Nanjing and the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum

October 18, 2010

Nanjing, China

My first night in Shanghai was only a pit stop before heading out on an overnight excursion the next day to visit the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum in Nanjing a few hours to the north. Joining a rush of commuters I set out for the short train trip to Nanjing early in the morning and had no difficulty in finding a hotel straight away. I quickly set out on foot to find the mausoleum, only to discover that Nanjing is another huge city in China.

I try to walk as much as I can when I’m traveling, but after encountering several people along the way who said it was not possible to walk to the monument, I finally gave in and decided to take the bus. Figuring out which bus to take would be a challenge. Not wanting to waste any time, I decided to go into a bank and ask directions. An attractive young lady who worked there gave me directions in English and then literally took me by the hand and led me outside and down the large boulevard for nearly a block to a bus stop. There she pointed to a line on a sign with a confusing list of entries in Chinese characters, indicating the bus I should take. After thanking her I waited in a large crowd hoping I would know when my bus arrived. I needn’t have worried, because when it did arrive a woman in the crowd reached out and motioned for me that this was the bus I wanted. She had evidently heard the bank lady give me directions and was kind enough to point out the correct bus for me. Amazing people!

The Sun Yatsen Mausoleum

The Sun Yatsen Mausolum is set near the top of Zijin Mountain at the eastern side of Nanjing. The 392 steps to the top where the crypt is located were a good workout, but it was well worth the climb. There were crowds of people making the pilgrimage and it seemed to me almost more than those visiting Mao in Beijing. The crypt is located in the center of a huge rotunda and a continuous line of visitors wound solemnly and reverently around it. Emerging from the rotunda you get a beautiful view looking down from the mountain and are reminded of just how far you climbed to get there. Nearby were many interesting displays and photographs chronicling the history of modern China and Dr. Sun’s role in shaping it. The Ming Xiaoling Scenic Area which surrounds the mausoleum is a large park like area with many other sights to see, including temples and pagodas. All in all it was definitely worth the side trip to Nanjing to see this interesting spot.

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Night Train to Shanghai

October 11, 2010

(By Now You’re Beginning to See that I Love Trains!)

My peaceful interlude on the Yangtze cruise was coming to an end and I was about to be thrown back into the hectic pace of an independent traveler. I had been up at midnight the night before for the transit through the locks and then up early in the morning to tour the Three Gorges Dam and Visitor Center. After the tour we returned to the ship, said our ‘goodbyes’ and disembarked from the MV Dragon at the dock near Yichang around noon on Saturday, June 5. Jerry, the cruise director, who had done everything but pilot the ship (if I hadn’t met the Captain, I would not have been so sure!), had arranged for several of us to take a bus together to Wuhan.

What happened next was like something out of a Keystone Cops movie. Between Yichang and Wuhan we changed buses several times, each time being reunited with other passengers from the cruise, who we hadn’t expected to see again, only to be separated again during another transfer. At one point, I got separated from the family who I had planned to travel with to Wuhan and we were all surprised when we found ourselves back together on the same bus again after another transfer. I had shared a table in the ship’s dining room with this wonderful family and they had suggested that I try to get a room at the same hotel where they were planning to stay in Wuhan. We never did figure out what was going on with all the bus transfers, but after a lot of laughs our bus did eventually make it to Wuhan. The driver then proceeded to drop passengers off at requested locations until there were only a few of us left. He then abruptly decided he had had enough and parked the bus and motioned for everyone to get off.

Yichang to Shanghai by Bus and Train, June 2010

We weren’t anywhere near our hotel and no amount of haggling from the other passengers could change the bus driver’s mind. As it turned out, we were near the train station, so I made a quick decision to forgo my stay in Wuhan and instead try to catch a night train to Shanghai. The head of the family I had planned to stay with was traveling with his wife, sister-in-law, niece and three daughters. Even though he now had to scramble to find a way to get his large entourage to the hotel, this nice man took time to hook me up with another couple who were going to the train station. He explained to them in Chinese that I wanted to get a ticket to Shanghai that night and they took me by the hand, hailed a taxi and stood with me in the long line at the train station to make sure I got the right ticket.

This was the manner with which I was treated throughout my trip to China and one of my most outstanding memories of the trip will always be the kind, wonderful people I met everywhere I went. The train left at 8:30 PM for the 15 hour trip across China ($58.00 for Soft Sleeper). I shared my compartment with two young businessmen and a woman traveling alone and by now I wasn’t surprised that by morning we would all be friends. During the long trip I walked up and down the long train, shooting some video footage to document the variety of accommodations available. When I arrived in Shanghai, I got a hotel near the center of the city and arranged to take the train to Nanjing the next day to visit the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum.

Inside the Night Train to Shanghai, June 2010

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Three Gorges Dam Locks and Visitor Center

2 Comments / October 8, 2010

Three Gorges Dam Locks

Our midnight transit of the series of locks at the Three Gorges Dam was definitely worth staying up for. It was amazing to see how many ships and boats could be loaded into one lock without colliding with one another. The Three Gorges Dam was completed in May 2006 and is the largest dam in the world. In addition to providing hydroelectric power, the dam has improved navigation on the Yangtze River and will help prevent flooding.

Three Gorges Visitor Center

After a short bus ride from our ship, we arrived at the Visitor Center, which has a large indoor scale model of the dam and locks. The detailed model gives an excellent overview of the entire project, as well as giving one an appreciation for the monumental scope of this undertaking. Outside, visitors can stroll through a beautifully laid out viewing area, where you can look down on the locks, the channel and the dam.

