To the opera

Tuesday 28th May

 

This evening we had arranged to go to the Chengdu Opera where they did similar things to the one in Xian but had a puppet act and a hand shadow act as well as the Changing Faces act which I particularly wanted to see

 

We had very good seats on the central isle four rows from the front and in front of each pair of chairs was a bench with tea cups and some crispy rice biscuits.

 

As soon as we sat down a man with a kettle of boiling water filled the cups and throughout the show any sign of anything other than a full cup were met with a refill.

 

Sometimes he came along with a kettle with a spout two feet long and filled the cups of the people sitting further into the row from beside me!! He did not spill a drop

 

We talked to a couple of Americans, he described himself a "Professor" so of course Tone asked him what he was doing. He has been in China since 1st April travelling around studying what people expect from their religion. His conclusions so far which Tone wrung out of him were, they want comfort, they ask for health, wealth and good luck, as a famous American once said "no shit Sherlock!". He is being paid for this and will write a book.

 

The show was brilliant. Amazing costumes. The puppet and shadow show were very clever and the finale was the face changing and costume changing act to which was added some fire eating for good measure.

 

Really clever and a good finish to the evening.

 

Back to the hotel and a rare G & T in the bar.

 

Sadly Tones cough is really bad so we had to abandon thoughts of a second! 

 

We think he did have a cold but what with the constant changes in temperature, the air conditioning and the pollution in some of the cities we have been in he cannot shake it off.

 

Hopefully four days in the country and in the mountains will help.

 

Off to Guilin tomorrow evening so a quiet day calls before we go to the airport

Tone following his past!!

Tuesday 28th May afternoon

 

When we were researching for this trip there were two things that did not appear in any tourist guide books but that Tone read about is other books or knew about from somewhere

 

The first was the mummies that we read about many years ago that had been discovered in central China and which were buried in cloth like Tartan.  Not the coloured stuff from Scotland but more like the muted colours of the tartan we sometimes see when we are in Cornwall.

 

Apparently these are lying in the back room of a museum somewhere and are not open to public or probably even private view.. Where they came from and how they got there is a difficult question for the Government, they were found by an American explorer and archaeologist on the silk road and are of Caucasian origin pre-dating the Chinese occupation of the area!  So that was a No from Chris Moore from Audleys who have organised most of this trip for us.

 

The second was the Dujiangyan Irrigation project which is in Sichuan province.  Tone was interested because in 1981 he had helped to complete a project in Kurdistan which he thought looked exactly like this one here.  The difference was that Tone thought the one he had some involvement in was a clever new idea and the one here is 250 BC!!

 

Chris Moore found out about it and added it to our itinerary and this was where we went this afternoon.

 

Actually it very interesting.  The designers had a problem with flooding but still wanted water for irrigation so they dug out a huge channel in a mountain, like you do in 250 BC by hand, diverted the water in two ways and voila! 

 

They diverted the water in two ways by using a natural curve in the river and a series of 3 weirs, the first allowing a constant volume over for irrigation, the second was similar and would take away the pebbles and silt coming down the main river and the third as balancing point combined with a bottleneck to ensure any flooding at that point went back into the main river and not down the irrigation channel. Very clever.  We reflected on the thought that this system which was modernised in the year 800AD by capping the weirs with newly discovered concrete (! )to reduce erosion would still be working well long after the Three Gorges Dam has silted up and stopped working and it needed no dam!.  Not sure if I can say that but as it is apparently an issue for all dams I suppose it is obvious

 

So although this visit was entirely for Tones interest I found it fascinating and Karen who had had to do quite a lot of research including visiting with her boyfriend last weekend and buying a book on the project in English said they also found it interesting.  We were incidentally yet again the only Western visitors so cause the curious stares and beaming smiles from all around.

 

 

 

 

Pandas and other things

Tuesday 28th May

 

Today we went to see the Panda preservation Base which is not too far from here

 

We were not too sure what to expect but the place is very lovely. Not many people here but plenty of pandas. Mummy bears, Daddy bears and baby bears.  Actually we did not see the daddy bears, I just made that up for convenience. As we were there quite early in the morning

the bears were all quite active by Panda standards.  They were very lovely as you might expect and the place does some great work.  Last year they had 12 babies which we all know is quite an achievement. I told Karen how the very possibility of Pandas even mating makes national news at home and she was very amused.  She certainly does not "get" us much of the time. 

 

Emily if you are reading this I have got your panda for you but they would not let me bring one of the real ones. Sorry.

 

Next we paid an unscheduled visit to a silk museum where a brilliant guide showed us round the museum.  She showed us a double sided silk screen of four panels which had taken three women ten years to make!  Wonderful

 

Oddly enough I was tempted to a little red silk which you can all admire when I come home. Don't worry it's a scarf!

 

Not another hot pot

Monday 27th May

 

On reflection I am not quite sure what made us take Karen suggestion that we should have a local hot pot.  The one we had had in Chongqing had not been our favourite meal of the trip but she assured us that this was very special!

 

It was just like the last one except that they also served black tripe and intestines of some sort that Karen who had eagerly accepted our invitation to join us ate with gusto.

 

She is a little scrap of a thing but she chomped her way through a lot of food with table manners which would have had Ellie and Emily sent to their rooms with no pudding!

 

So no more dumplings and no more hot pot!

 

When Robs mum and dad came back from Singapore many years ago they brought an old fashioned hot pot and we used to have delicious suppers with them but they did not serve such delights as innards and rather poor quality meat of indeterminate origin!

 

Hey Ho a lesson learned

 

Pandas tomorrow

Are you being served?

Monday 27th May

 

Arrived in Chengdu and met by Karen. To the hotel which is very nice.

 

No No Smoking room available would we like a smoking room which was ready?

 

Of course you can imaging our response to that was negative so we had to wait in the foyer with Karen for about half an hour.

