Sensually Transmitted Wanderlust: February 2008

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Grand Tour of China 2007 - II

Your next culture shock may come from the sheer scale of everything.

After New York, Tokyo or London, Chinese cities will not seem that much more crowded or busy, but the actual grandeur starts dawning on you as you start travelling across the country from one city to another, each the size of a midrange European nation. And then you remember that it is still a mostly agricultural nation, so the majority lives in the countryside. As the never-ending fields, rice-paddies and villages unfold in front of you as your train chugs along, the realization of just how much grander this all is compared to anything you are used to, will give you a chill down the spine. It did to me.

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It has been my belief that the country of China roughly corresponds to the continent of Europe in terms of climatic, ethnic and cultural variety. What we perceive as one nation is, in fact, a unified block of many, somewhat along the lines of what the European Union is striving to achieve and the Soviet Union finally failed in.

Just like Europe, the Chinese subcontinent - we can rightly call it so - has also experienced massive foreign invasions, times of unity and times of great division, flourishing and decline of religions. The point of cohesion, among others, for China's many peoples is the script - the regional dialects are very often mutually unintelligible, unless when written in Chinese characters. In Europe, with all its genetic and cultural diversity, Christianity is the hinge.

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With the population closing in on 1,5 billion people, it is nothing short of amazing that things still actually work here. But they do. Queues in ticket offices are organized by way of steel railing and every underground crossing will have a couple of policemen on patrol, but it is so much safer than you thought it would be and the literal myriads of trains and buses across the country are well maintained, clean and more often than not arrive on time. The much slagged-off public toilets are on every corner and are none dirtier than anywhere else in Europe.

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Another surprise is how little... >>>

Monday, February 11, 2008

Grand Tour of China 2007

Con's: "Can't rent a car."
Pro's: "A full-package deal that hits all your spots."
In a nutshell: "More than you can see in a lifetime."

Beijing - Badaling - Pingyao - Xi'an - Nanjing -Yangzhou - Suzhou -
Tongli - Tunxi - Huangshan - Hongcun - Shanghai - Beijing

Autumn is a great time to travel to China. Lush foliage colours go together well with both understated monochrome Ming architecture and the flamboyant palette of Qing eaves. In autumn, the lakes in China are at their serenest and the mountains at their most enchanting. The heart-warming orange colour of the seasonal fruit - persimmons and mandarins - looks strikingly good against the clear blue sky.

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In many ways, China exceeded any of my expectations - it's bigger, brasher, cleaner, friendlier, more modern, more expensive, more culturally diverse and has more to offer to the traveller than one could ever imagine. It both defies and confirms the many stereotypes in the most enjoyable manner. And it also does deserve all the superlatives and ecstatic epithets you will come across below.

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It is a known fact that China is one of the oldest continuous civilizations of the world, but it may be hard to fathom that before arrival just how much build-up has occurred here during the last few millennia, and how much is still left of it, despite all the wars and destruction. Before your brain gets blocked in information overflow -- mine did on a daily basis -- give in to the serendipity of it all and enjoy whatever wonders you may stumble on as you elbow your way through jostling crowds.

Your next culture shock will come from... >>>

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Beijing - Badaling - Pingyao - Xi'an - Nanjing -Yangzhou - Suzhou - Tongli - Tunxi - Huangshan - Hongcun - Shanghai - Beijing

Grand Tour of China 2007 - III

Another surprise is how little of that Communist feel and visual vestiges of the ideology China has - save the obligatory Mao portraits here and there.

Capitalism has been embraced here whole- heartedly and on a grand scale. Sprawling shopping malls spring up everywhere and the supermarkets carry anything one could wish for, down to four sorts of edible turtles and fresh crocodile meat in your brand spanking new Wal-Mart branch. Forty years of Communism could not have possibly beat five thousand years of free entrepreneurship. The customer service attitude would put most businesses in Continental Europe to shame. Outside the two major public holidays, the Chinese New Year and October the 1st, you can just walk in any hotel and get a discount on any room, no booking required. Try that in Normandy or Barcelona.

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The variety of food is astounding. As you travel through China's regions, save for a few classic basics, not a single same dish gets to appear on your table. If your idea of Chinese cuisine is based on the MSG-laden kungpao chicken and greasy fried rice from your local takeaway, it will be interesting to know that regional varieties across this country vary as much as, say, Swedish and Greek in Europe. Yes, they do eat dogs, frogs and snakes in China, but there are also thousands of less exotic yet scrumptious dishes to choose from.

