Beijing Summer Palace : Day 4

 Our early morning start for the Summer Palace allowed us to get a step ahead of the crowds, which continue today as the 4th day of the national holiday.  The Summer Palace is a little way out of Beijing and set in a huge park.  That would help spread the crowds except that a huge lake takes up most of the park... the rest is steep hillside!!!

 Among the "sights" that people have come to Beijing to see are the foreigners, or big noses, as we are known here.  Quite a surprise to me, this boy's Dad was even keener for me to take pictures on his big expensive camera, of him and his son, with Rick.  It seems Rick's nose is a more interesting photo subject than blond hair and blue eyes?

Naturally, we had to go UP the hill to get views back over the lake.   With thousands of families and tour groups picnicking, strolling, eating, singing and sightseeing, the paths and ornate covered walkways were seething, the overflow dotting the lake in a myriad of different pleasure craft.
Well, we too would have to cross the lake if we were to get to the Island and the beautiful 17 arch bridge... of Marco Polo fame...?  But first check out the marble boat comissioned by the Empress Cixi, with her naval budget!

Bullet Train to Beijing:Day 3

Only marginally faster than the Mag Lev, we hear that the train can go faster but the speed has been restricted for safety reasons.  First class is very expensive, so for the the only time this trip we opt for second class.  It will get there at the same time!  It is not much better than a plane seat... and then there are the toilets...

  No sign of a buffet car, so we were woefully under supplied for a 5 hour train trip.  Rick got through the first hour or so on the coffee, which he said was excellent.

The scenery was mostly industial, rolling from the outskirts of Shanghai through the other major cities of Nanjing and Ji nan and Tianjin. 

In more rural areas there is maize laid out to dry, stacked on roofs or verandahs and roads.  Where it is still being harvested the work is done by hand, cut off the cob, bend the stalk to show where you have been.  Others follow behind slashing the stalks off and piling them together in teepee shapes.  
Each plot of land is tiny, so the tractors , when there are any, are also small. 

Finally we arrive at Bejing South Station.  Not one I know and not near to our Hotel, so we catch a "taxi".  He looked at the address, yes, yes 280RMB.  We got him down to 180 and relaxed into the back of the car.  There is no meter. He stops on the edge of the expressway, just clear of the station... no where for us to go to if we did decide to get out and try for a proper taxi!  He gets his phone out and hands it to me.  What is going on? He is asking a friend to translate.  I repeat the name of the hotel, Tian Rui,.. so small he has not heard of it, the street Baishu Hutong,  also small. I tell him we need to get to Wanfujing... now he is happy.  I hand the phone back to the driver and we are off.
Wanfujing, when we reach it, is packed.  I recognise  St Josephs Church and thank the driver for getting us this close.   He is pleased not to have to venture any deeper into the holiday crowds and we are pleased to have bags that go on our backs as we skip up the church steps and down the other side.
I am happy to be back somewhere that I have been before, to know where I am in this sea of traffic/ pedestrians/ bikes and shops. The building on the corner is new, but the church is the same, the fences, gardens and tangles of cable on the powerpoles are just as I remember them.  How had I forgotten  the communal toilet block?  the outdoor gym? the outdoor 'restaurant'? the tiny fruit shop children helping behind the counter because they speak english?
  I find the hotel from memory... there is no visible signage in english.
The first room we are given has a toilet cistern that never turns off and a broken window catch. Memory fails me again making the room seem smaller and drabber.  I return to reception to sort this out and we are moved.  It is now smaller, drabber and darker as we are on the north of the building, but it will do. 

Shanghai - Sunrise, Sunset:Day 2

Poor air quality softens and smudges the glare of early morning on Shanghai.  Its quieter too, as the crowds partied late last night and few are up to greet the sun.
We have no trouble getting up early... New Zealand is 5 hours ahead... and we were lucky to find a restaurant for dinner last night, before we fell asleep.  

Its a perfect morning.  Rick and I stroll down the bund, squinting into the sun and commenting on runners, bird-like kites, the few Europeans, boats, street cleaners, skylines and historic buildings. 

Slow, graceful and flowing, Tai Chi Jing is performed in soft silk Pyjamas with sword poised and sweeping.  While I make a mental note to add silk pyjamas to my shopping list, Rick is making a shopping list of his own...