 

Whilst we waited a smartly dressed member of staff who was not Chinese came up and asked me how we were enjoying staying in the hotel!!  Poor girl, it was her first day as Customers Services Manager and she asked me that question at that time.  She did make things happen and we were soon booked in.

 

It turns out that Julia is from Salamanca and came to work in China because there are no opportunities at home. 

 

Now we are firm friends and she has been very kind and attentive to us every time she sees us.

 

Afternoon spent drinking tea by the river in a lovely park.

Yet another delayed plane and "no information"

Monday 27th May

 

Off to the airport to check in for our flight to Chengdu.  The plane arrived on time and we boarded on time and they showed the safety film on time and then nothing happened!

 

After a while we were served with some sort of sandwich. At least it was not a dumpling but it still tasted horrid.  They seem to make savoury filled sandwiches with slightly sweet bread.

 

After a little while more we were served a drink. I asked how long the delay would be. They said "no information"

 

So they started to show a film. Skyfall as it happened so we started to watch it.

 

Half an hour into the film it was stopped and the plane started!

 

Still "no information" but as I have said before "this is China"

 

So of the four planes we have taken so far three have been late!

 

When we come to China again  we will take trains wherever possible.  They are so many new lines going in for the bullet trains that this will get easier very quickly.

 

If I never see another dumpling!

Sunday 26th May 2013

 

The Dumpling Banquet was held in the theatre.  Seated at tables at right angles to the stage we had good seats and ordered two beers.

 

The dumplings arrived and there were three different sorts. Fish, meat and cabbage.  These were steamed and they were ok

 

Then some more dumplings arrived, three different sorts fish, meat and meat and cabbage!  These were steamed and they were ok

Then some more dumplings arrived, three different sorts fish, meat and meat and cabbage and they were rather less all right and we could not eat them

 

Then some more dumplings arrived, four different sorts, meat fish cabbage and red bean. There were definitely not all right and the new flavour red bean were disgusting and we did not eat any of them!!

 

Then some boiled dumplings arrived by which time we were dumplinged out and had almost lost the will to live.

 

Then the soup arrived but we are now wise to the fact that this is generally the water they have boiled the dumplings in with a few added vegetables. This time they had forgotten to re-heat it so they lit a solid fuel stove under it in the middle of the table! We tasted then declined!

 

Not taking the hint that we had had enough after the second lot of dumplings they brought some little meringue things and something that looked like sausage rolls!  Dessert we were told!  We did taste but not eat these.  They were ok but as I said we were dumplinged out long before

 

Then they said wait a minute we have some fruit and mercifully some really nice watermelon arrived!  This was ok

 

After all the tables were cleared the show started and it was really nice.  Dancing, singing and music from the Tang Dynasty which lasted just an hour. ( Star of the show for me (Tony) was a man who managed to whistle loudly, in tune and very well while playing two trumpets alternately or as a finale together!)  So we did have a lovely evening, would gladly have eaten two lots of dumplings but now if we never see another one it will probably be too soon.

 

After the warriors

Sunday 26th

 

Charlie tells me this is my 100th blog so well done to all of you who are still with us!

In view of my being lost for words so often this seems rather an achievement.

 

This afternoon on the way back from The Warriors we visited the Muslim Quarter and the Grand Mosque in Xian.  Wonderful little streets where we purchased some beautiful calligraphy (after a serious bit of haggling over the price). Thanks to Wendy for suggesting this.  What we bought was done by the lady selling it so it is very special.  Like the snuff bottle we got in Beijing in the Hutongs we will remember the lady and the place as well as have the lovely calligraphy to recall our trip.

 

There was a service at the Mosque and it was interesting to try to count the number of pairs of shoes outside. Certainly several hundred at about three in the afternoon.

 

Back to the hotel as we are off to a dumpling banquet and a show! Apparently Xian is famous for these Dumpling Banquets. The man who sat beside us on the plane here told us not to miss it!

 

Samuels Spiel and the American couple

Today another wonder of the World.  How many can one take in one trip?

 

Samuel is a modern young man with ambitions to be a cultural ambassador for China.  He has just returned from his first guiding tour abroad where he took a group of English speaking tourists to various parts of Asia.  He has qualified to work internationally and is quite rightly proud of himself.

 

He uses an I pad to show us pictures and diagrams about where we are going and of course where we are going today is to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.

 

First we walked on the City Walls of Xian which are beautifully restored and maintained.  You could cycle or walk the 14km all round but we just did one side, the east side as we were leaving the City by the East Gate to go to see the Warriors.

 

The Walls give more opportunity for the exercise that older Chinese people like to do so much outdoors,, More reflexology and more Tai Chai 

 

Then off for about half an hour to see the Warriors

 

Samuel told us the tale of the farmer who found them when he was digging a well

 

He said that the farmer had three horse drawn carts full of bit of the warriors and he took them to the city officials.  They told him he was a hero of China and gave him 3 Yuan for them.  He said he could bring them more and could borrow more horses and carts to make more money but they said no.  This belongs to the Government now!!

 

Samuel talked of an American couple who came and met the farmer at the museum and asked him to sign his name.  He could not write but drew three circles representing the three coins he was given for the three carts full.

 

The American was surprised that he could not write and suggested to the City officials that they should teach the man to write his name and then he could sign the books that were for sale about the Warriors and earn some commission.  The Chinese Officials might have ignored this suggested but for the fact that the American couple were Bill and Hilary Clinton!

 

So now the farmer is a rich man but he was there this morning  signing books! We did not buy one as we were seriously close to paying excess baggage on one of our cases yesterday! The other one is ok so we can repack but there are still some things we would like to buy so must be careful.  We did buy postcards though.