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And as is the case across Asia, simple grub from a roadside stall can be as delicious as more fanciful dishes served in posh restaurants. In fact, you can keep your tummy full without ever entering a restaurant thanks to xiao chi - savoury and sweet snacks sold virtually round-the-clock in the streets. The comprehensive spectrum ranges from your common- or-garden steamed dumplings to skewered seahorses.

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With all that cultural abundance, China still has a sort of image problem abroad, caused mostly by biased media coverage, lingering Orientalist attitudes and occasional substandard imports. Envious and fearful of China's unstoppable progress Western upstarts try to check it by massive anti-Chinese propaganda. My fancy, however, was completely taken by the refined aesthetic sense developed by this ancient civilization. In fact, it even made me cool down towards my first love, Japan, when I realized just how much the Japanese borrowed from their big sister China.

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There is so much subtlety in both sprawling landscapes and close-ups: the gentle undulating countryside, laborious stone carvings full of profound allegories and historical allusions; quaint villages with whimsical roofs against the backdrop of misty mountains; exuberant eaves and fantasmagoric railings. I have come to greatly admire the maniacal yet discerning attention to detail, the daring yet harmonious colour combinations, the sensitivity to seasonal changes and flavours.

Chinese ground principles of harmony, cohesiveness and balance in policy-making seem more attractive than Western short-sighted obsession with profit, bottomline efficiency and sanctimonious hypocrisy. Having barely achieved acceptable standards of living and social equality in last few decades, West assumes a high moral ground to teach the rest of the world on how to live their lives. Visiting China gives you an eye-opening perspective on such false claims by the same people who hunted Native American and Aborigines like wild animals, starved millions Irish farmers to death, had separate water fountains, bus seats and schools for Blacks and Whites, burnt with napalm and sprayed with Agent Orange whole areas of Vietnam, bombed Serbian civilians with cluster bombs and depleted uranium and keep economic abuse and plundering of developing nations.

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One proverb kept coming to my mind during my 3-and-half-week journey, "The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on". According to The Economist (Sep 14th 2006) China had been world's largest economy up to the 18th century when the Industrial Revolution and colonialism brought Western Europe to the forefront. This day and age, we are witnessing how China is regaining its rightful position among other nations at an awe-inspiring pace.

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Beijing - Grandeur, Rusticity & Russiatown>>>

Beijing - Grandeur, Rusticity & Russiatown

The capital of China is an overwhelmingly gigantic imperial city with vast avenues and grandiose public spaces but just a few minutes away from the Tiananmen Square it can be surprisingly cozy and intimate, even rustic.

The traditional hutong quarters have a very neighbourly feel, before you know shop vendors start saying hello to you in a very personal way. Yet the distances are huge, and walking is sure an option but not for the physically unfit.

Naturally for the capital of such a large and diverse country, Beijing is a mix of different cultures and influences. There are restaurants for every cuisine of China, and attractions range from the traditional Peking Opera to Catholic cathedrals.

Yabaolu is an odd curiosity in Beijing. Founded in the 17th century by Russian Cossacks fleeing the Tsar's rule, it is still a thriving community focussed around a large market. Ethnic Russians in China are significant enough to be officially recognized as one of the 56 ethnic groups by the People's Republic of China.

After a long chill after the breakup between Mao and Stalin, last 15 years Russo-Chinese trade has been booming. The third wave of Russian immigration (the second one was White Guard emigrés and Chinese Eastern Railways staff) has given the area a major boost in activity. They may not be eyeing a permanent residency but New Russians are commercially minded and hedonistically inclined. Numerous Russian restaurants, night clubs, trade companies and travel agencies vie for visitor's attention with bright Cyrillic neon signs. The Elephant Restaurant (named so after an eatery featured in a famous Russian spy TV series) has gone to great lengths to recreate the nostalgic abandon of the 1920s, from Old World lamp-shades over the tables to the uniforms of the Russian-fluent Chinese waiters. The place is full, mostly with Russians: the combination of an extensive choice of well cooked Russian favourites and the atmosphere of a period drama is understandably irresistible. The show is just as traditional, marrying Gypsy-style boisterous exuberance and barely legal eroticism. Another typically Russian touch: tipsy dancing to the live band. It feels oddly more home than back home.

