Xi'an to Chengdu – 31 December 2011

Although Xi'an is not a city to linger in or stroll around at this time of the year, we had a little time before our flight to Chengdu so had a “guided tour” of the city walls. The guide's input was buying the tickets and giving us a very brief overview before letting us wander along the wall. The wall is actually magnificent, and the best example of a complete city wall left in China,

Despite this, the dreary day and surrounding smoggy city reduced the impact of the wall. But fortunately this was enlivened by the colourful preparations of the lantern festival that follows Chinese New Year and the workers were busily constructing magnificent models of all manner of things from people, dragons, scenery to “Disney” castles ready for the big day.

From there we went to the local history museum where we were inducted into the art of Chinese calligraphy and were shown local folk art.

The flight to Chengdu was courtesy of Lucky Air, who were true to their name and delivered us safely in Chengdu, which was only marginally less smoggy the Xi'an and a little warmer.

Our 5-star hotel was well out of the main centre of town and while quite nicely decorated had a few odd foibles. It was New Year's Eve and this was the first VJV trip we''ve been on at New Year, where nothing had been laid on by way of entertainment for the evening. We were taken to dinner which had a fairly Tibetan influence and some rather odd dishes.

The group decided we would have to make our own entertainment back at the hotel. We discovered that there was only one “bar”, the hotel lobby, and then discovered that they only had one wine, a Great Wall white. It was quite revolting with a vaguely turpentine smell and fishy undertones. The glasses were quickly emptied back into the bottle.

Two of us set of to see what was available in the local area and came back with a couple of reds. One was sampled by a couple of people and declared disgusting so the other, a Great Wall cabernet savuigon was finally declared “survivable”.

By 11;30 we decided to retire and one couple was left finishing their drinks when the waitress came and asked them to leave as she wanted to go home! So much for a wild New Year's Eve in Chengdu!

Terracotta Warriors – 30 December 2011

We knew that it was going to be cold visiting the Terracotta Warriors but although we wrapped up well it was still absolutely bitter and there was very little difference between inside and outside the buildings. The advantage of putting up with the winter temperatures was that it is the off-season and there are no crowds blocking the views of the warriors. The queueing barriers that we simply walked past give some indication of the numbers that are on site in summer when the temperature inside the pit buildings is 40C

Before we got to the warriors we visited the local museum for an overview of the history of the area and then went to the factory where the replica warriors are made but even though these were “inside” destinations they were still very chilly and the sales people in the museum shop were all wearing their duck-down coats to keep warm.

The money spinner at the warriors is the fact that you can have your souvenir book signed by one of the farmers who originally discovered the buried army when they were digging a well during the drought in 1974. Of the original seven only four are still alive and they presumably make a good living by signing books and keeping the sales bubbling.

Although the buried army has been well covered in articles and documentaries, the scale of the enterprise embarked on by the Emperor is quite breathtaking when one gets to see the real thing. 40 years in the making with up to 720,000 workers engaged at the peak, it is a remarkable monument to the vanity of the Emperor who was really just a child when he began to build his own tomb.

The fact that there seems to be no intention of opening and exploring the reported wonders of the tomb itself seems odd. The official reason is “to preserve it” but if it is never to be seen then what is the point of preservation? The more cynical may postulate that they have a fairly good idea it has been well looted in the past and “preserving it” maintains the mystique. It is something we will never know.

West to Xi'an – 29 December 2011

Another three-hour flight to the west took us to Xi'an where we landed in the worst pollution we have seen so far. Beijing was not good, Shanghai was bad but Xi'an was terrible. When the pollution haze is discernible inside the atrium of the hotel and the local shopping mall you know there is a problem. Consequently attempting to take photos of the Small Wild Goose pagoda, our first stop after lunch, was an exercise in futility.

Although the lunch stop had an impressive name and was beautifully decorated we decided that the proprietor had invested his money in the wrong areas as the food was very mediocre.

The pagoda has had a chequered history and although it began life with 15 stories it lost a couple in an earthquake in 1556. According to the plaque, and verbal history, the tower has split and rejoined three time over the centuries as a result of earthquakes. If this is true the rejoins have been extremely precise.

