Upon arrival in Suzhou, we went to a famous scenic area called The Humble Administrator's Garden. The size of the garden was huge, as there were waterfalls, dozens of pagodas, various buildings, and a multitude of plants. (There were even palm trees!) During our tour, we saw a huge bonsai garden, lots of ancient architecture, as well as bridges connecting the portions of the garden. Personally, I thought the garden was repetitive, though it clearly captured Eastern ideologies about Fengshui and balance/ harmony. Once again, we headed back to our hotel and ate dinner at a nearby restaurant. Headed to bed at around 10 as we were prepared to go touring all day the next day. (Suzhou is a very affluent city apparently, since over 50 of the top 500 companies in the world have factories in the area)
After we woke, we ate breakfast at a family street vendor (the food they sell is not only delicious, but cheap). Unfortunately, both my mom and brother felt sick, so they didn't go to all the spots on the tour. Meanwhile, my dad and I explored our first stop: the Lion Forest Garden (the last owner was I.M. Pei!). The design of the entire mansion is spectacular as all the paths are in a circle, and its impossible to reach a dead end. Furthermore, there are two large rock mazes, each containing 29 alternate paths. (The only way to get out is to either only go straight, only go right, or only go left- or "hurdle the rocks") Even so, it took me quite a long time to finally exit the maze.
Afterwards, we headed towards the famous octagonal nine story North Temple Pagoda. Before ascending the tower, we first stopped by the temple nearby. Since we came by on the first of the month (in the Chinese calendar), the monks offered us prayers and encouraged us to burn incense. In addition, one of the head monks blessed some holy relics and offered them to us. In addition, the head monk "commented/ determined" on our fates, and what he said was shockingly true. Next, we purchased a huge stick of incense that we burned. (The incense stick was at least 7-8 feet tall...and almost half a foot thick). By the time this finished, we had roughly 15 minutes to climb up and down the pagoda (no biggie, I've climbed mountains already). The interesting part of the trip was the fact that on the third, sixth, and ninth floors, we had to walk a loop outside the pagoda to ensure "good luck."
Next, we visited an old Ming Dynasty palace as well as an adjacent garden known as The Couple's Garden Retreat. Both featured lots of ancient architecture, as well as stunning scenic sights. Afterwards, we headed off to a water tour of Suzhou, which is remarkably similar to Venice. The canal system connects a large portion of the city (roughly 40% of Suzhou is covered by water). Passing by the junction of the old portion of the city and the new parts of the city, it was interesting to look at the skyline. (In the old city, buildings must be three stories or smaller, in order to preserve the ancient layout) As our tour winded down, we visited a silk factory, as well as a pearl factory. We ended up seeing the intricate methodologies used in those industries and were "encouraged" to buy their products at a discount.
Headed back to our hotel and ended up eating out again (every meal so far haha). Then we headed back and packed yet again to prepare for our early morning departure to the ancient city of Nanjing.
Note: Got caught up in some TMS/ ITASA stuff, so haven't been able to post in a while. Still working on putting up photos, but the computer I'm using keeps on freezing due to the sheer amount of pictures.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Hangzhou: Revisited
After arriving in Hangzhou, we promptly left the bus station (the bus ride was long and filled with traffic, as we passed by a huge thunderstorm-saw so much lightning. We met my cousin and aunt for dinner (they came to Hangzhou to visit us and take some of our luggage since we had sooo much). We ended up walking to the city's "restaurant" street that was filled with flashing lights/ signs that advertised the hundreds of shops on the street. Ordered about eight different dishes and ate quite well for the first time in a couple of days (mountain food = inferior). Afterwards, I took a taxi with my cousin to go to an internet cafe. Unfortunately, you need a Chinese student ID to access the computers (talk about epic fail). Ended up walking around the city and finally returned to our hotel. Hotel internet is pretty horrendous (not only do they block sites, but they also have a ridiculously slow speed).
The next morning, my aunt and cousin left for Shanghai, while we explored the city some more. We ended up visiting the Lingyin (a Zen Buddhist) Temple. The place was huge and housed numerous sacred relics. In addition, there were lots of historical artifacts (some over 2000 years old!). It was really interesting seeing the various Buddhist monuments and monks. We were really lucky as we saw monks administering a prayer service (it was really musical and majestic). *See the pictures :)* Ate out on "restaurant" street again. The restaurant we ate at had a special on this special kind of chicken, which we ended up getting ($29 for a whole chicken) Went back to the hotel, packed and slept pretty early since we were leaving for SuZhou early the next morning.
