An 8-day Rapid Fire Taste of China

Author: John Craig Samson, Elizabeth Carol Samson and Michael George Samson, Aug. 8, 2006

 

Jul. 16 - Jul. 23, 2006
8 days in total

Beijing - Chongqing - Yangtze Cruise - Wuhan - Beijing

· Click for the details of the tour itinerary we took

Ms. Linda Chen

Details of the tour itinerary we took

Dear Family and friends,

On our trip we met a delightful young student of tourism in China and will be conversing with her over the email. Her name is Lisa Cheng.

She is a 22 year old student at the Chongqing Institute of Technology College in Tourism. She was doing practicum at the Hotel, East Garden Hotel in Chongqing where we spent 2 nights. Her English was very good and was not affrayed to meet and converse. She has a lovely ying-yang name for good qi, smiling-cry.

I will try not to boar you all with our trip so will just send little peaces at a time.

We arrived in Beijing on July 16 after leaving Edmonton on July 15.

After clearing customs we connected ton Air China to Chongqing , arriving there in the later evening. From the Airfare to Chongqing to arriving back in Beijing on July 22 was part of our tour. This included for three, the air fare to and from Beijing, hotels, cruise down the Yangtze River on a 5 star boat (China Regal Cruise Line, meals and 3 shore excursions), all meals, a driver and English speaking tour guide in Chongqing and Wuhan. It came to about CAN $ 1800/ person. I boiled our water and put it into our own water bottles. You can buy bottled water and everyone drinks it but you have to be careful were you buy it, not from roadside sellers as they will take used bottles and re fill them and cap them and sell. The ice tea was always cool as were the soft drinks. A lot of lemon water which was not cold and the great green tea with all its medicinal qualities. Everyones posture is very good as they sleep on very hard beds. Very little mattress on wood planks. The food was tremendous with a lot of fruit and vegetable.The only reason we may have lost some weight was because of perspiration. A better time to visit would be Sept. and Oct. There a cars every were, buildings going up and everyone who is young has a cell phone and modern dress and styles. The rural countryside is still back in the old traditional ways of hand hoeing and water buffalo, almost subsistence farmers, but so tranquiler and beautiful. China is feeding its people well and all seem to work and be honored. There were fare to many beautiful crafts to bring back and now that I am back should have bought more. Did buy a silk padded bedspread with silk cover and cushions, a silk scarf, some white ginger oolong tea with Yixingware tea set, lond jade earnings, Cloisonne' statues(copper enameling), porcelain, Chinese brush work art(although I still have all of Grandma's work). TerraCotta statues.

Who ever has one of grandma's TerraCotta statues, hold on to it with care. The Terracotta army were found in Xi'an in 1974 and the first pit was only opened in 1978. The grandmothers visited it in April 1979, so were very privileged to do this and the statue you have would be some of the first produced after the pit was opened. The true and official approved statues, are all made my hand and are hollow in the center. The molds are carved out by hand by only a chosen few artists and the molds are used for only a few statues so are like a numbered print but larger numbers. Because of the One Child one Family Policy in China the young women and men marry at a much later age, late twenties and early thirties and have the child much later as well. We can now take a big sigh of relief, those of us waiting for daughters- in -law and grandchildren.

Chongqing and Wuhan are known as the "Furnaces of China". They were Hot. Temperatures while we there were in the low 40°C with 90% humidity. I bought a hand fan which was useful for the heat. The food specialty is Hot Pot (huoguo), like a fondue with the inner pot with oil and hot pepper spice and the outer pot vegetable liquid. Chongqing as well as being known as a furnace city; is an industrial city, cars and pollution; mountain city, Shang Cheng; a river-transportation-port city,on a peninsula meeting where the Jialing and Yangzi Rivers meet; ancient capital city, Ba people of 1000 BC and still administrative Centre of City- province (500 KM with 17 million people); and not least a city of very shapely and beautiful women, as they have to walk up and down steep hills all day. It was the Capital of China during the War II. Was never captured by the Japanese but was bombed heavily. The Flying Tigers who were stationed here to help guard the China - Burma Road and Border during the war. More about this on day 3.

Our first Full Day-2- in China, July 17 Monday Chinese (dumplings, vegetable egg rolls, )and western breakfast (stir fry eggs, coffee )at East Garden Hotel where we met Lisa.

On our own we walked a few blocks to the magnificent Great Hall of the People, similar to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, the plaza in front with Red Gate or monumental arch way and the modern glass but some how oriental Chongqing Museum. We spent about 4 hours in the museum, air conditioned viewing relics of the Han, considered the people of china, largest population 93%. In the museum was a display , half the first floor of the Yangzi river- Three Gorges and the Great Dam project. It was extremely well done and helped us to see and prepared for what we would see on our 4 day cruise on the Princes Elaine, China Regal Cruise Line down the Yangzi River.

That evening we ate at the Hotel and in the evening went down to the market to see what was there.

Any plans for Sunday September 17. I believe it is the day of the tree planting dedication ceremony at Fish Creek Provincial Park's Shaw's Meadow Memorial Forest for Grand/mother Semmens' tree.

Will send more of our trip in the days to come,

Liz