Rolls Around the World 2007: 25 Beijing to Xuzhou, China

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Miles for the day - 219 (352 km) Miles to date: 11,825 (19,031`km)

The Regent Club were good enough to open for breakfast 15 minutes early this morning, so we were able to depart the hotel at 6:30 AM. As we taxied to the Rolls Royce service centre I noticed that city buses are equipped with TV on for passengers. Rolls Royce brought in an employee early so we could get going - the garage doors were open and the car idling to warm up. Before leaving I was presented with a gift of a Rolls Royce shirt. There is no question their service is top notch!

Leaving the city was relatively easy with our 30 km (17 mile) head start - the garage is located in our direction of travel. A missed expressway connection cost us some time, but once going it was clear sailing on excellent roads. Rain drizzled for a couple of hours, and smog was heavy as we quickly traversed the flat farmland. Along the expressways in China employees with straw brooms sweep the sides, keeping the roads litter free. Unfortunately, balancing the tires did not stop the shuddering vibration in the front end. We'll give up on the problem until back in Canada.

We arrived at Dezhou at 11:30 AM and checked into a huge room in the Meilihua Hotel. It has theatre sized TV (but no English channels), and free wired Internet. Dezhou is a clean, modern city of about 170,000 people with wide, uncongested boulevards. The main industry is clothing manufacturing.

Lunch was at a specialty restaurant. The main floor has huge tanks filled with live fish, although James recommended waiting until Shanghai for seafood. We ate chicken; the dish the city is renowned for, in a private dining room on the fifth floor. In this part of China rice is not popular, people prefer noodles, which are eaten after the main meal.

We had no program for the afternoon, so I caught up on the computer while Marilynn got here hair done for four hours. (Massage, wash, tint, cut and so on. It came out well!)

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Miles for the day - 254 (409 km) Miles to date: 12,079 (19,439`km)

When I checked the car it was surrounded by people in rain gear with cameras, in spite of heavy rain. Driving conditions were unpleasant in pouring rain and thick fog/smog. Truck and bus drivers are like Costa Ricans, with no idea how to use a multi-lane highway. Most of the excellent road today had three lanes each way, but it was necessary to use all three lanes to get around slow vehicles in the passing lane. Marilynn got a blister on her hand from using a squeegee to clear the inside of the windshield - the defrosters don't work. She finally put on one of my gloves. The speed limit has increased to 120 kph (75 mph) but we continued at a steady 110 kph (68 mph).

On arrival at Xuzhou we checked into a beautiful 25th floor suite in the Jiali International Hotel. CSITS (China Sea International Travel Service) has really done a great job of booking our hotels! We walked to a nearby local restaurant where James ordered lunch, and then I had a siesta while Marilynn caught up on some photo editing.

Xuzhou, population 770,000, is a producer of inexpensive clothing as well as an industrial & transportation centre. Like most Chinese cities, the streets are clean. China's two most important rail routes meet here and it is a river port. Its strategic importance is evidenced by the over 200 wars that have been fought here since the Xia Dynasty (21-16 BC). It was capital of the Western Chu Kingdom 2,000 years ago.

Tomorrow we head for Hangzhou where we will spend a couple of days.