I spent 18 days traveling in Hong Kong, Macau and China. What a fascinating country with old and new blending together so peacefully despite the booming economy and rising capitalism. I once again traveled with
Grand Circle Travel. This was my 4th trip with them. I was joined on this trip by my friend Dave Marlo, whom Vicki Fowlkes, Vicky Harsch and I met in January 2007 while on a trip to Thailand and Cambodia. This is the 3rd time I’ve traveled with Dave. Vicki, Vicky and I had a bunch of Grand Circle travel credits to use up before they expired. I wanted to use my credits to go to China, a country they’ve already visited. They wanted to use their credits to go to Holland and Belgium, countries I lived and worked in during the mid-1990s. So we went our separate ways for the first time in 4-1/2 yeas.
Itinerary: Our trip lasted 18 days. We spent about 3-1/2 days in Hong Kong, including a day trip to Macau, followed by 11-1/2 days in China. It took a total of 3 days to travel back and forth to Asia from the US.We flew in an out of Chicago O’Hare at the beginning and end of the trip. I took the bus down to Chicago from Milwaukee while Dave flew up from St. Louis. Our outbound flight to Hong Kong from Chicago was long--15-1/2 hours. The return flight from Beijing was almost 13 hours. Our flight to Hong Kong crossed the International Date Line so we lost an entire day on the way over. But we made it up on the way home. Unlike most Grand Circle trips, there was no motor coach travel involved. We flew to all the cities on our itinerary.
- We started in Hong Kong where we spent a few days getting to know the city, sites and culture in depth. On one day, we boarded the hi-speed ferry for a day long excursion to Macau.
- After that, we flew to Shanghai where we saw many interesting sites.
- After that we flew to Xi’an, where we saw the famed Terra Cotta Soldiers.
- After that, we flew to the capital of Beijing where we visited the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, The Great Wall of China, and several temples. The 2008 Summer Olympics will be held in Beijing in August.
Accommodations: We stayed in a number of deluxe hotels along the way. Most were located in the heart of the towns we stayed in except the hotel in Beijing, which was pretty far out from the center of town. Fortunately, taxis were ridiculously cheap.
Food: We enjoyed a variety of Chinese foods. Because the area enjoys a year round growing season, there was always an abundance of fruits and vegetables with every meal. Breakfast always had Chinese and American options. American fast food was easy to find, particularly KFC, McDonalds and Starbucks. We saw a Hooters in Beijing, but didn't go in.
The Locals: We met a lot of friendly people. The language barrier was a problem since very few Chinese speak or even understand English. Oftentimes, we needed to have the names of the places we wanted to see on our own and our hotels written in Chinese so that people on the street or the cab could help us. From time to time, our group of Westerners got stared at by the locals at the major tourist sites. They have seen Westerners on TV, but seldom in person. I lost count of the number of times some friendly Chinese person asked to have my photo taken with them.
Program Directors: The Program Director (PD) can make or break the trip. As usual, ours was pretty good. The PD runs the tour and make sure everyone is happy. We had Mrs. Yvonne Che in Hong Kong and Mr. Steven Lu in China. We also had local guides in Shanghai (Tom), Xi’an (Jennie) and Beijing (Susan). They imparted a lot of information on the history, culture and people.
Tour Group: The tour group was American—all 33 of us. Grand Circle caters to older travelers, and this was no exception. I’d say the average age was 60-65, with a fairly even mix of men and women from all parts of the country. Being 48, I was the youngest person on the tour. But I always like hanging out with well-travelled people since you always have something to talk about.
Money: This time around, we only had to deal with two currencies—Chinese Yuans and Hong Kong Dollars. Things were quite cheap wherever we went. Chinese Yuan were trading at about 7 to the dollar while the Hong Dollar was trading at about 8 to the dollar.
What Was Included In Grand Circle Package: I spent $4,100 on this trip. I thought the trip was good value for the money. Before leaving for the trip, I spent about $3,200. This included $2,645 for the base trip to China, another $695 for the Hong Kong pre-trip extension, less a $604 travel credit. On top of that I paid $146 in airport taxes and customs fees, $111 for trip insurance, $165 for a Chinese visa, $45 to get from Milwaukee to Chicago O’Hare on the bus. I saved $200 buying my trip insurance through AIG. I spent the remaining $900 on the ground: $240 for meals that were not included in the price of the tour, $78 on souvenirs, $74 for taxis/buses/subways/boats, $150 on tips, meals, $279 on sightseeing, and $79 miscellaneous for guidebooks and exchange fees.
The base price of the trip included:
- Round-trip airfare from Chicago.
- Intra-China flight and ground transportation.
- Accommodations at Superior First Class hotels.
- Full buffet American breakfast daily and a number of included lunches and dinners.
- Sightseeing tours as per itinerary and all transfers.
- Professional English-speaking Tour Director throughout.
In Closing: Travel is an adventure. It’s an opportunity to experience, learn and appreciate how people around the world live. While I’m always happy to come home at the end, I never come back the same person. And for that, I have a lot to be thankful for.
At times, I wished I had made this trip 20 years ago when China was a still a closed society. What I was expecting to see and what I saw were different. Yes, the history and monuments are still there. But the country has so embraced capitalism and is modernizing so quickly that I fear China will lose its charm and appeal as people’s lives are irreversibly changed and China grows as a global economic power.
What follows is a day-by-day account of our trip. Each day starts with an overview of what we did, followed by my daily diary containing anecdotes and observations.
Enjoy!
China Journal, Day 0, April 24 - Milwaukee: Off to China Tomorrow
After 8 months of waiting, the big trip to China is finally here. I've spent hours over the past few months researching, reading and marking up my travel guides so I'll appreciate the people, culture and sights I'm going to see over the next 18 days. It's so overwhelming because we'll be visiting so many different places. I’m traveling with Grand Circle Travel again, along with 33 other Americans from all parts of the US. I’ve achieved “Inner Circle” status for traveling 3 times with Grand Circle, so should get some royal treatment this time around. Grand Circle has an excellent itinerary with plenty of time to venture out on my own. So I plan to squeeze in much more sightseeing than the tour offers so I don’t miss anything important. People who've accompanied me on one of my self-guided tours through Europe know what I mean. They've often described the experience as "boot camp," but say things like "Wow, I can't believe how much stuff we saw in such a short period of time!"
Once again, I'll be traveling with my Missouri friend Dave Marlo. This will be our third time traveling together over the past 15 months. On Thursday, April 25, 2008, I’ll be taking the O’Hare Express bus from downtown Milwaukee to Chicago to catch my 14-hour flight to Hong Kong. I have a few hours to kill in Chicago before my direct flight to Hong Kong departs at 12:30 pm. We lose a day en route so I arrive Sunday. China is 13 hours ahead of Milwaukee, so will be interesting trying to adjust to the big time difference.
I’ve done all my laundry and have started packing already. I even put a sticky note on the door telling me not to forget by travel guide or camera. The weather is supposed to be hot so I added some shorts and T-shirts to my suitcase. Well, time for bed. I've got to get up early.China Journal, Day 1-2, April 25-26, 2008 - Travel US to Hong Kong
After a grueling 14 hour flight, we've arrive here in the south of China in Hong Kong. We'll be here for three days.
The flight was uneventful and we arrived on time around 5 pm in the afternoon. I slept most of the way so don't have much to report on the trip over. The couple from Mequon, WI sat right behind me on the plane (Jim and Barb Schwandt), as well a few others. So far I look like the youngest person on this tour. 
The first glimpse of Hong Kong from the air was a jaw dropper. It's home to 7 million and is tucked into steep, green lush mountains on a secluded bay. It's ultra modern with many tall skyscrapers. Quite a bustling place with all the traffic, ferry boats, ocean vessels and helicopters buzzing about. We'll be touring the city tomorrow on the ferry and by bus, so will get some pictures then. It was 77F and humid when we arrived.The airport was huge. It was built in 1998 and rests on 90% landfill.