 

Let me tell you about the warriors

 

They are in three pits and one is the one you will have seen on the news or in magazines.  The awful story we heard was that when they were uncovered they were fully coloured in wonderful bright paint but within 40 minutes to 2 days after they were exposed to the light the colour flaked off and that is why the ones we see are just brown!!

 

In the second and third pit there are less warriors as most have not been exposed yet. They are still buried under the wooden roofs and straw matting that they were covered with originally.  They will be excavated once they can be protected and there is a German method they are using at present to test out how to do this.

 

The Emperor, whose tomb it is, is buried just under 2km away from these pits and they have not even used robotic cameras to look in there yet.

 

Most of what I can tell you will not be news as we do know a great deal of what they look like and of their story. However being there causes another silent Lizzy moment.  Tone is trying to decide whether spending all this money to keep me quiet is a good deal! 

 

My favourite thing about the warriors is their faces which are all different.  Again I know you will be aware of this but seeing them makes them seem like models of real soldiers and it is quite moving.

 

They have lovely faces

 

We saw an American sponsored Imax film of the discovery which was not as amazing as the real things but interesting all the same and then reluctantly left to walk back to the car and our driver to return to Xian

 

What a treat.  I have lost count of the number of times I have said to Tone, how lucky we are. Just think where we are n the world.

 

 

Tart's boudoir, pervert's paradise?

Sunday 26th May

I do like this hotel but the room is quite amusing as there are mirrors everywhere.  This included a clear glass wall between the bedroom and the shower. Yes actually in the shower!

 

There is a blind over it but it is rather odd.  There are also mirrored walls, in fact the only unmirrored wall is the one in front of me as I type up my blogs and the one behind Tones side of the bed.  All very odd!

Xian

We arrived here to be met by Samuel our guide and our driver Mr Yuan.  It was tipping down with rain so we went straight to the hotel and checked in, agreeing to meet in the morning at 8.30am

 

The hotel is very nice.  I did not really like the one in Beijing for some reason so was glad to find this one more to my liking

 

We did not venture far in the evening as it was still raining and Tone has developed a cough and a cold.  He is not bothering the Chinese people as they just think he is about to spit.  I on the other hand?

 

He is not feeling too good so a quick supper and then some blogging and then bed

 

The Temple of Heaven - a Heavenly Temple

Saturday 25th May

 

On the way to the airport we spent almost two hours at the Temple of heaven

 

This is a beautiful place.

 

First we walked though the gardens where we saw hundreds of people mostly less young exercising.  Tai Chai, Dancing, a sort of sword dance, a game they place with a big weighted shuttlecock where they keep it in the air by kicking it to each other and many many different things. 

 

In the gardens they can come and they do come every day to exercise in the quiet and peaceful surroundings.  There are flowering trees which smell wonderful and the whole place is tranquil in spite of all the activity.

 

We saw some people doing reflexology by walking in soft shoes over cobbles laid out in a big circle.  They walked round and round and it did not seem to hurt at all.

 

We walked in the even more tranquil part of the garden where people were just sitting reading and looking.  Tone spends quite a lot of time on the boat "just looking" so he recognised what they were doing immediately.

 

And then by the way there was The Temple of Heaven itself

 

A round structure. Pics to follow. Charlie has told me he is managing to upload the blogs but not the pics so they will follow when he can. 

 

The Temple of Heaven is absolutely wonderful. Round, wooden and built with no nails.  It stands on a mound and is above any other building in Beijing.  It is Heavenly and to think it has been here since 1421!  Again awesome

 

I had not used that word since I saw the Grand Canyon!

 

Sadly this brought an end our visit to Beijing and we went out to the airport to get the plane to Xian.

 

Will it be on time???

 

It was and we flew to Xian in just under two hours.

Who is telling fibs!!

Saturday 25th May

This morning at breakfast we met an Australian couple who were looking really weary.  They said their plane from somewhere down in the industrial South East (he had been on a business trip) was unable to land at Beijing and had to spend three hours on the ground in Inner Mongolia somewhere that they could not say let alone spell.

 

They were told the weather in Beijing was atrocious and the plane could not have landed.

 

The weather in Beijing was not atrocious!!

 

There is clearly great sensitivity here between North Korea and China and also Japan and China but it makes no sense to be so blatant in your misinformation since with one question to us they could confirm that what they were told was not true!

 

This is China they say!

Even if you can't see it from space, it's awesome!

Friday 24th May

 

Today we set off at 8.30 to drive 160kms to see the Great Wall of China at Jinshanling.

 

This part of the wall was only opened to tourist a few years ago and is as you see some distance from Beijing.  Did I say that Beijing is said to be as big as Belgium so even getting out of the city takes a long time.  We drove for two hours in our very nice car with our very nice guide and our very nice driver. Through pretty mountains and lovely scenery on a very good road. 

 

All the time we were chatting with Judy who is a very interesting and knowledgeable person.

 

She also has very modern views about China so with our political interests we had a great morning.

 

And then we got there

 

It was really quiet. All the time we were there we only saw thirty people. That included the local people and tourists.

 

We took the cable car up to the top so that we would have more time to walk on the wall.  We had wanted to do a 10 km walk and be picked up further along but it was not all open so we had to make do with a couple of miles.

 

We climbed up onto the wall and once again you will not believe I was lost for words!  If you want to shut me up bring me here!

 

However I now have plenty of words to describe this extraordinary place.  We walked along for about two miles and saw the various towers and lookout post.  We wondered why some of the towers have red flags on them but then discovered that these have little cafes in them. Not Café Pushkin but a good idea when you are so far from the village.

 

This wall had 70 soldiers per mile and they were not paid much and their families had to feed them so they lived in the deep valleys and grew crops to feed themselves and their soldier husbands. 

 

We saw 5 eagles soaring above the wall which made a wonderful addition to the morning.

