By Mrusso
We had teed up one of the taxi drivers to meet us outside the front gate at 9.00 am on the morning of Saturday 29th, and sure enough, he was there waiting for us, smiling, when we made our way to the gate. With the usual greetings of Ni hao, we were soon on our way to Tianjin airport to catch an 11.15 flight to Shanghai.
Return air tickets and the hotels had been pre-booked, but transport between Shanghai and Suzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou, and Hangzhou back to Shanghai were unknown quantities. However we felt sure, after reading the Lonely Planet guide to China as well as other information on-line, that there would not be any problems in these areas.
After checking in and getting our boarding passes we sat in the waiting area with a sense of anticipation. Of course there were shops that had to be looked in, and we saw a nice camera, which we bought for Brenda, something she had wanted for a long time, and this was a good quality digital camera for a very good price. Before too much longer we had boarded and were waiting to take off. The flight was a good  flight and on the way we were served a Chinese meal - a choice of either rice (which Brenda had) or noodles (which I had), complemented by cold Chinese pickled vegetables and a sweet bun filled with bean paste, washed down with a couple of paper cups of room temperature Coca Cola.
We landed in Shanghai to weather that was several degrees warmer and more humid than what we had left behind in Tianjin, and after a couple of inquiries, made our way to the long distance bus depot where we attempted to purchase two tickets to Suzhou. We were told that there was not a bus to Suzhou for another few hours, which didn¡¯t appeal. We met a Chinese couple who got talking to a young lady who said that she would get us a mini-bus. It turned out that she knew a guy who worked at the airport and she arranged with him to come and pick up our group, which by now had grown to a total of eight, about a kilometer away from the airport. She explained to us that we couldn¡¯t stay where we were, because the police would see us and not allow us to take this mini-bus, so we had to walk a fair way away from the bus terminal, where the guy in due course met us and so we piled in to his mini-bus. The trip was uneventful, and some two and a half hours later, and 50 Yuan ($8) each lighter (which was the same price as we would have paid for the regular bus) we were deposited in downtown Suzhou. We were told that we could take a public bus to our hotel, but when an empty taxi happened along, we hailed it and got him to drop us at the hotel.
By the time we checked in and deposited our stuff in the room, it was quite late, so we decided to get our bearings by walking a blockie and finding somewhere to eat. We settled on the ¡°healthy¡± chicken kebab meal from KFC and afterwards walked around a bit more to see some of the sights within cooee of our hotel. Because we had been up early that morning we decided to go back to the hotel, have a nice hot bath and an early night, in anticipation of a big day of walking and sightseeing.
Suzhou and Hangzhou are two cities on the Grand Canal that links Beijing to Shanghai. They are called the Venice of China, in that both cities are criss-crossed by a network of smaller canals that are branches of the main one. These canals in turn are crossed by a myriad of roads and quaint Chinese-style architecture bridges, with many of the older homes fronting these smaller canals, often with their own little landings for the junk-style boats that once upon a time were used to ply trade and crafts up and down the waterways, but in more recent times are used mainly for ferrying tourists.
Over the next two days we walked many kilometers and saw numerous attractive buildings and parks, some of them adjoining the canals, and some situated further away from them. By and large, the numerous temples have a certain sameness about them and it doesn¡¯t take long for one to become all ¡°templed-out¡±. We visited the Suzhou museum of opera and art, inside of which in one of the halls, a young man was training under his tutor to be an opera singer. In Chinese opera, men dress up and play the part of women, and so, because it is opera, they sing in a high-pitched, castrati voice that I am assured takes a lot of skill to master. There are also many gardens in Suzhou, and we visited several of them. The Chinese love rocks and water so in any garden you will see both of these elements in plenty. The ¡°rocks¡± are often made out of concrete or fiberglass, but look quite realistic. A popular style is to construct a rocky feature that can be climbed over, walked through and which contains numerous nooks and crannies big enough to walk into and stand still until ennui sets in, usually (in my case, anyway) after about seven seconds. Another feature common to many Chinese gardens of old is the picture window - usually a large square window, sometimes with glass, but through which is a carefully planned scene, more often than not a garden scene that has been planted in such a way as to afford a view that is pleasing to the eye. One must remember that these houses, with their gardens and picture windows were built in the days before television or photography, and so the visual effects had to come from nature and careful planning by the builders of these houses. We had found a great little Italian restaurant just around the corner from our hotel, so we ate there the next two nights - quite cheap and reasonably close to authentic Italian food (Chinese style).
