View 0 photos

After three fantastic days in Chengdu-China's southwest Sichuan Province, I took a 30 hours long train trip eastward to Shanghai.

For the soft sleeper bed too expensive, I'd booked myself  a "hard sleeper bed", which didn't sound too appealing, but I found it was OK - I had a mattress, pillow and quilt in the upper bunk of three in a berth of 6 beds. The companies were not too bad. A little fine old Chinese lady with her young daughter, who was really a cutie and I enjoyed a limited communication with her although she seemingly reluctant to have someone like me to talk to. Another girl ( a university student I guess) was much more active-too much talkative she was talking all the way with me perhaps for the purpose of practicing English and a young Chinese couple, ?didn't attempt to acknowledge me when I caught their eyes, so I assumed they didn't know English. But anyway, it is far luckier to have some companies on your way than being alone.

I slept like a log the first night and spent the next half day watching China going by. I gained glimpse of large rice paddies, lush hills ramshackle wooden houses, farmers working in the fields and people walking along the railway tracks.

Then came the lunch time. I whiled away a few hours in the restaurant car which stands in the middle of the train. The carriage was very empty having only train staff chatting away loudly and happily and a few other travelers –a group of 4 Chinese businessmen ( I guessed so) who were enjoying their food and talking. A handsome west guy, indulged in thinking while having his food. I said hello to him and was returned with another "Hello". I ordered myself " fried egg and pork" with "pain rice" and the staff there asked for 50 RMB(that's too much) so I tried to higgle with her but was told no bargaining here. I had to accept the absolutely unfair deal. But the food was delicately cooked and freshly seasoned . It appeared the Chinese had all brought instant noodles and they like to eat in their bed compartments. Soon the car was filled with a strong flavor of noodle.

The toilets however, ?were another story. You wouldn't want to go until desperate. They were the squat-type, dirty and smelly. They have to improve the toilets desperately.

On pulling into Shanghai, a prearranged car picked up me and headed to my hotel ( which was pre-booked through a travel agency, as a rule of thumb, you'd better have someone booked a hotel for you in advance in peak season as nice hotels usually overbooked China is packed so as the hotels here). While most taxi drivers are polite and faithful, there are some who tend to rip off foreigner. They take you running round and round of the city and then surcharge you. So I have a car arranged to pick me at each of my destination.

Shanghai is one of china's richest cities. As I got out of my car, I was dwarfed by the high skyscrapers around me. The city is dynamic, prosperous with almost everything you can find in a western city.

I had my next day wondering along the Huangpu River, an important waterway in the city. Tourist boats and vessels shuttle to and fro. ?The water, however was disgustingly brown due to heavy pollution. The river divides the giant city into two parts: the economically booming Pudong( the east of the Huangpu River) and the Puxi(the west part). The bund is absolutely a must-see. This waterfront place is lined with ancient Chinese architectures and some buildings of the western styles are also located here, thus justifies the saying the bund delivers a vivid image of the colonial culture here. I boarded on a subway heading for the famous Nanjing Road. In rush hour, the subway was terribly packed. This is China with 1.3 billion people and three quarters of the population is filled in big cities in the east coastline. Shanghai is currently the largest city in china, and I guessed it must be the most populated city, too. You could never imagine two or three people packed on your back in Canada or the United States, but it's true here. The elderly, very young and pregnant were taken special care of, and seats exclusively for them were set. China is a nation who respect the elder and take good care of the young. I saw those young, middle aged give their seats to these special cared groups.

Nanjing Road is a famous pedestrian shopping street. Many big brands can be purchased here. I have not yet to figure not how they afforded it as I compared the prices on shoes and clothes, they run close to is the west prices and most of the shops in the street are busy. In the after, I hopped a bus for Qingpu Water Village. Yeah it's really a village on water where the river crisscrossed the small town and boats were the main mean of transportation here. Walking along the aged slate streets by the rivers, watching the locals busy with their daily life was a very unique experience, which you may not afford in places elsewhere.. You could opted for a ride on a black-awninged boat waving on these tiny waterways. Many of the local population mainly live on tourism selling tourist souvenirs, offering cruise service.. I rented a small boat which might hold no more than 5 people. The boat owner, a middle aged woman was very kind and we had a happy conservation. despite she speaking very limited English.. I think when traveling in china, the most interesting thing is its people and I enjoyed to be with them, to talk to them, sharing their fun experiences.

After two day's stay in shanghai, I took a Flight to Beijing. Beijing, the Chinese capital is a giant city. I toured around the Hutong area by a pedicab in the afternoon. They had buildings called quadrangles inside which fill large courtyards. Hutong is the narrow slate street linking these fun courtyards. My guide had that Hutong was first built thousands of years ago, while it was still well preserved and is home to many.. I tried the famous Chinese food-hotpot for my supper. They set a small pot boiling on the coalfire and you cook sliced meat-mutton in the pot.. Seasoning is up to you.. Small jars with salt, garlic red pepper were lay beside the pot. I put a little pepper to the pot, but the pungent smell choked me. I found the atmosphere itself rather than the food was much more enjoyable. Groups of 4-5 or more around pot each filled the restaurant, everyone picking stuffs from the same boiling pot, a scene unique to China.

The grandest sights in Beijing could never overshadowed its nightlife. Too much was waiting for you at night. I picked up the Beijing Opera which was fairly loved by these foreign tourists. The theater was a huge one 3/4 filled while 90% was western. The opera was really, really Chinese. Characters were strangely made up. Their costumes were psychedelic and almost other-worldly. As a westerner, I only had a little idea what was going on.

I started my next day in Beijing strolling in some of the city's famous sights. First I hopped a taxi for the Tian'anmen Square, a large public gathering space as told by my guide book. And yeah, the place is wide the largest I have ever seen. I then headed instead for Tiannenmen Gate. The Gate is on the north side of the Square and is an impressive sight. It has 7 bridges crossing over to its 5 entrances and is flanked by two lions.

A way farther led me to the Forbidden City. The Chinese ancient palace was loaded with tourists. The complex was huge and impressive which contains 800 buildings and 9000 chambers. It was so named for commonfolk were barred to entry during the imperial rule. . These well preserved ancient architectures really, really worth visiting. I spent more than 3 hours exploring the site.

The Great Wall of China was by far the most amazing of all the sites I saw in Beijing. To avoid the crowds, I chose the less visited Simatai Section. I was met by some local village "guides" who want to take us up to the Wall on a hike through a valley. The way was tough - steep, stony paths and quite a large vertical distance to cover left us all puffing considerably at the top - but here I was, at a tower of the Great Wall! I paid the entrance fee and preceding along the partly restored wall. The next three hours were tough in parts - it was generally uphill all the way, up steep steps, along narrow walkways with sharp drops and slopes where the steps had broken down. It was a glorious sunny day, and this area of the wall had surprisingly few tourists - we encountered only 1 other group near the start, who quickly moved away from us as we stopped to admire the views and catch our breath. On top, gazing the wondering lone line I marveled at the magnitude of the structure. I got my hotel with sore legs in the later afternoon. But the timeless beauty of the Great Wall greatly nursed me.

That's part of my china story. China is a great country that offers incomparable things. The extraordinary natural scenery, splendid culture, delicious food(er I really enjoyed them), everything justifies several days' stay. ?