 

I mentioned the very nice driver who stayed behind to mind his car and have a snooze! 

 

He lent me his walking pole without which I would have been stuck on some of the very high steps and the very uneven surface.  As you get further away from the place we came up onto the wall it gets extremely uneven but with his pole I was fine.

 

When we were packing to come away one of the few things I left out of the bag was my poles because this was the only time I thought I might need them. Lucky me that the driver was so kind.

 

Given that the majority of people who come her are less young I am surprised that there are not more slips and falls but so far we have seen none.

 

I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to be here.  If that sounds soppy I am sorry but I have felt this many times on this trip and each day brings something else to reinforce this feeling.

 

I think we will come back to China

 

We returned to the car via the cable car which is long and quite high but a godsend if you want any energy once you get up on the wall.

 

The cable car travels just above the trees towards the bottom and the trees seem to be related to wisteria. They have white or pinky purple flowers shaped like wisteria and smell wonderful.  As the cable car brushed the tops the smell was even stronger.  Lovely.

 

The people who live here used to live just off the land and were farmers.  Now sadly they do less farming and try to sell what is largely not great stuff to the tourists.  They charge much more for a book about the wall than you would pay in the city for the same thing and so consequently we are advised not to buy from them. This is a pity and rather silly on the part of the people who live here.  Eventually perhaps they will get the message and sell at more fair prices 

 

Another thing that has influenced poorer tourist areas in China is American Tourists giving big tips.  What happens then is that the people like, for example, the pedicab drivers in the Hutongs in Beijing, who are controlled by their bosses are just paid less and rely even more heavily on all tourists.  No other nationality gives and where near such high tips as Americans and this has skewed the economy here badly.

 

Back to Beijing and to the hotel.

 

Judy had asked if she could see my pics so we had tea and an enormous cake in the hotel and showed her the old photos of Grandpa which was what she really wanted to see

 

I will copy them for her and give them to her tomorrow. She has promised to do some research into the costumes of what we think are Manchu Businessmen with Great Grandpa (Granny's dad) She thinks there may be officials from other parts of China too.

 

Judy had wanted us to go to her house for dinner and to meet some friends but we had a dinner date (we thought) with a friend of a friend of Tones so we were not able to do it.  What a missed opportunity!

 

As it happened the friend of the friend could not make it at the last minute so we could have gone!

 

We did go to a restaurant, recommended by Judy, quite  close to the hotel where we had a great supper and a beer. We were as has happened many times on this trip the only western people there.  Armed with my little notice saying I am allergic to ginger we have managed to eat some delicious stuff and have not made and serious gaffes, yet!  

 

I cannot get over how quiet some of the very important tourist spots have been so far. Let's hope it continues

All that Beijing has to offer

Thursday 23rd May

 

Today we had agreed with Judy that we would leave a little later than normal given our late arrival so we set off at 10.30

 

First stop Tiananmen Square which I have to say I found rather underwhelming! Not sure if one is allowed to say such things but there it is.

 

Huge crowds queuing to see Mao's mausoleum.  But other than that all I could think about was the student demonstrations of a few years ago.

 

Perhaps the Forbidden City will have more to offer?

 

Judy knows these places well because she has been a tour guide here for many years.  She does also do trips much further afield but is based here in Beijing.

 

In the Forbidden City we saw the ceramics collection which was absolutely wonderful. Some great pots and porcelain.

 

Of course it is an amazing place. We read a book called 1421 The Year China Discovered the World which is about a huge fleet of Chinese ships which left China after the completion and opening of the Forbidden City and it is odd to think that this place has been here, some of it unrestored since 1421!

 

Huge place. You could spend several days here and not see it all but it is never clear which bits will be open and which will be closed.  This was the same as Red Square and The Kremlin

 

Not too crowded but where there were crowds Judy seemed to know how to go to a quieter place and avoid them

 

She is fascinated by our story and we will send her some of the blog posts once we get home.

 

After we had done the Forbidden City we went out to the Summer Palace which was used by the Emperor just during the Summer months.  It is huge and has a big lake and lovely pathways and canals.

 

In one area along the canal the Emperor made his servants dress up as shopkeepers and craftsmen and play at shops so he could do what ordinary people did and go shopping.

 

He as were all the Emperors was obsessed with the fear of being assassinated so he never went anywhere where ordinary people went

 

We saw the famous White Marble Boat which is not white and is not marble!! 

 

We also saw the Emperors boat which is moored under the shade of trees to protect it from the sun

 

This really is a lovely place

 

Lastly on our first day with Judy we visited the Hutongs.  These are by the Bell and Drum Towers in Beijing and are the place where ordinary people lived and still do live

 

We went in a pedi cab round the Hutongs. Pedi cabs are like rickshaws with red velvet covers and golden fringe.  It costs 10 Yuan per person for the ride which was 40 minutes and a man cycles round pulling the pedicab attached to his bike!

 

We stopped to go into a house where the family have lived for many years.There was a lady and her daughter in law. They were getting supper but stopped to make us tea and to show us a model of the original Hutongs which are a bit more modernised now

 

The husband is an artist and paints snuff bottles.  This is a tradition  which the daughter in law has also learned and which  is amazingly intricate. With a very fine brush at right angles to the handle they paint delicate pictures from the inside of the bottle onto glass that has been roughened somehow. I think be some sort of acid. This snuff bottle painting is a tradition of this part of China and the family rely on sales to earn money.

 

The snuff bottle we bought took her three days to paint!

 

There was no sign of the men whilst we were there but perhaps they were pedalling us on the pedicabs.

 

The Hutongs are small houses originally built round a courtyard with several properties around each courtyard.  They don't seem to have loos because there are a lot of toilet blocks around the place and we saw at least two Community Committee HQs  The Hutong we visited did seem to have running water

 

Judy told us that the people living there would like to move out into modern new accommodation but the Government will not allow them to because they are part of what brings tourists!

