Xian, Suzhou, and Shanghai

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Xian - home of the Terracotta Warriors, and they definitely were the highlight of the days Dad and I had in Xian. In keeping with the “Merryn’s budget tours” tradition, Dad and I got to the Terracotta Warriors on the public bus and enjoyed the unlimited time we had at the complex. Most of the tour groups stop for 2 hours, or, if you are lucky, 2 and 1/2 hours. We were there for well over 3 hours. Of course, with Dad and I jostling for the same photo spots, it was always going to be a long stay. I also decided to do one lap of Pit 1 with my small lens and then another with the zoom! I am reasonably happy with the results but I think everyone needs to visit it for themselves.

In Xian itself, Dad and I ate and shopped in the Muslim quarter. We tasted fantastic dried fruit, breads, the “8 treasure rich pudding” and some type of spicy hamburger mix. I loved the local art and the array of silk products on offer. I made the mistake of not buying much of the latter, believing that Suzhou and Shanghai would be the right place to shop for them - big mistake! You think I would have well and truly learnt that lesson by now - buy it when you see it.

We visited the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower in the centre of the city. Both sites offer live performances. We missed the “bells” but watched the drum performance twice - it was truly that good that we hung around for an hour to see an additional performance.

Xian also has magnificent city walls. You can walk or cycle along them, a little like Derry in Northern Ireland, come to think of it, but of course, the landscape is much different. I had watched the English news channel that morning and noted that Jacques Chirac, on a visit to China, would be visiting the Terracotta Warriors that day. So, I was not surprised when we watched a huge convoy of diplomatic vehicles, including that belonging to the French president, drive through Xian and right under the southern gate of the city walls on which we were standing. Yet another brush with fame!

Next destination - Suzhou. Dad and I experienced the train journey from hell to get there. With no soft sleepers available, we had to settle for seats. I was not too concerned, because after all, the overnight journeys in Egyptian trains weren’t too bad. This surely would not be much different. I could not have been more wrong. In spite of the journey being 18 hours, the carriage we were in included many passengers with ‘standing’ tickets. This meant that the aisles were filled with bodies and luggage from the moment we got on the train until we disembarked in Suzhou. It was truly awful and most importantly, I could not get over the stench that my clothing had picked up en-route such that I was nearly gagging in the hotel lobby whilst checking in the next morning. A word to the wise, don’t experience this one yourselves!

Suzhou itself was fun. After sleeping away the day in our hotel, as we did not get any sleep whatsoever on the train, Dad and I spent the evening at the night market and had a lovely dinner in a Muslim restaurant there.

Next day, we visited 2 of Suzhou’s many gardens. I selected “The Garden of the Humble Administrator” and “The Master of the Nets”. Both were very interesting. The former was large and filled with many small pagodas with interesting names and window panelling and the latter was compact but was great to photograph - and the young art students who were sitting there drawing the buildings and their reflections in the water thought so too.

In addition, Dad and I climbed the Northern Pagoda. Can’t remember exactly how many stairs we had to climb but the end result was a great view over the city.

Final stop in China, and my trip for that matter, was Shanghai. I had been given plenty of advice that it was not a place in which to spend much time, so we only allowed a day. And it was enough. Dad and I walked along The Bund taking plenty of photographs of the amazing high-rise buildings in the city and some of the older colonial buildings. The Bund was all I really wanted to see in Shanghai and I was a little disappointed. I thought it was going to be more lively and with a festive atmosphere. Instead, I found it to boast too many beggars (and by this stage, my tolerance for beggars was low, especially those who physically grabbed me, so many of them got an earful of my regard for them in English. I think the tone, if not the words, got through adequately) and hawkers.

Dad and I took the The Bund underground tunnel to the other side of the river. Whilst it was named as if it was going to be a simple pedestrian tunnel, it was actually a great tourist attraction - you stepped into a cabin and travelled beneath the river through a fantastic laserlight show. Totally unexpected and enjoyable.

We then went to the Oriental pearl tower and took elevators to all 3 “pearls”. As tall buildings go, it is up there with some of the world greats. Unfortunately, the view serves to remind you that you are in a huge metropolis where the high-rise buildings go on for as long as the eye can see. No quite as ugly as Athens but up there in the urban sprawl category. On the positive side, we breathed in some “fresh” air on the 2 open-air observation desks and “oohed” and “aahhhed” over the Jinmao tower just across the way. It is a magnificent piece of modern architecture and probably my favorite modern building for the trip.

That night, Dad and I enjoyed our final night by taking a trip to the French concession on the metro and dining in a lovely curry house.

Next morning, we headed off to the airport and boarded our respective flights, mine to Kuala Lumpur, Dad’s to Singapore, and we met up again at Tullamarine airport, Melbourne on the cold and wet morning of Thursday 2 November 2006. What other type of welcome home did I expect Melbourne to turn on for me????

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Photos

Terracotta Warriors I
Pit 1 - the largest and most impressive of the 3 pits uncovered

Terracotta Warriors II
Pit 1 - a close up of some of the warriors

Terracotta Warriors III
Pit 1 - more arty shot!

Terracotta Warriors IV
Pit 2 - the horses. There were once chariots behind them but, being made of wood, they had disintegrated over the years.

Drum Tower
Fantastic percussion performance in the Drum Tower, Xian

Bell Tower
In the centre of Xian

City Walls
Xian's city walls. Great to walk along and gave some interesting views across the city

Garden of the Humble Administrator
We hit the gardens in Suzhou just a few weeks too late to see them in full bloom, but this "water feature" was fantastic.

Master of the Nets
Another beautiful garden in Suzhou - small but terrific

Suzhou streetscape
Typical Suzhou street

Shanghai skyline
Best part of the city - it's amazing skyline

Shanghai skyline I
Looking back across the river from the top of the Pearl Tower

The Bund
Always lots of pedestrian traffic on Shanghai's famous Bund