The next day in Shanghai wasn't in Shanghai at all. We ventured out towards Suzhou, a city you've probably never heard of. But nevertheless, it's been described as "The Venice of Asia", which oddly enough has been applied to Bangkok as well. Whereas Bangkok does use the rivers and canals for transportation, for Suzhou, it's pretty much just for tourists. The upside then, is that it's kept pretty clean. Anyway, after a quick train ride, we got out at Suzhou station and saw... snow! Wow! I've not seen snow in probably 6 years, so I had to build a little snowman to celebrate. The first stop was at Beisi Pagoda. A little temple with a big pagoda, it's pretty but overall forgettable.

We walked towards the Administrator's Garden, which I know sounds boring, but is reportedly one of the most beautiful gardens in China. Especially with the snow, I thought it would be really pretty. So did the rest of China, because ohhhhhhhh myyyyy gooooood. The line was bonkers, and probably would be a 3 or 4 hour wait. In the snow. Just... no. Why would anyone do that? Like, even if you came from the other side of the country, there are other gardens. Yes I'm sure it's pretty, but it's not like this is some world famous landmark. I don't get it, especially because Chinese people suck at lining up. It's not an orderly, 3 or 4 hour queue. It's a disorderly 3 or 4 hour battle to push to the front.

No. A million times no. I would rather walk back to Shanghai.

Instead we went through Pingjiang Road, the walking area of the town, which was quite pretty. We had a snack of crab balls (crab meat in ball form, fried... I think), before stopping at a restaurant I had heard about. This restaurant has a bit of a reputation, for being older than America is a country and serving the best squirrel fish in the city. Squirrel fish is a Suzhou specialty, or so I am told, that's sort of a diced and fried fish, laid out in such a way to look like a squirrel's tail. I... guess it does? Sort of? Anyway, it's basically sweet and sour fried fish, which I mean, you can't go wrong. Combined with eggplant, which has constantly been mom and dad's favorite food on this whole trip. I gotta agree, China does eggplant right. America has been utterly defeated in the eggplant war.

After numerous shops and photo taking, we took the metro over to another canal at Shantang Street. This one was a little more picturesque, in that the canal actually ran through the buildings, serving as a kind of street, and not just something for tourists - although it was that too. But honestly, that's about it for Suzhou. We just walked around, took photos, shopped, and ate. Nothing wrong with that.

Back in Shanghai for the last full day, there were some odds and ends to clear up. We began at Jingan Temple, maybe the most impressive in scale of the Buddhist temples I've seen. But because it was Chinese New Year, they were charging insane admission - 100 yuan. Even their regular fee of 50 is nuts. I mean, this is a temple. IMO if you're not letting poor people into your religion, you're doing religion wrong. Maybe one day we'll go, because it is an impressive building. But the extortionate pricing doesn't sit well with me.

Continuing the religious theme, the next few places were churches. Something Ella really digs, the best one was probably Xujiahui Cathedral, which is HQ of the Diocese of Shanghai. It's a really pretty building, and they were giving out flyers of stuff to do in that district. It's a bit out of downtown, so I was a bit surprised at how much there was to do around there. Nice of them to do that, and I'm sure one day we'll be back and have a chance to explore the area.

Maybe a combination of Ella fighting a cold, but at that point the two of us were exhausted. We went back to the hotel for a nap, something I hardly ever do, to get ready for the evening. We had booked a cruise up and down the river, which, is something only tourists would do in the middle of winter. It was cold for sure, but that also made the air much clearer. We got some pretty great views of the skyline at night. Ella said she liked it more than Hong Kong. I admit it's good, but I don't know - I still maintain The Peak at night is the most beautiful place in the world.

And for mom and dad, that was it for Shanghai. The next morning, we took them to the airport. Ella and I had a flight that evening, so we had some more time. Still exhausted, we tried to do the Art Museum - closed for CNY. There was a pedestrian area I had heard about called Tianzifang. As soon as I walked in, I remembered "OH, I've been here and love it!" It's a network of alleys filled with coffee shops, boutique stores, and bars. A bit touristy, but nonetheless pretty, it's too bad mom and dad didn't get to see it. It's a great part of town, provided you're not claustrophobic, because the side alleys are quite narrow. But it makes for neat photos, anyway.

