detail from: Foto Poorfish

 CHINA WORTH SEEING 

Simo Jelaca, PhD 

We reached our destination of Beijing from Ottawa via Chicago. When the Boeing 747- 400 roared down the runway in Chicago, O'Hare airport looked too big and overloaded.  Our flight headed towards Manitoba, The North West Territories and over the North Pole. So, our flight path was around the globe. We flew over Queen Elizabeth Island and the Arctic Ocean. Below us everything looked white, as clouds or as ice. Blue water was nowhere to be seen. And when we flew over the meridian that passes through the Bering Strait, The International Date Line, our Sunday suddenly became Monday in Asia. We jumped ahead one day. The night that separated us at this point passed to China and moved towards the west. Our flight path continued over the Arctic Ocean and then across Siberia and Mongolia. We landed at the airport in Beijing in the afternoon local time. The airport building, built for the 2008 Olympics, seemed very impressive.  First impressions of China were amazing. From passport control to baggage arrival everything moved on a special train. All services appeared to be very business-like.  Interpersonal contacts were very professional. 

From the airport we took a bus to go to our hotel in the city. We saw the highway full of new cars. Drivers were very skilled entering every vacant space, but without a single accident, and all drivers seemed calm and relaxed. It is common in China. 

Some Geographical Landmarks 

China is the third largest country in the world, behind Russia and Canada. Its surface is 9.6 million km². It has a varied geography and climate and has an abundance of natural resources. China is approximately 5000 km from east to west and from north to south.  Her territorial borders are 22,800 km long, with 18000 km of coastline.

Qomolangma Peak, on the border with Nepal, is 8844 m. high and is known as the "The roof of the world." 

Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is the deepest canyon in the world, with a total length of 504.6 km, with a maximum drop of 6009 m. Its glaciers, steep cliffs and swift rivers are still not fully explored. 

Hailuogou Glacier in Sichuan Province, is 4 km in length, but has decreased by 3900 meters. It also has a waterfall over 1 km wide and 1080 m high. 

Lu Mountain, known as the cradle of the poets, has inspired over 4000 songs and from 1996 this mountain has been declared a world cultural heritage site by UNESCO. 

Protected by UNESCO is Emei Mountain with the highest point of 3099 meters.  Buddhism was brought to this region from India. This mountain is now home of the “Ten Thousand Buddhas”. The mountains of the Yangtze River Gorge are as high as 1000-1500 m with a total length of 192 km. The world’s largest dam has been built and it has created the largest water reservoir in the world. 

Taklamakan Desert is the largest desert in China and the second largest movable sand deserts in the world. In it are buried cities of vanished civilizations. 

West Lake is a lake in Hangzhou City, rich in diverse natural beauty making it a great tourist attraction. 

Guilin, is an attractive tourist town The area around the Li River has many unusual shaped mountains and the Chinese consider it the most attractive space under the sky. 

Excerpts from Chinese History 

China is the country with the oldest human civilization. It recorded the history of ancient times, ten to twelve millennia ago. In ancient times, China was ruled by dynasties and its leaders were called Emperors. From 2000 BC to the time of the Republic of China in 1911, China was ruled by some 40 dynasties, most significant were the Xia Dynasty (2000-1500 BC), theYuan Dynasty (1206-1368 AD), the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD). In 1911 the Republic of China was proclaimed, and 1949 the People's Republic of China was established. Of the four mentioned dynasties, the most important dynasties were the Ming and Qing dynasties. 

The Ming Dynasty was founded by a Chinese peasant who became a military leader. His seat was then in Nanjing. The third ruler of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Di (1360-1424th, ruler 1402nd-1424th) moved the capital to Peking (currently called Beijing). During the reign of Zhu Di many historical sites were built: the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China was renewed and extended and the GrandCanal was built from Huangzhou to Beijing with a length of 2000 km. During this time aChinese fleet sailed to all of the continents of the Earth (1421-1424). Zhu Di also expelled the Mongols from China, ending their long-standing rule. 

