Joe’s Cafe

USA? Think again

Our last day included a visit to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. At 468 metres, it is the tallest TV tower in Asia and the third tallest tower in the world (after the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada and the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia). It’s a stunning building full of Chinese symbolism. The two big spheres that you see in the picture right give the appearance of pearls, and in fact there are 11 spheres in all, big and small. It is said that from a afar the tower gives the appearance of twin dragons playing with pearls. Construction of the tower began in 1991 and was completed in 1995.

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower was the tallest structure in China from 1994-2007, when it was overtaken by the spectacular Shanghai World Financial Center, which you see in the photo right. Despite the tower’s height, its double-decker lifts (holding up to 50 people) take only seconds to reach the observation deck, travelling at speeds of 7 meters per second.

From the financial center we made our way to the airport for the final leg back to Thailand, after five exciting days in fascinating China. My thanks again to all who made this trip possible, including our guides and driver, and especially Meta and STV.

Wordchecker
afar (adverb): at a distance
lift (noun): box to raise and lower people in a building (AmE: elevator)
leg (noun): a section of a journey

Our penultimate day was in Shanghai proper. And this was where we met Haibou, whom you see on the right. Haibou is the mascot for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Haibou is everywhere in Shanghai (and probably world-wide soon), and his (her?) name apparently means “Pearl in the Sea”. (Hai meaning sea - as in Shanghai - and bou meaning pearl, I think, but Chinese readers may correct me - please!) The World Expo (a large international trade exhibition), which runs from 31 May to 31 October next year, will have an expected 70 million visitors. The site for the exhibition occupies a vast area of land on both sides of the river in Shanghai and is still under construction.

Our last stop this day was the Shanghai World Circus (seen right), where the current show, ERA, bills itself as a “multimillion dollar stunning production”. And having seen it I can confirm that it is a pretty stunning multimillion dollar production. A mixture of acrobatics and multimedia effects, ERA is a love story through past, present and future (”intersection of time” says the publicity), complete with live orchestra and sound effects. For me the most spectacular part was the motorcycle show at the end, where up to eight (yes, that’s right, EIGHT - yes, 8, as in 888 - the number eight being a Chinese lucky number) motorbikes raced frenziedly around inside a spherical wire cage (with a diametre that I calculated at about 4 motorbikes, maybe 5). As you can see in their group shot below, the riders were dressed in mediaeval warrior outfits, a clever blending of ancient and modern typical of much of China.

Wordchecker
penultimate (adjective): one before the last; last but one
mascot (noun): a person or thing (often an animal) that is a symbol for an event or organization and is supposed to bring good luck
intersection (noun): the point at which two or more things meet
frenzy (noun): a state of wild excitement or uncontrolled behaviour (frienziedly = adverb)
diametre (noun): straight line from one side to the opposite side of a sphere or globe, passing through the centre (American spelling: diameter)
mediaeval (adjective): relating to the Middle Ages - approx 5th-15th centuries (American spelling: medieval)
warrior (noun): a fighter or soldier, especially if brave or experienced

Shanghai is known as the “Paris of the Orient”, and about one hour to its west is Suzhou, the “Venice of the Orient”. Although China has several other towns crossed, like Venice, by streams and canals, the most famous such “water town” today is certainly Suzhou. Although it has existed much in this form since before 1100 AD, it was only late in the last century that it became a tourist draw. And so it was one of our destinations on our third day; and we took a gondola along one of its canals, through the arches of ancient stone bridges.

Late in the 13th century, Marco Polo visited Suzhou and called it a “great and noble” city of sages and physicians. At that time, Suzhou was also a leading producer of silk. Quite a few of its wealthy residents built themselves beautiful gardens, some of which survive to this day.

Wordchecker
the Orient (noun): eastern Asia (literary and poetic usage)
draw (noun): attraction
gondola (noun): flat-bottomed boat in Venice
sage (noun): very wise man

Our second day in China included a visit to the site that hosted the World Buddhist Forum 2009 at Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province. At the entrance is a show that depicts the birth of Buddha. The show is set in a circular fountain surrounded by nine dragons to protect the little Buddha. At the centre of the fountain is a lotus flower, from which the new-born Buddha emerges. When the musical fountain show starts, water begins to jet out in all directions. Slowly, the lotus flower opens to reveal the little Buddha. As the Buddha emerges, the flower rotates in a clockwise direction. Some distance behind the fountain is a huge statue of Buddha, towering over the whole scene.