Our tour director Yvonne Che met our group at the airport and took us by bus to our hotel in the upscale Kowloon area of town on the north side. Dave and I commandeered the back of the bus, as did Debi from West Nyack, NY. The rest of our group was arriving later in the day, so there were plenty of empty seats. At least we know one person who likes the back of the bus. Looks like we found a new travel mate.
It took 40 minutes to get to our hotel. We arrived close to 7. We had just enough time to check in, get some money, and head to a local bar for a beer. For once we're not getting ripped off paying tourist prices. 
After a beer or two, we wandered the streets and found a Korean restaurant where we had dinner. You cook it on a hibachi at your table. Lots of meat, vegetables and rice. It was good. Hopefully I won't get sick. The people look pretty much the same so far. Mostly Asian of course and a few Westerners here and there. I'm here to increase the ratio.
More tomorrow.
China Journal, Day 3, April 27, 2008 - Hong Kong
Daily Journal
Woooo. It was a really long day of sightseeing. We took a ½ day guided tour of Hong Kong and then used our afternoon free time to explore the city further.
I got up early at 4:45 am but slept a good 8 hours so was raring to go. I sat down and typed up my journal and posted it to my blog, then did my daily bookkeeping. I like to keep track of what I’m spending. Although we have no Internet connection in our room, we’re surrounded by apartments so found an unsecured connection to use. Our hotel is nice and centrally located, but the rooms are small. Today’s weather was a beautiful 77F and humid.
Around 7 am, Dave and I took a walk over to Kowloon Park where there were a million people working out, doing mostly Tai Chi exercises. An instructor ropes off an area and then leads a group of 30 people in their daily exercise routine. It was interesting to watch. Kowloon Park has acres of manicured gardens and flowers, as well as an aviary where we saw a variety of tropical birds, like parrots and toucans.
We then went back to the hotel for breakfast, which was really nice. Around 9 am our group met in the lobby and we boarded the bus for our tour of the city. Our first stop was a place to exchange money. The rate was good.
We then headed over to the Star Ferry where we traveled across Victoria Harbor from Kowloon Peninsula to Hong Kong Island to the south. It was a nice crossing, but the harbor was foggy and obscured the view of the tall skyscrapers that dominate the skyline.
Once we got over to Hong Kong Island, we reboarded our bus and drove up Victoria Peak to the top where we had yet another foggy view of the harbor below.
On the way we passed a cemetery. We learned there are two types of burial. Many get cremated but Chinese believe in reincarnation so are buried for 6 years, then dug up. The bones are then put in an urn, usually in a sitting position. The permanent cemeteries are expensive. The ones where you are buried for 6 years are leased for that time period and then used for someone else. Towards the top of the peak, we passed a look out point where you could see the city and the Happy Valley Race Track below. Then we saw a house where a Clark Gable movie ("Soldier of Fortune") was filmed. At the top of The Peak, we had a foggy view of Aberdeen Harbor. I took a picture of a postcard showing what it looks like when it isn’t foggy. But the fog is normal.
After The Peak, we drove over to the south side of Hong Kong Island to Repulse Bay, named after the HMS Repulse, a ship that chased the pirates away. Lots of deluxe condos and beautiful beaches. On the way back, we passed Deep Water Bay where the movie “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” was filmed. We then stopped in Aberdeen Harbor and took a little cruise in a small boat. In the harbor were many houseboats. We cruised all around them. There are Junks (=kite in Chinese) and Sampans (sam=3 pieces, pan=wood) made of teakwood. The driver of the boat had a little dog named Lucy on board. It was a relaxing ride.
After that, Debbie, Jackie, Tony, Dave and I got dumped off in town to explore on our own. We took a taxi to Man Po temple. There were coils of incense burning all throughout the temple. You could also pray and offer incense and ring a bell to make sure god heard you. You could also get your fortune by shaking a container of chim sticks until one fell out. On it was a number corresponding to your fortune. One room off to the side of the main temple was just filled with acrid smoke from the burning incense, but it was neat.
After that, we had lunch at a local restaurant. Then we took the escalators up the mountain. Hong Kong is built on a mountain side. They have escalators that take you most of the way up. They go downhill from 6-10 am when people are coming down to work. The rest of the day, they run uphill. We went all the way up and then had to walk down. It was a long walk down.
We then walked over to the subway (MTR) at Central, and took the train two stops and under Victoria Harbor back to the Kowloon Peninsula where our hotel is. There are a lot of expats living in Hong Kong. They hire nannies to take care of their kids. It was nanny day off, so they were all congregated at the train station socializing before heading back to their adopted families. 
Tony, Jackie and Debbie went back to the hotel. Dave and I went to Hard Rock Café, where I bought a t-shirt and where we had really expensive beers ($8.50 a piece). Crazy. Then we had a group dinner at the restaurant at the hotel. Was a good chance to meet the travel group a little better. Then it was off to bed. It’s another long day tomorrow.China Journal, Day 4, April 28, 2008 - Hong Kong
Daily Journal:
Another nice day—70F and a little overcast. We’re doing the optional tour to the New Territories, the most rustic of the three areas making up Hong Kong, the other two being Hong Kong Island to the south and Kowloon Peninsula where we’re staying. The New Territories are to the north and go up to the China border.
The clouds had cleared out of the harbor so we went back to take some more photos of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbor. Nice. Our second stop was a bird market. In the olden days, raising birds was a hobby for rich men, who raised birds out of boredom. Raising birds gave them a chance to fraternize over high tea. Nowadays, it’s a family hobby. The highlights were seeing a wide variety of birds. We also watched the demonstration of workers preparing grasshoppers to feed the birds. They cut off the head, wings and legs, then hang them in the cage for the bird to peck at. For small birds, they use bigger grasshoppers and split them down the middle to open up the body.
After the bird market, we crossed the street and visited the flower market. It had lots of colorful flowers, most of which are imported from all parts of the world. You could buy a dozen roses for about $4. There was also a golden retriever that posed for pictures with a rose in its mouth.
After that we went to Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple, which honors Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. They had beautiful temples and gardens you could walk through. We visited a side building where there are fortune teller booths. Like the Man Mo Temple yesterday, you ask a question and shake a container with 100 chim sticks till one falls out. It has a fortune on it that you take to a reader, who will tell you your fortune. There was lots of incense burning going on.
After that, we drove to seaside restaurant in the vicinity for lunch. They had live fish, lobsters and shellfish in tanks and bins. People posed for pictures with a giant lobster. We then sat down to eat family style while the waiter brought plate after plate of seafood—shrimp, calamari, grouper—followed by rice and vegetables.
On the way home, we got dumped off at the Hong Kong History Museum, which tells the story of Hong Kong from cave man times to today. They had some fantastic exhibits. There were lots of school children in uniforms, which made for some interesting photos.
In the evening, we took a cab over to Temple Street Night Market, which has tons of shopping and food booths. We poked around, had something to eat and went back to the hotel bar for a night cap. Tomorrow is a free day, so we’re going to Macau.
China Journal, Day 5, April 29, 2008 - Macau & Hong Kong
Daily Journal
We had a free day. We went to Macau. It was an awesome day. It was a warm 80F, and slightly overcast.
I got up at 4:30 am. I guess 7-1/2 hours is enough sleep. I screwed around on the Internet until 7 am and then went down to breakfast. Dave and I then took the MTR (subway) over to Hong Kong Island and caught the 8:00 am TurboJet boat for the 55-minute ride to Macau. It was a smooth ride and we arrived close to 9 am. The island of Macau was different from what I was expecting. There was a ton of development along the shore—all casinos. The old part of the island was behind that. We caught a cab from the ferry dock to our first site, Templo de A-Ma, the temple to the patron saint of seafarers. It was jam packed with bus groups. It was a temple like Man Mo in Hong Kong—lots of incense burning and praying Buddhists, all against a backdrop of Chinese-style pagoda like buildings and temple stations where you could pray to the gods and ring the bell so they could hear you.
