Captivating (& Crowded!) China

China is a fascinating country with a complicated history and a culture full of mystery and wonder for us Westerners.

Our Asian adventure continued with two action packed weeks in Mainland China. We joined another G Adventures tour here, which was a great way to navigate this very different culture. Our guide Yoyo was invaluable in helping us get from point A to point B, deciphering menus, manoeuvring planes, trains, boats and buses! The tour was also a great mix of families – with another from B.C. Canada and one from Australia. The boys were very happy to have some new kids to play and hang with and we adults managed to have a pretty good time ourselves. The more we travel and the more people we meet the more we realize that people and families are very similar. There may be many cultural differences and people may look very different but basic human decency and morals, thankfully, are alive and well…for the most part ?

Our flight from Singapore took us to Beijing, where we arrived at our hotel at 5:55pm and our tour began at 6pm! After some quick introductions we were off! Yoyo took us to experience our first taste of traditional Chinese food; a Peking duck dinner. Delish!

The following day started with a private tai chi lesson in the park followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven, which is a large complex that contains the beautiful Hall of Prayers for Good Harvest. The Hall was first built in 1420, and then rebuilt in 1890 after the original burnt.

Next up was a visit to the infamous Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We stood where “tank man” stood almost 30 years ago during the Tiananmen Square protests and visited inside the Forbidden City. The 720,000 square meter “city” complex was once the Chinese Imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty and now houses the Palace museum.

If we were to describe China in one word it would be crowded – people everywhere. Sometimes when you imagine seeing the wonders of the world you forget others too have that same vision…on the same day. Don’t let the pictures fool you; we strategically took them trying to crop out the droves of people. Almost everywhere we went, with the Terracotta Warriors probably being the busiest, we were surrounded by thousands of other people. Unfortunately pushing and shoving is the norm, making for some rather unpleasant experiences, especially for the kids who are easily squashed in the mayhem. But we quickly learned to go with the flow, hang on to the kids, and make the most of it.

China was also the first country we discovered a distinct limitation on internet use. Google, Facebook, Netflix, Instagram and sending and receiving pictures in Messenger were all blocked, making us realize how often we use these forms of social media to communicate!

Following our visit to the Forbidden City we took in the first of some pretty amazing cultural performances we attended while in China. The Kung Fu Show at the red theatre was a perfect mix of Chinese martial arts and theatrical performance. The boys loved it!

Our travel agent Amanda (again, the best) treated us to tickets to an absolutely phenomenal acrobatic show. The Flying Acrobatic show at the Chaoyang Theatre in Beijing had us on the edge of our seats with amazing acts performing terrifying feats, each one better than the one before.

We also took in a Chinese Opera at the ShuFeng Sichuan Opera House while in Chengdu. While not an opera as we know it, the performance was a combination of traditional live music and song, skits, acrobatics, shadow puppets, swords, rain, fire and the famed mask changing show. Something for everyone!

All three performances were unique and different and allowed us to experience some traditional Chinese culture.

On our last morning in Beijing we explored the famous, pedestrian only Qianmen Street, which was well worth the visit. The street has a long history in China and is situated near the former palace grounds. Several well known Chinese stores and restaurants started there, with many still in operation today. The street is lined with statues depicting earlier times and many side streets and alleyways to get lost in.

Qianmen Street

We were at first disheartened to see our tour included another overnight train. After our last overnight train trip in Vietnam aboard the Cockroach Express we were worried. Fortunately our train from Beijing to Xi’an was much more pleasant and we had a good night chatting and playing cards with our tour mates.

Upon arrival in Xi’an we visited the Muslim Quarter, also known as Huimin Jie in Pingyin, which was most interesting. One could literally stroll for hours admiring and sometimes being repulsed by the colourful foods all on display. All sights, sounds and smells are new and different.

Xi’an

Xi’an is a very quaint walled city. A highlight for Haydn and I was a bike ride around the outer city wall with the tour group. Unfortunately, David and Chase were feeling unwell and Reece was still under post surgery doctors orders to avoid any strenuous activities. This 13.7km ride allowed us some great views of the city and a chance to get on some bikes, something we have missed!

