China: Hangzhou

We took a short flight from Beijing to Shanghai in order to get to Hangzhou without a long drive. From the airport it will take almost 3 hours of driving to get to the famous West Lake in Hangzhou.










West Lake is located to the west of Hangzhou, hence the name of "West Lake". It is said that there are totally 36 "West Lakes" in China, and the West Lake in Hangzhou is the most beautiful of 36 west lakes all of which carry the same name.








It was a lagoon, once a small bay at the mouth of the Qiantang River. At one time, eon years ago, it was a sea mouth that was blocked from the sea by river sediment and later became a lagoon lake.







West Lake is mesmerizing and methodical prettification has weaved some cunning magic: pagoda-topped hills rise over willow-lined waters as boats drift slowly through a vignette of leisurely charm.







We got there still mid morning local time. This was he first time since we arrived to China a few days ago that temperature were actually hitting in the mid 10s without the minus. It felt so much better than in Beijing even though it was still cold, but it was manageable with a medium-heavy jacket.








The scenery was so beautiful and peacefully quiet with mountains covered the far away surrounding area, and forest covered nearby.











 There was a musical water fountains by the east shoreline of the lake. And the show wouldn't start until 7:30 at night, but we had other attractions to keep us from staying here until then so we skipped it.









Anyways, we didn't want to miss other attractions higher on our list for just a 15 minute musical fountain show that similar to many water fountain shows around the world.











Liuhe Pagoda was a beautiful view from the lake.












Our next stop was the Tomb of General Yue Fei. Occupying an area of four acres, the tomb is located at the southern foot of Qixia Hill near the West Lake.









Entering the gate with double eaves, a patio with towering trees on both sides is found. The Shrine of Remembrance, the main hall, is right in the center. A sculpture of general Yue is set in the middle of the hall.







The statue of this general is in a colorful embroidered round cushion cover. Looking solemn and mighty, he has a sword in his hand and looks as if he is ready to protect his country. At the back of the hall are large pictures depicting his life stories.








General Yue Fei was a hero of the Southern Song Dynasty who fought against Jin invaders during the Song Dynasty. Yue Fei was framed and murdered for crimes he did not commit. In 1163, Song Emperor Xiaozong exonerated Yue Fei and his corpse was reburied at the present site. The tomb was built in memory of this great hero.










Facing the tomb are four iron sculptures,  including Qin Kuai the chief plotter, in kneeling position. Concerning these sculptures, people wanted them to atone for their crime forever.











We stopped by and enjoyed some tea in the same fashion as the longest serving Emperor Chien Long on the way. It is a lovely outing that introduces us to the ancient tea-drinking culture of China.

The scenery of the village is picturesque and one cannot help but gain a soulful experience in the open green fields.

There was plenty of tea sampling then came a very high pressure sales pitch for green tea and green tea pills, all of which were super expensive to American standard. We've had enough traveling experience to fall for it and we are pretty picky in where to buy our tea. The only tea we prefer is either in B'lao or Taiwan.

We came here for the most famous show in China today, The Romance of Song Dynasty. We had to leave Tea Town early in the afternoon to make sure that we reserved good seats.  







 

The Romance of the Song Dynasty boasts as being one of the three best shows around the world. It is an indoor, panorama style, large-scale performance, with hundreds of actors and actresses performed on stage. The show based on Hangzhou history and mythology and is intermixed with singing, dancing and acrobatics. 





 

The performance did gave us a pleasant and impressive feeling and can be compared in beauty with the “Moulin Rouge” in Paris and “O Show”in Las Vegas. It is a must see for tourists coming to Hangzhou. We can easily and happily to give it a 9.5 on the scale of 10.






 

The show will take you back thousands of years, in time to explore the ancient culture and history of Hangzhou. Admire the vibrant costumes, spectacular laser lights, a variety of excellent stage props and the magnificent acting and dancing. 






 

 After an opening acrobatic act entitled ‘Legend of the Monkey King,’ you will be presented with four acts of scenes representing the Southern Song Dynasty, many of which are also depicted in ballet and traditional folk dances in various parts of Asia.








Live horses and real cannons used in a battle scene will take your breath away as legends are brought to life against backdrops of water fountains and a spectacular light show.










After the performance, we went sightseeing outside the theater around Song Dynasty Town to experience the vibrant Hangzhou nighttime atmosphere. On the set up of an old town, thousand years back, there were plenty of actors and actress wearing costumes for you to take pictures with. There were also plenty of souvenir shops and restaurants to serve as well.







