over the river but the views are epic. We are told we only have a short time here as our dinner reservations are upcoming in a restaurant located under the walkway. Like little kids, we ask if we finish our dinner early can we return? It’s almost sundown and I am anxious to see the night skyline. Our guides agree and in no time Don & I are back on The Bund.

The Peoples’ Heroes Memorial on The Bund

The Bund

My favorite thing about Shanghai:

To top off our day we get to see our final performance in China. It is the famous Shanghai Acrobatics Show. In my opinion, this was the best show we saw while in China. These folks were like rock stars and perform dangerous stunts in a multimedia-type show. The finale is 8 motorcycles speeding through a round steel cage entering one by one until it’s a frenzy! The gasoline fumes alone are enough to knock you out so I can see why it’s the final act. One of the female acrobats is driving the night we are there and our guide tells us that often it’s 3 women drivers.

This guy does crazy things while balancing big, heavy porcelain jugs.

Amazing acrobats

Sunny tells us that careers are short when you are an acrobat and they are often disabled due to the punishing physical demands. Only the best of the best go on and become trainers for the next generation. She also tells us that they eat earthworms to “make their body soft” which I guess they believe assists them with contortionist activities.

No, thanks.

We return to our hotel and begin to pack. We decide to spend our last Yuan and I make contact with my kids to ensure that Thanksgiving preparations are in place. We will arrive home around midnight on Thanksgiving morning and will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner with a little help from family and friends. I decide I need a real drink tonight, not just the Chinese beer I’ve been periodically swilling the past 2 weeks. We head down to the bar which is empty and being tended by a Chinese girl who looks about 16 years old. I pick up the drink menu and note that it lists all the usual suspects, in English. I ask the girl for a gin & tonic. She stares at me blankly. I point to the words, “Bombay Sapphire” clearly printed in my menu. She smiles sheepishly. There is a picture of a Margarita. I point to that thinking maybe a visual clue will help. She nods enthusiastically and heads down the bar. She reaches under it and pulls out a book, a cocktail shaker and an orange. Now I am intrigued. Don goes to interrupt her but I wave him off. She adds to the cocktail shaker a hefty shot of tequila and another of Cointreau to which she adds the juice of half the orange and some ice. I believe she is trying to kill me.

How hard can this be?

Enter the guy who I assume is the real bartender. He glances at her and says something in Chinese which I assume must be, “Hey, what are you up to?” She responds, “I’m making this stupid woman some kind of drink.” He scans her recipe book and ingredients and he makes a face that says in any language, “What the @#$% are you doing?!” and then proceeds to yell at her. She dejectedly looks down and he grabs a Margarita glass and some limes from below and begins to construct my Margarita. I wave at him and signal for him to put some lime juice in the death drink the girl was making and pour that in the glass. He gives me the sidelong glance of incredulity and waves his hands in the ‘no way’ gesture. I pantomime that it’s OK and I smile at the girl who raises her eyes slightly and again offers her sheepish glance. I receive the drink, which I have now named a “Shanghaied” and take a swig. Don asks, “How is it?” I smile at the girl and nod in approval and say, “It’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.” I finish my drink and tip the girl my remaining Yuan.

Our last night in China

Our last day in China dawns like every other, grey and somber. The different groups have been assigned departure times based on which airport they are leaving from and their final destinations. My group meets at noon and will fly to O’Hare International Airport in Chicago for a layover and on to Dulles. We have already said good-bye to some of our friends after breakfast. I check our room one last time to see if we have left anything behind and I glance out the window. On this grey Wednesday morning in November the streets of Shanghai are busy with the workday world but at my eye level a few blocks away someone is on a roof flying a kite. Kites originated in China. Tradition and folklore says they are used to send greetings to family and friends who are no longer with you. How appropriate.

Kite being flown from a roof in Shanghai.

These China posts are dedicated to my friends from Bus #2

My kite flies for you.

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The canals of Suzhou in the evening.