PS: Beware of Chinese taxi drivers, they drive in circles and waste your time sometimes
Major Blogfest soon
The next morning, my aunt and cousin left for Shanghai, while we explored the city some more. We ended up visiting the Lingyin (a Zen Buddhist) Temple. The place was huge and housed numerous sacred relics. In addition, there were lots of historical artifacts (some over 2000 years old!). It was really interesting seeing the various Buddhist monuments and monks. We were really lucky as we saw monks administering a prayer service (it was really musical and majestic). *See the pictures :)* Ate out on "restaurant" street again. The restaurant we ate at had a special on this special kind of chicken, which we ended up getting ($29 for a whole chicken) Went back to the hotel, packed and slept pretty early since we were leaving for SuZhou early the next morning.
PS: Beware of Chinese taxi drivers, they drive in circles and waste your time sometimes
Major Blogfest soon
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Yellow Mountain: Part 2
On the third day, we ended up waking at 4AM to watch the sunrise at the highest point of the mountain. My entire body was sore/numb from walking so much the other day. When we woke up to walk to the spot where we would watch the sunrise, it was pitch black! Luckily, I brought a LED flashlight, so we were able to surmount the various staircases and obstacles we had to pass through. When we reached the destination, everything was surrounded by clouds. I could even see mist/ clouds form in the light from my flashlight! The sunrise was pretty amazing (@ 5:06AM) ..though it got really cloudly, so the sun was blocked. Fortunately, the sun finally pierced through the clouds at 6...see photos :D.
Afterwards, we hiked down a bit to eat some breakfast at this restaurant. For $100 (which was half-price since we were part of a tour group), we got five bowls of porridge, five eggs, five pieces of cake, and five pieces of bread. As untasty and expensive this breakfast was, we begrudgingly ate it, knowing that we would need all the energy for the long day ahead. Slowly hiking, as our bodies were quite sore from the day before, we climbed from one peak to the next and saw the clouds below us fly by. We ascended another peak and passed by lots of cool "natural" designs/ rocks in the mountains. There was one called "squirrel jumping to the heavens" and another of the "tortoise and the hare." We took the cable car back down the mountain and visited another small waterfall.
It took us quite a while to trek back down to the bus station. When we did, we were driven to see some "specialty shops." The first was a tea store...the tea was quite interesting...one smelled like chicken soup (go figure!). Next, we went to an Eastern Medicine Store, where they sold various herbal medications and gave us a leg massage. (Sidenote: got in an "argument" with a bus driver, ask me for details) Next, we went to lunch at a restaurant located in the lobby of our hotel. Then, we took a bus and started the journey back to Hangzhou.
Afterwards, we hiked down a bit to eat some breakfast at this restaurant. For $100 (which was half-price since we were part of a tour group), we got five bowls of porridge, five eggs, five pieces of cake, and five pieces of bread. As untasty and expensive this breakfast was, we begrudgingly ate it, knowing that we would need all the energy for the long day ahead. Slowly hiking, as our bodies were quite sore from the day before, we climbed from one peak to the next and saw the clouds below us fly by. We ascended another peak and passed by lots of cool "natural" designs/ rocks in the mountains. There was one called "squirrel jumping to the heavens" and another of the "tortoise and the hare." We took the cable car back down the mountain and visited another small waterfall.
It took us quite a while to trek back down to the bus station. When we did, we were driven to see some "specialty shops." The first was a tea store...the tea was quite interesting...one smelled like chicken soup (go figure!). Next, we went to an Eastern Medicine Store, where they sold various herbal medications and gave us a leg massage. (Sidenote: got in an "argument" with a bus driver, ask me for details) Next, we went to lunch at a restaurant located in the lobby of our hotel. Then, we took a bus and started the journey back to Hangzhou.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Alive and Well
Note: Blogger and some other English sites are blocked at my hotel...
Finally figured out how to bypass Chinese internet firewalls via an undisclosed proxy (MIT skills FTW!)