Biking the city walls

The following morning it was off to see the wall!

The Great Wall of China is on many travellers’ bucket lists and we feel very grateful to have been able to see it and tick it off of our list. Yoyo took us to where she said was one of the best places to see and walk the wall, without large crowds. We learned upon arrival that Chinese and Canadian versions of a small crowd differ. We lined up and boarded the bus to take us to another line up for the cable car up to the wall. Once we finally made it to the wall it was all worthwhile and we walked and climbed countless stairs along the way. While we didn’t come close to covering the 6000km length of the wall, we did have several hours to explore. The views are beautiful and it really does seem the wall stretches on forever. I am not sure how I thought one gets to and from the wall (donkey? Horse and carriage?) but when I pictured some day visiting the Great Wall of China I didn’t picture a cable car up and a luge track down. It was all good fun though, and the boys did enjoy the ride down (despite a “slow guy in front of us slowing everyone down”)

The Great Wall of China

Next morning we said goodbye to Xi’an, legs aching from the previous day’s wall climb, and made our way to catch a bullet train to our next destination, Chengdu.

The train system is China is fantastic and we used the bullet train system to travel from Xi’an to Chengdu and later from Guilin to Hong Kong. Without Yoyo’s help it would have been stressful to figure out the elaborate maze of tracks and timetables. She knew the “local tips” for where and when to line up and, thankfully, made it much, much easier, especially trying to keep track of the kids in the swarms of people. I think it’s fair to say without her we’d still be in Beijing scratching our heads.

Chengdu started with a traditional Chinese hot pot meal which, if we’re being honest, was not the greatest – a whole lot of meat and oil and not much else.

Being away from home for so long means we’ve had to get things like haircuts in foreign lands. Everyone was overdo so after dinner we took some time for everyone to get a trim. For $8 Canadian dollars each we got great cuts that included the most amazing scalp massage! I’d go back any day for that alone!

A trip to China would not be complete without seeing some panda bears. We visited the Chengdu Panda Breeding Research Center for an opportunity to see the pandas (including red pandas) up close and to learn a bit more about them and efforts to save the population. They are definitely very adorable looking!

Pandas!

On the way back we stopped at the old city of Huanglongxi. This charming town has buildings preserved in their original style from the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), making it feel like you are catching a glimpse of life from years past.

Moving on we flew to Guilin followed immediately by a bus ride to the quaint Yangshuo. Yangshuo sits along the Li River in the Guangxi Province and is surrounded by dramatic, towering, green limestone peaks. It was pleasant to get out of the cities and experience a few nights in a less crowded, more rural location.

Unfortunately we had a lot of rain while in this region, making a few of our outings a bit wetter then we’d hoped. We made the most of it with some hikes and a boat ride along the Li River.

We also spent a fun night cutting loose and getting our Mojo on (I don’t think the bartender ever experienced anything quite like Canadian and Australian moms enjoying a few (too many) cosmopolitans and cutting loose!)

Mojo Bar was a great recommendation by Yoyo. The drinks were reasonable and the dance floor big. The kids loved the pool table, foosball and retro video games. They even got to play DJ, which often resulted in arguments. Apparently 13 year olds’ and 40 somethings’ music tastes vary…greatly. This rooftop bar had an amazing view over the river and that night Mother Nature was strutting her stuff too with an awe inspiring lighting storm. A night to remember!

Our last day in mainland China was an especially rainy day and unfortunately we had prebooked an excursion to see some local sites. These included a very wet tea leaf plantation visit, a soggy hike and a waterlogged visit to Shitoucheng stone village. All were interesting but the rain made for some drenched feet and complaining kids by the time it was all said and done. Some things are just better experienced in the sunshine.

Tea Plantation and Stone Village

China definitely was a different world for us Canadians. Certainly the lack of personal space, different foods, and complicated language took some getting used to. And the toilets! A whole new world there. It was line up, bring your own TP and hand-soap, hope the stall has a door (although even with a door it wasn’t uncommon for those using it to leave it wide open regardless) and try to navigate the squatter toilet without splashing your ankles or stepping in the preexisting puddle.

Every day is a new experience!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world” – Gustav Flaubert