Tourist Card

In September there is a "Tourist Card" which becomes available for students and teachers. One of the students studying French had advised her teacher of the opportunity to get one, in October or November. The card would give discount or free entry into Shaoxing tourist places. It cost 55 RMB, and one had to supply a photo and some details. Even though I only had a fairly short time to go in Shaoxing, I decided to purchase one.

I had it for several weeks, and my time in Shaoxing was fast coming to an end, and I had only used it once. I knew that, regardless of the card, there were a few things I was keen to see before I left the city, so I would "pack" them into the last few weeks. And so I did.

I am pleased to say that the card saved me almost double its value, so even for this short time was well worth the money I invested in it. Great decision on my part, and other teachers who procrastinated later realised the cost of their indecision.

So there'll be a few posts on my adventures using the card.

Crowds on holiday

We all agree that holiday time is NOT the time to go touring in China. It is at this time that the Chinese people choose to TRAVEL, SHOP and TOUR.

All trains, buses and the roads are very busy. In the cities around shops there are always huge crowds as many retail outlets offers special discount for holidays. The crowds are quite a shock for those of us that come from countries with less vlume of population.

We did do some touring on our holiday week. Golden Week. The holiday around National Day. But we are glad we did not go far. Other foreign teachers here went to Beijing and reported on the crowds that made visiting very difficult - although one story is fascinating. One couple who live in the apartment beside mine were riding bicycles around Beijing and came across one of the other foreign teachers who lives on the fourth floor above them. How amazing that they should accidentally meet up in that crowded city.

We went to Hangzhou, into the city of Shaoxing, and two of the local scenic spots. Lu Xun Walk, where the life of the famous write Lu Xun is celebrated. And we also went to East Lake, which is written up in the tour guides as "on a par" with the West Lake of Hangzhou. Hardly.

Mind you with the crowds, it did dull the tourist senses. So many people. The highlight of the visit to East Lake was the Chinese opera being performed in a pavilion at the far end of the lake. We had commented that there was very little "Chinese culture" in the celebration of the 59 years since the People's Republic of China was formed.

One of the foreign teachers went to Shanghai and queued for 4 and a half hours to get into the Jinmao Tower. Oh, the pain!

Sadly our touring time is always during holidays.

Tourism

Here in this area are many beautiful tourist places and they are popular with Chinese who like to drive around and visit the historical and beautiful places in their area.

But it is very frustrating for English speakers as they appear not to cater for them much at all. There is a good website about Shaoxing, which I found very helpful, but it is frustrating me. On the site it talks about some of the historical and beautiful places, it even has a page of details of the cost of entering these places, but I can't seem to find out where they are.

And the students don't seem to know either.

In this area there is a museum featuring the late Chinese premier Zhou Enlai's life. He was a native of Shaoxing. But I can't find where it is. There is an East Lake Scenic Spot - and I can't find the East Lake. There are two special historic places - the former homes of Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin - both writers or poets I believe, and there is a famous Orchid Pavilion. No one can tell me where it is.

The area in their brochure claims that 18 million tourists visited the area in 2006, and that 280,00 of those were international tourists. There are 81 hotels including three 5-star hotels, five 4-star ones, and thirty two 3-star ones.

Perhaps that is something I can do with my students. Get them to help me prepare information for English speaking tourists. And perhaps translate some of the menus in the various canteens too!

I'll have to check on the protocol for that!

From my window I can see the statue of Yu the great - but we have been unable to find how to get there. It is high on the mountain and for me beyond walking. Is there a bus? Can a taxi go? Who knows.