My Big China Trip 2012 (重庆，武汉，郑州，济南，扬州，上海）

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Yes, I was also wondering how it turned out.

[xuexiansheng]

Yes, I did make it back alive from China. I've just been busy with work and family after being gone for a month. I think I'm finally caught up, so I can take a moment or two and reflect on my “Big China Trip 2012”.

I made it to all of the cities I planned on traveling to. It was a bit of a whirlwind tour and if I was doing it over, I would have chosen fewer cities and planned on staying longer in each. Here are some of the highlights and impressions from each city:

Chongqing（重庆）- I was only there for three days and was getting over some wicked jetlag, but I loved this city. It was everything I was missing about China since I was last there in 04'-05'. The food, the hustle and bustle, the people. I really only stayed in the main downtown area, (its such a massive city), I'm sure there is enough to explore for a whole lifetime. I stayed at a nice hotel at the Hongyadong area（洪崖洞）, a little touristy, but great location. The Urban Planning Museum was really interesting and had a HUGE model of Chongqing. The Hall of Chongqing Heroes was somewhat amusing as it traced every famous person that had anything to do with Chongqing for the last 3000 years. I also visited the Huguang Guild hall（湖广会馆）, which was a nice quiet retreat from the city and is supposed to have performances. (I never have luck catching performances in China, though I always ask!) [Map of these places.] I'd like to go back to Chongqing for a bit and see what I missed, namely the Dazu Carvings and hot springs, but I was a little short on time and wanted to get on a cruise.

I booked a cruise at a travel agent. That took me to Yichang and then by bus to Wuhan. I'll write more about the details in this post.

Wuhan（武汉）- I wasn't instantly in love with Wuhan like I was with Chongqing, so I didn't stay very long there. Just saw the museum (which wasn't that great and was half closed for remodeling) and then moved on north to Zhengzhou.

Zhengzhou（郑州）- First stayed a few nights at a private University about an hour south of Zhengzhou called Xiyasi Daxue or Sias Univ.（西亚斯国际学院）. Interesting place, and I might write something up about it in another post. Then went back to Zhengzhou proper and stayed at the new campus of Zhengzhou Daxue for a week. I took Chinese language classes there for a few days and got a feel for the campus. I might write up something about this as well in another post. Then I flew down south to visit a friend who was doing business in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen（深圳）- I was only there for three days. It was startlingly different from Zhengzhou in March. The trees were green and the flowers were blooming. I went from wearing a parka, scarf and a hat when I stepped on the plane in Zhengzhou, to feeling hot in a t-shirt as I stepped out of the airport in Shenzhen. It was also great to mooch off my friend and her corporate expense account in an extremely expensive city! We did the typical ex-pat routine one night since it was St. Patty's Day, good fun and a side of China I had never experienced before. After a wild weekend, I hopped another plane back up north to Ji'nan.

Ji'nan（济南）- This city had a nice vibe to it. I didn't get to climb Taishan（泰山） like I was planning to, since I was feeling a little under the weather. But, I did manage to see the excellent new Shandong Provincial Museum and hike Thousand Buddha Mountain（千佛山）. (Well.... you are SUPPOSED to hike the mountain, if you are a devout believer. I opted for the cable car. ) I went to Daminghu（大明湖）, the park wasn't amazing, but I enjoyed it because I had read an excerpt in my Chinese class from Laocanyouji（老残游记）. Then went down south to Zhenjiang/Nanjing/Yangzhou.

Zhenjiang（镇江）- I took the high speed train from Jinan to Zhenjiang, I highly recommend it. I love trains and rocketing along at 185mph(300kph) was very enjoyable and extremely efficient. I stayed at Zhenjiang because it is my friend's hometown. I toured around with her for a few days and saw all the little parks and historic places in Zhenjiang. We went on two day trips, one to Yangzhou（扬州） to see Shouxihu（瘦西湖） and one to Nanjing（南京） to see the museum (which was half closed for renovation, just my luck!) and Sun Yat-sen's tomb （孙中山陵）(which is closed on Mondays, just my luck!) But I had a lovely time and its always great to visit sites with a local. Then I headed off to Shanghai before I flew out.

Shanghai（上海）- I had spent some time in Shanghai before, so I just saw a few museums and got ready to fly back to the States. I caught an excellent exhibit at the Urban Planning Museum about the cartoonist He Youzhi （贺友直）who wrote and illustrated about “Old Shanghai”（老上海） of the 1930's. The Shanghai Museum was very good, but very crowded. I really like the Shanghai Art Museum and would recommend it. Then after a month of travel, flew back home!

It was an excellent trip and of course I didn't want to come home and get back to work. It was wonderful being a traveler for that long and my language skills were much better since the last time I traveled in China back in 04'-05'. I was able to converse (lightly, nothing deep or involved) with most people and felt comfortable and at ease while I traveled. I got some great ideas for my next trip (definitely in the South if I travel before April!) Thanks for all the suggestions from the forums before I left, very helpful.

[Goldmember]

Hey xuexiansheng, 

Hope your still checking your post, your trip sounds awesome, lots of good ideas. 

What was your stay at Sias International like? (the American Uni) 

I may/may not go, depends, but I have been unable to get much in the way of reviews from students. 

 

thanks in advance 

[xuexiansheng]

@Goldmember -Sorry for the late reply, I just got back from my 2014 trip and am still catching up on the forums. Yes, I did go to SIAS. This was 2 years ago now, so things may have changed since then. Are you considering going as a teacher? They were building (or had just completed) a new dorm for the foreign teachers. The campus was nice, slightly odd architecture at times. (replica of the Red Square in Moscow, the front building is half White House/half Chinese building) There is a very intensive focus on everyone speaking English there, so if you are interested in learning Chinese as you teach you will have to actively seek is out. I think it would be a good choice for someone with no experience with Chinese culture or language to go there. It would be good as a starting place to China, because they take care of everything for the teachers. Which can be nice since you are isolated in a campus distant from Zhengzhou proper (45 mins by bus if I remember) but can feel a little like being stranded on an island. (That was the impression I got from the teachers I spoke with/hung out with) In the end I didn't pursue a job there, but the wages seemed to be competitive and the teachers were generally enjoying themselves and doing what English teachers in China do, teaching. Let me know if you have any specific questions. Good luck!

 

Edit: looks like you found some good info in this forum