Sunday, October 21st Heading Home

Today  we leave Shanghai—gathering at the hotel lobby at 11:30 AM we loaded up onto the bus for one last time on our way to the Pu Dong Airport—about an hour drive from the hotel. 

After saying good-bye to our driver Mr. Sun,  our Shanghai guide Shelly and last but certainly not least—to Jessica.  Some stopped part way to the departure gate for a bit of lunch, then we boarded the plane.  Out on the runway—ready to go—oh no—an engine stopped.  We are happy it happened now and not over the Pacific.  Anyway 3 hours later we were on our way—just happy to be heading home safely.  There will be a few missed transfer flights, but that cannot be helped.  The airplane crew promised us they would be making arrangements.  So good-by for the end of this adventure.

Saturday October 20th – Shanghai Tour

This morning we awoke to beautiful blue skies and an extra 30 minutes to sleep in – great!  We loaded on the bus and headed for the Jade Temple.  Being Saturday, the traffic was not too heavy though in typical Chinese fashion, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians playing chicken on the roads.

The Jade Buddha Temple is a very interesting facility in the center of town, an ancient buildings surrounded by modern high-rise structures of multiple stories. It houses two very precious Buddhist statues, a sitting Buddha and a small reclining Buddha.  This is a very active temple with many worshipers and tourists including ourselves. 

From here we went to the Silk Factory to watch how they get the silk from the cocoons and how they stretch the silk from the double cocoons into layers to form duvets.  A very interesting process and one we were not able to replicate when given the opportunity.  Several of our guests purchased a duvet and covers in a multiple of colors and design.  These were then compressed for travel home.  After leaving the duvet part of the factory we ventured into the rest of the facility where we were able to purchase all kinds of silk clothing and other products – lots of fun!

Next stop The Bund – or actually a restaurant just below the Bund for yet another great meal.  Then a few minutes to explore the Bund and view, and to take a group shot with the towers just across the Huangpu River as a backdrop.  This is really an incredible city!

After loading back onto the bus we journeyed a short distance to the Market and the Yu Gardens.  Some chose to spend the whole time in the market – picking up last minute gifts and memorabilia.  Others enjoyed a tour of the garden for 30 minutes then spent the rest of the time in the Market.  Still others went directly to Starbucks to relax, having finished all their shopping and had seen enough gardens. 

The Yu Garden is truly a lovely, peaceful place with lots of water features, paths, vegetation and structures typical of the Ming Dynasty.  The Yu Garden was set up by a wealthy businessman who wanted to please his parents.

Once we had completed our shopping – including the purchase of several ‘Rolex’ watches, we were headed back to our hotel with time to change, get fancied up and head out for dinner.  This was held in a lovely restaurant in the ‘French Quarter’. Jessica and Shelly chose a delightful range of dishes, and Jessica, Barb and Harry(Thanks to Rostad) supplied the wine and other drinks.  One funny time was when the waitress poured Tom a glass of Rum – thinking it was wine!  He did, however share this with Gerry, then added some Pepsi.  After dinner we enjoyed our traditional sharing of stories and gifts for our secret pals.  This has always been a hit for our guests and usually contains lots of funny stories and great choices in gifts. 

Back to the hotel – a few stopped at the bar – had to finish the bottle of Rum!  Back to our rooms for our last sleep in China, then pack and be ready to meet in the lobby at 11:00.  Bags out at 11:00 – very do-able.

Our plane leaves here at 2:45 PM on Sunday and arrives back in Vancouver at 11:45 AM on Sunday after crossing the International Date Line. 

A great adventure, a time we will remember for the rest of our lives.  New friends made and many existing relationships enhanced.  Thanks to everyone from Rostad Staff, our city guides, the drivers, the ship crew and most especially Jessica for making this trip memorable and delightful.    

Friday, October 19th – Suzhou Tour

This morning we headed out at 8:30 for an hour and a half drive from Shanghai to Suzhou, a smaller city about 80 KM from Shanghai.  On the way Shelly talked about the countryside and how there are regularly two crops per year, rice and wheat – all in the same fields.  They also grow oranges, peaches and grapes (not for wine).  One of the things we noted were the number of high rise condo buildings in the middle of the farm land – this is for the farmers and families.  Many of the farmers work the land but also have jobs in the numerous factories also along the route.