Beijing Opera is acquired taste, but none more odd than its European counterpart with its contrived manner of singing and ritualistic conventions. Catchy rhythms, spectacular costumes and on-stage acrobatics make it entertaining for the connoisseur fan and the uninitiated tourist alike.

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Great Wall In Autumn Hues>>>

Great Wall In Autumn Hues

The Badaling section of the Great Wall is derided by some as the Chinese Disneyland for the level of restoration work it underwent. In my eyes, there is nothing wrong with that - instead of the impeccably maintained gangways we could have had to risk our life and limb on crumbled stairs and dilapidated watchtowers.

And the scenery is nothing short of dramatic - a menacing-looking mighty fortification line meandering away to the horizon amidst the misty autumn-hewn hills.

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Pingyao - A Feel Of The Days Long Gone By >>>

Pingyao - A Feel Of The Days Long Gone By

Once the banking capital of the Qing China, Pingyao was abandoned in favour of Shanghai and Hong Kong. Left behind the industrialization and other novel fads, it has preserved an almost unnatural museum-like feel to it. Painstakingly maintained nowadays, it offers an amazing plethora of sightseeing spots tucked away in unassuming nooks and corners. Most guidebooks merit the town only as a night-over destination, probably because the best sights are not so obvious and take time and patience to discover.

Stately rows of 19th- century shops and mansions line mostly pedestrianized streets. I became simply infatuated with the hand-carved eaves elaborately decorated with exquisite paintings and lanterns - a sort of Qing nouveau-riche chic, even if nouveau here refers to the dust-covered 1850s. Enter one of the vintage townhouses to see the understated luxury that surrounded the high and mighty financial tycoons of the yesteryear.

Or, you can choose to see it all from the above - on a walk along the 8-mile-long mint-condition city wall affording you a peek in people's yards or sweeping vistas looking like an antique painting. Every cobblestone on the wall wide enough for a squadron to march on bears an engraved seal of the maker - what a feat of industriousness!

There are many more star attractions apart from the Banking Museum touted in most guidebooks as the only tourist draw. The supremely photogenic Taoist temple is still in a very active use. Right across the street, the Confucian temple is the proverbial oasis of tranquillity with cypress trees said to be 1,500 years old. Its flamboyantly ornate entrance gate is well worth admiring for a while. For a few coins, you are allowed to toll the bell or bang the ceremonial drum - all supposed to bring certain types of luck, depending on the number of strokes you make.

Pingyao also boasts a superbly restored traditional city hall - a whole executive compound in fact, complete with a gaol, dressed up attendants and stagings of Qing court hearings. Traditional theatrical performances in a beautifully decorated pavilion could be of great interest to a foreign tourist but are advertised only in Chinese. The town derives most of its tourist traffic domestically and the Chinese must probably think that Western tourist do not care for quaint old-fashioned Oriental towns that look straight from a 19-century travel magazine. What a fallacy!

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Xi'an - Terracotta Army, Hot Springs And Mosques>>>

Xi'an - Terracotta Army, Hot Springs & Mosques

"Rome in the West, X'i'an in the East." The starting point of the legendary Silk Road, Xi'an is one of the most ancient continuously inhabited cities in China. In fact, it has been a royal capital for 11 dynasties since its semi-mythical beginnings some time around BC 2200. Both Nara and Kyoto, the original imperial capitals of Japan were styled after Xi'an.

Most visitors come here for the UNESCO World Heritage Terracotta Warriors, but there is infinitely more to the city and it surroundings than that. The lofty Ming walls - ones of the few remained in China - surround the inner city and you can have a walk on top of them around the whole city without ever having to climb down. The Forest of Stelae Museum houses a large array of stones with ancient engravings - best enjoyed with some initial knowledge Chinese history and calligraphy, yet quite impressive with a good explanation by a knowledgeable guide.

In the heyday of the Silk Road Xi'an was the proverbial melting pot of nations. Islam arrived here at a very tender age in 650 with Prophet Mohammed's uncle. Nestorianism - a heretical Christian school - made its début there even earlier, in 635, inspiring the later medieval tales of the Prester John's mythical Christian kingdom in the East. Its only vestige nowadays is the Nestorian Stele, but Islam is well established and thriving.

For a very "un-Chinese" experience, stroll through the Moslem Quarter and sample the delicious lamb skewers, roasted carp and mutton bread soup - heavy on tangy herbs and ground coriander seeds, delicious but nothing like Chinese food you would expect. In the market you can find another local speciality famous throughout China - various dried fruit and exotic nuts galore.

