标题: 3 Day Simingshan Tour [打印本页] 作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:05 标题: 3 Day Simingshan Tour Chinese celebrate May Day by having up to seven days holiday. ALL of China takes off at least three (and often seven) days. It seems all of China's buses, trains, aeroplanes, taxi's, hotels and restaurants are over crowded for this entire time. Well, they ARE!
The best way to get about during this period seems to be by bike. When I was informed that Chinese biking veteran "Aaron" was organising a three-day tour around selected parts of Zhejiang, and he had one slot remaining open and it was specifically for a foreigner, I jumped at the chance. I e-mailed him, asking if he remembered me, and asked for an invitation on his bike tour. Of course he remembered me – Aaron has an excellent memory for faces and names – and he said he would be more than pleased for me to come along. All I needed to do was to meet him on the evening of 30th April at a restaurant in Shaoxing, around seventy kilometres from where I live.
Life in China作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:05
After an adventure and a half catching a train to Shaoxing, I met him, and enjoyed a splendid Chinese banquet. The Chinese certainly know how to eat: their diet is so incredibly varied that there simply must be something, somewhere, that anybody will enjoy. The banquet took three hours to consume.
Our Route
Day one – RED
Day two – YELLOW
Day Three - BLUE作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:08
The next morning we rode of to Shangyu, about 30 km’s in a straight line, but a tad over 60 km’s by the route we rode. None of the riding was arduous, although I certainly felt the hills a little more than I should have: I haven’t been riding in about ten months, and I could feel it. We mostly rode through paddy fields, tea plantations and forested areas, and past the graves of long since deperted emperors.
Bamboo Thicket作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:09
China has had many, many dynasties, many capitals, and innumerable emperors. Their graves and tombs litter the countryside like old gold-diggings in western America and Australia. They’re everywhere.
A Bridge at Shangyu – note the three “lanes”. Centre for motor vehicles, next for bicycles, and the outer for pedestrians.作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:10
After stopping for a lunch of fried noodles in a local restaurant we moved-on up through a range of hills named “Si Ming Shan”. When I asked Aaron what was this in English, he replied “Four Brightness Mountain”. I wasn’t sure if this meant one mountain named “Four Brightness”, or, four mountains referred to as “Bright Mountains”. I asked Aaron for clarification and was surprised to learn that he didn’t know either. He said that the name was so old that its original meaning was lost in time, and it could be either meaning, or another meaning we hadn’t thought of. It is in these ways that one is constantly reminded that China has been settled for a long, long time.
Heading Off To Si Ming Shan (visible in the distance)作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:11
Si Ming Shan was quite a range. It took over five hours to climb it, mostly in lower gears or walking, over a distance of about 30 km’s. It was only 700 to 800 metres (2,200 to 2,500 feet) high above the surrounding plains, but the climb was unrelenting and therefore slow going. Besides, this was a holiday, so we took it easy, took lots of photographs, and stopped to drink iced tea. Once at the top, we then rode along the top of the range. This was another 30 km’s of climbing (Grunt!) and descending (Weeeee!) as we passed numerous peaks. At around 8:45 in the evening we came upon the town of Si Ming Shan (same name as the range), a smallish ‘hamlet’ of merely many thousands of souls. In China, a big city is over ten million, a large city over four million, a city one million, and anything smaller doesn’t really get a mention.
Not All Roads Are Good作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:11
This was Chinese May Day Holiday, so all the good hotels were full (or over-full knowing the Chinese). We were unable to find a room with standard amenities. We had to settle for a room without heated shower. This was not to Aaron’s liking, so he was all for continuing our ride onto the next town, which he insisted was only another hour away and might have hot showers. I was a tad tired (“a tad tired” sounds so much more respectable than “exhausted”, which was much closer to the truth), and, I wasn’t so sure that “an hour away” was really going to be just that, because on more than one occasion I’ve been told we have only a few minutes more, only to find myself still huffing and puffing an hour or three later. (Chinese are often reluctant to be the bearer of bad tidings, and will occasionally say almost anything to stop the person listening from becoming upset.) So I put it to others in the party that we’d best stop at a known cold shower rather than a potential hot shower. Fortunately for me they agreed, and, more fortunately, Aaron did not appear upset at my manoeuvres. Aaron is one of the most level-headed people I’ve ever been fortunate enough to meet. I learnt later that Aaron truly believed the town was only an hour away.
