Suzhou

Only an hour or so from Shanghai by G train is the old city of Suzhou, often called the Venice of China.

We had two nights here, enough time to visit the temple and pagoda in town the day we arrived then a day trip the next day out to Tongli. Another visit to Suzhou in the near future to explore some of it treasures is planned before too long.



Beisi Ta Pagoda

The view from the top was a little disappointing, mainly because of the pollaze (more pollution than haze) which cut visibily drastically. The photo here shows the sky burnt out yet again. The city itself from the top level of the pagoda didn't warrant a photo, not even on a clear day.




Budda welcoming visitors to Beisi Temple

These are the only 2 photos I took in Suzhou worthy of publishing here. Perhaps there will be more on another visit.

Entrance to Tongli.

About an hour's drive from Suzhou is the canal town of Tongli near the shores of one of China's larger lakes. This town is a popular tourist destination and is absolutely packed with Chinses tourists at the weekend. (A visit to Tongli for expats from Nanjing at a weekend reported back that it was unbearable with the numbers of people there.)

We arranged our visit on a Monday; there was hardly any other visitors there so we had a good look around and met some of the locals going about their daily business.

One of the first bridges were saw in Tongli.

The best way of seeing Tongli is at water level. There are hundreds of boats like this whose operators were having a rather quiet day when we were there. weekends they are real busy! A 30 minute trip cost very little, about 80RMB for four.

Our cheerful boat lady

Passing by

One gets this message!



Tongli canal



Canal side cafes



Comorants

Being near such a large lake, these comorants were resting before going out and being sent fishing. More about comorant fishing when I blog about our visit to Guilin.

Back on dry land again it was time for our guide to show us some of the more interesting houses, museums and other buildings.

The following few photos show some of the hidden gardens in Tongli.



One had to be patient to avoid the posers dashing out on the stage
for silly photos.



Ready for action

This man is working on these large seeds pods which are gathered from the lake. He is opening the pods and extracting the seeds ready for then next stage of operations.



Stage 2

Several ladies then took the seeds and extracted the inner seed by splitting the seed coat with their finger nails. The seeds inside are quite small but worth around 100RMB ($20) per kilogram. We didn't find out what they were used for but a good guess that they are ingredient in the restaurants.



Washing the seeds

It would not be uncommon to see several ladies washing these seeds, then later some one else washing the vegies for the nearby restaurant in the canal, then some clothes washing whilst the odd chamber pot is emptied nearby!

Further along one of the canals we stopped outside this house and eventually communicated with the occupants



Grandma on duty.

With the one child policy in China, one child like this boy here is the only grandchild of his four grandparents. One sees hundreds of grandparents looking after their one and only whilst his parents are out working. Even on the metro in Nanjing at 0630hrs, the grandchildren are away with one of the grandparents for the day. No pre-schools needed here with ready made sitters.

Another museum, which our guide didn't take us to, but we allowed to look in the gate at to take a photo.


Chinese man statue

It is not to hard to guess what this building was formerly used for. Same use as one we visited in Pompeii with the menu still above the doors.



Tongli notice

Being an ancient town, a lot of the buildings are made of timber. The fire safety notice is quite important, if you can translate it.

We did enjoy our day out in Tongli, especially since there were not too many people around seeing the place. Next day it was back on the train and home to Nanjing again.

Shanghai

Shanghai is the second largest city in China with a population of approximately 23 million, Beijing is next at 20 million.

We arrived in Shanghai on the fast train from Beijing, a 4 hours 55 minute trip, only 2 stops. Probably quicker than flying overall and a lot less hassle too. Like most large cities in China now, Shanghai has a growing metro system which allows  quick and cheap access to most sites you would want to go to. Taxis are cheap too and metered. Travelling by taxi in Shanghai was great, in Beijing we had to odd driver who thought he would rip us off. (One taxi driver in Beijing didn't like us bailing at the lights and leaving all the doors open after he told us he was taking us to the airport and not our hotel.)