For a time of peace and serenity linger on in the tranquil Great Mosque that looks very little like a mosque. Its garden is full of exquisite stone carvings that, in break with the Islamic teachings, are not shy of animal motifs. Foreign concepts need to be translated into Chinese by way of explanation, and very often the Chinese renditions grab the essence of their subject sharply and succinctly. Islam in Chinese is Pure Religion, describing concisely the purest form of modern monotheism.

To get the biggest possible kick from the Terracotta Army, you need to read on its historical background. It is a very poignant story of the country's mightiest man who was scared of death and thousands of his subjects who slaved decades to build his tomb only to be all slaughtered so as the secret of their ruler's grave remained hidden. And it very well did for over 2 thousand years, until not such a long time ago. Even now, the emperor's tomb itself - said to contain mercury rivers and gemmed ceilings - is yet to be excavated.

Apart from the Terracotta Warriors, there are many more worthy sites in the vicinity - like the palatial Huaqing Hot Springs, the place where back in the 7th century Tang emperors indulged in sensuous luxury with their concubines and where centuries later in 1936 the course of modern Chinese history was turned around in the infamous Xi'an Accident. These days, it is a venue for grand costume performances harking back to the dynasties of the yesteryear.

On the way to the magnificent Hua Shan, one of the 4 most important mountains in Taoism and reputedly gods' favourite abode, there is the unjustly overlooked Xiyue Temple. Built for exclusive avail by the Imperial Court for important Taoist sacrifices and ceremonies, it uses the breath-taking backdrop of the Hua Shan Mount in the Chinese technique of "borrowed landscape" - with a truly ravishing result.

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Nanjing - The Swanky Capital of The South >>>

Nanjing - The Swanky Capital Of South

Nanjing - the Southern Capital, as opposed to Beijing - the Northern Capital - combines antiquity and modernity with a panache. This happy marriage is perhaps best epitomised by the ... Scenic Spot - a tiny if nicely laid out park, with fine Ming-style tea pavilion-come restaurant, set amidst the looming skyscrapers of Beijing Road.

Nanjing's modern avenues are broad, clean and nicely laid out, with a very human-friendly atmosphere rare in world's big cities. The shiny clean ultra-modern metro - if still with only one line - beats mass transit systems of most Western cities.

City's entertainment hub - the Fuzimiao Area - is clearly geared towards tourists with gilded dragon-shaped boats and scores of souvenir shops. It is, however, a very lovely place to hang around as it is in authentic Ming-style quarters full of very picturesque sights. Sample a piece from each of the food stalls dealing in tasty Chinese titbits and you will not need a dinner.

One of the most dramatic points of Nanjing's turbulent history is presented just around the corner in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom History Museum. The Taiping rebellion - one of the deadliest conflicts in human history - was a reaction to China's humiliation by Western powers in the mid-19th century. Peasant rebels with Utopian ideology aimed at creating an egalitarian society only to create their own elaborate hierarchy an get bogged down in inner strife for power. Arguably, it was world's first Socialist state and Nanjing was its capital.

Less known is the fact that until 2002 Nanjing was also the official - if on paper only - capital of Taiwan, the Republic of China. When the Kuomintang Government had to escape to Taiwan, they never left the hope of coming back with vengeance and thus Taipei was regarded as only the provisional capital.

The much touted Xuanwu Lake area is a sprawling city park set on five connected islands encircled by the city walls - world's longest. It offers great views of Nanjing's modern skyline across the water but apart from a few historic rocks is of little interest for a foreign visitor.

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Yangzhou - The Treasure Box Garden >>>

Suzhou - The Silk Capital Of China

Suzhou's heyday as a silk trade centre has left behind a several nice sights scattered around the city. We used the city as the hub for travelling in the area and our short stay did not justice to the Silk Capital of China. I hope to spend more time there some time soon.

Just a side note: the much touted Humble Administrator's Garden is rather bleak compared with what you find elsewhere in China but I hear many other gardens in the city are very beautiful.

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Tongli - The Water Village >>>

Yangzhou - The Treasure Box Garden

Yangzhou is worth visiting if only for the tremendous Slender West Lake Garden. It is huge, so reserve a whole day for your visit. Despite its size, it's so exquisitely planned and executed, you feel yourself inside a jewellery box - every inch is finely tended, every few steps provide a view to yet another haunting vista with arched bridges, toy-like tea pavilions, elaborate rockeries and quizzical ponds full of turtles and brightly-coloured carps.