We then walked north to the center of town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and with good reason. It has a number of neo-classic European-style buildings around St. Augustine’s Square and Largo do Senado all dating back to the era of Portuguese occupation. I must have taken 100 pictures. The white tile mosaic sidewalks reminded me so much of Lisbon. Very impressive. I thought of some of my friends and Debbie back at the hotel who were missing the sites. One of the best sites was the Ruins of St. Paul’s Church. All that remains is the church’s front façade high up on the top of the hill.Behind it is a courtyard of what used to be the church, along with a crypt that had an exposed building foundation and a display case going up the side filled with bones found when they excavated the crypt. They displays explained what the church looked like, but it required a lot of imagination to envision what an imposing structure this must have been several hundred years ago.
Up and to the side of the church was an old fort with ramparts overlooking the city below. We hiked up there to get panoramic views of Macau.
We then got a cab and went over to Macau Tower/Convention Center to go to the observation deck of the tallest space needle in the world. Like the Auckland Tower in New Zealand, it had glass floors for a dizzying view straight down 60 stories. When we arrived, a guy had just bungee-jumped off the tower. We went up to the top for some cloudy pictures of the city.
After that, we caught a cab back to the Ferry Terminal where we had lunch and caught the 2 pm ferry back to Hong Kong. We arrived back in Hong Kong by 3 pm and took the MTR back to our side of town. On the way home, we stopped at the Kangaroo Bar for a few beers. There were a bunch of navy guys there fresh off their ship from Japan. So we talked to them for a while and headed back to the hotel.
For dinner we went to went back to Kangaroo for a much coveted burger. I've been eating a lot of rice and vegetables and am sure I have not gained an ounce since I got here. The hotel breakfast is another story. It is full of American, Chinese and European food options, and lots of fresh fruit.
Today was our last full day in Hong Kong. We're heading to Shanghai tomorrow.
China Journal, Day 6, April 30, 2008 - Hong Kong to Shanghai
Daily Journal:
It's a travel day. We're flying from Hong Kong to Shanghai. It's about 3 hours away. But we had a hell of a time getting out of Hong Kong. We arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of time around 10 am. Then after an hour, they changed the gate without telling us. One of our attentive travel companions noticed it. The airport is huge and the gate was a mile away. We boarded on time, but then sat at the gate well past the 1:10 pm departure. Then some message in Chinese came on. Everyone groaned and they passed out newspapers. The English version was unintelligible.After half an hour, another message came on and people got up and started collecting their belongings. The English version of the message was again unintelligible. They routed us off the plane and into the transfer area where we were screened again. They notified us that the plane would reboard about 2 hours later around 3 pm.
Everyone went off to use their 40 Hong Kong dollars for food. I just went back to the gate. Meanwhile, the plane with the Olympic torch arrived. Maybe that's why we were delayed.
We eventually reboarded and made our way to Shanghai. We arrived at 6:15 pm and were on our way to the hotel shortly thereafter. It took almost 2 hours to get to the hotel, which is just wonderful.
Shanghai is a very modern city. The govenment made Shanghai a showcase city for modern China. It is very, very modern. The progress hasn't kept up with the planning though. There are now 18 million people here and that causes a lot of problems. 20 years ago the farmland started about 20 minutes away. Now it starts over an hour away. We have our tour of the city tomorrow.
Upon arrival, we met our program director, Steven (not his real first name) Lu. He's a young guy around 34. I can already tell he's going to be better than Yvonne in Hong Kong. She wasn't bad as a guide, but I didn't care for her personality that much.We went down to the hotel bar to pay Western prices for beer. Then it was off to bed. This is a picture from our hotel in Shanghai and the view from our room.
China Journal, Day 7, May 1, 2008 - Shanghai
Daily Journal
Got up way early this morning—4:30 am. It’s another nice day in Shanghai—80F and sunny. Our pre-trip to Hong Kong ended yesterday and the main China tour starts today. About 8 people skipped the pre-trip, so flew into Shanghai last night and joined our group. I feel sorry for them because the rest of us have had 5 days to bond.
I had breakfast at 6:30 am then went to the grocery store to get some water. You can’t drink it from the tap. It tastes like NyQuil. We got there before the store opened so there were a bunch of people sitting outside with their grocery carts waiting to get in. It was a massive store—Tesco--and we found what we needed right away then headed back to the hotel ½ a block away.
We had an Orientation Briefing on the trip then board the bus for Yu Gardens, a Silk Embroidered Picture Store for lunch, and the Shanghai Museum of Art and History and neighboring People’s Square.
Yu Garden is a park, marketplace and social center where locals gather to shop. It’s filled with wandering walkways, stone bridges, ornate buildings with upturned tiled roofs, ponds with fish, rock gardens, manicured shrubs and lots and lots of shops. We toured the gardens and then had half an hour to shop. It was a madhouse since it was the May 1 public holiday. We regrouped close to 1 pm in the main square, where we saw a man who looked like the teacher in Kung Fu balancing a bowl with goldfish on his head while doing Tai Chi. We then walked back to the bus a ½ mile away and were inundated with street vendors hawking their wares. Mont Blanc pens, Chanel wallets and roller skate wheels that attach to your shoes seem to be in vogue.
We stopped at this store that sells silk embroidered framed pictures. Nothing sold for under $1,500. We had traditional Chinese food at their restaurant on the second floor.
After that, we headed over to Shanghai Museum of Art and History, considered the finest in China. It had 4 floors and 11 galleries of ancient paintings, sculpture, ceramics, jade, calligraphy, furniture and bronzes. It was very intriguing but we had only limited time. So we did a quick walkthrough and headed over to People’s Square, which is a park with fountains, flowers, grass, all surrounded by modern skyscrapers.
Many families were out enjoying the nice weather and the holidays, so I took a lot of pictures of the kids. We stopped for a beer and were sitting on the steps in the shade when children people started coming up to us to practice their English. There was Coco, a second grader, who talked to us and posed for a picture. Then there was Kitty. They take English as a second language in school.
We had planned to head over to the riverfront Bund area, but it was getting late and we are going there tomorrow, so skipped it.
On the way home, we learned about family planning in China. They are trying to lower the population. So people can only have one child. Although it is illegal for doctors to disclose the child’s gender, they still do it. There are 112 men for every 100 women. When you get pregnant, you must register your baby and get a certificate for its delivery. If you don’t, the child is not considered Chinese and gets so social benefits. Of course, you can pay the $20,000 fine and then you get benefits. There are a number of exceptions to the rules, particularly if you are a member of one of the 55 ethnic groups in the country, have a disabled child, a child that died, or you and your spouse were from single child families.
Mothers work so grandparents take care of children. The average girl gets married at 26 and the average man at age 28. 40% continue to college after high school.
We gathered in the evening at the hotel for a Chinese-style Welcome Dinner, then it was off to bed.
China Journal, Day 8, May 2, 2008 - Shanghai
Daily Journal
It’s another nice day here in Shanghai—80F and clear. We have a full schedule of culture and discovery events: silk rug factory, local shopping market, community center visit, home hosted lunch, and the Bund, a riverside shopping district.
The first stop was the silk rug factory, which used to employ several thousand people before being relocated outside the city. This was my fifth or sixth rug factory visit, so there wasn’t anything I hadn’t already seen. You know the routine: here’s the silk, here’s the girl who makes it, let’s twirl the rug so you can see it change colors, and now let’s go to the showroom. Yawn.
We then visited a local food market. It was crazy with everyone shopping. You could buy just about anything you needed there. The most memorable parts were watching a lady pull out a giant scissors and cut a chicken’s head off, the lady who clubbed the fish over the head to kill it before scaling it, and the see-through bag with enormous live toads in it. There are supermarkets, but people like this better because the food is really fresh.