We were lucky to arrive in Shanghai when the pollaze levels (pollution and haze combined) were low and the sky was nice a blue colour!

First stop was the Pearl Tower for the obligatory photo stop.

Some of the tower blocks of Pudong from the steps to the tower.



My 3 girls!



The Pearl Tower

To get this shot from the pedestrian circle (see later photo) my ultra wide angle lens came into its own here. (Shot details: Canon 450D, EF-S 10-22mm lens at 14mm, f/14 with -0.3 stop, 1/400 s, ISO-200. The shot above this was at 10mm.) The majority of the remaining shots were taken with a 15-85mm lens.

The view from the main observation deck, 120m up is a must.

The Huangpu River



Pudong

Gail and I went back to Shangahi a few weeks later and went up to the observation floor on the tall building which looks like abottle opener.

One of the main intersections below the tower with its pedestrian circle.

Super Brand Mall is upper left, the Apple Store to the left in the middle of the small circle down the glass steps.

Downstream view of the Huangpu river



Shaun the sheep on the glass floor!



Helen looking down! The glass is rather thick and toughened.



Being the middle of the day, shadows were at their shortest. I couldn't resist taking this one. It is difficult to take a photo straight down and not have your feet in the shot.

Another must do activity is to go down to The Bund as night falls. Daytime photos might be OK but this area of Shanghai come alive ( so does East Nanjing Road), light wise at night. More photos taken at The Bund can be found here. The photos at this other site are in a larger format and well worthwhile a look at, if I say so myself. Click here if you didn't a few seconds ago.

The Customs house



The night portrait setting came in handy here.



It was a clear night as the clouds prove -something of a rarity.



Looking back along The Bund.

The building in the left, next to the Customs House is the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. It was built in 1922 and was one of the most beautiful buildings in Asia and probably still is. Shanghai is fortunate in that all the old buildings along (several kilometres) The Bund remain (mostly restored after the Japanese occupation in WW2) and provide a unique look into China's recent past. Beijing has nothing to compare with this area.

Still want to see more photos taken here? It's not too late.

Visit the excellent museum after coming down from the Pearl Tower too to learn more about the colonial history of Shanghai. We've been there twice and will probaly go back again before leaving China.

Another must do in Shanghai is the Acrobatic show at Shanghai Circus World. No photos allowed - which I respected, others didn't. How Chinese girls can fold their bodies into impossible positions has to be seen to be believed. How many girls can you fit in a barrel? Go and see for yourself!!!!!

From Shanghai it was a short train trip to Suzhou for our last stop in China, Summer 2012 before returning "home" to Nanjing.

Xi'an

Our summer adventures in China continued in Xi’an after a flight up from Guilin. Of course the main attraction that everyone knows about is the Terracotta Army. However there is more to Xi’an than that. Apart from being an important junction on the Silk Road, it is one of few Chinese cities with an intact city wall and associated gates.

The wall and gates are very well maintained and provided a great opportunity to cycle around the old city. We started off at the South Gate.

The centre of the city is dominated by the Bell and Drum towers, not far from the South Gate.

The Bell Tower, city centre, Xi'an

On my way down to the Bell Tower Square, the night I took the above photo, I came across these.

Two motorised tricycle mounted telescopes

One could not see any stars because of the pollaze and light pollution. What were the green lasers pointing at? The larger telescope was a 50 or 60cm reflector and trained on Saturn. The planet was clearly seen, not very large in the viewfinder but the rings were distinctly evident.

The gates and city wall dominate and there are plenty of cycles to hire for a round trip along the top of the wall.

The South Gate Entrance

The traditional gates are still  there. Large vehicle entrances have been made either side of the gate here to allow vehicle access.

Starting off at the south gate you notice guard towers quite close together and larger structures at each corner of the wall too.

Larger tower structures are plentiful on the wall.

Being around 14 kilometres long, the wall appears to fade into the distance.

Looking back towards the south Gate where we started from.

A pause at the East Gate and guess who pops up again, Shaun the sheep!

