Silk Road - next stop! GanSu 甘肃！！

Is there a way of backdating weblog entries?? he he.. somebody tell me...

So the next province that we went to is GanSu ¸ÊËà   In the olden times, this province was the westernmost province of China and so basically one of the most important gates/passes to transport silk is here, called JiaYuGuan ¼ÎÓø¹Ø.     

Here's a picture of the JiaYuGuan Pass. So if you go through the city gates, you're in the city (obviously).  Within the city, there was a temple, restaurants, and others.  Not much to see, but in here, we did get funny pictures like this:

The guys were so cute, so cute that when a Japanese tourist saw them, she wanted to take their picture... and not just any picture too.  She wanted them to pose!  hehe.. my friend says Japanese people like to see gay people. 

We also went to Humming Sandy Mountain or MingSha Ãùɳ Mountain, which is about 40km by 20km big.  All you see is yellow sand, and camels of course.  We rented camels to climb the mountain and went to the foot of the highest peak.  From the peak of the mountain, we sat on a toboggan-look-alike and slid down the mountain.  It hurt because at the time we trekked up the mountain, a sandstorm has started.  It felt like thousands of ants biting you.  I think it took a lot of washings to get the sand out of my ears.

Here are pictures of the sandstorm situation.  The first one, on the left, is taken outside, in the open.  Through the naked eye, you can't really see the sand particles, but the camera does a good job of showing them.  The other one is taken inside the tour bus, where you can see how poor the visibility is, and this was not even at the height of the storm.  So, in Canada, if there are days of poor visibility due to snow, in China, there are days of poor visibility due to sand.

From this small city, we went to the capital, LanZhou (À¼ÖÝ£©. I didn't know this before but apparently the best beef noodle soup comes from this city.  So, for breakfast, straight from the train station, we had beef noodle soup.  There are 5 qualities to a good beef noodle soup: Yellow colour (for the noodles), Red colour (for the chili), Gold (for the soup base), and.... errr.. I forgot. ha ha.. oh, I think the smell is another one.  It was good, but I can't say it's awesome.  The yellow thing on the small plate is some sort of pickled cabbage.  It smelt rotten so I didn't bother trying it... and that's tea-boiled egg, plus slices of beef.  There's no chili in the soup yet since the tour company didn't know our tastes.  I'd say it was the best breakfast we had in this tour.  You wouldn't want to eat what we've eaten before.

This is the view of Lanzhou.  After breakfast, we went to the Yellow River (»ÆºÓ£©£¬the mother river of China.  It's yellow because of the sand that goes into the water.  Some parts of it (in other provinces of course), are not yellow.  Our tour guide said that Lanzhou is the only provincial capital that the river passes by.  See the bridge on the left side of the picture?  That has been closed to vehicles.  Only people can cross that bridge.  Many people will attract you to ride a speedboat as you cross.

We didn't ride a boat but we rode a sheepskin raft.  That's our raft "captain", cleaning the raft after our ride.  The sheep is skinned and the skin is filled with air.  Four of us rode the raft (5 with the captain) and crossed the flowing river.  Amazingly, I didn't get wet.  I got a good view of the river and you really see the sand in the water.  We were all imagining how disgusting it would be if we fell into the water.  Note that the river is wavy.  Well, "dirty" as the river is, there are fish in it!  The captain said that they're expensive and delicious, a local delicacy.

After the half day tour, we looked for KFC for dinner.   Dinner is onboard the 24-hour train ride back to Beijing.  So imagine how bored we got.   To relieve boredom, we played cards.  See below.  This was how we ended our Silk Road Trip. 

P.S. This is the hard sleeper, three narrow beds on top of each other, with space in between of course.  The bottom one was the only you can sit on without banging your head.

P.P.S.  We arrived in Beijing at 4:30 pm.

P.P.P.S.  We didn't remove the make-up until we got home AFTER dinner in a Korean restaurant near our apartments.  Yes, we were popular that day.

Silk Road tour ( 丝绸之路 )

I know I know.. this entry is long overdue.  I've just been busy with midterms, travelling, and more travelling. China had a long holiday in May.  Everyone was off the whole first week of May.  So, had to take advantage of that time-off even though I know it would be packed everywhere.  Since we have a week off, my friends and I decided to go somewhere farther, someplace that we wouldn't be able to go as a weekend trip.  Hence, the Silk Road tour.  The first province that we visited was Xinjiang (新疆）。

This province is actually an autonomous region.  It's the largest (1/6 of China's territory), western-most province of China.  It has the largest desert too.  Unsurprisingly, annual rainfall is very little (one website says 6 in).  Its southern neighbor is Tibet.  In ancient history, Xinjiang was called the West Region.  It wasn't part of China yet and it was one of the ultimate destinations on the Silk Road.