The excitement of Christmastide is over and I was reminded that I had not completed my China saga. I’m hoping to tie it up in this post so I can move on to our Philadelphia Cheesesteak Challenge and tell you about our beautiful Longwood Gardens Christmas adventure.
We completed our Yangtze River cruise at the port of Chongquing. After our visit to the Red Pagoda we returned to the ship and that evening we attended the Captain’s Farewell Dinner. The next day we disembarked and headed off to the airport to fly to Shanghai. It was an uneventful domestic flight and from Shanghai we loaded back aboard our new version of Bus #2 to transfer to the town of Suzhou. We met our final local guide, Sunny, who would convey to us the love she obviously had for her hometown.

The approach to Chongqing.

Arriving at the Wyndham Garden Suzhou

The climate of Suzhou was a welcome relief and I was a little unprepared for the humid, subtropical 70 degree temperatures as none of my wardrobe contained anything with short sleeves. It is dubbed the “Venice of China” due to it’s canal system which includes picturesque stone bridges and elegant architectural features. It is also a major economic center being home to many high-tech firms in the Industrial Park Region. Undoubtedly, my favorite area was Old Town Suzhou with it’s 400 year old buildings and splendid outdoor marketplace. World famous architect I.M. Pei (The National Gallery’s East Building, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, etc) is a native son and when he returned to Suzhou in the 70’s the Chinese government asked him what they should do to revitalize Suzhou. He told them to preserve everything just the way it was and to their credit it was done.

400 year old homes along the Grand Canal

Stone bridge leading to the marketplace.

Wishing Wall-write your intentions and hang them on the sidewalk wall.

We were given a run down of the market area in Old Suzhou by our guide, Sunny and then we were let loose to wander. It was Sunday afternoon and the marketplace was jammed. Sunny told us that most locals visit the market daily to buy their dinner ingredients and today would be a lot of folks just out enjoying their day off. Against the now familiar bleak skies the market was a riot of color, sounds & olfactory sensations. It was glorious!

Don with some silk frocks.

Woman making spun sugar lollipops in shapes like butterflies.

Getting the stink-eye from the flat bread vendor.

We venture deeper into the market where shit gets real and the crowds thicken.

The crowd thickens while the streets narrow.

1000 year old eggs
(No, they’re not really 1000 years old. Look it up.)

Woman butchering pig.

In the dense food section the smells and the crowds got the better of me and I had to tell a disappointed Don that I could go no further. I have some claustrophobia issues and had reached my limit so we opted to take another street.

A Chinese bar – just what the doctor ordered for my claustrophobia!

Suzhou is also the center of the Chinese wedding industry because of their silk production. We passed many bridal shops while driving to the market and Don & I stumbled upon a Chinese wedding party doing their photo shoot.

The groom and his groomsmen.

The bride (in red) & her attendants.

The time drew near for us to leave the market and return to the bus. While heading out some Chinese locals stop us and ask to take photos with us. This was not an unusual occurrence while we were in China. Don attracted quite a bit of attention with his bald head (you don’t see a lot of bald guys in China except the hipsters in Beijing and Shanghai) and my grey spikes seemed popular as well. In fact, one of our tour members could have made a fortune if he charged for all the photos they took of him. Gene looks like he could be on Duck Dynasty and is from Louisiana so he may very well be a Robertson. The Chinese thought he was a member of ZZ Top.

Gene

zz top
(rodneybursiephotography.com)

We had some evening downtime (an unusual occurrence) which enabled us to walk the streets of Suzhou after dark. We window shopped and some bought little treats like chocolate, ice cream and coffee in the local shops. I always looked forward to ‘free time’ and the chance to mingle with the local residents.

Steve, Don & John
on the town!

Another treat ensued for us the next day when we toured the Lingering Garden. It is unusual because it is enclosed by buildings and totally not visible from the street. The official who had it commissioned back in 1593 did not want the emperor to see it because for him to have so fine a garden must mean that he was stealing from the emperor! This was once the garden of a private family and now is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is often a focal point for art students. There is a shop in it that sells prints and paintings done by Chinese art professors and the proceeds go to support the gardens. The central garden encircles a pond and grotto while another area is devoted to Bonsai trees.

