The Itinerary - Day 12 - Wuhan, Yichang & Yangtse River Cruise

02 October 2013, Wednesday

Today we get to travel a fair distance as we make our way towards the Yangtse River and our 3-day 4-evening cruise through the Three Gorges.  But first, after flying from Shanghai to Wuhan, we board a bus to Yichang.  Before we get to Yichang, we stop at the ancient city of Jingzhou.

Shanghai to Wuhan by Air, Wuhan to Yichang by Coach, Stop at Jingzhou

Ancient City of Jingzhou

Jingzhou lies in the south of the centre of Hubei Province and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River about 180 miles west of Wuhan.  With a long history of more than two thousand years, and as the city represents so much in Chinese history, it is acknowledged to be one of the best of 24 ancient history and cultural cities in China.

In 106 BC during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 9), China was divided into thirteen administrative divisions (excluding the area under the central government's control), each governed by an Inspector.  Jingzhou was one of the thirteen provinces, and its land area was one of the largest covering roughly the present-day provinces of Hubei and Hunan,  However Jingzhou did not have a provincial capital and was only an administrative division in name. 

The Old Walled City of Jingzhou

It was originally one of the birth places of the culture of the Chu State in the Spring and Autumn Period (770BC - 476BC) and the Warring State Period (476BC - 220BC), which left extremely valuable cultural relics from their 400+ years' reign.  This is equivalent to the architecture, antiquities, and artifacts left by the Greeks and Romans. 

In the Three Kingdom Period (220-589), the city was the focus of many disputes and wars.  From the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317-420), the city had been selected by 11 emperors as their capital by, making it a political centre in China for more than 100 years.  Its cultural relics and ancient history has drawn the attention of many visitors from both home and abroad.

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After dinner, we carry on to Yichang where we board our cruise ship for our 3-day cruise on the Yangtse River.  Tonight, our accommodations will be on the cruise ship.

At last!  We get a bit of a slower pace!

The Itinerary - Day 11; Shanghai, The Shanghai Museum of Art, Nanjing Road, & Acrobats

01 October 2013, Tuesday

A bit of a "slow" day on Day 11 compared to the previous days.  We're going to visit the Shanghai Museum and then spend the rest of the day shopping on Nanjing Road.  But first some information about Shanghai.

Shanghai
Located in the Yangtze River Delta in East China, Shanghai sits at the mouth of the Yangtze River in the middle portion of the Chinese coast. The municipality borders the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang to the north, south and west, and to the east by the East China Sea.  With a total population of 23 million people, the city is the largest by population in the world.  It is so large that it is one of four cities that qualifies as a province.  As a global city, it has a major influence in commerce, culture, finance, media, fashion, technology, and transport.  It is the busiest container port in the world. 

Map of Shanghai

For centuries a major administrative, shipping, and trading town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to its favorable port location and economic potential to European countries. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement.  The city flourished as a center of commerce between east and west and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s.  However, with the Communist takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was reoriented to focus on socialist countries, and the city's global influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city. 

Shanghai - New & Old

Shanghai is a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yu Garden, as well as the extensive and growing Lujiazui skyline. It has been described as the "showpiece" of the booming economy of mainland China. 

Shanghai Museum
As a museum of ancient Chinese art, the Shanghai Museum possesses a collection of 120,000 precious works of art.  Its rich and high-quality collection of ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy is specially celebrated in the world.  Founded and first open to the public in the building previously occupied by the Shanghai Horseracing Club in 1952, the Shanghai Museum was next moved into the former Zhonghui Building at 16 South Henan Road in 1959.  The museum very quickly developed in all aspects of acquisition, conservation, research, exhibition, education and cultural exchanges with other institutes.

Shanghai Museum

In 1993, construction started on the current Museum building and three years later it was the new building was opened to the public on October 12th, 1996.  With a height of 29.5 meters and space of 39,200 square meters, its unique architectural form of a round top with a square base symbolized the ancient Chinese philosophy that the square earth is under the round sky.  It is a distinguished architectural combination of traditional feature and modern spirit.  The Shanghai Museum has eleven galleries and three special temporary exhibition halls.

