Wuxi
Category Archives: Travel
Shanghai
In Shanghai I visited Bamboo and her husgand
In Shanghai I visited my good friend Bamboo, and her husband Sun Yiyueh (Cyrus).
This made me very happy! I met Bamboo many years ago on my second trip to Nanjing.
Some of you are familiar with the various videos I produce to help “westerners” learn a bit about China. Bamboo has played a crucial role in the success of the videos. As originally produced, these used the “voice” from “Google translate” so demonstrate the Chinese pronunciation of various place-names. That Google audio was pretty terrible, and I wanted to improve it to better server the viewers. I remembered that Bamboo had done extensive work on Chinese television, so I asked her if there was any chance she’d help with the needed audio improvements. She graciously agreed to give me assistance and over the years has continued to provide audio clips for that series. This makes a huge difference for the viewers!
I suppose I “don’t get out much”. I had never seen such a thing, but starting with the hotel in Shanghai, I encountered robots at each Chinese hotel I stayed in! There are robots that vacuum the floor, and others who either pick up or deliver items to guests’ rooms! How cool is that!!!!???
Arrived in Shanghai!
Well, it was a “long haul”, but I made it to Shanghai.
Getting there involved a 2.5 hour drive to Denver from our (new) hometown in Pueblo, Colorado. An overnight stay in a hotel in the general vicinity of Denver International Airport. then up before the roosters to catch a 6:00 AM flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth.
There I boarded a flight to Shanghai. Ironically, about 75 minutes into the flight, the airplane flew directly over Pueblo… my starting point the day before! (I saw this on the “real time” in-flight monitor screen on the airplane!
My Spring 2024 trip to China
March 20 – May 6
I’m REALLY excited about going to China again!
I hope to see a lot of friends and colleagues while I am there!
Here is my current schedule:
March 20: Fly from Denver to Dallas/FortWorth
transfer to flight headed to Shanghai Pudong Airport
March 21: Arrive in Shanghai
March 21-22: Shanghai-
March 23-24: Nanjing
March 25-26: Hangzhou
March 27-28: Tongling, Anhui
March 29-31: Zhengzhou
April 1: Datong, Shanxi
April 2: Taiyuan, Shanxi
April 3-7: Nanyang, Henan
April 8-11: Xi’an, Shaanxi
April 12-16: Yinchuan, Ningxia
April 17: Lanzhou, Gansu
April 18-20: Chengdu, Sichuan
April 21-23: Guiyang, Guizhou
April 24-25: Dali, Yunnan
April 26-28: Lanping, Yunnan
April 29: Kunming, Yunnan
April 30: Nanning, Guangxi
May 1: Shenzhen
May 2-3: Xiamen, Fujian
May 4-5: Shanghai
May 6 Fly back to the United States!
Shanghai to Dallas/FortWorth
Dallas/FortWorth to Denver then home to Pueblo!
Slow Train To Spain
Well, it was time for me to once again get out of town and start some traveling! I hadn’t been to Spain since the springtime, so I had my sights set on a trip there.
I decided that on the way, I’d visit my daughter (and her husband) in Wilmington, Delaware, and also my brother in New Jersey.
I had some Amtrak rail-travel credits burning a hole in my pocket, so I decided to go by train. The distances were long, and American trains are excruciatingly slow, quite unlike the high-speed options in Spain and China. So, to get from Denver to Wilmington (through Chicago and Washington, D.C.) would take three days! Well, off I go!
First it was the bus, then Denver’s “light rail” to get to “Union Station”, which was all decked out for the holidays, and buzzing with activity!
The train was late. Ah Amtrak, SLOW *and* LATE!
So, I had a beer and some fries to kill time and take the edge off my hunger.
The train finally arrived, so it was time to board the clunky, vintage (out of date) double-decker coaches.
I had a sleeper-compartment, so that meant I would travel in the lap of luxury! Well, sort of… the “roomette” is a bit cramped, but at least it is private space. And traveling in a sleeper, all meals are included! Hello dining car!
Of course, since I had snacked at the station, I did not have much of an appetite, so I just ate a salad, and half a dessert.
