China #4: a Summary (continued)

3.       Night Trains: 

Interesting experiences . . . and would be quite doable overall if the toileting status were upgraded.  Actually, I’m perfectly fine with the “squatty” style of toilet—and the trains definitely incorporated the “squatty” style—but cleanliness becomes such an overwhelming issue when 50+ people are relegated to one squatty for an eight-hour journey.   (Personal bladder directive issued subsequent to perusal of the available facilities:  only ONE release authorized!)

We took two night trains—one between Beijing and Xi’an and then another between Xi’an and Suzhou.  Our tour group occupied two “hard sleeper” compartments, each compartment outfitted with six narrow bunks, three per opposing wall.  “Soft sleepers”—four-bunk compartments—are more expensive.  For some reason the first night train was more fun and provided a better night’s rest…maybe only because it was novel.  The second one, although certainly tolerable, unfolded more as a “suck-it-up” experience.

 Our tour group in the Beijing train station waiting for our train to Xi'an to be announced.

 I slept in the top bunk!

We had the "party" compartment!  Here's looking down from the top bunk to the game crew below.

4.       Xi’an (June 26 – 27):

·         Misty mountains line the eastern edge of Xi’an, where the terra cotta warriors stand at the ready, entombed with emperor who commissioned their creation.

·         Everything you have ever heard about how amazing the terra cotta warriors are—well, it’s all true.  Their presence is stunning; their conception is mind-bending.

·         The history of the people and events—factual and legendary—connected to the discovery of the terra cotta warriors in 1974, the subsequent excavations, and the development of a UNESCO cultural heritage site makes for some fascinating reading.  Check out this article.

·         Xi’an’s original city walls still stand.   These days one can circumnavigate their perimeter from on top either by foot, bicycle, or open mini-bus.  We bicycled—nine miles, round trip!

China #3: a Summary

Because I can’t quite fathom any mode that will truly encapsulate the China experience of June 19 – July 1, I shall succumb to summary—and not a very formal one either.  Numbering and bullets shall abound but within a chronological arc.  Also know that I have been to both mainland China and Hong Kong before:  The summer of 2004 I taught English for six weeks in Yangzhou, China, and this opportunity included “field trips” to Beijing and Nanjing, as well as to some smaller sites and cities near them.  A layover at Hong Kong’s airport the summer of 2006 triggered a strong desire to actually see and do the city that looked like almost a fantasy realm from the air, and in 2009 I finally did spend my Thanksgiving holiday there.  This past February I traveled to Shanghai for a long weekend and also visited Suzhou, so really only Xi’an was a totally brand new destination for this journey.  Hence, without further ado, the summary—of sorts . . .

1.       Hong Kong (June 19-22):
 Although still my favorite Asian city, Hong Kong summers are staggeringly sultry; even the most refined of ladies must forego glowing for down-right sweating.   As one who has a fascination for heavy air, perhaps even an affinity, I can carry on most satisfactorily while often my companions wilt.  I love the integration of sea, a changeable sky, peaky hills swathed in jungle green, and skyscrapers; I love the unique rhythm of a culture with a Chinese melody and a British beat; and I love the chance to sway in the upper deck of a double-decker bus as it winds through Central’s hilly terrain and then catch the sea breeze on the Star Ferry as it crosses from Central to Kowloon.

2.       Beijing (June 22-25): 

·       Carolee and I learned how to do the subway on our own.  Okay, we did have some input beforehand from the hotel staff!

·       One site Carolee and I both remembered quite clearly from our time in Beijing in 2004 was the Temple of Heaven.  Its beauty imbues a spirit of reverence.

·       The Forbidden City becomes the Imperial City once one enters.  I suppose because it is no longer “forbidden” if one has arrived inside!  All the buildings have tall thresholds—as well as mirrors—to keep out the evil spirits.  Apparently, evils spirits are short and shuffling sorts.

·       We visited—and climbed—the Mutianyu site of the Great Wall of China.  (In 2004 Carolee and I visited the other site near Beijing:  Badaling.)  Most of our Intrepid tour group walked up the “1000” stairs to the wall, although this site also has a gondola.  Then most of us took the “slide” down from the wall.  Yeah, baby, now I, too, am one who has slid down the Great Wall of China!

·       CONFESSION:  Somehow I got caught up in a Chinese TV soap opera during our days in Beijing.   Despite lacking any ability to understand the spoken language, I became entranced with the saga of Michael and Julia.  (When they instant messaged each other, those were their screen names…even if everything else they wrote was in Chinese!)  For a while I could not decide whether they were police or military.  (In China lots of people wear official-looking uniforms of various sorts.)  But I think they were military, and I think they were partners assigned to dangerous missions, and I think they fell in love, and I think they broke up (like the day before I started watching), and I think they still loved each other, and I was inordinately dismayed (and also embarrassed to be inordinately dismayed) to never know the full story!

·       There are no longer the legions of bikes on the roads like there were in 2004, yet a bike and its rider can still show up anywhere—any time.

The Temple of Heaven (a couple of hours before the rains!)

The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu)--climbing the 1000 stairs...all the way to the slide down.

The Forbidden City

And now the Imperial City.

3.     Night Trains:  (to be continued)