SHAAN HAI! SHANGHAI!!

Most of us get fascinated by the names of some places in our childhood.  Shanghai was the name of one such place that I always fancied. Some other "names of places" that I liked were London, Bombay, New York, Melbourne, Paris.

IN THE TRAIN

When our China trip included Shanghai in the last leg, I was quite anxious to see what this city was going to offer me. From Xian we took the Express Sleeper train to Shanghai. The train was superb. There were beautiful net curtains as well as light yellow colored silk curtains on the windows. The corridor in the compartment had single seats at intervals where one could sit and watch the countryside go by. The sleepers were comfortable, with soft berths. Every cabin contained a water jug, 4 hangers, bright reading lights, and a dustbin. We were provided with two sheets, a blanket and a pillow, kept neatly stacked on the berth. We were allocated 3 Cabins but all ten of us huddled together in one cabin, as we wanted to chat and spend our evening together, eating all the namkeens that we had carried with us to China.

SEATS IN THE CORRIDOR

Incidentally it was the Wedding Anniversary of one couple, so there was more fun. We heard the interesting story of their marriage, which I will share with you some other time.

This train was a vestibule. There was a dining car too. In every compartment there is a washing area where you can wash your dishes and cups. There was also a very hot water dispenser for endless cups of hot tea.

HOT WATER DISPENSER

The train journey was good, and after a good nights sleep we arrived at Shanghai. It's altogether another story that TNN my husband lost his breathing apparatus....oh sorry...his mobile phone just when we reached Shanghai. No, it was not stolen, he just dropped it somewhere.

THE ERSTWHILE RUSSIAN EMBASSY

Shanghai seemed less high rise as we entered the City. It looked different from Beijing. There was something about the city which was captivating. The place gave an impression of a rich, relaxed well established grand city which has a character of its own.  

A GOLDEN BUDDHIST TEMPLE

The train stations and roads were very beautiful. There were no roses alongside the roads as in Beijing, but they had other plants and roads were clean, traffic was orderly. There were lovely Magnolia trees all over the place. The trees were in full bloom and the white huge flowers amongst the dark green leaves looked very fresh and pretty. There were Peonies too. Peonies are large pink flowers, and I was quite fascinated to see these flowers on trees.

The name of our hotel was "Lotel"! It was an eco friendly hotel so everything was quite green and no plastics were seen around. 

NEON LIT SKYSCRAPER

Shanghai has a  beautiful skyline.  The Pudong district of Shanghai has a wide range of skyscrapers, many of which rank amongst the tallest in the world. No other city in the world has as many free standing buildings which are over 400 meters tall . The third tallest building in the world is the Shanghai World Financial Center which is 492 metres tall. The tallest  building in China is under construction at Shanghai and will be 632 metres when completed and will have 127 floors. Shanghai has been described as the "showpiece" of the booming economy of China.

THE AMAZING SKYLINE BY NIGHT

All these buildings are lit up every night and so every night is Diwali night in Shanghai. The lighting pattern too is different in every building.We had asked our guide if there was any power failure in Shanghai. He said, " I am 27 years old, and I have never seen the lights go off".

When we reached the Bund, we were filled with awe as all around us were fabulously lit up huge sky scrapers.  The roof of each building was different and the beauty of the place was enough to make all of us gasp with amazement. 

ABSOLUTE BEAUTY!

The spectacular  area with the sky scrapers  is near the Huangpo river. A lot of  boats ply on this river taking  tourists around to  enjoy the beauty of the skyline by day as well as by night. The boats too are  well illuminated with decorative lights, and are quite fascinating to watch as they glide past with their passengers.

THE BUND WALL

The walls on the bund around the river have been beautified with an abundance of flowers. The potted plants have been placed on the walls in such a manner that the wall looks as if they are  made of flowers. The place therefore looks beautiful by day as well as by night.

THE YUYUAN MARKET

Shanghai also has an ancient side. There are many buildings maintained as they were traditionally.These are "Shikumen" residences which have a front courtyard protected by a high wall.  Each residence is connected by a straight alley. The entrance to the house is usually through a stylistic stone arch. In fact Shikumen means "stone gate".