Everything is in Chinese Dollars
Summary of Past Couple of Days:
Plane ride was pretty straightforward...once we landed in China it felt like we were part of a Bioterrorist bombing... People in full out body suits came by and scanned everyone's head with a "bar scanner," like at the supermarket, to check their body temperature for fevers. They weren't full body scanners, but rather mini ones that only scanned your forehead. If you were "fever-like," they put a thermometer under your tongue to check again. On the flight, food wasn't too bad...except the portions were tiny! I think I finished my main entree in like 5 bites...lol. (There were three meals... chicken teriyaki with rice, ramen, and a turkey sandwich). The inflight movies were ok...they played Mall Cop, Bride Wars, and the Pink Panther 2? Afterwards, we hung out in Shanghai for a bit, then we took the bus to Hangzhou. (~2-3 hour busride)
The following day, we woke up at 6AM and ate a pretty good breakfast at this family owned store. Then we went to this huge lake in Hangzhou (over a mile in circumference?), and saw so many cool things. (photos to come within a week)There was this old guy writing calligraphy with water on the ground and other people demonstrating martial arts. (Insert Video Link HERE ^^) Later, we ended up going on a boat around the lake and taking many pictures of pagodas, bridges, etc. For lunch, we ate at this super-fancy restaurant on the waterfront. (One of the dishes on the menu was $800...) Walked around for a bit more, then it started raining, so we rested at this pagoda. While there, I saw this guy who made a fishing rod from a soda can, string, and a fish hook. This guy was "pro," he would just toss in his fishing line and he would instantly get a fish... Went to dinner at some local restaurant and headed to bed at like 9-10ish.
The following day, we woke up at 5AM to check out/ prepare our luggage for our trip to the Yellow Mountain. Our tour bus was actually late, so we didn't leave until like 7?? After a four hour bus ride, we arrived at our destination... Ate at some restaurant (apparently in China, meat is way more expensive than vegetables..unlike in the US) Afterwards, we rented this taxi/ tourguide for the afternoon for $100 and went to two scenic places. The first place we went to was called Nine Dragon Waterfall, since it's comprised of nine waterfalls that look like dragons. The entire hike up and down took about two hours, but it wasn't too bad, since we took a lot of pictures. Afterwards, we went to this other place (not sure on the English name). It also had tons of waterfalls and scenic points...as well as funny English translations ^^. (See photos-> Up in a week or so- sorry) Went back, ate a decent dinner at a different location and slept at 9-10ish.
The next day, we woke up at around 8 to catch our tour up to the Yellow Mountain. The view there is awesome! We started our ascent/ climb at around 9AM by taking a cable car up. The cable cars were pretty high tech, they had air conditioning and even had solar panels. From there, we started climbing the mountain and visited lots of interesting places. (See photos :D) On the mountain, there was one hotel that charged $8888 a night...thats pretty expensive haha (we didn't stay there since we got a package/ tour deal). As we continued climbing, we saw lots of interestingly named trees and exotic fauna. In total, we ended up hiking/ climbing a linear distance of over 18km (not including climbing down and up..it was really steep at some parts!). At some points, the path was only supported by a few cement blocks...it was pretty scary since we were so far up (we were walking on air almost!). We set out at 10 and didn't reach our final destination until 730 at night. Our hotel was located roughly 1800m above sea level, so we were literally living in the clouds. It was pretty awesome seeing the wind blow and clouds pass right in front of you.
Finally figured out how to bypass Chinese internet firewalls via an undisclosed proxy (MIT skills FTW!)
Everything is in Chinese Dollars
Summary of Past Couple of Days:
Plane ride was pretty straightforward...once we landed in China it felt like we were part of a Bioterrorist bombing... People in full out body suits came by and scanned everyone's head with a "bar scanner," like at the supermarket, to check their body temperature for fevers. They weren't full body scanners, but rather mini ones that only scanned your forehead. If you were "fever-like," they put a thermometer under your tongue to check again. On the flight, food wasn't too bad...except the portions were tiny! I think I finished my main entree in like 5 bites...lol. (There were three meals... chicken teriyaki with rice, ramen, and a turkey sandwich). The inflight movies were ok...they played Mall Cop, Bride Wars, and the Pink Panther 2? Afterwards, we hung out in Shanghai for a bit, then we took the bus to Hangzhou. (~2-3 hour busride)
The following day, we woke up at 6AM and ate a pretty good breakfast at this family owned store. Then we went to this huge lake in Hangzhou (over a mile in circumference?), and saw so many cool things. (photos to come within a week)There was this old guy writing calligraphy with water on the ground and other people demonstrating martial arts. (Insert Video Link HERE ^^) Later, we ended up going on a boat around the lake and taking many pictures of pagodas, bridges, etc. For lunch, we ate at this super-fancy restaurant on the waterfront. (One of the dishes on the menu was $800...) Walked around for a bit more, then it started raining, so we rested at this pagoda. While there, I saw this guy who made a fishing rod from a soda can, string, and a fish hook. This guy was "pro," he would just toss in his fishing line and he would instantly get a fish... Went to dinner at some local restaurant and headed to bed at like 9-10ish.
