Zhouzhuang

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A Few More Notes

November 9, 2008 in Uncategorized, Zhouzhuang by Brian M | No comments

T-train to Shanghai– Last leg of the trip

We left Beijing Thursday evening around 7:30 PM on the sleeper train, and arrived in Shanghai the next morning about 9:30 AM.  The “best” bunks are in the 4-person cabins (2 on each side of the tiny room) because they have a door that slides shut.  There are also bunks in the hallways — three bunks high — but everyone walking to the bathroom or the dining car passes right by all night long.   John had the top bunk on the right and I was on the bottom right.  On the left bottom bunk was a Chinese lady about my age who spoke no English and on the top was a young man who was a student in Beijing whose major is computer translation (“translating Chinese into English efficiently on the Internet), so he spoke very good English even though we were the first foreigners with whom he had ever spoken.  His only experience with the language was in English class.  We really enjoyed meeting him and pumped him with lots of questions, especially when we found out he grew up in Inner Mongolia.

We received the royal treatment when we arrived at the Shanghai Railway Station.  We were met at the train and chauffeured right to the Delta terminal at Pudong Airport an hour and a half away. This was a surprise that Tongan and Rui had arranged for us, and it saved us hours of public transportation in the rain.  What a blessing!   The last part of the vacation was the 18-hour trip from Shanghai to Savannah.  It was great to see Brian and Sean at the airport waiting to drive us home!

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My new rolling backpack held up under all conditions in China, but see what the U.S. airline did to it on the last 45 minutes of the trip!  And all of the contents were soaking wet.  They are paying me to purchase a new one.  To be prepared for our next trip, I’m going to upgrade to the same one (Osprey) John has because it has a few extra bells and whistles for convenience and durability.

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NEITHER RAIN NOR SLEET NOR HAIL STOP THE CHINESE COMMUTERS

Even really rainy days don’t stop people from bicycling to work.  They all have nifty rain ponchos which cover not only themselves but the stuff they carry in their handlebar basket.  Motor scooter drivers have even larger and more elaborate ponchos that snap onto their scooters.

Farmers work in the rain.  Building construction and road crews work in the rain.   Pedestrian traffic is just as busy in the rain.  In fact, it’s a great day for the street vendors who hawk their wares to passers -by.  They sell lots of umbrellas.  We bought a cool leopard skin – looking one for $1.40.

We stood in a queue for about an hour one day in a heavy rain waiting for a taxi at the train station.  So many in China do not have personal cars; life goes on in spite of the weather.

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BEHOLD the infamous squatty potty. Oh, the stories you won’t hear!

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The “Venice of China”

October 31, 2008 in Suzhou, Zhouzhuang by Susan | No comments

P1030032 In between our visit to Shanghai and Beijing, we visited two “water township”, cities west of Shanghai which are built on man-made canals. Zhouzhuang is an ancient city whose inner section has only 8 streets; the remaining travel ways are canals.  Souzhou has many canals but it is a bustling city of 6 million. The canals are a pleasant way to travel because the roads are totally congested. We hired boat and driver for a peaceful ride, observing the old homes along the shores of the Grand Canal, the world’s largest man-made waterway.  Construction on the canal was begun in 486 BC and finished over the next one thousand years, linking the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers.  Many of the buildings in this section date back five dynasties (to the 1200’s) and people are still living there.

Just like it’s done in Venice, we were poled down the canal, and even serenaded. Our driver, a very tanned middle-aged man with an engaging smile, told us stories and facts about the city’s history and sang a traditional folk song. Rui and I clapped heartily and told him he had a beautiful voice (which he did) so he treated us to two more songs, one about the beautiful flowers of Suzhou (Rui translated part of it for me).

Later we had lunch in one of the little cafes along the canal — very fresh fish. They were swimming in a tank when we first arrived!  For dessert I purchased a bag of fresh lychees from a street vendor.  After peeling and eating several, I realized that they were sitting in water.  Not knowing where the old woman had gotten the water, I chewed a Pepto Bismol tablet to help prevent the possibility of Traveler’s Diarrhea.  (We did this several times throughout the trip when food or water was a bit suspect, and it seemed to work because we did not have any major gastrointestinal problems).

Suzhou has been famous for its silk products for centuries.  At one of the silk factories, we saw how the silk worm cocoons are boiled in hot water and then the threads are wound onto spools to be used to make their quilts, scarves, shawls, handkerchiefs and other beautiful products.  In the town market place, we bargained for a few scarves, and an embroidered wall hanging.

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