COVER STORY

TRAVEL ADVISORY FOR CHINA: BE PREPARED TO BE ASTONISHED

Vicki and Yusuf Bismilla with the Terracotta Army of 6000 statues installed to “defend” the grave of the first Emperor of China over 2000 years ago.

By DR VICKI BISMILLA

As retirees we are thankful to be able to take a bucket list holiday once a year. This year, it was China. We used a travel agency that does excellent group tours.

The online visa application was a long process. But once submitted, the individual visas were stamped into our passports quickly. Many folks opted for group visas through the travel agency with their passport details on one sheet. However, one couple was held at Shanghai airport for an hour, almost missing their outbound flight. A hotel had mistakenly kept their original couples’ visa and given them a photocopy. Immigration insisted on seeing the original. The officials finally reached Beijing airport and confirmed that they saw the original with the government stamp and only then was the couple allowed to leave China. That kind of stress is better avoided by getting individual visas.

The next hurdle was being told by the travel agent that western credit cards and cash are not accepted in China so we had to download the digital payment system called Alipay. But for it to work you need to connect to China’s network. Either my iPhone is hopeless or I am, but I could not upload the e-SIM card I purchased! The Airalo support team was no help, either. So no internet for me therefore no Alipay payment app for me. However, my husband bought a physical SIM card at Beijing airport and inserted it into his Samsung and he was home free with internet so he was able to pay for things on Alipay like a pro! However, on arrival in China we discovered that credit cards are accepted in many places as is cash. And that the wifi in our hotels was sufficient for our communication needs.

At the Bund, the financial district in Shanghai located on the shore of the Huangpu River.

Our group of 21 Canadian travellers had a convivial time together. We were picked up at airports, train stations and our luxury hotels by comfortable buses and knowledgeable tour guides. One thing about China to remember is that they ask you to show your passport everywhere – every tourist site, train station, hotel, and, of course, all airports, domestic and international. So remember to wear a small passport pouch around your neck or carry a convenient travel handbag. Tap water is undrinkable. But our hotels and tour buses provided purified bottled water.

I know that many desis are vegetarian and might be anxious about finding vegetarian foods. I printed an image from my translation app that translated into Chinese, says:

Vegan diet: no meat, no fish, no poultry, no reptile and nothing cooked in animal fat.

Once I showed this to our guides it was respected. While the food style was not to my taste, I ate nutritionally. Also, practise your chopsticks skills as many restaurants don’t provide forks.

Just as in India, there are regional differences in language, dialect, cuisine and social behaviour across China. For instance, the voices of locals were very loud in Beijing and X’ian and quite moderate in Suzhou and Shanghai.

We chose May because it is the best weather, warm but not hot. However, rain does happen as we discovered! Our first sightseeing day in China was a continuous walking day in Beijing and it rained all day as we explored Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, ancient palaces and gardens. But the evening theatre show was uplifting, despite sitting in our wet clothes. It was acrobatic dance drama using stunning masks, one with a live peacock on top of the actor’s head! The culminating flood scene was spectacular with hundreds of gallons of water cascading down the stage. I’ve never seen anything like it!

Next day we visited a government jade factory. It is always better to buy from government centres for genuine quality.

We then proceeded to the Great Wall of China. It’s an incredible structure as everyone knows and a UNESCO world heritage site. Thousands of workers gave their lives to build it and many are buried under the wall. My husband and I climbed about 500 metres up the wall and then came back down. Each stone step is high so climbing is quite difficult. Most of our group did the same. This was followed by lunch at a restaurant. These daily lunches of meats, fish, shrimp and one or two vegetable dishes appeared to be enjoyed by the group.

At the Great Wall, an incredible UNESCO World Heritage site.

We visited the Olympic village, now a park. Then a visit to the lakeside palace of an empress who was so cruel they call her “the dragon lady”. She stole public money to build herself a marble-based boat! She imprisoned her son because she did not want to lose power to him. Even though China is communist with no belief in emperors, empresses and  dynasties, their ancient tourist attractions have become symbolic of China. 