The following day, we woke up at 5AM to check out/ prepare our luggage for our trip to the Yellow Mountain. Our tour bus was actually late, so we didn't leave until like 7?? After a four hour bus ride, we arrived at our destination... Ate at some restaurant (apparently in China, meat is way more expensive than vegetables..unlike in the US) Afterwards, we rented this taxi/ tourguide for the afternoon for $100 and went to two scenic places. The first place we went to was called Nine Dragon Waterfall, since it's comprised of nine waterfalls that look like dragons. The entire hike up and down took about two hours, but it wasn't too bad, since we took a lot of pictures. Afterwards, we went to this other place (not sure on the English name). It also had tons of waterfalls and scenic points...as well as funny English translations ^^. (See photos-> Up in a week or so- sorry) Went back, ate a decent dinner at a different location and slept at 9-10ish.
The next day, we woke up at around 8 to catch our tour up to the Yellow Mountain. The view there is awesome! We started our ascent/ climb at around 9AM by taking a cable car up. The cable cars were pretty high tech, they had air conditioning and even had solar panels. From there, we started climbing the mountain and visited lots of interesting places. (See photos :D) On the mountain, there was one hotel that charged $8888 a night...thats pretty expensive haha (we didn't stay there since we got a package/ tour deal). As we continued climbing, we saw lots of interestingly named trees and exotic fauna. In total, we ended up hiking/ climbing a linear distance of over 18km (not including climbing down and up..it was really steep at some parts!). At some points, the path was only supported by a few cement blocks...it was pretty scary since we were so far up (we were walking on air almost!). We set out at 10 and didn't reach our final destination until 730 at night. Our hotel was located roughly 1800m above sea level, so we were literally living in the clouds. It was pretty awesome seeing the wind blow and clouds pass right in front of you.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Joys of Packing/ Brief Itinerary
First Post!
I've just about finished packing for the trip. It'll be really hot everyday (~90s), so I packed accordingly. While packing, I realized I have a large amount of T-shirts and collared shirts, so it took a while to find the ones I was looking for. I also brought along some reading material, including but not limited to the 5.13 textbook and some non-academic books.
For everyone that's been asking me, I will be leaving for China from Logan on Monday at around 7 AM. I'll have a quick layover in Chicago (shoutout to Jenny), then I'll be landing in Shanghai sometime in the afternoon on Tuesday. From there, I'll be starting my journey and adventures across China.
First Stop: Shanghai
Second Stop: Hangzhou/Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain)
Third Stop: Suzhou
Fourth Stop: Wuxi/ Nanjing
Fifth Stop: Zhengzhou
Sixth Stop: Chengde
Seventh Stop: Beijing
Nothing is completely set in stone yet, but I'm sure it'll be an amazing trip! If you have any requests, please let me know :). I'm not sure when I'll be posting again, since I'll have intermittent internet access. Be sure to check back!
Until Next Time,
Bohan
PS Feel free to follow my blog. All you need is a gmail or aim account.
I've just about finished packing for the trip. It'll be really hot everyday (~90s), so I packed accordingly. While packing, I realized I have a large amount of T-shirts and collared shirts, so it took a while to find the ones I was looking for. I also brought along some reading material, including but not limited to the 5.13 textbook and some non-academic books.
For everyone that's been asking me, I will be leaving for China from Logan on Monday at around 7 AM. I'll have a quick layover in Chicago (shoutout to Jenny), then I'll be landing in Shanghai sometime in the afternoon on Tuesday. From there, I'll be starting my journey and adventures across China.
First Stop: Shanghai
Second Stop: Hangzhou/Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain)
Third Stop: Suzhou
Fourth Stop: Wuxi/ Nanjing
Fifth Stop: Zhengzhou
Sixth Stop: Chengde
Seventh Stop: Beijing
Nothing is completely set in stone yet, but I'm sure it'll be an amazing trip! If you have any requests, please let me know :). I'm not sure when I'll be posting again, since I'll have intermittent internet access. Be sure to check back!
Until Next Time,
Bohan
PS Feel free to follow my blog. All you need is a gmail or aim account.
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