Greetings From China: Part 5
Visitors To Orient Take Trip Into Interior
Following Is the fifth In a
series of excerpts from a
recent letter from Warren
County native Mrs. Carolyn
Satterwhlte Schoonover who
Is In China with her husband,
an agricultural counselor with
the U. S. Government, sta
tioned at the American Em
bassy In Beijing.
The countryside was moun
tainous around the city and more
humid and lush looking thjn
Xian. There were oleander am
banana trees in a few pi .es.
lotus plants, rice padc.it*s and
strange vegetables growir.g
along the roadside. We even saw
a few China Berry trees. To me
this looked more the China I had
envisioned. Chong Qing the city
disappointed me in this respect.
It is almost an hour's drive
tYom the airport and after driv
ing through the lushness along
the roadside it was disappointing
to find that the city was grey,
drab, and very dirty. The streets
twist and turn and it was impossi
ble to keep a sense of direction.
It is an industrial city?a Chinese
version of Wheeling, W.Va.
Our hotel there was modeled
after the Temple of Heaven in
Beijing. It was a huge building
with a central three-story dome
and two flanking pagodas with
soaring rooflines. The eaves were
painted with gold and red lacquer
and massive stone steps lead up
to a central auditorium.
We rested for an hour or so
before visiting the highest point
in the city. On the top of this point
is a seven-story tower. From the
tower one could see for miles.
The old inner city was laid out
below on an island-like parcel at
the junction of the rivers. On the
opposite banks, the new city
stairstepped up the mountains for
as far as the eye could see. We
were in the middle of China!
Later we visited some gardens
and an artists' colony. This col
ony is government-controlled.
Some of the artists have lived in
the compound for 30 years. Much
of their earnings go back to the
government.
Before dusk we drove around
some in the city and down to the
ferry landing. We were struck by
how dirty the streets were. There
were more filth and spit on the
sidewalks than in Beijing. In fact
there was so much that walking
was hazardous.
The next morning we were
scheduled to catch a boat for the
three-day tour down the Yangtze
River. We barely made it. The
boat was overbooked and they
tried to put us off. We staged a sit
in and refused to leave. Dave
used his diplomatic status, the
only time I've known him to do
so. He explained that we had had
our reservations for weeks, that
we couldn't rearrange our plans.
If we had to get off we were go
ing back to Beijing and demand
all our money back. In addition
we were going to report their in
eptness to the highest officials.
Whether this worked or not I
don't know but for whatever
reason they allowed us to stay.
Our poor Chinese guide was so
upset he was almost in tears. It
really wasn't his fault but he was
the one who had to deal with the
situation. If what we did seemed
pushy, it must be understood that
once you are on a trip here there
is no way to change plans. There
are no computer reservations.
Everything is done by telegraph
or mail weeks ahead of time. If
you miss a connection you are
stranded unless you get lucky. So
that's why we persisted.
In addition to ourselves, there
were two American school
teachers and two Hong Kong
families with small children who
were "in the same boat with
us"?stranded also. None of us
'? had rooms.
Finally the situation was
? resolved by putting the Hong
> Kong families into crew quarters
; and our family shared the game
boom with the school teachers.
i We immediately struck up a
friendship with them and con
] ttnue to communicate with them
; in the United States.
} Sheets were hung over the win
| dows and we were given pallets
1 to sleep on. The only problem was
the lade of private rest rooms. We
? had to trot down the halls and
wait for some of die other tourists
who were too lazy to go to their
own rooms to the rest rooms. The
floors were wet and the toilets
stopped up easily. So, we didn't
bathe for three days. It wasn't so
bad though since the boat was
clean and air-conditioned.
The boat was large and there
were several observation decks,
a bur. dance floor, restaurant
lo and a small pool.
' fternoon as we moved
: river it began to narrow
;i.\i ?t knew that in the morning
wt would be entering the famous
Three Gorges. Along the river
banks we could see small houses
perched on impossible looking
bits of land. Crops were planted
in perpendicular rows right up
hillsides. There was no attempt
at terracing. We couldn't see how
anyone could walk there much
joss farm it.
In the flat areas, patches of
yellow corn spread out to dry
made patterns against the green
hills. Small sampans anchored in
rocky coves. Other boats and fer
ries passed us.