It's actually more modern than I expected.  I was surprised to see a Volvo dealership on our to the hotel from the airport.  This picture is taken on our way out of the capital (if you think Xinjiang is hard to pronounce, try this), Wulumqi (ÎÚ³ľÆë).

From Wulumqi, we went to Turfan ( Í³·¬£©another major city in Xinjiang.  On the way, we passed by this area with lots of windmills on both sides of the highway.  It covers a HUGE area and is apparently the 2nd biggest in the world with plans to make it the biggest.  I don't know if all windmills are designed like this, but here, you will see that only a portion of the windmills are moving.  That's because they are designed such that no matter what direction the wind is blowing, there is always a portion that's spinning.  Can you see the snow-capped mountain range in the background?  It's called Tian Shan （天山）, literally translated, it means Heaven Mountain.  Lots of mountains in this province and very desert-like.

Then we went to this ancient city ruins GaoChang （高昌古城）. From the entrance to this city, we rode a bumpy donkey buggy, with dust flying everywhere. It used to a city with a palace, temple, etc.  It's all dust now after some war.   Much of the historical importance was lost on me because I wasn't listening to the tour guide and it probably wouldn't have mattered anyway because it was all in Chinese.  I wouldn't have understood all of it.  But this place has been declared a protected area in China.

And somewhere in this desert-like place, there's a valley where grapes are grown.  It's nowhere near as expansive as the ones in Niagara, but it seemed like a breath of fresh air in a place where everything you see are rocks.

Too bad that the grapes aren't in season or else we would've been able to taste them.  Apparently, Turfan grapes are one of the sweetest in the world, next to California(?). Raisins are one of the main crops here and locals dry them in their own homes.  We went to a local's house where they fed us different types of grapes and other dried fruits.  The raisins were really sweet, unlike the ones that I have eaten before, i.e. Sun-maid. But we got jipped because we got them for ¥20 per half kilo from there, when outside, they're selling it for ¥10!!  I'll think of it as helping the farmers...

You may wonder how plants grow in this desert-like province.  They have an underground water system going on! Remember the snow-capped mountains earlier?  Generations ago, they built underground tunnels to transport the melted snow from the mountains to the village.  Underground - to keep water from evaporating.  This was in a time where everything was done by hand, and they used shadows to determine if they're digging a straight line.  Very smart.. And they had wells at different places so that people can get water.  In the olden times, the number of wells you owned signified how rich you are (therefore, your daugter would have been very popular if you owned more than 1 of these).

Ok, i wanted to give this place justice so here's the only-slightly modified pic. This is truly one of the best places on earth.  I stood there, admiring the view, and it was so pretty it looked fake.  Actually, I don't think the picture does it justice. This place is called TianChi or "Heavenly Lake" (天池）。 These are the same snow-capped mountains from a while ago. Behind the camera, there are also lush mountains and it felt like we were on the set of The Sound of Music.  The hills are alive....

I will never forget this place, not only because of its beauty but also because we got lost while hiking.  We thought we would be left behind.  We had a hard time finding our way back and some locals told us it would take us 2 hours to hike back when we were supposed to leave the place in an hour (including a 45-min lunch).  Needless to say, we found our way back, with half an hour to spare.  Those locals didn't know what they were talking about.. or maybe there was a language barrier....??? Nah....

When people talk about Xinjiang, they talk about lamb! From this picture, you can see how serious they are about their meat. ha ha.. In Beijing, lots of places sell lamb skewers.  When I told people (locals) that I was going to Xinjiang, the first thing they would tell me is to eat lamb because apparently, the lamb here is very tender.  Hmmm.. after eating it there, I still think the best lamb skewer I've had was in Beijing (and the best lamb chops in TO's JW's inside Marriot!).   We even paid extra to go to a buffet in a hotel where there was a whole roasted goat served...  Naans are also very popular here.. see the next stall for the naans..

Here's a picture of a street market in Wulumqi.  Can you see what the locals look like?  The majority of these people belong to the Uygur minority. To me, the look like a cross between Russians, Chinese, and Mexicans.  Very strong features and almost non-Chinese.  And because they're mostly Muslims, you can't say "pork", instead, they say "big meat".  So, instead of pork, you eat lamb.  I'd say, if you wanna truly experience China, you gotta prepare your stomach for local foods like these..