It was well worth the money (about $45.00 to $120.00 depends on the seating locations).











Taking a tour during the winter has its pros and cons. The best part is we don't have to fight with the large crowd, likewise, everything is wide open for us to enjoy. The worst part is the cold weather in certain countries, unfortunately, in this eastern part of China, the winter weathers are brutally cold most of the time.




Overall, it was a great day on our trip. We headed back to our hotel and ready for a short trip to Suzhou tomorrow.

 

China: 3 days in Beijing

We landed at Beijing Capital International Airport early in the morning of February and it was sooooo cold.

This airport is pretty modern and humongous with million of passengers passed thru here annually. The design is not bad with plenty of airspace but not enough seats for the waiting passengers. Getting from one gate to the others is a real challenge with lots of walking.




 

There were many American fast-food restaurants situated in the central areas to draw in customers. Fancy, trendy and high-end retail shops and kiosks were also presented here but not much of traffic. Super rich Chinese preferred to shop over sea. So-so Chinese can't afford these expensive items.







Open spaces are everywhere. I don't know if they are for future expansion or what but it does look like a newly wed couple acquiring a new big house and didn't have a chance to fill it up with furniture yet.








From the airport to the capital center is under 20 miles so it wasn't that far but with the population over 22 millions, the feeling was suffocating with lots of traffic and people. Along the roads, there were many modern buildings and too many scooters. There's always a deep layer of fog cover the entire city. This is one of many cities in China known for very bad air pollution.

Beijing is also known as Peking, so the first thing went to my mind was the famous Peking Duck. I had tried it a few times in my life but I just never like it. I am for one not a fan of duck and I don't like greasy dish and this dish is on top of the list of being super greasy.







 There were at least 6 different must see places on our list and they are far apart in the surrounding area of 50 km. Even though we were eager to see them all at once, we had to manage the distance and driving well so not to waste too much time on travel.

 There are so many places we wanted to visit while in Beijing but Tiananmen Square was unarguably on the top of our list. This square is massive. It's probably one of the largest in the world. From far away, one can see a huge portrait of Mao Tse-tung on the wall of the entrance. There's not much to see about this square beside its history. We didn't spend much time here.

Soon after arrival, the very first thing came to my mind was the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989. This massacre left an unknown number of dead, with some estimates in the thousands, and smothered a democratic movement at the time. When people talk about The Tiananmen Square massacre, they talk about "The Tank Man".

To this day, nobody knows what happened to him after he was ultimately hustled to safety by fellow protesters and quite lost to the crowd.. But the man who stood before a column of tanks near Tiananmen Square on June 5, 1989, must have impressed his image on the global memory more intimately than any famous people on earth in the last century.

In this day and age, there are still people who believe in communism, which is beyond my comprehension. There's nothing to talk about Communism Ideology.

It didn't work. It will never work specially with all of the real information within one's reach over the internet. Its political and economic doctrine is good in theory, but it has nothing else beside that lie.

There's no answer to these questions to why communism is a bad and empty ideology:
- If communism is so wonderful as they advertise, then why must they force people to participate? 
- If it is so wonderful, why does the Politburo have to control the press? 
- And last but not least, after 70 years, if communism is so great, then why do we have to bring our own toilet paper everywhere we go in VietNam and China today?


 


To prove my point, one can see a few super rich and a lots of poor people among these 2 communist countries today. 

 Our next stop was The Forbidden City. With thousands and thousands rooms and over hundreds of acres of land. This humongous palace was built sometimes in the early 15th century. It had been burned down and destroyed many times in the past, so most of the architecture one sees today dates back to the 18th century in the Qing Dynasty, in another word, it's pretty new.

It had been burned down and destroyed numerous times in the past, so most of the architecture one sees today, dated back to the 18th century in the Qing Dynasty, in another word, it's pretty new.

We were well prepared by wearing comfortable shoes because we had to walk a lot! 
To our surprise, we found a Starbucks Coffee Shop in the palace. It's another contrast so contradicting to the original Communist Theory.

For thousands of years, China had always had a son of God to be their King. And inside his kingdom, there were the inner circle of his trusted party all of whom had so much power and wealth to rule the country. It's not much different with this New Communism nowadays. The only difference is the name. The concept is exactly the same. 