These are Kilometres, but feel like miles at the end of a day作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:11
We checked into the ‘hotel’, which consisted of a series of rooms above a shop that functioned as a foyer/lobby, with a kitchen, toilet, and bathroom out the back. Our room had four single beds in a row, making it appear more like a school dormitory than a plush hotel room (which it wasn’t). Nonetheless, it was spotlessly clean, with fresh linen (I checked this!) and ceiling fans. It was ideal, except for the fact we had five people and only four beds. Having one of our party sleep in a separate bedroom with the owner’s son solved the problem. I am not able to imagine such an arrangement in Australia.
The owner was aware that we didn’t want cold showers, so she heated vast amounts of boiling water over her wood-fired stove. This wood-fired was the reason for the kitchen being out the back and detached from the main building: in the event that the building caught fire it would not take the rest of the hotel up in flames. We each took our turn to cart our basin and insulated bottles of boiling water into the washroom to wash. By mixing the boiling water (It really was boiling hot!) with cold water we were able to create an immense amount of warm water. It was luxurious to be able to take our turn at pouring water over ourselves, lathering our bodies, scrubbing, and then rinsing it all off with an abundance of water. We all took too long because those waiting their turn always commented on the excessive time taken by the person who preceded them.
The Chinese can be quite informal at times: one of the guys casually walked around the kitchen in nothing but his underpants. There weren’t any women around, so I doubt he was advertising for some action. No one commented.
作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:12
Next morning we set off along the rest of the range, which (at risk of sounding clichéd) is picturesque. There was an abundance of maple trees (Japanese maples, I think), which gave a rich red – almost burgundy – colour to the ridge-top valleys we passed through. The hilltops were vibrant green, so maybe this made the red appear ‘redder’ than it really was. Being higher than the surrounding plains, and being early in the day, the air was cool, so we made good time. Also came the easy decent – for which we had paid full price the day previous. Coasting down the roads, passing buses, lorries, and cars, it was easy to forget the other “up-hill” side of the range.
作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:23
In the lower slopes we entered the city of Xi Kou, the hometown of general Chiang Kai Shek (“Jiangjieshi” in Chinese), the leader of the nationalist Koumingtang party (“Guomingdang” in Chinese). Jiang has been partially re-habilitated in recent years. I don’t know if this is due to cross-straight rapprochement, a genuine re-assessment of what Jiang was about, or if they just want to cash in on the tourist potential of his old hometown. Whatever the reason, there were teeming multitudes visiting his hometown during the break, visiting his mother’s tomb, the first imprisonment home of General Zhang Xueling, or just following everyone else. The sidewalks were overflowing with vendors selling steamed corn-on-the-cob (steamed corn is sold in China much like fairy-floss or candy-floss is sold in the West), balloons, fruit, maple leaves, steamed chestnuts, or anything else that was edible or saleable. Jiang is good business in his old hometown.
Selling What You Can to Whomever You Can作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:23
During the wars, Jiang visited the old capital city of Xi’an, later made famous by the Terracotta Warriors (they’re worth seeing, almost as much as seeing Carlton Football Club play footy www.carltonfc.com.au). As soon as Jiang arrived he was held prisoner by the local general – General Zhang Xueling – whom Jiang had come to consult. Zhang insisted that Jiang form an alliance with The Communists against the Japanese, and held Jiang prisoner in Xi’an until Jiang agreed to do so. Later Jiang placed Zhang under house arrest. The first place Zhang was held under house arrest was in Jiang’s old hometown, Xi Kou. Needless to say, Zhang’s previous place of imprisonment was doing a roaring trade as we cycled past. Jiang never forgave Zhang for his actions in Xi’an, and he certainly knew how to bear a grudge. When the Goumingdang retreated to Taiwan Zhang was dragged along with them, where he was held under house arrest until 1988. He was released after the death Jiang’s son – indicating that the son was unforgiving as his father. Zhang moved to the USA in 1995, and died in Hawaii in 2001 at around 100 years old. 100 years is a long time to live – and it would seem even longer still being under house arrest for so many of those years.
