I am a MIS consultant who enjoys the Internet, computer games especially strategy, my wife, badminto...
I am a MIS consultant who enjoys the Internet, computer games especially strategy, my wife, badminton, beer, board games and God (though not necessarily in that order.) Recently reviewed creme eggs, Wisden, meatballs and China. What a world.
Member since:17.02.2007
Reviews:30
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Introduction ========== Two years ago my wife and I decided that we were going to go all out and have a big holiday before we started a family. After setting ourselves a budget in the region of £4000 (including spending money) we finally decided to take a 12 day all inclusive tour of China's highlights and a three day extension in Shanghai. Going with Kuoni we would have transport, a guide and meals included as well as a cruise down the Yangtze river. I hope in this review to give you an impression and some handy hints shold you choose to visit yourselves.
The Country ============ China is the worlds most populated (1.3 billion) and third largest country (after Russia and Canada). It encompases a huge variety of climates from deserts to rainforests. Temperatures also vary greatly depending on where you are in the country. For years under communist rule, China has begun to relax some of its more stringent regulations and embrace some form of capitalist economy. However politically there is no opposition and the Communist Party still rules. China has one of the oldest civilisations in the world and this provides some of the best known and most amazing sites. It is a sign of China's huge strides forward that life expectancy has gone from 37 to 73 years since 1950 and currently they have a 90%+ Literacy rate.
Getting There ============ To get to China you will need a visa. This requires contact with the Chinese Embassy and a trip down to London if you do it yourself or a fee to your tour operator to do it for you. (I payed the fee). The visa takes up an entire page of your passport and is stared at curiously by immigration officials the world over.
Flights are pretty regular to the major cities, we went with China Air and it was fine, plenty of leg room in economy (important for me i'm 6' 2") and operated just like a normal airline in every respect. We flew from Heathrow. Filght time is about 10 hours London to Bejing and China is 8 hours ahead of the UK. The currency is the Yuan and todays exchange rate is 13.8 to the pound I had no problem getting this in a local travel agent.
Upon arrival you are asked to fill in a few forms but customs and immigration were fine with no real questions or searches involved (unlike Cuba which blooming well is scary). I was met by the guide at the airport and whisked away on a coach to our hotel.
The Language ============ The Chinese language is incredibly hard to understand and it is unlikley that you will pick up more than a few words while you are there. Not only is there no similarity to any European languages but each word can be pronounced in several different ways which to my ear are almost indistinguishable from each other. Worse than this of course is that the writing is in chinese characters and hence unreadable or even unguessable. Fortunatly most numbers are in western script and this at least often means you know what you are paying for.
If on a tour, guides speak excellent English as do most resturants and sites that you are taken to. People trying to sell you things speak some but the average person you might meet speaks very little. When we were in Shanghai even kiosk operators for boats etc could not understand any English so a good phrase book with chinese characters is a must. It should be noted that due to the upcoming Olympics in Bejing, a large number of signs are being put in English and Chinese.
Cities and Sites =============
Bejing ====== The capital city of China. Its municipal area covers a region the size of Belgium. To understand the vastness of this city you have to realise that the main street, The Avenue
of Heavenly Peace actually stretches 50km end to end. Traffic here is terrible with an explosion in car ownership due to China's burgeoning middle class. The architecture is largely modern. China may as well be labelled 'under construction' as everywhere you go there are building works. There is exciting shopping and sights here and a street of a hundred stall selling everything from fried scorpions to fried silkworms. You will notice that lots of people's houses are basically garages and that everywhere you go someone is installing air conditioning. There are some world famous sites here:
Tiannamen Square - Famous for the student massacre in times gone by, Tiannamen square fronts the forbidden city and is surrounded by some of the large administrative buildings including the Parliament. The square contains the tomb of Chairman Mao and millions of chinese come here each year to visit the tomb and pay respects, mainly from the outer provinces. In fact we were asked by one family if we could have our picture taken with them as they had never before seen a westerner. At sunset there is a military flag raising ceremony and the square lights up. Like most things in China the square is on a vast scale.