We had thought about going to another art museum, but at this point, after weeks of constant traveling... we had both had it. We went to the airport very early, and just sort of decompressed from a crazy whirlwind of a holiday. Back here in Guangzhou, I have a newfound appreciation for Shanghai. I like it there. It's much more international, which is odd considering Guangzhou's history as the only port open to the west. But times have changed, and maybe we'll change too - who knows, next year we may be calling Shanghai home.

Last time, I talked about how my first year in China was kind of a blur - how I was so focused on trying to live a new life and a brand new job, I didn't really have time to stop and "smell the roses", so to speak. So despite coming to Shanghai nearly a dozen times, this was the first time I actually felt like I got to see the city. We had a few days to explore, which honestly is enough to get almost everything. There are a few other sites here and there, so perhaps four or five days are warranted if you're on a holiday and a bit more leisurely. Instead, we took some time for a detour to Suzhou - finally, a place I had never been!

To start off our half day, we went to the Shanghai Zoo. It's pretty nice overall, but the main draw was that dad wanted to see a panda. I've seen them before in Taipei, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou, but I can understand the appeal. Those stupid bears are pretty cute, despite being really dumb. This time, a fully grown one was sitting on top of a throne of bamboo, surrounded by piles of leaves that he was just going to town on. This is the most I've seen one move, as honestly they just sort of sit there most of the time. He was pretty funny in selecting the leaves he liked, and would just toss the ones he didn't like to the side. If you said it was a guy in a bear suit I may have believed you, because they're quite good with their hands. Ella and I talked about a famous video online of baby pandas causing a big ruckus for their zoo keepers, so here it is in case you haven't seen it (and you really should).

My favorite though, were the monkeys. You know all those signs at zoos that say "Don't feed the animals"? Well, if you've ever been to a Chinese train station in the countryside, you should know rules mean nothing here. People threw oranges to the monkeys, who were no stranger to the idea, catching them right out of the air and peeling them in a flash. It was pretty cute, especially when one thought they were being delivered too slowly - he stuck both arms out of the cage towards the guy, and began clapping. I guess I should at least be happy that people are feeding them oranges and not potato chips or something. I don't know a lot about monkey nutrition, but I have to imagine oranges are pretty good for them overall.

But to start off full day one, we went to Yu Garden. This is a famous place in Shanghai, a really pretty garden surrounded by a temple and, you guessed it, lots of traditional style buildings, snacks, and souvenirs. Also, again, because Chinese New Year, it was packed. We sort of navigated the crowd, and just looked and took lots of photos. The garden itself was much quieter, given that you needed to pay to enter. We also looked at the City God's temple, a common thing in China. A lot of cities have their own gods. Does your city have a god? Didn't think so. Ella found a cat there, which would be the first of many that day. A maintenance worker said that she bites, but Ella is half cat, so I think there was a connection there.

After we took the ferry across the river, and took a look at some skyscrapers. Specifically the Shanghai Tower, which did not exist last time I was here. That building is damn tall. I thought it was the 3rd highest in the world, but it's actually the 2nd. We talked about going up, but the past few days had been rainy - there wouldn't be much to see. It's actually the worlds highest observation deck, since the Burj Khalifa doesn't put theirs at the top for some reason. Anyway, maybe one day, if Ella and I wind up moving there.

But there's something near the Shanghai Tower that is far more impressive, believe it or not. Tall buildings, pfft, those are everywhere in China. But just down the road is something unique, and only one exists in China. In fact, up until last week, you had to travel to another country just to experience it. The amazing, the majestic...

Taco Bell.

Yes, pick your jaw up off the ground. This is the only Taco Bell in China, and aside from the ones on American military bases, one of the only ones in Asia besides Manila and recently, Bangkok. It was everything I had hoped for and more, because they had beer and mojitos. I really wish America would lighten up on their alcohol rules, because Taco Bell mojitos are actually really good. There's virtually no alcohol in them, but it was one of the tastiest drinks I've ever had.

Alright, we saw the Pearl Tower too. I guess that was impressive. After, we went back across the river with the Bund sightseeing tunnel. I wasn't sure if I had done this before, but after we got on, I was like "Yup, definitely been here." The Bund tunnel is weird, ya'll. It's like, this little aiport terminal shuttle that goes through a tunnel, accompanied by nonsense English words and lights. I would say you need to be high to experience it, but I think the people who made it were already high. It certainly is a unique way of crossing the river, but eh, I'll stick with the metro.