Th next morning, we were traversing the great plains. One of my favorite spots along the Denver-Chicago route is crossing the Mississippi River! Many years ago, we used to see Bald Eagles along the river, but not recently, and not this trip.
Eventually we arrived in Chicago’s Union Station. The train platforms are dark, cramped, and smell of diesel fumes. Pretty hellish.
Please, let me out of here and get me to the remodeled magnificence of the public areas of the station!
Well, the “Great Hall” did have some nice holiday displays, but Chicago’s station has none of the vibrancy of Denver’s remodeled station. Basically it was new walls, new paint, and no new features.
Time to brave the cold and walks the nearby downtown Chicago streets!
Outside, the weather was actually pleasant! Every other time Rhonda and I stopped over in Chicago, there were freezing cold winds and often snow. I had looked forward to visiting the showroom of the “Paragon Book Gallery”, a specialty book seller that I used to go to in New York City with my Dad. It carries a vast stock of obscure books related to Asia. But alas, I had contacted them ahead of time, and they do not currently have any physical store-front, doing all their business online while they keep their eyes out for some suitable retail location. Next time!
As I lazily wandered the streets I did pass a few nice restaurants. When I saw a Potbelly sandwich shop, (which I love) I considered picking up a sandwich “to go” that I could eat on the train. But why? As a sleeping car passenger, all the fancy dinner options on the dining care are available at not extra cost!
So I returned to the lounge and waited until it was time to board my next train, heading to Washington D.C.
OK, mega-fail! Some background. America is doing its darnedest to kill off the few remaining long distance train routes, and push all travel to heavily polluting aircraft, and heavily polluting private cars plying the highways. So far, try as Amtrak may to make riding the train a disagreeable experience, people still ride the rails. So, in a more recent move, they have started eliminating kitchens for the dining cars. Now all passengers except those in sleeping cars are banned from the dining car. And rather than cooked food, they offer some crappy TV-dinners. To go along with this new experience, they hand you the new “Flexible Dining Menu”. The dining room staff, in an effort to not be ejected from the moving train by passengers, did offer a free beer along with “supper”. Well, the beer was good, the food terrible. Bummer! I really wished I had known ahead of time and picked up a sandwich in Chicago!
And no more pancakes, waffles, eggs etc for breakfast. Now you choose which boxed cereal you want. Well, the banana was real. The coffee? None available. I had to go back to my sleeper car and bring some from there.
Ah! Washington, D.C.! My birthplace! I was able to check my bags and wander a bit. Union Station… the Capitol building…
I decided to head to the White House to see what was shakin’
Machine gun toting cops (don’t dare take their photos!) were keeping the protesting crazies at bay.
Well, this is America. The tens of millions of people who are disgusted by the actions of the occupant of the White House, (who sneaked in the back door with three million votes less than his opponent), just spend their time jogging, staring at sitcoms on the boob-tube, watching sports, and (mostly) sleeping.
From Washington I took the Northeast Regional to Wilmington, Delaware, where Andrea, Jimmy, and Rhonda picked me up at the station. (Rhonda did not come on the train, opting to travel to the east by plane)
Andrea and Jimmy had moved into a new house since I last visited them. Nice place. We spent the first evening listening to Jimmy’s records. Yep, records… those vinyl disks. Remember them? Heard your grandpa mention them? ha ha.
From Wilmington, I next took a train to Trenton (Capital of New Jersey), where my brother picked me up and drove me back to his house in Pennington. We had a great weekend, starting with a few slices of pizza at “Beniamino’s” in the Montgomery Shopping Center. This is the new incarnation of pizza at the old “Rudolfo’s” which I adored. They told me that the guy who last ran Rudolfo’s, who since moved back to Italy, does stop by when he is in town.
Chris and I had a great time driving around New Jersey, then Pennsylvania, then New Jersey again. Lots of memories from our youth! We even got near the site of an old Boy Scout camp that our parents packed us off to a few years during the summer.