Freshly-made ice cream, anyone?? They come in different colors from different stalls.  I tried two different colored ones but they tasted almost the same.. yummy.  Reminds me of gelato when I first saw it, but the consistency is different, not as creamy. 

So.. after some ice cream, lamb skewers, lamb chops on sticks, and a bit of shopping, we boarded the bus and headed for the train station.  Next stop, GanSu and snowstorm...

Shanghai (上海)!!

Finally, images of Shanghai!  It's my first time visiting this popular Chinese city...

Here's a picture of the Beijing train station.  It looks really nice at night with the lights.  But then again, maybe I just did a good job on this shot. ha ha ha..   This station was PACKED.  There were people everywhere.  I'm not sure if it was because we left on a Friday...

You would think that as a major transportation hub, it would be more upscale, but it's not.  Washrooms (or restrooms or toilets or W.C for water closet in China) still stink and it was just so dim inside.  I guess I will always have Western stations to compare to. 

Here's a picture of the train that we rode in from Beijing to Shanghai.  See what I mean by dim??  We left Beijing around 7:30 pm and arrived Shanghai at around 7:45 a.m.  That's about 12 hours of train ride, with a short stop at Wuxi (an hour away from Shanghai) to offload and load passengers.  China train ticket prices have 4 categories: hard seat, soft seat, hard bed, and soft bed, in order of prices, lowest to highest.  Tickets can only be up to 4 days in advance from the date of departure.  I've heard horror stories about the hard seat and I don't think I'll ever take that ..  We wanted to take the hard bed since it's an overnight trip but then we weren't able to buy them.  We thought that they were sold out but once we got on the train, we realized that there were no hard beds.  Just soft seats and soft beds.  Weird.  But that ended up saving us money.  The soft seats cost us ¥576 each, return. The soft beds would've cost us ¥998, almost double, so we opted for the soft seats.  Besides, the soft seats are like plane seats.  If I can survive 16 hours on the plane, I can survive 12 hours on the train. The soft beds looked very inviting though.. 2 bunk beds in a compartment and a pillow and blanket are provided.  I didn't take a picture inside the train this time, but I will on my next trip, wherever that is.  Oh yeah, the W.C.'s were still bad, but bearable..

So.. my first impressions of Shanghai?  Lots of skyscrapers.. air quality is most definitely better than Beijing's...wider roads... more fashionable.. more modern... very Westernized... lots of shopping centers!!  It actually reminded me of Hongkong so it's not surprising that there are many Hongkong-based brands here.  I hear that it's very similar to Tokyo, as well.

I think that a person who is used to Western living would suit here better.  Shanghai is the finance center of China, whereas Beijing is where the government is and the center for culture and education.

So, after dropping our stuff off at the place we're staying at and taking a much-needed shower, we headed off to Old Shanghai (上海老街)!

Old Shanghai is a bustling place with small shops, teahouses, and snack places.  It's a definite must-see in Shanghai.

The nearby area was once a walled area in the 1800's but the walls were taken down in 1911. 

At that time, the center of the area was dominated by HuXinTing Teahouse 湖心亭(in the picture), YuYuan Garden 豫园,and the Temple of the City God. 

HuXinTing literally means "lake centre pavilion."  So this Teahouse is aptly named for its location.  There are 9 zig-zag bridges that leads to the Teahouse.  Ancient people believed that this will deter pursuing evil spirits.  Talk about being superstitious!

If you look closer, I'm holding a big steam dumpling, xiaolongbao (小龙包), most popular in Shanghai.  This one is so huge that it comes with a straw for you to sip the juice inside.  Later on, I realized that I paid ¥10 paid for soup since there's nothing inside!   It's probably not worth it, but it's something that you should try. 

As we walked on, we saw this long line and realized they're lining up for the more normal-sized dumplings!!  There were probably 30 or so people waiting to get their hands on these treats. 

The good thing is, my classmate took us to this teahouse that would line up for customers, but you have to pay ¥10 per person for tea service.  It's actually a little expensive for China standards, albeit you get to try 3 different types of tea.  But.. tea: ¥10; sipping tea while somebody gets your food:  priceless.

Of course, the trip to Shanghai won't be complete without seeing the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (东方明珠电视塔). Standing at 468 meters, this tower is the tallest in Asia, third in the world. 

There are three 360^o observation decks (see the three globes?) and the price to go up varies accordingly.  The cheapest price is ¥70. Unsurprisingly, there is a revolving restaurant, which is at 267 meters high.  This is the highest revolving restaurant in Asia. This tower is located on an island across from the mainland, across from the Bund (the riverbank area), separated by the Huangpu River.  Where farmlands dominated just a little over a decade ago, this area is Shanghai's new financial and commercial district. 

