BootsnAll Travel Network
Add this blog to: MyYahoo, Google, Bloglines, RSS


Welcome

Here lies the chronicle of my three years of travels around the world, mostly in Asia. I've got lots of stories, lots of pictures, and hopefully some useful advice you can benefit from along the way. Enjoy.

Land of Skyscrapers

March 30th, 2007

I was lured to Shanghai by the futuristic skyline of the new Pudong district. I have been surprised to discover that the true heart of the city surrounds the Renmin (People’s) Square, a 15 minute walk down Nanjing shopping street from the Bund. From this beautiful park the views and sleek modern highrises and museums are equally impressive but with more energy. This is downtown.

Pudong is stunning from a distance with the river in the forefront and the prominent Pearl Tower, but when you get off at Lujiazui station you can’t ignore the unfinished feeling of the place.  The crashes and pops of construction fill the air and for every two buildings is a crane.  The Jinmao Tower, completed in 1998, is China’s tallest building for now.  For me it can be appreciated from both afar and up close.  Its unique tecture and design give it both a feel of old Chinese forms and soaring modernity. 

Behind it is the Shanghai World Financial Center that was set for completion later this year but has been plagued by delays.  If completed before the Burj Dubai in Dubai it will hold the breif distinction as the world’s tallest at 492m.  With other “world’s highest” buildings slated for ground breaking across China, the country’s future as land of the skyscraper seems secure.  Six of the ten highest are already in China, and if the economy continues at its pace the sky is literally the limit.

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Shanghai | No Comments »

Tags: ,

Shanghai museum

March 30th, 2007

Shanghai is a museum junkies dream.  The city is packed with museums and exhibits sure to spark a wide array of interests.  The People’s Square is a good place to begin as the Shanghai Museum, Art Museum, and Urban Planning Exhibition are all here.

I started with the Shanghai Museum.  If you’re out to see some of the best examples of ancient Chinese art this is a wonderful collection housed in an impressive new building.

 

 

Having visited the Tokyo National Museum and Korean National Museum in the past six months, I was a little bored.  I can’t tell the good stuff from the bad, so it’s all just porcelin and calligraphy to me.  What I was looking for was some info about Shanghai’s history, so it was off across the river to the basement of the Pearl Tower, the site of the Shanghai Municipal History Museum.

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Shanghai | No Comments »

Tags: ,

The bund sightseeing tunnel+Sexxx museum

March 30th, 2007

The Bund is perpetually packed with tourists. Shanghai in general sees a constant stream of flag following tour groups from around the globe, and especially from within China. As I battled through the Bund this morning I decided to splurge and take the sightseeing tunnel under the river to Pudong.

You board the little bubble car and are taken by rail under the Huangpu and treated to a psychedelic progression of lights. A dreamy voice tells what theme the lights are trying to convey. “Shimmering stars, space swirl, and massive magma,” are some of the ridiculous stages of this trippy little journey.

I bought a combination ticket that also includes the China Sex Museum, an amusing diversion. A professor in Shanghai started it because I guess his collection of ancient porn got too big. The museum has it all, from old informational pamphlets and models for newlyweds, fertility gods, porcelain figures of couples “doing it”, and even ancient toys for the ladies. Because widows weren’t allowed to remarry, the “phallus became their best friend.” (Museum’s words, not mine.)

They’ve even created some original peices of their own. For example:

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Shanghai | No Comments »

Tags: ,

Shanghai’s Jews

March 30th, 2007

History is written by the winners, so it’s hardly surprising that the Allied forces don’t brag about the fact that they turned away Jewish refugees seeking to flee Nazi Germany before WWII.  At that time there was only one city that was willing to take in around 30,000 Jews, and it was Shanghai.  For an excellent memoir about life for the Shanghai Jews check out Shanghai Diary by Ursula Bacon.

Today I set off the find the old Jewish ghetto in Hongkou where they were forced to live by the Japanese during the war.  So much of Shanghai is being bulldozed for new construction that I was skeptical whether anything would be left.  There is still a synagogue on the tourist map, so I was going to find it.

Luckily, the whole neighborhood is being preserved as a historical heritage district but the Ohel Moishe synagogue is currently under renovation.  Good for Shanghai but bad for me.  I walked through the the area, passing by the brick facades of these weathered, but still attractive 3 storied apartments.