 

Phone a friend

Still 22nd May

I forgot to tell you about a little incident on the way to the airport with Betty

 

The driver apparently crossed a yellow line and he was pulled up by three policemen on motorbikes,

 

He clearly tried, unsuccessfully, to talk his way out of trouble but had to produce papers and he was taken to one side by the three policemen

 

Betty said he would be fined 200Yuan which is around £20 and he would be in trouble with his company

 

He spent several minutes on the phone out of our hearing and Betty told us that he was phoning some relations who knew one of the policemen. Maybe he can get off she said!!

 

He did!

 

We explained that this was very unlikely to be successful at home and you were more likely to be arrested if you even thought about doing it but she just said "it is like that here"

Disgorged - delayed and disgruntled

22nd May Wednesday

 

After lunch we said goodbye to all the people we had met on the cruise and set off with Betty our guide to Yichang where the boat had dropped us all off. Tonight it will take 300 people on a cruise back up the river.

 

As soon as we all got off there was a rumour that our planes were all delayed.  Apparently the Chinese air force were having a military exercise and all flights were delayed!!

 

Things are sensitive here with both North Korea and Japan and it is that has caused the problem as far as we can tell.

 

Anyway having said goodbye to everyone we then found they were all at the local museum with us to while away some time.

 

There were many artefacts that were found during the excavation for the dam and it was actually really interesting.  We have found in several museums and galleries that the Chinese Government are willing to sell off stuff that is less than 300 years old to raise money for further improvements to the museums etc.  I could not resist a brush pot which is very lovely!

 

Betty told us that in Yichang the Government had removed two inconvenient mountains to improve the area by building a shipyard and a chemical fertilizer factory. Not a lot of logic here but that is the nature of this place.

 

When Yichang really had no more to offer we went to the airport.

 

There was no information about any plane going to Beijing.  After two hours the Shanghai planes left but still nothing for us. Betty was not allowed to leave until we were checked in to our flight and the company had even booked us onto another Beijing flight in case that turned up first.

 

So we waited, and then we waited some more.

 

And after waiting a bit more we had supper which was inedible.

 

We played cards and met Ed Gross from the USA. He trains Pastors around the world and was a really nice man.

 

He and Tone discussed Christianity and after some time they agreed to disagree.  It was a really interesting conversation to hear.

 

And so we waited a bit more

 

At 9.30 pm we heard that the plane had probably left Beijing so would be here and ready to take us back at 12.30am!

 

And after waiting some more it did arrive and at just after midnight we boarded the second plane we were booked onto because it arrived before the first!! Have you got that?

 

By the way the third plane which we were not booked on also arrived before the first.

 

At 3.30am we arrived in Beijing.

 

We waited 40 minutes for our bags only to find that one of them was completely split down the side seam

 

It was also very dirty so we think it was probably dropped from quite a height

 

Actually this was dealt with very easily because they just gave us a new bag.

 

We were met by Judy and our driver and set off for our hotel

Dam statistics!

Wednesday 22nd May

 

This morning after breakfast we went ashore and were driven in coaches to see the Three Gorges Dam

 

Jessie our guide gave us the statistics and we went through a security gate onto the site.

It seemed to us although we could be wrong that some of the statistics were possibly not correct!! lots of propaganda attached to the information!)

 

However it is a big dam, it is the biggest in the world and they are very proud of it.

 

1.3 million people were displaced to build it and many homes and farms were drowned.  However the navigation up the river is now safer, the water is controlled and so there is no more flooding.

 

That has to be a good thing!

 

Through the dam

Wednesday 22nd May

 

At 2am this morning we went into the first of the ship locks at the Three Gorges Dam.  We got up to see it and it was really amazing.  We have been through locks in our boat before but this is big stuff. Our boat and two smaller ones in the lock together.  It was a really warm night and the Chinese ladies who got up to see it all had their PJs on!!

 

Very interesting. There are five locks but we went back to bed once we were through the first as we are off tomorrow to Beijing

The magician's assistant

Still Tuesday 21st May

 

After dinner this evening there was a cabaret put on by the ships crew!  Not normally our sort of thing but we thought it would be fun and James our table waiter said he was on first!

 

Jack who is in charge of the restaurant did a face changing piece.  He came on in a huge robe with a mask on his face and then during the performance he changed his mask 8 or nine times without us being able to see how he did it.  This is a traditional Chinese act and was brilliant.

 

Then Jack came back as a magician and after a few tricks which were very good he needed an assistant.  We were at the side of the auditorium and a few rows back but he had obviously decided that I was to be the one and after much show pointed to me even though I had had my head down since he started looking!!!

 

It was fun and suffice to say that his trick worked and when I tried it it didn't!

( Liz was brilliant and mimicked his every move the Chinese in the audience loved it and the rest of us thought she was brilliant, Tony) 

 

A good laugh with some very clever acts.

 

Last night so a couple of drinks and then to bed

The Shennong Steeam - and a Tujian Zhou love song

 Tuesday 21st May 2013

 

After the first two gorges we had to transfer to a smaller boat and follow a small tributary of the Yangtze upstream. It was spectacular. We saw a hanging coffin Pic to follow. These are as you will see coffins suspended by two logs in a crack in the rock. No one really knows why or how they were put there but they occur here and in other parts of China and we have seen them in the Canary Islands.

 

This stream is remote and because there are not many people on the boat and not all the guests from the ship have come it is really peaceful. Even the usually noisy Chinese guests are quietened by it.

 

After some time we transferred again to small peapod boats much further up the stream.  There were only 10 to a boat and five boatmen. Four to row and one to steer.

 

These men come from the Tujian Zhou minority group in China and the men traditionally hauled the cargo boats up the river using ropes made of bamboo!  Since the dam was built and the waters rose the current is less strong but back before the dam they pulled the boats all the year round whatever the weather.