This is Shanghai's most famous street: Nanjing Lu (南京路)As you can see, it's lined with shops, modern boutiques, small restaurants and department stores. Some shops date from pre-WWII! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to shop due to time constraints.  But, as Arnold said, hasta la vista, baby!

There are really lots of shopping places in Shanghai.  There's an outdoor flea market type called XiangYangShiChang, 襄阳市场, where you can find the fake branded clothes, shoes, bags, etc.  They even have Tiffany's there.  My friend bought a "Rolex" for ¥150. If you're interested in checking out this place, you better go soon because the government has dictated that the place will be torn down on June 1 due to pressures from the West, I believe.  

This last picture is probably the prettiest of them all.  Shanghai at night.  The building on the foreground is JinMao Tower, the tallest building in China, and third in the world.  It houses the classy Grand Hyatt Hotel, unsurprisingly the tallest hotel in the world.

Such a pretty sight.

So, after 3 days of eating, shopping, sightseeing in Shanghai, we went back to Beijing.  Left Shanghai at 6:47 pm on Monday evening and arrived in Beijing at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning.  We took the subway then cab home, took a shower, then went to class.  It's back to school....

Ahem...

Hi guys,

I know, the update is long overdue, but I've been busy with a few things.

Of course, I've been busy exploring Beijing.  I haven't even posted the pictures of some of the places that I went to.  I made a boo-boo and I actually can't post anything until next month because the host site has a monthly upload limit.  So pictures from my trips to the Temple of Heaven and QuanJuDe (Most popular Peking Duck Place) will have to wait until next month before they can be uploaded.

In school, we held a debate this past Wednesday!  Our class was divided into 3 groups of 6.  We have the pro's, con's, and judges.  The topic was whether to accept a reward if you returned something to its owner. My group was the pro side, so we had to defend why it is good to accept the reward.  Debating in English is hard enough, let alone in Mandarin!  Unfortunately, my team lost, but it was a great experience.  Our teacher was extremely pleased because we were able to express our standpoints, understand what the other group was saying and state our rebuttal.  It was fun.

Next weekend, I'm going to Shanghai!!   

Great Wall of China

At last, I have visited the once-a-wonder-of-the-world Great Wall of China （万里长城）! I haven't thought about this before, but there are multiple places/spots where you can start the climb to the Great Wall.  Around Beijing, there are a few spots, the most popular of which are: MuTianYu (慕田峪）, BaDaLing (八达岭）, SiMaTai（司马台）. Badaling is the ultimate tourist  spot.  My school brought us to MuTianYu.  It was great because I got great pics without a throng of people in the background. My classmates and I took almost an hour to reach the Wall from the foot of the mountain, including rest stops and Kodak moments.  You can get there by cable car as well, but climbing proved to be a great workout. 

As well, it gives you a better sense of the magnificence of the structure.  When I first saw a glimpse of the Wall from the foot of the mountain, I actually felt like a deflated balloon.  I had high expectations of the Wall and when I saw it from afar, it looked.... tiny.  However, once I started the climb, and eventually saw the bricks upclose, (and thought about the fact that this is a man-made structure), it made ME feel tiny.

So, climb the Wall, and, once you reach the top, you can say you've conquered the Wall. . 

This picture is the view from a station.  And yes, some parts are really steep. Hence, the great workout experience!  See the multiple stations?

This other picture is the view from the cable car station.  It took us about another hour to reach this spot.  The section of the Wall in the background looks almost deserted and would have served as a great picture spot, but we've had enough and didn't have any time left. These are some of my classmates.  There's a Romanian (guess who??), Indonesian, Korean, a couple of Japanese, and another Canadian but originally from HK. The guy in the middle is our speech teacher. 

We rode the cable car down, which cost us ¥35 (U$4) per person, single ride.  The one in the picture is not the one that we rode in.  The one we rode in looks like the more typical ones that we see in other countries (like HK), that looks like a cube.  This other cable car they had looked interesting because it's open.  Do you see any doors?

You can also go down by tobogganing.  Covered by the leaves at the bottom of the picture is a track where one person can ride a go-kart-looking cart to slide down the mountain.  Reminds me of a roller coaster.  People who rode told me that you can sort of control the speed because there is sort of a brake. There are people stationed at various spots to shout at riders to slow down when passing through curves (as if they can do anything).

So yeah, I've conquered the Great Wall of China!!