Nanjing, China

Nanjing used to be the capitol of China, so you can imagine there is a wealth of history here. Our first attraction to visit was the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, considered by many to be the father of modern China. We climbed the 392 stairs to visit the tomb. The 392 stairs represented the 392 million people living in China at that time. I gotta admit I broke a sweat and had to slow down towards the top...I was just glad it wasn't built this year or it would have almost 4 times as many stairs.

Em at the start of our 392 stair climb to the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen

the view from the top of the stairs


this (above) is not really a tree....

...it's a cell phone tower
although for all the trouble to make it look convincingly like a tree up top, they could at least recess the base in the ground a little more and bury it in dirt or mulch ;)

The one aspect I remember and liked best about the city was the diverse collection of red lanterns everywhere.

On our way out of Nanjing, we crossed the famous Yangtze River Bridge. It is over 4 miles long, 4 lanes wide, and has an upper level for cars and a lower level for trains. This was a major feat of engineering at the time and still serves as a source of pride amongst the locals.

There were hundreds of barges floating down the Yangtze River, carrying sand and gravel to feed raw supplies to the growing skyline. The barge in the foreground is full of gravel and weighted down low to the waterline while the same ships in the background return empty and ride about 20 feet higher in the water.

The view from atop the Yangtze River Bridge

the support columns of the Yangtze River Bridge that seem to extend to infinity

Here are some other random pics I like from Nanjing, but I failed to tie them into the storyline:

an decorated wall along the Qinhuai River

a jade dragon for sale

Nanjing was the last city of our tour. We returned via bus to Shanghai and had an extra day and a half to kill before boarding our flight home.....so of course we made the most of it and squeezed in a few more things before heading home. (which will be the topic of our next and final blog about the China trip)

Suzhou, China

The next stop in China was Suzhou. It is famous for its classical gardens, in fact, the Chinese Garden in Portland is modeled after the gardens of Suzhou. The appreciation of the beauty of nature is apparent here and other cultures have much to learn in this department.

this rock formation, carved by a river, resembles a hawk (upper left)
staring down at a dog (lower right)

Suzhou is also known as "The Venice of China" due to its elaborate canal system throughout the city. We took a boat ride down a canal at dusk and enjoyed an enchanting cruise into the night. Many of the houses along the canals are adorned with lights and lanterns.

After the cruise, we had dinner and then went for a walk around town. As with the other cities we visited, there was a robust night life with people dining and shopping into the night.




The next morning, we were back on the road. Driving through the city, a common scene is to see several cranes on each block. I apologize for the glare from the window, but I am still in awe of how fast this economy is growing:

We also visited a silk factory. They feed the silk worms mulberry leaves and let them spin a cocoon. The silk cocoons are harvested by hand and then unraveled onto spools:

workers in a factory unwinding the silk cocoons onto overhead spools

dried cocoons for sale for use as skin treatments

After lunch, we were off to the next city....Nanjing (you know the drill...next blog) :)

Hangzhou, China

Our next major city to conquer in China was Hangzhou. It is located just a little over a hundred miles southwest of Shanghai, and is home to over 8 million people....making it roughly the size of New York City. It is mind boggling how China has so many large cities in close proximity on its eastern shore. What is even more impressive is that the city of Hangzhou is some 2,200 years old. Needless to say, there is a lot of rich culture to be absorbed.

We took an evening boat cruise on the famous West Lake, renowned for its natural beauty.

boats on the West Lake

mountains on the horizon of the West Lake

a pagoda perched on the shore of the West Lake

Hangzhou and its surrounding areas house many magnificent parks and natural areas that I am sure serve as inspiration for many artists.

We were lucky enough to spot a wild peacock in one of the parks.

the sun setting over the mountains near the West Lake

Later that night, we headed into the city to catch some of the night life. We attended a show that included gymnasts, contortionists, trapeze, martial arts, and other feats of wonder.

the sure bent over backwards to entertain us :)

swinging from a rope with one hand

The next morning, we continued our tours with a visit to a tea farm.

rows of tea bushes

a worker dries the tea leaves by hand in this heated mantle

After the tour of the tea farm with plenty of samples, we hit the road towards our next city...Suzhou (the topic of my next blog....stay tuned).

Wuxi, China

Our next stop in China was the city of Wuxi. I have to admit, before this trip, I had never heard of this city. At ~4.5 million people, it is roughly twice the size of Chicago. Despite all of our travels, it still amazes me how ignorant we are about the rest of the world. I feel ashamed when watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics and I discover there are entire countries that I know nothing about nor could I even find them on the map!
I am glad we spent a day in Wuxi to experience the rich culture, as well as to become more educated about another major city in this rapidly growing country.

Our first stop was to see the largest Buddha statue in China. It is made out of bronze and stands 289 feet tall!

Em standing next to the giant Buddha's big toe

near the statue, thousands of these wooden prayers dangle in the breeze...the wind is said to carry their message

inside the giant Buddha are 10,000 Buddha statues with even more candles burning

lotus sculpture

the lotus opens up to reveal a baby Buddha....accompanied by a water fountain display

Buddhist prayer wheels - the prayer is sculpted on the outside of the wheel and spinning the wheel is akin to reciting the prayer over and over

the newly constructed $200,000,000 Buddhist temple

the entrance inside the temple

inside the Buddhist temple

Other Buddhist temples at Lingshan:

sunset over the Longshan Mountain