Next day, a visit to the Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM.) They seated us on couches with feet first in ginseng infused water then on cushioned footstools. A TCM doctor examined my tongue and eyes and took my pressure and quite correctly identified two chronic discomforts. He prescribed three hundred Canadian dollars worth of pills to cleanse my spleen and blood which I declined and he proceeded to my husband. He again correctly identified heart and blood issues. We told him that he is on prescribed medications so he went to the next guest. But following this we experienced the best foot and leg massage by two TCM trainees.

Next we went to old Beijing where people live in small stone houses built hundreds of years ago. It’s interesting that the municipality places two to four colourful cement knobs above the door to indicate socioeconomic status. So someone like a famous opera star has four brightly painted knobs above her mansion door while in the opposite lane, her neighbour has only two. We saw Jackie Chan’s mansion there! We rode on rickshaws through the narrow alleyways. 

We found all streets and highways very clean with beautifully tended roses in the medians and roadsides in Beijing; and brightly coloured bougainvillea in other cities. All cities we visited have many parks, canals and lakes all graced with gorgeous old trees. The weeping willows look particularly serene. We then went to see an amazing acrobatic show.

To be balanced in my travelogue, I have to mention that there are a few awkward social situations as there are in all countries. The most glaring for us was that we had to get used to squat toilets. There are western toilets in hotels but most tourist destinations and restaurants have squat toilets with no toilet paper. So you have to remember to carry wads of tissues and get used to squatting. In some rare places like the museum there are one or two western toilets but everywhere mostly squat toilets. In fairness to the Chinese people, they probably regard western toilets in public places unsanitary with thousands of people sitting on the same toilet seat. We line the seats with our own tissues because liners are not provided (not even in Canada.)

There are bicycles and scooters everywhere. It’s a way of life and bike lanes are everywhere. It’s just a given that every major, minor, tributary road would have bike lanes.

Another observation are the hundreds of CCTV surveillance cameras everywhere. Your internet searches will give you many reasons but we chose not to ask the tour guides sensitive questions.

Early next morning we went to the massive Beijing train station to take the bullet train on a four-hour ride to Xi’An, the city of the historic Terracotta Warriors. The speed-train stations in large cities are huge, much like airports. Our train was clean, travelling at an average of 340 km/h with comfortable seats and wonderful views speeding by. Some folks tried the purchased food on the train, much like on a plane, but only specifically Chinese cuisine like noodles, rice, etc., was available. The train is on an automized schedule so you need to be fast to get on and off and stow your luggage in specified areas. Locating your luggage and getting off quickly is important as the train only stops for a few minutes and takes off again.

The next morning was our visit to where the terracotta warriors were discovered. In 1974 a family of four farmers digging a well on their farm discovered pottery only 5 metres below ground. That turned out to be the Terracotta Army of 6000 statues installed to “defend” the grave of the first Emperor of China over 2000 years ago. Our guide said that the farmers were paid 50 Yuen ($10 Canadian) and given another farm. The site was converted into a massive archaeological site and within five years the huge stadium-like structures were built around the three main digging pits. Each clay soldier is being painstakingly put back together by archeologists. The youngest of those four farmers is still alive and now has the job at the site’s museum to sign the book about the site which we bought and he signed.

After another early morning long bullet train ride from Xi’An to Chongqing we found a small restaurant and enjoyed a delicious vegetarian noodle dinner with peanuts and a typically Chinese chilli oil.

Woke to a lovely morning in Chongqing visiting pandas. Then to the old part of the city. Here they have old apartment buildings that have 22 floors but no elevator. So the government designed monorails to go right through the middle floor hence tenants only have to climb 11 floors up! Our guide took us for a hot pot lunch and I have to confess that I suffered! At first I thought I could dip my noodles and veggies to cook on the very spicy side of the hot pot. Big mistake! I literally had tears rolling down my cheeks from the spiciness. The non-spicy side was okay. I discovered to my chagrin that my husband is more adept at using chopsticks than I am.