Through their explorations, China's naval fleet established good contacts around the world and brought ambassadors from discovered countries back to China. With them China established good trade relations. The construction of the large Huangzhou Beijing canal contributed to the rapid development of trade in China. In Chinese history Zhu Di is recorded as the Yongle Emperor, which means endless happiness. China at the time of Zhu Di's reached the highest level of civilization development, and world history should be changed in accordance with the events that China had achieved. With the help of Japan the Ming Dynasty was destroyed and  the Manchu Dynasty came to power, the Qing 1644th, which has been held up to the proclamation of the Republic of  China 1911^th. The Manchu Dynasty is not from the Han nation, but they accepted Chinese culture and the Confucian system of government. In China, there are 56 nationalities, of which 90% are the Han nationality. The other 55 are usually referred to as the “Minorities'' and each has its own culture and language. In 1949, the central government introduced Mandarin as the official language of China and all Chinese must learn this language. 

CHINESE CULTURAL WEALTH - AN UNFORGETTABLE JOURNEY 

Our tour of China began in Beijing through the arrangements of Nexus Holidays and Beijing and Midearth Travel from Ottawa. From the beginning our tour worked perfectly well. There were thirty-two people in our group. We had buses and planes, food and lodging and tour guides as our tour was "all inclusive". 

BEIJING is a world metropolis, with which few cities can be compared. Much of the city has been completely rebuilt, with plenty of greenery, and very urbanized. In the central city area, most of the old houses have disappeared. Left standing in the immediate vicinity of the Forbidden City are some ancient buildings called, “hutongs'' which have also become a tourist attraction and many have been turned into bed and breakfast hotels. When old buildings are demolished, office towers, shopping malls or high-rise apartment buildings are built. There is a great demand for apartments, but the prices have risen dramatically in the last few years. The city of Beijing, formerly Peking, covers an area of 16,800 km ² and has officially over 17 million people. The city was founded by Genghis Khan (1162-1227 AD), a friend of Zhu Di, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty and he established it as his capital. It is worthwhile to see the Olympic stadium, the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube", in which we all watched the unprecedented spectacle of the 2008 Olympics.

TheForbidden City in Beijing is also called the "Beijing Palace Museum" and served as the palace of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties. There are a total of 980 buildings with 9999 rooms covering an area of 720 000 m². It is one of the world's biggest and best museum complexes and represents the culmination of the architectural achievements of China. It is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage monument. 

During the Ming Dynasty, the builder of the Forbidden City, located it in the central part of the then Peking. Its southern half is used for activities, meetings and ceremonies, while in the northern section part of the palace, the emperor lived with his family and his concubines. The decor of the Forbidden City was mostly in contrasting colors: white, red, turquoise and golden-yellow. The City Museum is rich in calligraphy, paintings, ceramics, bronze objects, jade, gold and silver, and represents the highest standards of Chinese art and culture of the time.

The exhibited paintings in the Forbidden City are copies; the originals are kept in a safe place. Around the Forbidden City there is a huge wall and outside the wall there is a wide water canal. Outside the Forbidden City is Beihai Park, the hill where the rulers walked around and examined the surroundings. The Forbidden City has five gates, and the main entrance is on the north side. Construction of the palace took 14 years and it was finished in 1406. It was built by about one million workers and soldiers. Logs for the construction were brought from a distance of 2000 km and only in winter, and rocks were brought from a distance of 50 km. The Forbidden City has served to protect the ruling dynasty from the Mongols, and the ordinary people were not allowed to go inside.  That’s why it is called the "Forbidden City". In the museum part of the Forbidden City, all the rulers of the Qing Dynasty are shown. 

North of Beijing tombs of thirteen Ming Emperors were discovered. The road leading to these tombs is called the Sacred Way. It is claimed that each tomb is as big as half of the Forbidden City, and no one knows the entry and those are not available to visitors. The entire complex covers an area of 80 km ² and is protected by UNESCO. 

Tiananmen Square is the world's largest public square, located immediately to the south entrance to the Forbidden City. There is a wide boulevard separating it from the Forbidden City. An underground walkway allows tourists to visit both sides of the street.  Every day there are thousands and thousands of tourists from around the world who walk on this square. They say over 50 thousand every day. Near Tiananmen Square, there is a new railway station, from which the fastest trains in the world run (Bullet trains going 471 km / h). 

