TRAVELS In CHINA

 

By Dr. Tin-Kay Goh

 

 

Introduction to Fascinating China:

 

China is one of the most fascinating places to travel because it was closed to many foreigners till the later part of the 1970’s. In the last few years, facilities have improved tremendously, and internal transport is easy and comfortable. Yet, the cost of a tour is comparatively cheap partly because of the low cost of living in China and partly because of the lower Chinese currency exchange rate that does not reflect its actual higher value.

 

 

Reasons for travelling to China

 

a) For most non-Chinese, the reason for going to China is out of curiosity for a place, much read about, but not actually seen. They will experience at first hand the civilization that is five thousand years old, the people that seem inscrutable but who are gentle and non-aggressive, food that pleases the palate, handicrafts that suggest patience and finesse, and places that connote a history of time as old as the Yangzte Gorges and as mystic as the Yellow Mountain mists and the Guilin Limestone Hills.

 

Also, the non-Chinese will see for himself/herself the true situation in China in relation to all those past and present reports about the human rights and religious freedom. To their surprise they will realize that the Maoist era has long been over and the economy is capitalist rather than socialist.

 

The Chinese people are generally open and friendly, and the normal people (called laobaixing) are too busy trying to improve their life-style, looking forward to own a fridge, a television, a car or a house. As long as their life-style is improving and there is peace and harmony around them, most Chinese are not interested in politics. Literacy rate is around 90% and life expectancy about 70 years, not bad for a population of 1.3 billion, clothed, fed and housed in an area about the size of Western Europe. In real terms, 20% of the world population lives on only 7% of the world's arable land.

 

The Chinese people are able now to enjoy security, peace and increasing prosperity, though a greater gap between the rural and the urban residents is appearing. Food, clothing, transport and goods, even electronic items, are relatively cheap. The people can afford to watch VCDs on their machines, look at television news and programs, and surf the Internet at the various Internet cafes (though certain sites are prohibited). They can read newspapers posted up in glassed-in display  frames at various wall sites all over the cities. Many are now able to travel outside China, and many young Chinese are receiving secondary and tertiary education in the West. Other than the Tibetans Buddhists and the Xinjiang Muslims, Chinese are mainly Hans and are not too religiously minded to worry about their right to worship.

 

Tourists can travel to any city unhindered. It is much safer for the tourist to wander about the main streets of Beijing than in New York or Francisco. MacDonalds and Kentucky Chicken fast food outlets are everywhere in the big Chinese cities, showing the Chinese love of the American life-style. Souvenirs in China are cheap and brand named clothing and goods can be attractive buys during sales.

 

 

b) For people with Chinese heritage living overseas, going to China is to find their roots or to renew ties. These Overseas Chinese are called Huaqiaos, and China welcomes them with slogans and approvals, irrespective of their present nationalities. The Chinese government is aware of the contribution of those who left the country, especially Chen Jiageng (aka Tan Kah Kee), whose memorial burial site in Jimei, Fujian, is as impressive as any imperial mausoleum. Like the Taiwanese and Hong Kong Chinese, the Huaqiaos from Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand have invested in Mainland China, turning the Southern coastal cities into prosperity zones.

 

c) For the students and scholars, there is so much to see and learn in Chinese archaeology, history, poetry, calligraphy, painting, ceramics, and handicrafts. There is literally history on the walls and in the architecture of ancient buildings everywhere in China. There are so many ancient historical sites with fascinating stories of the men and women that made the continual procession of 5000 years of Chinese culture. Chinese language courses are available at  major universities and it is possible for Western universities to send their students for a one-year bridging course in a Chinese university. There are also various shorter Chinese language courses in the major cities, and they give an opportunity for  insight onto the culture and geography of an ancient, and sometimes misunderstood and friendly Chinese nation.

 

d) For the Business people, China is the largest market in the world. However, business in China depends to a large extent on connections or guanxi, and foreign businessmen will require not only negotiation skills, but also a knowledge of "who" in addition to "what" works the system. It is advantageous to know the custom, the business entertainment and the language. Private enterprises are springing all over China to take over from the outdated or non-profitable state-owned enterprises. Opportunity abounds for those who can see and understand the Chinese method of doing business.

 

 

Types of Tour

 

There are so many places to see in China that one has to put one's priority in terms of time, cost and places to go to. A new visitor should take an introductory trip to the most famous sites, whilst the well read and culturally oriented may opt for special sight-seeing tours. China needs to be slowly digested, instead of  swallowed.