Then in town, interestingly, we got off the bus at the first floor of a shopping complex and climbed nine steps up to a busy courtyard that connected by a small bridge to the 22nd floor of an office tower behind. The first floor of that office tower was situated in the dip at the foot of a high hill. With a population of a billion people, Chinese architects and builders are nimble and creative. There are literally hundreds of apartment building in every city but they are balanced with green spaces, canals, lakes, parks and playgrounds for citizens to relax, perform tai chi and for children to play.

“All cities we visited have many parks, canals and lakes, all graced with gorgeous old trees.”

In the evening we embarked on the China Goddess 3 cruise ship for our Yangtze River Cruise. The ship is a rustic version of ocean cruise ships. The ship staff were wonderful and the chef! Once he saw my “vegan” translated card and through the lovely server’s translation app was told that I like curry, he made vegetarian curry for a few meals that we enjoyed with our new friends.

In the morning we visited the Snow Jade Cave with its huge stalagmites and stalactites. Walking enthusiasts with health apps registered tens of thousands of steps. Our leg muscles being worked out we booked an excellent traditional Chinese massage on the ship.

Next morning we boarded a small boat to take a closer look at the gorge that the Yangtze River flows through. This valley between mountains was caused at least a million years ago by an earthquake and the Yangtze River was born. Then we boarded an even smaller boat to explore the tributary gorges through which large boats cannot traverse.

We checked out the following morning, disembarked the ship and visited the Three Gorges Dam built on the Yangtze River, the largest dam in the world. We flew to the next city of Hangzhou and began seeing modern cities as opposed to the old and historical cities like Beijing and Xi’An. We checked into a very exclusive hotel that has a contraption in the room that looks like a fridge but with hangers inside to dry our clothes. Advanced technology in China!

Next day a boat ride on the massive West Lake on the outskirts of Hangzhou. Then to a tea plantation where we learned about the benefits of green tea such as detoxification and lowering cholesterol. The best leaves are the first picks, then the second picks. After that the subsequent picks of the day are not as good and they are used to make the tea bags that are common in the west. Then a two-hour bus ride from Hangzhou to Suzhou. Old Suzhou is a checkerboard of canals. We took a boat ride in one of the canals that cuts through tiny backyards offering a view of family life. Walking through the narrow streets is an awakening of all the senses, particularly the unfamiliar aromas of hundreds of food stalls. Then quite exhausted, an hour’s drive into the vibrant new part of Suzhou to our lovely hotel and goodnight!

At the silk factory in Suzhou we watched little silkworms performing huge tasks, eating mulberry leaves and spinning silk which was then made into silk bedding, scarves, etc.

After the silk factory we went to the Lingering Gardens, a walled-in retreat for a wealthy family in the bustling city built a few hundred years ago.

Following this, a two-hour drive to Shanghai where we strolled along the Bund, a modern business hub along the river, a serene area where locals enjoy their relaxing hours. Then we boarded a cruise boat to look at Shanghai’s night lights along the edge of the Huangpu River.

On our last morning of sightseeing we went to the Shanghai Museum, a well-curated history of Shanghai. Then to a Taoist temple which is well-kept but people are not permitted long acts of prayer, shooed along by guards. Surrounding it is a warren of shops selling a glut of souvenirs. Back at the hotel we explored and found a high-end shopping mall with only designer shops like Louis Vuitton etc., with bizarre prices for bizarre clothes.

There are several negative myths about China that were debunked on this trip. Absolutely every city we visited was pristinely clean, the people seemed happy, employed, engaged and busy living their lives. Our guide told us that everyone, even those with no education at all, is offered employment by the government cleaning the streets and maintaining the beautiful gardens. The densely situated high-rise buildings in all cities are balanced with extraordinary green spaces and exquisite trees and flowers of botanical garden quality. Really uplifting to look at and serene to walk through. 

China was indeed a good choice for our bucket list destination.