 

Now with the current slower they can row but they showed us how they towed the boats in the past!

 

Our Guide Catherine was also a member of the Tujian Zhou tribe and she sang to us with one of the boatmen a local folksong.  Quite wonderful and in such a beautiful place.

 

The downside of this is that there are no jobs for the men except rowing tourists now so  they rely on us for a living.  I felt very mixed emotions about going on the trip and being taken by these boatmen because somehow it did not seem right

 

Needless to say they were well rewarded for the pleasure they gave us and we returned to the boat rather more subdued than we had left.

 

Minority groups in China are very interesting. There are 56 groups and some, living in more remote area, still carry on their traditions for themselves and not for tourists.  They wear fabulous costumes and when I get home I think I will research these groups more closely.

Gorge number one

Afternoon Tuesday 21st May 2013

 

Early this afternoon we passed through the first of the Three Gorges and once more a suspension of the expected was needed.

 

I cannot tell you how wonderful this place is.  People who came here before the dam was built say it is not so good.  Well all I can say is that it looks pretty good to me.  Misty mountains, huge craggy outcrops, steep sides and staggering scenery. And that is before you consider where we are and how far from home.  I feel so fortunate to be here and to see such a place. 

 

The weather is hot and sunny and we spent the afternoon on the deck just looking and looking.  No photographs will do justice to it all.

 

Later we passed through the second of the gorges. Completely different but just as wonderful.  As we neared the end of tis gorge we saw rhesus monkeys on the bank.  Not a great fan of monkeys but to see them in the wild was such a treat.

 

The river is so busy. Cargo of coal, stones, and other things. Little fishing boats and many more vessels.  Coal barges are loaded from shuts set on the side of the mountains.  The lorries bring it on from the surrounding mountains and dump it literally into stores from where it falls straight down into the barges.

 

Clouds of coal dust rise from these sites so, as you go down the river you can see where they are coming up by these clouds.

 

One more gorge to go but you will have to wait for that one till later

And then we were four!

Tuesday 21st May

 

This mornings shore trip was to The White Emperor City.  This too was a site that was protected by the rising waters by a coffer dam

 

It is now on an island and has a wobbly suspension bridge to walk over to get there

 

All these historic sites are protected after the waters of the river rose when the dam was built but the people whose towns were submerged were just moved out, Either they were moved up the bank or across the river into new towns which were sometimes nice and sometimes less so.  The Chinese are very accepting of this situation. I can't imagine this being the case at home!

 

By now our original 19 had reduced to just four!

 

More resting by the others.  However this site was lovely and although there were more steps to climb we were glad we went.

 

We are feeling that the walking is doing us good and that these important places should not be missed. We will almost certainly not come this way again although I suspect we might come back to China

 

Back on the ship and lunch was early as we will pass through the first of the Three Gorges early this afternoon.

 

By now the message about the ginger was received and understood, to the extent that my lunch was served separately and was ginger free and very delicious!  Thank you Chef

 

Ginger - you have a problem with ginger?

20 May

As some of you know I have a very irritating allergy to ginger! Not the best thing in China but I suspect worse o=in somewhere like Thailand so things could be worse.  Or could they.

 

The first lunch on board had not posed a problem as there was plenty of salady bits and some bread so I was ok but when it came to dinner things got more difficult.

 

But after Captain Lees reception we went and changed and were in the restaurant for a buffet supper. Lots of choice so I asked what I could eat. None of the Chinese stuff!  Well that did not leave much choice so I asked someone different who we had seen when we first got on the boat.  Leo had checked us in and I knew he knew about my allergy as he had a note about it by my name.

 

"No problem, you can eat anything we have not used ginger in the food on this trip!

 

Seemed a bit excessive but very kind so I took some bits and pieces and went back to our table.

 

"You cant eat that" said James our table waiter. "You are allergic to ginger that is no good!"

 

Well by now I was not happy, hungry but not happy.

 

Bread and salad seemed safe so that is what I had but this was not good.

 

After a little discussion about the supposed five star ship, the fact that they knew of my problem and that bread and salad would not do for the rest of the trip we repaired to the bar

 

We saw a really interesting show about the various costumes of the Chinese Dynasties and it was very well done.

 

Large G and T and so to bed.  The ship is sailing through the night and it is really lovely and calm and quiet

Fengdu - Yangtze River - the ghost city and the red pagoda

If we had boarded in Chongqing we wold have sailed overnight to this place so no matter that we arrived here as we did.

 

Great nights sleep, Breakfast and an excursion to the Ghost City.

 

As with cruises, so I am told, we were allocated tables in the restaurant.  We were sitting by 6 South Africans and two English people.  All very nice and we got on well.

 

There were only 143 guests on the boat, about half full, and 140 staff!  Good service

 

After an introduction to the staff and to the ship and emergency procedures etc. we went ashore for our first excursion.   We were split into small groups of no more than 20 for these trips and in ours for the first one there were 19 people.

 

So, back across the wonky gangplank, missing the red carpet,  still not there, missing the band also, we climbed back up the 60 metre high 150 steps to take little golf carts for a short trip.

 

We had been warned to wear sensible shoes as there were a lot of steps.  Even after the 150 steps up to the road we still had 450 more up to the temple above the river!  Taking it easy and stopping with our guide quite often we all got up

 

Great views, really good fun and lots of pictures

 

Back on the boat for lunch and we sailed down the river to moor at Shibaozhai.  Here there was an optional shore trip to a fortress and a red pagoda.  This site would have been half submerged  by the rising water after the Three Gorges Dam was built. To protect it an 85 metre coffer dam was built around it! Quite a site. Our shore party by now had reduced to nine. The others stayed on the boat and it seemed spend the afternoon on their balconies or in bed!