THE ZIG ZAG BRIDGE

The Yuyuan Market is one such place where one can see a lot of these typical buildings. This is a shopping complex, but I was quite captivated by the beauty of the whole place and kept gaping at every roof, building and wall. I cannot recall any shop over there. There is a lovely lake in the center of the market and there is a zig zag bridge on it. It is quite fascinating to see these really exotic buildings and get the feel of traditional China as it must have been, once upon a time.

PROUD GRANDFATHER WITH CAKE

Another spectacular and affluent market in the olden style is Xintiandi. Xintiandi means "New Heaven and Earth". This is more modern than Yuyuan. There are traditional buildings which have a modern touch to it. They are less stylized. This is a very posh market with a lot of Western style restaurants with open air seating. It was my grand daughter Aaria's birthday the day we visited this market. So we had a little coffee party with lovely cakes. All the ten people wished Aaria and I recorded it on video.

As the houses here were connected by alleys, so we walked through one such alley. There was a window where the curtain seemed to be made with real egg shells. Flower arrangements and decorations in the windows were quite exotic and different from the Western world.

Xintiandi is the place where the first congress of the Communist Party of China met.

Near this place is the people's park and nearby are the showrooms of Lamborghini as well as Rolls Royce. Quite a see change from Communism to materialism!

NANJING

Nanjing is the posh- posh highest profile market in Shanghai. It is one of the world's busiest shopping street. It is totally a pedestrian area and is beautifully lit with neon lights. We wandered around the place, looking at the people and shops. We found Tea shops, where different types of tea was sold. There was a tea like a bud which when soaked in water opened out into a flower. I bought Jasmine tea as well as the flowering tea, I do not know the name as it was in Chinese.

In spite of the years of Communism, now people have returned to their Gods. There are a number of temples,mosques and Churches too. They follow Mahayana Buddhism, and also Taoism. We  went to see the Jade Buddha temple which was built in 1882. 

LANTERNS

COLOURFUL FISH

 There are two statues of Buddha made of jade, which were brought here from Burma. Besides the jade statues there are other statues made of marble in this temple. Outside the main temple inside the compound, there was a lot of incense being burnt in huge cauldrons. Candles were in the shape of pink lotus. 

WORSHIPPERS IN THE TEMPLE

People were praying very fervently. We entered the temple through a corridor full of red colored lanterns( akashdeep). The temple had a Bonsai garden as well as a pond filled with very beautiful colored fish.  The statues were beautiful and prayers were not carried on inside. It was very tranquil, clean and pretty. 

TEA CEREMONY

There was a tea shop inside the premises of the Temple, where they sold herbal tea which was quite expensive, but is said to bring relief in asthma, arthritis, diabetes and many other long standing illnesses. The tea was made and we were offered the tea. All of us bought one tea or the other trusting that it was a Government shop.

ZHUJIAJIAO ANCIENT VILLAGE

After seeing all this opulence and grandeur in Shanghai, we went to see a very tranquil, peaceful place. This was about 48 kms. away from Shanghai. The place is called Ancient Water Town Zhujiajiao. This village has been in existence for the last 1700 years. It is also called the Venice of China. 

THE CANAL AT ANCIENT VILLAGE

There was a canal in the center, lined with Weeping Willow trees., there were old streets paved with stone and many curved bridges across the canal. On the banks were shops selling curios, traditional toys, hand knitted bootees for babies, traditional clothes and food and tea. 

WEEPING WILLOW & A BOAT

We were told that a lot of buildings were more than 600 years old. There were boats plying in the canal. How beautiful and peaceful old China must have been! There was a lot of beauty, calm and a feeling of time having stopped in its track in the Village.

 

FLOWERS IN A WINDOW

 On our last evening in Shanghai, we went for a river cruise on the famous Bund. The fascinating lights, the lovely breeze made it a delightful evening for all of us.

Shanghai which broken up sounds like Shan hai, actually is a very shaandaar place. It is a majestic, grand, rich, historical metropolis which can give any big metropolis of the Western world a complex!