 

For the first timer, taking a reasonably priced and fully catered tour like those offered by China International Travel Service (CITS) and China Travel Service (CTS) will be the best option. This type of tours provides English speaking guides and takes you to Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing and Wuxi, all cities famous for Chinese culture and history. Alternatively, the first timer may opt for shorter tours to individual cities and their surroundings. Most Western airlines will fly through Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Beijing  or Shanghai, so it is worthwhile seeing these places en route. The first trip to China is usually the beginning of an addiction to return for more.

The motivated traveler may go for:

·        Famous scenic sites like Guilin, the Three Gorges, Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong natural reserves in Sichuan, Wuyishan in Fujian, Zhangjiajie in Hunan, Stone Forest in Yunnan, Silk Route to West China or Lhasa in Tibet.

·        Ancient Historic Cities, including Imperial Capitals of Xian, Loyang, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Beijing. These exciting sites will be covered individually in subsequent part of the China the Beautiful Travel section.

·        Famous Chinese Food Dish areas like Beijing for Peking Duck, Tiangjin for Goubuli dumplings, Hangzhou for Beggar's Chicken and Dongpo Rou (Su Dongpo's meat), Shaoxing for choudoufu (smelly beancurd), Jinhua for huotui (ham), Fuzhou for Fo Tiao Qiang (Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Dish), Chendu for Ma Po Doufu and Sichuan hotpot, Kunming for huotui (ham), Guangzhou for sharkfin soup and crab meat at the famous Guangzhou Restaurant and Taotaoju dimsum and ginger-onion chicken. Among beers, Qingdao is most famous in China..

·        Chinese Tea areas of Hangzhou (famous Longjin cha or Dragon Well Tea), Suzhou (Biluochun or Blue Spring Snail Tea), Wuyishan (Dahongpao or Big Red Robe Tea), Anxi in Fujian for Tie Guanying (Iron Guanying). The common tea in Cantonese restaurants, Pu Er, is from Yunnan

·        Confucianist sites: Shandong is the birth place of Confucius and Mencius. (This is also Chuge Liang's ancestral home). Besides Confucius Mansions and Confucius Temple, there is at the Confucius Forest, a temple for Yan Hui, his favorite disciple. The second largest Confucian Temple is in Beijing. Fuzimiao in Nanjing was a Confucian center, and the Confucian Dongling Academy at Wuxi tried to save the dying Ming Dynasty from the eunuchs to no avail.

·        Daoist sites: The Five Sacred Daoist Mountains are Taishan, (most climbed mountain in the world), Songshan, Huashan, HengshanBei and HengshanNan. The Zhou emperors and Qin Shi Huangdi went to perform rituals at Taishan. At the summit, Confucius remarked that the world was so small, whilst Mao Zedong remarked that the East was Red. Emperor Qianlong climbed it eleven times. Qingyang Palace is the oldest and largest Daoist temple in Chengdu, and Qingcheng Shan is the Daoist Mountain outside Chengdu.

·        Buddhist sites. The four famous peaks are Emeishan (Mt. Emei, the most holy of Chinese Buddhist sites), Putuoshan, Wutaishan and Jiuhuashan. Other sites are Leshan, Shao Lin Temple (where Boddhidhama, the First Patriach of Zen, faced the wall and meditated for nine years) and Guanxiao Xi in Guangzhou (where Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriach of Zen stayed).

·        Manchurian China: Harbin (for the Winter Ice Lantern Festival, Siberian Tiger Park and Japanese Germ Warfare Experimentation Base), Shenyang, the Manchu Imperial Capital, Jilin City to see icicles on pine and willow trees.

·        Sichuan Special: World heritage parks, Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong, are very pristine and beautiful. Other famous attractions are Emei Shan, Leshan, Mask changing, Sichuan Hot Pot dish, sites related to poets and men of letters like Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi (Su Dongpo), Li You, Huang Tingjian, Xue Tao, Guo Moruo.

·        Yunnan Special: This allows one to see the various southern ethnic groups of China as Yunnan has the most diversed linguistic and ethnic groups in China. The attractions of Lijiang ancient town, the cities of Kunming and Dali, the Stone Forest (Shilin), Xishuangbanna Dai area, Shangrila, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Lugu Lake with the interesting Mosu matriarchal society where women have many husbands.

·        Sites of the Romance of the Three Kingdom (famous Chinese novel): Chuge Liang's Temple in Chengdu, and areas of Sichuan, Changjiang (Yangtze River) and Hunan, the famous historical sites of the wars during the Three Kingdom Period of the declining years of the Eastern Han Dynasty.