I spent a couple hours searching the back-alleys and storefronts for any clue of the neighborhoods past, but sixty years of have wiped the slate clean.  There is one sign still visible noted in some guidebooks for the “Cafe Atlantic” shown here.

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Shanghai | No Comments »

Tags: ,

Shanghai’s urban plan

April 1st, 2007

 

In the middle of the People’s Square sits the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, an interactive look into the future of Shanghai.  This six story building is part museum, part giant city model, and part urban planning presentation offering every detail into how this ambitious task is going to unfold. 

 

The fourth floor contains a massive model of the greater Shanghai area, complete with the buildings and bridges slated for construction.  On the same floor is a 360 degree movie theater that takes you on a 3-D tour of the Shanghai of the future. 

 

As you climb higher the displays provide more and more information, all the way down to the specific plans of each neighborhood in the city.  Port town, auto town, suburban town, research & development town; it appears that there will someday exist a pilot neighborhood for every conceivable need.  One neighborhood called Luodian is planned to become a nordic inspired development with a population of 30,000.  It’s that specific. 

The exhibit is a new urban developer’s dream come true, with mixed use galore, plenty of greenspace (40% by 2020), and the most state-of-the-art transportation the world has to offer.  Shanghai is the proud owner of the fastest train on earth, a magnetic levitation marvel that whizzes at 430km/hour from the subway to the airport.  In three years the Shanghai to Beijing leg will be complete.

The place is incredible and makes me excited to think about the vision this city has for itself.  Shanghai and the rest of China’s cities are lucky that they can reshape themselves for the modern world without suffering through the trials and errors of Western cities.  Although Shanghai has always been a city of global importance, it is now set to become a global city in its own right.

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Shanghai | No Comments »

Tags: ,

The Gardens of Suzhou

April 4th, 2007

Suzhou is only one hour west of Shanghai, and just happens to be the sister city of Portland, my home town.  Wandering through the famous gardens of Suzhou and soaking up the zen makes a nice day trip from Shanghai, or a pit-stop for onward travel as I chose to do. 

There are gardens scattered all over this huge city of six million, the two most famous being the Garden of the Humble Administrator and the Garden of the Master-of-Nets.

I teamed up with a German gardener and she had the good sense to factor in Chinese eating habits which put lunch at 11:00.  We decided to tackle the smaller Canglang Pavilion first while quiet and see the more popular attractions during lunch and early afternoon.  

There’s no sense really in describing the gardens.  You just have to go yourself and see what you think.  I’ve become a huge fan of these beautiful settings among the expertly arranged buildings, ponds, bridges, and rocks.  I like to wander, draw, write and nap in these peaceful places.  But most of all I love the names.  The Garden of the Humble Administrator brings to mind a fuedal cheif toiling his later years away creating a quaint garden.  This turns out to be one of the largest Chinese gardens here, with highlights including:

The House of Sweet-smelling rice (it smelled old)
The Keep and Listen Pavilion (there was a tour group with a megaphone)
The “with whom shall I sit” Pavilion (I sat alone)
The Hall of Distant Fragrance (also smelled old)
The Listening to the Sound of Rain Pavilion (bluebird day)

Apparently Chinese is a language that leaves more to the imagination.  Each character conveys an image not easily translated into English.  The result are these wonderful descriptions.  The one that took the cake was a pavilion beside the pond described by one poet as the perfect place for “washing your tassle.”  He must have had one of those old bowl cuts with the sweet pony tail.

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Nanjing/Suzhou | No Comments »

Tags: , ,

Ming city walls of Nanjing

April 5th, 2007

The people of Nanjing have been the friendliest I’ve encountered in China so far. Shanghaiese are friendly, but with the prevalent tea scam and hundreds of art students pestering you to see their gallery, sometimes it’s hard to pick out the folks who are just looking to chat. I’ve found Chinese tourists on holiday to be so inviting and friendly, the hard part is distinguishing the nice folks from the scammers.

When I arrived in Nanjing (formerly Nanking) tonight I was approached by three people offering to help me find my way, one girl even getting on her phone to track down my hostel. Good start.