Although we had free time in the late afternoon the outside conditions were not that inviting, but it was fun dicing with death crossing 8 lanes of traffic outside the hotel. There were white bars painted on the road surface but these only appear to be there for guidance as to where to walk, they have no relevance whatsoever to cars, buses, or the ubiquitous electric scooters.

How a busy intersection with 8 lanes of traffic entering from three compass points plus pedestrians works without traffic lights is a mystery, but the locals seem to cope with a minimum of fuss.

Suzhou – 28 December 2011

Suzhou is a “small” city (11 million) not far from Shanghai and just over 30 minutes on the high speed train. It is variously known as the Garden City; the home of silk; the Bridge Museum; and the Venice of the East. This last descriptor is rather generous and is simply based upon the fact that the town was originally built on canals.

Canals imply bridges and the 354 old bridges give rise to the Bridge Museum nickname. As the production centre for the vast majority of Chinese silk the third nickname is self-evident and the last nickname is due to the 65 Chinese gardens that have been preserved in the city.

Our first stop was at the canal where we boarded our “slow boats to China” to be serenaded as we were transported along some fairly dismal canals to the Garden of the Couples Retreat. Chinese gardens have a rigidly formal informality about them and as mentioned before must incorporate rocks, water, plants and buildings and both the gardens visited today were not simply gardens but residences where the buildings scattered through the gardens were actually the functional rooms spread throughout the complex.

After a visit to a silk factory where we learnt how the 1500m silk thread was extracted from the cocoon and woven, along with the obligatory buying opportunity we had another Chinese meal and moved on to the second garden, the Garden of the Masters of the Fishing Nets. Fishing had absolutely nothing to do with the garden, it was simply that the retired official who built it wanted to adopt the “simple life” and the life of fishermen were synonymous with simplicity. The two gardens were wonderful examples of the art of Chinese gardens and very different to that which would be seen in Europe.

As we had a couple of hours before the train was due to whisk us back to Shanghai, the tour guide suggested we visit another part of the city where they have preserved some of the old buildings and with them, the traditional markets. Most of the old city has been flattened and replaced with high-rise apartments so the city fathers, in their wisdom have protected a couple of enclaves to keep a link with the past.

The market was very interesting with live fish, crabs, shrimps, chickens, pigeons, ducks, quail and various other species for sale along with vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit and all manner of freshly cooked delights. The historic buildings were all converted to shops and it was very pleasant strolling along without the hard-sell of some of the other tourist areas.

Once the high-speed train had whisked us back to Shanghai we were on our own for dinner so we set off from our hotel in a different direction and within a couple of blocks had immersed ourselves back in “real China” with street markets, not unlike the one we had experienced in Suzhou. A bright, clean local restaurant attracted us so we stopped for dinner as there was English as well as Chinese on the menu. We could have selected “Same tasty dish”, “Serve hot” or “Double bacteria on hot iron dish” as well as dog and various other dubious options but we played it safe and enjoyed another very cheap and filling meal. Curiously, the most difficult item to acquire on our two solo dining expeditions has been rice.

Exploring Shanghai – 27 December 2011

Leaving the hotel at 0900 was a relative luxury after the previous few mornings and we headed first to the Shanghai Museum for a whistle-stop 90 minutes. One could clearly spend a lot more time there appreciating all the porcelain and bronze objects illustrating the historical skills of the Chinese artisans. It is fortunate that there are still some fine works that have not ended up in the collections in English stately homes!

Another shopping opportunity was provided when we stopped at the pearl centre. This opportunity was taken full advantage of by a number of the women in the party.

It has been most interesting to see the various different dishes that have been offered at the Chinese restaurants we have been taken to. The only common factor has been white rice but today's lunch even challenged that norm as we were offered “brown” soy flavoured white rice.

The “old” Chinese quarter of the city was our next stop where the buildings are about 140 years old and exactly what one expects from Chinese style architecture. We had a short time to wander around before heading to the Yu Yuan Garden; a fabulous masterpiece of Chinese garden design, incorporating water, rocks, plants and buildings.

It is not surprising that Mr Pan who paid for the construction over 18 years was bankrupted shortly after. No expense was spared in creating an artificial mountain and an artificial forest on the 2 hectare site which he started as a place for his elderly parents to walk in.