We then drove over to a gated community in a tree-lined section of central Shanghai for some Discovery Series events. Gated communities are the norm in China for security and people pay dues for the upkeep of the area and the common elements. About a third of the people in these communities are seniors. We stopped at the community center where the senior members danced, sang and put on a fashion show for us. The women were all in their fifties and sixties. At the end, we had to sing for them (“you are my sunshine …) led by Marylee, a former Wisconsin-now Florida resident with 65 years of scouting experience. Then we all broke out into dance, including the Dragon, which is a line dance in which you move around in a circle.
After that, our curiosity about what the inside of a Chinese home looked like was satisfied by the famous GCT home-hosted lunch. The home was pretty bleak inside. We gathered around a big round table in the sitting room with the ubiquitous Lazy Susan where we feasted on pretty much the same food we’ve been eating again and again over the past few days. This time though, they had preserved duck eggs, which we were told about on the bus on our way over to the place. I wouldn’t eat the blue eggs, but others said they tasted like regular eggs. The host didn’t speak English so it was pretty much like going to a restaurant for lunch. I could have done without it personally.
After lunch, we drove over to the riverfront to visit the Bund area. You could see Shanghai spreading out in all directions with its enormous skyscrapers. It was an amazing site. We got some time our own so slipped away from the group and took the Shanghai Tourist Tunnel under the river to the other side where we walked the promenade to admire the view of the city from the other side and watch the people go by. A couple of times people took note of us two Westerners amongst the sea of Chinese heads. The Tunnel was cool. The car moves very slowly and they have a light show to entertain you in the tunnel during the crossing. They should try this is the subways in the US to improve the experience. We admired the Pearl Tower, the tallest structure of its kind in the world. We didn’t go up though. Before getting back on the train to go back through the Tunnel, a young couple we ran into a couple we saw on the promenade who wanted their picture taken with some Americans.
We then took a very long walk down the main shopping street and pedestrian mall in Shanghai. Being a holiday, and a city of 18 million people, it was a sea of Chinese heads. I have never seen so many people in my life. Street vendors approached us every few seconds trying to sell us Rolex watches, Polo shirts, handbags and other copies of Western merchandise. Their shops were down side streets, not on the main drag. We eventually found a place to have a beer, then got a cab and for $2 went several miles back to the hotel where we had a few more beers and talked to Aki and Rick, a couple of English-speaking waiters at our hotel bar.
We then had our unique dining experience. We walked down a street close to the hotel where we came across a small local restaurant. Unfortunately, the menu was all Chinese with no pictures and the waiter spoke no English. I left my English-Chinese cheat sheet back at the hotel so we were on our own. At least I know the word for “beer” so that wasn’t a problem. But gestures and sound effects (moo, bah, cluck-cluck) did not register for the food order, so we pointed at the good looking food at the next table and ordered that. We got a ginger root salad and some dish with potatoes that we thought was beef or pork. It was fine, but not enough to eat. So on the way home, we stopped at a local bakery and got a whole bunch of cookies. We ate those back at the hotel.
I fell asleep early. Our program director called at 10:30 pm to tell us to be ready by 8 am for tomorrow’s departure from the hotel. I felt like telling him to call at 4 am when I’m awake. I haven’t adjusted to the time difference even after a week.
China Journal, Day 9, May 3, 2008 - Suzhou
Daily Journal
It was another nice day here—80F and sunny. I slept all through the night for the first time and woke up around 5 am, which was better than 4 am.
Today we took a day trip to the nearby town of Suzhou (sue-Joe) to see the things that inspired Marco Polo-—silk making, the gardens and the Grand Canal. Suzhou is a 500-year-old village of 7 million people in the heart of China's fabled Silk Region.
The first thing we did was head to the Shanghai train station to catch the high speed train 38 minutes to Suzhou. It was a nice trip through the country side. Upon arrival, we were met by our local guide, Sharon, who led us on a guided tour of the town.
Our first stop was the Fishermen’s Net Garden. It was similar to the other gardens we saw with ponds, gardens, rock hills, Chinese style pagoda-like buildings. It was a very peaceful place.
Afterwards we drove to a silk factory specializing in the production of comforters. They had a huge cafeteria where we had a buffet lunch. After lunch we had a tour of the factory where we learned about silk worms and silk production. The factory was interesting. The workers boiled the cocoons and then put them in a machine that unraveled them and spooled the silk. Connected to the factory was a gigantic showroom. In the comforter making area, we took turns standing on four corners of a sheet of silk and pulling on it to stretch it into a layer of silk for a comforter. They also had sheets and clothing. Those of us who had already seen this stuff or had no interest in it went to the cafeteria for a beer.
After the tour, we went down to the river where we saw a section of the old wall that once surrounded the city, then boarded small boats for a trip down the Grand Canal and some side branches. It was very pleasant. The Grand Canal is as famous as the Great Wall, but lesser known to foreigners. Lots of people waved to us as we passed along the canal and under bridges. The houses along the canals had interesting balconies and doorways leading to the edge of the canal. Both the main canal and the side canals were polluted, but the diesel fumes from the boat engine kept us from the stench. They don’t allow dumping in the canal anymore, but we saw a few drain pipes with liquid still draining into the river.
At the end of the tour, we got back to the pier, disembarked and headed to a local hotel to use their restroom before taking a two-hour bus ride back to Shanghai.
We arrived back in Shanghai at 6 pm. It gave us a chance to see the countryside a little closer. You saw the occasional rice paddy and a lot of apartment housing the government built several years ago but which nobody is living in yet. There were also a bunch of local farmers on the side of the road with signs saying “show you the way.” The highways around Shanghai are so numerous and confusing that truck drivers passing through the area pick these guys up as guides because they know the way through the mess.
Upon arrival, we headed to the bar to have a beer and say goodbye to our servers Aki and Rick. We’re flying to Xian tomorrow morning. We then grabbed our cheat sheets and headed out the door for dinner. We had to have Rick write down white rice and fried rice in Chinese on the sheet. As we were walking down the street, we came upon a pharmacy. Inside were 10 people from our group and our guide, Steven, helping them buy drugs to calm their coughs and sore throats. Half the bus has some illness. It could be a combination of going from indoor air conditioning to hot humid outdoor temperatures again and again. There’s a lot of coughing on the bus. I had it before I left but it’s gone now. I told Steven that Grand Circle should add a pharmacy visit as a Discovery Series event.
We found a local restaurant close by and managed to order dinner without any problems. The place was busy and we were near the door, so attracted attention from the locals who apparently are not accustomed to seeing Westerners. One gentleman enjoyed watching me try to eat with chopsticks. He stood behind me as I struggled. At the end, we got a photo of him showing me how to use them properly. I wasn’t choking up enough on them. We also had our picture taken by the waitress. It caused quite a commotion. We seemed like celebrities or something.
We then headed back to the hotel, stopping at the bakery again for some cookies and a photo of the girl who worked at the shop, who also took our picture with her cell phone.
After that, we met the Wisconsin contingent from our group in the hotel bar for a night cap and went to bed.
China Journal, Day 10, May 4, 2008 - Shanghai to Xian
Daily Journal
It was a rainy day in Shanghai, but warm. It didn’t matter though since it was a travel day. We flew to Xian, a city of 7 million, about 2 hours to the northwest of Shanghai.
Part of our travel group took the Maglev train to the Shanghai Airport. It’s the fastest train in the world, covering the 18 mile journey to the airport in 7 minutes, hitting a top speed of 267 mph (431 kph). The train floats over the track and never touches it. You felt like you were flying as the scenery zipped by and you passed the cars traveling on the parallel express way like they were standing still. Those who continued on our bus to the airport saw us whiz by.
