China 2: Empire of the Book
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip through China from April 9— May 14, 2017. Volume 2. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, c. 2017 Cover: Li Wei’s Library; Background: Lotus Sutra
China 2: Empire of The Book April 22 — April 30, 2017 A continuation of the Grolier Club’s 2017 Iter Sinicum tour to China that ended in Beijing
Volume 2
Saturday, April 22
to Beijing
After checking out of our hotel, we went by bus along a circuitous route around Zijīn Mountain, an extensive area of parks and monuments within the city of Nanjing. On this sunny but cool Saturday, the park was packed with people, making it difficult to maneuver the bus along the crowded, curving roads. Near the old Ming City Walls people of all ages were gathered beneath the trees to dance or practice tai chi. The bus finally found a place to drop us off, leaving us a short walk to the Nanjing Brocade Museum. The museum describes itself as “a unique national cultural relic,” displaying brocades from the Yuan (1206-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The brocade weaving process has been placed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Climbing a series of slate-covered steps, we were greeted by Miss
Master Jin Wen
Wong who introduced us to Master Weaver Jin Wen, the only National Master of the ancient art of Yun Brocade. They led us through a gallery where examples of both historic and contemporary brocades were framed along a long wall. We watched as pairs of weavers demonstrated the Ming style of Jacquard weaving. A “loom boy” (or girl) sits at the top of the loom, and following the design program indicated by a series of strings, determines which warp threads are to be lifted; the weaver sits below and guides the shuttle. The loom itself is large and complicated and I found it difficult to follow what was going on. One of the weavers was working with gold thread on the underside of the piece. He kept track of his progress with the aid of a mirror. The museum staff set out tea and strawberries for us to enjoy and, it was hoped, to entice us to shop.
Nanjing Brocade Musuem
Once everyone had completed their purchases, we were bussed to an area where we joined the crowds walking through the park towards the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. The tomb is perched at the top of a hill reached by 392 stone steps. A shady path leads up to the foot of the steps from an imposing marble gateway. Throngs of tour and school groups wearing colorful matching hats, families with small children (many of whom were wearing tiny chicks in their hair in celebration of the Year of the Rooster), and couples working their selfie sticks filled the wide staircase. Students studying English shyly approached us with friendly hellos and asked to pose for photos with us. Later, we sat at picnic tables at a food stand in the park and shared a pleasant lunch. Perhaps we lingered too long over our meal, for we only had
90 minutes to make the train to Beijing. When we encountered gridlock traffic within the park, we feared that we would not get to the station in time. However, once we reached the main road, we made good progress and were waiting on the platform when the bullet train arrived. We loaded our bags into our carriage and were on our way precisely at 4:37 pm. We were served Coca-Cola and a complementary snack consisting of a sponge cake, fruit paste, and a tiny round pretzel. The four-hour 1,020 km trip to Beijing took us through farmlands and low hills at speeds up to 350 km per hour and we pulled into the Beijing station at 8:51 pm. Parking problems for our bus necessitated our group taking multiple taxis to the Regent Hotel Beijing, our home for the next nine nights.
Sunday, April 23
Beijing
Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China, has a population of nearly 21 million. It is one of the world’s oldest capital cities. Beijing’s legendary urban planner, Kublai Khan, preceded Haussmann and l'Enfant by several centuries. The city is not a part of a province but is governed as separate Municipality with 16 urban, suburban, and rural districts. At 9:00 am, as we drove towards the antique market, Don commented that Beijing is generally smoggy all but 40 days a year and we should thank the Chinese gods for the sunny, cool, and clear day we were having. Panjiayuan Market is the biggest and best-known arts, crafts, and antiques market in China. Our bus reached the market at 9:30 am and we wandered on our own before again meeting Don at 10:00. He led us to an area on the second floor of a building where dealers in antique books and artifacts are located. There he let us loose, making himself available to answer questions and assist with translating and bargaining (a must at the market). Jake and I became intrigued with a black inkstone from Shexian County in Anhui
Province. The stone has golden flecks of color and a rippling water effect, making it quite unusual. The inkstone is relatively small and therefore desirably light. After extended price negotiations, we purchased it. The shop owner also makes brushes and made us a gift of a handmade calligraphy brush. There were relatively few shoppers at the market as we explored the aisles of handmade paper, brushes, calligraphy scrolls, beads, antique baskets, and stone chops for seals. I picked out a square chop topped with a carving of two lovebirds over a peony. Earlier I had asked Libbie to write the Chinese characters of my desired seal design. When I gave my design to the seal carver, he and the group assembled around his booth had a good laugh when he ceremoniously turned the page right side up. We watched as the carver drew my design with a pen, brushed over it to thicken the lines, and cut away the background of the characters with a small tool. Fifteen minutes later, I had my four-character seal: 弐 ஞ ์(Susan in two characters and the characters for heart and moon.)
