Cherry Blossom Adventures

We survived our train ride to Shanghai….We shared our room with a dutch couple who were lovely (and experienced with train travel across china!)…and while I slept Ok, I have decided that I am just one of those people that do not deal well with overnight sleeper trains.

We arrived in Shanghai and it wasn`t that we were tired, we just really wanted to have showers and lay down for awhile so after lunch our guide took us back to our hotel and we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Shanghai was much like any big city….I guess to me it seemed a lot like Tokyo or Sydney…lots of big buildings, traffic and lots of people. Compared to other places we visited in China, Shanghai was a lot younger so history wise there wasn`t as much to see.

On our second day in Shanghai we headed to Old China Town which is also where Yu Garden was. I really liked this area…with its traditional looking buildings and Chinese tea and Chinese sweet shops everywhere. We also visited the Yu Garden which was apparently built in 1559 by a private citizen although it is now owned by the government. It was amazing to see such a nice little garden in a big city like Shanghai…I loved how all the bridges were zigzagged…this is because Chinese people believe that the devil can only go straight…it can not go left or right. They also believe the devil can not jump which is why that many openings to temples have quite a large step to step over to get in. It is similar in Japan.

We also went to the Jin Mao Building…which I think is the third tallest building in the world (Or maybe it is northern Hemisphere)…The view, while a little bit smoggy, was great. I could see the river that flows through Shanghai and the different areas North and South of the river.

We walked along The Bund which runs along the Huangpu river. It is near a lot of banking buildings. From the bund we walked along Nanjing Road, a famous shopping street in Shanghai. It was actually hard to shop in China I found…maybe it was the heat (or lack of money on my part!) but I didn`t think the shopping was all that great….we went to a market in Beijing and I just can`t handle having people grabbing me and yelling at me to look at their handbags, shoes or whatever it is they are selling. I like to just walk around and look but most of the time it was impossible!

At night we saw an acrobatic show…Some of the people in this were really young…maybe the youngest person was 5 or so. I have no idea how they manage some of the stuff they did but it was definitely interesting to watch. I love watching people juggle too, there is something about it that makes me want to giggle.

Our last day in Shanghai was a bit of a rush…we ate breakfast and headed back to Old China Town to do some last minute gift shopping and then we went to the Jade Buddha Temple. I had read about this before visiting china and it wasn`t in our tour schedule but I was determined to see it since it isn`t everyday you get to see a Buddha made completely out of Jade.

I had no idea that the grounds were so extensive and we didn`t have time to see it all. But what we did see was awesome. I couldn`t take any photos of the most famous Jade Buddha (The sitting one) but I did get some other great photos of some other sections of the temple and its grounds. I don`t really know the history behind this Buddhist temple but from what I saw I am sure

The big reclining Buddha statue was actually a gift to china from Singapore…like I said I couldn`t get photos of the original sitting Buddha but I did see it. There were quite a few monks around the grounds too, and it was quite busy but I am glad I got to see it.

We got back to our hotel and got a call from our tour guide who had been trying to reach us since 9am. He was ringing to say our flight was delayed and that if we didn`t catch an earlier flight mum would miss her transfer in Tokyo so we had half an hour to have showers, pack (and we hadn`t done any at this stage) and get ready and rush out the airport. It was really rushed and we were running around and our plane was boarding by the time we got to the gate. It was kind of a stressful last day but overall our trip in China was amazing…I am not sure If I would ever get a chance to go back, but if I got the chance I wouldn`t say no!!!

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After Beijing we headed to Xian for two nights. Xian was one of China`s capital cities…it is considered one of the four great ancient capital cities of China because thirteen dynasties were here.We explored a little by ourselves on the first day and it was a lot more relaxing than Beijing had been just because there was less people (and no people jumping on you trying to sell you something!) and we actually had a little bit of time to ourselves. We went to the old bell tower which used to be used to signal the opening of the city wall and start of the day.

Our hotel was directly across the road from what they called the new city square and in the mornings when I looked out the window (at 7am) there were about 60 or so people doing Taichi, some others swimming in the fountain and others playing badminton. And there I was thinking it was way to early for anyone to be up let alone be up and doing exercise.

On our second day in Xian we visited the old city wall which was re-established in the Ming Dynasty (1370) however was originally built something like 2000 years ago. It was built to keep out enemies etc and you could see some of the really old weapons they used and also the windows where archers used to sit.

Before arriving at the terracotta warriors we stopped at a factory to see how they were made. The same process that they used 2100 years ago is what they use today. I found it amazing that 2100 years ago they thought to put the terracotta in a kiln to make it last. I bought a mini one for James as a gift and I also bought a Mahjong set for Shun at the factory (Well mum payed for it!)

The actual terracotta warriors were amazing. There really is no other word to describe them. Only discovered in 1974 when some farmers were digging a well during a drought (The whole area was farmland). The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, Qin Shi Huangdi built the army to guard his tomb and not one of the guards has the same hairstyle or facial expression as another. A lot of it was destroyed early on when it is said that General Xiang Yu and his army raided the tomb burning a lot of the wooden structures inside and looting many of the other areas destroying most of the army. But despite this when they were discovered in the 70`s most of them were still in various states of preservation…While a lot of them have now been restored you could still see different areas where the army was missing limbs or heads or knocked over. There are three vaults inside and the first one is the biggest with most of the warriors inside having already been restored. They are all lined up in army formation and the whole thing was just so cool to see.