Late that evening we docked at
an industrial city along the river.
Effluent ran into the river and
great chunks of something
resembling styrofoam floated by
the boat. Small boys swam
amidst the chunks. Buildings
seemed to rise straight up and out
of the river and up the hillsides.
From the boat dock stretched
the longest set of steps I've ever
seen. To me the city looked pret
ty grim and I wasn't interested in
seeing it any closer, but some of
the tourists who did said it wasn't
so bad looking once you got away
from the river.
The mealtime situation on the
boat was not pleasant. Since
there were 12 extra passengers
on the boat there should have
been another table set up. As it
was, there was a constant scur
rying and scuffling to get seats.
Many people ate standing. The
first evening it was announced
that we should sit in the same
places each time. This was
generally ignored.
The majority of the other
tourists were Japanese. We found
that in general, as tour groups,
they were aggressive, pushy and
obnoxious. On a one-to-one basis,
they were different; but put
together in groups they were
overwhelming. We found that we
(the 10 or so Americans on board)
were constantly having to juggle
in order to maintain our status
aboard ship? get to meals early
in order to reserve our seats, etc.
In addition we found that we were
seeking spaces on the ship that
were as far removed from the
Japanese as possible.
But aside from the mealtime
problem, sleeping and bathroom
arrangements, the trip was
wonderful. The gorges were
everything they were said to be.
It was like travelling down a
green Grand Canyon or through
Glacier or Yellowstone Park by
boat. For three days we stood on
the observation deck until we
were burned by wind and sun.
On our last night out, the cap
tain apologized to us for the mix
up on our rooms and refunded all
our money. Later we overheard
other tourists talking about being
put off the boat because of over
booking. They got off instead of
staying and fighting. Obviously it
is a constant problem. We had the
feeling not very many tourists
buck the system. The captain
seemed too sharp and intelligent
to be willing to apologize to and
reimburse someone on every
trip. I believe he would have
rolled some heads if he had
known it was an everyday
occurrence.
On the third and last day, the
hillsides leveled out and the river
widened and ahead of us was a
dam and a set of locks. Our boat
came into the locks first with
three more behind us. Chinese
lined the walls to watch the ships
sink. That's exactly what we did.
As the water was pumped out, we
sank 22 meters or about 70 feet in
just a few minutes. When the
gates were reopened we were
down to the original river level
again.
We ended our river tour at
Wuhan. It is three cities in one,
separated by two rivers. Each
has a downtown and a distinct
flavor all its own. It is a hill city
with many trees and varied ar
chitecture. (It also has served as
China's capital.)
Some effort had been made
there to control traffic. Overhead
pedestrian bridges had been con
structed over many intersections.
From these bridges we stood and
watched life flow by. There were
many gaudy signs, flourescent
lights, wrought iron grills and
balconies. I was reminded of pic
tures of Hong Kong or U.S. China
towns.
On one of the open air market
streets, we threaded our way be
tween vendors selling live
chickens, ducks, buckets of
turtles, live eels?some of which
had managed to slither out of the
buckets and into crevices in the
street. The turtles were sold with
their shells cut off and innards
still quivering. Farther down the
alley were slaughtered meats
and exotic vegetables. Every few
steps were difficult, dodging
bicycles, jostling shoppers, slip
ping on wet cobblestones. It was
such a relief to get out.
Our hotel in Wuhan was new
and relatively nice but service
and food left something to be
desired. It was not just that we
were getting tired of Chinese food
but that the food was repetitious
and not well prepared or served.
Waitresses were often sullen and
slow and it just became a hassle
to eat.
We found it amusing that the
elevators were either for odd- or
even-numbered floors. Wouldn't
you know we got on the wrong one
right off and had to carry our lug
gage down a floor.
On Aug. 8, we flew into the air
port at Shanghai. Brian and
Kathy and I had come through
this airport on our arrival in
China. This time it looked dif
ferent as we arrived through the
internal reception area and not
international.
When our guide met us we were
surprised to be taken to a chauf
fer driven Chrysler limo.
Somehow they had gotten the
word that we were not regular
tourists but from the American
embassy. That was all right with
us! It was great fun and very
comfortable riding around in a
limo. At the same time it was em
barrassing having people stare at
us, especially when they were
other American tourists.