Our next task for the day is to collect our Bullet train ticket from the CITS office.  Our hotel staff phone to ask if they are open and whether the ticket can be couriered.  

They write the address for us in Chinese and we show the taxi driver who whisks us away and drops us in the back car park and points us to the lifts. He is correct and we find , on the 18th floor, a series of deserted offices, with one little man, speaking only Chinese. He is waiting for us and on presentation of the secret code he unlocks the broom cupboard and hands us the tickets.  

Next he shows us out of the building through the front door.  This means walking across the empty ground floor.  I say 'empty' because it was not furnished as a shop or an office.  It had a few broken chairs (still in use), what might be a bedroll, mysterious, malodorous puddles, litter and a few spaced out looking people. I am glad we didn't come in that way.

We walk back to our hotel, via the rail way station, samsung shop, McDonalds, and what should have been the scenic riverside park and turned out to be the nearest 'public convenience' for the rows of  tiny homes/shops/ workshops lining the street.

 The flowers everywhere were REAL. Gardners were continuously renewing, watering and attending to the gardens, while street cleaners tried in vain to sweep up the litter and cigarette butts.

After the necessary retreat to our cool, quiet refuge we felt ready to go sight-seeing...up the Pearl tower.  The tunnel under the river was packed, touristy and expensive; 100yuan.  We are not used to queueing this way... we are used to orderly lines, personal space and waiting your turn.  Never-the-less we finally get to the other side, only to find that with the public holiday there is a 2 hour wait for the tower.  We can see the people up there already, like ants scurrying around the lower viewing platform.  Can we endure another queue? No! 

The Pearl Tower

We set off to look for a boat cruise.  That is just as baffling.  The 5pm is sold out- full- at twenty to 5. 

 Come back at ten to 6, to get tickets for the 6 oclock sailing. 

"But won't they be sold out too by then?"

We decide not to bother, and stand around to watch the 5pm group board the boat.  China is so full of  smells that I hardly notice the burning smell until one of the crew steps behind me to extinguish the rubbish bin with a drink bottle.  It seems one of the boarding passengers had discarded his cigarette without extinguishing it properly.  

 The sun fades from the sky as a string of tiny kites adds a line of full stops to our day.....

Day 1 Shanghai

From Auckland, New Zealand, population - 1 1/2 million to Shanghai, China, population 23 1/2 million!

Shanghai was bursting at the seams with people celebrating the Moon festival.  It seems the whole 1 1/2 billion people in China are having a week off work to visit Shanghai and see the sights...

The Bund

The Brides

 Including this copy of Pippa Middleton's royal wedding dress.

Rick's first choice for escaping the airport is usually a Taxi.  On the other hand I am always keen to save some money and use local transport if possible.  Shanghai provided the perfect solution to this dilemma... the Mag Lev... a high speed magnetic levitation train that covers the 50? kms from the airport to town in about 9 minutes... reaching speeds of...

After the quiet, clean, smooth and swift trip by Mag lev, we were unprepared for the noise, smells, sounds of millions of  people (and their baggage) surging around us as we tried unsuccessfully to buy tickets with a 100 yuan note.  In the 5 minutes it took me to find a store, buy a drink and return with change, Rick had already been surrounded by teenage girls, lining up to have their photos taken with him.  

And so it begins... standing in the middle of the carriage, head and shoulders above everyone else... the focus of every staring eye. 

Our route to the hotel is easy... east towards the Bund, then north until we get to the bridge and our Hotel. Crowds of people surge in all directions, bicycles, wheeley bags, trolleys, electric trikes and cars merge in a well orchestrated dance.  We are the only ones who don't know the steps.  Many times we are forced off the pavement into the road.   It is already hot at 8:30 am. I want to stop and take photos of the chaos, the gardens, the people, the skyline and the traffic.  I also want to get to our Hotel, dump this bag and escape the crowds and the heat.

Astor House Hotel   http://www.pujianghotel.com/  was our sanctuary from the reality of Shanghai in festival spirit.  We could walk the Bund, people watching and eating ice cream. 

We could retire to our Hotel for High Tea.

 And come out again in the cool of the evening to see the city lit up... and the police brought in by boat and bus to manage the holiday crowds.

The Great Wall of China

Or should we say "The Great Fire Wall of China?"

Thanks to all who have been checking up on us. 

Chinese internet security prevented me from accessing and opening my blog at all.

Home now and can add few highlights later.