26 Nov 2009 10:15 PM

Greetings dear friends,

The week is moving on slowly and I do hope it has been kind to you all. As for myself, I feel since the onslaught of winter hit us here on Nov.1st, with the snow storms there is no doubt in my mind that time is dragging its heels compared to October.

As I mentioned last blog, I was on my way to Xian, the weather was looking good and no delays expected not like the previous week when massive snow storms hit and over 450,000 people were stranded at the major railway stations in Beijing, yes that is a lot of people sitting around with a ticket in their hand and no trains moving to get them to their destinations.

Train travel is still very popular and reliable on most times of the year, the biggest problems at times is getting a ticket for your journey, some you have to book ten days in advance, some are only sold three days in advance, so you got to be on your toes and get in queue early. Once I was the second person in the queue by time I got to the counter the tickets had sold out, there must had been a lot of people in queues all over Beijing going my way.

Anyway, for Xi'an I was ok for my ticket as it is a soft (first class) sleeper, booked 3 days in advance.  Each long distant train is twenty carriages long, comprising of hard and soft seat, hard and soft sleeper.  Hard sleeper is six bunks per compartment and soft four bunks.

We pulled out on time at 8:26pm; another train had left some 10mins before also taking the masses to Xian.  I settled into my bunk with a coffee and a book and listened to the noise of the train as it chugged along the tracks. It didn't take long for the movement of the train to sooth me for sleep.  The carriage was heated and during the night I was looking for my water to quench my thirst.  The next time I woke it was around 6am; a good sleep. So before the masses got going to the washroom I was up and washing my face and then making my morning coffee.

By 7am; gentle music was being played to stir those still sleeping it was getting light and you could see the massive snow drifts still there after a week and no doubt will be there for a while to come.  Come 8am, we are on the outskirts of Xi'an and in thirty minutes we will all be disembarking the train.  There is one thing about trains in China if the weather is good they run perfectly on time. This trip was no exception right on the dot we rolled into Xi'an station.

I was quickly off as the worse thing about Chinese Railway stations they heard us all down the one exit, so you got to be quick, which I most definitely was and out the front exit to the waiting masses of people greeting friends, relatives or collecting tourist.

It is only a twenty minute or so walk to my hotel. The weather was sunny but a little chilly, so it was a brisk walk. But half way I was stopped in my tracks, by the sight of a complete block of the old city demolished since I last walked this way late September, how sad to see the old building gone as I walked further towards my hotel I could see more buildings tagged with the Chinese symbol for demolish painted on them.

This is an ancient city, one of the very few walled cities left in China, it is a major tourist destination, when will they if ever realize there is no need to build modern department stores on every block inside the wall.

After checking into my hotel, having breakfast and then a rest, I then ventured out to the other older section of the walled city, it too is dwindling in size, with big department stores and Wal-Marts are encroaching into the ancient streets, I wonder how much will be left when I go there again?

However, it just doesn't end there in Xian; it is happening in many parts of China, down with the old and up with the new. Jinan another pretty little city has been demolished in a cruel way there is hardly any of the old city left now, even the last sections of the old city wall are gone. 

Tianjin has gone through modernization, complete streets torn down for shopping complexes. But here they do value the architecture and the Italian, French, Austrian and British sections major renovations have taken place to its former glory. It is nice to walk these streets and you can even imagine yourself not even in China.

Of course Beijing went through massive reconstruction for the Olympics; however, the demolition teams are still very active as more modern apartment blocks are forcing their way towards old village style living.  You may recall in an earlier Blog I mentioned the demolition of a group of shops and a section of a village, well today I get on the bus to go shopping and I was shocked to see all of the little businesses that were along the road have been demolished, hey that is less than a week, also on the other side of the road the same has happened to a larger group of shops and other little businesses. 

Why, because they have built modern apartments and they border these establishments that have been there for a long time but they do not fit in with the realm of things now. So overnight, many businesses lost with little or no compensation, more unemployed and more homeless all in the name of modernization.

Tomorrow is another train trip on the high speed train to Tianjin.

Cheers for now

Toby.

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11 Nov 2009 7:26 PM

Greetings to you all,

I do hope that your all having a great week. 

I started this blog at stage one, then thought I had published it, well I boo boobed, I edited it and lost it, that is why it is all out of sequence, now you know and here we go again.

Monday evening around 2 am it became very cold, so I scrambled for my extra thick quilt and my beanie to keep my head warm as the central heating was struggling to compete with the quick reduction in temprature outside.  I peeked my head out of the window to see we were once more dumped with a heavy snow fall and watched as cars slowly disappeared beneath the falling snow.

Eventually I got out of  my warm bed and had another look at the situation, I was surprised to see nice whispy high clouds, no wind and some sunshine so I decided to take a good walk around the old city area.

Placed the battery of my camera on charge while I downed a big plate of porridge and my special museli.  Once I cleaned up the kitchen and then myself I dressed for the occasion, heavy winter clothing, heavy boots, thick beanie and gloves.  Camera packed in my carry bag and I was soon on my way.

Great the bus came just as I arrived at the stop, good service, once at the terminus it was a quick dash to the subway station.  Once on the platform so were a million others, where did they come from, while they were watching for the next train I slipped over to the other side and got the train to the terminus of the line one station away.  After a mad dash to the other platform I was lucky to get there as the train arrived, great I got a seat.  it was a sardine can once the hoards borded at my origonal stop.