The Summer Palace was the summer house for the rulers of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It was built on mountain slopes along a lake, where the ruling class spent the time from April to October. On the mountain top a Buddhist temple was built, where they could maintain their prayers, and by the lake there is a 720 m long corridor, with over 30000 paintings, where the rulers walked. The lake was for recreation and entertainment.

The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the world. The Chinese like to say that it is the only structure built by human hands, which is seen from the moon.  (Of course, this is not true! ) Building the Great Wall began over 2,000 years ago and different sections were joined together, renovated and extended by the third ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. The Wall has an overall length of 6350 km, and if the stones and bricks built into the wall were laid down one beside the other, it would stretch around the world more than twice. Otherwise, it extends over the largest hills and its primary purpose was to defend against the Mongols. For its entire length it has loopholes and towers to accommodate food, equipment and weapons, and rest areas for soldiers. There are places from which fire signals were sent as military posts during the war. At strategically important points under passes are constructed for needed transportation. The Great Wall of China is a testimony to China's long history and is considered symbol of China. Since 1987 it has been under the protection of UNESCO as a monument of world cultural heritage. 

We visited the Great Wall in a place called Juyongguan, where I climbed to the seventh tower, counting 1322 steps, and thus, according to our organizers, captured the title of   National hero of China. Our guides confirmed my honor by their signatures and a seal. 

The Temple of Heaven or the heavenly temple was built during the Ming Dynasty, in 1420, and expanded during the Qing Dynasty. It was used by all the rulers of both dynasties, Mingand Qing , to pray for a good harvest of Heaven on Earth. Chinese rulers proclaimed themselves the sons of Heaven and They emphasized it on political ceremonies. The Temple of Heaven is a masterpiece of Chinese architecture. It is made entirely of wood without nails. The Temple basically covers an area of 2,720,000 m² and has a quadratic wall on the south side and round on the north, as symbols of the belief that Heaven is round and Earth square. This Temple Heaven has also been under the protection of UNESCO since 1998.

China has Jade of premium quality, processes it in a traditional manner and exports it around the world. Guides lead tourists through processing departments, where they have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the jewelry and buy the items themselves. The history of formatting jewelry objects comes from 7000 years ago. And according to function the jewelry has always had a ritual character. They are usually symmetrical in form with ornamental additions. Most valued items were round in shape with a square hole in the middle, again because of the belief that Heaven is round and the Earth is squared. Such pieces were symbols of wealth and status. Objects made of bronze can be seen in Chinese museums, dating from 2100-1600 BC, from the time of the Xia Dynasty. Museums also display various objects used in the house hold of the royal family. 

The use of Porcelain started in China and China is considered the homeland of it, or the homeland of the first porcelain in the world. Blue and white porcelain is considered porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), which was produced in the area of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. Gold and silver have been Chinese status symbols since ancient times. Ornaments of gold and silver are valued as an asset. They have always had an aesthetic value and indicated the wealth, status and social position of the owner. 

Our tour group visited a jade workshop, a porcelain factory, and a factory that produces Chinese vases. The vases in the factory are made of copper, which is then polished, and covered with porcelain, fired in a kiln and finally painted. The range of production is enormous, and most items are exported to all corners of the world. For visitors those were beautiful gifts for the eyes. During our sightseeing in Beijing, we visited a TCM, a Traditional Chinese Medicine Center. We saw hundreds of dried herbs and roots and mushrooms and were told how traditional Chinese patients can be treated with herbal medicines. (Residents of Beijing also have access to western medicine if they want.)  

XIAN is one of the most famous tourist destinations in China. The city of Xian has an area of 14000 km², 6 million inhabitants and is located on a tributary of the Yellow River. It has a history of over 5000 years and is now in rapid development. The surrounding area consists of fertile fields where cereals are grown in the temperate climate zone. Farmers have only about one hectare of arable land. Through this region runs the famous Silk Road, where there are still largely preserved memories of Marco Polo. Traveling through the city of Xian one can see hundreds of construction cranes supporting the many construction sites for high-rise residential and commercial buildings. All are about 32-40 floors high. One can see how rapidly the city is growing and one can imagine that such growth will continue indefinitely. The tallest building in the city has 67 floors and has begun to tilt, to lean to one side like the famous Tower of Pizza. Xian City has a Shaanxi Museum which exhibits old artifacts to the 9 millennium, and one the oldest items is 1½ million years old. At the entrance to the museum is a statue of the only woman ruler during the 1600 years in China.