Once we arrive in Suzhou we went directly to the Humble Administrators Garden which is a beautiful peaceful garden with small forests and rock formations with a background of ponds.  Many of the ponds are filled with lotus plants, unfortunately due to the time of year there were no lotus flowers, only the leaves.  Within the ponds were some very healthy looking Coy (fish) and the occasional turtle, though these remained hidden from us. 

After a very enjoyable and peaceful time we had to leave the Garden, but went on to another important stop – that being the Suzhou Embroidery Institute.  Here we observed masters in silk embroidery, women who have devoted their entire lives in the art of double sided embroidery.  The detail was absolutely amazing and if one wanted to purchase one of these works of art they were available for a mere $15 - $20,000.  There were however some other absolutely delightful, smaller pieces for a very reasonable price. 

After acquiring all that we needed or wanted at this stop we stayed at the Institute for lunch, then were transported just around the corner for a wonderful cruise down the Grand Canal.  We could see why Marco Polo called this the Venice of the East.  There were areas were the canal was wide, and other time it was not much wider than our boat.  There were homes that have been there for 100 to 200 years, and brand new buildings and parks.  It was a lovely peaceful journey of about 1 hour, just enough to fully digest our lunch.

After getting off our two boats we returned to our bus and from there to the Panmen City Gate.  Here there are Land and Water Gates and is part of the city wall.  At the entrance to the park we were treated to the site of a large Pagoda surrounded by gardens and canals.  To one side was a giant bell that could be rung 3 times for 6 Yuan.  This is symbolic act meant to lengthen your life.  We ventured up the wall and took pictures of the canal just on the other side.  Shelly told us that buildings within the city wall are limited to 6 floors, while outside the city walls there was strong evidence that there is no limit as we could see a multitude of high rise buildings – already existing and under construction.

Back to the bus and back to Shanghai and the heavy rush hour traffic.  Dinner tonight is a special Dim Sum Dinner on the way back to the hotel we enjoyed this lovely sunset. We dropped some of our group off at the hotel while the rest left for the optional river cruise to view the night lights of Shanghai.  This was about one hour round trip and proved to be worth every Yuan we paid.  The lights were magnificent. 

Back to the hotel to prepare for our last full day in China.

Thursday, October 18th – Xi’an City Wall and Shaanix Historical Museum

 

This morning after getting our bags packed and put out for pickup we enjoyed yet another breakfast then were on our way to explore the Xi’an City Wall.  This is one of the very few city walls that survived the Cultural Revolution and other ‘modernization’ policies that have taken place over the past century.  It was built during the Ming Dynasty and has recently been rebuilt in several places to maintain its integrity and appearance. It has now been dubbed the ‘Necklace of Xi’an’ and is the dividing line between the City of Xi’an and the suburbs. 

We were driven to the Western gate where we left our bus and walked up the 73 steps to the top of the wall.  From here we could turn to the right to look into the city, or the left to look into the suburbs.  Some ventured to the balcony to get an even better view and to be tempted by the variety of goods available for purchase.  The wall is 14 KM around, and from our vantage point we could see a fair distance along the wall in both directions. 

After exploring the wall we returned to our bus and headed to the Shaanix Historical Museum where we were treated to an exploration of the artifacts of the multiple dynasties in Chinese History.  There were three rooms dating back to the BC period all the way to the Tang Dynasty which is really the last dynasty that was active in the Xi’an area.

From here we were transported to the airport where we were treated to yet another lovely lunch at one terminal, then went on to our terminal and caught our plane to Shanghai. 

Once we arrived in Shanghai we met our local guide Shelly – which she told us was given to her by her English teacher who, when she combined her family name (spoken first) and her personal name sounded much like Shelly.  Her last name is the same as Xie (meaning Thanks) The airport is located about one hour from town, driving through a farming area where they grow rice and vegetables.  Chinese people call Shanghai – New York City – as we will find Harrod’s and other high end stores and a great deal of highrise building.  It is also the center of technology for China.  If you want to know the history of China go to Xi’an  - if you want to learn the last 400 years go to Beijing, if you want to know the history of the last 200 years, particularly the last 20 years, go to Shanghai.  

Population in Shanghai is 23 million – 6431 sq metres which is a little smaller than Beijing.

Our drive took us to the Bund hotel for dinner and from there to the Theatre for an amazing Acrobatic Show.  We were all impressed with the flexibility, strength and showmanship of each and every acrobat in the show.  Just a few shots from way up in the balcony. 

After the  show we made our way – still through heavy traffic to our hotel.  Along the way we marvelled at the lighting effects on so many of the buildings.