At 1:00 our group departed for lunch at Xi Bei restaurant. Our extended noodle meal was plentiful and delicious, as all of our tour meals have been. As we were preparing to leave, our waiters performed a dance for us to a bouncy pop tune.
We boarded the bus just after 3:00 pm for the 45-minute drive to the leafy Yahai neighborhood for a meeting with Wei Li, a bibliophile who has amassed a collection of more than 70,000 rare Chinese books and scrolls. Prior to arrival, Don told us that Mr. Wei has a compulsion to own beautiful things but realizes his limitations. As Don quoted Mr. Wei, “The heart is never satisfied, like a snake eating an elephant.” Our host met us near the bus and led the way to the 11th floor of a nearby apartment building. There we entered his remarkable library. In a series of rooms, Mr. Wei has arranged thousands of books behind glass in wooden cases. He has been working on cataloging his collection for 11 years, arranging his books according to five traditional Chinese categories rather than using a contemporary cataloging system. In his digital catalog, he has 63 fields of information about each entry. He brought out a number of his favorites and, as we stood around a large table, he told us about them. He began with an 8th century Tang Dynasty Buddhist charm, hand-printed in a circular form. He then unrolled a Lotus Sutra, a manuscript scroll from the same era that was discovered in the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang. Mr. Wei was at ease passing his treasures around the table for us to admire. It was remarkable to think that I would be allowed to hold an 8th century scroll in my bare hands. He explained that the standard length of scrolls of that era was eight meters and that anything longer is very rare. Shockingly, Mogao manuscripts were often cut apart and sold for as much as $30,000 a meter. He showed us a mounted scroll of the same age and said that although mounted scrolls look attractive, he prefers unmounted ones since he is able to feel their texture. He demonstrated how a Ming dynasty Cloud Circle binding, consisting of many sheets of paper glued together and then cut to form a puzzle, is opened to reveal the book. Other examples from his collection included
a book of detailed hand-painted Mughal paintings, a sophisticated 20th century book of floral woodcuts, and an early Chinese travel book with beautiful illustrations. Mr. Wei was forthcoming in answering our questions and obviously enjoyed sharing his collection with other bibliophiles. He told us that among his favorite books are early Confucian classics. When asked how he would describe book collecting, he responded, “It’s a kind of love.” He continued, “I own the books, but I don’t own their contents.” His books have survived the fraught road of Chinese history and he feels strongly that the thoughts and ideas that the authors express must not be locked up, but shared. He bemoaned that government funds for libraries are inadequate. As a result, rare materials are only made available to the public by the sale of photocopies rather than access to the originals. In China, there are no true bibliographic societies. However, in the last 20 years, interest in book collecting has been mounting. When asked about his own interest in books, he told us that he started to collect when he was a boy. Mr. Wei said that he has tried to teach his son to collect books, but realizes that the urge to collect is not inherited and cannot be taught; it is something that exists within a person’s heart. He has decided that he will not leave his books to any institution or sell them to the government because they would be locked up and never seen again. He believes that books must be made available to all who want to see them. Eventually, he will probably sell his collection at auction in order to spread them among other booklovers. He concluded by saying that he will only stop buying books when he runs out of money. As we departed, we noticed several rooms crammed with unopened boxes of books—Mr. Wei has truly succumbed to that “Gentle Madness.” Dinner that evening was at Mei Zhou Dong Po, where Mr. Li joined us, seeming to enjoy his celebrity among us.
I am no more than a Library Clerk, just another link in that chain whereby books are handed down through the ages. —Wei Li
Wei Li
Monday, April 24
Beijing
According to Don, excellent weather in Beijing for two days in a row is extremely rare. However, we assembled in the lobby on another clear, sunny morning. We departed at 9:15 for the drive to the Chao Yang district to see the facilities of bookselling website Kongfz.com, one of the most successful online businesses in China. The Kongfz.com compound consists of several buildings around a central square.