It was a gorgeous day in Xian. We arrived at 3:30 pm and met our local guide Jenny at the airport. She told us that on the prior day, they had had a sandstorm and 90F degrees. It’s supposed to be 78F and sunny the next few days we’re here. On the drive into town, we saw some of the old burial mounds dotting the countryside. Xian was the capital of China for almost 3000 years. It was also the home of the Qin (“Chin”) Dynasty, the first to rule over a unified China hundreds fo years ago. Xian is also the terminus of the Silk Road, which is the ancient trade route made famous by Marco Polo. It’s the trade route to Turkey that brought goods from the East to the West and from West to East. It also brought the Muslim religion to China via Turkey. Many Muslims moved to Xian and married. Their descendents can be seen easily on the street. The Chinese-Muslim men wear white caps and the women wear scarves around their heads, but only cover their hair, not their faces.
As we neared town, we came to the old city walls which encircle the entire old city. The wall is 11 km (6.6 miles) and 14 feet thick. You can walk along the entire top if you want. At the gates and on the corners of the wall stand these enormous Chinese-style pagoda like buildings. Truly amazing.
We got off our bus and entered the south gate and walked through this gigantic pedestrian mall and shopping district that reminded me a lot of the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul with all the shops and fake goods. I learned my lesson on fake Polo shirts back in Thailand so didn’t buy any here. I snapped some photos of the Terra Cotta warrior statues for sale. We’re going there tomorrow.
After walking through the market, we came to the Great Mosque, a sprawling complex with a mosque and other buildings around it, all in Chinese style. We could not go in the mosque itself, but could explore the other buildings on our own. We were there to witness a couple having their wedding photos taken in traditional dress and the call to prayer, whereupon all the men made their way to the mosque.
After the mosque, we walked through a park on our way to dumpling dinner at a big local restaurant. We got some stares and I had my picture taken for about the 10th time since we’ve been here. Guess they aren’t used to seeing Caucasian men with round, blue eyes and light colored hair. There were a lot of people out enjoying the nice weather, and a lot of parents with small children. For a year or so after they can walk, children wear pants with a big slit in the crotch and no underwear. That way, if they have to go, they can just squat and go. I’ve been trying to get a photo without being too obvious. They potty train their kids much earlier than in the US. Our dumpling dinner started with appetizers. A particular wheat noodle looked like earthworms, so people had trouble eating those. Then they brought 15 bamboo steamer pots in rapid succession, each containing a different kind of dumpling. We had a few pickers at our table, so had lots leftover. They were delicious. We gave our leftovers to another table.
After dinner, it was dusk, and we headed back to the bus for our journey to our hotel, which is very, very nice, and centrally located in the heart of town and within the city walls. Rather than hide in the room, Dave and I went for a long walk. By then, the wall and gates were all lit up. It was stunning. We snapped a lot of photos. In the square in front of the south gate was a park with about 50 fountains squirting streams of water into the air and at different heights to the beat of music. We snapped a lot of photos of China’s next generation. Pretty cool. 
After that, we headed to the hotel where we had a beer, and then it was off to bed.
China Journal, Day 11, May 5, 2008 - Xian
Daily Journal
It was another beautiful day here in Xian, China. It's 78F and clear. We went to the Terra Cotta Army Museum and a primary school in the rural part of China to visit the children.
On the way to the Terra Cotta museum, we got the long awaited history lesson on China dynasties. There's too much to talk about, so I'll be brief. The dynasties were basically families that ruled China on an off from approximately the 21st-16th century BC right up to 1911 AD. In the earliest years, China was a feudal state ruled by territorial warlords. The dynasties rose from these beginnings. All of them exhibited the same pattern: founding, growth, peak, and collapse. Each collapse was followed by periods of chaos where other dynasties rose to power or where the country was torn apart by warring factions controlled by warlords.
There were 16 notable time periods in Chinese history. Most are marked by dynasties ruling the country, the others by territorial warlords. The most famous periods were the dynasties. There were six worth noting: Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC, built Terra Cotta Warriors and the Great Wall), the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD, introduced Buddhism, created paper, standardized currency), the Tang Dynasty (618 AD - 907 AD, invented gunpowder), the Song Dynasty (960 AD -1280 AD, moveable type printing, circulation of paper currency), the Yuan Dynasty (960 AD - 1368 AD, Marco Polo served the leader Kublai Khan, son of Ghengis Khan, first world atlas), the Ming Dynasty (1368 AD - 1644 AD, built Beijing's Imperial Palace, restored the Great Wall) and the last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty (1644 AD - 1911 AD, rebellions, Opium War against Great Britain, decline of the monarchy).
The Terra Cotta army was built by Emperor Qin during the Qin Dynasty. He was a tyrant whose goal was to control all of what was considered to be the civilized world--part of what is modern day China today. Besides the Terra Cotta army, he also built parts of the Great Wall which were eventually connected by other dynasties. The purpose of the Great Wall was to keep the barbarians out of the civilized world. Qin was China's fourth dynasty and the first to unify the warring factions as a single country. China's name is believed to have been derived from his name. Qin belived he could find a potion to give him immortality. When it became clear it wasn't going to happen, he started building his mausoleum and terra cotta (clay) warriors in assembly line fashion. It took 37 years to do and he died a year later during an inspection where the heavy metals in the potions he drank finally caught up with him. By then, he had created at least 3 vaults full of warriors and horses ranging from generals, calvaries and infantry men. They were intended to protect him in the after life. The army was buried underground in 3 pits. A fourth pit, which was empty, was also found, indicating that he died before it could be filled. Following his death, his son took over. But because the son was a tyrant like his father, there was a peasant uprising that overthrew the dynasty. The peasants found the underground vaults and broke all the clay warriors, horses and chariots before setting fire to the pits. They never found the emperor's mausoleum. That was the end of the Qin Dynasty and the start of the Han Dynasty. Six thousand soldiers, horses and chariots have been found to date. Only about 1000 have been restored since all of them were broken. In addition, each was painted and when the paint was exposed to air, it oxidized in a few hours. So they are keeping a lot of the warriors buried until they figure out how to preserve their color. Each of the warriors has a different face, and likely modeled after the artists who created it. They were built in assembly line fashion. The bodies were cast from molds, and were hollow. Later the appendages and head were added. Each was also equipped with bronze armaments, which were stolen by the peasants when they pillaged the pits.
The Terra Cotta army remained buried until 1974 when 4 farmers taking water from a well pulled up a head and some debris of a warrior statue. Eventually the site was closed and archaeologists excavated the site. There are probably many more buried than the 6000 found so far. The lightest weighs 100 pounds, the heaviest 300. They also stand taller than the average Chinese man at the time. This was intended to intimidate enemies and show the emperor's power.
We arrived at the museum mid-morning and spent three hours there exploring pits 1, 2, and 3. While there, we had our photo taken with one of the remaining two living farmers who found the warriors. We had to pay him 100 Yuan ($14) to pose with us. He snapped up his money and took off after the photo. We then went to the gift shop where the other remaining farmer works. He signs copies of a souvenir book about the site and yells and holds up a sign whenever he sees someone trying to take his picture. We watched a film about the history of the site and then visited the other two pits which contain smaller excavations in various stages of restoration. It was one of my most memorable travel moments.
And here is a photo of the Emperor's tomb which the peasants never found:
After the Terra Cotta museum, we drove to a local restaurant for lunch and then to a rural primary school where we were warmly greeted at the gate by the children. We then went to a sixth grade classroom where we were again greeted. Students took turns standing up and telling us about themselves and asking us a question. I left a couple boxes of ball point pens and assorted toiletries from the hotel with the teacher to give to the kids. Other people brought pencils and assorted school supplies. One guy brought pins with US flags on them. There were a lot of kids crowded around him. We then visited a first grade class where we took a lot of pictures. The kids were so cute. The recess bell rang so we all moved outside for more pictures. The school system in China is very much like the US regarding the types of schools, grades, subjects, etc. They start at 8 am, go to noon, then go home for lunch for two hours and come back from 2-4 pm. The college system is slightly different in that public universities are more highly coveted than private universities, where the cirriculum is inferior. College-bound students must pass a test to get into the college of choice. Rural kids are disadvantage relative to city kids, so are held to lower standards. Only about 40% of rural kids go on to college.
