CHINA TIDBITS

 WEDDINGS

STREET SCENES

CHINA TIDBITS

RANDOM SHOTS OF PEOPLE

GOODBYE SHANGHAI/GOODBYE CHINA

Friday, April 22 was our last day in China.  We left our hotel at 7:30 am to get ahead of rush hour traffic. It had rained overnight so the streets were wet and the sky was overcast.  Our motor coach took us to the station to catch the Maglev Train which would transport us to Pudong International Airport.

Here are some facts about the Maglev Train:

Instead of having wheels like regular trains, the Maglev floats on a magnetic cushion between the vehicle and track, and is held on the tracks by electromagnetic pull.


 The Maglev travels at a top speed of about 430 km (267 miles) per hour.

The train currently runs 30 km (19 miles) between Shanghai's financial district in Pudong and Pudong International Airport. 

We arrived at the airport about 9:15 am; checked in at 9:45; boarded the Air China plane about 11:30; departed for the 15 hour flight to New York about noon.






It was a great trip, I had a wonderful time and I hope to have the opportunity to visit again.









 

SILK CARPET FACTORY, YU GARDEN BAZAAR, SHANGHAI

This is our last full day in China.

After visiting the Bund, we toured a silk carpet factory. The guide explained the intricate process of designing and weaving the carpets. Most required many months to complete. Although the carpets were quite beautiful, I was not tempted to make a purchase.

After the factory we went to Yu Garden Bazaar. Although it was a weekday, the bazaar was very crowded. There were many vendors, many shops and many places to eat, even a Dairy Queen (yea!). The artists and crafts people were fascinating to watch. There was a man who created drawings of typical Chinese mountain scenes using the side of his hand and his finger nail. Another man used a microscope to write a message on a pearl.

We were fortunate to witness a traditional Chinese wedding party. The wedding party made its way through the crowd on their way to the Gardens.  The bride was in a covered chair sedan being carried by four attendants.  A couple of times the wedding party stopped and the groom opened the curtain of the sedan so the crowd could view the bride. 

SHANGHAI

Shanghai literally means "above the sea".  This city of over 20 million people is located at the mouth of the Yantze River. Because of it's port location it has become a major international shipping center.  
Our tour guide kept mentioning "Concessions" while explaining the layout of the city.  At the time I had no idea what he was referring to, but thanks to google I now have some background information. 
In the nineteenth century the Chinese government allowed foreign nations to visit and trade in China, this was the start of the foreign Concessions. In these Concessions, the citizens of each foreign power developed their own cultures distinct from the rest of China.  The British and American Concessions combined into the Shanghai International Settlement, the French Concession remained independent. Offices, banking and financial institutions were erected along the Bund where the Concessions originated.  Today the architecture of the Concessions reflects that foreign influence.
The word "bund" means an embankment. In Shanghai, The Bund is an area within the former International Settlement which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River.  About 52 British, French, American, German, Japanese, and Russian, as well as Chinese buildings in various architectural styles are located along the Bund. The area has become an international financial center and has been nicknamed "Wallstreet of the Orient".
Across the river from the Bund is the distinctive skyline of Pudong. The Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Building, the Shanghai World Financial Center (bottle opener), the Shanghai Tower are the buildings that are outstanding.

I find it nearly impossible to adequately describe the immenseness of the city of Shanghai. I did come across the following quote that comes close.
"Shanghai makes American cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York look like overgrown suburbs"

Along the Bund

Pudong skyline

Cityscape

MEI JIA WU TEA PLANTATION, HANGZHOU

 Have you ever thought about the process involved in bringing tea to your local grocery or health food store? I don't remember giving it a second thought. That's why I was completely fascinated the moment our motorcoach turned a curve along a narrow road and I saw the rows upon rows of tea plants on the low hillsides. There were women in coolie hats walking along the rows gathering leaves from the tea shrubs and putting them into white bags. This is what I learned about the processing of "Westlake Dragon Well" green tea.

"The process from plant to tea packaging is all performed at the Tea Plantation here and much of it is done by hand.  The tea is picked at certain months during the year and depending on the month of harvest, the quality is slightly different.  In the olden days the Emperor of China was given the best pick and no-one else in China was allowed to have the Emperor's Cut.  Spring is the tea picking season and Dragon Well produces teas in April and May.  

After the tea is picked, it is pan dried to step the fermentation process (the drying of the freshly picked leaves) - this step requires skill as the temperature is very important and must be maintained during the process will have the best results for the size, tenderness and volume of the leaves, so it is a very important part of the tea process.  In fact it takes 3 years to master the 10 hand movements to roasting the tea and even then only around 1 kilogram of this precious tea can be roasted per person per day.  The tea is graded into six levels.  The tea itself has a sweet taste with an aromatic floral flavor and is renowned for it's stunning emerald green color.

This tea contains a high level of caffeine as well as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) and theanine.  Although the high quality of this tea is soothing rather than stimulating, it is also great for weight loss.  Chinese people also drink the ta to improve their health.  Although lots of tea benefit from boiling water (e.g. black teas), green teas are usually more delicate.  Dragon Well tea is best when the water is around 75 degrees celsius, so let the water boil and leave it in the kettle until it cools to the desired temperature if you want to get it right!"

Enlarge to read

Tea drying process

Demonstrating benefits of green tea

LINYIN TEMPLE, HANGZHOU

There are an estimated 100 million followers of Buddhism in China today despite China's shift to atheism after communism control began in 1949.  There are estimated to be over 20,000 Buddhist Temples.

"Hangzhou is speckled with courtyards, gardens, Buddhist temples, towers, pavilions, more Buddhist temples, springs, gullies, rock caves and still more Buddhist temples. Ancient cliff inscriptions abound here and there, just as there are scores of Buddha and boddhisatva figures in parks and in other public places, and of course there are innumerable examples of these sculptures, many of which are of precious jade, inside the city's Buddhist temples."

Lingyin Temple or Temple of Soul's Retreat is one of the largest and wealthiest temples in China.

It was originally founded in 326 AD but has been rebuilt several times.  There are over 300 Buddhist statues on the Temple grounds, the most famous is the Laughing Buddha. 
To reach the Temple we walked along a path lined with rock carvings.

Laughing Buddha

The principal Hall is Mahavira Hall. It houses the largest wooden Buddhist statue in China.

Mahavira Hall

Buddhist monk

The Hall of Five Hundred Arhats(spiritual practitioners) was amazing.  This Hall contained 500 slightly larger than life bronze statues. Each statue was seated on a unique ornate seat.  The expressions and postures represented the individual characteristics of each Arhat.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gustavothomastheatre/4351546764/

HANGZHOU

Hangzhou located at the southern end of the Grand Canal is a very beautiful city of over 6 million people.  According to our tour guide, Hangzhou has nearly 10,000 restaurants and banquet facilities.  Many weddings are held here and it is China's #1 honeymoon destination.
Our guide also mentioned the Qiantang River Bore, a natural wonder which occurs annually in August or September, when a tidal wave (bore) enters Hangzhou Harbor.  The wave can reach heights of 30 feet and can travel as fast as 25 miles per hour.
One of the main tourist attractions in Hangzhou is West Lake.  The Lake which covers over 23 square miles is surrounded on three sides by mountains. 
Our boat cruise on the Lake was delightful

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BOAT TOUR, SUZHOU

One of the highlights of the trip was the boat tour along the canals of Suzhou.  We were in such close proximity to the homes along the canal I felt we glimpsed a bit of real life China.






We stopped at a market along the canal.  Can you identify the items vendors were selling?

The residents were very friendly.

This little boy blew us a kiss