Reading, Tour guide: Eyewitness Travel China

Hong Kong

Over last few months I have seen a lot of tour guides. It seems like the format would be pretty cut and dried – they’re all about the same, no?  Well, mostly that's true - but in checking them out at bookstores there was always one series that stood out: the Eyewitness Guides: ‘the guides that show you what others only tell you’.

These books are beautiful. Several full-color photos and illustrations decorate every page. Printed on glossy paper these guides were always the first one I picked up at the bookstore - but I never bought one.  They were just too darn heavy and I knew if I bought them I would never be able to leave them behind when I left the country. I would end up lugging several pounds of guidebooks all over until I got back to California.

Guilin/Yangshuo

But this trip was a one off, starting in California, so I could use my favorite guide. It was a double-edged sword. The purpose of the guide in this project is to help me figure out how to spend the limited time I have in the country.  Every country has more to see than can be seen in a single visit, even if it is a month-long visit. You just can't see everything.

That is especially true of a country as large and diverse as China. You're going to miss things. I know we missed some great things in Turkey, but somehow knowing of those things only from black and white print, it was less painful than it would have been, seeing the great pictures of all the extraordinary sites you were going to have to blow off.

Shanghai

But you can't do everything. Maybe we saw the best? It was good, even if pretty common as China itineraries go.

We started in Hong Kong, the most modern and western of China’s cities.  From there we went to Guilin and Yangshuo, the scenic country side. Then Shanghai, the economic dynamo. Before Beijing we took the obligatory side trip to China's ancient past Xi’an. We may have missed a lot, but we saw a lot too.

Who is That? #18

After a long hiatus, the contest is back.  Only a few more images left.  Though I think very few of you are actually even trying.  The last one could not have been any easier - yet only 5 guesses - and one of those was MC!

This one is a little (lot?) harder.  Send your guesses here.

Last answer: Che

First correct answer - AM

Scoring:  First Day - 10 pts.  First Correct - Bonus 5.  After Clues: 5 pts.  No Guess: 0 pts...

The standings after 10 rounds:

SP: 90

AM:80

MZ: 60

CM: 35

KM:20

NH:10

You: 0

Transit to Beijing

Terminals: Modern, Big, Clean & Efficient

Beijing was the seventh Chinese city we visited. By the time we made the trip from Xi'an we were pretty used to the process of traveling in China. There were no more surprises on this leg of the journey.

For the most part, China seems to be pretty good at moving people from point A to point B, especially if you are on the 'beaten path' which Xi'an-Beijing clearly is. Because of the Terra-Cotta Warriors, there are probably more tourists in Xi'an as a percentage of the city's population than anywhere else in China. Xi'an is a pretty small town by Chinese standards (only 3 million, city proper.  Greater Xi'an - 10M) and is visited by pretty much every tourist on a China tour. They know how to get you in and out of town.

Airplane meal served in the terminal during delay

They just don't know how to do it on time, it seems. The trip to the airport was a breeze. The shuttle bus waits at a downtown hotel.  As soon as it fills, it takes off. At 25 Yuan (about $4), it was pretty easy and pretty painless. We got to the airport so quickly we were too early to check in (only two hours before take off). Once that time came it is the usual drill - except that they don't charge you to check a bag or even two, best I could tell. They even let you keep your shoes and belts, but if you need an extra once-over they don't seem to care about gender as regards who will pat you down. You get what you get.

At the gate is where things went south for us.

Consistently. We took three domestic flights within China and for all three of them we experienced significant delays. Each time it was the same cause - delays in air traffic control resulting from heavy traffic. It seems to be a persistent problem.

It's not hard to understand. China has experienced an explosion in domestic air travel by Chinese citizens. We encountered manifestations of it everywhere we went. Of the tourists we saw, (groups are everywhere - all wearing their group hats) the overwhelming majority are Chinese. They are starting to have some disposable income and are spending it on travel. Which explains the high traffic but not the delays. Takeoffs and landings are predictable events. You know how many you will have in any given day. You could build a schedule you could keep. But they don't seem to. We averaged more than an hour delay. Three flights, three delays.

