Craig's List: Hong Kong and China
An early morning arrival, overcast sky and cooler temperatures greeted us in Hong Kong. The itinerary called for a two day stay in Hong Kong, a two day transit to Shanghai, followed by a two day stay there. Our family plan was to stay in Hong Kong the first day and then fly to Beijing and rejoin the ship in Shanghai for the last day in port. Approximately 450 participants were involved in SAS sponsored trips throughout China and another 300 or so travelled around independently leaving a small cadre of folk continuing to stay on the ship and sailing to Shanghai. I found Hong Kong officials to be quite accommodating, however, I could not say the same for Chinese officials who were considerably more strict regarding customs and immigration policy enforcement. We dealt with a few problems of manifest reconciliation when students made decisions and then changed their minds thereby causing considerable consternation among government officials who were sticklers on details- as they should be. Nonetheless, there are clear differences in traveling in Hong Kong as compared to China.
Hong Kong is a beautiful, highly urbanized area with very welcoming and kind people. The docking was spectacular at the Hong Kong pier. On the first night we held a reception for the family of C.Y. Tung, whose generosity established the first Semester at Sea program. C.Y. is no longer living but his son and family continue their support of international education through the Sea Wise (after C.Y.) foundation. We also held a reception that night for UVA alumni and SAS alumni on the 7th outside deck of the ship. Every evening at 8:00 p.m., there is a laser light show presented with the backdrop of the Hong Kong skyline as the stage..kind of like a electronic EPCOT on the cityscape. Our day will filled by walking around various street markets with highly energetic and persistent merchants selling knock-offs on just about everything one may desire. It was interesting to watch a dozen or so uniformed police doing a sweep of the street market looking for those selling illegal goods. I am told there is a sophisticated communication network in place that warns the counterfeit sellers to disperse until the coast is clear. Eric and I got lost a couple of times, had quite an adventure finding bathrooms, and ate some wonderful waffles on the street. Stacey and Kelsey got some bargains although the prices were not the low levels we experienced in some previous ports.
On day two around 5:00 a.m., along with 65 students and colleagues, we boarded a bus and to the airport to catch a three hour flight to Beijing, a bustling city of 14 million people and host of the 2008 Summer Olympics. The city is organized in five concentric rings- kind of like UCF. The city boasts two million cars and the air pollution is considerable. Generally, I did not experience the warmth, kindness, and hospitality found in other countries on our voyage. I found it telling to read about the government's "Civility Campaign" to educate service providers about the importance of customer service and image cultivation. Politics and issue-based discussions were taboo and there seemed to be an undercurrent of fear and pushback to foreign visitors- unless you were spending money. The food was not as good as I expected and was rather repetitive- i.e. noodles, dumplings, rice, etc. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Reading the China Daily, English version, provided some insights on the use of media to promote a specific point of view. The spin on Tibet, the recent riots, and government critics made for fascinating reading that was carefully crafted to communicate messages favorable to the government while providing a slight allowance for minimal opposing views.
The first impression of Beijing and the PRC (People's Republic of China) was amazing. We were among the first Americans to enter the new airport terminal since it opened ten days prior to our arrival. And what a facility it is. Spectacular architecture, spacious concourses, high end vendors, top of the line security...simply a really cool place. The claim was made that this terminal is the world's largest indoor building extending two miles in length. Our first stop in Beijing was the Imperial Summer Palace. It was especially packed with people as we visited on a national holiday to remember one's ancestors. The summer palace is located outside Beijing proper and was a "cooler" refuge for the royals during the hot summer months in the Forbidden City. There is an elaborate canal system that was constructed between the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace to provide ferry access for the Emperor so he did not have to mix with the commoners. The Summer Palace is most certainly a beautiful place nestled next to a lake and built on hills in a magnificent setting that must have provided a wonderful refuge for the Emporer and his court. Once again, Eric and Kelsey were the celebs who posed with locals giving us ideas once again of charging for the pictures. We did restrain from this entrepreneurial activity so long as we could capture the moments as well. Certainly a fair trade. That evening, we had a Peking Duck dinner which was certainly memorable. A variety of foods accompanied the duck- some more palatable than others- the least popular of which were deep-fried duck feet and soup made with the drippings of the roasted duck.
