Back To The Future

Saturday in Xi'an

We checked out of the Golden Flower and then headed to the airport by way of a lovely park surrounding an ancient Buddhist pagoda. The Chinese are not stingy with urban parks. They are everywhere in every city from little vest pockets to huge meandering acres of green. And the parks are used for Tai Chi, walking babies, or just enjoying a cool respite. There are also trees along every road, street and highway. The city buildings are pretty gray and ugly with the occasional spectacular architectural feat.

There is a museum in the park and for the life of me I can't remember the name but there's a good chance the words "revered heritage" would be in there. We strolled by some statues from various dynasties and then went down to the research level. We sat around a large table covered with red felt and then the young professor in charge gave us each a pair of gloves with pebbly palms so we could handle some of these antiquities. We passed around a selection of items of bronze and even a very old and very rare ceramic box. Kevin is such an archeology buff that it seemed he knew as much as the professor. It was a rare treat to actually touch things so old and we got to keep the gloves as a souvenir. I think they'll be perfect for to use while machine quilting.

I did learn that during the Tang dynasty the standard of beauty did a 180 from the willowy creatures of the Hans. The most beautiful and prized women were plump with round faces and double chin. Hello????? Tang princess right here.

And then it was time to leave the ancient city of Xi'an to head into the future: Shang Hai.

At the airport the Chinese TSA guys once again rifled through my purse looking for the knife they see on the X-ray screen. And once again, I have no knife. I must say that the TSA-ettes have a much lighter touch than their Atlanta sisters when it comes to the pat down. Our plane to Shang Hai was only 30 minutes late which is as close to on time as it gets in China. A 737 this time and the usual lovely box with unidentifiable snacks inside. We must have taxied for ten minutes from runway to gate and then the endless march through the concourse in Shang Hai (we landed at gate 220. You do the math.) All this walking and climbing is starting to weed out the weak ones in our group. One of the Dragons went down in Xi'an. A few of the other LOL's (in this case, Little Old Ladies) are slowing down quite a bit but are still hanging in there. One of our Panda group is pretty much staying on the bus at every stop. Then waddles to a snack stand for a Coke and M & Ms. No sympathy for that doofus.

Contrary to popular belief, everything is not free in China. The government picks up about 30% of medical costs once you wait in line for whatever procedure. There is no social security. You must buy into a pension plan while working and then the pay out is about 100 US$ per month. Remember, people must retire at 55 and 60 and then their children are responsible for their care, thus the multi generational living. The parents work while the grandparents keep house and watch the child. Education is free only for the "minorities" who make up less than 10% of the population.

Ah, but there is a vast underground capitalist system in play. For instance, teachers who earn a set amount (500) per month supplement this income by tutoring their students after class. The grandparents minding their grandchild (remember the one child policy) will find somewhere to plant a garden and then will sell the produce themselves by just throwing a blanket down and hawking their vegetables or will wholesale to little produce markets. And then there are the street vendors...

We rode a bus for two hours through Shang Hai, the financial and shipping center of the country, to Suzhou, the Venice of the East, a city of only 8 million. We didn't arrive until dinner time. Our hotel, a Holiday Inn, is a high rise right smack dab in the middle of the action. Jim and I are on the 24th floor in a corner suite. Great view and wifi. Too bad we're here for only 13 hours.

Tomorrow we're seeing whatever Suzhou has to offer and then will take a train back to Shang Hai. We've picked up a local guide, another 30-something year old named Alex. He's already told us that the traffic is so bad in Shang Hai (as to differentiate it from every other car clogged city????) that the government discourages private ownership of cars within the city limits. Public transportation is prolific and cheap (2 Yuan, about 20 cents fare on bus or subway) while parking is very expensive as is the license plate fee---thousands of dollars. Only the very rich can afford to own a car. We've already determined that you have to be nuts to drive here. Someone asked why there aren't endless traffic accidents and was told, "They don't go fast enough to cause any damage."

Another Fun Fact: There is only one time zone in China. They call it MST, Mao Standard Time. Dawn and dusk are the usual times in Beijing. It gets more interesting for those who live in the far west.