·        New archaeological sites like Sanxingdui in Sichuan, Nan Yue Wang Mu (Southern Yue Tomb) in Guangzhou, recent kiln site at New Territories in Hong Kong and the Han Tombs in Xian and Henan. The greatest attraction in our lifetime may be the opening of the tomb of Qin Shi Haungdi, which is said to have traps and mercury vapor.

·        Sites for overseas Chinese Dialectal groups (Hakka, Cantonese, Fujianese, Shanghainese): Hakka people would like to see their ancestral villages in Yongding in Fujian (site of Round Houses), Meixian in Guangdong, They may want to see Sun Yatsen's birthplace in Zhongshan, Guangdong, the birth place of Hong Xiuquan, (leader of Taiping Rebellion) at Jintianchun in Guiping, Guangxi or Luding Bridge in Sichuan where the Manchus eliminated the remaining Taiping Hakka Rebels ( incidentally the site where Mao Zedong Long Marchers were able to charge across the burning bridge and escape the Kuomintang forces). In addition to the Hakkas, Guangdong also have two large dialectal groups, the majority Cantonese and the minority Chaozhou (Teochew) people. In Fujian, the main groups are the MinNan (Xiamen/Quanzhou), Fuzhou and the Xinhua (Putian) people. Shanghainese, being the more urbane and Westernized of all Chinese, enjoy returning to their modern city, appropriately called the Jewel of the Orient. Cycling and Hiking Tours can be arranged with the tour companies prior to arrival in China.

 

Highlights of usual Tourist Sites.

 

There are so many beautiful cities, each with its own characteristics and history. I will append below those, which I consider as the six best cities to visit:

