Local Time: 1020pm
Last week, was Chinese New Year on Sunday followed by traveling Monday - Sunday.
Monday - Wednesday was Suzhou and Hangzhou
Chinese New Year
It is unlikely to find a comparable fireworks display in the United States. Fireworks are used to scare away bad luck and other odd things. There are no professional fireworks displays, so each family buys their own fireworks and sets them off. Also business do the same practice for similar reasons. To make a long story short, the fireworks don't go as high in the air, it seems. Thankfully, the hotel we are staying in was shooting off fireworks. It was very loud and I enjoyed it very much. I watched from the 5th floor open window, the fireworks were exploding about 9 floors in the air. Pictures of fireworks seem pointless, but I guess I have a few videos. The air started fairly clear that evening though after midnight, there was a fog across the city from firework smoke. Very impressive.
Suzhou (Sue-Joe)
Suzhou was an interesting place to visit. We traveled as a group with a tour guide from Monday to Wednesday with a set agenda. We saw a temple, a silk factory, and a garden. The weather was quite bad, upper 40s and misty/fog. We had some adventuring around the hotel area that night, but nothing ground shaking. Visited a TGI Friday's. I didn't like the mozzarella slabs because they were breaded in something rice based. ):
Hangzhou (Ha-ng-joe)
Hangzhou was also a good place to visit. It is a richer vacation area. There is a very large lake there that is rather pretty but the weather didn't improve much. We visited a cave. Then we had lunch and visited the large lake that afternoon. The weather was mid 40s, foggy, and windy. The cave was kind of an upsetting experience for me. I have been to caves in the United States, so when it showed up on the agenda I was excited to learn something about Chinese geology. It is obvious that it was not that kind of experience. It was a very Chinese tourist attraction. They did not have english speaking guides so our hired tour guide translated what they had said. Before, the tour started, we were offered an extended tour with a boat ride in the cave for not much money. Many of us opted for this upgrade because it was a "45" minute boat ride. After entering the cave, we learned that this was not something the DNR would be running. Neon lights lite cave walls, over a wet stone path. There was also nothing protecting the geology from the tourists. The cave had lots of "Hey, that looks like a dragon." It never once talked about the minerals or how long the cave had been there. They had actually really screwed things up in that way. In the caves I had been in before, the guides said touching a forming stalagmite can ruin the formation for many many years. There was nothing stopping the tourist from touching these. In fact, there were a few ground formations that actually had cement poured around it and they were in the middle of the path. It was surprising. I actually started laughing when I heard a few of the things they "found" in the rocks, dragons, elephants, etc.
We walked up 200 stairs, to look at something and then five minutes later walked back down the stairs. As we exited the stairs a lady was handing incense out, people were taking it without asking questions. I avoided this lady, because it did not seem right. Well, as it turns out we had stumbled on a buddhist temple inside this cave. People lite the incense and put it in the holder. Once it goes in the holder, you are expected to donate. Psh. Lame. Some people did, some didn't.
Now we have arrived at the end of the first tour and the boat tour is about to start. I see them bailing water out of the boats, GREAT. We load up these wooden vessels with 9-12 Americans and they were built for 12 Chinese people. The edge of the boat was no more than an inch out of the water, leaning the wrong way added some water in the boat. Unfortunately (or fortunately) the boat ride was not 45 minutes, but rather 4 to 5 minutes and less than a football field long. They actually used dynamite to make this pond. The drill holes were visible on the rock face - absolutely wrong.
Other things that were just wrong were:
- The cages animals for tourists to look at.
- The dead trees with hot glued on decorations.
- The fake dinosaur fossil.
- The train used to exit. Which - at one point you had to duck in the train as to not hit your head while exiting the cave with low clearance.
I wrote a lot right there, and I am sorry. I think that caves should be maintained and studied, not faked up for money.
We visited a large lake that afternoon and took a longer boat tour, it was windy and cold. That evening we went out for a few drinks at a bar recommended by a Silicon Valley expat who owns the local subway sandwich shop. We also visited a tea field, where they attempted to sell expensive tea to our group - and some people bought it.
We returned to Shanghai on Wednesday night, very tired. Six of us turned around on Thursday and went to Beijing.
Beijing in Short
I visited many sites in Beijing. It was a very good trip. I have many pictures from the trip and the weather was pretty good for the most part. There were a couple of sunny days. I saw; The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, the Drum Tower, Forbidden City, Tiananmen square, Olympic Bird's Nest, Ming Tombs, Chinese Tradition Medicine Clinic, and a Jade Craving Factory. We made the most of our short visit. One day we had a tour guide and that was the best way to get to the Great Wall for sure. I initially did not think the Great Wall was going to be worth seeing, but it is fairly impressive actually. It was an enjoyable trip. I learned a lot more about China in Beijing because it is not nearly as westernized as Shanghai.
Minhang
This weekend our group is moving from downtown Shanghai about 40 minutes out of town. It will still be densely populated but we will be relocating to the Mechanical Engineering campus. I hope that the move goes well and will being much better internet connections to all of us.
Thanks for reading,
Biber
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