Interesting to note is the fact that the Chinese knew and worked bronze, chrome metal, and silver and gold connection even 221 years BC during the Qing Dynasty We visited a factory for the production of terracotta statues of soldiers in the city of Xian. The statues are made from terracotta clay using an exclusively traditional procedure, which lasts for 3½ months. The heads of each statue are made separately and subsequently placed on the statue. In the same department terracotta blowing instruments are made according to the model of 6000 years old. Furniture from mahogany wood with ornaments of pearls are also made there. All items are mainly for export. The world-famous Terracotta Warriors Tomb was discovered in 1976 by a farmer on his property while he was digging a well. Today, that same farmer is in the museum meeting foreign statesmen and signing copies of the museum complex brochures. The tomb has over 6,000 terracotta warriors. Each warrior has his plate with the name and year of birth. This applies to all the currently identified warriors. Discovered tombs were damaged during the great earthquake, during which the terracotta warriors were damaged too, so the identification procedure is very delicate and takes a long time. Terracotta warriors are located at a depth of 7 m and it is clearly seen that the grave ceilings were damaged during the earthquake, and some warriors even completely destroyed. There is evidence that it took 730,000 workers 15 years to make these terracotta warriors. Chinese leaders at that time were very cruel, and often killed whole families of workers who did not do their given task properly or on time, and even those who knew that, were not allowed to know or speak about it.

We visited a 1400 year old Buddhist Temple, and in the evening, at sunset, climbed to the City Wall, built by the first ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang (1328-1398). In the evening we attended a banquet followed by a concert, dances and songs, devoted  to the ruler of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). 

HANGZHOU is a city with 8 million inhabitants, only 1,200 km² and is regarded as one of China's richest cities. Hangzhou is not only the silk capital, but there are many world-famous manufacturers of electronic equipment who have invested in joint ventures because of China’s cheaper labor. The wealth of the city can be noticed by the many luxury cars on the roads. The city is beautiful and full of flowers at every turn. Cut through many routes of highways and on the protective fences are Jardinière of flowers.  Beautiful scenery to enjoy. The city is also very clean. Marco Polo lived in Huangzhou   for two years, where he was governor of the province, and the city erected a monument in his honor in its central part, so people here speak stories about him with due care.  The city cherishes a history which is over 5000 years old and Hangzhou is considered  the Paradise of China. It was the capital of China for 152 years. Here lives a rich business world, the highest rank in China. It is estimated that 35 million tourists visit Hangzhou annually. There is an interesting fact that the city has bicycles for rent at 350 sites, to encourage people to ride bicycles rather than driving their cars. The first hour is free, and renting the bike longer costs two Yuan an hour, just enough to get it back. Automobile traffic in the city is often slower than walking Outside the city, farmers mainly grow rice, citrus fruit, silk worms and pearl shells. Thus, developed the silk industry and pearl industry. 

One afternoon, we enjoyed driving along West Lake, which is truly an exceptional tourist attraction, Foreign statesmen are often brought to this lake. Very interesting for us was an organized visit to a tea plantation in the village of Mei, near the city of Hangzhou. Tea plantations are on all the hilly slopes of mountain landscapes, very neatly organized. The tea of premium quality is harvested exclusively by hand and mostly by women, due to their finger dexterity. We saw them dry the green tea leaves in large pans and we saw how the workers mixed and turned the leaves by hand.

Near Huan We visited the two cities of WUZHEN and WUXI. Wuzhen town is 1300 years old and is located on the Yangtze River delta. In this area they grow rice and silkworms. Almost everywhere rice is grown, they also raise fish and pearl oysters.  Everywhere in China the state owns the land and the peasants can only inherit the land from their elders, but cannot sell it. If cities expand and need more land, they displace farmers who are then given some compensation. This compensation is usually a new apartment in the city, and if the farmer has a large piece of land, his compensation will be more, perhaps 2 or 3 new apartments. One to live in and the others to rent out. 