We braved the crowds in Nanjing Road before calling it a day, and heading back to our hotel - which was near a place called Foreigner Street, actually. While mostly closed, the Shanghai Brewery was open. This place... Ella and I like this place. I mean, first, outside were four cats, who were very friendly. But also, their IPA is probably the best IPA I've ever had. Like honestly, China is probably the last place I'd expect good craft beer, but it shocked me with how good it was. And they had German, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, and American food. Usually you'd expect a weird mix to not be great at any one thing, but honestly, all four of our meals were super good. Shanghai Brewery - you're doing stuff right.

Day two in Shanghai was much more chill, in that we only went to three places. The Shanghai Museum was at the top of the list, which had a crazy line to get in. We arrived about 20 minutes before it opened, and waited maybe 45 minutes. But we saw the line getting longer and longer, and I'm sure by the end people had to wait 2 or 3 hours. The museum itself... hmm, its alright. A lot of art, which is not usually my thing. The different clothing of ethnic groups was neat. But overall, you're not missing much if you skip it IMO.

Next was the Shanghai History Museum. Now this place is cool. First of all, the building is beautiful. It looks like it was straight from D.C., sort of colonial in style with a lot of white marble and polished wood floors in the exhibits. But also, they had lots of interactive computery stuff for kids and people like me who never grew up. It covers prehistory up until present, and definitely worth your time.

And finally, the Urban Planning Museum. I had been here before, but for some reason never wrote about it in my blog. Anyway, it talks about how Shanghai became the city it is today, along with other Chinese infrastructure projects and a look at the future. The big draw though, is the city model partway through the exhibit. It's an exact replica of the city, building by building, within the inner ring highway. It's about the size of an apartment, and just impressive as heck. I mean, look at this thing... wow.

Anyway, let's cut it here before moving onto the next part of the trip - Suzhou, and the last two days in Shanghai.

Alllllllllll aboard to Nanjing.

China's rail system is great. For major cities, it's as fast or faster than flying, since you can show up like 20 minutes before departure, and the stations are close to town. And to top it off, it's often cheaper. I know how the US is often too spread out to make rail competitive, but man, that's a big reason why I don't want to live there.

So we took the high speed train in the morning from Beijing to Nanjing. It actually wasn't the super high speed train, in that it took 4 hours as opposed to 3. Anyway, the next night was Chinese New Year Eve, which actually left us with only this day and very little time to get to the main attraction of Nanjing, the Japanese Massacre Memorial - basically, the Rape of Nanjing Museum.

Quick pause before I jump into that. I was having a conversation with Ella that my year spent in Taiwan was basically the year I discovered myself, and became who I am. The previous year, when I was living in Hangzhou, I was still sort of trying to figure myself out and survive in Asia. Combined with being new at blogging, that year was sort a blur. However, there is one moment from that year I will never forget, and this place is it. It's the number one most memorable thing about China to me. And although I haven't been to a Concentration Camp to compare, I have to imagine this place hits you in the same way. This is just a sad, sad place. I agree with pretty much everything I said last time I visited. But this time, I don't know if it's just on a second visit, or a (slightly) increased level of maturity, but it hit even harder. I really hope people who visit here don't come away with the feeling of Japanese people are terrible, as the atrocities they committed are completely divorced from the country that is there today. But I am glad this place exists, because coming to places like this puts things in a different perspective. Maybe a bit reductionist, but being in a foul mood because of something minor like a bad day at work sounds so insignificant when you compare it to what the people of Nanjing went through 80 some years ago.

Anyway, in a weird twist, we went to a German restaurant that night - the same restaurant when I visited Nanjing last time. It was good, but not as good as I remember. This would be the first of many German restaurants we would come across in Nanjing and Shanghai. Apparently German food has really gotten popular in that part of the country, for some reason. You'd think it would have taken off in Qingdao, but hey, here we are.