The Forbidden City - From Tiannamen Square you can go straight into the Forbidden City (how ironic) here you can see the beautiful traditional architecture of the chinese emperors and (only if you are tall) see the Dragon throne of China which is mobbed by hundreds of people. There are beautiful gardens and some very ornemental statues and artifacts, it is almost like an open air museum. The Forbidden City can be very crowded and some areas are roped of for restoration in preparation for the Olympics. However its a must see if you are in Bejing.
The Great Wall of China - No visit to China would be complete without a visit to the great wall. Created to repel Mongol hordes over the centuries, at one point every third main in China was conscripted to work on the wall. A substantial section can be found a short coach journey from Bejing. Fighting you way past a large number of tat stalls and vendors trying to sell you junk you come to the wall. I walked along it for a couple of miles until I came to a section where the stairs were demolished. The experience was amazing with fantastic views and a real feeling of amazment that you are indeed walking on the great wall. A word of warning is in order in that some of the sections are very very steep and require decent fitness.
These are the main highlights, we also visited Peoples park, where people sing patriotic songs in large groups (but it rained unbelieveably hard) and the Summer Palace where there are amazing lotus ponds and in fact the largest man made lake in the world. We also visited Ming Tombs where you can see among other things genuine Ming Vases and GoldenChopsticks.
Xian ==== From Bejing we flew to Xian, one of th most important historical cites in China. Important because they are still finding huge amounts of artifacts through archeological digs, important because the emperors Winter Palace is there and important because it houses the Terracotta Warriors. The city itself was pretty unremarkable and generally we were driven directly to attractions. Upon reaching Xian we changed guides to a man called Chen who was frankly hillarious. He was obsessed with the Tang Dynasty and would explain with great enthusiasm but, he sounded exactly like the counsellor in South Park, 'm'kay'. He also referred to the Terracotta warriors as th Terry-Cotta warriors and this was most amusing. He was a fantastic guy and added tremendous flavour to the experience.
Terracotta Warriors - The Terracotta Warriors are world famous and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a mausoleum of the Emperor Qin and was rumoured to take 700,000 workers 38 years to build. When you are there you are ushered into a large chamber where you can see ranks of the warriors in restored condition. However there are only a few hundred of the thousands of warriors assembled and a lot of them smashed into pieces. The effect is impressive though not amazing and I may have been slightly dissapointed. You can buy terracotta warriors of any shape and size (including lifesize) and have them shipped to you. You can also have a book signed by the guy who found the site, hes a chinese pesant who looks very happy with his lot in life.
Xian, Other Attractions - We were also taken to the Emperors Summer palace, which is basically a mountain. Here there are beautiful gardens and statues of the seven beauties of china (apparently china has 10,000 years of history but only 7 beauties) I thought they wern't that great looking. We also went to the Wild Goose Pagoda, where a buddist monk saw a goose and built a massive seven story pagoda, it was very interesting to see a real buddist temple. Finally we were taken to a chinese art gallery where artists teach you to paint in the Chinese style and paint pictures in front of you. This was really enjoyable.
Chongqing ========= From Xian we flew to Chongqing a city I had never heard of but which is actually the most populated city in China with over 30,000,000 people in it. Chongqing also may as well say 'under construction' there is an unbelievable level of construction here, they are literally rebuilding the city. It is polluted and pretty foul, you cannot stand outside without your eyes starting to redden and stream. It is a demonstration of the price China is paying for its rapid development. Fortunately we were just hear to board our ship to cruise down the Yangtze river.
The Yangtze =========== We had a three day trip down the river to Wuhan with stops of at Feng Du (Chinese Heaven), the three gorges dam and a trip down a tribuitary. The ship was great and it was the first time I had ever been on a cruise. There was quite a lot to do on board from Tai Chi lessons to Acupunture and massage. I must say on one night a few of us had a heavy drinking session on deck and made large beer can pyramids. We all swore that we would get up for the exercise the next morning. I was the only one who made it but didn't realise that it was in the same place as our night time shenanigans and all the cans etc were still there. With all the people shaking their heads and bemoaning todays youth I may have just nodded along and said it was terrible. There was also a very annoying prissy American tour guide.