 

There are thousands of rooms with as many corridors to house the King, his wives and his concubines, and their servants. The number could be as high as tens of thousands plus his trusted warriors to protect him and his family. In order to support this extravaganza lifestyle and luxurious environment, and to house and feed this huge number of people, the tax collected from its people became a real heavy burden.

 Our next stop was the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is huge. The largest part of it is Kunming Lake.









 The dirt that was dug up to make the lake was piled up and made into Longevity Hill. On top of Longevity Hill are several Buddhist temples, which, on clear days, offer good views of the lake.





Small paddle boats are available for rent and you can motor or paddle about the lake. Which is especially comfortable on hot days, but during our stay here in Beijing, the weather was so cold, the lake was frozen solid. We could venture pretty far offshore on this thick ice without problem.

 Along the shore is the famous Long Corridor, next to which a sign boasts that it is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “longest painted corridor in the world” the Long Corridor features painted scenes from various Chinese mythical and traditional tales.

Also on the shore of the lake is the Marble Boat, a large, sort of boat-shaped marble pavilion which lies in the shallow water just off the shore.

To make the matter worse, the wind started to pick up a little. This made it felt like a sharp knife cutting thru my skin. It was time to leave.

Most of the lake was frozen solid. People could venture pretty far offshore without problem.

A nice view of the temple on top of Longevity Hill.

 

Temple of Heaven is one of the real highlights of Beijing. It is situated in the southern Beijing City. It has been one of the most sacred sites for the whole country for the past five centuries. It worked as sacrificial compound buildings for the Ming and Qing emperors. 






 
It boasts of the largest sacrificial place in Beijing among a few imperial altars to Heaven, Earth, the Sun, the Moon super natures. The most highlight part of the temple is the unique century-old trees, row upon row of Chinese cypress, Chinese Juniper and Scholar Trees. Some of these cypresses are over 600 years old.




This beautiful and unique design is so different in terms of architecture, color and significance. The Temple consists of four basic parts: the Round Altar, the Echo Wall, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Hall of prayer for Good Harvests.

  





To accommodate their huge population, everything the Chinese built, it has to be gigantic in size.

A large crowd left in a hurry, as the wind kicked up. I wore 4 layers of clothing and it was still so cold.

When we got here, the weather changed abruptly to super cold and windy. We had never experienced this cold temperature in our whole life in the U.S. The thermometer on the outer wall read -19C or -2F. Therefore there were only a handful of visitors bracing the cold to mill about in this bitter temperature. 




We were heading back to our hotel for the dinner and rest, then ready for the busy day tomorrow.

We left our hotel early in the morning ready to complete our tour in Beijing. It was a long drive from here to our next destinations but we were ready. We got down to the side streets next to our hotel to get some breakfast, and we found a KFC open 24 hours, what a surprise.

Here were some breakfast that we ordered from KFC. They even offered chicken porridge and hollow bread. It happens only in China ... :-)

  



Ming Tombs are about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital. It's also known as the “13 Tombs”, this is the burial site of 13 out of 17 emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

The best part of the Ming Tombs is the road there. The spirit Way is the path leading to the mouth of the tomb. Along the path are bizarre, mythical stone monsters standing guard. They are great pieces of art and look scary.

To get to the tomb, we had to walk down many flights of stairs deep inside the mountain. It is kind of creepy and cool to go down and down, but the actual tomb chambers are a little disappointing.

I wouldn't want to sit on the throne of the Emperors. It was a solid block of stone, cold and hard. At this moment, I just wanted to sit in my Lazy-Boy sofa, and that was all I cared.

I was expecting to see an army of Terracotta warriors with horses and weapons standing guard but there was not much in there, just a couple of stone rooms, excavated treasures, and a lot of small bills that the visitors left behind for the deaths?
 

We were happy to be inside away from the cold for a while, but soon after we came out, the wind stopped as quickly as it arrived a couple hours earlier. But it was still so cold.












 

Finally we were heading to the Great Wall of China. There are at least 4 different points that you can take. 

  



We took the Great Wall at Badaling. I took a quick note of information provided by the city official at the site. 

  


This part of the Great Wall is located at Yanqing County, more than 70 kilometers northwest from the center of Beijing City.

It is a mountain pass of the Jundu Mountain built in the early 14th century with an elevation of 600 meters. The word Badaling means "giving access to every direction", and this point is the best-preserved section of the Great Wall.

Once we got here, the weather turned super duper cold. It's a lot colder than we anticipated. I was shivering with 3 layers of clothing. It was a minus 15 Celsius or 5 degree Fahrenheit.

