Hong Kong

In the morning we caught the high speed train to Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong. Although Hong Kong is now part of China, it is still "autonomous" and thus entering Hong Kong from China still involves a border crossing and different visa laws.

Noodles for lunch in one of many shopping areas

Hong Kong is famous for shopping and the main shopping area stretched along Victoria street for miles. Almost every major brand in the world has a store. We spent the day wandering the streets and shopping malls.

Street view in Hong Kong

In the recent past Hong Kong was known as a cheap international shopping destination with all the brands of the world on offer. In the days of the internet and ubiquity of chinese exports, I feel this claim to fame is fading away. The prices overall weren't really that cheap, and were Hong Kong offers a global marketplace, availability of international goods is no longer the logistical problem it once was.

The city itself is positioned inside a ring of mountains next to a large harbour. With little flat land for expansion, the city has expanded towards the sky, skyscrapers sticking up everywhere.

Harbour view from the airport bus

We only spent the day in Hong Kong. We tried to save some money by catching a bus to the airport rather than a taxi. Had a bit of an issue in dealing with an exact money only policy and getting change in Hong Kong dollars that we would never use again, but eventually made it the airport and on to our flight to Singapore.

Guangzhou

Guangzhou is the third largest city in China, with almost 13 million people, and is one of the five National Central Cities. The area around Guangzhou is one large "mega-city", including Shenzhen and other cities, and in total about 40 million people live in the surrounding area. Throughout history, Guangzhou has been a major trading port and has a long history of foreign contact (the city was formerly known as Canton). The city has come of age in recent times due to the proximity of many of the export-producing factories.

Day One - Arrive in Guangzhou

We met up with F2 in the Guangzhou subway and walked to her house. The central areas of Guangzhou were more ordered and clean than in Wuhan, but the weather has still very humid. After a quick stop we went to our hotel, and then onto Jianhe park, an oasis in the midst of the urban jungle.

Jianhe Park in Guangzhou

After walking around the park, we had a late lunch at Chanli studio (delicious!).

Chanli Studio (restaurant) in Jianhe Park

In the evening, F2 and C went out shopping and I retreated back to the hotel, still not feeling one hundred percent.

Day Two - Central Guangzhou

We started the morning with a breakfast buffet in the hotel and then a walk around Jianhe Park. Of note were the mass aerobics and tai chi. Lots of seperate groups of people with one instructor and everyone else following, all spread out over the park

On the way back to the hotel, we were stopped by a road block. There were police and civilians acting as guards. I didn't risk taking a photo. We were told to wait on one side of the road, even though our hotel was very close by. It turned out that the president was visiting a new company in the area, and the security was to create an empty zone of X metres around the president. We could almost see the entrance to the building. We patiently waited for the cars (one surely was a decoy) to leave and then the road was accessible again.

Yum Cha

We met up with F2 and had Yum Cha for lunch. Of course, we had a bowl of chicken feet. Tastes quite fatty and the only problem is when you have to pick the foot bones from out of your teeth.

Chicken feet

After lunch, we walked around central Guangzhou, amongst all the new skyscrapers and shopping malls. A 21st century city!

Modern architecture in central Guangzhou

Street view in central Guangzhou

After shopping, we went to Shamian Island, situated along the banks of the Pearl river which runs through the city. In the 18th and 19th century, foreigners used the island as a trade outpost. Bridges segregate the island from the main parts of the city which kept the evil foreigners from starting trouble. On the island, there were various old colonial buildings, but what made our visit interesting were the many fashion shoots. All over the island were small groups of photographers taking photos of different fashion models. Every 50 metres we would come across another group.

Hot pot and coconut juice

For dinner we had hot pot and coconut juices. I think this was a "foreigner-friendly" hot pot with a large part tomato and the other part spicy.

City lights of Guangzhou

After dinner, we drove around the city looking at all the lights. Many of the buildings and bridges light up at night. Often we had to park illegally to quickly walk along promenades or bridges to take in the view, then scurry back when we thought we saw inspectors coming.

Wuhan

We began our journey with an uneventful flight from Brisbane to Melbourne. Once in Melbourne, we lined up to checkin for our China Southern flight to Guangzhou and then onto Wuhan.

A woman at the head of the line was attempting to take a large amount of long life milk on the flight. The milk had begun to leak from one of the cartons and was spilling out all over the floor and on the person’s other luggage. Eventually it was cleaned up, not sure what happened to the milk.

We finally got to the check in counter, but our attendant began to get involved with the milk people. Apparently, they were also trying to travel with a box of fish packed in ice, but the ice in the box was over the allowable limit. The officials were starting to open the box, but we were checked in and then on our way, and so missed the resolution.

The overnight China Southern flight was very roomy and there was no problem sleeping. Strangely, there was no video entertainment for such a long flight, but plenty of meals.

