Rolls Around the World 2007: 26 Xuzhou to , China

Friday, September 28, 2007

Miles for the day - 258 (415 km) Miles to date: 12,337 (19,655`km)

A slight error in yesterday's dispatch - it was not Hangzhou we drove to today, it was Nanjing, where we have another one night stop. Tomorrow will be Suzhou for two nights. Sleep on our hard 2.5-meter (8 ft) wide bed was difficult, but the car was happy in a warm underground garage. It started first turn of a key this morning. Perhaps it is also shaking off the effects of some of the bad gas that stopped a lot of rally cars. Fortunately, other than being a bit reluctant to start on cold mornings, she never missed a beat.

The highways were excellent again, and although it was raining visibility was better. The divided highways have shrubs and flowers planted along the centre divider at a height to block the headlights of oncoming cars at night. Very sensible! There are a number of new rest stops with gas stations and large, clean washrooms - a welcome addition.

James and I devoured the last of our moon cakes. Marion Lu from Rolls Royce and Lifeng Liu from CSITS had each made us a gift of half a dozen of them. Specialty bakeries prepare these cakes only for one month at this time of the year, to be given as gifts for the Autumn Festival. Fillings are varied and delicious - they kept us going on the long stretches of driving since Beijing!

It stopped raining when we arrived in Nanjing, a city of 3,375,000 people that goes back to 472 BC. Once checked into the luxurious Grand Metro Park Hotel, where the bed is the widest I've ever seen - 3 meters (10 ft) across, we had a quick lunch and were picked up by a local driver and guide to see some of the city.

This historic city was the capital of several dynasties, and then made the capital of China by the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Of the original 33 km (20.5 miles) of 14-meter (46 ft) high city walls, 23 km (14 miles) still remain. The city is now a modern industrial city producing cars, bicycles and electronics.

We drove through the Zhong Mountain Scenic Area, a 20-acre (80,000 sq. meter) park that contains the highest hill in the area and the mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the revolutionary who overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911, and established the Republic of China. The magnificent mausoleum and its surrounding area were built between 1926 and 1929. Nanjing remained capital of China until the defeat of Chiang Kai-Shek in 1949 by the communist forces of Mao Tse-Tung.

We strolled some of the old city, which although rebuilt has been done in the traditional way. A highlight is the Confucius Temple, first built in 1034 by the Song Dynasty and rebuilt several times as a tribute to the great philosopher and teacher. Confucius was born in 551 BC.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Miles for the day - 140 (225 km) Miles to date: 12,377 (20,080`km)

The bed was a lot softer last night, but I didn't notice the pillows were feather and my allergies raised hell. The hotel is well designed, equipped and laid out - but they miss out in hospitality training for staff. A number of employees in different areas were very officious. For example, the security guy at reception didn't want to allow us to stop in front of the hotel long enough to unload the luggage (we did anyway), or the restaurant employee who would not allow Marilynn to take her cup of tea to a smoking area to have a cigarette.

Nanjing is nestled among high hills, but we soon left them behind as we ate up the miles along 8-lane expressway. The skies were grey, but no rain today. As we approached Singapore the traffic became heavier. Over 100 miles (160 km) from the city the urban sprawl began - high-rise apartments, factories, commercial buildings, houses and town houses (called villas here). Our destination today is only half an hour from Shanghai by expressway.

Every city we have seen in China has a forest of building cranes constructing new office buildings, plants and high-rise apartments. I cannot imagine how many of these cranes must be operating in the country. The expressway network is being expanded as well, with new clover leafs and highways in construction everywhere we have been.

Suzhou, a city of 2,170,000, was established in 514 BC in the centre of the Yangtze River Delta. Forty-two percent of Suzhou jurisdiction is covered by water, including one of the four largest lakes in China. The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal cuts the province of almost 6 million people from north to south. The Grand Canal was started in 486 BC in the Wu Dynasty, and then extended during the Wu, Qi and Sui Dynasties. The period of greatest construction activity was from 605 to 610 AD, when some 3 million workers died on the job. It is 1,795 km (1,114 miles) long with 24 locks and some 60 bridges. It is still the world's longest man made waterway.

After checking in to the low rise, traditionally designed Suzhou Sheraton, we visited a silk factory, where they did everything from raising the silk worms to selling the end products. The silk comes from the cocoon of a silk worm, which goes from egg to dead in 60 days. The machines unravelling the silk from the cocoon and weaving material are right out of the industrial revolution - all mechanical with wheels spinning, rocker arms rocking, chains clanking, brushes whirling and levers moving up and down or back and forth. Rude Goldberg would have loved them, but they did the incredibly delicate work flawlessly. Fortunately beer was available in shopping area, making that part of the program somewhat more tolerable!

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Suzhou has in excess of 60 formal gardens, several of which are listed in the World Heritage List. Today we visited two World Heritage sites, The Humble Administrator's Garden, built over 16 years from 1506 and covering 52,000 sq. meters (12.85 acres), and The Garden of the Master of Nets, first designed during the Song Dynasty (960-1279). At 6,000 sq meters (64,560 sq. ft) it is the smallest formal garden in Suzhou, but careful design makes excellent use of the space. Both contain various sizes of water carved rocks from a lake nearby, and a large selection of trees and plants. Ponds cover a considerable area in both gardens.

Suzhou has two industrial areas, but the central part has been kept people friendly. There are few high-rise towers and the tree-shaded streets are lined with interesting shops. A number of streets run alongside canals where the flower and tree lined banks reflect beautifully in the water.

As the tours today were in the morning, we inquired about visiting one of the water townships, Zhouzhuang, but were discouraged when told the 30 km drive would take at least an hour each way and all that we would see when we arrived would be crowds of people. This is the weekend preceding Golden Week, and tomorrow is National Day; so all attractions will be swarming with visitors. It is a shame, as the township was founded in 770 BC and comprises well-preserved ancient houses and some 14 bridges from 1355, 1573 and so on. The recommended way to see the town is by gondola.

James recommended an excellent restaurant just around the corner from the hotel, so we took advantage of it for a remarkable lunch before an easy afternoon. In the evening we taxied to a dock area on the Grand Canal for a one-hour night cruise. The air was cool, but not cold - we were comfortable sitting on the open upper deck. Multi-coloured lights shine on trees along the banks, many buildings including pagodas and the pagoda style roof of our hotel are outlined in lights or illuminated by coloured spotlights, bridges are outlines in lights and the downtown area is a riot of colour. Even the ancient city wall is outlined by white lights. It was a spectacular ride - great value at 60 Yuan ($8.00) each