When the day came from my flight to Spain I took the train up to Newark Airport. Good lord! the terminal was out of control. Everything there seemed to require interaction with one of the thousands of fixed tablet devices positioned *everywhere*. You couldn’t order food at a restaurant by just telling a waiter/ess what you wanted. You had to negotiate an inane set of screens. I couldn’t figure it out Neither could anyone around me. So staff and to press the screen selections for everyone. And then, in the end, it disconnected the humans who worked there from the customers. Every person around me (and including me) ended up with a problem with the order and the “customer service” ended up horrible, because the “computer” was the waiter, not the person.
Out of control technology. “Fixing” a system what was not broken, and in the end, breaking it.
Then, on to Spain!
Shanghai
Pudong-
Shanghai Tower
At 632 meters of height (2,073 ft), the Shanghai tower is the tallest building in China and the second tallest in the world (as of 2019). The public observation deck is on the 118th floor and it was exciting to be on the world’s second fastest elevator, with my ears popping while we ascended!
Maglev Airport Rail Link
China chose the German company Siemens to build a 30 kilometer “demonstration” maglev railway line that terminates at the Pudong airport in Shanghai. The technology is impressive, and the train is rated to go as fast as 430 km/hr. As a demonstration implementation, it only runs at this high speed for a while each morning. I took the conventional metro line to the airport and then rode the maglev line back as far as it went, completing my journey on the metro again. I rode in the afternoon, at “only” 300 km/hr. It was still and exciting and different sort of experience!
The ride was smooth and it was a bit exciting the way the line “banked” into curves!
Out and about
Based on various travel guidebooks i consulted, the shopping area adjacent to Yu Gardens seemed like a must-go attraction. The gardens themselves were closed due to some remodeling activity underway, so I went straight to the shopping sector. I was fairly disappointed. Brand-new “Qing Dynasty” buildings with glitzy silk, pearl, and souvenir stores, packed with people. More than anything, the crush of tourists in the area seemed ripe for pickpocket activity. I looked around a bit and left.
Nearby was a zone more to my taste: Tiny earthy shops with aggressive haggling and an eclectic variety of goods. I was really disappointed that the kite store did not have one small enough for me to pack in my suitcase! 🙁
Night Cruise on the Huangpu River
Just for fun I took a night cruise on one of the many boats plying the Huangpu River, passing between garishly lit skyscrapers on the Pudong side and brightly lit colonial period remnants of foreign dominance on the Puxi side. As the tourist boats sailed up and down the river, darkened cargo barges slipped silently by.
Guilin
I first visited Guilin in 2015. On that trip I cruised down the Li River, enjoying the world famous scenery of tree covered karst peaks. Everyone who visits China should include that in their itinerary!
I have been to Guilin two additional times. Last year I had a wonderful visit to a small Dong-minority town, as well as the famous Longji rice terraces near Guilin.
This year I continued to investigate Guilin’s less famous attractions.
Night Cruise
All three times I went to Guilin I stayed at a hotel in rooms overlooking a branch of the river. At night I would watch small passenger cruise boats go by. This year I finally got around to trying a night cruise. It was fun. Do it!
Ling Canal
North of Guilin, in Xing’an county, is a marvel of ancient engineering known as the Ling Canal. Completed in 214 BCE under Qin Shi Huangdi, first emperor of China, this canal is still functional. It provides a link between the Xiang and the Li rivers. These two are tributaries of larger rivers, so functionally the canal provides a transportation channel connecting the Changjiang (Yangtze) with the Pearl River system.
To accomplish this task, there were several design challenges:
1) The elevation of the Xiang River was lower than that of the Li River and
2) river heights were subject to seasonal variations, which created a risk that the canal could overflow its channel.
Reed Flute Cave
This cave is a popular destination at the northwestern edge of Guilin.
I was able to catch the #3 bus on Zhongshan Lu (near my hotel).
For a mere 2 yuan (about 40 cents), it took me all the way to the cave.
The cave is quite accessible and the path inside is relatively short and easy.
Solitary Beauty Peak / Jingjiang Princes Palace
This is a great historical site. The downside is that it seems the only tours were in Chinese.
Pagodas of the Moon and Sun
Really
Guiyang / Guizhou
From Chengdu I traveled to the city of Guiyang.
