Beginning the tour!

Day 3  Thursday, November 14, 2019   Shanghai and Suzhou

Janet is with Jack, her seat mate during the 13-hour flight to Beijing. This photo is from when we arrived at the tour-in-progress on Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Even though we were just beginning, it was Day 3 (of 15) according to UTO's itinerary.

All seven of us from the UTO tour were on the 5 am shuttle back to the Beijing Airport. We got there plenty early, and it was a good thing since the check-in line was so long. I left the to buy Janet and me each a cup of coffee, and they were $5 each! We eventually got checked in and our boarding passes, and Janet and I went to our gate, and Jack went with the others to theirs so he could wait with his brothers. Janet and I had a bowl of noodles for breakfast, a preview of common foods to come.

They served a meal on the 2 hr 30 min flight, and it had some strange stuff. I asked the stewardess what one of the items was, and she said that she did not know the English word for it.

We found a UTO guy at the Shanghai Airport, and he escorted us for the over-one-hour drive into downtown. We eventually passed some wonderful scenery and I asked questions, but the escort was not too talkative.

At the destination on Nanjing Road, our guide, Steve, was waiting for us, but the other 19 people in our group were off finding lunch and looking around. I asked Steve what we had missed on the city tour that morning, and he said that they had seen only the Bund. Thus, it had not been much of a city tour! The four from the other airport hadn't arrived yet, so Jack, Janet and I wandered off down the street to see some sights. As happened so often during our days in China, we were left on our own.

Nanjing Road is the world's longest shopping district, around 5.5 km (3.4 miles) long, and attracts over 1 million visitors daily. We were on the eastern end of it, which is the main shopping street of this entire city. The street is named after the city of Nanjing, capital of the province to the northwest.

This was an attractive arcade front, with the signs and flowers. East Nanjing Road here is a dedicated commercial zone. At its far eastern end is the central section of the Bund. Immediately west of the Bund precinct was traditionally the hub of European-style restaurants and cafes.

This old street car was now a little cafe. Nanjing Road dates to when the Europeans dominated this part of Shanghai, so there was a decidedly European look to the buildings.

We liked the signage and "cartoon" characters on this store.

It was indeed busy there. We also got our first taste of how all the scooters weave in and around pedestrians, and typically ignore traffic signals. You had to watch out!

At the appointed time, we all met back with Steve, with the luggage from us seven late comers. We gradually met some of the others, and explained how we missed our flights the night before. We all walked a few blocks to another street where the bus met us, and we were on our way to Suzhou ("sue-joe"). It was a 60-mile drive due west, but took a very long time due to traffic. We were amazed at all the high-rise apartment building along the entire route. Shanghai has 24 million people, Suzhou has another 11 million, and it was solid city the entire distance between the two.

This map shows our four-city route over the next several days. Suzhou is west of Shanghai, then Wuxi is a little northwest at the top of Taihu Lake, and Hangzhou is to the south below the lake. We then returned to Shanghai.

Along the way, Steve did a lot of talking. Here's what I wrote in my notes: 1) 80% of their electricity still comes from burning coal; 2) until 1980, they also burned coal in the homes, but switched to propane tanks; 3) air quality is bad, so they get only 150 days a year of sunshine; 4) in 1990, they stopped burning crops following the harvest to improve air quality; 5) Among the 10 most polluted cities in the world, China has seven;

6) "APEC Blue" refers to the rare blue sky in Beijing during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in 2014, because the government shut down 56 coal factories for a month to clear up their skies to impress the attendees. Also, roughly 10,000 factories in the regions surrounding Beijing were forced to suspend production during APEC, and an additional 39,000 ran on reduced schedules to alleviate pollution. Around 11.7 million vehicles were kept off the roads by a ban on alternative days on cars with even- or-odd-numbered license plates. All of this did allow the Beijing skies to turn blue, but at a huge economic cost to the affected businesses and workers. (Essentially the gov't said: "Tough beans, you guys.") Because of its transience, the new phrase "APEC blue" refers to something being wonderful but also fleeting;

7) After 1950, the Cultural Revolution began. Mao prohibited religion, and burned down the temples; 8) Motorists must pay 85,000 yuan ($12,000) to be able to drive on the elevated parts of the freeways during rush hours, 7 to 10 am, and 4 to 7 pm; 9) China has 100 electric car companies. By 2030, only electric cars will be allowed. Steve mentioned numerous financial incentives the government provides so that people will buy electric cars, such as no 85,000 yuan fee to use the elevated freeway lanes; 10) China imports 60% of their oil.

11) During Chinese New Year, the big cities "empty out" as people head west to their home towns and families. Prior to the bullet trains in 2008, 400 people would crowd into train carriages meant for 160 because the slow trains (120 km/hr - 74 mph) took up to 34 hours to reach their destinations. Now, the trains go 300 km/hr - 186 mph) and the trip lasts only 9 hours. Thus, the carriages are no longer overcrowded; 12) women tend to act "helpless". Traditional culture has always placed men above women. Men are thought to be superior. Men are the breadwinners, women are the caretakers and are expected to deliver a son.