 

They missed a lot!

 

We got back to the ship in time to be late for the Captains reception.  We went anyway and the Captain, Captain Lee, was just making a speech of welcome. ~people were quite dressed up and we were still in our walking stuff and rather hot.  No one seemed to bother thought.

 

Here was one of those times when we had to suspend expectations as we were offered Champagne!

 

"It" was served from magnums and was fizzy.  There was plenty of it and if you had been on a long steep walk you might have enjoyed it.  I am sorry to say that we did quite enjoy it given the circumstances, so thank you Mr Lee. A very nice "Do"

The river is very low

We arrived at Fengdu at about 9pm and were met with many people who turned out to be staff from our boat the Victoria Jenna.  They had big glow stick and they were waving them to try to show us the way to the ship!

I have seen pictures of guests joining cruise ships with red carpets, smooth gangplanks and sometimes even a band.  This was not like that!

The ship was moored on a pontoon well out on the river. The river was 60 metres below the path where we were.  There were 150 concrete steps, there was no red carpet, no band and no smooth gangplanks just a kind of floating walkway made up of old boats, metal pontoons, planks and metal walkways all without handrails stretching at least 300 metre out from the bank into the river in the dark but lit by the boats searchlights. At each change of direction or step up or down was a member of the crew to assist which included the words "Welcome, mind your step".  Apart from that it was all much as I expected!

Many times on this trip already we have had to suspend our expectations and see the funny side of things as they really were. This was one of them and so we laughed! 

Then we scrambled down the steep steps on a balmy night to one of the greatest rivers in the world.! 

I notice as you probably have, my liberal use of exclamation marks.  Sorry about this but sometimes, even very often in fact, it is the only thing to remotely describe what we are seeing and experiencing.

What was even more amazing was what good value our 10 Yuan  for porterage was.

We have two suitcases, each weighing 21 kilos. A porter with a pole over his shoulder ties rope round the two and carried them both at once down the steps and a jog and delivered them to the ship! 

Our cabin is lovely. Little balcony, nice shower room, big fluffy towels and air conditioning.  Things are looking up.

And so to bed

Can you speak up please?

On the bus we were as I said surrounded by Chinese people all going to join the same ship.  In front of Tony and I was a couple who were with the couple sitting behind us!  Real mistake.

 

Chinese people in situations like this are VERY LOUD!!!!!!!

 

We could not get them to swap seats with us but we had, in the end, to suggest they be slightly quieter!  Sadly we could not impress on them our wish that they did not eat smelly food and share it with all around us!

Cruising down the river - otherwise known as a three hour bus ride!

Today we were picked up from our lovely hotel and transferred to the airport to fly to Chongqing to board out cruise ship for three nights on the Yangtze. Our plane was a bit late but we arrived in Chongqing and were met by Paul. He took us on a tour of Chongqing  but not before telling us that the river level was too low for the ship we were taking to get up the Chongqing so we would be going on a bus!

 

We have learned not to let these things get to us, I hope I will be saying this in three weeks time.  We opted to go on the earliest possible bus at about 6 as Paul said the trip took three hours.  We visited some of the old town and then went for a hot pot supper.  This is a speciality of the region and was in the past a pot set over a flame. In the pot is a hot chilli spiced stock in which you cook yourself various items of food.  These days the table has an electric hot plate in the middle and the pot is set on that and controlled by knobs on the end of the table.

 

We were served plates and plates full of all sorts of stuff, meat, fish, bean curd, vegetables, mushrooms and noodles.  Far more than we could eat even if had been a meal time. This was 4 in the afternoon!!!

 

AS you know I am quite a capable cook so it was irritating to be helped to cook the stuff and not to be left to do it ourselves.  We did not want to be rude but they kept piling stuff into the stock and we could not eat even half of it.  I think this would be more interesting if there were a lot of you but we have now tried a Chongqing Hot Pot!!

 

Down to the bus station where we paid 10 Yuan about £1.20 for porterage for our two big suitcases!  Given what we found at the other end of the bus ride this was good value! 

On the bus there was one other non Chinese person.  John from South Africa who had run the Marathon on the Great Wall the day before and was meeting up with two friends to do the cruise.

 

We were checked off a list by Leo from Victoria Cruises and once on the bus were issued with bottled water, a banana, not for Tone who hates bananas and a packet of biscuits.  This seemed ominous and did not bode well we thought.

 

Well suffice to say that three hours later, some beautiful scenery, a delicious banana and a biscuit for dinner we arrived at Fengdu which is 170 miles down the river.

Waldorf queen - that's me

I did not tell you about the cocktail I had last night as the Waldorf Astoria in the Long Bar!

 

It was called an Waldorf Queen and was gin and orange based. 

All the others had cocktails in the usual cocktail glasses but mine was served in a beautiful teacup and saucer!  So I could sit there drinking what looked like a nice cup of tea and in fact getting slowly sloshed!

 

Of course at those prices you don't get sloshed slowly or otherwise but it was fun and by the way scrumptious!

Shanghailanders

Today 18th May 2013 we spent our last day in Shanghai on this visit.

It has been wonderful. We started with visiting the Church where Granny and Grandpa got married and we walked on the Bund which even though it was raining was wonderful

Then I went shopping with Katy Gow who is from the RAS She is a great haggler and I managed to get all I wanted plus a little something for myself!

Can't say where I went as some things are a surprise for some people!

We then went to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and had cocktails in the Long Bar (used to be the longest bar in the world and women were barred) which was a great treat before going on to a restaurant Peter knew which was as always brilliant and really cheap. The bar was the place like a gentleman's club where the businessmen congregated to do all of their deals and run the concessions business, most powerful at one end and along the bar reducing in seniority, it is a brilliantly restored building.

