6-day Trip to Eastern China

Since my grandma, my mom and Emily arrived Hong Kong and China, they have done a lot more walking and climbing of stairs. In Hong Kong they live on the 4th floor and in China they live on the 3rd floor. Also, there were a lot of walking and climbing during their tour because many of the attractions are on hills. Climbing hundreds of steps in the heat takes away the enjoyment of the scenery. To add to the challenge, my mom carried her laptop everywhere she went due to the fear of theft. From time to time, Emily took the laptop from her to give her a break. Although it was hard work taking the laptop with them on the tour, they were happy to have internet access at three out of five hotels.

The day in Nanjing was very hot. My grandma decided not to climb up the hill to the tower and waited at the bottom of the hill. My mom had to take a rest to cool down before she could finish the climb. Emily got to the top and waited for my mom. It was so hot up there that they didn't stay for long or explore the area. They came down the hill to take shelter in the shade. It was when Grandma asked if they saw the bridge that they realized they forgot that the purpose of the hike was to see the Yangtze Bridge (長江大橋). China hired an American consultant to assess the feasibility of building the bridge. His recommendation was that it was impossible to build a bridge at the site. The Chinese went ahead against his recommendation to build it. As a result, the Chinese are very proud of this bridge.

It rained the next day in Wuxi (無鍚) when they visited the Big Budda (靈山大佛). The rain was so heavy that they were completely wet. Fortunately, the weather was warm so they did not feel cold. After having lunch there, the rain stopped. They were able to walk around and watch the musical fountain show. This attraction is nicely designed and built, but my mom felt sad to see so many Chinese worship the idols.

The next stop was Suzhou (蘇卅) and they took a boat ride in the evening. It was an unplanned activity to replace a cancelled show. To grieve for victims of the earthquake, the government ordered no entertainment for three days. It was a disappointment because Emily really looked forward to the show.

The highlight in Shanghai (上海) was meeting with a friend, as they had a very nice visit. They were really impressed by her apartment, her collection of art work and porcelain dolls. They were taken to a fancy restaurant for a very nice supper which was VERY different from the meals offered by the tour. Emily was happy that the washroom in the restaurant was really nice and clean. Earlier that day, Emily had a tummy ache and was forced to use smelly washrooms. Fortunately, her diarrhea did not last long.

The last stop was Hangzhou (杭卅) and the weather was decent as it was not extremely hot. They were pleasantly surprised when they reached the Leifeng Tower (雷鋒塔). The tower was built around 950 AD by the emperor to celebrate the birth of a son by his concubine. Then there was the legend of the white snake falling in love with a human (白蛇傳). The white snake was imprisoned by a monk underneath the tower. The local people believed that the tower had magic power over snakes. The silk worm growers started to steal bricks from the foundation of the tower for protection from snakes. Eventually the tower collapsed. The tower was rebuilt a few years ago with esculators to take tourists up the hill and elevators to go up the tower. Emily enjoyed reading the story (in English) about the white snake legend. She commented that all towers should be rebuilt and modernized.