We came - We conquered - We became Folk Heroes. At least in this case, I became a hero for finishing an astonishing 982 steps to the top.



 

My wife could only get to the second command post and had to give up due to her unprepared hardware. There are about 8 posts in this stretch alone, each has roughly a hundred steps.

We could see the whole section of the wall from the parking structure at the base of the mountain.

There are many sections to get to the top. The steps are not equal in length and height. Some sections were so steep to climb, and some were so narrow to navigate.

This picture I took from the fifth command post. From here, there were 3 more to go. The last one was the toughest mentally. 



 

The majority of the visitors get to a third of the climb.

At this point, there is a large and flat area that the wearies can stop to take a break or to decide if it's time to give up and turn around.

Once you stop and stay here to rest, the temptation to turn around like everybody else seems to be stronger by the minutes, so I marched on.

There are arched doors at the inner side of the wall with very little distance between each two doors. The arched doors lead you to the top of the wall by stone stairs.

 It took over an hour to get to the top section with 2 short breaks.
At the top, I could see very clearly over 360 degree of the surrounding areas to the distance far away, 50 km or more. There are many observation posts at the top sections of the Wall for this purpose.

The temperature was still -2F, but by the time I got half way up, sweat started to run along my back and face. When I got up to the top, I didn't need much of warm clothes any more.

Coming down was no easy task due to the steep and slippery steps, but it's always easier than the other way. On the base of the mountain, there were a few restaurants and coffee shops to serve the tourist. There's nothing better than having a hot cup of tea or coffee in this cold weather, and to rest those weary knees.

 The Great Wall is regarded as a symbol of China. But the saddest fact about the cost of human lives to build this great wall will have never been known, but it's not exaggerated to estimate that it could have run into ten of millions lives. 

There is a famous Chinese proverb about the Great Wall, which says ""If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you are not a real man." The proverb is much concise in Chinese.

On the way out, I remembered there were poems and folk tales of a lady named Chiang Nu, whose husband was pressed into service by imperial officials and sent as a laborer to build this Great Wall. When Lady Meng Jiang heard nothing after her husband's departure, she set out to bring him winter clothes. Unfortunately, by the time she reached the Great Wall, her husband had already died. Hearing the bad news, she wept so bitterly that a part of the Great Wall collapsed, revealing his bones.

In order to serve a few tyrannies, millions had died.







On the way back to our hotel we stopped by to visit the abandoned $40 billion dollar Beijing Olympics Site built in 2008.








 

It was so sad to see people spent that much of money for a mere 2 and a half weeks of competitions between countries in the world, then abandoned it. The now empty and defunct 91,000-seat Bird Nest sat alone creepily and depressingly like a giant skeleton of a futuristic spaceship. Then here came the Water Cube for the swimming and diving competitions. 




 

The Beijing Baseball Stadium or the Beijing Olympic facilities now stand deserted and unmaintained. It costs the government so much to maintain them and there's no plan to put them back in service in a foreseeable future so they just let the mother nature to take care of it.





 


It was just 5 years after its completion but I could see the damage done to these behemoths without maintenance. We all know that they had spent countless of hours trying to figure out how to make this site the best Olympic Site ever, but I was wondering did they ever spend any time to foresee how it would be used after the events were over and the athletics and the spectators were long gone? 

I left the place with a little sadness in my heart for no defined reason.  

  

We planned to spend this evening exploring the city as late as we could. We would leave for the airport early tomorrow morning heading straight to Shanghai. 

Wangfujing Street and the Crowne Plaza is the busiest shopping district in Beijing. We got there around 5 in the afternoon so there was still plenty of time.

It is anchored by large upscale shopping malls at each end of the pedestrian mall. The street is a shopper's paradise, filled with shops selling paintings and traditional Chinese arts and crafts, trendy boutiques and upscale chain stores as well as restaurants serving everything from McDonald's cuisine to Peking Duck.

 We found plenty of exotic snacks as deep fired bugs, scorpions, crickets and the likes on sticks. There were many high end retail shops with high priced items that made us wonder if they were the real ones.

 

We planned to spend this evening exploring the city as late as we could. We would leave for the airport early tomorrow morning heading straight to Shanghai.  








These were the same kind of malls you can find all over the United States so nothing much to attract us. 










We ended our long and tiresome day with a nice dinner at a Peking restaurant in the area before heading back to our hotel ready for an early flight tomorrow to Shanghai.