Cycling towards Xikou作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:23
We cycled on through paddy fields and orchards next to a lake. Leaves harvested from the orchards are used to feed silk worms, so they are extremely important to the local economy. The fruit from these trees is a secondary crop. They are berries similar to blackberries and raspberries, but taste different again. We bought a bucket of these from a vendor on the side of the road and ate them sitting on the grass amongst the rice paddies. Our fingers were stained purple by the berries. Aaron told me how (as a young lad) he and his friends would creep into the orchards at night to snaffle some berries. I wonder if his fingers (and mouth) were stained.
Aaron – China’s Biker Legend – is to the left in the photograph. He’s wearing a yellow jersey with no advertising. The people in the background are fishing.作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:24
What a Marketing Manager Does on His Holidays作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:25
From Xi Kou we cycled to Shenzhou, a small industrial town that is discovering and helping generate China’s newfound wealth. Like many Chinese cities it is dirty. The headlong rush into capitalism results in lots of new roads, buildings, apartments, and dirt. NOTHING in China remains for long. For such an old country it has remarkably few old buildings or roads.
Crossing A River作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:25
City streets are often divided into lanes using small plantations are barriers. In the centre should be the cars, buses, trucks, and other motorised vehicles. Separated from the motorised traffic by a plantation of shrubs should be bicycle lanes. On the outside of all this should be a raised footpath or sidewalk for pedestrians. Well, that’s how it should be. In reality, the sidewalk is used for bicycles, bicycle parking, car parking, vendors selling products, and (often) pedestrians. The bicycle lane is usually choc-full of parked cars and trucks, pedestrians (they can’t fit on the sidewalk), and vendors. I usually ride along the lanes reserved for the motorised vehicles. I can do this because I’m a foreigner. I’ve been pulled over by the police on occasion and have been able to get away with it by telling them I don’t speak Chinese and I don’t speak English either. “Tim-bu-dong” (“I don’t understand”) is an essential word for those wishing to scale the ramparts of Chinese officialdom.
We spent the night in an hotel owned by a Chinese biker whom Aaron had come to know via the Internet. China is Internet savvy, to say the least. Although most Chinese are not able to afford a computer, let alone an ADSL or DSL connection, of those who are connected to the Internet more than half have broadband connections and use the Internet in many aspects of their lives. Most clubs not only have an Internet site, but have formed because of the Internet site. Aaron wanted to meet bikers in Shaoxing when he moved there from Hangzhou, so he started a bikers website (the one your at now) and waited for people to find him. It was no more than a week and he’d organised the first ride. When Chinese ride to another city they search for a website in that city so they can make contact with the locals. That’s how Aaron made contact with the biker who owned the hotel.
After arriving at the hotel in Shenzhou we showered (this time with hot water) and then went out to eat. Restaurants in China can be fairly rugged affairs. Often they are a shop with no windows, lots of table and stools, and walls that have been washed at least once in their lives. Hunger can make you disregard many things, including the walls. We ate fried noodles – much more filling than noodles served in soup. Aaron thought so too, because he ate noodles in soup and had to go out again at nine for another meal.
Next morning we ate “Ro Bou” – steamed buns filled with pork – and wonton. The owner of the hotel treated us to breakfast for no other reason than we were fellow bikers. He then rode with us along an extremely busy road so we could successfully get out of town. China is being built at the speed of, well, faster than the speed of being built extremely fast. And that’s really, really fast. Sometimes a road can be built in less than a week, and another can disappear in less than a day. Maps are kind of useful, some of the time. Unfortunately, once Chinese maps have been printed and distributed they’re out of date. Chinese roads are changing even faster than computer hardware and software. I’m serious. So it was necessary for the hotel owner to guide us out of town so we could start on our way back home.