The Three Gorges - It was probably a picture of the three gorges which inspired me to book this holiday, cruising through them was amazing with the steep sides looming over you. Its a breathtaking site and the last chance for anyone to see them. Why? because the dam is causing the water to rise hundreds of meters, this will not only lessen the effect of the gorges but is actually displacing over a million people. Anywhere else in the world this would be front page news, you can see markings all along the river where whole towns will be submerged. The river flows brown nowadays, a sign of foresting causing mass erosion. The rising waters will also flood many historical sites, some of which are being moved to higher ground brick by brick many of which will never be seen again.
Feng Du - We stopped off at Feng Du, Chinese Heaven, here you can see some amazing statues, and take part in some challenges that young men had to do to impress their betrothed. Including lifting a massive weight (I had no chance, nor anyone else in the party), running a huge flight of stairs in one breath (did this) and crossing bridges in particular orders for luck. In China Heaven is red and hell is blue this is an interesting contrast. On site is chinese hell, where parents tell disobedient children they will end up, it is basically large numbers of wax figures torturing each other. There is the lord of hell and some apocolyptic paintings that look suprisingly christianin design.
Rafting - The highlight of the cruise was being taken down one of the tributaries on a raft. Here you are placed on a bamboo raft an pulled along by locals who wade and drag the rafts on bamboo ropes. Up to 3 years ago they used to do this naked, now for modesties sake they wear loincloths. They sing songs as they drag you along and one was superstitious
Pictures of China in general
Great Wall
enough to want to just touch my wife's hair as blonde hair is not seen and good luck. It is amazing to see their homes which are shacks at the side of the river, only accessible by canoe. This was an amazing part of the trip where you felt you really were in undisturbed territory.The Dam and Wuhan - We went and saw the dam, which is impressive and contains a ship elevator which was good technology. Wuhan is not known as the furnace city for nothing and temperatures were as high as 42 on the day we were there, this was far too much for me and I just wanted to be on the coach. How people live in it is beyond me.
Shanghai ======== As I mentioned we took a three day break in Shanghai, without a guide (erk). This was an interesting experience, Shanghai is a city which on the face of it appears to be like any western city like Paris or London. There are huge skyscrapers, designer clothes stores, McDonalds (known in China as the American embassy) and as usual massive construction projects. However go two streets down from any main thoroughfare and you see a different picture of poverty and a more traditional chinese lifestyle. Even in Chinese I managed to navigate the underground passes and even book a ship ride round the port. I also went into a chinese supermarket where I may have been the forst western person to set foot and was amused to see people coming up to peer in my basket to see what I would buy. Shanghai is a microcosm of the old and the new in China.
Shanghai has the only working Maglev train capable of speeds of over 500km per hour. My wife insisted on going and so we did. It was a fun experience traveling at such speed on the ground in perfect comfort. The fact that they have made this wheras all western countries think it is too expensive shows China's attitude of 'sod the cost, we want one'. I think this is something in their psyche and is to be applauded.
Shopping ========= There are lots of shopping opportunities in China, jade, pearls, silk and tea are some of the big draws here. On an organised tour we were taken to factories making all of the above. Here you can buy official mechandise with import certificates and get a very interesting demonstration of how the things are made. If you are not importing for sale I suggest waiting till you can get away from government stores and buy in the cities.
Further down from this are the discount stores. Here you can haggle to your hearts desire. I am very good at this but the shopkeepers are experts. Remember always counter ridiculously low. If they say £10 counter with 3p because if you say £5 you will end up paying £6 if you say 4p you will end up paying 25p. Whatever you end up paying know that they are making a decent profit. Clothing, tea sets, bags and electronics can all be had for very cheap prices if you are willing to put in the time haggling. When they are clinging onto you as you threaten to move to the store next door selling the same things then you are on a winner. I picked up 3 full length silk dresses for under £10 for the lot.
At the lowest end of the scale are the hundreds of people who will come up to you and try to sell you postcards, fans, watches, books, guides and the rest. These can had for next to nothing. We had a 20yuan challenge, who could get the best stuff for 20 yuan (£1.50) I think my entry was 10 fans. It is fun stuff but don't be afraid to tell people to get lost, they won't be offended and there will be another coach along for them later.