A JASMINE TREE IN FULL BLOOM

I cannot end what I am telling you without sharing one very interesting aspect that we experienced in China. Amongst the five men in our group there were two men with moustaches and one with a goatee. In Beijing at the Tiananmen Square, one of our group with large Nathulal style Moustache got a lot of attention from girls. The girls would flock around him and one girl even asked if she could comb his moustache! Where ever we went he was the center of attraction. If any of us got lost, we just had to strain our ears for the oohs and aahs of girls and sure enough our hero would be found there surrounded by admiring females.

On the cruise, before disembarking we were taking group photos, and were being watched quite intently by a lot of people. Suddenly one girl asked if she could be included in our picture. We agreed, she quickly came over to the hero with the goatee, pushed his wife away, and almost sat on the lap of our hero. It was a very hilarious sight and we couldn't get over this episode.

HIGHLIGHT OF OUR TRIP!

Now of course everyone knows why all the other men of our group are tending to their moustaches and making sure that they grow nice and beautiful, before we plan another trip to China.

UNBELIEVABLE CHINA!

TIANANMAN SQUARE!

China,you really surprised me. As a young girl fresh out of school the first novel that I read was “Peony” by Pearl S. Buck.Then "Good Earth" the Noble prize winning book on China.  Then I read about what life was like with one room tenements for all and the single child policy where children were considered the property of the state.I read about all men and women dressing in blue coloured uniforms of trouser and jacket.

But lo and behold, the Beijing that I saw took my breath away.It was nowhere near the China of my imagination. Going towards the hotel there were so many Oohs and aahs and "Look at the roses", "look at the roads", "Look on the left", "oh look at those colors!"It was as if we were in a Rose garden or a display of roses. 

The roads were lined with beautiful roses, it was a virtual rose garden! The roads were like Expressways, there were so many roads, one over the other, criss cross and at different levels. The roads seemed as if they had been laid only last night. 

The cars on the roads were orderly, everyone was in their own lane. There were Volkswagon, Audi, BMW or Chevrolet,a number of Hondas too were there and a number of Porsche too were plying. It looked like a rich city of rich people. The buildings all over the place were skyscrapers. Was this East Asia or Manhattan?  Houses are expensive and our English speaking guide Eva told us that she lives on the outskirts of Beijing as she cannot afford to live in the city.

Beijing is modern, beautiful, sleek and very very clean. 

Cleaning up all the time.

We went to the Tiananman Square which is the world's largest Square. It again took my breath away to see the beautiful landscaping. There were pillars with coloured patterns of flowers. It was very systematic, organised, neat and beautiful. The place was very crowded and yet there was no filth around. No empty bottles, no food packets lying around. There were people going around on scooters collecting all the garbage as soon as any could be spotted. The place is beautiful and one can easily forget the Tiananman Square massacre. The moment I asked my guide about the massacre, she quickly stopped me from talking about it.

FORBIDDEN CITY

The Forbidden City is next to the Tiananman Square. It was the palace of the Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. The common people were not allowed to enter this Palace therefore it was called the Forbidden City. There are a number of beautiful palaces one  after the other and one has to go from one courtyard to another to enter the next palace. One cannot exit from the gate through which one enters. This Forbidden City was home to 24 Emperors since the 13th century. After Puyi the last Emperor of China abdicated in 1912, the Forbidden City became a museum for the people.

WE CLIMBED THE WALL!

The Great wall of China is a Wonder of the World. They say it is the only man made structure that can be seen from the moon. The wall suddenly comes upon you as soon as the hills appear on the horizon. These walls were started in the 7th century BC. They were constructed to stop the intrusion by nomadic groups or people from Mongolia. The wall was later on added to by various dynasties. It runs along the East to West border across the Northern border of China. The wall is made of stone, brick, wood, and earth. In 220-206 BC Emperor Qin(pronounced Chin) Shi Huang added to the wall,the Ming Dynasty rebuilt and maintained the wall for the purpose of Border Control, imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Route and movement of troops. The Great Wall has watch towers, Garrisons stations and  troop barracks. 

LOCKS ARE FOR SECURITY...JUST LIKE THE GREAT WALL.