That night we went to see a Tang Dynasty Cultural Show which displayed traditional dance and music from that period. The costumes, staging and lighting was amazing….We walked around the new city square later on that night. We had small children running up to us to say hello and practice there English. There was also millions of people rollerskating around and swimming in the fountain!

We ran out of time on the day we went to see the terracotta warriors to visit the Xian National Museum (Shaanxi History Museum) so we went on our last day. It has something like 300,000 artifacts dating from caveman times. IT was really interesting to see how the way they made things changed through the dynasties but I think my mum liked this museum a lot more than me.

We finished our time in Xian by enjoying a dumpling lunch!!!

Can you see the ones shaped like ducks?

We then boarded a overnight train to Shanghai…I think mum and I both agree that this is the last time we will ever catch an overnight sleeper train in China…It was definitely an experience though! I will try and get the update of Shanghai early in the week!

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Well I arrived back in Tokyo Sunday night after almost 10 days in China. I have actually uploaded photos already to flickr (I am proud of myself…It is is within a week of returning which is good for me!) and you can see them all here.

On Friday the 10th of August I left work early to head out to the airport to meet up with my mum so that we could fly to Beijing together. Uneventful flight and by the time we got to the hotel we were both pretty exhausted and it was already quite late so despite meeting our tour guide and driver (Both of whom were awesome!) for Beijing we basically just crashed. Good thing we had a good nights sleep because the next 3 days were filled with so much!!!

First up we visited Tiannamen Square and Zijincheng (Forbidden City). Inside the Forbidden City there are 9,999,5 rooms and while it has been rebuilt a few times the original design has stayed the same. It took awhile to actually get into the forbidden city due to the crowds and the different gates you needed to go through to get inside. I could see why people get lost!!

Next up we visited the temple of heaven. I found the story behind this temple really fascinating. The emperor used to visit three times a year to pray firstly for a good crop, secondly for good rain and thirdly to show gratitude. The building itself was amazing….I wished I could of gone inside to have a better look. It is one of four main temples in Beijing (The others include temple of sun, temple of earth and temple of moon, ) but unfortunately I didn`t get a chance to see the others.

Our first proper night in Beijing we went to see a Kung Fu Show which was actually so much better than I thought it would be. I recommend anyone to see it if they get the chance. The costumes and staging and story were amazing. I also ate proper Peking Duck (I have had it in Japan before also) and I am not that fussed…I don`t mind the duck meat but the skin is kind of yuck!

Day 2 took us to the Great Wall of China. I have now seen two of the seven wonders of the world!!! Our guide Velma brought her 5 year old daughter Pearl along since she had always wanted to climb the wall. It really was breathtaking and we were really lucky to have such a great day to climb it. Although i think half of the China population was on the wall the day we were there!!!

Visited the Ming Tombs and The Sacred Way also, which had different animals, generals, officials each of which was made from a signal stone. The carving was amazing and my photos really don`t do it justice. It was perhaps one of the most peaceful places I visited in China, with its weeping willow and nice gardens.

Third day took us to the zoo to see the giant panda`s. I knew that Pandas were special to Chinese people and a symbol for them but I had no idea how sacred they were. Apparently if a Chinese person harms or kills a panda then they will be sentenced to death. Despite this panda numbers a still very low since they are not maternal creatures therefore often leaving behind their young.

My guide also found out my fortune based on my zodiac animal and time of birth. Apparently Shumpei and I are very well matched and while in China most of the time anyone that gets married before 27 is said to have entered a fake marriage (Not there real one meaning it will end in divorce) however because shumpei and I are so well matched we could marry earlier and still have a successful marriage. In the year 2010 is a very good year for me which will bring about a major change that will make my life more happy and prosperous. It was interesting to hear about my fortune…I like this sort of thing but have never really paid much attention to it before.

Summer palace was up next after the zoo, and i liked it a lot more than the forbidden city. Perhaps because it was on a lake and it was nice to be somewhere a little bit cooler for a change. The summer palace basically was the summer holiday house for the emperors and empresses, in particular Empress Cixi who was originally a concubine but because quite powerful when her 3 year old son became emperor.

We also had tours of the Hutongs, back alleys of Beijing where we got to eat lunch in a typical Chinese persons house. It was the best food I ate the whole time I was there!!!!

Next stop Xian, home of the terracotta warriors….

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It may seem that i disappeared off the face of the earth but I was just without Internet for three weeks. But I am back, at least for today, since our Internet got connected last night. However I am off to China tomorrow so another blogging holiday will occur!!! Hopefully for only about 10 days or so!

We have moved into our new place. It is so nice to have space. And furniture other than some drawers and a bed, I am loving having a table…and a sofa! I have even gotten used to having to walk more than a minute to the closest train station (We are now 5 minutes away from Nakano station on foot!)

Shun has been very busy with work, coming home after midnight every night (Including most weekends) so we haven`t seen a lot of each other recently despite living together. He comes home after I go to sleep and I leave before he wakes up pretty much but thankfully his current project ends on the 23rd of August. I can not wait (I am sure he can`t either since he will get a weeks holiday then!)

I can`t believe it has been almost a month since Mandy was here. I finally uploaded a couple of pictures to Flickr, which you can see here! Here are a couple of them though…

We managed to do a lot in the 3 and a bit days Mandy was in Japan including a day trip out to Nikko, Seeing Shibuya, Harajuku, Shinjuku, Ryogoku and the museum plus a night out an izakaya and Karaoke. We did a lot actually!

Will be back in ten days hopefully with some exciting stories of China!

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