Why China is like a Speeded up Film
Of the 14 days she recently spent in China, 3-time traveler and Inner Circle member Alyss Dorese, a Vacation Ambassador from Richmond, California, says the experience “Created that golden envelope of life permitting me to experience a country radically changing.”
Despite an inauspicious start to her China’s Cultural Capitals vacation—a flight delay that led to an overnight in Tokyo and an arrival in Shanghai a full twelve hours later than expected—Alyss clearly relished the time she spent in this endlessly fascinating Asian nation. In fact, the web-savvy global traveler published a detailed account of her daily experiences on her personal "blog"—and I’m delighted to be able to share Alyss’ thoughts on China, and many of her personal photos, with you here …
Day 1: Shanghai, China
Landed in Shanghai at 8 am. We are informed that the rest of the group has graciously voted to delay the scheduled departure on the day’s activities and wait for our arrival. We get to the hotel and are greeted by Nan Liu, our Program Director.
We then get into our bus to go to Yu Garden. Driving in Shanghai is like nowhere else. There are cars bumper-to-bumper driving along many lanes, with light signals changing from red to green and arrows pointing red and green for turns. Each lane has its own indicator. Thus cars in the far right lane can suddenly turn left in front of five other lanes of cars of which four are going ahead while the far left lane is turning right. While this is going on, there are bicycles riding in the bicycle lane on the right who might cross over three lanes if a car is parked there, or just cut in front of moving traffic if they are crossing an avenue. All while pedestrians try to maneuver their way across the street without any street lights indicating when they should cross. It is amazing. I’m a good driver, but I would never attempt it here.
There are close to 18 million people living in Shanghai and the population is growing, as more laborers are moving here. Expo 2010 is going to be here and the construction is all around. The architecture of the building is different and creative. It is truly a bustling city. Most buildings are over 18 floors high.
After lunch, we stopped at a gallery featuring silk embroidery that looked like oil paintings. I see prices in both Chinese yuan and U.S. dollars. I was tired and almost bought one of these beauties thinking, “What a bargain”—until I realized the 5800 dollars listed didn’t have a decimal point. Fortunately, I didn’t embarrass myself before it was too late.
Day 2: Shanghai
At 9 am, we departed for a visit to a local carpet factory. Interesting watching them weave silk carpets and tapestries. Then we went to visit a senior center, where the members entertained us with dancing, singing, and a fashion show.
After the senior center, we enjoyed a Home-Hosted Lunch. We broke up into smaller groups of eight and dined at the apartments of three local families. Meals are served in small, but plentiful, dishes that are placed on a large lazy Susan. Our host spoke very little English, but was very lovely. She tried to teach me some Chinese, and said my pronunciation was good, but after I went over the numbers one to ten, I quickly forgot them. My retention ability for language is nil.
Day 3: Suzhou
Today we go to Suzhou (Sue-Joe). It’s about 35 minutes outside of Shanghai via bullet train. We got up at around 7 am and had our breakfast at the hotel. It is a fantastic buffet and I stuffed myself full. We took our bus to the railroad station and boarded the train, which sped along at 200 kilometers per hour.
We got to Suzhou and were met by our local guide, Chris, for a boat ride along the Grand Canal. Suzhou is called the “Venice of the East,” as its waterway is reminiscent of Venice. The homes along the canals are old; built on rocks and, because of the heat, air-conditioned. The canals, which once housed fish, have become polluted because of all the industrial waste, so this area is no longer for farming and fishing. Similar to Venice, many small bridges pass over the canal.
After leaving the boat, we drove to Suzhou’s silk factory and were shown how silk is made. We saw silk worms feeding off mulberry leafs, the cocoons that are formed, extracting the silk filaments, boiling and reeling into silk thread. It was fascinating to find out that sometimes there are twin cocoons which cannot be used to make silk materials, because the single, mile-long filaments from each cocoon become twisted and cannot be extracted in one piece. So the twin cocoons are cut open, the pupae extracted, and then are stretched to create duvet fillers, for those people who would rather use non-allergic silk rather than feather comforters. Although tempted to buy a silk comforter, I resisted.
From lunch, we walked to the Suzhou Garden. The gardens are lovely and after spending time there we wound our way back to a bus to take us back to Shanghai.
Day 4: Xian
Today we didn’t have to be ready till 9:45 to take our bus to the airport to fly to Xian (She-Ann). Rather than ride the bus to the airport, some of us wanted to experience the new maglev (magnetic levitation) train that goes from downtown Shanghai out to the airport. It is the only one of its kind being used commercially. It is unbelievably modern. And unbelievably fast, with a top speed of more than 400 kilometers per hour.
We landed in Xian at 3:30 pm and went to our hotel, which is centrally located. My room is as big as my apartment with a nice view. All the hotels thus far have been well-equipped and modern. After resting, we go to a local restaurant known for its dumplings. There we sampled over 18 different types—including one shaped like and filled with walnuts. How can anyone not like dumplings?
Day 5: Xian
Today we took off to see the Terra Cotta Army, about an hour’s drive outside of Xian. Viewing the statues and excavation at the museum where the Terra Cotta Army was discovered is fantastic. The discovery is only 30 years old and they haven’t finished unearthing and repairing many of the statues. I believe there are 8,000 statues, each with a different face and costume.
Afterwards, we had lunch at a local farmer’s home. We were warned prior to this visit by Nan, our Program Director, that we might not enjoy this food. Actually, it turns out to be the best meal we’ve had to date. The farmer’s wife makes some embroidered hanging stuffed articles that are symbolic; I chose two to buy and Nan informed me that one represents long life and the other prosperity. I better get the prosperity so I can afford the long life.