On the Tuesday morning we took a taxi from the hotel to the South Long Distance Bus Station, to get a bus from Suzhou to Hangzhou. This bus station is about twice the size of Flinders St. Station in Melbourne, with about ten times the number of people, all pushing, shoving and queue-jumping which is so typical of the majority of Chinese. One has to increase one¡¯s body space by standing with elbows on hips and legs a little further apart than normal, and be ready to shift sideways at the slightest hint of anyone trying to jump in. We eventually got our tickets and went to sit in the waiting room for an hour and a half or so. Although we got there at around 9.30 am, we were hoping to get the 10.30 bus, but were only able to obtain seats on the 11.10 bus.
We arrived in Hangzhou to weather that was slightly warmer again than Suzhou, after a two and a half hour trip, during which we dozed and read intermittently. We eventually found the queue for taxis, which was only about two hundred meters long, and snaked backwards and forwards inside well-defined barriers under a tin roof held up by rust and hope. On the way we were accosted by several ¡°private¡± taxi drivers. These are people who own a car and offer to drive you in their ¡°taxi¡± to your destination immediately, thereby avoiding having to queue up, but they also try to charge you up to ten times the usual taxi fare. Foreigners especially are targeted, because they are often naïve and also the Chinese seem to think that all foreigners are possessed of untold wealth which they will happily splurge recklessly on just about anything! We politely told these people in Chinese to take a long walk off a short pier and joined the queue, which seemed to be moving quite quickly.
Our taxi delivered us to the hotel, which we had pre-booked on the internet before leaving, but when we got there it was a shock to realize that this hotel was an absolute dive, and nothing like the photos that were used to advertise it on the internet. After inspecting the room that they would have given us, which was supposed to have views of West Lake, Hangzhou¡¯s main attraction, but instead had a vista of a concrete wall covered by a green sheet of fake grass, we decided there was no way we were going to stay there. We called our travel agent in Beijing and asked if they could book us into another hotel, which we had looked at but decided not to book originally. They replied that, yes, it was possible, and the room rate was the same as that charged by this poor apology for a hotel we were currently in. This other hotel looked much better than the current one, so we decided to take it. Another taxi ride across town and out a couple of km from the city centre brought us to this hotel, the Milan Continental, and what a delight! The look, features, standard and service of this hotel were so far above the first one that they just didn¡¯t compare. We were given a business suite with a bath (like the room in the Suzhou hotel) and a king size bed, and all for the same price as the dive! It included breakfast, as well, like the Suzhou hotel.
After settling in to our room, we took a taxi from the hotel to downtown Hangzhou and were deposited by the West Lake, along with about 6 million other people, all out and walking at holiday pace, which is about three-quarters the speed of a snail. This lake was originally a shallow bay where the Qiantang River met the sea. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains and on the fourth by the city, in whose western region it now sits, hence the name ¡°West Lake¡±. The entire scene is very pleasant, or it would be on a fine day with clear, clean air and blue sky. We decided to ¡°go with the flow¡± and walked along the shore of the lake, admiring the sights and the gradual emergence of the outline of buildings around the lake defined by lights, as the sun set and twilight set in. We decided that we would return the following night with our cameras and get some pictures. We found a great little pub, The Paradise Bar, in which we could get a cold drink (G&T with ice and a slice of lemon, and a half-liter of Carlsberg draft) for a very good price, and from a second floor outside balcony table which provided good views of the lake through trees which were lit up by colored lighting, and still the hordes of people endlessly shuffling past and chattering happily, accompanied by the cacophonous honking of horns and bicycle bells.