Cocktails at the Long Bar wonderful but not cheap. Dinner at Peters choice wonderful and with beer all round and about twelve dishes £8 per person.

Was this how Shanghailanders lived I wonder. Probably the start of the evening (in the Long Bar) but not the end!!

We leave in the morning after a wonderful visit to Shanghai and with new friends. What with a wonderful send off from Barry and now a wonderful send off from Shanghai we think we have done the jobs properly and are looking forward to the next stage.

Off for a 3 day cruise on the Yangtze and a well earned rest.

Friday 17 May

Today we have been doing some catching up and then we went to the Shanghai Museum which is every bit as good as the guide books say it is.

Tiny bit of shopping but leaving the main bits till I go out with Katy tomorrow!

We are also going back to see if we can get into the church we visited yesterday and hopefully Ravenscourt where Grandpa spent much time lounging on the veranda, playing tennis and billiards and generally taking life easy when he first got here.

On Sunday we are taking a plane!!! No more trains this trip. We are going to Chongqing where we will take a cruise for three nights on the Yangtze. Probably no wi fi so we will get back to you in Beijing in a few days time

An Evening with Liz Barron

16th May

 

"An evening with Liz Barron"....This was how my talk to the Royal Asiatic Society RAS was billed in their programme.

Peter Hibbard had asked me sometime ago to talk to them about our trip and how in compared with Grandpas and to show them the film and talk about the life Granny and Grandpa led here

We started by going to the Cino British Library at the University where we were met by Katy Gow who is the President I think

Kate had two students with her. Shu and Jenny and we went with Peter Hibbard and Sasha for supper to a local restaurant.

Then it was time to go and face the audience of about 50 people, mainly English but some Americans too and a couple of visitors from Blackpool who were visiting their son here!

Drinks were served and the computer technician set up the film and my pictures.

I was a bit nervous as their usual speakers are professors or other learned people and I hoped my contribution would go down well

It did

They liked the film even with the awful music. They loved hearing abut our trip compared with Grandpas and they loved hearing me read from Granny's letters. I laughed at myself before they could. If you have heard me reading from Granny's letters you will know that I automatically put on a voice that I think she may have used!

I of course loved speaking about something that is so important to me and we all had a great evening. There were lots of questions and offers to look through material other people had to see if they had any record of Granny and Grandpa. One man has many old plans and maps of Shanghai and believes some of them were signed by W A L Pardoe (Grandpa)

He promised to come back to me

Another today has sent me details of the house called Ravenscourt which he says is a museum and we will try to go there tomorrow.

And others were able to comment of some other pictures which I showed and to confirm or otherwise what we think they are.

Afterwards several of us repaired to a Japanese restaurant just for a drink. During the evening we made plans to meet again. Katy Gow is taking me to buy some pearls and then we are all going to the Shanghai Bar and, I think, the Cathay Hotel on the Bund and to have dinner at one of the restaurants on the Bund too

It is brilliant that my research before we came has led to us seeing a part of Shanghai life that we never would have done otherwise and we will I am sure have a great evening. It will be our last in Shanghai this time!!

Tales of old Shanghai

Thursday 16th May

 

Peter came to the hotel at 8.30 once he had dropped Sasha at school

It is still raining but we still have our brollies

First in a cab to find the church where Granny and Grandpa got married. It has a school attached to it so we could not go in but we will go back on Saturday and can go in then.

Then to see some wonderful buildings that were there in Grandpas time. There is some preservation of buildings and their architectural features and Peter seems to know them all. He even showed us the last manhole cover with the stamp of the Shanghai Municipal Council on it!!! Of course Grandpa worked for the SMC

Then to see the building that the SMC had built as its HQ

We were allowed to go in and it was very moving to know that Grandpa had been here before us. It is a lovely building on the inside and has marble and gilding and terrazzo floors. Terrazzo was very new at that time. There were wonderful pictures of the building through the years and also a floor plan which made Peter very pleased as he had not been able to go in before and is really interested in such things.

We saw the newspaper offices where Granny worked and then the Palace Hotel where Granny and Grandpa had their wedding reception and it is wonderful. It is no longer an

hotel but a space for art!! Wonderful chandeliers in red Murano glass and we saw the reception room that would have been used then.

Then the Peace Hotel which is fairly newly restored. Peter assisted on this project as he had plans and drawings from the original design.

Then to the rowing club where we had coffee and saw what had been the swimming pool which I assume dad and his siblings used. We had coffee there and sheltered for a while from the rain. (This had changed owners since Peter had been there last, new owners are Japanese we were told, it is decorated in an extraordinary way, closest description I can give is an explosion in a paint factory! Tony).

Finally we went in a cab to Columbia Road. Peter thought he knew where the house was and we wandered around the area which is really very nice.

There is a mystery about all this as Peter knew that Granny and Grandpa had lived in three different placed after they were married. There are many pictures of a house that I had always thought was in Columbia Road. Peters view is that it was too early a design to have been there and that it may have been one of the other addresses he had found. He very much doubts that it can have been in Columbia Road!

However when we were looking through the albums we borrowed from my cousin Cathy we found a picture of another house which has notes on the back that as far as I can recall are related to the garden there. There are children's toys in the garden that my Aunt Jane identified as hers

The house looks pebble dashed I think and there in Columbia Road was a very similar house. It is behind a tall fence and had electric gates but I am fairly sure that it is the one and so Peter rang the bell.

Sadly only the maid was home but I was even more sure that it was the house in the picture which I can't check till we get home.

I took some pics through the trees so we can see but I did feel that they could have lived in the quiet corner of Shanghai as Peter said that people built the houses so they were near the country but there were some security problems as it is well outside where the main concessionary areas were, also disputes over who policed the area and who collected the taxes.

Who knows?

A wonderful day out

In the evening I made a presentation to the RAS which I will tell you about later