My destination is the Tian'anmen Square stop.  I first walked across the square ten years ago, battling snow, ice and wind, you were lucky to see anyone on the square.  These days it is far different, as I rose out of the subway to the square I was took back by the amount of people, mostly tourist from other provinces, their tour guides looking bored and carring their little flags, some foreigners along with souvenier sellers and the touts.

There was still a good cover onthe square in some sections and I was happy all was not lost.  as I made my way to the Monument in the centre of the square I was amazed at the number of people queueing to have a gawk at Mao in his mausoleum, one place I have never bothered to go to in Beijing.

Weaving through the crowds I eventually made my way to the southern end of the square to view the Qianmen Tower (See Photo), it's bleak grey and white colour along with a capping of snow was suited to the day.

Soon I had to weave through the crowds coming out the rear door of Mao's Mausoleum I think if they blinked they would miss him as they are moved along very quickly.  Fianlly past hem all and along the west side of the square past the Great Hall of the People, another impressive and massive building this one I have visited.

Finally at the main road once more over looking the Tian'anmen which is the main gate to the Imperial Palace or as commonly know as the Forbidden City. Down into the underpass and quickly to the other side to catch a bus to my next destination Jing Shan Park (Prospect Hill)

Now when you want a bus there is never a bus, it is always the way, when I got to the stop there were only four of us, great I thought, nope by time the bus arrived there was enough to fill it twice over.  Queues are great while waiting, but as soon as the bus arrives it is a mad dash to get on. I soon made my way to the front of the bus where I could breath.

As we wound our way down the old streets of Beijing i was was ticking off in my brain all of the things I would come back this way to photograph after the park. Four stops later we arrived and after a few steps I was already shooting away with my camera.

I could feel in my bones this was going to be a great day.

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11 Nov 2009 6:43 PM

Ten years ago I can recall walking through the Hutong behind the great Hall of the people feeling it's history as I wound my way back to where I was staying at the time in Qianmen just south of the Imperial City. Not long afterwards sadly read that this area was to be demolished to make way for the Centre of Perfoming Arts.

Now don't get me wrong  The Centre of Performing Arts is a wonderful building, but in my mind in the wrong place, but progress is progress and they wanted a more modern city for the 2008 Olympics. Inside is equally beautiful and I have had the pleasure to enjoy some wonderful Ballets, but what always captivate me is the design, you enter the centre from below the moat and the water is lapping above your head.

This is the first time to see it with some snow on top, as I viewed it from Jing shan there was a good cover, haha by the time I had evetually got there little was left but enough to capture. As I walked around the moat adding more photos to my collection it started to get chilly, the slight breeze coming off the water was adding to the chill factor.

Soon I was back where I started, decison time, subway home or bus, the bus won out as it was closer.  It was a good decision as the snowy views along the avenue was very beautiful.

Fianlly at my bus station, quickly to my next bus home fianlly a wonderful day was finished off with a steaming hot shower and then a good drink of hot chocolate. 

All in all over 200 photos were taken on the day, wish I could share them with you all. 

cheers

Toby.

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11 Nov 2009 6:15 PM

Once out of the park, I walked towards the moat of the Forbidden city,  here I made two new acquaintances as we discussed the views we were photographing.  As  they headed off to photograph Jing Shan I was approached by an elderly gentleman who wanted me to take his rickshaw, I told him in my best Chinese I want to walk, wow, he came back in equally good English "It's to far", full marks for trying.

As I followed the wall  and moat around the Forbidden City I soon came the the entrance to the forecourt of the city, this is the free area before you actually have to buy a ticket and enter the Imperial City, to many it is still a forbidden city. After many photos I left via the front Gate and back where I started at Tian'anmen.

However, the expedition did not finish there, earlier I had spotted snow capping the Centre for Perfoming arts, so I was  soon on my way there hoping the snow was still on the dome.

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2 Nov 2009 8:31 PM

Greeting to you all,

Last night was freezing cold, even with two thick quilts I struggled to keep warm, I pity the poor folk who live in third world conditions or have to rough it here in the big city, there was no way they could have kept warm. 

The first thing I did today was to look out the window before deciding what to wear, much to my surprise the sky was a crystal clear blue with not a cloud to be seen. 

Then I looked for people, that is a sure tell tale sign on the conditions outside.  The people I spotted were rugged up to the hilt and walking at a very brisk pace, they looked very cold that was for sure.  So I knew what to attire myself with, heavy winter clothes.

The wind was ice, cutting into the exposed parts of your face, we all waited at the bus stop doing a soft shoe shuffle to keep warm, a good job we don't wait too long for the bus. 

Snow still laid thick in many places and the big clean up of footpaths and branches was still going on.  One had to be very wary where to read as thick patcches of ice were also on the paths ready to toss you into the air if not treated carefully.

The sun, like a silver plate in the sky shone with no warmth, but the sky stayed the same all day; however, the evening chill factor fromthe wind soon got to me as I rushed to my bus.  One good thing the driver was also cold as there was no heating and he got us to the bus station in good time.

Once off the bus around 5:30pm the sun was setting nicely with an orange glow, at the saame time the full moon was rising a nice sight to finish the day.

Well the truth came out today why it snowed, Chinese meteorologists had brought about Beijing's earliest snowfall in a decade, after seeding rain clouds with silver iodide to ease the drought.

However, they got it wrong as they never accounted for the cold front that was closing in on Beijing. Not the first time they got it wrong causing massive floods in some places in the past, anyway, at least one area that needed good rains received 4cm (1.5in) of rainfall at the weekend.

So now we all know why the snow was early this year.

Cheers for now

Toby

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