The next day we took a boat trip across the lake to one of the small islands (all man-made) in the middle. On this island, built in 1552, is a small pavilion set in the midst of a garden. The pavilion was basically a souvenir shop where you could also buy snacks and water. From here we took another boat across the lake to a larger island, called Small Yingzhou Islet, built in 1607, on which were three large ponds. The concept of this island was: an island within the lake and a lake within an island¡±. The layout of the whole island was quite impressive and reflected a huge amount of planning and forethought by those who constructed it. Just off the southern shore of this island are three gourd-shaped pagodas, each some two meters high, erected in 1621. Each pagoda has five round holes in it and when lit candles are placed into each pagoda, the light from these candles together with the moonlight reflecting off the water give rise to the naming of this feature as ¡°Three Pools Mirroring the Moon¡±.
From this islet we took another boat across to the northern end of the lake where we disembarked and visited the Zhongshan Park and then walked across the Bai Causeway, through ¡°Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake¡± and back to the shore, a good three km walk, crossing the final bridge called ¡°Lingering Snow on the Broken Bridge¡±. If the bridge ever was broken it had been fixed by the time we crossed it! From this corner we could see a conical shaped pagoda, ¡°Precious Stone Hill floating in Rosy Cloud¡±. It was quite impressive and shaped like the elongated, sharpened end of a pencil, different from the typical pagoda shape of many different storeys, each with a balcony.
By this time it was late afternoon, beer o¡¯clock, so we decided to go and hunt for the Paradise Pub again and have a cool drink while we waited for sunset and the light show to begin. After an hour and a half, it was sufficiently dark to take some photos, and I have included a panorama of the northern shore of the lake at night, made up of three photos that I have stitched together. As we were feeling quite weary, we decided to take a taxi back to the hotel, have dinner in the hotel restaurant ¡°Casa Caf¨¦¡± and then have a bath and early bed for a good night¡¯s sleep. I have to say that the bed in this hotel, unlike many of the glorified house bricks we have slept on in other places, is perhaps the most comfortable and softest bed I have ever slept on. The mattress was more like a doona than a mattress, although it was obviously on a springy supportive base.
The next day we went first of all to a book shop where we purchased a map of Hangzhou in both English and Chinese, and then headed for the famous Hangzhou Silk Museum. Here we were given a guided tour by a girl who spoke enough English to give English-speaking people a guided tour! The tour included a display of the life-cycle of the silk worm, as well as demonstrations of how the silk is harvested from the cocoons and eventually woven into fabric. There was also a display of many different types of garment worn by people through the ages, from common people to emperors. Silk has a history of some 4,500 years in China, so they have become adept in producing many different types of silk, as well as dyeing it and weaving different patterns into the fabric. It is quite mind-blowing to learn that one cocoon can produce about 2 km of silk strand, and that several of these strands are twined together to make a single thread.
In the museum there were also full-scale working models of the different types of looms used to weave the silk, on one of which two women were actually working and in the process of weaving a huge piece of silk cloth with a dragon pattern in it. The process is so slow and painstaking; it is no wonder that genuine hand-made silk articles are so expensive. The last part of the museum was the inevitable shop, where there were all sorts of garments, fans and other silk-based products on display, all at a price. It made me think that if we get ¡°genuine¡± silk products flogged to us in the markets, we should ensure that it is not just the label that reads ¡°100% SILK¡± that is made of 100% silk!
From the silk market we decided to walk back to the Leifeng Pagoda, which we saw lit up on the southern end of the lake the previous night. We were assured that it was about twelve minutes¡¯ walk, but it turned out to be more like about twenty-five. This pagoda was originally built in 977 by a king to celebrate the birth of his son by his favorite concubine. This original one unfortunately collapsed in 1924, leaving only the original brick foundations. These were preserved, however, and in an amazing feat of engineering, the base of the new pagoda was constructed in steel above the old base which has been preserved and can be seen to day as part of the museum of the pagoda on the below ground level. The new pagoda was constructed in 2000 and measures a bit over 70m high. From the bottom you can take a lift up to the second top floor and climb stairs to the top. On a clear day there are great sights to behold of the West Lake and the city of Hangzhou. We ended up spending more time there than originally intended, as we found the museum and many of the wall-mounted friezes quite fascinating, as well as the gardens surrounding the base of the pagoda. Its full name is ¡°Leifeng Pagoda in Evening Glow¡±. The name is very descriptive, accurate and appropriate (on a clear evening!).