We were offered the choice of another tea ceremony or, for an small extra charge, the chance to visit the viewing gallery on the 85th floor of the Jinmao building: the viewing gallery was the unanimous winner. Completed in 1998 the Jinmao Tower is now the second highest in Shanghai. It will move to third place in 2014 when the building across the road is completed.

Not only is the view to the outside fantastic, the view down the inside to the 55th floor is amazing. The internal atrium is part of the Hyatt hotel which occupies floors 55 through 84.

Another Chinese meal and then a very impressive Chinese acrobatic show rounded off the day.

Off to Shanghai – 26 December 2011

The 0500 wake-up call was a bit of a shock but once we were on the bus at 0600 to beat the morning Beijing traffic the trip went very smoothly until we were on board the plane for our two-hour flight to Shanghai. After arriving in Shanghai and sending our bags on to the hotel we were taken to lunch at an ethnic Chinese restaurant and then to the Temple of the Jade Buddha.

The Reclining Buddha is relatively small and seems to be stuck in a shop area as a bit of an after thought which is curious since it is the rarest form of Jade. The larger jade Buddha is afforded all the prominence and glamour that befits its rarity and history.

Shanghai is an extremely impressive city and the major financial district has been built on the east side of the Huangpu River over the last 20 years. A great way to appreciate the city is from the river, so a short boat trip on the river had been arranged as our next activity.

From there we were dropped at the hotel which was near to the junction of the Huangpu and Suzhou Rivers and thus very close to both the Bund and Nanjing Road, which we set out to explore. As darkness fell, the city buildings and the passenger boats on the river became a fantastic light show.

Having enjoyed the lights we walked inland up Nanjing Rd to see the sights, window shop and find somewhere local to eat. Christine had a hankering for Chinese sweet & sour chicken and cashews. As we walked along a side road off the Nanjing Road, all the restaurants had touts outside, tempting us in. None of them seemed familiar with Sweet & Sour, except one women, who assured us she could deliver, even though it was not on the menu.

They had a similar meal, but with peanuts instead of cashew nuts. She came in to the restaurant with us and told the waitress what we wanted. There was some discussion over our desired dish and eventually the lady took the waitresses' order pad and wrote on it then promptly disappeared down the street. A few minutes later she returned with a bag in her hand, presumably the new;y purchased cashews to meet the customer requirements. It was a delicious and extremely cheap meal and so we retired to the hotel well satisfied with the day.

The Great Wall – 25 December 2011

“We Three Kings of Orient are” felt quite appropriate this Christmas morning as we visited the Summer Palace just outside Beijing. Three times the size of the Forbidden City, but mostly covered by the enhanced natural lake, this was the residence of the Emperor for seven months of the year. It is a fabulously beautiful setting with the pagodas, temples and quintessentially Chinese bridges dotted amongst the trees. It is a “Willow Pattern” fantasy on a grand scale.

After lunch and the obligatory shopping trip to a Jade factory we finally set off for the Great Wall. There are a number of sections of the Wall that have been restored and opened to tourists, in all about 20% of the 5533 miles that were originally joined together to create this defensive masterpiece. The point was made, at the entrance to the section we visited, that the Wall which was originally designed to keep foreigners away is now a huge draw-card welcoming foreign visitors.

From the car-park we took the gondola for the short ride to the Wall itself, arriving close to Tower 14 of the Mutianyu section. From there we could walk left to Tower 24 or right to Tower 1. We chose to walk uphill so that we could return on a downhill when we were tired.

Having arrived at the Chinese flag on Tower 24 we chose to ignore the “End of tourist area” sign and climbed on further to another tower. Clearly quite a few tourists do this as there were two vendors further along this forbidden section of the wall attempting to sell us drinks, postcards and trinkets. One did feel quite sorry for them having carted their wares all the way to the top but their location of choice was decidedly odd.

The sun was setting as we boarded the bus, extremely satisfied with the experience of walking the Wall in such wonderfully mild and clear conditions and being winter, without the hoards of other tourists.

All that remained to finish the day was the special Peking Duck dinner that had been arranged for the evening and then it was into bed ready for the 05:00 wake-up call.