Kicking off our one full day in Nanjing, we began at John Rabe's house. This is a guy you probably don't know about, but also probably should. He was a sort of Oscar Schindler of China, a German businessman that kept 600 Chinese in his house (which was not that big), and helped establish the Nanjing Safety Zone around it, saving hundreds of thousands of people from being killed. He kept a diary about what happened during that time, and is a big reason why we know what we know about the Rape of Nanjing today. After the war he went back to Europe, but his history of being affiliated with the Nazis left him unable to keep a job. He was practically homeless until the people of Nanjing found out. From then on, the city sent him regular donations and care packages until nearly the day he died.

Shut up, I'm not crying, you're crying.

The museum was actually closed that day, because of the New Year. But a super nice lady who takes care of the house let us in, and refused money when we tried to give it to her. So, thank you, lady who takes care of the John Rabe house in Nanjing. If you ever go, please be extra nice to her.

After that, we took a walk to Gujiming Temple. Not much to say about it, it's a pretty temple. Being Chinese New Year, it was packed, but still, worth a look. For the rest of the day, we hung out in the center of the city around the Confucian Temple. The largest Confucian Temple in the world, it's surrounded by a traditional style street selling all sorts of snacks and souvenirs. We walked around, stopping in tiny little shops and one room museums, until we sort of got tired of it - not to mention, many were closed because of the New Year. Anyway, we had to get up early the next day to make the rest of the journey to Shanghai. And although this is a short entry, I'm going to stop here - there's just way too much to talk about in Shanghai, so we'll leave it for next time.

After 7 cities, Ella and I are back home in Guangzhou. Phew!

It all started with a rushed flight to Kunming, as we weren't able to get train tickets to Qujing because of Chinese New Year. Honestly it's probably about the same travel time overall, even if we need to make the 1.5 hour journey from the airport. But trains are cool! Anyway, we got a chance to see Ella's folks again, which is always nice... and what did we do? Not much, honestly. We got paperwork married in China, so that was exciting I suppose. Funny story about that - Chinese names are usually just two or three characters, so when they start to put my monstrously long name (by Chinese standards, anyway) in their computer, it broke it. Just... broke it. The lady had us come back the next day to finish the registration, because she needed to call the IT guy to figure things out. As Ella said, I can't imagine what would happen if anyone from China married someone from Thailand. Just their given names can be like a sentence long.

Also, how has this never happened before? Like, there was a foreign couple in front of us registering as well. And my name is not unusually long for a western name. Anyway. Sorted, done, stamped, signed, we're in the system now.

But really, aside from that, we didn't do much. Mostly sit around, eat, talk, relax. The one place we did go was a day trip to a canola field. Yes, canola like the oil. Did you know that it's a really pretty yellow flower? I didn't, and Luoping county in Yunnan makes a buttload of it. Like, a comically large amount. So much that when they're blooming, it's yellow for as far as the eye can see. We also went into this park that had a waterfall, and holy cow. This whole area I put as the 3rd most beautiful place I've ever visited - if you're keeping track (which is no one but me), number one is The Peak in Hong Kong, and number two is Bagan, Myanmar. And Pura Mengening in Bali, Indonesia - you're number four now. Get to the back of the line! I can't imagine anyone would ever be in Yunnan province to make the trip out here, but in case you are, it is absolutely worth the trip. I want to post a hundred pictures here, but I'm going to limit myself to a half dozen or so. You should really click on them, because everywhere you point your camera is postcard worthy.

 

So after a trip back to Kunming airport, we were off to our next destination... Beijing! In winter. Yes, we are insane, especially after I had already visited Beijing in winter. It is not an ideal place to be. But it wasn't up to me, since my mom and dad wanted to see The Great Wall, and this was the time that was available.

The first day was not actually the wall. Combating their jet lag, we did an abbreviated sort of day at the National Museum, and then a walking street nearby. Mom and dad actually tried authentic Chinese food, and had their first bout with chopsticks. While there was some growing pains, they eventually managed to sort of eat. We actually brought them plastic forks and spoons, but they were only used a handful of times on the trip. By the end, they were sort of getting the hang of things, but I don't see them switching any time soon.