Fried Noodles for Lunch – Aaron’[s Soup Noodle in the foreground作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:26
After an hour or so of thundering trucks and kamikaze Chinese tourist drivers we took ever-smaller roads into the hills. I’ve been in China too long because I started to think that the roads were isolated. They’re not. They were undeniably beautiful. Chinese scenery is unquestioningly breathtaking. I’m a good of landscapes that are open to the use of superlatives – such as “spectacular”, breathtaking”, “exquisite”, and even the word “superlative” itself – because I grew up amongst an abundance of such scenery. China is all this – and more. But there is one thing that eastern China is not, and that is “isolated”. I have heard Aaron talk about the beautiful countryside at times, and have been surprised because I considered it to be light suburban, or (at most) semi-rural. The hills we were riding through (named Xiawang xian) were properly rural. There were few houses and the villages were genuine small villages with only a few hundred inhabitants. We rode through bamboo groves can only be described as magical – I certainly felt uplifted after seeing them. But “isolated”? No, I don’t think so. Cars passed us at least every twenty to fifteen minutes, and there were mini-buses plying their route. So “isolated” might be stretching things a bit. But superlatives, like “spectacular”, breathtaking”, “exquisite”, and even the word “superlative” itself, would not be doing so. They would be accurate.
The Final Descent into Shaoxing作者: jamie 时间: 2006-5-7 16:29
We rode into Shaoxing at about one in the afternoon. Before parting we ate noodles – this time I ate noodles in soup with a huge hunk of boiled pork floating in it – and thought about what to do next. Bike riding is like fishing. When fishing one always thinks about the fish that got away and a river one has yet to fish; about a river somewhere. Well, bike riders think about alternate routes they might have taken and roads or ranges they have yet to tread. We were glad to have finished our modest 330 km’s in two and a half days. We were pleased that the peddling was at an end. But the conversation didn’t dwell on what we’d do with the rest of the holiday: it dwelt on the next ride, about a road somewhere.作者: 羽蛇 时间: 2006-5-9 16:02
i like your new hairstyle!You're looking rather smart.:)作者: Eagle 时间: 2006-5-10 03:04
What a wonderful trip!Haha!
I could not enter my E-mail box with no reasons(i don not know why)
This is my new E-mail address eagle-cai613@163.com
So many pictures i should send them to you by e-mail...
[ Last edited by Eagle at 2006-5-10 03:25 AM ]
作者: aaron 时间: 2006-5-10 08:34
Welcome to our board, Eagle!
I read in hzbike about your plan to ride from Hangzhou to Xinjiang this summer!
How is it going?作者: Eagle 时间: 2006-5-11 13:35
Thank you!I should tell you one thing about our plan :( We have changed our plan.The new plan is Xian to Xinjiang(Wulumuqi).
A guy badly injuired in this trip,so his parents had rsfused his request.
But we will.
Now the most important thing for me is to study well.So i would not care about our summer trip until the exam is over.
Everything goes well.
Best wishes!作者: aaron 时间: 2006-5-11 13:50
The route from Hangzhou to Xi'an is not interesting. So you've made a wise decision:)
I used to know a friend. He biked from Xi'an to Iran. The original plan was to finish the whole silk road. But he got sick in Tehran and had to give up. His mate made it to Italy!
He told me the part in Gansu was most beautiful.作者: Eagle 时间: 2006-5-11 14:00
WOW!Relly?
Can he give us some advises?
We(Three )didn,t get the enough experience to face the bad weather.
We want someone who can share his experience with us,and we can ride much happier and safer.作者: aaron 时间: 2006-5-11 14:49
I'll email him and see if I can get into touch with him. He's not in China now. Maybe you should go to www.biketo.com to ask if anybody has biked this route. There are a lot of touring fans there.作者: Eagle 时间: 2006-5-12 12:06
Thank you very much!
We have got a lot of information from there,and found a lot of touring fans there.
Great appreciate to you!作者: aaron 时间: 2006-5-13 10:44
you are welcome作者: 枫语 时间: 2006-5-18 14:56
haha, Jiimie you are left handed作者: nakal 时间: 2006-12-26 11:48
why i can't see the picture?作者: 海盗 时间: 2007-6-16 19:20
GOOD,VERY GOOD