The next day we traveled to the Great Wall, Mutianyu section which is about 2200 years old. The 6200 mile long wall itself is so large that it is composed of enough granite to build a wall 15 feet high and 5 feet think around the earth. For me the wall was the highlight of Beijing. It is a wonderful piece of architecture that is unlike anything I expected in terms of scope and beauty. We climbed the up to the wall, on the wall, in the wall, and around the wall and could have stayed for days exploring. Next time! Even this ancient wonder has not escaped commercialism as a cable car was installed to take non-hikers to the top. This was complemented by a tobaggan chute that returned folks to the bottom of the mountain on which the wall was situated. Eric and Kelsey took the ride down and quite a ride it was! Stacey and I were purists and hiked down while harboring personal desires to tobaggan as well. That evening, a craving to cook over fire overcame me, and we dined at a Korean barbeque place in which we cooked meats and veggies over a charcoal grill built into our table. Yum...
We visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Lama Temple. Several of the sites were being renovated presumably in preparation for the Olympics, however, we could get into most areas. The unforgiving crowds made it diffcult at times to get around-defensive elbowing was many times necessary to make our way around the tight interior viewing areas. My favorite part of the Forbidden City was the Imperial Garden that was a refreshing blend of trees, landscaping and sculpture, a nice contrast to the hardscape and minimalist naturescape found in most of the City. Tiananmen Square was quite impressive and held special significance for me when reflecting on what happened there in 1989 during the "uprising". This area seemed heavily secured and surveilled with soldiers, police, and cameras everywhere. When asked privately to provide historical information on the 1989 incident, I was told that such matters were not to be discussed. Another more forthcoming guide did indicate the location of the demonstrations but claimed that the official government position is that no one was killed there, although she confided that most people don't believe that assessment. Personally, I did not have a good feel for this place and was fine moving on to older historical sites.
The Silk Market, a huge complex of shops on several floors, was quite the shopping and cultural experience! The space was tight, the deals were everywhere, the knock-offs were plentiful, and the bargaining was a challenge. The boys moved in one direction and the ladies in another. Two times, Eric was "kidnapped" in a ploy to get me to return to a stall and buy something. Although it was done with no harm intended, it certainly did illustrate the measures vendors would take to get one's attention!
At 8:00 p.m. each evening, a small group of retired folks (China's average retirement age for men is said to be 55; for women, 50) would get their exercise across the street from our hotel by playing drums and dancing in a parade. Further down the street several couples danced to competing portable stereos playing music in a dimly lighted parking lot. It was delightful to see these folks enjoying themselves while practicing fitness.
We explored the Hutong (old Beijing), by rickshaw. This area of one or two story housing units were vintage Beijing and were allowed to remain amidst massive government razing of these neighborhoods to be replaced by high rise developments. We also visited the Temple of Heaven which was one of my favorite temple structures on our visit. Wonderfully restored, the Temple was a place for the Emperors to pray for good harvests.
We stopped for a viewing of the Olympic venues under construction and they certainly are impressive. No doubt they will be ready for the Olympics but it sure looks like they have a ways to go in a short time. Parenthetically, 20 of the 26 Olympic venues are being constructed from scratch by China. It is readily apparent that much has is being done and needs to be done to prepare the city's infrastructure for the Olympics and beyond. Signage is predominately in Chinese. Certainly understandable, but with multi-lingual visitors descending on Beijing, it seems important to have a more diverse signage infrastructure to get people where they want to go. Perhaps that is on the way. The Olympic countdown clocks are everywhere and a friend living in Shanghai shared the following story with me to share with you ( he could not post it on our blog due to government restrictions on blog access by Chinese citizens).
Why are the Olympics starting on August 8?
Eight is considered auspicious in China because its pronunciation sounds the same as the word for to "make money." The Games had originally been planned to commence in late August to avoid Beijing's soaring summer temperatures. But Beijing's mayor said the sporting festival would begin in the luckiest manner possible - at 8:00 on 8/8/08. Mayor Wang Qishan conceded it would still be hot in early August, with the temperature often climbing
above 40 degrees Celsius. If anyone asks you when the games will start all you need to do is remember the number 8 and then ask yourself who will benefit from all this luck.
There is considerable beauty in China and considerable challenges and opportunities for a country that is certainly a major influence in the region and the world. Perhaps the light of the Olympic torch will illuminate a new path of happy prosperity for the people of China.
Stay tuned!
Craig