After the school, we returned to Xian. Most of the group went to a cultural dance show. I've seen this before, so didn't go. Jackie, Tony, Dave and I went shopping, to McDonald's and then to the Bell-Drum Tower to see Xian from a high perch in all its nighttime splendor.
After that, we went back to the hotel for a night cap. Tomorrow is our last day here in Xian before heading to Beijing, our last stop.
China Journal, Day 12, May 6, 2008 - Xian
Daily Journal
OK, this is getting repetitious, but it was another beautiful day here--80F and sunny. We toured Xian's city wall from the West Gate vantage point, a lacquerware factory, and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. In the afternoon, we were set free, so I went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda on my own with Debi from our group.
We arrived at the West Gate of the Xian city wall around 9 am. The city wall here is the best preserved in China. It was built in the 13th century during the Tang Dynasty in Ming style. It has 13 gates, is 39 feet high and has a 9 mile perimeter on which you can walk or ride a bike.
The wall has been restored many times over the century. We took a lot of pictures, including one of a kite salesman who had a string of about 50 small kites floating on a very long string far up in the sky.
After that, we drove to a lacquerware factory where they had lots of intricately painted pieces of furniture. I hate these tours, but this was pretty interesting.
We then went to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. Pagodas are like libraries that are used to house Buddhist scriptures. The pagoda was built around 1200 years ago during the Tang Dynasty and is 13 stories high. Buddism came to China via India between 7-10 AD. Some monks from China went to India to study Buddhism and brought the scriptures written in Sanskrit back to China after 20 years. They then tranlated them into Chinese and housed them in the pagoda. Why "Small Goose?" Legend says that one year the monks were very upset over not having enough meat in their diet. They looked up into the sky and saw a flock of geese. One died and fell to the ground. They saw it as a sign from Buddha and buried it on the spot where the pagoda is and became vegetarians, which was the start of 2 sects of Buddhist--one that eats meat and one that is vegetarian. We had some free time so I climbed the pagoda and waved to the group below.
I then strolled around the grounds by myself taking photos of the gardens and some shots to send my parents. I also stopped at the calligraphy store and had my name painted on a piece of paper.
We then went to a local hotel and had buffet lunch. I am getting sick of eating. There's just way too much food on these tours. We have a lot of overweight people on the tour so watching them eat is making me sick.
We got back to the hotel around 1 pm. Debi and I walked halfway to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda on the south side of town, then caught a cab the rest of the way. It was larger and in a more serene setting than the other pagoda.There was traditional Chinese music playing over the PA system, a beautiful temple with a Buddha statue, and another one on the side that I had my picture taken with as I kneeled in front of it. There were also a number Chinese-style buildings, courtyards, statues, gardens and shops. The pagoda was built in the seventh century AD and used to house translated scriptures brought back from India. We saw these in the museum on the grounds.
Tomorrow morning, we fly to Beijing for a few days before returning home.
China Journal, Day 13, May 7, 2008 - Xian to Beijing
Daily Journal
We left Xian after lunch and flew to the capital Beijing. It's colder (70F) and cloudier in Beijing. After checking into our hotel, we went on an unplanned trip to the Olympic Village. After returning from that, we went to a local Western bar, then went back to the hotel for our group dinner featuring Peking Duck. Then Dave and I went to another Western bar for a nightcap and a few games of pool. Beijing has 16 million people. The old name Peking originated from Roman Catholic priests who came to the area and mispronounced the name. The city in huge--20 times bigger in area than New York City. There is construction going on everywhere as the country prepares to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in August. The center of Beijing, Tianenman Square, is only 44 miles from the Gobi Desert. They had a sandstorm yesterday, so everything is covered in yellow sand and dust. It makes the air very cloudy when combined with moisture and automobile exhaust. The air quality here has been terrible for the entire trip. The government is starting to crack down on cars and factories to fix the problem.
The Olympic Village is still under construction. We wondered if they would be done before the opening ceremonies in early August. We saw the National Stadium ("Bird's Nest"), the swim center ("Water Cube"), the structure on which the flame will burn throughout the Games, the athlete's housing, the media center, and several other buildings. There were a lot of Chinese citizens taking pictures like us. Some Chinese workmen found our group amusing so I posed for a Grand Circle moment that I will send in for their next photo contest.
Our hotel is in the international part of Beijing so there are lots of Western bars and restaurants. We went to one (Cafe del Mar) for a beer (or two) before going back to the hotel for dinner. After dinner, we went to another bar in the hotel to shoot a few games of pool and have a nightcap.
We have a long day of touring in Beijing tomorrow, so off to bed.
China Journal, Day 14, May 8, 2008 - Beijing
Daily Journal
This was day 2 in Beijing. Excellent weather again. We went to a boarding school for children focusing on the martial arts, then to a jade factory. The group went back to the hotel for lunch and I went to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a T-shirt. After lunch, we took a tour of the hutongs of old Beijing, including afternoon tea with a local family.
The martial arts school was interesting. They have 90% boys and 10% girls, ranging in ages from 3 to 21. The teenage boys put on an amazing Kung Fu routine for us, demonstrating their techniques and several skills. Afterwards, the group got a chance to have their picture taken with the boys. Wouldn't want to get on their bad side. Kung Fu is Cantonese. It’s always been part of China’s history. It wasn’t really popular until it was popularized in American movies with stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. Now there are a lot of Kung Fu martial arts schools.
The jade factory was OK. I'm tired of these visits to state-run factories for tourists. We got a lecture on the types of jade and how to spot fakes. Afterwards, we were turned loose to shop in the factory showroom. It took way too long. Jade has always been popular in China. The ancient Chinese used it for utensils, jewelry and arrow heads. It is blessed with many virtues, which the Confucius scholars said all people should emulate. To the touch it is always smooth. It has a beautiful color. If you tap on it, it makes a nice sound. It never irritates you. And if it is flawed, you can always see it. So it has very upright qualities. Jadeware is a major part of every Chinese woman’s jewelry. Chinese believe it can help preserve the entire body and reincarnate you. Ancient people were wrapped in a jade outfit when they died. When women marry, they get jade and gold. They have a saying that goes: “Gold is valuable, Jade is priceless.” Jade has many colors. It is not only green but also red, white and black. Its value comes from its hardness and translucency, not its color. There are two categories: hard and soft. Jadite is the hardest, most valuable and can be used to cut glass. A fingernail-sized piece can cost several thousand $US. The value of soft jade comes from its translucency and the craftsmanship that goes into carving it.
I took a cab to the Hard Rock Cafe. It was a lot farther away than it looked on my map. The driver got lost, but I managed to buy a HRC Beijing T-shirt and get back to hotel under a half hour.
We then went to the hutongs to see what old Beijing looked like, stroll around the various ethnic neighborhoods, and have tea with a local family. We took bicycle-powered rickshaws through the narrow streets.
Our skinny-ass driver was 26-year-old Leo who, despite not weighing more than 120 pounds wet, managed to peddle us quickly from stop to stop.
We stopped at a local park where a bunch of old ladies in pink dresses with a band danced to traditional music while members of our group joined in.
We then stopped at a local Buddhist temple, and finally to a local home for afternoon tea where the family dog stunk so bad I nearly passed out.
We ditched the group after the home visit and cabbed to the Silk Market, which was inside a 6-story building with a million stalls in it.
We went floor to floor browsing all the stuff they had but were in no mood to bargain, so went back to the hotel. We went back to Cafe del Mar for a cocktail before going to the Tex-Mex restaurant near our hotel for dinner. After that, we went to the beer hall for a nightcap and a game of pool. We have a busy day tomorrow, so it's off to bed.