As you can see from the photos, there were many visitors to the site, with people coming from all parts of China and the rest of the world.

Wordchecker
depict (verb): to show, to illustrate
dragon (noun): a mythical monster
emerge (verb): to come out

A train without wheels - 21st century
The Maglev Train runs between Pudong International Airport and central Shanghai. MagLev is short for Magnetic Levitation, and this train that has no wheels literally “flies” along its 30 kilometre track in just 8 minutes, with a maximum speed of 431 kilometres per hour (see speed indicator above). We took the Maglev from the airport and were impressed by how quietly and smoothly it runs. In fact there was little sensation of speed, but we certainly arrived in downtown Shanghai very quickly indeed. As my first introduction to China, I was impressed!

A leaning pagoda - 10th century
In Shanghai proper we boarded our coach for a visit to an ancient building that reminds you of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This was the Yunyansi Pagoda outside Shanghai City at Suzhou. It was started in 959 AD and completed in 961 AD - just two years. This brick pagoda has seven floors and eight sides, with a height of nearly 50 metres. With a total weight of 6,000 tons the building has started subsiding unevenly, causing it to lean nearly 4 degrees to the north-east, as you may see in the picture on the right.

The Yunyansi Pagoda is built on top of a steep hill. Some of our party preferred to take the more traditional sedan chair approach to the top (see below)!

On the first day of our arrival in China we had travelled back 11 centuries from a flying train to a leaning pagoda!

Wordchecker
magnet (noun): piece of metal that attracts other metallic objects
magnetic (adjective): behaving like a magnet
levitate (verb): to rise and hover in the air
levitation (noun): the act of levitating
pagoda (noun): a Buddhist or Hindu temple or holy building, often built as a tower with many floors
lean (verb): to not stand up straight
sedan (noun): an enclosed chair with poles for carrying one person (also called sedan chair)

We were an “international” group (11 Thais, 1 Japanese and 1 Brit) travelling from Bangkok to Shanghai and its surrounds. And our “handlers” took care of us every step of the way. In coming posts I will tell you something about our experiences during this brief trip to the fascinating country of China - albeit we saw only a tiny fraction of this vast land. Here I wanted simply to introduce and thank the team who looked after us so well. I have never been on an organized tour in my life, and when I was invited by some friends I couldn’t resist the opportunity to see for myself how the English language is faring in China. And I have to say that this tour was quite an experience - well managed, smooth, an easy way to see so many exciting and interesting things and events in a limited time.

Surachai, whom you see above, is a registered Chinese tour guide and Vice Manager of Jiangsu China Travel Service in Nanjing. He is a highly qualified guide, licensed to guide even VIPs such as high-ranking politicians. Full of detailed information and practical advice, Surachai (that’s his Thai name, not his real Chinese name) was always good tempered and helpful. As well as Chinese he speaks fluent Thai and English, and I’d recommend him and his company to anyone visiting China (or to Chinese people travelling abroad for that matter).

Ake, below, was actually the first member of the team that we met. He picked us up in Bangkok and travelled with us all the way, returning us safely to Thailand.

Ake is Thai but also speaks excellent English and Chinese, having studied for a year or so in China. A Tour Leader with Roongsarp Discovery Travel in Bangkok, Ake too was helpful and enterprising, even entertaining us with karaoke at times. Another big thank you to Ake and Roongsarp for a well-planned and well-executed tour all round.

Last but far from least meet our driver on the right, who drove us around comfortably for five days, always courteous despite a rowdy crowd in the cabin!

In my next post we’ll look at some images and stories from the trip itself, starting with a ride in a train with no wheels - the “flying” Maglev train (Maglev is short for Magnetic Levitation) that travels at speeds of over 430kph!

I received the following question from Jeanette about using capitals:

“I am a writer and always have problems with the following:
‘The king is dead. Long live King Edward.’
‘She told me Captain Lorca read the book. The captain could read.’
I am referring to the same king in the first sentence, and to the same captain in the second.  Why wouldn’t both be capitalized? Thanks for your help. I have no rule to follow with this problem.”

It’s a good question, with (quite) a simple answer.

In the case of “King Edward” and “Captain Lorca” we are using Read the rest of this entry »

It’s always nice to receive positive feedback from EnglishClub.com members and visitors and I’d like to thank Mujeeb for the latest comment:

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“It is possible to be born an aristocrat without ever becoming a gentleman.”

(Nicholas Ridley)