Once we reached Suzhou, our first stop was Master of the Nets Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating from 1140. The painting above showed the villa's general layout, with the home on the right, and the gardens to the left. Steve explained the traditional layout and how visitors would arrive and be welcomed, depending on their status.

"The garden demonstrates Chinese garden designers' adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery."

Steve was explaining where and how the men sat and talked, versus the women. The men sat in the interior of the square, and would stare straight ahead and show no emotion as they spoke, to mask any fears or enthusiasm that might be exploited. The women sat outside the inner square, and would speak to each other (but not to the men!) more openly. Steve also pointed out that unmarried women had to sit in chairs with no backs, as an unspoken encouragement to accept a man's hand in marriage.

This is one of many carvings in the walls of the villa. Going from room to room, we had to step over high sills, and Steve said that the higher the sill, the more prominent the citizen and his status. The villa and gardens had various owners over the centuries who made additions and changes, and finally the owner in 1958 donated it to the government.

This mosaic on the ground leading to the gardens had much symbolism, but I'm forgetting it. I recall the five darker sections surrounding it having special meaning. The garden was separated into themes representing the four seasons.

The rock formations around the pond were filled with students who were all sketching the scenery.

 The cypress tree dates to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). I don't have a photo of the pine that was said to be several centuries old. Anyway, the gardens were indeed attractive.

This was a carved carriage pulled by men, to transport the rich upper-class guys who would have owned such a villa.

Once back on the bus, we went to our hotel. Along the way, we saw this common sight - electric scooters. They buzzed everywhere in China! In recent years, scooters have almost completely replaced motorcycles. During our visit, we would always be amazed at how much stuff they would carry on their scooters, including all their kids. Some scooters looked like full delivery trucks, packed in front, on the sides, and up high at the back.

 I have no more photos for this day. Janet and I were so glad to finally check into our room so that we could take showers and put on CLEAN clothes for the first time since Monday morning in Monroe, OH. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant, but this turned out to be our least-favorite meal of the trip. We were too tired to seek a nearby restaurant. The hotel was new, and so were the waitresses!

Steve was in the restaurant to help us navigate the i-pad menu, but most of us still got something we didn't understand or like. Their beer was unrefrigerated, but many of us ordered it anyway. Janet and I agreed to a "spicy pork" dish, but the pork was like bacon, and the peppers were hard to eat.

Our friends from Boston (and Romania) at our table accidentally ordered a fish, complete with head and teeth, that cost 430 yuan ($61)!! They had no idea, and didn't even like the fish all that much. And since they didn't accept credit cards, Fatu had to return to his room to get the necessary cash. The boys (Jack, Ed, and Rob) ordered a chicken soup, and it was delivered with the whole, uncut chicken sitting in the pot! And they were given only chop sticks! They, of course, had to ask to have it prepared so they could actually eat it, so the waitress used forks to tear the meat from the bones.

We later heard other "horror" stories about what our group experienced at the restaurant. Steve tried to explain the next day that the new staff there was not yet experienced in how to serve Westerners, and he hoped we'd understand. He said that the hotel had nice "hard service" (its structure and furnishings) but poor "soft service" (from the staff).

Our group:

Eric Liposvetsk, New Jersey   (need your wife's and daughter's names, and your city)

Fatu, Boston  (need all names you're willing to provide!)

Janet Amuchastegui, Monroe, Ohio

Ken Mercurio, Monroe, Ohio

Giri and Sumi Giritharan, Toronto

Fred & Liling Chang,  Brea, CA

Latreace Ashford, Miami, FL

Tonja Jefferson, Miami, FL

Mike and Jeannette Rorich Yakima, WA

Audrey & Dave, San Jose, CA  (last name?)

Daokubo@gmail.com (Forgetting who this is)

Dave Wong, San Francisco

Andrea Chang, San Francisco

Benita, San Francisco  (need more)

Jugiff@optonline.net  (forgetting who this is)

Bob Gifford, Sayville, NY

Jack Gifford, Tucson, AZ

Peggy & Nick, Rowland Heights, CA

Ed Gifford, Sayville, NY

 The traditional beliefs of the Chinese culture has always placed the men in front of the women.  The men are thought to be the superior of the two genders.  The men are thought of as the breadwinners of the family and the women are thought of as the caretakers.  This belief has fed into the idea that men play a more important role in society, and also the more important gender. The traditional beliefs of the Chinese culture has always placed the men in front of the women.  The men are thought to be the superior of the two genders.  The men are thought of as the breadwinners of the family and the women are thought of as the caretakers.  This belief has fed into the idea that men play a more important role in society, and also the more important gender.