December 2, 2010 Chicago
I was so looking forward to starting a blog for my travels. I had the best of intentions but once in China, I could not access the blog site. I finally came to the recognition that the Chinese blocked the blog site. Most Americans, I feel, do not fully appreciate the extent of censorship that exists in China. One example to share is we were in Beijing when the Chinese exile, Liu Xiaobo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 8. The TV stations carrying the news in the tourist hotels went dark immediately. (Tourist hotels are the only places in China that carry uncensored western news.) Just days after the award the law partner in a Beijing law firm that was assisting Xiaobo vanished along with the means to connect with him (ie: his cell phone number). I have to believe that most Chinese that are not educated or motivated to know current events so they do not know of the award.
I am going to try to be faithful with a blog. Read it if you want. At a minimum it is a good way for me to have a log of my activities and observations. My first section begins October 25, the end of our formal Chinese tour.
After the conclusion of the Odyssey Tour of China and Tibet, Eric and I took the new bullet train from Shanghai to Nanjing. The train covered 190 miles in about 90minutes. At its max it was going 320km/hr or about 205mph. Very smooth ride and it was a glimpse at what China wants for its antiquated train system.
Three days in Nanjing. For years it was the capital of China so it has a rich history. Unfortunately, the Cultural Revolution left little antiquity to see. Nanjing is a huge, thriving metropolis. A few mountains surround it and many of the streets are tree lined. It was the most attractive city we visited in our China journey. It has the fifth tallest building in the world, very impressive but contradicted by huge bike parking lots very close to it. An analogy I like to use: it is like seeing a dashing figure in a tuxedo but he is wearing old tennis shoes, a worn dress shirt and he needs a shave and a haircut.
It has a terrific museum of ancient Chinese art. There are remnants of what was the largest city wall in China. There an historical park on the side of a rugged mountain that contains only chunks of stone from what had been a spectacular emperors’ palace (destroyed in the Cultural Revolution). There are numerous city parks that make Nanjing the greenest city we visited in China.
In modern history, Nanjing is noted for two things: the headquarters and mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen; and, the memorial to the Massacre of Nanjing.
Sun Yat-sen is considered to the father of modern China. He inspired and led the overthrow of the last imperial dynasty in China (the Qing Dynasty). His mausoleum is immense and uninspiring. Climbing hundreds of steps to his grave does give a great view of the city, however.
The Massacre of Nanjing, also known as the Rape of Nanjing occurred during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937. Up to 300,000 people were savagely killed and many woman were raped. The memorial to the event is monumental and moving. Outside the buildings is a huge bronze sculpture of an agonized woman looking to the heavens. Clearly, the Chinese do not want the world to forget what Japan did to them. I was in the fascinating but controversial war museum in Tokyo a month later and there was only a minor mention of the events and no regret expressed. Subsequent to my three weeks in Japan I am even more intrigued by the current and historical relationship between Japan and China.
After Nanjing, we had two days in Shanghai that concluded our Chinese adventure. One day was spent on the business side of the river touring the massive skyscrapers and famous radio tower. My impression was somewhat similar to other impressions I had in China: incredibly impressive buildings but the area around the buildings feels weird. Very little traffic and most of the pedestrians were gawkers like us. We went to the world’s highest observation platform located on top of the building called the “bottle opener” (Shanghai World Financial Center). I was most impressed by the elevator that got us to the top in seconds and one never felt it move or even start the ride up. We spent lots of time wandering around old Shanghai, dodging scooters, bicycles and low hanging objects (apparently most shopkeepers assume no one in the world is taller than 5’10”).
We spent a full day and part of an evening at the World's Exposition at Shanghai. The weather was damp and grey but the crowds were huge. The Chinese will apparently stand in line for anything. A few pavilions had lines that lasted 8hrs! It was amazing to see mostly well dressed Chinese pressing hard agains each other in such incredibly long lines. We didn't understand why they would subject themselves to this and can only assume that the Chinese are starved for entertainment. We went into a few pavilions that had no lines (North Korea, Cuba and some other countries I barely could pronounce) and they were nothing more than advertisements for their country. It was hardly worth the effort to make the visits. We were as US citizens able to get right into the US pavilion. All it was was two giant movie theaters. The short films were good and well balanced I thought but not worth waiting in line for hours. However, the huge expanse of the fair grounds, some interesting architecture and the lights at night made the visit worthwhile.
We spent a full day and part of an evening at the World's Exposition at Shanghai. The weather was damp and grey but the crowds were huge. The Chinese will apparently stand in line for anything. A few pavilions had lines that lasted 8hrs! It was amazing to see mostly well dressed Chinese pressing hard agains each other in such incredibly long lines. We didn't understand why they would subject themselves to this and can only assume that the Chinese are starved for entertainment. We went into a few pavilions that had no lines (North Korea, Cuba and some other countries I barely could pronounce) and they were nothing more than advertisements for their country. It was hardly worth the effort to make the visits. We were as US citizens able to get right into the US pavilion. All it was was two giant movie theaters. The short films were good and well balanced I thought but not worth waiting in line for hours. However, the huge expanse of the fair grounds, some interesting architecture and the lights at night made the visit worthwhile.
On our final day in China, the day was pleasantly cool and the air was crystal clear. In nearly one month of smog and cloudy days, it was a real treat. After breakfast, Eric made his way to the airport for the trip home and I went to locate the ferry for my slow trip to Japan.