Unfortunately, the ungainly colourful night lighting turns this amazing feat of horticulture into a gaudy monstrosity so make sure to leave before the dark lest the magic is rudely destroyed.

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Suzhou - The Silk Capital Of China>>>

Tongli - The Water Village

Tongli is a twee fishing village on the Tai Lake criss-crossed by cutesy canals lined with characteristic houses and crossed by picturesque bridges. In fact, the whole setting so photogenic that it could have very well been set up on purpose as a tourist bait but in fact the village is authentic. Once a fishermen's settlement, nowadays it derives most of its income - surprise surprise - from tourism as well as serving the daily catch in the numerous canal-side restaurants. Its status, deservedly so, is so close to an open-air museum that you cannot even enter without a ticket, that fortunately includes entrance to all the museums - except for the intriguingly named Chinese Sexual History Museum.

As seems the order of the day in all canal cities, take Venice or Amsterdam, the food turned out universally bland and overpriced but Tongli is nevertheless a very pleasant and laid back place, well worth at least an overnight stay . Most tourists seem to come on a day tour, so you will be spoilt for choice of available accommodation. The best bet then would be the museum-come-hotel furnished with authentic period furniture and overlooking a charming garden with carp-filled ponds.

Surprisingly affordable, it is adjacent to the Wooden Carving Museum brimming with truly astonishing carvings featuring famous Chinese tales and historical episodes, many with very handy English explanations that allow you to appreciate just how rich, diverse and much more ancient than anything you have encountered Chinese civilisation is. Another star attraction in the museum are hand-made Ming canopied beds assembled from thousands of separate pieces of redwood and mother of pearl in a mind-boggling feat of craftsmanship.

Another worthy tourist stop is the Dendrite Museum, where fanciful dendrite cuts are arranged according to the themes - Seasons, Poetry, Life, Natural Disasters, etc. They were collected over many decades by a couple of aesthetically inclined railway construction engineers and finally donated to the nation to establish this museum. Many of the captions are beautiful quotes from ancient Chinese poetry that greatly augment the overall experience, provided your mastery of Chinese has reached a certain level.

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Tunxi - The Breezy Gateway to Huangshan >>>

Tunxi - Breezy Gateway to Huangshan

The modern and pleasantly laid town of Tunxi is more widely known as Huangshan City, named so after the major tourist attraction to which it serves as a transportation and accommodation hub. It has a very well restored old quarter, which in fact is a very long pedestrianised street with scores of back lanes lined with fine local Anhui style houses and all sorts of craft, curios and tea shops.

Many of them specialise in calligraphic scrolls and related paraphernalia for Tunxi City has been since long ago widely renown in China for its skilled calligraphers. It comes as no surprise that world's largest inkstone, weighing over 12 metric tons, is housed in a museum here.

Another merchandise prominently featured in the Old Town is fine green tea grown in the adjacent mountains. Some sorts are so prized that jars of those are used as state gifts to foreign dignitaries. We bought a bag of the same tea that Chinese President presented to Vladimir Putin on his state visit. Local tea is equally popular with more regular folks - from dawn till very late busloads upon busloads of Chinese tourists descend upon the street all walking away with shopping bags full of tea tins.

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Huangshan - Mountain Range From A Classical Chinese Poem >>>

Huangshan - Mountain Range From A Classical Chinese Poem

The beauty of this mountain range is of an epic level and defies any camera or verbal description. A 10-minute cable car ride - or a 6-km walk up the steep stairs - whisks you inside a classical Chinese poem painted in ink on silk paper. Precarious looking if sturdy walkways clinging to the sides of precipitous cliffs lead you from one to another stunning view of exquisitely shaped lofty peaks most aesthetically covered with twisted pine trees.

With a bit of luck, you can see the famed yunhai - "the sea of clouds" - spreading beneath your feet to the horizon with fairytale-like rocks protruding from below like islands in the ocean. If that view was not breathtaking enough, wait for the sunset!

Everything at the top - from water and food to laundry and souvenirs - is hauled on the shoulders of sinewy porters who climb up and down the exhausting thousands of steep steps a few times a day, never without a load. Their labour, close to human right abuse in the presence of the ultra-modern cable car whizzing over their heads, is largely underappreciated, yet makes possible your poetic pleasures of nature appreciation. Please eat up every bit on your plate when yo are there as a gesture of respect!