After busy three days in Beijing we flew to Shanghai and immediately drove two hours to the beautiful city of Suzhou to begin our swing through three historic cities. While we hadn’t heard of these places before our trip, we learned that they are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and each are home to millions of people.

Actually, this part of the trip was as much about the propaganda shopping as it was about the sightseeing, but we knew this was part of the bargain when we signed up for this tour through Groupon.

Our theory is that these bus tours are underwritten by the Chinese government. It was pretty inexpensive, and the low price is subsidized with stops at “factories” where we are given a presentation about a traditional Chinese product (jade, silk, tea, pearls, etc.) and then offered deals that are really not deals at all. Many in our group spent a lot of money but we didn’t buy a thing. Still, the presentations were interesting and helped us understand a little more about this mysterious place.

In addition to our factory tours we visited some interesting places. In Suzhou we loved the beautiful Lingering Gardens.  The private estate is now a tourist attraction and shows off the opulence of old China.

After a 90 minute drive went arrived in Wuxi, the home of the Lingshan Grand Buddha. This large park honors Buddhism’s history in China and contains some beautiful art and artifacts.

In Hangzhou we went to a theme park based on the 900 year old Song Dynasty. It was pretty wild to mingle with thousands of Chinese, who were enjoying shows, games, and attractions that didn’t make any sense to us. The main attraction was “The Romance Show of Songcheng.” Through dance, acrobats, and theatrical effects we learned about the history and legends of Hangzhou.

After three days, we headed back to Shanghai.

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Our final day in Beijing was punctuated by two stops. First we visited a large Traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacy. This was another of the “opportunities” to buy Chinese products but with an interesting sales angle. Each of us in the group met with a Chinese Medicine doctor (with a translator). The doctor checked our pulse on both wrists at the same time, asked our age, and looked at our tongue. From there a diagnosis was made. Both of us had imbalances in our liver and kidneys.

The doctor also told me that it appeared I would be menopausal soon. (Duh!) Following the diagnosis, a prescription was offered. While we are sure there is legitimacy in the approaches of Traditional Chinese Medicine, we were not persuaded to buy, though others in our group did.

Following our visit to the pharmacy we walked a few blocks to the Forbidden City. It’s China’s largest and best-preserved collection of ancient buildings and the largest palace complex in the world. It was off-limits for 500 years, serving as home and protection for Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

In the Forbidden City, the emperor reviewed his armies, passed judgment on prisoners, and oversaw the flogging of troublesome ministers. Ceremonial structures, elaborate gardens, and an opera house are hidden behind the palace walls. This is one of the top tourist attractions in Beijing and the crowds of Chinese tourists proved this to be true.

After exploring the Forbidden City we had lunch at a typical Chinese restaurant. We are now old pros at eating with our tour mates and passing the food and beer around using the spinning table. We are a group of 25 Americans from all across the US, so there is always someone to get to know.

After lunch we headed to the airport for an evening flight to Shanghai. It’s been really cold in Beijing, with highs in the 30s. We are looking forward to warmer temps further south. The two hour flight to Shanghai was on a big (3-3-3) plane and took two hours. Upon arrival, we drove another 90 minutes to the city of Suzhou, where we spent the night. As you can imagine, we were all exhausted and ready to hit the sack as soon as we got in. Another full and fun n day in China!

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Our second day in China was a full one. We started the day with a walking tour through Beijing’s Olympic Village. You might remember pictures of the Water Cube, where Michael Phelps won a record-breaking eight gold medals

or the Bird’s Nest where the spectacular Opening and Closing ceremonies were held. The 2020 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing, putting these grand public buildings back to use.

You might have noticed from the pictures that it’s very cold in Beijing. We are in the northern part of China and winter is setting in. The daily temperatures have been in the 30s, making it very crisp. Today there was a strong wind as well.

We are prepared though. Thank goodness we have our heavy jackets from our trip to Antarctica earlier this year. Plus, we are expecting warmer temps once we head south to Shanghai in a few days.

 

Our second stop today was at a government sponsored jade factory. We saw the craftsman turning hunks of the rock into beautiful works of art, furniture, and jewelry. Of course, after the tour we were led into a large showroom where we were given the opportunity to buy and buy and buy. Some of the people in our group bought things, but we just looked, drank some tea, and enjoyed being inside in the warmth. Shopping stops like this are common on these tours to China. In the coming days we’ll have stops at other government-run places where we’ll have the “opportunity” to spend. It’s kind of the price you pay…

Following an okay lunch at the jade factory we headed to the big attraction of the day: the Great Wall. We visited a section of the wall about 35 miles outside of Beijing called Badaling.

This portion of the wall goes up and over a mountain pass, which means it was a very steep climb. One archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi). We just went up about less than a mile. Steve did a little more, for the workout.Construction on the Great Wall began in 7th Century BC. The majority of it was built and maintained by the Ming dynasty in the 1300-1600 timeframe. It’s considered one of the world’s great architectural feats. Even so, our guide Michael shared that it has not always been effective in keeping out invaders. We’re sure there are lessons to be learned here.

 

Our final event today was a Peking duck dinner. After course after course of chicken, pork, and vegetable dishes, we were presented with the roast duck, along with thin pancakes and buns with which to eat it. Yum! The meal was punctuated with Great Wall wine and unlimited beer. It’s seems the Chinese aren’t very good at wine-making but they cook a mean duck.

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