Christmas Travels - The Round-Up

We know that cities spring up for various reasons, and because of this variety, the cities themselves are all different. This is the rule of thumb for most places, right? But in China, the government, in typical conformist style, has recently been doing its utmost to eradicate all originality from its big cities by extreme urban planning. The result is that it can seem like a lot of the cities are basically carbon copies of each other and for that reason not worth bothering to explore. But, ever the optimist, I still firmly believe that each place somehow keeps its own character. Sometimes this is apparent in the people; sometimes in the architecture; sometimes in the surrounding natural landscape. For this reason, and because I intend to go everywhere I can in China (see last post), I am going to give a quick round-up or what I basically thought of every province (provinces in capitals) and major city destination so that if you ever choose to travel there, you basically know what you're getting. Remember these are just my personal opinions and of course everyone will like different things : )

Nanjing:
After Urumqi, Nanjing felt like a centre of pure capitalism. Naturally, in a few days we went on to Shanghai, where the Chinese taught me how capitalism is really done... but for the time being, landing in Nanjing was like landing in the west. Nanjing is known for being the city which best held out against the communist tide (it was the headquarters of the Kuomintang as they were pushed further south); they say that in some parts of the city, at times, you could barely tell that you were living in the throes of the Communist Revolution. I particularly enjoyed getting my western fixes, like Costa and Haagen Dazs (though I have later come to realise that most of the cities to the south and the east also offer the same!). I liked this aspect of the city to begin with, but soon became a bit irritated by the in-your-face characterless prosperity. The city itself would probably be a nice place for a westerner to live if they still wanted to keep some contact with what they are used to, but didn't want to be stuck in Shanghai or Beijing with all the other ex-pats. On the outskirts of the city you can find all the tourism sites, most of which are actually very important to Chinese history, and set in beautiful lush green surroundings. Plus the Nanjing Massacre Museum cannot be missed; this museum gives the best viewpoint of the tragic era of Chinese history that was the Japanese War of Aggression.

Suzhou:
Suzhou, more than anything, felt quaint. It was like a little old water-side town that, while slowly being developed, was still tenaciously clinging on to its roots. Once you're out of the pretty canal-side hutongs (where they navigate by lamppost number!) or the preserved main streets, the town can be a bit dull and atypical. Definitely worth relaxing in.

JIANGSU:
Jiangsu is a province I would definitely recommend, and I think both the capital Nanjing and the famous Suzhou are both worth seeing as well. A good start to the trip! But I have since found so many places in China that I prefer, as Jiangsu is like a watered-down Shanghai and therefore not exactly bursting with individuality like other places in China. If you're in the area, go see; if you have choices as to where to go, choose somewhere else.

SHANGHAI:
If you want to see prosperity, come to Shanghai. My friend told Liam off for acting so 'country' as he was gazing raptly at the towering buildings and bright flashing lights. In Shanghai, you can get everything you materially could want... I walked down one street with three Rolex watch shops. But who needs three Rolex shops? I was initially mesmerised by the pure decadence of Shanghai, but very very rapidly became quite disheartened as it seemed so superficial and meaningless. I accidentally came across a different part of town, where the local people were just going about their day, and suddenly it felt much more real and down-to-earth.

Tangkou:
If you can help it... don't go here. Tangkou is in Anhui Province, but seeing as this is all I've seen of Anhui, I don't think it's fair to judge just yet!

Hangzhou:
I loved this place. But only after I had been to the West Lake. I found that the city itself is a bit run-of-the-mill, but the lake area is stunning. I was lucky to be there on a National Holiday so the place was heaving with happy families and couples. I think that Hangzhou would be a really great place to go and just relax, especially by the waterside or on one of the pleasure boats.

ZHEJIANG:
Well, if the capital Hangzhou is anything to go by, this is a great place to go. It is situated on the east coast in the south of China and I think it would be best for relaxing, though not brilliant for tourism. And still very east-coasty; I have found that my preferred places in China tend to be further west and/or north. Having said that, to this date I still haven't been to the south and south-west so this could still change... I'll let you know when I go!