Central area of the Lingering Garden

Koi pond

Entering the bonsai garden.

The bonsai garden.

Nora, who looked so pretty sitting outside the art shop.

The intermittent sprinkles of rain did not detract from the beauty nor dampen our experience.

covered walkway

pretty in pink

We say goodbye to the garden and trade the peace and serenity for the brutal reality of the road to Shanghai. Once again, my good intentions fall short and I realize I would do an injustice by trying to fit Shanghai into this post. As a tease, I will leave you with this image from the Shanghai Acrobatic Show and a promise that the Shanghai post will indeed be the end of our China tour.

They put like 9 motorcycles speeding around in this thing like lunatics (or typical Chinese drivers)!

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The market place leading up to the Drunken Bridge

It is almost our last day shipboard. We have been enjoying our cruise. The sweet air, lack of crowds, tranquil scenery and fascinating excursions definitely were a welcome change from the bustle of the cities. Today we will visit a hill along the Yangtze called “Shibaozhai” in Chongqing, which is our final destination. Translated this means “precious stone fortress” and at the top of the hill is a temple. In the past in order to visit the temple it was a hazardous path that often involved being hoisted up the side of the cliff. In 1819 a red pavilion was constructed with 100 wooden steps to provide a less hazardous climb to the temple. The pagoda is built into the side of a cliff.

To access the pagoda we first must negotiate the market area and then cross the long, swaying Drunken Bridge so named because you walk like a drunkard while on it. We will have time for shopping in the market on our return trip so we pretty much storm through.

The Drunken Bridge

Entrance to the bridge

Being drunk would’ve helped

Prior to the building of the dam the pagoda was actually on top of a mountain but the dam caused the river to rise 70 meters so now it’s on an island. They issue a warning before you attempt to climb it because it’s 100 old, rickety wooden steps in a progressively narrowing stairwell. Like everything in China so far, it’s very crowded but affords some pretty spectacular views while you are ascending the levels.

The Red Pagoda

Built into the cliff side

Views from the climb

When you reach the summit there is a garden area and a hole in the ground called “the duck well”. It is said that prior to the pagoda being built the monks that maintained the temple tossed a duck down there to see how long it took for it to reach the river. Another legend is the “rice flowing well”, a second geological feature that purported to allow enough rice to flow through each day to feed the monks and their guests. One day a greedy-ass monk decided to widen the hole and then the rice flow stopped. Lesson: quit throwing ducks down the hole because if you eat them you won’t have to worry about the rice flow.

Don climbs to new heights

On the way down

We return across the Drunken Bridge to the marketplace. We are told this village was built as a relocation project from the dam construction. These folks had to abandon their traditional lifestyles and now sell trinkets to tourists. We see the vendors, often with their small children at their side, hawking their wares. These are the nicest and least intimidating of the many street vendors we encounter along our way. I am a little ashamed of bartering with these folks considering they probably live for a year on what I make in a pay period. The lives of the rural Chinese are decidedly different than those of their urban counterparts. This is driven home to us as we encounter a few Chinese families living on fishing boats as we get closer to the dock where our ship lies.

Floating markers for fishing nets.

Chinese family living on their fishing boat

This woman from the boat is washing clothes in the river.

So while we prepare for Christmas by wrapping those presents (many of which were probably made in China), baking cookies and preparing feasts take a minute from the holiday frenzy to thank God for his grace and many blessings. Not a sermon, just a thought.

Next: Chongqing to Suzhou

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Rollin’ on the river

I’ll be the first to admit that modern marvels of engineering leave me lukewarm. Sure, I can appreciate architecture and have spent more than one excursion ogling old buildings or covered bridges but I could not get excited about our visit to the Three Gorges Dam. Let me provide some background information for those who are as engineering-challenged as myself:

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric power project in the world. In addition to providing a huge amount of clean electricity(and boy do they need CLEAN power over there)the dam prevents the deadly annual flooding downriver and provides a much more navigable trip for ships. I suppose we could argue the socio-environmental impact the project had as all the poor folks and critters that inhabited the area were “relocated” to newly built cities and had to abandon their traditional lifestyles but hey, I’m no bleeding-heart liberal just a concerned world citizen.