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Big Day on the Yangtze

2 Comments / October 5, 2010

Our second full day on the MV Dragon was our biggest day on the Yangtze River cruise. After a wonderful breakfast we embarked on an optional shore excursion, which I would highly recommend. We visited the White Emperor City or BaiDi Cheng which overlooks the western end of the first of the three gorges that we would transit. The Qutang Gorge is the shortest and narrowest (110m at narrowest point) of the three. It is featured on the ten Yuan note and we had an opportunity to observe the vista immortalized on the currency.

Entrance to Qutang Gorge from White Emperor City

: Ten Yuan Note Showing Entrance to Qutang Gorge

The next gorge was the Wu Gorge, which for me was the most spectacular of the three. My neck was sore from looking up at the jagged peaks and the green cliffs that studded the landscape on each side of the river. All the passengers crowded together on the top deck and our cruise director joined us to describe the individual peaks and the many interesting sights along the way.

After lunch we docked at Badong to visit Shennong Stream, a beautiful tributary of the Yangtze. We boarded a smaller ferry-boat like vessel for the long ride up the stream, which got narrower and more beautiful as we progressed. Finally, we reached a small outpost where we got off to board smaller boats which carried about 12 passengers each. This was one of those places where you feel like you are way out in the middle of nowhere, far from civilization. Our boats were propelled by about five men in traditional dress, including loose, baggy shorts, bare chests and bare feet. There were three in the front and two in the back of our boat and we were told that they were poor farmers who had been displaced by the rising water from the dam and that they were very fortunate to have this job. A little farther up this smaller stream, I heard an all-too-familiar ring and was surprised to see one of the oarsmen pull a cell phone out of his baggy pants and proceed to carry on a conversation while he paddled along. So much for being ‘out in the middle of nowhere’! At one point the oarsmen got out and pulled the boat along from shore, demonstrating how it was done in times past. It was a fun excursion and fascinating to see life along this beautiful stream. Sitting right behind the front oarsmen, I got quite a bath from the splashing water and was glad to take a hot shower when I got back to the ship.

Small Boats on Shennong Stream

To be perfectly honest, there were a few disappointments on the Yangtze River cruise. One was that we did not get to visit the Three Little Gorges on the Daning River and another was that much of the transit of the third and final Xiling Gorge took place in the dim light of the evening. And finally, the transit through the locks of the Three Gorges Dam took place at midnight, but I did get up to watch part of it along with several other dedicated travelers on the ship.

The locks were very impressive and it took about four hours to get through the entire series of them. We awakened the next morning on the lower side of the dam and after breakfast boarded buses to take the short ride to the observation area of the dam. From there we could get a good idea of the monumental scope of this project. We started by visiting a huge model of the dam, which gave a good overview, and then actually looking down on the locks and the dam itself. We returned to the ship for the short transit of the lower portion of Xiling Gorge below the dam. It was a bittersweet time, because my 300 new friends and I would soon be disembarking from the MV Dragon and going our separate ways.

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Yangtze Interlude

September 29, 2010

Yangtze River Cruise

It was a welcome break in the middle of a busy trip and somewhat of a luxury for me to have three nights and four days floating down the Yangtze River without having to worry about finding a place to stay for the night or deciding where to eat. The hotel had booked me on the MV Dragon (and from my Navy days, I knew that MV stood for Motor Vessel) for the equivalent of $556.00. I had checked one local travel agency and two online travel sites before my trip and knew right away that I’d saved a lot of money by waiting to book the cruise until I arrived in Chongqing. The MV Dragon definitely lived up to its reputation as a five star cruise ship and its dragon-like appearance established it as a familiar sight along the Yangtze. I had a nice room with private bath and balcony all to myself and the three delicious meals each day provided more food than I could possibly eat.

Out of about 300 guests I was the only Caucasian, and once again, I felt like a celebrity. Both the crew and guests knocked themselves out to be friendly and everyone wanted to meet me and get to know me. I found it nearly impossible to pay for my own beer, because everyone wanted to treat me. Most of the other guests were middle class Chinese couples and families with a number of young adventurers mixed in. By the end of the cruise I felt like I had made 300 new friends! One of the most interesting encounters was meeting an older gentleman at my table who had been a pilot in the Red Chinese Air Force. As a Naval Officer, I had been on the opposite side during the Cold War, and now we were sitting down at the table together as friends.

The cruise started at 6 PM on the evening of June 2 and the skyline of Chongqing was spectacular from the river. I stayed up late on the top deck with some of the other guests I had already met, watching the lights on shore go by as we steamed silently through the night. The next day we made our first stop to visit Fengdu, known as the City of Ghosts. That evening the crew put on a show and the main cruise director, Jerry, blew everyone away with his rendition of “I Love You More Than I Can Say”. Jerry was a young Chinese man who already seemed to run everything on the ship and was obviously also loaded with talent, like so many of the young people I met on my trip. The next morning we would begin our transit of the Three Gorges, so it was early to bed for me that night.

Chongqing City Skyline from the MV Dragon on the Yangtze River

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The Hongyadong Hotel, Chongqing, China

1 Comment / September 24, 2010

Hongyadong Hotel, Chongqing City, China

The stand out hotel of my 19 day trip to China in May/June of 2010 was definitely the Hongyadong Hotel in Chongqing City. This four star hotel was conveniently located within walking distance of the main sights of the city and had an English speaking staff who could not have been more accommodating. For the equivalent of Fifty U.S. dollars, I got a beautiful room with a balcony overlooking the Jialing River and a sumptuous breakfast the next morning in an elegant dining room.

My room was beautifully appointed with classic Chinese furniture and had a marble bathroom that would please an emperor. Best of all there was a travel agency on site that was able to book me on a four day Yangtze River cruise beginning the next day. Definitely consider this hotel if you are visiting Chongquing City. Address: Hongyadong Hotel, 56 Cangbai Lu

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