Entertainment and Nightlife ====================== We had some amazing evenings. We saw a Tang Dynasty dance where if you have seen the film Hero they did the crazy dance with the long sleeves. There was also a guy playing a traditional piped instrument who sounded terrible but thought he was god's gift to music. I was not pleased at his 10 minute oncore. The dancing and constume was amazing.
We saw traditional chinese opera where the makeup for the actors can take a whole day. There is martial arts, tumbling and great singing. The plot was unfathomable but the amazing fight scenes more than made up for it. This was the best of the evening entertainment.
China is world famous for its acrobats and we went and saw a show in Shanghai. The acrobats were amazing but the contortionists defied belief. At one point a woman balanced 18 full glasses on her body while being held up by one hand. You cannot imagine what these people could do. I predict serious medical issues later in life.
One night a few of us split off from the main group and decided to see some of Bejing for ourselves. Asking our guide for "somewhere good to go" he wrote an address in chinese and told us to show it to a taxi driver. It could have said anything, please mug these foolish tourists was high on the list. The taxi had the most hillarious rules in it (pictured) including no psychos or dumping. We arrived at an amazing lake surrounded by bars and nightclubs. We hired boats and really enjoyed ourselves and then in front of us was.....
A Tintin themed nightclub!!!!! That is not a typo, in the middle of Bejing they have a whole nightclub decked out to Herge's creation. The cocktails were Captain Haddock and Snowy (milk based and disgusting). I can honestly say I have never had such a surreal experience.
The People ========== China is a changing culture and the people you will meet reflect that. Our first guide bemoaned the old days when health and education were provided by the state and it was not neccesary to work to pay rent on an apartment. The second was the complete opposite, he and his friends pooled all the money they earned to buy, renovate and sell on properties, he had really caught the capitalist bug. Susan, the 17 year old Work Experience student was obsessed with Manchester United and spoke perfect English this was amazing. You really come to appreciate how much effect China will have on the world when you meet girls like her and realise there are millions and millions more ready to bring their skills out. On the whole people were curious but polite and even on my own I did not feel unsafe in the cities.
The Cuisine ========== On the tour all meals were provided and generally of a reasonable standard. They were what you would expect of a chinese takeout in the UK, sweet and sour, black bean dishes and lots of rice and dumplings. Breakfasts were western style. If I have a complaint on the tour it is that we got served the same thing over and over for lunch and dinner. Even though there was a large range of dishes, this was repetative. Chopsticks are a must here as no forks are around. Eating out is an option but I am unsure on the health implications. Drinks were usually beer, wine, tea or coke. The beer was decent the wine terrible.
In Shanghai we went all out, and went to one of the best restuarants where we had peking duck served to our table by an expert chef who cut it in front of us in exactly 100 cuts. This was an amazing meal and I have never had so much duck. The whole experience was marvellous.
Getting back ========== Getting back to the UK took us 42 hours, our plane got cancelled after a 7 hour delay with no notice. This was the only point of the holiday I really wished I had a guide. No one knew what the hell was happening and we were put up in the Communist Party Electrical Engineers Training Facility. As we had no Chinese money left and they would not take Stirling we could not even by a drink. At 5am I got a call in Chinese which could have been anything but I assumed it was a coach for a flight. It was and then after more frustrating hours dealing with missed connections we eventually got home. Knowing someone who speaks the language sure would have been helpful but as I'd booked the extension with no guide it was up to us. We coped.
Reccomendation ============== China is an amazing country full of wonderful sights, great people and makes for the perfect tour. It is an unforgettable experience I will always remember and what more can you want from a holiday.
Photos ====== All the photos were taken by me on the trip.
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excellent review. Would love to go to China. Would especially like to see the Terracotta Warriors and the great wall.
stiffy249 29.11.2007 23:45
superb review :)
gurji123 23.09.2007 16:16
Great review on China - gave a really personal and in-depth insight into Chinese culture - i feel infused with passion allready!
Really great job - i wish to go there in the future to experience diverse culture. Cheers for top review
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Advantages: educational,pleasant surroundings,good access for dissabled Disadvantages: There are few bus-services locally, and one should be prepared for a hike if not driving
JHPRUSHTON 29.07.2000 ·
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