One night we went to an
acrobatic show. On that par
ticular night, practically the
whole arena was reserved for
tourists. Most of them had ar
rived by bus and were waiting
outside when we arrived in the
limo. They began pointing at us
and I'm sure they were wonder
ing who we thought we were. To
make matters worse, our driver
took his part very seriously and
pulled rank to get a parking spot.
Oh well, take the good with the
bad!
The acrobatic show, by the
way, was wonderful and we were
very impressed with some of the
acts. We especially enjoyed the
animal acts since we see so few
animals here.
Shanghai is a different type of
Chinese city. We sensed it im
mediately. It is more orderly.
Much of the city was built under
foreign occupation and is,
therefore, more European in feel.
There are recognizable neigh
borhoods, centers of commerce,
business, shopping, whatever.
There is a definite downtown.
The blend of architecture is ex
citing but unfortunately many of
the old buildings are being torn
down and replaced with
highrises. We saw quaint Dutch
style buildings being razed and it
broke my heart. It's what gives
Shanghai its uniqueness.
Up until recently most develop
ment money has been poured in
to Beijing, hence all the new
hotels, improved streets, etc.
Shanghai has been left to fend for
itself until now. Two new joint
venture hotels are under con
struction at the edge of the city,
and one was due to open this fall.
Downtown are the older Euro
pean built hotels with high ceil
ings, ornate mouldings, lighting
fixtures, ceiling fans, etc. We
stayed in the Mansions, which
has been extensively remodeled
and which has a western style
restaurant. The rooms were ade
quate, nothing fancy. We found
the elevators there amusing also.
They were fully automated with
a perfectly modulated computer
voice repeating in English every
floor "... floor, going up, ...floor,
going down" and so on. We had
great fun mimicking it each time.
From our hotel window we
could look out over the harbor
and see the "Bund," the old
financial district of the city.
Nearby was a park where
couples strolled by the hundreds
and looked out at the ships
docked on the river.
Shanghai is one of the largest
ports in the world, just how im
mense we found out as we toured
it by boat. It went on for miles,
one ship after another, both sides
of the river and down the middle,
with flags from every nation.
The river is terribly polluted.
Even the air smells of it. So does
the drinking water. We almost
couldn't bear to drink it.
Let me explain here about
drinking water in China. It must
be boiled everywhere. It is as
sumed that the hotels boil the
water. Drinking water is pro
vided in flasks in each room
along with a cup for tea and one
for brushing one's teeth. It is not
to be assumed that water used for
ice has been boiled.
When out on the street it is
generally safe to drink the local
soft drinks, or beer. Usually they
are hot. Coca Cola has a large
factory here and of course we are
happy about that because that
means Cokes are available
almost everywhere. There are
even imported Pepsi's, Sprite
and Fanta Orange drink. Just to
be on the safe side we drank
mostly bottled soft drinks on the
trip.
In Shanghai, we ate western
food for the first time in a week.
It was wonderful but still didn't
help the stomach problems we
had developed along the way.
On our last evening in Shanghai
we had our driver drop us off at
the Peace Hotel. There is a bar
there which looks exactly the way
it did when built over 40 years
ago. (It was described in the book
"Shanghai" which I had just
finished reading.) It was dark,
stale and seedy looking. The old
marble walls and columns were
stained and Christmas lights
were strung around the high ceil
ings. In one corner played a small
combo whose major repertoire
consisted of 40's songs. One could
just imagine what it must have
been like to have lived in the
foreign community of Shangai at
that time. It is still a busy place.
In its earlier days, Shanghai
was a notoriously sinful city.
There were so many kidnappings
and abductions that the name has
become synonymous with it. Pro
stitution, gambling, opium dens,
you name it. Every vice pros
pered there.
As interesting as Shanghai
was, it was a relief to leave and
get away from the stifling heat.
We traveled by train this time,
not air-conditioned but there was
sufficient breeze to keep us cool.
Our stomach bugs were really
giving us a rough time so we were
glad the train ride wasn't a long
one. (Bathrooms on the trains
here are almost impossible to
use. The floors are wet, the car is
lurching and there is generally no
paper.)
(To be continued)
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