The highlight of Nanjing is definitely the old Ming city walls that still stand around the old city proper. About 60% of them still remain and once made up the largest city fortification the world has ever known. Everyone always thinks about the Great Wall, but China has a bunch of lesser known city walls that are just as extraordinary. The walls here are huge and when intact reached nearly 34km all around. Needless to say Nanjing was and still is massive.

The best way to see the wall is busing up to Xuanwu Lake and walk along the southern shore until the wall suddenly emerges from the trees to your left. It´s about 80 feet tall here so you can´t miss it.

 

About a kilometer down there is a random staircase leading up into the wall. For 10RMB you can get on top and will have free access to explore for the day. From the top the view of Nanjing is amazing. The lake, the buildings, and Purple Mountain to the east make for a great panorama and Nanjing is one of China´s more attractive cities.I was excited to see an old wall but had no idea how big and in what condition it would be in. I think much of this section of wall has been refurbished, but you can still walk along and read the names on the ancient bricks. The emperor made each brick maker sign their product as an early form of quality control. Not sure what happened if a brick broke.

Walk along the wall toward the pagoda at Jining temple. It´s 5yuan to get in and 5 to climb the pagoda. This is an active Buddhist monastery for women and a perfect spot to relax and let the chanting of Sutras calm your mind.
I´m here on a perfect breezy spring day and the ambiance and surrounding scenery couldn´t be better. 

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Nanjing/Suzhou | 1 Comment »

Tags: , ,

Gates of a Nightmare, Nanjing

April 8th, 2007

I enjoyed the wall so much yesterday that I decided to check out another section to the south. According to the hostel staff the Lake section is largely intact from older restorations while it’s obvious todays section has been recently rebuilt. It was still nice to walk between the Qinhuai River and the wall, imagining a sea of invaders where traffic and trains now whiz by.

I came to Zhonghua gate, the largest and main southern gate of old Nanjing. It used to have a large castle on top until the infamous 1937 invasion by the Japanese army. It was from this gate that the soldiers entered and began their bloody massacre that left as many 200-300,000 people dead and countless millions forever scarred by the rape, torture and slaughter that took place. While here I’ve skimmed past the topic of Japan and my time there as this is understandably the epicenter of animosity and hate.

With the castle structure gone, what’s left are three gates that once contained huge stone doors. There are 27 caves in the gate walls that can hold 3,000 troops or 250,000kg of grain. They’re empty now except for the old stone cannon balls, called lei, excavated from from the site. Other caves house exhibits and the persistent vendors to which I’ve become immune. Everything in China is “so cheaper for you.”

Posted in Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it, Nanjing/Suzhou | 1 Comment »

Tags: , ,

Beijing wedding

April 8th, 2007

I caught a night train last night (barely) to Beijing. My buddy Thommo from Oz married his Chinese girlfriend Lillian (Fung) today and I just happened to be in town for the party. Bonus.

Funny thing is I was at their engagement party three weeks ago in Tokyo, so I worked out perfectly. Luckily Thommo let me borrow some nice clothes so I didn’t look like a total dirt-bag backpacker.

Posted in Beijing, Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it | No Comments »

Tags: ,

Temple of Heaven, Beijing

April 8th, 2007

Bit of a skull-bender last night. I think it ended with me convincing a Norwegian kid to forget about college and just start traveling. His parents were there too so I’m not sure how happy they were about my suggestions.

The hotel Thommo put me up in for the wedding was great. We checked out and headed over to the temple of heaven, one of Beijing’s premier sights. I didn’t expect the air in Beijing to be as clean as it’s been, but a strong wind has pushed the pollution out of the city and we’re enjoying perfect blue horizons and bright stars at night.

The Temple of Heaven is massive, matching the scale of Beijing where streets seem to be either alleyways or eight lanes wide. In Ming dynasty architecture the square represents earth and the circle heaven. The temple is a wide expanse of circles and squares with the highlight at the northern end.

 

The temple for good harvests is a beautifully restored building intricately painted in vivid blue, gold, red, and green. All of the roof tiles here are also blue representing heaven. Surrounding the buildings are vast gardens and orchards.
 

Posted in Beijing, Eurasia: Marco Polo-in' it | No Comments »

Tags: ,
« Previous Page — « Previous Entries
Next Entries » — Next Page »