Zhouzhuang is a typical water town of Southern China. It has many canals, bridges, narrow streets along the water banks, and all of this has been preserved for nine centuries. Such water towns are often referred to as the “Venice of China”. Each water town is a pleasant place to visit and relax. Wuxi city has 4 million inhabitants and in the Chinese concept, it is a medium sized city. It also has a lake of 2400 km², with many parks, of which there is a specific park Luyian, which has just blossomed cherry trees and many ornamental Bonsai trees. Around the town of Wuxi there are mainly cultivated rice paddies and silkworm farms. We had a casual short visit to a factory where they still used the old traditional method of  producing alcohol from rice. The alcohol content of 55%, is achieved through the old process of fermentation in earthen vessels, and distillation in wooden tubs. (Such white liquor in 500 ml bottles can be bought in grocery stores for about $2 CD.) 

We visited the workshop for dyeing cloth, using wax to cover the surface of the canvas which has to remain white. Painted fabrics are dried naturally in the wind. 

SUZHOU is considered the Chinese city garden paradise on Earth. Gardens in Suzhou originate from the sixth century BC, from the Zhou Dynasty. From the 14th to the19th century the city of Suzhou flourished and its beautiful gardens have given the city the glory of earthly paradise. These gardens also influenced the development of art movements and significantly influenced the architectural style of southern China. In one of these gardens there is an old cypress tree, 920 years old. Suzhou City has over 1000 bridges and is known as Eastern Venice, and has a population of eight million inhabitants. Suzhou gardens have been under the protection of UNESCO since 1997. 

Rice is grown in the vicinity of Suzhou, with even three harvests a year and silk worms are raised to produce silk. Many consider this prominent city of Suzhou in China to be the best place to live. We visited a farm where they cultivate pearl mussels and a workshop for their finished jewelry. The colors are pearl white, purple, pink and golden yellow. To produce a pearl size 8 mm in diameter the pearl mussel needs 40 years. Once the mussel is forced open it will die even when there is no pearl inside. Pearls of over 12 mm in diameter are only giving away to the wives of Heads of State during their state visit. The smaller pearls are exported worldwide. In the evening our first visit was to sunny Tiger Hill, the only place where the ginkgo tree  can grow, and then went to a Pagoda which is over 1100 years old, 54 m high, and  which is inclined to 2:35 º even 600 years ago. This leaning to one side was stopped by the addition of the upper floors which were aligned to offset this pull of gravity to one side. Before continuing our journey to Shanghai we visited a silk factory, which makes clothing  fashion items and silk bedding, which were bought by almost all visitors. China is a very skillful developer of tourism, bringing visitors directly into factories where they can buy expensive products at factory price. 

SHANGHAI - The Chinese regard Shanghai as their most modern city. Its population is 23 million people, and with its suburbs, even 32 million, almost as many people as in all of Canada. Shanghai is a city open to foreign investment and hence has a developed industry. High construction has reached even the height of 495 m, the building built by the Japanese. In its vicinity is a TV tower, the third highest in the world, behind the CN Tower in Toronto and the Ostension in Moscow. Shanghai has 13 subway lines, with over 400 km of tracks, and 8 million passengers use the subway every day. During rush hour there are official pushers, people who push passengers into the subway train.  

Shanghai museum’s exhibit interesting paintings, porcelain and money. They date from 7000 BC onwards. Gold, bronze and chrome items date back to the Qin Dynasty, 221 BC Ancient Chinese coins usually had a square hole in the belief that the Earth is square and the Universe is round. A very famous shopping area is Nanjing Street, where only the world's fashion houses are present and one can only enjoy the beauty and think about the high prices. 

Fishermen's Garden is an architecturally very attractive quarter, with a unique zig-zag bridge over the pond. Guides are happy to point out that during her visit Queen Elizabeth drank tea at five in the afternoon in one of the restaurants and in the adjacent restaurant Bill Clinton had lunch. The company Shanghai General Carpet Co. produces carpets of silk, the finest quality and very expensive. And when it is known that the workers for making carpets trained five years and that one size mat 5'x 8 '(150 x 240 cm), wool and silk, with 625 knots / in², a worker works for 18 months, then it is no wonder their prices are high. Carpets of pure silk, twice as expensive, can be ordered from the factory samples or according to the customers individual order or design. The age of workers in this silk factory is not greater than 47 years, and silk carpets must not and cannot have any flaws. 