Day One - Arrive in Wuhan

In the morning, we had a short flight from Guangzhou to Wuhan.

Drinks in Guangzhou domestic transfer lounge

Wuhan is the most populous city in central China with a population of around 10 million and is one of twenty or so "middle-tier" cities. The city lies at the intersection between the Yangtze and Han rivers which divides the city into three main areas. The area around Wuhan was settled more than 3000 years ago and in recent centuries has become a major domestic transportation hub.

We caught a taxi from the airport and met up with F1+H at their work. We went back to their hotel, I mean house, for a brief rest stop before heading off to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Alas, I forgot to bring the camera, but the food was good!

After lunch, F1+H went back to work and we set off on foot, out into the heat, to the nearby large shopping mall which was called "Shopping Mall". I wandered around for a few hours while C went to get her hair done.

Later, we went out with F1+H for Korean barbecue (no photos!). For those that don't know, Korean barbecue consists of lots of different marinated raw meats that you cook on a hot plate in front of you, as well as several tasty side dishes. Always delicious!

Day Two - Liyuan Park

We had breakfast in a place opposite Shopping Mall. Lots of people were eating there and the prices were cheap.

Breakfast in Wuhan

Our tourist stop for the day was Liyuan Park, which is a famous park situated on East Lake, the largest urban lake in China. Wuhan University sits atop a hill in the same area, well known for its scenic location. The park was green and lush, thanks to the subtropical climate.

Inside Liyuan park

Despite the sticky heat, we walked around for a few hours. We explored winding forest paths to discover pagodas and statues scattered around the park. Unfortunately, the views over the lake to the surrounding hills and the city were obscured by morning mist. Often we questioned our decision to be there on such a hot day when we would arrive hot and extremely sweaty at the top of a hill.

Pagoda in Liyuan park

The statues and monuments appeared to the naive mind to be ancient relics from a noble past, however a sign gave the game away and pretty much everything had been built within the last 25 years.

"Ancient" statues

"Ancient" monuments

At the far end of the park there was a botanical garden section and a sea of pink lotuses spread out over a large lake.

Field of pink lotuses in Liyuan park

Later on, we went with F1+H for a midnight dinner at a laid back restaurant. Again, I forgot the camera, but we eat frog on a stick and some not properly cleaned (my fault!) river prawns which were to haunt me over the next couple of days.

Day Three - Buying glasses, Yellow Crane Tower

In the morning, we took a taxi to a dodgier end of town. We were on a quest to get cheap glasses for C, and there was one particular shop we had to find. It was during this quest that I began to feel the effects of the river prawns from the night before. Coupled with the heat, noise and alien atmosphere, the morning turned into a struggle (for me!). In the end C bought three pairs for the normal price of probably one pair and the mission was a success.

Yellow Crane Tower

As our tourist stop, we visited Yellow Crane Tower, one of the Four Great Towers of China. We wandered around the surrounding gardens and climbed the tower which had good views of the Yangtze river and the city.

Artwork depicting the tower's name

The tower was originally built in 223 AD, and had been made famous in several old poems, well before the modern age covered the land in skyscrapers and roads. The structure that now stands there had been rebuilt recently (1981) like so many ancient places.

View of Wuhan and the river from Yellow Crane Tower

View of Wuhan and the tower bell from Yellow Crane Tower

Finding a taxi home proved harder than anticipated. After following several speculative clues we found ourselves on a very taxi unfriendly street but still competing with other people lined up along the road all looking for taxis. Surrounded by construction work, stuck out in the open in the heat and humidity, dehydrated from sweating and stomach sickness, I fell back on the one super power I possess as a westerner in China, attracting attention. After almost 30 minutes of waiting, walking and hailing, we eventually got a taxi and made our way home.

After an exhausting day, I collapsed in bed. Our plan for the evening was to go out on a river cruise with F1 and H and indulge in a buffet. Eating and being on a boat were the last things my stomach needed, but I mentally resolved myself to go through with it.

As fate would have it, F1 never came home from work, we assumed she had to work late, and so we missed the cruise. Or so we thought. What actually happened is that F1 had come home from work but we hadn't heard her knocking at the door. H was working late, and she hadn't brought her key, and we didn't have a phone. Eventually she gave up and went back to work to wait for H to finish.

Onto Guangzhou

We said goodbye to our lovely hosts F1+H, who dropped us off at the high-speed train station. There was some trepidation at catching the high speed train as only a few weeks previously, there had been a serious crash on a different part of the line that had garnered world wide attention.

High speed train station in Wuhan

As a safety compromise the high speed trains had been universally slowed down. Our train which normally would have been travelling at 350km/h was now at a measly 300km/h. The trip to Guangzhou went smoothly, spending a few hours watching the countryside shoot by.