Hong Kong was amazing with everything very modern and western, and with many people speaking English. There are so many westerners there that nobody stared. It hardly felt like China. I stayed in a large complex filled with guesthouses and with East Indians, Africans, and Arabs living there and working in small businesses. I went to several museums and up “The Peak” in a tram to get a view of the city. I visited the bird market where men were deciding which caged bird they wanted to buy, and then the neighboring flower market with orchids and Birds of Paradise flowers. The last day I ventured further afar to green and hilly Lantau Island. I went to see a huge seated Buddha on top of a hill. Getting there was the best part, sailing in the ferries and seeing many islands that make up Hong Kong.
I flew to Shenzhen, on the mainland across from Hong Kong, and I did the same on my way to Nanjing where I met, Francie Anthony, my teacher friend from Harding High School. Francie and I met up at the hotel as planned. It was just as hot there as in Hong Kong and sweat poured down our bodies. It would continue to be in the high 90’s or warmer.
We toured the Presidential Palace, built by a Ming Prince more than 600 years ago, and which then became the seat of the provincial government under the last dynasty, the Qing. Later Dr. Sun Yatsen, and then Chiang Kai-shek governed China from there. It covered a large area with gardens and buildings and extensive historical exhibitions.
The next day we visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial where we learned more about the Japanese massacre of 1937 than we needed to learn. The memorials were beautiful, but the photos and the information were overwhelming. Later in Xi’an we watched the new Chinese movie about the massacre, Life and Death in Nanjing; it was equally depressing, but informative. A highlight was visiting the Tapestry Museum and exquisite old garments and watching beautiful silk with integrate patterns being woven. Then we went to Purple Hill where the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yatsen is located. Little did we know when we started out that we had a climb of 392 steps.
When we ordered things in restaurants, we were never quite sure what we would get or how many we would get. Francie was surprised when she asked for water, and she was brought a wine glass filled with hot water (normal for China). In all of the restaurants we had 4 to 5 waitresses hovering over us, trying to encourage us to order. Francie enjoyed looking at the pictures, but sometimes they were misleading. One time the waiter assured us it was chicken. When it came, I knew it did not look like chicken, but it was, gizzards. We had Chinese breakfasts in several of the restaurants. The steamed buns were the most tasty and edible items. The hot tang did not quite do it for us.
On to Suzhou by train where there were three traditional, but definitely distinctive gardens that we visited. Hills, rocks, pavilions, water, and flowers were in all of them. Huge lotus flowers were growing in the ponds. Some of the gardens had secretive small areas, and in one the rocks formed a labyrinth.
Then highlight in Shanghai was the total eclipse of the sun, which we experienced in the rain along with hundreds of people in People’s Park. We actually caught a glimpse of the eclipse at the tail end through the clouds. We walked in the rain and at the shopping area of Yu Yuan, we both bought silk.
Francie and I flew to Xi’an, and then my daughters arrived and we went to see the Terracotta Warriors, which I had not seen before, but which are the main reason tourists visit Xi’an. Qin Shi Huang became emperor in 246 BC and unified the country. He had a tomb and terracotta warriors built to guard his tomb. Over two thousand warriors and horses in battle formation have been dug up and pieced together, and it is believed that there are over 6000. Each warrior is different, and at one time they were painted. It is very impressive, to say the least.
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