Historically, in China the production of silk has been known for centuries, and today it is one of the stronger industries. Chinese Silk items are high quality and the designs have an artistic value, using the Thangka painting techniques. 

GUILIN is purely a tourist town. There are two rivers, four lakes and a unique environment of individual rocky hills rising almost vertically to give the entire landscape a fairy tale appearance. A similar landscape does not exist in the western world. The city has only 750,000 people, which provides less employment opportunities for the people. The city is also known for its unique trees called Omentins, which grow in the form of an umbrella, making a real tunnel above the street. The city has several bridges, constructed as replicas of famous bridges in the world. The beauty of Guilin has inspired many poets, including Han Yu, a poet from the Tang Dynasty. He wrote for the Lijiang River: The river meanders like blue silk ribbons, While the hills rise like a resource of green jade. The rural population in this region grows rice, corn, citrus fruits and silkworms.

Tourists are eager to take the 30 mile, 4.5 hour Lijiang River Cruise to Yangshuo. During  the cruise, tourists are mostly on board the ship and almost continuously take photos of the surrounding landscape. There are so many tourists on the dozens of ships which sail one behind the other, at distances of only twenty meters. In Yangzhou a famous shopping street is West Street, full of shops, some of which serve the entire town. We had used that attraction trip too.

In Guilin there are more interesting tourist places such as the famous Elephant Hill Scenic Area, Love Island and Reed Flute Cave. On the Island of Love, we left our wishes for our grandson Aleksandar. 

GUANGZHOU, the capital city of Guangdong Province, is a large modern city with a population of 12-million. On recently cultivated land has grown the most diverse forms of skyscrapers to a height of 108 floors. Road networks covered with Jardiniere of flowers cut the city like a spider web, and underground works perfectly. There are numerous parks and it is difficult to choose the one that has the most beautiful flowers. In one of them is the Guangdong Folk Arts Museum, once built for a family of Zhongshan, with the roof decorated with numerous porcelain animal figures. Our hosts Julius and Ya Ping gave us a quick tour of their city, and that left us with lifelong memories. We will never forget the many new apartment buildings, the many luxury cars on the road, how clean the city appeared and the many beautiful flowers in bloom. The four-lane highway from Guangzhou to Macau in large part is elevated above the fertile farmland so that farmers can continue to use the precious soil. What a worry for the future of the nation. 

MACAO is a Special Administrative Region of China. It was a Portuguese colony for many years. Street signs are in Chinese and Portuguese and the city has a European flavor. In 1999 it was handed back to China. Under the “one country, two system” approach, Beijing is responsible for defense and foreign policy, but Macao has its own legal system, police force, currency, customs and immigration. It has its own border controls and cars drive on the left side. 

At the China border to Macau, we had to wait an hour and a half in twenty-four rows to check out of China and another 25 minutes to check into Macao. Tens of thousands of mainland Chinese go to Macau every day for sightseeing, shopping and gambling in one of the 16 casinos. This town lives from gambling, tourism and manufacturing. We were told that more money is wagered in Macao than in Las Vegas. The hotels are very high class, as was our five-star L'Arc Hotel. 

From Macau to Hong Kong there is a high- speed ferry service. Sailing time is about one hour. Unfortunately, the day was cloudy and the visibility poor. The port of Hong Kong had many foreign cargo ships, some waiting at anchor. 