Climbing the wall was formidable. But I and a friend Mila decided that having come to China we had no option but to climb the Wall. The climb was steep and looking at it from the base the task appeared daunting. With water bottle in hand and big fat handbags on arms we ventured up. I could count only up to 30 steps at a time and then would take a “Catch your breath” halt. So I do not know the number of steps that we climbed. There were a lot of people climbing the wall, one notable climber was an old gentleman with a stick and another very old gentleman whose climb was being video recorded.

While we were climbing up both of us would look down and wave to our friends who actually could not distinguish us from the rest. We however could see them clearly from the steps. There were two big steps and then one small step. The steps are quite wide at the bottom, but they get narrower as one goes up.

It was arduos but exhilirating too! I felt like shouting, “I climbed the Great Wall of China!”

Chairman Mao had said  "Until you reach the Great Wall, you're no hero.”So Meela, TNN my husband and yours truly are now heroes!

JADE

Jade is found in China and every girl wears a jade bangle. It is said that if the jade bangle turns dark then it means that the girl wearing it is not healthy. I remember having read somewhere that Mughal emperors ate food from jade plates. It is said that if there was poison in the food the jade plate would turn dark.

We went to the jade factory and saw very beautiful jade carving. The craftsmanship is remarkable.

BIRDS NEST-OLYMPIC STADIUM

Beijing had hosted the 2008 Olympics and the Birds Nest Stadium,  was worth looking at. The walk along the stadium was lovely. More gardens, more flowers, lots of colour, beautiful kites and lovely breeze made it even more enchanting.

SUMMER PALACE

Beijing had lovely cool weather, yet the Emperors had a Summer palace. There is a huge lake with lots of beautiful boats plying for tourists. 

WEEPING WILLOW

The Weeping willow trees look very beautiful as they all droop towards the huge lake.There is a lovely covered long walkway which has beautiful painting. Huge carved gates, colourful painted walls, beautiful trees and plenty of water all round made the place quite enchanting. None of us wanted to leave the place.

Beijing is actually like a show piece. Tall buildings, beautiful roads, lovely flowers and historical buildings maintained in picture perfect condition.I have to say that I least expected what I saw. I came away thinking that Beijing is truly amazing. It is very beautiful, colourful , clean, modern and yet so very ancient. Very much like the Chinese characters which look very beautiful, intricate, mysterious and like a work of art rather than words which one can read. 

THE DRAGON BOAT AT SUMMER PALACE

ANCIENT GRACEFUL XIAN!

THE HIGH SPEED TRAIN

On our second leg in China we were to visit Xian(pronounced Shian). While Beijing was very modern,  except for the Great Wall, Xian took us back 2000 years to see the Terracota Warriors.

IN THE TRAIN

Our mode of transport from Beijing to Xian was the High Speed train. The train was beautiful, clean and luxurious. It travelled at a speed of 320 kms. per hour. At the station the passengers are checked in, and have to wait in the Waiting Room. Only passengers go to the platform. There are a number of waiting rooms, all designated for different trains. The exit from the Waiting Room takes us directly to the platform of our train. We were very excited to go by the fastest train in China. It departed on the dot and took off smoothly. There was a display of the speed of the train in the compartment, so I kept looking at the speed at which we were travelling. The city, then pastures, and then fields flew past. I had my camera stuck to the window and my eyes looking for villages and the red slanted roofs of houses which would have courtyard after courtyard and house after house. In all that long distance, I could spot only one such house and before I could take the picture, the train had moved on many frames away.

TOWNSHIP  & CROPS.

There are virtually no villages in China, they are all like modern townships. There are almost no houses, there are only apartments. One sees a thermal plant in every town. There were many fields that we crossed with standing crops. There were farmers too, working wearing straw hats. The flourishing economy was very evident with lush crops, many factories, housing complexes, and beautifully planned roads. I was very impressed by the way barriers have been erected near dwelling places. These barriers have been erected to stop noise pollution for the people living near the railway tracks.

There was tea, snacks service on the train. I did miss the "Chai, chai, chai bolo chai" heard by us on Indian trains! There was also a very hot water dispenser in the bogey, from where one could get water for endless cups of tea if you had your own tea bags.

DRUM TOWER

The station of the High Speed Train was a little away from the City of Xian. This city too is quite modern. It has a City Wall running through the city, with every corner having a beautiful Gate. Our hotel was right in the City Center surrounded by numerous Malls. Thankfully, at the center of the Road was the "Bell Tower". 