China Journal, Day 15, May 9, 2008 - Beijing
Daily Journal
It was a really long day. We did a lot of sightseeing and were on our feet all day. It was the coolest day yet—like 66F and cloudy. The forecast called for rain but it held off most of the day and then just rained lightly in the late afternoon.
Our day started at Tiananmen Square. We then moved across the street to the Forbidden City where China’s emperors lived. We ditched the group and ventured on our own during the afternoon. We taxied to the Lama Temple, the most visited Buddhist temple in China, then taxied to Temple of Heaven. After that, we browsed the Wangfujiang Street pedestrian mall, which runs on a north-south street a few blocks east of the Forbidden City. At the Wangfujiang night market, we gobbled up some scorpion appetizers—legs, claws, tail and all—before heading back to the hotel at 6 pm.
Most people remember Tiananmen Square from the 1989 prodemocracy protest where several college students were gunned down by police who were trying to break up the protest. It was punctuated by the student standing in front of a tank. Almost 50 years earlier on October 1, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong stood before a million people to proclaim the birth of the Communist Party and the People’s Republic of China. Today, it is a major tourist site. It has several Communist-style block buildings, and obelisk commemorating those who lost their lives for the revolutionary causes of China. It also has several gates, one of which features a photo of Chairman Mao gazing across the entire square. It’s also the largest public square in the world. At one end of the Square is Mao’s tomb where his body lies in state from around 8-11 daily. The line was too long, so we didn’t see it.
The Forbidden City defies description. It is a massive complex that once housed China’s emperors. It contains magnificent halls, stately courtyards, winding lanes and interesting museums all in traditional Chinese style. It was completed in 1420 after 14 years of laboring by 200,000 laborers. Moats and massive gates protected the emperor and his concubines. Most buildings are constructed of wood and have gleaming yellow tiled roofs and colorful exteriors and interiors featuring the finest craftsmanship of the time. Various museums preserve the living quarters and display all the pageantry one could expect from an emperor. We strolled the grounds for three hours moving from the outer courtyards and eventually into the inner core known as the Forbidden City.
After the Forbidden City, we broke off from the group and headed to the Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist masterpiece with five main halls and numerous galleries. The Dali Lama studied here. The five halls contain all sorts of Buddha statues where the faithful bring incense and kneel down to pray to the gods. The fifth temple features the tallest Buddha in the world at 85 feet, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records. We had fun spinning the prayer wheel and photographing the Buddhist monks in their brown robes.
We then headed to the Temple of Heaven on the south side of Beijing. It was built in 1420 as a site for imperial sacrifices, meant to please the gods so they would generate bumper harvests. The park contained several temples and platforms where sacrifices were performed. The park is twice the size of the Forbidden City, so we got a good workout.
After the park, it was 4 pm, so we cabbed over to Beijing’s hot spot, Wangfujiang Street. It is a pedestrian mall east of the Forbidden City that stretches several blocks. It has all the high end stores and tourist shops. On the north end, they have a night market that serves food from 5 pm onwards. They had a lot of traditional Chinese food at the various food stalls, as well as exotic foods like silk worms, sea urchins, snakes, star fish, scorpions, centipedes, and lamb testicles. We decided to try the scorpions, which are deep fried and salted. I was hesitant to try them, particularly after the cook showed us live ones. But I just held my breath and started munching. It wasn’t too bad, but it will be a while till I try them again.
We then cabbed back to our hotel and went out to dinner at the nearby Tex-Mex restaurant. Our hotel is in the expatriate/Westernized area of Beijing, so there are a lot of places to eat like we’re at home. After two weeks of Chinese food, we’re getting sick of it.
Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall and Ming Tombs. I’ve been waiting for this day for many months.
China Journal, Day 16, May 10, 2008 - Beijing (Great Wall of China - Badaling)
Daily Journal
It was cold and windy yesterday, and it rained briefly. But it was a godsend since the wind and rain blew the smog out of the area. Today, the skies were crystal clear and blue for as far as the eye can see. But it was still a bit chilly with a high around 70F. This was OK though because we got a lot of exercise walking the Great Wall of China at Badaling and the Ming Tombs following a brief tour of a cloisonné (enamelware) factory.
The cloisonné factory demonstrated beautiful enamel artwork that predates the Ming Dynasty. Cloisonné is known for colorful glazes and patterns. The first stage of its creation begins by making rough casts of vases, dishes, jars, and boxes with red copper. Then, intricate flower patterns are fashioned with copper wire, and welded onto the roughcasts. The resulting designs are inlaid with enamel and glazes, then put in a cloisonné oven to cure. The nearly finished pieces are then polished several times to bring out their characteristic brightness and luster.
After the factory, we made the long-awaited trek to Badaling 25 miles northwest of Beijing by bus. There are several sections of the Great Wall near Beijing, but this is the one that is most interesting as it winds up and down over towering mountains. Nixon first came here in the 1970s, as did all the US Presidents after him, except the Clintons. We made sure we had the front row seats of the bus, which seemed to upset some of our tour group members. The first glimpses of the Wall had camera shutters clicking. The Great Wall was built by successive dynasties over two millennia. It is not one structure but a series of defensive installations that shrank and grew over the years. More vulnerable points were more heavily fortified, such as the section we visited, while sections in more mountainous areas are unwalled all together. The actual length is debated. Our tour guide said it is 3,000 miles long (Seattle to New York), other sources say 4,000 miles. The walls are 26 feet tall and 30 feet wide. New sections are still being discovered. The Wall was started by the Qin Dynasty to protect the country from the uncivilized world. People willingly worked on the wall since the country had been invaded first by the Huns of Europe and later the Mongols (Genghis Khan and his grandson, Kublai Khan). The Hans, China’s largest ethnic group today, were ruled by Kublai Khan after the Qin Dynasty was toppled. They eventually had an uprising and overthrew Khan to create the Ming Dynasty, which fortified the wall. Despite the wall, it did not stop the Manchu invasion that toppled the Ming Dynasty in 1644.
It was an amazing experience walking on the wall. I walked and climbed up very steep grades and steps to the highest point of this section of the wall. The views of the mountains in the distance and the wall winding its way up and down them into the distance is a memory I will never forget. The place was really crowded with people young and old, and mostly Chinese people. Similar to yesterday’s visit to the Forbidden City, we were stared at by many Chinese who had rarely seen Westerners. Several asked me to pose for pictures with them. I have to say I’ve been amazed at how modern China is after decades being a closed society. They are trying to put on their best face for the Summer Olympic Games later in August.
After climbing back down to the base of the Wall, we had lunch and bought T-shirts at the official Olympic store nearby.
We then had yet another Chinese lunch before heading to nearby Ming Tombs. The tombs are in a peaceful valley that the Ming emperors chose as their burial ground. We passed through a great marble gateway more than four centuries old, and onto Sacred Way, the Avenue of the Animals lined with massive stone statues of kneeling and standing elephants, lions, camels, and fanciful beasts. We also saw one of the 13 tombs housing the remains of 13 emperors and innumerable treasures. The 13 imperial tombs were built from 1409 to 1644, and are spread over nearly 25 square miles. The grounds were pretty typical as far as Chinese architecture goes, but interesting nonetheless.
Tomorrow is our last full day here. We’re going to the Imperial Summer Palace and the Beijing Zoo to see the giant pandas.
China Journal, Day 17, May 11, 2008 - Beijing
Daily Journal
It was a rainy cold day here today in Beijing—50F with scattered showers. But we made the best of it visiting the Beijing Zoo to see the giant pandas and then the Imperial Summer Palace. The day ended with stops at a local shopping mall, our local watering hole and our group's farewell dinner at the hotel.