HONG KONG is also a special administrative region, as is Macao. It was a British colony for 99 years. In 1997 Hong Kong was handed back to China, but it still has its own government, legal system, border and its own currency. The Hong Kong dollar is somewhat weaker than the Chinese yuan. The 7.9 million people in Hong Kong live mostly from trade, tourism and banking. There are more than 160,000 foreign domestic workers (maids) in Hong Kong mostly living with affluent Chinese families. Hong Kong has more than 320 islands and is a highly developed world class modern city. It is 26 km to go downtown from our hotel in Tin Shui Wei, The New Territories, via the subway. In East Tsim Sha Tsui we walked along the shore of Victoria Harbor and saw the footprints in concrete of many Hong Kong Movie stars at The Avenue of Stars. Then we took The Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor to the Central District on Hong Kong Island. Unfortunately there was a drizzle which prevented us from photographing the famous H.K.skyscrapers, whose peaks disappeared in low clouds. However, we visited some sites, just to say we have seen Hong Kong. Our way back from Hong Kong to Canada, led us through Chicago, but the path of the aircraft flight this time was something south of the Bering Strait, which means we were still mostly flying over the Pacific and Alaska. On the way we regained one night which we had lost in flying to China, so we left China on Saturday around noon local time and after dawn the next day we again entered our Saturday. Well, an interesting trip to the distant world, where you lose a day or gain a day and you do not even feel it. 

More Reflections on China 

Embroidery - China is famous for its exquisite needlework. Embroidered motifs often have a meaning of happiness and longevity. Fine embroidery has been in use in China for over 4000 years. From the 14th century to the present day in China four schools of embroidery have developed in China: Suzhou, Guangdong, Hunan and Sichuan. In addition to the exquisite silk embroidery work, there are also applied embroidery techniques such as oils, watercolor and photography, as in painting. 

Chinese calligraphy also has a history of more than 4,000 years, and this is a way of writing that is focused on beauty. Usually, it is done with a brush and ink. There are claims that Chinese writing has as many as 32,000 characters, although some are in very rare use. An educated person would know 4 to 5 thousand characters, although 3000 is considered sufficient. 

Chinese painting is traditionally based on the use of brushes and Xuan paper. Most Chinese paintings are portraits, landscape paintings, paintings of flowers and birds, stressing form and spirituality in a unique artistic form. 

Chinese knots - Chinese people love this very old method of tying knots. The works are very beautiful and very different in color. They are worn as symbolic good luck tags or hung on walls in the house. They are usually donated to friends and relatives to express good wishes. 

Making kites and flying kites in China also has a 2000-year history. Their true origin is not known with certainty, although there are indications that they were first used for military purposes, for signaling. Kites in China often have the forms of birds, and through them, the Chinese are expressing the desire for longevity and happiness. Today, they are mostly used by children for entertainment. 

Cheongsam is a fancy part of contemporary design in the clothing of educated Chinese women, the upper class. It's made of silk and brocade in the form of honeycombs. Forms of them are based on the traditional Chinese style, and Western fashion designers have increasingly introduced them as elements of fashion clothing. 

Acrobatics have been known in China for over 2000 years and they have a traditional character. In Chinese acrobatics there is a combination of movements and stability and are based on simplicity and application of everyday objects. China is rightly considered the world leader in acrobatics, and their competitors are really unbeatable and great enjoyment for the spectators. The acrobatic performance that we saw had many breathtaking moments and an outburst of delight when the task was finished. We saw five motorcyclists in a round cage not more than 8-10 m in diameter. They were going at full speed and we could not believe our eyes.  Such feats are impossible for anyone other than the Chinese. 

CONCLUSION 

China is a country with the oldest preserved human civilization and also the country that has undergone the fastest development in history. It is a country of great space, diverse terrain and natural wealth of all kinds. It is a country with the most cultural monuments protected by UNESCO. Western generations that have known China as a country where everyone wears the same clothes will not recognize the population of China today. China's phenomenal progress in recent decades is evident in its completely rebuilt cities, miles of new roads, the fastest trains in the world, modern mass air transport operations, modernized education and health care, the highest achievements in science and technical development, and in China's joining the interstellar space travel and exploration. And what is still extremely impressive, is that the Chinese streets incites are very clean. There is no graffiti on walls, and even the highways are decorated with Jardiniere flowers. Is there still anything else that we could possibly wish for this planet Earth? 

The Chinese are peace-loving and hard-working people. Amazingly, in rural areas there are lovely work tilled fields. The Chinese have also become masters in tourism development. From the Chinese we have something new to learn. One can really have a good time and enjoy oneself in China. If much of the credit for this rapid transformation of China belongs to the Chinese leadership, then one can say that the leaders have done an excellent job. Traveling in China, in April 2011, we will remember all our lives, and thanks go to the people of China who welcomed us so warmly. 

                                                                                               Ottawa April 2011

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