We attempted to get a taxi from the pagoda back to the Paradise Pub, but the road outside the pagoda was a divided highway and the traffic was going in the wrong direction. I am sure we could have taken a bus for maybe 1 or 2 Yuan each, but we didn¡¯t know which one out of dozens to take, and also there were a few million people who had the same idea. We decided to start walking back towards the pub, which we estimated to be about four or five km away, intending to hail a taxi as we walked, but then we looked back and saw several groups of people behind us at different intervals, all obviously with the same idea as we had. Copycats! We hightailed it to the next major intersection and turned down the side street. Within half a minute we spied a taxi coming towards us, so we hailed it and got him to take us back to the main drag where the pub was located. This street had been made one-way traffic for the holiday period, and of course we were going the wrong way, but by superb use of both mime and primeval grunts, we got him to drop us off on a side street corner about a hundred meters from the pub.
The pint of Carlsberg and the G&T with I&L were very welcome, and we decided to stay there for tea and try out their pizzas, which turned out to be very darned good.
By the time we finished tea it was only about 6.30, so we decided to walk along the street and try to find a particular shop containing silk brocade products. While looking for it, we were waved to by a couple of westerners, sitting on a bench in the shopping street. We waved back and smiled, but then I stopped, and we went over to them and started chatting. It turns out that they were from New York - he of African American heritage, with long dreadlocks and she of Caucasian, possibly including some French - and were living and working in Hangzhou. When I asked them about this shop we were looking for, they told us we were in the wrong street and gave us directions for our best bet to find the place, although neither of them knew of it. Wishing them all the best (it was nice to be able to speak English to other westerners in a foreign city) we continued our quest, only to be disappointed at not being able to locate it.
We decided to take a taxi back to the hotel, watch a bit of television (the Special Olympics from Shanghai or the Chinese National Gymnastics Championships, probably as a lead up to Olympic selection for next year) on the Chinese sports channel. Another hot bath in the circular bathtub would ease the aching legs and hips and another good night¡¯s sleep were definitely on the agenda.
The following morning we checked out and took a taxi back to downtown Hangzhou to the airport office, from where we could take a bus direct to Hongqiao airport in Shanghai. We thought we would try for the 10.30 bus, so aimed to get there in plenty of time to get a ticket, as we did not want a repeat of the previous episode at the Suzhou bus station. We got on the 9.30 bus, which left promptly at 9.45, thanks to some people who decided that they would get off the bus just before 9.30 and go and get something to eat on the journey.
We arrived at Hongqiao airport just after twelve and found that we could check our luggage in almost immediately, which we did, then went and got some lunch. Afterwards, we cast a cursory look through the various shops at the airport, more out of curiosity and the knowledge that we had plenty of time to kill before our 4.55 flight, rather than the need to buy anything. Eventually we found ourselves going through security checks and in the waiting area next to the boarding gate, so we settled ourselves down for a long wait, with our books and cameras.
Announcements were being made all the time in both Chinese and English. One such announcement was to the effect that an earlier flight to Tianjin, scheduled for 10.50 am, would be further delayed due to bad weather conditions at the airport. We didn¡¯t know if the airport in question was at Hongqiao or Tianjin, and wondered if it meant that our flight would be delayed also. We noticed that there was another flight to Tianjin before ours, so we decided to see if that flight boarded on time, to get an indication of the fate of our flight. Fortunately it boarded and took off without any drama or delay, so we felt easy about our own flight, which arrived in due course and we were finally on the penultimate leg of our holiday trip.
We arrived back in Tianjin where the temperature was only 16 degrees and where it had been raining quite steadily most of the day. A meal was served to us on the plane, similar to the one we had on the outward journey, so we weren¡¯t really hungry by the time we got back. Our taxi driver was there to greet us, as previously arranged, with smiles and ¡°Ni hao¡±s for both of us.
We arrived back at our apartment at around 7.15 pm, glad to be back and glad of having the weekend to recover before fronting up to classes again on Monday morning.