Shopping On Nanjing Road
For the afternoon, we get to shop on Nanjing Road, home to all kinds of boutiques, electronics stores and other shoppers' delights. 

Nanjing Road At Night

After dinner, we attend an Acrobatics Show.

The Hotel - Shanghai Mariott
During our overnight stay in Shanghai, we stay at the Shanghai Mariott Hotel, Changfeng Park, 158 Daduhe Road, Putuo District, Shanghai.

Shanghai Mariott Hotel, Changfeng Park, Shanghai

Tomorrow, we fly off to Wuhan, then by coach to Yichang where we'll have a bit of a stop at Jingzhou before we go back to Yichang for dinner and then get on the cruise ship for our 3-day and 4-night cruise on the Yangtse. 

The Itinerary - Day 10; Liu Gardens, Silk Workshop, Shanghai, Cruise on the Huangpu River

30 September 2013, Monday

Leaving our hotel in Suzhou, we're going to do some more visiting in the city before we leave for Shanghai late in the afternoon.  Shanghai is the largest city in China.......

But first, after breakfast at our hotel in Suzhou, we visit the Liu Gardens, a silk workshop where caterpillars weave their silk cocoons, move to Shanghai, and take a boat cruise around the city's harbour.  But first, the Liu Gardens. 

Liu Gardens
Occupying 6 acres, the Liu or Lingering Garden is located outside Changmen Gate in Suzhou.  Originally a private garden, it is one of the four most famous gardens in China, being well-known for the beauty of its magnificent halls, and the various sizes, shapes, and colors of the buildings.  In 1997, it was declared a world heritage site. 

The garden was first built in 1593 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) by a retired official named Xu Tai.   During the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911), it was bought by Liu Shu.  As a calligraphy lover, he carved masterpieces on both sides of the corridors of the buildings.  He had also collected unusually-shaped stones for the garden.  Succeeding owners followed his model when doing restoration work.  Destroyed and rebuilt many times over its life and almost demolished in the 1930s, the garden was repaired under government sponsorship and opened to the public in 1954.

Liu or Lingering Garden

Like other famous gardens in Suzhou, the Lingering Garden seeks to create stunning natural landscapes within a limited space. It includes residences, ancestral temples and private gardens.   Buildings, trees, and flowers blend harmoniously with their surroundings.

The garden can generally be divided into four parts - the central, eastern, western and northern parts according to the style of the buildings - with the central part being the focal point of the whole complex.  The central part was the original Lingering Garden while the other three were added during the Qing Dynasty.  After going through winding corridors from the gate, we arrive at the central part. The central part is divided in two - the western half and the eastern half.  The eastern half features pools and hills while classical buildings dominate the western half.

In the eastern part, we find the Celestial Hall of Five Peaks, the largest hall in the garden.  Built from a large rockery of stacked stones and soil during the Ming Dynasty, the western part is enchanting for its natural scenery. Maples cover the hill.  The northern part used to be a vegetable garden, but now is used to exhibit potted plants of which the citizens of Suzhou are quite proud.

 These four parts are connected by a 700-meter long (0.4 miles) corridor with calligraphy carved on the stone walls

The Silk Workshop
At the Silk workshop we'll see the traditional technique of producing silk.  Suzhou is the silk capital of China.  During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, it was the silk producing centre of China.  In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties most of the high-grade silk produced for the royal families was made by silk weavers here.  With the advent of the railways in North America, silk trains sped across the continent from the Pacific coast to New York City with their valuable cargoes of silk for the New York fashion trade.  The Suzhou Silk Museum is located in this famous city, which people call 'Paradise on Earth'.

Late afternoon we arrive in Shanghai –the biggest city in China.

We take a cruise on the Huangpu River to take in the sights of the city.  We'll describe Shanghai in our next post. 

Our Hotel - Shanghai Hongqiao Grand Mercure Hotel

Grand Mercure Shanghai Hongqiao

Tomorrow we take a closer look at Shanghai, the Shanghai Museum of Art, Nanjing Road and see a performance put on by some acrobats.