• Beijing, literally Northern Capital. The city is impressive with the world's largest public square at Tian An Men. The east-west main road, Chang An Avenue, divides the city into north and south halves, passes Tian An Men, and has twelve lanes, each side with five motor vehicle lanes and a bicycle/pedestrian lane. One should try to stay at a hotel along Chang An Avenue or near to it. The Great Wall of China, has a number of sites, including the more touristic Badaling, and the more historically famous Mutainyu, where Cao Cao of the Three Kingdom period destroyed his enemy, Yuan Shao. The Ming Tombs, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Yiheyuan (Summer Palace), Jingshan Park, Beihai Park, the Lama Temple, the hutongs, Yuanmingyaun (old Summer Palace destroyed by the Anglo-French forces under the command of Lord Elgin and Charles Gordon) and Prince Gong's Residence are not to be missed. A day trip can be made to nearby cities of Tianjin and Chengde, or to see the Dream of Red Chamber Park (Daguanyuan) or the Peking Man excavation site at Zhoukoudian.
• Xian, previously called Chang An, was the capital of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi. Its City Wall and Bell Tower are impressive, as is the world famous Terra Cotta Army. The First Emperor's mausoleum is still unopened. One can see various imperial tombs, especially the tomb of Wu Zetian, the most famous Chinese Empress during the Tang Dynasty. Huaqing Pool is the hot-spring bath site of Yang Guifei, the concubine of Tang Ming Huang, who was the grandson of Wu Zetian. Incidentally, Huaqing is also where Chiang Kai Shek was detained by his own general, Zhang Xueliang, who forced Chiang to sign an anti-Japanese pact with Zhou Enlai, representing the Communists of Mao Zedong. Banpo Neolithic Village excavated in 1953 shows the 4500 B.C. Yangshao culture.
• Shanghai, the economic center of China, offers Chinese cuisine, acrobats, theatres, concerts, trade exhibitions, reminiscence of past Western occupation and a wonderful shopping for ladies at Nanjing Lu and Huaihai Lu. The Yuyuan Bazaar area reveals the glamour of Old Shanghai with many shops and restaurants for the locals and tourists. The famous Xiaolongbao Shanghainese buns can be tasted here. One has to experience a walk at the Bund, a boat ride along the Huangpo at night to see Shanghai by night, and a view from the top of Pearl Tower to see Shanghai by day. Modern China evolves around Shanghai as much as Beijing. The Shanghai Museum is worth a visit, and it has many books on China in English, French and German. The first meeting of the Communist Party was in Shanghai, and the residences of Sun Yatsen, Zhou Enlai, Lu Xun's and Song Qinglin homes are all well preserved for visitors. Lu Xun's memorial hall at Lu Xun Park, Hongkou, deserves a visit and the park also gives the opportunity to see the Chinese people spontaneously enjoying Taiqichuan exercises, Qigong, Sword dance, Fan dance, operatic singing, Western dancing and games.
• Hangzhou, acknowledged by the ancient Chinese (together with Suzhou) as "Paradise on Earth", is famous for its share of literati, silk, green tea and beautiful women. Hangzhou was the capital of the Eastern Song Dynasty and its impressive West Lake has been related to the famous poet governors like Bai Juyi and Su Dongpo. The Causeway at West Lake was also the meeting place of Madam White Snake and her lover. The Song patriot, Yue Fei, was buried at Hangzhou with a temple given in his memory. A day trip can be made to Shaoxing, 67 km away, to see Lu Xun's home, Zhou Enlai's ancestral home (his birth place was actually Huai An along the Grand Canal) and the mausoleum of King Yu, founder of the Xia Dynasty.
• Suzhou, the origin of the Wu Kingdom, has the Taihu Lake, and the story of the famous beauty, Xi Shi, who seduced the King of Wu, Fuchai, making him neglect his kingdom and allow her own Yue king, Goujian, to destroy Wu. (Every Chinese schoolboy knows that Goujian earlier lost his kingdom to Wu and swore to regain it by tasting a drop of bitter bile daily till he had destroyed Wu.) Suzhou has small canals, thus claiming the name of Venice of China. It is possible to take a trip along the Grand Canal starting or ending at Suzhou. Few people know that the Grand Canal is the second man-made structure that can be seen by the astronauts in space. Suzhou has the most beautiful Chinese gardens.
• Nanjing, literally Southern Capital. This was the capital of the first Ming Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang (Hong Wu), and later the capital of the Kuomintang government. There are at Zilingshan three main sites, comprising of Sun Yat Sen memorial, the Tomb of Hong Wu, the Linggu Pagoda. Other Nanjing sites are the Ming City Wall and Gates, Yangzi River Bridge, Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) and museums (Nanjing, Taiping, Nanjing Treaty History and Nanjing Massacre). At Yangshan Quarry, 35 km from Nanjing there is an interesting giant stone tablet that Hong Wu's son, Yong Le, tried to erect in his father's memory, but it was too large to be moved to Nanjing.
• Chengdu, capital of the Shu Kingdom of Liu Bei, whose Prime Minister, Zhuge Liang, was the role model of loyalty, intelligence and honor for Chinese men. The famous sites are Wuhou (or Zhuge Liang's) Temple shared with Liu Bei, River Viewing Pavillion Park, Du Fu's Cottage, Daoist Qingcheng Shan, Panda Breeding Research Base and Wang Jian's Tomb with a complete Tang Musical Troupe of different musical instruments. Chengdu is the staging point for Dujiangyan Water Conservation area, (an engineering feat of water irrigation by Li Bing), Emeishan, Jiuzhaigou- Huanglong (equal to or surpassing Guilin in natural beauty), Leshan, Meishan (Su Dongpo's family home), Kangding (origin of famous Kangding Song) and Luding Bridge. Sichuan food, opera and bianlian, the art of facial mask change, must be experienced.

 

Do’s and Don'ts

 

China is relatively safe in the major cities and on tourist routes. However, as in all foreign travel, one must be prepared for eventualities and take certain precautions.