I guess looking for some stability, Dad had hired a tour guide to take us around for the next two days to some famous places in Beijing. Now, it's their holiday, and they're welcome to do what they want. And the tour guide was nice. But I don't care for private tours. They do give you some background for sure, but I feel it's not worth the expense and especially the lack of freedom from a guided tour. I think going at your own pace is better, and if you want more info, look it up online, read the plaque, or scan the QR code. But since I had already been here and done that, in this case, a tour might be better since I got that background I didn't have before.

The first stop was Tiananmen. I had said before, there was only one thing in Beijing I regret not being able to do - see Mao Tzedong. As in, they have his body preserved in a glass coffin. He was under maintenance last time I was there, so this time I got my chance. Just a year or so ago I got to see Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi, and Ella thought it was weird. And yeah, it is pretty weird to be honest. But I was more interested in seeing Mao, because he was such an influential person. I understand he has an unfavorable reputation in the west, and sure, there's room for criticism. But like so many things western media portrays about China, it is a bit more nuanced and not as black and white as it appears.

Anyway, I don't want to get into a political rant. It's a weird experience, going in there. A giant stone building, it has a big lobby that is completely spotless and full of soldiers standing at attention. You shuffle in, quietly, and walk through it, plus past the coffin without ever stopping. No photos of course, so to describe Mao, he looks plastic. I'm sure that's due to the massive amount of preservation needed for someone who died 40 years ago, but Ho Chi Minh looked better despite being dead 10 years earlier. Not that this is a contest or anything, but, ya know - it's the only other context I've got. If anyone else is able to chime in on preserved bodies of political leaders, leave your comments below.

After we went through The Forbidden City, which despite it's namesake, you can just go in. It was much more crowded this time, and while impressive in scale, it reminds me a bit of the Taj - the inside of the buildings are actually really boring. Some fancy chairs... that's about it. After we climbed the mountain at the park behind it, which is a nice way to get a view of the whole complex. Ella said she was disappointed we didn't go to the sides, and just cut through the middle. I told her not to worry about it, and if anyone else is thinking about going, know that the sides are just the same - more buildings with chairs. But at least you can dodge some of the crowds, so there's that.

After a lunch (which, the Han-style eggplant was awarded "Best Meal of the Trip" Award), we went to the Summer Palace. I honestly don't remember if I visited here before, or another palace nearby - they kind of blend together. Because, ya know, in my life I just go to so many palaces, I can't keep track of them all. The lake there was completely frozen and had tons of ice skaters on it, so that was neat to see. Otherwise it was pretty much a big Chinese plaza. Pretty, but I probably would enjoy it a lot more if I wasn't freezing my butt off.

Day two was the whole reason to go to Beijing - The Great Wall. This was my second time there, but this was at a different section called Mutianyu. Jessica, our tour guide, said this was where most foreigners go, because it's more beautiful and further. Meanwhile, most locals go to Badaling, because Mao would visit there. I can say that Mutianyu, and whatever section I went to, look pretty much the same. Not to diminish the wall. Its scale is absolutely amazing. But section by section, it's just a wall. Unique for Mutianyu though, we took a cable car up and a toboggan down. Well, dad and I did. Going up the cable car we saw the track, and with it going around corners and over ravines, I was thinking "this does not look safe at all." In a surprising reversal, dad REALLY wanted to go down, despite everyone else telling him that it was not a good idea. After a lot of nervous argument, I went down after in case he killed himself. In reality, it was pretty tame. There was a group of girls ahead of us that were quite slow, so a lot of the ride was not much faster than a jogging pace. Anyway, we survived at least. I guess it's a more unique way to get down, but I'd probably trust the cable car more.

The second stop was a Ming Tomb. It was kind of unimpressive and not really worth the trip. After was Olympic Park, which is worth the trip just to see the buildings, but I feel they are 100 times more impressive at night. They are quite pretty, but there's not much to do but take a photo and say "Wow."

And that was it for Beijing. Maybe because I've only visited there in winter, but I don't really care for it. I think the city itself is a lot like The Great Wall - impressive in scale, but actually kind of ugly. Those large stone buildings with wide boulevards look amazing in their layout, but when you get down to it, it's just a bunch of rocks. Combined with the mostly ever-present smog (though admittedly, it is a ton better than when I visited), it's just not a pretty city. Go once to see the stuff. But then, say goodbye and go somewhere more interesting.

... and we did just that. The next stop was a high speed train to Nanjing, which we'll cover next time!