Day Tripping: Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province

Click to see more pics... Shang_Zhenjiang010

We got up early, grabbed a pastry at the tiny walk-in at our hotel, downed two bottled coffee drinks (huge here!) and headed back to the train station to spend the day in another city, Zhenjiang, it's in the same province, Jiangsu (you will see all cities in China with the city first, like Zhenjiang, and then the province right after it, for example; We were amazed at the Pagodas in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province.). The train ride was one hour forty-five minutes (this time there were no seats for sale so we stood in the food car up against the wall), and we got there and discovered with a phone call that there are no school positions here - the schools are another 3 hour ride North, by bus (which we haven't been brave enough to do yet). We decide not to do a bus today, however we were all for exploring Zhenjiang because it has some very interesting historical sites, and the map suggested we should check out: "No. 1 river and hill under the Heaven, the City of the hill and forest, the Jinshan Hill, Jiaoshan Island and Beigu mountain scenic zone. Also, there is the Maoshan mountain, the Toaism bethel, Bachuashan mountain the Buddhism bethel and the Southern Mountain and the national forest park. If these sound strange to you, imagine trying to find them on a Chinese map! hahaha...

We were greeted with a city map (in Chinese!) but we could still work with it, and here is an example of the politeness of the Chinese people. We asked the staff at the hotel if they could show us the school I had written down in English and they did not understand (probably because it wasn't there!). After about ten minutes I asked them if I could use their business office so I could get on the internet and print the email with a phone number. The girl asked me to wait and after a few minutes came back and escorts me to the head of the hotel security. I'm thinking, uh oh, but he, and four of his staff talking with him in his office, get up without a word, point me to his computer, and leave quietly. Can you imagine that happening anywhere else in the world?

Jenn and I talked about it all morning and came to the conclusion that these people as a whole do not have an inherent fear of other people at all. They did not assume I was a terrorist, or that I would do harm to their computer, or that I had any malicious reason at all and that's one of the big differences in this culture we have noticed so far. Their first reaction is not negative when interacting with other people foreign to them, whereas 'we', meaning people from the USA (and other countries in Europe for sure), feel it is natural to prepare and protect ourselves because experience shows not to trust strangers, period. It is the same comfortable feeling we get when walking in a completely new section of town and everyone stares, but they don't wince or frown - they simply look, then smile, and just keep right on their way - we thought it would be completely different, that we would be feared, but, alas, that's not the case at all here.

We had a delicious lunch, again with the help of six or seven servers in the hotel restaurant, and mapped out our day starting in the North West section of the city to see some real sights; our first Pagoda.

Ci Shou Pagoda

Click to see more pics... Shang_Zhenjiang010

Initially built in Xiao Lian Dynasty, 1400-odd years ago, Ci Shou Pagoda was destroyed and rebuilt for several times from the Tang dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. In the 3rd year of the reign of Long Qing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, a monk called Liao Ming gathered them into one pagodas rebuilt it on the Northern site renamed it Ci Shou Pagoda and it was damaged again. Today's Ci Shou Pagoda was built on the original site in August, the 26th year A.D. Qing Dynasty by Yin Ru, the Abbot of Jinshan Temple, who held alms bowl in his palm to collect funds. The pagoda is 36 meters high. Made of brick and wood, seven stories and eight faces, it stands on the top of the hill looking very lofty, and it is the symbol building of Zhenjiang, the famous historical and cultural city. The view gives you a panoramic view of the Changliang River coming from the west, the three hills and city mountains, and the forest which looks like a landscape picture which makes you carefree and relaxed. (yes, this is a quote from a stone inscription).

Take a look at the pics from this serene and beautiful spot...

After the Ci Shour Pagoda we navigated our way by foot towards what looked like a park on the map but ended up being much more. We were walking along a very busy road and simply looked up to see several hills with Pagodas on top so we decided to climb and take a look. We didn't now it but we were going through a Hutong. This is a tiny city consisting of alleyways created by the walls of old style Chinese courtyard houses. We walked quietly down tight alleys passing bicycles, some trash receptacles, and could actually see through the living rooms to the kitchens of these peoples homes because most of their thick, wooden doors were propped open. The alleys showed wear but mostly they were swept clean with the occasional cat peeking out to have a look at us. It was exactly what I imagined after seeing dozens of guide books describe these little cities that time has forgotten. The people did not stop to stare, we went through basically unnoticed, then up and out of the city to the hills and were met with what seemed like an endless flight of stairs up to heaven. At the top we walked around and saw the city from every direction and it was breathtaking.

Jiang Tian Zen Temple

Dated back to Dongjin Dynasty, Jiang Tian Zen Temple (Jinshan Temple and Park) was a well-known zen temple with more than 1600 years of history. It's named Zexin Temple at first and then named Jianshan Temple for a zen monk, FaHai, who obtained gold during his explorations of the Mountain Jin. Jiang Tian Temple was constructed on a large scale and had more than 3000 monks at its zenith. Tens of thousands of monks were attracted to here by its reputation. In Qing Dynasty, Jiang Tian Temple was ranked in Chinese Four Great Temples with Putuo Temple, Wenshu Temple, and Daming Temple.

Take a look at pics of this amazing active zen temple...

It was getting late so we decided to skip lunch and head on over the upper North East of the map and the Jiaoshan Forest of the Tablets, this is one of the ten famous cultural scenic views in China. We snagged a cab and he took us right to the front gate, for 20 yuan ($1.75) we decided to take the cable car and on the way back we would grab the dragon ferry.

Jiao Hill

Jiao Hill is surrounded by water which is praised as looking like floating jade. The Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda is situated on the top of Jiao Hill.

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The base of the Pagoda is of the elevation of 70.4 meters, the body of the Pagoda is 42 meters high and its building area is 583 meters. The Ten Thousand Buddha Pagoda is built in the style of the ancients of Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty and of Southern Jiangsu style. It has 7 stories and 8 sides with the Heaven Palace on the top and the Ground Palace opposite to it. The hole, dug by manpower, is poured material into to form the pile foundation of the Pagoda of reinforced concrete structure. Inside the Pagoda two sets of staircases are arranged for visitors going up and down separately, and there are outside banisters for visitors to lean on.

The Pagoda was closed when we went, but here is what we missed: There is winding corridor on each story leading to the eight slides of fine viewing. Leaning against the banisters an excellent distant view covers the river and sky entirely. The central pillar rises from the bottom to the top supporting firmly the Pagoda temple soaring toward the sky. At night the Heaven Palace emits eight beams for the ships passing to be guided in the right direction.

Take a look at the cable car ride that took us to the top of the island...

We headed back on the ferry and finally found a taxi and hurried to the train station and on the way Jenn saw a restaurant that boasted about it's beef so we ended up having a meal at Houcaller; strip steak, french fries, a side of spaghetti and a fried egg sunny side up all on the same sizzling plate (like fajitas!). And I had a small glass pot of the best tea I've had here - rose tea, where they put dozens of rose buds and they seep and create the tea. It was an incredible day of seeing and walking through areas we have never seen in our lives, surrounded by people who had never seen folks like us in their lives...:)