• Inform your embassy or consulate of your arrival and your Itinerary. " Try not to travel alone unless you can speak the local language or Mandarin (Putonghua). Even then, a single traveler should keep to the beaten track. Sharing costs will be economical for two or more.
• Stay in reasonably good hotels. Most three or four star hotels are reasonably priced and will  change your foreign currency. Four star hotels have English speaking staff and can provide fax, email and internet services. Give your movement to the front desk so that the hotel staff will be aware of your return. They also provide free maps and safe deposit boxes.
• Do not carry expensive items like jewellery and gold watches that will attract attention. A boat load of rich Taiwanese were killed for their possessions some years back. If you carry or purchase anything valuable, keep it in an envelope in the safe-deposit box at the hotel.
• South China has mosquitoes, so carry an insect repellent to rub on your body. Also carry some tablets for diarrhea, allergy and fever/pain. Otherwise, pop over to the doctor who will check you for a small fee, inclusive of medication. Be sure to tell him if you are allergic to any medication. If you know the medication and the diagnosis, the drug store will usually sell you the drug without prescription.
• North China is very cold in the winter, so bring warm clothing. You can buy warm clothing cheaply in Beijing or Harbin. Do not forget to have a long john, woolen scarf and good gloves and shoes. Harbin can go to minus 30 degrees Celsius. If you use cameras in subzero temperature, try to get a pair of gloves that can open to reveal the finger tips for fine maneuvering, and close back again for warmth. Also, make sure your camera can work in subzero temperatures.
• Keep your passport and spare cash at the safe deposit box in the hotel or in a body belt at the waist. An exposed bum bag (moneybag) can tempt a robber with a mere penknife. Many large departmental stores accept credit cards. When traveling, bring along a hotel card or match box, so that the taxi can know exactly the location of your hotel on your return. Similarly, have your destination written in Chinese on a piece of paper to show the taxi driver where you are going. Spoken Mandarin has four tones, and even the same tone may mean  different words. One may end up at the different place because of the wrong sound.
• Always ask for the price if you take long taxi trips on your own. It is best to ask  the front desk instead of the bell boy to arrange a deal. Once you have agreed on a price, which should be inclusive of all toll gate fees, write the driver's name and vehicle number down and give to the front desk before you leave the hotel. Transport is cheap by buses and trains, though taxis are more convenient.
• When cueing up at counters or at food outlets, be aware of cue jumpers who push their way in. Smiling at them and showing them to line up will solve the issue. It is true that some young Mainland Chinese have no moral, modesty or manners.
• If you are not interested in an item, do not ask about it out of curiosity because the seller will continue to hassle. If you bargain and agree to a price, try to pay exactly the same amount and do not expect change. Some sellers may just walk away without giving back the change, especially in Xian and Badaling. Carry a lot of loose change. For good bargains at small stalls, you need cash. Usually a half price bargain will secure a buy. Some departmental stores may give a small discount.
• Tipping is common. Carrying your luggage to the room may be rewarded with five yuan (about US 60 cents). Taxi drivers, waitresses and hotel front desk staff do not expect tip.
• Do not discuss too much about politics and religion because the usual Chinese are not keen to talk to foreigners about issues that cannot effect any change. Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang are heated subjects for the patriotic Chinese.
• Do not join any demonstration because the tourist or visitor is considered a guest, and it is rude for a guest to insult his host by participating in Chinese issues that do not involve him. If you are traveling in Tibet and Xinjiang, the pro-Dalai Lama activists and the Muslims may want Westerners' sympathy and provide the Western tourists with antigovernment literature. It may be appropriate to sympathize without carrying compromising material.
• Bring along good guide books. The Lonely Planet for China is one of the best. Other good guide books are Harrap Guides Bleus "China", The Rough Guide to China, Fodor's China, Let's Go China and Frommer's China: The 50 Most Memorable Trips. " Learn some Chinese greetings and common questions and answers. Better still carry a simple Chinese dictionary. Any Chinese bookshop will have cheap dictionaries, which feature both English to Chinese and Chinese to English, as well as the Pinyin (Anglicized) sounds. One of the best is a small yet comprehensive bilingual red colored, light weight dictionary published by Commercial Press and Oxford University Press called Concise English-Chinese, Chinese-English Dictionary. This can be purchased very cheaply from any bookshop in China.
• Internet cafes are usually full of cigarette fumes, so it may be safer to use the hotel internet service if the cost is not prohibitive. I have yet to see a Chinese internet cafe that bans smoking. It is amazing to see the many Chinese youths taking up smoking.
• Essential travel items include pen, diary, multipurpose Swiss knife, sunscreen, alarm clock, all variety plug adapters (each province will have different type of plug socket), battery chargers for mobile phone and cameras, torch light, maps. Place all pen knives, nail cutter, scissors and sharp objects into your suit case for check in rather than carry with you into the plane.
• Drink from sealed bottles, cans or packets, or boiled water from the hotel. Try to avoid July and August in Chonqing, Nanjing and Wuhan which are considered the furnace areas of China. Do not eat any cold food from hawkers.
• Do not have over-weight luggage  when flying. Foreign and domestic airline regulations are followed strictly by the bureaucratic Chinese staff. You may have to pay  exorbitant fees for excess baggage. If you are traveling in a group, check in as a group rather than separately. 
• Send books home  via sea mail  through the post office as this is cheaper. The helpful post office staff will provide the cartons and pack them for you.
• Check the spelling of your name on your airline ticket to match your passport. Do not rectify any airline ticket detail yourself as any unauthorized change invalids the ticket.
• Always smile because the Chinese like to feel that the visitor is happy. A warm smile, even in a difficult position, will always be better.