In April, 2005, our group, comprised of 7 members - P.Oy, P.Ohm, Peaw, P.Ou, my Mom, Na Noi and I, took a trip to Shanghai. Arranged by P.Oy and P.Peaw, we planed to visit a few remarkable places in Shanghai and traveled by car to Hangzhou and 2 Local guides were hired to lead the tour for each city. Besides these 2 cities, we went to Zhouzhuang, the water townships, which appeared to be one of shooting location of MI-III.
I knew nothing about China, just heard only its reputation of tourism and recognized the movie "Shanghai Godfather" which I was addicted to when I was young.
We stayed 2 nights in a very nice hotel on shopping area, Nanjing Rd., in Shanghai and 1 night in a 4-Chinese star hotel in Hangzhou. It is a notable trip of which we still talked about crowded people, serious bargaining, different food, and no-English .
See pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/arthivon/Shanghai2006#
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Shanghai
We stayed in a hotel on Nanjing Road, China's historic No.1 shopping and walking street. I took this picture from my room.
We visited Jade Buddha Temple, a fine Burmese white jade Buddha is the main attraction.
We took a quick walk through Yu Garden & Bazaar, established in 1577. Yu Garden is a maze of classical Ming & Qing Dynasty. Pavilions, rock gardens, arched bridges & sparkling ponds are surrounded by a lively and crowded bazaar.
The house was built as if it was one of the king's palace; dragons, the king's symbol, are placed on roof ridge but all dragons are a bit different from the king's, otherwise the owner and whole family could be executed.
In the old day, wealthy Chinese noblemen had their owned opera house which was designed and built acoustically.
The Bund is the must visit place in Shanghai. It is Asia's former golden water frontier of finance, commerce and trade and is now enjoying renaissance with the opening of new up-market entries and emporiums from early 20th century.
The opposite side of the river is Pudong New Area which people can transport from the Bund by underwater train. The area has developed in just five years, and Lujiazui in Pudong has become one of the foremost world class financial and trade zones in Asia. The landmark construction is Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Seeing skyscrapers where, in MI:III movie, Ethan Hunt climbs and flies among these buildings, he also flies across the wide river to the Bund, anyway it is mission impossible!We went shopping at Xiangyang Fashion Market, an outdoor market with hundreds of stalls selling designer label clothing and accessories. I was offered catalogs of bags and watches since I got off a cab. I was scared to buy things with great bargain, and I bought nothing.
Zhouzhuang
Zhouzhuang, one of the most famous water townships in China, situated in Kunshan City which is only 30 kilometers (18 miles) southeast of Suzhou. It is noted for its profound cultural background, the well preserved ancient residential houses, the elegant watery views and the strong local colored traditions and customs.
In an area of half a square kilometer (124 acres), 60 percent of the Zhouzhuang's structures were built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which is from 1368 to 1911. Taking the most convenient form of transport in Zhouzhuang, a gondola, we will present some of the breathtaking sights one by one.
Both sides of narrow road are food stalls and handicraft shops.
It is its famous food, gammon stewed in gravy, and I bought one home.
Seeing locals enjoyed Tofu dessert, P.Ou tasted one and said it was different.Hangzhou
Hangzhou is one of the important tourism cities in China, famous for its natural beauty and historical and cultural heritages. The city located on the low reaches of Qiantang river in southeast China, with a distance of 180 kilometers to Shanghai.
The must visit place is Xihu-West Lake with the area of 5.6 square kilometers. We went in a boat which was packed by the Chinese to the other side of the lake, and I felt a bit uncomfortable since everywhere was overcrowded.
After getting off the boat, People walked by the flow to take their bus at the meeting point.
It is the Six Harmonies Pagoda which the name 'Liuhe' comes from the six Buddhist ordinances and it is said that the reason for building this pagoda is to calm the tidal waters of the Qiantang River, and as a navigational aid. It was also packed so we decided not to stop by.
We went to see the show in a theater built in Song Dynasty architecture. The theater was full with more than 10,000 audiences, and the performance looked magnificent except they spoke only in Chinese language.
The Longjing village produces one of China's most famous varieties of green tea. They show different stages of production and sell tea. It is said that Longjing tea contains vitamon C, amino acid, and has one of the highest concentration of catechins among teas, second only to white tea. The name of Longjing means dragon well.
The must visit place is Xihu-West Lake with the area of 5.6 square kilometers. We went in a boat which was packed by the Chinese to the other side of the lake, and I felt a bit uncomfortable since everywhere was overcrowded. After getting off the boat, People walked by the flow to take their bus at the meeting point.It is the Six Harmonies Pagoda which the name 'Liuhe' comes from the six Buddhist ordinances and it is said that the reason for building this pagoda is to calm the tidal waters of the Qiantang River, and as a navigational aid. It was also packed so we decided not to stop by.We went to see the show in a theater built in Song Dynasty architecture. The theater was full with more than 10,000 audiences, and the performance looked magnificent except they spoke only in Chinese language. The Longjing village produces one of China's most famous varieties of green tea. They show different stages of production and sell tea. It is said that Longjing tea contains vitamon C, amino acid, and has one of the highest concentration of catechins among teas, second only to white tea. The name of Longjing means dragon well.
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