Monument at the dam site.

The main project was completed in 10 years. This is tremendously frightening because if the Chinese ever really want to do something it will happen in a heartbeat. I don’t know about where you live but Interstate 66 here in the Metro D.C. area has been having one lane added in each direction between 2 exits and that has taken 2 years and isn’t completed yet. What hope do we have???
Part of the dam project is the lock system that will allow our ship as well as those with much deeper drafts to go downstream. The series of 5 locks takes about 4 hours to navigate through and can hold up to a 10,000 ton vessel. Needless to say, we will pass a lot of freighters on our cruise that are heading upstream from the port of Shanghai. We are scheduled to begin our pass through the locks this evening and today we have a visit to see the dam up close and personal (yawn).

A view of the locks

At the gate of the lock from our balcony

The project will be completely finished when the ship elevator that is currently under construction is done. The Chinese government provides all the propaganda touting the benefits of the dam but it has been controversial even in China. When we return to our ship we are informed that our scheduled time for the locks has been pushed back. It will be sometime during the wee hours. There are many passengers interested in watching our progress but concerned they will fall asleep and miss it. Not to worry! When we begin our entry the noise that occurs is enough to wake the dead. I steal a peek through my balcony window and realize that we are encased in a concrete coffin. We will move from this concrete coffin to the next one until we complete our course through the five locks. I choose to spend this time in a state of unconsciousness. My insomniac spouse decides to join the ranks on the deck.
Meanwhile, we are departing port in Jingzhou and we once again get some insight into the Chinese personality. There are several swimmers stroking in the Yangtze between the cruise ships, barges and freighters. Remember, it is November and these nuts have no wet suits. They swim like they drive! Fearless and against the tide.

Swimmers

We leave the locks and proceed downstream to head to our next adventure. We will visit a Chinese Disneyland-type attraction(not to be confused with the real Chinese Disneyland which is being built in Shanghai).
This will be a re-creation of a traditional Chinese fishing village complete with staged “crying wedding”. It seems that wedding parties of this tribe of people cry profusely during the ceremony.

I am looking forward to leaving the cities as I am sick of the pollution, traffic and concrete jungles. This has been less of a vacation and more like a forced march so far but I realize it’s the only way we could have been able to see so many wondrous sites. Although there is a lot of ‘traffic’ on the river floating along has a calming effect on me. Don & I spend a lot of time on or looking out our balcony and enjoying the view.

Approaching the village.

Tranquility

We dock and are told it will be a 25 minute hike to get to the village. It’s humid and verdant here and the air is sweet. We set forth.

stylized woman statue

traditional fishing boats

traditional courting ritual
guy plays a flute to a girl on a boat

if the girl on the boat looks at the guy they’re dating

As we proceed along we encounter some more staged but still beautiful scenes.

Eventually, we arrive at the wedding venue but not until we pass ancient burial sites, a waterfall and an old guy with monkeys!

2000+ year old coffins tucked into a mountainside cranny

Look closely for the monkeys

At the wedding hoping there’s a cocktail hour

The wedding is about to commence and they recruit some poor Aussie guy who’s with the tour to play the part of the groom. The bridal party begins their wailing and when the ceremony is over the groom is whisked away to the bridal suite and behind a back-lit shade a depiction of the wedding night takes place. (Who knew the Chinese fishermen were into burlesque??) The poor Aussie is then thrown out to rejoin his real wife and look forward to the incessant heckling that will occur when he returns to our ship.
We are reluctant to leave this beautiful environment but since there has been no bathroom we could use during this whole excursion we move much more quickly through the rainforest and back to the Sinorama Diamond.

I don’t care if it is Disneyland, it smells better than Beijing!

Next: The Shennu Stream
 

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