5 trips to China

China is our neighboring country, so it is easy to get there from Vietnam. Over the past few years, I did 4 overland crossings to China, flew once to Guangzhou and another time I landed in Hong Kong on the way to Tokyo. The total time I spent in China was exactly a month. China is so large that every time I went there, I could see only a part of it. On my first trip in 2000, I traveled by bus and train in 6 cities for a couple of weeks, starting from Nanning - Hangzhou - Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing - Beijing, then back in Nanning on a long train ride. The next trip in 2002, I flew to Guangzhou, then headed to Shenzhen - Hong Kong - Macau - Zhuhai. 3 years later, I booked a tour to south west China to see the Stone Forest and Kunming. The highlights that I list below are my unforgettable experiences during my visit in China on the 5 different trips.

The Forbidden City (9999 rooms) is one of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen. All the roofing and walls have the same color. The city has been preserved very well. Another great place in Beijing is the Temple of Heaven Park and the tombs of the Emperors.

Climbing up and down the stairs of the Great Wall is a challenge. Sometimes I felt that if someone pushed me, I would fall off straightly. There is a handrail for the tourists along the wall. A great view of the area when standing on the Great Wall and a bronze medal "I have climbed the Great Wall" were the prize for us.

A sleepless night, sitting on the floor of the train from Nanjing to Beijing was one of the unforgettable experiences in my travel life. It was in late April, ie close to the golden week national holiday in China. Many people moved around to go back home and see their families or travel. The train was packed of people, many passengers had no seat, so they had to stand or even sit next to the rest room and sleep on the floor. I was in the same situation, as our travel agent couldn't get a soft sleeper ticket for me. They told me just get into the train, then they would try to find a sleeper for me, but they could not. Our Chinese tour guide ran around to talk with the ticket checkers, but they refused. We then sat down on the floor and chatted, while watching the people passing by. I wish I could speak Chinese, so that I could talk with the people over there. They seemed very friendly, but without a language for communications, it was like a barrier between us. Later, one of the Chinese men invited me to sit next to him, and we talked with assistance of our Chinese guide. When we were back in Nanning, the travel agent apologized to me for the lack of a soft sleeper ticket. They presented me with a wallet and refunded the cost of the train ticket.

I heard about Shanghai many times and saw it in the movies. Once I got there, I realized that it was exactly same as I imagined before the trip. The city is a mixture of the old and the new. We visited an old town and saw the red lanterns at every old house. By the river, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which is the tallest TV Tower in Asia, looked amazing. I saw it 3 times, in the mist at 4pm, at night and in the morning. I also reached the second ball of the Tower by elevator and enjoyed a great view of the city when standing there. Shanghai at night was so beautiful with the shopping centers, colorful lightings and young people sitting by the sidewalk and eating rice boxes.

After an exciting Shanghai, we moved to Suzhou which was an absolute contrast. It's a very quiet and peaceful city, with the gardens, old houses and bonsai. It made us feel like we just escaped from a hustle and bustle world and now just relaxed in this peaceful atmosphere.

Walking on Tiananmen Square in Beijing, our guide said "This place is sensitive, because there are cameras watching us." There were so many Chinese tourists that in every photo of me, there were at least 10 other people who also took photos or walked around. Unfortunately, President Mao Zedong's mausoleum was closed on that day, so I couldn't see him.

My birthday in Guangzhou was a special day in my life. My red Áo Dài traditional dress attracted a great attention from the locals on the streets near my hotel, at the supermarket, even at an Internet cafe, they allowed me to use a computer at once (as a priority) instead of waiting like the other guests.

Sunset over the Stone Forest near Kunming is another beautiful landscape in China, along with the rice terraces and mountain scenery on the way from Hekou to Kunming. Walking at the Stone Forest that day, I didn't want to leave. I kept looking back and tried to see that great view one more time. I wanted to bring home that image with me, but could only remember it, because a photo couldn't express how beautiful it would be.

The highlights of Hong Kong were the views of the high-rise buildings when standing on a hill, the night market, a temple by the bay, the cable cars going up to the summit of the hill and the famous park with many adventurous games. It is a mixture of the old and the modern world. My room in Hong Kong is one of the most special rooms I've stayed. It was so small that the space was just enough for a bed and bathroom. Our guide said that the land in Hong Kong is very expensive, same as many other things.

Macau and the famous casinos, the ruin of the cathedral which was the symbol of Macau and printed on their currency, the pagoda and beautiful statue by the sea. I had to run under the sun from the restaurant where we had a lunch to the statue to take a photo then ran back to catch up with our group. From Hong Kong we took a hydrofoil to Macau, then traveled back to Guangzhou via Zhuhai by bus. Every time, when we get in or out of China, Hong Kong or Macau, we had a stamp in our passports. Before entering Shenzhen, our passports were checked again by a policeman. In Macau, it's possible to use Hong Kong dollars, but in Hong Kong, they refused to use Chinese currency. Similarly, in China mainland, they don't accept to pay in Hong Kong dollar.

Have you ever been stuck in a crowd in China? They push you and don't care if you are an old person, woman or child. I experienced it once at the tomb of an emperor in Beijing. It was not me, but they pushed me to walk. Nobody there could control the direction they wanted to go to.

I visited 2 Chinese towns by the border, once with my friends to Dongxing, and another time with my Japanese boss to the town close to Ha Giang province of Vietnam. It was a local crossing, it meant only Vietnamese and Chinese could go through. My Japanese boss took off his glasses and became mute, then he joined with us. Problem is that he has a very bright skin and slit eyes. The immigration officers on the Chinese side thought he was a Vietnamese, or maybe they didn't care, so my boss made a short visit to China without any problem.

There were not much communications with the locals, as I could not speak Chinese. I met only one or two Chinese in China mainland, who could speak English and they worked for a pharmacy. In Hong Kong or Macau, I had no problem asking the people there in English, certainly some old locals couldn't speak English. 4 of my 5 trips, I traveled with the travel companies from Vietnam, so they arranged a Chinese tour guide who spoke Vietnamese to show us around. An interesting thing in China I found was that no one used car/motorbike horn on the eastern side of the country. Horn was not permitted, as it may cause a noise pollution. In south west China (Yunnan province), the drivers could use it sometimes.

A calculator could say better than us, as it's a good way for communications when we wanted to buy anything. The locals said a lot in Chinese, but that was useless, as we didn't understand. Sometimes a hand gesture could help, and in the end, both of us laughed out loud.

China has attracted us not only by its amazing landscapes, history, old buildings and pagodas, as well as the fast changes, but also the food. I have tasted the famous duck meat in Beijing and near Kunming. Soup always is the first meal that Chinese restaurants served, sometimes they also put medical herb into it.

There are many places in China I want to visit. If nothing changes, Guilin may be my next destination, possibly at the end of April 2008.

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