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Monday, 20th September 1999
Xi'an - Shanghai: 805 miles
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We staggered, bleary eyed, to the hotel restaurant
and then to the coach to leave at 6:30 for the
airport. We passed more Emperors' mausolea which
apparently also had (scaled down) terra cotta
soldiers buried with them. I felt that we had
barely scraped the surface of a fascinating city.
We arrived at the airport, to discover - joy
of joys! - another spending opportunity at the
airport shop. A girl was making some embroidery
pictures. They were very beautiful, and we bought
one of bamboo for Y140 and one of orchids for
David for Y290. There was also a peacock, which
we decided not to buy, but regretted the decision
as soon as we got on the plane.
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Bruce was profoundly
disappointed by the plane: it was
due to be Shanghai Air (bad name!)
but was again a China North West Airbus.
Nevertheless, we had a good flight,
taking off at 8:20 and landing at
10:00. |
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The late nights and early starts
were beginning to take their toll.
Many of our fellow passengers caught
up with sleep on the plane.
More disappointment for Bruce:
the new airport for Shanghai, called
Pudong, was opened yesterday, but
we landed at the old one.
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| We were met at the airport by our guide,
Zhou (pronounced Chow), who was not amused by our
instinctive greeting of, "Ciao, Zhou!".
On to the coach, where we had more language lessons:
"Bei" means North" (as in Beijing -
northern capital), "Dong" means "East",
"Xi" is west (Xi'an - Western city), and
Nan means South. |
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We drove straight to the Jade Bhudda
Temple, a beautiful complex of buildings
with a particularly lovely white
jade Bhudda....
... as well as some huge incense
burners and a bronze bell, all dating
back far into history at a time
when the English were living in
huts.
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We went for lunch at a restaurant attached to
the new library. They produced an unusual meal
trying to cater to Western tastes, including tomato
soup and chips! There was also a strange but tasty
dish which comprised baked egg custard with scallops...
We were intrigued by a man dressed up in red with
a funny hat and carrying something that looked
like a very long spouted watering can, covered
in red velvet. He picked up a cup, and in a quick
gesture, holding the handle of his watering can
in one hand, lifted it high so that the length
of the spout ran down his arm, behind his back,
and the opening was by his other hand which held
the cup. Hot tea flowed, and with a flick, he
levelled the can. Not a drop was spilled, and
we all applauded.
Back to the coach and to the Jiangui Hotel where
we checked in. We were on the 14th floor, and
had a wonderful view of Shanghai. It is a huge
city - some 18 million people (London has 8 million)
- with huge skyscrapers as far as the eye can
see.
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We went for a walk,
and found a local department store - a bit like
John Lewis. It was full of white goods and other
quality products, all of which seemed to be selling
well. It appears that most of the Chinese we have
seen have quite a good standard of living. We bought
a fan for my Mother for Y42. We didn't dare cross
the road, so walked round the block. Found a food
shop, where the amused staff offered samples of
bits and pieces we didn't recognise.
Back to the hotel and changed.
We left at 5:30 for dinner at the Park Hotel, but
we were immediately stuck in a traffic jam: all
the roads leading to our destination were closed.
Later it transpired that President Jiang Zemin was
in town. With some very skillful driving by our
driver - going up some very narrow back roads -
we finally arrived at the restaurant. |
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Dinner was a bit
rushed, as we had to get to the Ritz Carlton complex
on the Nanjing Road to see the Chinese acrobats.
Stunning performances - but we had some qualms about
the age of the children performing. |
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After the show, the
coach driver was supposed to take us straight
back to the hotel, but Liz bribed him to
take us along the famous Bund. With the
old Western style buildings on one side
of the river, and the 21st century skyscrapers
on the other, all lit up, it was spectacular.
A special thank you to the driver when we
got back to the hotel, where Bruce phoned
his parents and I phoned my Mum to let them
know how we were getting on. |
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