travelwithjamesdean.ca

Now here is a trip that l never expected. China was not really planned but an email promotion came in that was a “can’t miss” deal.

(The Canadian company running the tour has since lost its travel licence due to financial mismanagement, so that could be why it was so cheap). But China is another one of those culture shock trips, where the language, culture, food and way of life is so foreign to a North American.I must say that the entire time, there was a sense of being watched - whether it was the always present video surveillance or the military police patrolling at all the tourist sites. (We were told there were at least that many undercover police in the crowds as well). Not in a threatening sense just an awareness.
Due to the language issues, the guided tour worked well. Our wonderful tour guide, Ruoyi (Johnny) gladly answered many questions, but often would not address the main question we all asked, ”WHY is it like this in China?” . He explained that getting up very early for a day trip was not just to get moving, but after a certain hour, the roads become so congested that it would double or triple your travel time.

Be conscious that tours in China include an itinerary that have a “mandatory” shopping component to them. Go with the flow, as many of the demonstrations of jade or silk weaving were very interesting and we did not feel we had to buy anything. (Friends have done China or Thailand as independent self guided vacations, and loved it, but this gets a little more out of my comfort zone than l care to be.)

Beijing

The capital of the People's Republic of China...Beijing , previously known as Peking has a population of about 21 million.!!!
It is quite overwhelming by its size, traffic and number of people. It has become an odd mix of communist state control and a quazi-Capitalist system that makes Beijing the new "billionaire capital of the world" since 2016.
A fascinating cultural visit, but overall the food was not great, as it was always served family style on a large roundabout table, and made quite bland for the tourist that comein the large number of tours. We avoided the scorpions and other delicacies in the local night markets, but it was a fun experience.
Here is a good link for the most popular destinations and attractions

Our encounter with Giant Pandas at the Chongqing Zoo

At 112 acres, it is one of the biggest urban zoos in China - the Panda House alone is about 5 acres. The zoo serves as both a reserve and the base of the breeding program for giant pandas, lesser (red) pandas, South China tigers, and other endangered species - but for the few hours we had available to explore, we spent most of our time watching the pandas.
They were so fascinating, as you would swear that at times, they were just people dressed in panda costumes, with their behaviours.!! Click here for my favourite video of watching the Panda Cubs playing.!!!

A Chance to Experience The Great Wall of China

Our tour travels to the Juyong Pass - one of the three great mountain passes of the Great Wall of China - a important strategic place used to defend the ancient city of Beijing.

This is also a very busy tourist spot, with large gift shops etc. But, to be fair, this is also one of the best restored areas along the 10,000km (6,200mi) wall. We were a little surprised by the very large and extremely steep steps, that did not seem to deter even the older Chinese tourists. This made the climb to the Watch Tower quite a challenge for anyone with mobility issues, but there was a very rewarding view from the top, for those who did.

Amazing Yangtze River and the Three Gorges Trip

Our small (but surprisingly well appointed) cruise ship seemed to be so opulent compared to the small boats of fisherman and families that we came across along the way - we also boarded smaller tour boats to explore the spectacular small gorges.

Our local tour guide was very entertaining - explaining how these people survive the isolation, arranged marriages and a homemade liquor with a poisonous snake to keep warm in the long winter months. We were also entertained by all the guides singing and playing instruments on a stop at the Qutang Gorge.
(A stop to tour the famous Three Gorges Dam left us puzzled by the fact our cameras were blocked by taking any video of the facility - maybe not surprising in China as it was treated as a military facility.!!)

Having YOUR Photo Taken in China

One of the most bizarre practices in China, was the fact that MANY times, we were stopped to have our picture taken with locals.!!
At first we thought that it was just because of a couple of young women in our group, but as the tour went on, everyone was experiencing it. Sometimes you would be asked, but most times, people would just walk up and get in your face to take a selfie with you.!! As strange as that sounds, our guide explained that these would be very rural people visiting the cities and have probably never seen someone who was not Chinese, so they wanted to go back to their village with photographic proof.
One day in Shanghai, I was photographing some monks, when I was fascinated by a group of elderly women all dressed in hot pink with the city skyline behind them. But, once they saw me - they brought me into the group and proceeded to call their entire tour group together to get a photo with ME in the middle.!!!
(I wish I had that picture of me with the 30 tiny women (all dressed in pink) - but I have a great memory of it)

Most Overwhelming Travel Experience

Our tour made a stop at the Wangfujing Night Market - (also known as the Donghuamen Night Food Street) - a very fascinating night, strolling through massive crowds.

It was a new experience, and overwhelming to all of your senses.!!! With something like 100 stalls selling snack street food jammed into a small area about 100 metres long.!! For a North American, some of the foods can be pretty exotic (if not disgusting) as snacks include live scorpions on a stick, fried starfish, octopus, and candy crab apples with fruit (tanghulu) - that is probably why it is such a popular tourist hotspot.

Matchmaking in a Chinese Park

A visit to a local park - People’s Square in the centre of Shanghai on a Sunday, we observed the weekly marriage market, where hundreds (or thousands) of parents & grandparents set up umbrellas and bio sketches of their adult children (mostly sons) to find prospective partners - the Shanghai Marriage Market.!!!

We did meet a new local friend, Tom, an English teacher from Shanghai who was wonderful - walking through the park and explaining the process to us - the umbrellas displayed age, education, income and qualities desired in a new wife.
Before leaving the park, Tom asked for my email, so that he could contact us and continue practising his English - and it was then, when I was writing my email down for him, that I noticed a HUGE crowd had gathered around us, celebrating the fact that a match had been made at the park that afternoon. Tom said he could not bear to tell them that we had not really arranged a marriage...
(The shortage of eligible women is a result of the one child policy in China from 1979 to 1990 - so it was quite a sad sight, but quite fascinating to witness.)

Shopping Obligations in China

Shopping is a delightful supplement of a tour when organised properly, having travellers learn about the local handicrafts and buy satisfactory souvenirs. Knowing about the built-in shopping and being aware that it was part of the deal was a big help.
Every location had a eager army of sales staff that watched the tourists carefully during the demonstrations (which were always extremely interesting) to see who could not leave without buying something.
One soon learns that many of these priceless souvenirs are also available at a discount prices at the airport.!
So buyers beware.

Getting Lost in China

When travelling to China, the tour operator will supply the name of the hotels written in Mandarin. Make sure that you have a copy of this address with you at all times, so in the event of getting separated from the group, you can easily show this to someone to get back to your hotel.

(It may sound funny, but in the crushing crowds of Tiananmen Square, l turned and stopped for 10 seconds -to take a photo - and was lost in the sea of people and for a moment l thought of needing that address.!)

Jim’s Phonetic
Mandarin Chinese for Tourists