China is changing so fast from communism to capitalism. The government no longer is providing free health care or education. With the new freedoms come more individual responsibilities. It is hard to conceive how the older people have adjusted. If you can imagine how we feel when our children start to grow up and do things slightly different than us, think of how the older generation feels and has to deal with a belief system and economic system that is 180 degrees different that what they endured under Mao. The sense of the speed of time here is what is so apparent. The last ten years here are equivalent to the changes it took us at least 50 to 75 years to achieve. That is what amazes me the most about China. It is like a speeded up film.
Tonight we went to a Tang Dynasty Show with dinner. Wow. It started with an ancient Chinese instrumental ensemble. Then a cultural dance segment with fantastic dances and costumes. A grand finale with ornate costumes from the Tang era and a lot of scarf dancing summed up the entertainment.
But that was only half of the evening; while all this was going on we were served a delicious, multi-course dinner. The menu featured Pearls of Cathay, delicacies of chicken fillet in a special sauce with dumpling specialties a la Xian; Heart of The Dragon, crispy fresh king prawns accompanied with honey-glazed cashew nuts in a special dressing; and The Princess’s Pin, succulent tenderloin of beef served with garden vegetables and fried rice. All through dinner a special regional wine was served. It was warm and a white, cloudy color. It was delicious and the patrons were encouraged to drink lots of it as it is supposed to extend life.
Day 6: Xian
Okay, I’m not saving the best for last. I just got back from having a 70-minute Chinese foot massage and I’m in heaven. Cost 140 yuan, about 20 American dollars. I am so relaxed. We are leaving Xian tomorrow morning to Beijing. I do so like this city.
Earlier in the day, after breakfast, we went to a lacquerware factory. Didn’t buy any furniture, although I took a picture of a piece that would make a great table for a large TV set.
After lunch we went on a tour of the city’s Old Muslim Area and Great Mosque. The mosque looks more like an old pagoda. We walked through the Muslim market with its different foods. It was interesting. I forgot to mention that at last night’s Tang Dynasty Show, sitting at the table next to us were four women wearing burkas which totally covered their faces except for the eyes. It was fascinating to watch as they carefully lifted the burka flap each time they took a mouthful of food. I would have loved to get a photo, but there was no way to take a picture discreetly.
Day 7: Beijing
Went to bed last night at 8:45 and awakened at 5:30 this morning. Everyone is anxiously waiting for the solar eclipse. Left the hotel for the airport hoping to experience eclipse, but the cloud cover is too thick. There are so many people who traveled to Shanghai and other areas to view it—I wonder if they were able to experience it. Well, I guess we have to wait till 2132 for the next one.
After arriving in Beijing, we had about an hour before we went out to dinner of Peking duck. It was raining hard when we left the restaurant, so rather than go out, I stayed in and went to sleep even earlier than the night before.
Day 8: Beijing
Today we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. There were a lot of student tours going on in the latter. The students would come up to us Caucasians and ask in English if they could take a picture with us. They made me feel like a celebrity as they encircled me and asked if I would comply. Then each one would stand next to me and the rest would photograph us. This went on for many minutes as I stood next to at least 20 students, one at a time. They were charming as they tried out their English. I asked Nan why they wanted their picture taken with me and she told me that some of the students come from remote towns where Caucasians have never been seen and this way they can go back and show their relatives and friends they met a Caucasian and show them what we look like.
We then went to the Great Wall. I climbed to Tower Three. It is a tough walk, very steep, and even harder to go down. Exhausting.
Traveling in this spread out city of Beijing is tough. The Chinese are a patient group. Never again will I complain when I’m stuck on I-880. More and more people here are able to afford cars and thus, the traffic snarls are unbelievable.
Day 9: Beijing
After visiting the cloisonné factory, we headed to the Kung Fu School. This is a boarding school for the future Jackie Chans and Bruce Lees. Both boys and girls are accepted, starting at age 5. The summer students were there. They put on a special show for us. I shot film of the show and took a few pictures. The kids are adorable.
We then came back to the downtown part of the city for a tour of the hutongs. These are historical built along alleyways and the way we toured them was to go by Pedi-cab—the modern rickshaw, bicycle driven.
In 1949, the government took over the hutong properties and forced the owners out to provide housing for the military. A few years ago, the government allowed those who still had proof of original ownership to move back and gave them money for them to fix up their small places. Younger people have no desire to live in them, but the elders do. The values of these properties are way up. It reminds me of the gentrification of townhouses and single-room occupancies in the slums of New York City, which became high value neighborhoods.
During our tour, we were hosted to tea by a hutong owner who inherited her small house from her grandfather. He had originally owned the whole property, but was only able to prove ownership of the one room. It is small, but neat and clean. It has a kitchen, but no bathroom. Our hostess uses a communal toilet and shower, but she likes the sense of community with her neighbors.
Day 10: Beijing
This morning we went off to the Beijing Zoo to view the pandas. There are only 30 pandas in zoos around the world. All are borrowed from the Chinese. (If the panda gives birth while on loan to these zoos, their citizenship remains with China.) America pays close to one million dollars to borrow the pandas we have on display.
Pandas have very short lives—about 30 years. They eat bamboo and fruit. They are lazy, but cute. There have been studies in China with regard to reproduction and the pandas are very reluctant to mate. Artificial insemination is being used. Also, they have resorted to showing the animals films of other pandas mating. I think this is the only porn allowed in China.
We left the zoo after a short time and rode to the Summer Palace. A magnificent place for past emperors. I wonder what they would say to see the vast land and gardens they claimed for themselves and their court is now open to the masses?
Learn more about our China's Cultural Capitals vacation.