BELL TOWER

This is a beautiful building constructed in 1384 during the Ming Dynasty. The bell tower houses a huge bell, which was sounded at regular intervals. The Drum Tower is also located nearby.

TERRACOTA WARRIORS

Xian is a very ancient city with a lot of History and monuments. The most important monument is that of the "Terra-cotta Warriors". In 3rd Century BC, Emperor Qin(pronounced Chin) Shi Huang was the First Emperor of China. He did not want to die without arranging for an army to serve him after his death. He therefore got a collection of Terra-cotta warriors and horses constructed. This terra-cotta army consisted of warriors of every rank from General to soldier. These warriors were constructed to full human height, they were painted and also carried weapons. Right now there are  3 huge pits with warriors standing in formation. There are about 8000 warriors, 130 chariots with 520 horses and, 150 horses by themselves. These warriors were buried with the Emperor in his mausoleum. They have been standing in formation since the 3rd century BC!  

In 1974, local farmers discovered these pits. The government took over this site and  presently it is a big tourist attraction. The farmers on whose land these were found were given houses close to these monuments. While two farmers have died, one of them is still alive. He sits in the museum cum shop and signs the book about the Terracota army.

Hieun Tsang

 Xian is also closely linked with India. Remember Hieun Tsang? I had read about him in childhood. He was one of the first visitors to India from China. He is called Xuan Zang in China. So Xuan Zang visited Nalanda in the 7th century AD. He was a Buddhist monk and wanted to learn about Buddhism in India. He therefore set out for India in  629 AD, using the Silk Route. He went from  modern Kyrgyzstan,  to Tashkent,  then he crossed the Gobi desert and went to Samarkand. He then crossed the Pamirs and reached the Amu Dariya where he encountered a community of more than a thousand Buddhist monks.

From here he went southward to Bamyan, Kabul, and Gandhara. By 637 AD he visited all the places connected with the life of Buddha in India and Nepal and spent 2 years at Nalanda. In Nalanda he studied Logic, Grammar and Sanskrit, and the Yogacara school of Buddhism. He later travelled to Nagarjunakonda in Andhra Pradesh.  He returned to Xian the capital of the Tang Dynasty in 645 AD.

WILD GOOSE PAGODA

On his return he was greeted with much fan fair. In 652 AD a Pagoda was constructed to house the many books that he brought back from India.He worked on translating the Sanskrit books that he brought back from India till he died in 664 AD. This Library is interestingly called the “Wild Goose  Pagoda”. However this pagoda was damaged and almost all the books were lost.The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda was extensively repaired during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and renovated again in 1964. There is a beautiful garden with musical fountains in the garden of the Pagoda.

Xi'an is the eastern terminus of the famous Silk Route. 

It is surrounded by hills. In the hills South of Xian are found the famous  animal "Giant panda".

Jade and gold are also found here.

There is a Muslim Market in Xian where one can find curios, memorabilia, and food stuff at reasonable rates.

DUMPLINGS

FRIED PEANUTS

Interestingly, there is a lot of bargaining in China. One has to slash prices quoted, by almost 90%. Then one has to keep bargaining and reach a price acceptable to both buyer and seller. The sellers do not understand English therefore the bargaining has to be done  first by sign language and then on the calculator.

TANG DYNASTY SHOW

We saw a very grand Musical show called “Tang Dynasty”. It transported us to another era where music is soft, dancers are elegant and graceful, lights are subdued, colours are beautiful and sets are exquisite. The show was majestic, artistic and very refined.

TANG DYNASTY SHOW

We had good Indian food at the New Delhi Restaurant. They began by serving fried peanuts and pakodas. Bottled water is more expensive than fizzy drinks, therefore with every meal most Restaurants serve Coke and Sprite.

We missed eating the famous Peking Duck at Beijing and missed eating the Dumplings at Xian. Perhaps that will be reason enough for me to go back to China again.

Xian, full of History and ancient association with India, had a distinct flavour to itself. Although very modern, it still retains its distinct touch of antiquity. I enjoyed going back in time with the Terracota Warriors and Hieun Tsang, and the Tang Dynasty show.