I used this city as the launchpad to visit a variety of areas in Guizhou.
Zhijindong Cave
This is an immense series of spectacular, interconnected chambers within a limestone hill. Most of the cave is “dry”, with it’s collection of formations no longer “dripping” to continue adding layers to it’s stalactite/stalagmite array.
This is said to be China’s largest cave, with the stunning series of rooms and huge concert-hall sized chambers reputably stretching out 12 kilometers. I don’t know the linear distance of the publicly accessible areas, but they went on, in on, and on!
Xijiang Miao Village
Guizhou is peopled by a mix of ethnic groups, with minority groups making up a third of the population. One of the largest groups is the Miao people, and their villages and towns are scattered throughout the province.
Huangguoshu Waterfall
This is China’s largest waterfall. In addition to the main waterfall, there are several additional falls, and even a dripping cave.
Crazed lunatics can even climb to a passageway behind the roaring falls. It goes through a series of rooms that are open to the the exuberant veil of water cascading just a few feet away. Walking behind the falls subjects the visitor to heavy peripheral spray, and a slippery path. The spray was so vigorous and the passage was very cramped. I did not dare pause to take photographs it until I had reached dry safety at the far side.
Did I say crazed lunatics? Hey! I blame peer pressure! 🙂
Qingyan Ancient City
Quite close to Guiyang is the old fortified town of Qingyan.
Its foundation dates to the 15th century. My friend Molly kindly volunteered to help me get there, and then guide me around.
This was one of the few rainy days I encountered in China during this early autumn trip. When we arrived at Qingyan, the rain was coming down in buckets! We waited out the worst part of the storm in a tiny restaurant until the rain had subsided a bit. Within an hour of venturing out again, the rain stopped.
Back in Guiyang city
Yibin
Howie spirited me out of Chengdu, and we traveled south by high speed train to the city of Yibin.
Lizhuang Ancient City
Yibin at night
Sea of Bamboo
Not far from Yibin is the Bamboo Sea, a huge park filled with many varieties of bamboo.
This spot *claims* to be the location where a treetop duel played out in the movie “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. But there appears to be some (prideful) debate on this issue! Some people disagree and say it was filmed in a forest in Jiangsu province. Others contend the location was in Anhui.
It doesn’t really matter, the Bamboo Sea is spectacular!
Double Nine
I planned my visit to Sichuan to coincide with the Chinese “Double Nine” celebration. The name refers to the timing: it is celebrated in the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it fell on October 7fh.
One of the traditions of this holiday, is for people (especially old people) to climb a mountain.
So, Howie and I headed up Cuipingshan.
On the way up, we passed a variety of temples and shrines.
At the top was a tower, (which was under repair), and lovely views of Yibin.
Based on the advice of some other visitors, Howie and I descended Cuipingshan, crossed the river, and went up a hill to visit the “White Pagoda”. From that spot were great views of the confluence of the Jinsha and Min rivers.
Chengdu
This was my third visit to Chengdu. My friend Howie picked me up at the airport, and was a very gracious host throughout my visit.
It was great to see Howie again . He continues his mission to turn me into a total “foodie”! And, with all that great food in Sichuan, I am a goner!!
Howie drove me around Chengdu, giving me a peek at various landmarks.
Wenshufang Neighborhood
Howie took me to the Wenshufang neighborhood and we visited Wenshuyuan (Wenshu Monastery)
After visiting the monastery, we went to a shop owned by one of Howie’s old chums. There we relaxed and enjoyed some pu’er tea.
Wuhou Temple
A famous period of Chinese history is known as the Three Kingdoms period. It was a contentious time, with China divided into three areas, each struggling for overall supremacy. The historical novel about the period, “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” generally takes the side led by Liu Bei. The territory of this faction changed over time, but ultimately its capital became Chengdu.
Liu Bei was buried within the grounds of what is now the Wuhou Temple.
Liu Bei was not an overly forceful or successful ruler. Credit for their successes really belonged to his chancellor Zhege Liang. This man was a brilliant strategist, as well as an inventor.
Zhege Liang is still well admired, and great things of visitors flock to this site.
Bridge over the Jinjiang River