I had to get a shot of this funky hotel room we're staying at in Beijing. It's got a window in the bathroom.We went to the Beijing Zoo to see the Giant Pandas. Panda means "bear cat" in Chinese. It is related to the raccoon. The panda is native to the Sichuan Province of China, which lies on the boundary of north and south China near Xian in the northwestern part of the country. When we drove to the Terra Cotta Army museum a few days ago, we were told that if we crossed over the nearby mountain range into the bamboo forest, we would find pandas. There are only 1,500 in the wild today on a wildlife preserve. They are facing extinction for several reasons. They have low sex drives and are picky with partners. They are picky eaters, consuming only one particular type of bamboo known as arrow bamboo, which has tender leaves and becomes poisonous after it blossoms, which kills many pandas because they can't tell. They also don't like other types of food though scientists working with pandas in captivity have created a nutritious bread-like substance containing bamboo that they eat. To get them to breed, scientists are showing them pornographic panda movies. It seems to be working. Pandas don't see each other in the wild often so don't know sex very well. Pandas can live 15-20 years in the wild and 25 years in captivity. They can weigh 200-250 pounds in the wild and 300 pounds in captivity. Typically the female has one baby. Oftentimes she can have 2-3 but she will only care for one. Babies come out crying and the loudest is usually the strongest and the one the mother keeps. They are small and pink at birth. They are easy to deliver because they are so small. Relative to a human, it would be the equivalent of laying an egg. The rest die of starvation. Scientists try to get the abandoned babies to help increase the population. They are expensive to keep so they make paper out of panda poop. We joked on the bus that Chinese envelopes are made of panda poop because they have no glue on them. We toured the panda enclosure. They live better than humans with a special indoor-outdoor facilility, special diet, air conditioning and showers. We visited in the morning when they are most active. And even then they were not doing much except eating. We took some photos inside and outside.
After the zoo, we went to the Summer Palace. The huge regal encampment of the Summer Palace is one of the city's principle attractions. Once a playground for the imperial court eluding the insufferable summer swelter of the Forbidden City, today the palace grounds, its temples, gardens, pavilions, lakes and corridors teem with marauding tour groups. The site had long been a royal garden and was considerably enlarged and embellished by Qing Emperor Qianlong in the 18th century. Qianlong visited the south of China and was so impressed with the garden he saw that he had the park built as his summer retreat. He had it built in Beijing because he couldn't leave the Forbidden City in Beijing. Enlisting 100,000 laborers, he deepened and expanded Kunming Lake (Kūnmíng Hú) and reputedly surveyed imperial naval drills from a hilltop perch. British-French troops badly damaged the buildings during the Second Opium War in 1860. Empress Dowager Cixi (aka The Dragon Lady) began a refit in 1888 with money flagged for a modern navy, indulging herself with the extravagant marble boat on the northern edge of the lake.
Because the Chinese army trained on the lake and not the sea, they were crushed by the Japanese navy during the Chinese-Japanese War in the South China Sea in 1890. Not many people like Express Cixi and she was responsible for the deaths of many Chinese, so gained the name "Dragon Lady" and "high maintenance" since she had 100 different dishes served at each of her 2 daily meals, which could have fed 300 peasants per day. She died in 1908 and was buried in a tomb nearby that was raided by warlords and thieves in 1930. They found frescoes and sculptures in the tomb. They removed the top of her tomb to find a very well preserved corpse dressed in a beautiful gown and things buried with her like silk, calligraphy, jade, precious books and other items. The royal family was upset with the tomb-raiding so complained to the then Republic of China government led by Chiang Kai -Shek. He investigated and got some of the things back. There were three items of note. The first was an egg-shaped stone inside her mouth. This was returned and eventually cut in half and used to adorn the shoes of Kai-Shek's wife. If you saw the movie "The Last Emperor" you might remember this scene. She appointed the last emperor or China, which was the topic of the movie. Kai-Shek's wife died in 2006 in Long Island at age 106. She was educated in Boston and was living in Long Island at the time. The other two items of note have not been found. One was a jade watermelon filled with seeds--rubies, diamonds, jade and other precious stones. The third item whose whereabouts are unknown was a jade lotus. We strolled the incredibly beautiful grounds and gardens and eventually took a dragon boat ride on the massive man-made lake.
After the summer palace, we went back to the hotel and then caught a cab to the Yaxiu Market again where we shopped for souvenirs. You bargain for everything, even food. It was crazy. Jackie had wanted a golden waving cat toy since day one. We bought one for her at the Summer Palace gift shop so had to keep her from buying another one at the market.
We returned to the hotel and went to the Cafe del Mar for a final drink. We're leaving tomorrow. We had fun practicing our Chinese with the help and posed for a picture with them before we left. We had a farewell dinner at the hotel restaurant in the evening. We had Western food to acclimate us to returning home. We put Jackie's waving cat at her seat. Was she ever surprised and finally understood why we kept telling her not to buy one at the market. I also gave our guide Steven his tip and a Beijing 2008 Olympic T-shirt for his baby, which is due in August while the Olympics are in progress. We then bid farewell to the group and headed back to the room to pack.
It was a great trip, but I am looking forward to going home. 18 days is a long time to be away from home.
China Journal, Day 18, May 12, 2008 - Travel from Beijing to the US
Daily Journal
Well, we go home today. It’s been a great trip but I am more than ready to go home. Our flight departed Beijing at 4 pm so we had all day to sit around with nothing to do. We poked around the mall across the street for a while but didn’t see anything we wanted. Then we went back to the hotel and bought a deck of cards and played gin rummy in the room for three hours.
We met our guides Susan and Steven at 1:30 pm and got to the new airport in Beijing. They still have a lot of work to do before the Olympics, but they should get the roads and monorail done before them. One member of our group Russell, who is in his late 70s overdid it on the Great Wall so had an injured leg and wasn’t walking well. We accompanied him on the plane so got to board first. I walked a little ahead and when I turned around I saw one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. Dave was holding onto Russell’s arm and was doing such an effective job blocking the jetway that none of the first and business class customers could get by. The anxious looks on those passengers' faces made we wish I had my camera out to take a picture. It reminded me of the Indianapolis 500 when cars bob and weave back and forth trying to get around the lead cars. And all that frustration just to get on the plane first.
I took my seat just a row behind the one I flew over in and started talking to the nice stewardess as we waited for the others to board. The flight was less than half full and I had two nasty smelling Chinese people sitting next to me, so I gathered up my belongings and moved up to the empty Economy Plus section. The nice stewardess didn’t say a word because she was upset with the Chinese people next to me for filling the overhead compartment and being rude to her. After I settled in another stewardess asked me if it was my seat and I just said yes. I enjoyed lots of legroom and empty seats next to me the whole flight so after two valiums I was able to sleep almost the entire 12-1/2 hour flight home. When I woke up, we were flying over Madison, WI. This much sleep should help me recover from jet lag.
We arrived ahead of schedule at 3:50 pm in Chicago, so I was able to clear immigration, collect my bag and sail through customs with plenty of time to spare before the 5:10 pm bus to Milwaukee. Another couple in my group from Mequon offered to give me a ride to Milwaukee, but I felt I would get home before them with the traffic and all. They had to wait an hour for a shuttle to pick them up and take them to their car. As my bus pulled away, they still had a half hour to wait, so I think I made a good decision. Besides, the traffic out of Chicago was hideous so wouldn’t have saved much time either way. 
I got home to Milwaukee safe and sound and walked in the door around 7:30 pm and did some laundry then settled in for a good night’s sleep. I have to go back to work tomorrow. In China, it would already be 8:30 am tomorrow.
China Journal - Back in Milwaukee from China, May 12, 2008
Arrived home safe and sound from an awesome trip to China. There will be lots of memories. I don't want to see any Chinese people or eat any Chinese food for at least a month. I'm unpacked, doing laundry and sorting through three weeks of mail. Will be ready for bed soon. China is 13 hours ahead so it's 9:45 am tomorrow morning already. I see from today's news that that there was a massive 7.9 earthquake in Sichuan Province in the area of Xian where I was last week. It's the area where giant pandas live. I was either on the bus going to the airport in Beijing or already at the airport when it hit. But I didn't feel anything.
