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Published: April 6th 2009
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Santa can't be far behind
Who knew he kept his reindeers in Chong Ming? Hi all,
Editor's note: Yes, we're learning Chinese, but no...the title is in English.
You may recall (or not) last year's blog around this time when we spent "Qing Ming" holiday in Nanjing...well, this year we decided to spend Tomb Sweeping Festival (or Qing Ming, the weekend that people honour the memories of their deceased ancestors) on the island of Chong Ming. Last year's blog was devoted to the difficulties of our getting to Nanjing on a National Holiday, which were many (we almost didn't get there...one anonymous comment went so far as to cryptically remark that in our haste to reach our destination we were missing the 'joy'of the journey) Well, with that sentiment in mind, and almost two years of travelling in Asian practically behind us, we packed our backpacks with the attitude that a quick jaunt to an island right outside our doorstop should be a snap...and yet, once again we were forgetting that whenever one sets out past the perimeters of Shanghai proper, one heads out into the real China. Even though Chongming is only two hours away, on Ching Ming, a national holiday, anything and everything could happen...
Our plan was straightforward: We
How many stops does it take...
...to leave Shanghai behind? 23 apparently. At least, this sight of the Chinese Navy, as seen here in Baoyuan Port, has never been glimpsed in Shanghai. wanted to visit Chong Ming Island, purportedly the most green and clean spot that Shanghai--or China for that matter--has to offer its smog-infested populace. Work is underway to transform this world's largest alluvial island into a completely ecologically sustainable environment. By 2010 the Chinese Government hopes the island to be largely run by wind and solar energy, with desalinated water for drinking and agricuture. Towns are being designed to ensure less dependency on cars...a welcome initiative, considering that over 1,000 cars are being added to the streets of China daily...until one recalls that the Changjiang Tunnel and Bridge project currently underway which will cut the commute down to 45 minutes from Shanghai to Chong Ming, will also add more cars to the roads of the pristine island.
But we were curious to see this green paradise while it lasts. After all, Shanghai now boasts more skyscrapers than the entire west coast of North America, and we've long wearied of the sight of forests of steel. Our curiousity was also whetted by tales of colleagues who'd on one visit to Chong Ming had seen reindeer in the heart of the Dongping Forest Park. The same lucky people recommended to also
Ferry from hell
But it whizzes you to Chong Ming from Shanghai in under an hour. be on the alert for local delicacies, such as mutton, hairy crab, and rice wine brewed right on the island, so along with a desire to breath fresh air, we were off--rain or no. First stop--Shanghai's dizzingly gigantic subway system.
After 23 stops, we reached Baoyuan Lu...the street of the port from which the ferries depart every half hour to Chong Ming. Luckily, we found a taxi to take us to the port...empty taxis in Shanghai when it's raining are a rare sight. After finally managed to flag one down, the driver at first refused to take us to the port, but relented when we agreed to pay him for two ferry tickets. Now, if we'd thought the pushing and shoving on the subway was bad enough, we were not prepared for the massive flood of humanity awaiting us as the Baoyuan Port. We were soon kicking ourselves for not studying more of our Chinese, when the frenzied scalper who greeted us shoved two tickets into our hands with the instructions of ''er lo" and "san ke". Knowing the former we ran to the ''second floor'' of the terminal where the boat was departing. Hoping that ''san ke'' meant
A lone horse in the forest...
...where did he come from? If you find out, let us know. the better seats, we were disappointed to find out the opposite, as ours were in the bottom floor, behind grimy windows from which we couldn't see anything...a resounding clunk of the doors confirmed our worst fears. We were also all locked in....did "san ke" mean, "you're entering hell''???
We arrived on the island in record time, thank goodness, and discovered that the rain made it also impossible to see out of our taxi's windows. What we could see was slightly less than we expected when we'd heard that Chong Ming is China's longest sandbar. There was nary a speck of sand or ocean in sight. Instead, what we could make out was the sight of a typical, congested town -- minus the highrises.
We arrived to a cold, unwelcoming hotel--both aesthetically and physically--which offered very little in the way of entertainment, English TV or western food (read none, save CCTV 9 for all of the proceeding) but were rescued from a dreary dinner when a nice young gentleman offered to drive us into the "ecological village". He took us to the lone restaurant, which turned out to be his home, and guided us to the kitchen where we
Dongping National Forest
Where everything is perfect, just like nature intended. chose some cold chicken, noodle-type and potato-type veggies. He also offered us the Chong Ming Rice Wine as a nice accompaniment -- which, we discovered, had quite a kick.
So as the pictures attest, we made it to Chong Ming and despite all, enjoyed Dong Ping National Forest practically all to our selves. One thing we've learned that Chinese detest more than anything, and that's rain. And before embarking the next morning on the first ferry off the island, we did enjoy the clean air.
However, once back in Shanghai, the sight of the urban forest, along with the smog, seemed warmly familiar. And as we ran back to our local food and beverage establishments, we decided that China's a great place to visit...but, we guess, Shanghai has become home.
Biking in Pudong on Sunday we also learned from the friendly bike store owner that the island we need to visit is right next door to Chong Ming--called Hengsha island, it has miles of bike trails on long sandy beaches. Oh well, live and learn.
At least we managed to see a reindeer.
Zai Jian,
Amy & Roel
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Chalo
non-member comment
reindeer, horses, centaurs oh my
I love the pic of the horse in the mist -very cool. Did you see a Centaur? This reminds me of my adventure to Pongu Islands. It was the off season and I took a boat to the wrong island -the industrial island. There was a military base and a huge heap of China's garbage burning all day and all night. Those were fun times! I literally stayed the night and got on the first ferry back to the main land... Here's a link to an interesting article I found about China's emerging "ecovillages" (something that Im very interested in!) -hope you enjoy. http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/chinas-first-ecovillage-proves-a-hard-sell/2006/08/25/1156012740582.html?page=fullpage# Love u guys! Take care, Chalo