Ultramodern China

I returned from an 18-day trip to China on April 13, 2007. It was my first visit there since 1984. The purpose of this trip was to see for myself the changes brought on by 15 years of 10% annual growth.

We started at Shanghai, where I expected to see many new buildings, but my shock was unbelievable when we arrived at Pudong International, a magnificent modern airport, and drove on modern expressways to a fine hotel in town. Shanghai now resembles a New York City but with more skyscrapers, all modern and all built in the last 15 years.

The streets were crowded with new automobiles, trucks and buses. There were some motorbikes and some motor scooters but no handcarts and no laborers carrying big bundles on their backs. As in downtown Dallas, Los Angeles or Las Vegas, the people we saw on the streets were well dressed, in Western clothes, and cell phones were everywhere. All that identified that I was not in America or Europe were the many signs, all in Chinese.

At the tourist sights, 99% of the tourists were Chinese.

We flew to Kunming. I expected a rural town, perhaps quaint. How wrong I was! Kunming is a city of six million, just as modern and crowded as Shanghai.

Dali was next, and it too was ultramodern but on a smaller scale. Everywhere there was new construction — complexes of 20 to 30 modern apartment buildings 15 to 20 stories high spaced about 100 feet apart. The center of the city was dominated by 30- to 50-story office buildings and many banks.

We drove about four hours to Lijiang, first through farmland and then uninhabited mountains. The roads were excellent, however the farming I saw on the entire trip was totally primitive. There was no farm machinery at all, only rakes, hoes, scythes and mattocks.

Lijiang is another modern city. However, our hotel was in a small part of the city that was either built to look old or was just built to show what old China was like. The cobbled streets were lined with small shops selling souvenirs to the tourists, who were primarily Chinese. The area was charming and lovely but not at all typical of China today.

We took a side trip through interesting countryside to Tiger Leaping Gorge and enjoyed its natural beauty. Again, all Chinese tourists.

Chengdu, with a population of about 15 million, is one of the biggest and most modern cities in China. We arrived at a hotel that was modern and quite nice, with hot and cold running water, Western toilets and good-enough beds but no heat. The temperature was about 40° and the dining room seemed even colder. The saving grace was an electric blanket in each bed and comforters to keep us warm.

Breakfast was totally Chinese — not what we are used to. We had broccoli, cooked cabbage, fried string beans and some Chinese dumplings.

The drive to the Wolong National Natural Reserve to see the pandas was through a large river valley with mines, factories and dams, then up a mountain road which was being modernized and rebuilt. It was very rough and a very tiring drive.

The reserve itself was a little disappointing, to me. It was merely an outdoor zoo with large, fenced-in enclosures. For a substantial fee (asking price, $200, bargained down to $100), one can get photographed playing with the pandas. It was not for me.

Next we went to Xi’an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. They were impressive, but not much had changed from 22 years before, just more Chinese tourists and the permission to take photographs, which was not allowed in 1984.

In Beijing, the Forbidden City, Ming Tombs and Temple of Heaven were great disappointments, as the crowds now preclude actually going into the buildings. Even the Ming Tombs were not available to us, only the long avenue approaching the tombs and guarded by the animals. And even they are replicas of the original horses, dragons, camels, etc., that guarded the approach.

However, I went to China to see China, not the tourist sights. In modern China the planes fly on time and the ticketing is computerized and works perfectly. Our guides met us at each airport as we arrived and helped us check in baggage upon our departure from each city. The hotels all honored our reservations and were good, in perfect repair.

Further, not one of the four of us had health problems with the food or the badly polluted air (which was not as bad as I anticipated).

This was a private trip arranged by Jeff Garrett of JMG Tibet Tours (6001 Falls Circle Dr., Ste. 301, Lauderhill, FL 33319; 866/548-4238, www.jmgtibettours.com). I went with three friends at a total cost of $3,600 each plus international air of about $800 each.

We had a guide and/or driver with us every day of the tour. Jeff Garrett did a wonderful job of arranging the trip. He even called us three times during the trip to make sure all was going well.

All in all, China was like a huge “Switzerland of the Orient” — well worth visiting.

MARK STONE

Libertyville, IL