Transit to Shanghai

For the purposes of my project, there has to be a second city. In China we have decided to be much more ambitious than the minimum requirements that the project demands. In China there is not just a second city, but a third, fourth and even fifth. Still, one of them has to be chosen as the one I will write about and so I have chosen Shanghai. For the record, we have also visited Hong Kong, Guilin, Yangshuo, Nanjing, and  Xi'an.

Shanghai is China's second city in much the same way New York is America's second city (this probably comes as news to New Yorkers) Washington DC is first, only because it is the capital. Shanghai is number two, only for the same reason. Its population is larger. In terms of economic activity it is more vibrant. Walking along the Bund at night, it is hard to imagine a more vibrant spot anywhere on the planet. It is lit up like Las Vegas and several times the size.

Our visit to Shanghai began with a chance encounter. My son, Alexander, is in law school at USF and this semester is taking a class in comparative law. One day he told me they had a lecture scheduled by a visiting professor from China. Was I interested in attending? Absolutely. So I went and heard a very interesting talk on the Chinese Constitution given by a Professor Ma, from Shanghai. After class, I said hello and explained I would soon visit China. "Shanghai?", he asked. "Then we must meet when you are there", he said. I was expecting lunch, maybe tea.

A month later and our plane touches down in Shanghai, he is there at the gate to meet us. He dropped pretty much everything he was doing to show us Shanghai, take us to Nanjing and eventually back to the airport for flight to Xi'an. His remarkable generosity and that of his lovely wife Vivienne, made our visit to Shanghai an extraordinary experience. As if the city itself were not remarkable enough.

Daily Periodical Review

China Daily - Global Times, April 11 through May 2.

In the places where I have not had the language abilities to read the daily papers consumed by the locals, I have always felt that what I was getting was processed news. Not the raw feed. Not the same set of stories the locals see. Even in Turkey where they do not have a government managed media, I had the sense I was missing a lot. In China, it is not a feeling - it is a certainty. I alternated between two papers China Daily and Global Times because their story choices were notably different - a clue that there they are not reporting the news, rather they are reporting what they would like you to know.

And what do they want us to know? They want us to know that the Chinese government is fighting corruption and cracking down hard on people who do not respect intellectual property rights. Having been shopping in China, I wonder about that. I am not sure they're winning that fight, though a story published in the government outlet might offer clues to the problem. They report busting an illegal publisher - confiscating his inventory and punishing him with a $9000 penalty. $9,000? Penalty? Or cost of doing business?

Other big stories were some frank discussions comparing rights and political systems on the occasion of the release of the US Human Rights Report (prominent mention of Guantánamo - we live in a glass house) and of the hiccups which occur in newly democratic societies (Beware of democracy!)

My favorite stories were about the problems of China's newly spoiled youth. For more see the coming post 'The Princess Problem' - but the combination of the one child policy and China's 'nouveau riche' is having some interesting consequences.

Transit to China

After the experience I had getting my visa to visit Russia, I was prepared for the worst as I contemplated the process of obtaining permission visit the People's Republic. Russia and China were the only two countries for which we had to apply for visas in advance. Turkey required a visa but it was issued at the airport in exchange for some cash. Cuba issued a travel card and collected an exit tax and Germany was part of the EU Schengen zone. They literally had no idea we came - though they did check us out on the way to Turkey.

Russia and China are in a different category. Both of them collected hefty fees -

(China was $140) and required a visit to the consulate. I had discovered that much by looking at their website - and having had the Russian experience, I was prepared for the worst. I was surprised that the process was quick, efficient and painless (except for the $140 - which I am pretty sure is just tit for tat - that's about what we charge their citizens).

First, the form was basic and straightforward. I did not have to list every school since high school or every employer for the last decade. Just the basic details: name, address, current employer. Once I got to the consulate, the application process was the model of efficiency. I walked in the door and took a number. Before I could sit down, they were calling that number. 5 min. later I was out the door. Three days later I went back and picked it up.  I'm told I went on a good day - but even so - their system is setup to process a bunch of people quickly and it works. You can't ask for much more.

We're baaack....

After several weeks behind the Great Fire-Wall of China, we are back in a land of the free.  Canada.  So starting now, the posts on China can start.  I have about 24 backed up.  Two a day until I'm done.