Shaun the sheep at the East Gate

Continuing along to the north east corner we came to a rather grand tower for some photo opportunities.

North East corner tower

Enjoying the view

The North Gate is near where the railway station is. Going by taxi through the gate there is a large bus station opposite the station. This is where you will find bus 5 (306) for the trip out to the Terracotta Warriors.

The North Gate

All these photos show the effects of the pollaze (my new word for the mixtiure of pollution and humidity haze) with the consequent washing out of the sky. Not ideal atmospheric conditions for good photographs. One has to take it as it is as we pass through here but once.

Inside the wall at the North West Corner

At the North West corner there is a restored section of the old city. Not sure what it was as access was closed off from the wall to the inside at this point. Further along at the West Gate we came across the Silk Road Museum and the guards outside!!!

Warriors and new found friends.

We arrived back one and a half hours after setting out, very hot and ready for cold drinks. Hire the bikes for longer and fit in the Silk Road Museum if you go.

Next day we set off by taxi to find the bus 5 (306). It is on the east side of Station Square, no signs but the queues give it away. Ones buys the tickets on the bus which leaves as soon as it is full.

Emperors in the various dynasties of China spent vast sums of money, employed thousands of workers and slaves to build their tombs. Emperor Qin Shi Huang constructed his Terracotta Army (around 210BC) to protect him in his afterlife. It is reputed that he also sacrificed a number of virgins so that he could continue to enjoy himself in the next world after his death. He is also said to have had the sculptors killed too so that other emperors would not be able to build another army to challenge him.

Arriving at the bus stop, one follows the crowds through the huge car park until you eventually meet up with one of the official Government Guides. A guide here is absolutely essential and good value at ¥150. She got our entrance tickets, another ¥150 each. First an electric bus trip to Pit 3 at this vast site.

The discovery of a severed terracotta head in 1974 by some farmers digging a well lead to the excavation and restoration of this World Heritage site.

First warriors seen in Pit 3



Daunting task ahead to put the pieces back together.



Terracotta horses, Pit 3

After Qin Shi Huang died, the farmers rose up in revolt at being kept poor. They stormed into the pits, and decapitated large numbers of the warriors, smashed horses and the set fire to the roof of most of the pits. The photos above show some of the damaged warriors in situ.



Pit 2, only a small part has been excavated.

When the Terracotta Warriors were made, they were all painted but the fires destroyed the beautiful paint work. However in Pit 2, some of the warriors still have the paint on them. Exposure to air unfortunately means that the paint is rapidly oxidised and disappears. All excavation here has stopped until a solution is found.

Kneeling Archer recovered from Pit 2

The archer here is one a number of restored figures in glass cages. Hundreds of similar figures and of standing archers have been recoverd so far. The sheer numbers of visitors meaning that this is the only decent photo of these statues that is worth publishing here.

Moving on to Pit 1 now. Even though most people have seen the photos, the first sight of the massed ranks is breathless.

Pit 1



The sign marks the site of the well dug which lead to the discovery of the Terracotta Army.

Ranks of warriors in some of the pits here were relatively undamaged; they may have only lost their heads which were nearby.

Originally each warrior was carrying a weapon. The wooden handles being grasped in the hands as shown here. Metals heads on the weapons have been recovered and displayed in the museum.

A close up here shows the faces of three warriors. All the warriors uncovered are different as they were sculptered by an army of hundreds if not thousands of workers. Their fate once they had finished is mentioned above!

The prized exhibits have to be the two bronze chariots and teams of horses. These are in a darkened room behind plate glass in an air-conditioned environment.

Bronze Chariot and team of horses,
possibly the most important artifacts from China's past.

Restoration continues at the back of the shed covering Pit 1. 

Warriors under restoration

Not to be missed in Xi’an is Calligraphy Street. Here you can see traditional Chinese crafts being done on the street and choose some great souvenirs to take home. Terracotta Warriors here are heaps cheaper than out at the site itself.



Typical building in Calligraphy Street

From Xi'an it was off to Beijing for a week.