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Hello everybody, it is 2:42 pm China time on Sunday May 6th. Here is a brief update about what I have been up to for the last week:
I'll start with the Trust Mart, which is the Chinese Wal-Mart. In an earlier blog I mentioned that the food section was crazy. We went back there and I now have some photos. WARNING- these pictures are not for people with weak stomachs.
THE MOUNTAIN:
On Wednesday we had some rare free time, so we decided to go explore the mountain near our campus. We don't know the mountain's name, but we managed to find a trail leading up the side of it. We hiked all the way to the top and found that the trail keeps going through a number of mountains and valleys. Scattered all along the trail were Chinese pagodas and scenic overlooks. We ended up hiking for several hours and about 7 or 8 miles.
The view from the top of the mountains showed just how large the city of Hangzhou is. From the top of the mountain the city stretches as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately the smog was bad on Wednesday, so
the pictures don't show this. Hangzhou has is considered a small city in China; it has a population of 8,100,000 and covers an area of 16,847 square kilometers. By comparison, Raleigh has a population of 392,552 and covers 375 square kilometers. So this "small city" is actually huge by our standards.
WUZHEN:
On Saturday we took an all day trip to Wuzhen, a traditional Chinese town on the water about 2 hours away. This town is the closest we will get to seeing the Eastern part of the country, which is a shame because East China and West China are two very different places.
The East, especially the parts close to the coastline (like Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing), is the wealthy half of China. The economy is booming, there are huge industrial warehouses and financial districts, and tourism brings in plenty of money. I think everything I have posted so far shows this side of China. The West, however, is primarily agricultural. The few factories in the West are reportedly sweat shops. The further West you go, the more rugged, rural and poor the country becomes. We are told that the land in the West is too mountainous
and not even good for farming, leaving the people stuck in poor, remote, and rugged villages with little to no livelihood.
Unfortunately Wuzhen has become completely overtaken by tourism, which dilutes the experience. We are used to big crowds and lots of people by now, but this was above and beyond anything we had seen before. Its amazing the Chinese people that still live in the town manage to go about their daily lives with such massive numbers of people passing through.
Despite the crowds, we were able to catch a glimpse into how the people live in Wuzhen. I think the pictures will give a little insight in this regard. Also, the people, eager to capitalize on all the travelers, have set up shops selling home-made trinkets, paintings, wood carvings, and fabrics. We could not believe how low the vendors would sell their goods for; it was literally next to nothing.
THE THEATER:
Saturday night we had a chance to attend a theater performance about a half an hour from Hangzhou. It was a last minute decision to go, and I do not even know the name of the town or the performance, but it was
a great show. It was produced by the same organization that performed the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It was most comparable to something you would see in Vegas, a mixture of a musical, a lights and special effects show, and a dance performance. The special effects were incredible; there were horses, functional cannons, smoke, all kinds of crazy light effects, and some very good athletes. The stage moved electronically on tracks and the performers came all the way up into the audience many times. Even though the singing/talking was in Chinese, it was well worth the trip. Afterward we had some time to explore the area around the theater, so there are some photos of that as well.
We don't have much scheduled for next week, so I expect this will be the last update for 5 or 6 days. I hope all is well in States, and I will talk to you all soon.
David S.
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Meagan Brewer
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So jealous!
I love all of your pictures!! It sounds like you're having a great time, I knew you would!! Seeing all of your pictures and reading what you have to say seriously makes me want to go back! I'm so jealous!! I'm glad you're getting to experience this too and I can't wait until you get back and we can talk about everything! I hope you continue to have an amazing time!