A young woman greeted us and took us through the company library, an attractive contemporary space with shelves reaching to the high ceilings. The look was aesthetically pleasing but not very practical, as the highest shelves must be accessed by a lift and the books are yet uncatalogued. The primary collection consists of books published in China after 1949, books about China that are in English, and Western books translated into Chinese. Our guide told us that the books range in value from a few cents to hundreds of dollars and all are available to the general public to read. Fruit and tea are set out for visitors to enjoy.
He Bao Cheng
We walked to an adjoining building where He Bao Cheng, the CEO of Kongfz.com, was waiting. After Don introduced him, Mr. He took us through his research library and personal collection, located on three floors. He explained that he primarily collects vernacular materials. On the third floor, we saw his collection of magazines printed during the Republic period, each encased in a cellophane pocket and stacked in glass-fronted cabinets. He told us that he has the largest collection of university textbooks, primers, and folk stories in China. Most of the materials were not cataloged, but his books about China in English were grouped together and prominently displayed. When prompted, Mr. He told us about himself. He was born during the Cultural Revolution when his parents could hardly afford to buy shoes for their children. Although he suffers from cerebral palsy, he overcame his challenges and attended university where he earned a doctorate in finance. As a young graduate, Mr. He started buying books at the Beijing antique markets and from scrap dealers, who he said were poorly educated and did not know the value of what they had. He told us that he would describe himself as a “collector� rather than a businessman or professor. Although he buys from his own website, he takes no special advantage of his access to it. He started Kongfz.com because he wanted to buy books for himself and it eventually expanded to a public auction market with more than 2 million different visitors a month. We had lunch in the staff cafeteria amongst the Kongfz.com employees, most of whom appeared to be in their 20s and 30s.
At 12:30, we left the compound for the 45-minute drive to visit Lu Jingren, perhaps the greatest contemporary book designer in China. Located in an upscale, gated condominium community, Lu’s studio is overflowing with examples of his remarkable work. Using digital technologies, he embraces ancient Chinese traditions and combines them into works of incredible beauty and ingenuity. Many of Mr. Lu’s designs are commissions that are made in editions of hundreds and sometimes even thousands. For the next two hours, we stood around a large table while he proudly showed us examples of his designs. Many of the works were multivolume and the boxes that contained them reflected their contents in imaginative ways. A book of rubbings of classic calligraphic stone carvings was housed in a wooden box that resembled a print block and could itself be printed. Wooden slipcases for matching volumes of the Scripture of Tea and White Spirit were inset with a clay tea pot and a ceramic wine vessel. The case for a set of books on herbal foods was made of rattan and finished with handles and a latch to resemble a food hamper. We were captivated by the books and by their smiling, gentle creator.
Lu Jingren
Tuesday, April 25
Beijing
We had hoped to tour the library at the University of Beijing this morning but late last night Libbie received an email informing her that our visit was cancelled. We reverted to our original plans, arriving at the main building of the National Library of China at 10:00.
We were guided through a special exhibition, Shakespeare to Sherlock: Treasures of the British Library, featuring a selection of works by iconic British authors in English and the same works in Chinese. It was intriguing to see the great works of English literature written in Chinese script. This exhibition is the inaugural event of a three-year collaboration between the two libraries.
David Copperfield
In another gallery, a guide took us through a chronological exhibit of Chinese reading through the ages, from The Book of Songs to The Dream of the Red Chamber. Said to have been compiled by Confucius, The Book of Songs dates from the 11th to the 7th centuries BC and is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry. Don pointed out a little volume of Confucian aphorisms, containing the Chinese characters that depict the now cliché words, “Confucius say…”. The Dream of the Red Chamber, written in the mid-18th century, is one of China’s four great classical novels. (The others are Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Journey to the West.) It was unfortunate that the exhibit labels were in Chinese, but it was nonetheless interesting to compare manuscripts and printing techniques.
Our guide showed us a display case containing several mahogany boxes and told us that the greatest prize in the library’s collection is the best-preserved of the four remaining hand-written copies of the Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasures), the facsimile of which we had seen during our visit to the Shanghai Library on April 17. There are 500 million Chinese characters in this colossal work, stored in similar boxes in the library’s vault. In the North Building, we saw a collection of scholar’s lutes, or qin, the most revered of all traditional Chinese musical instruments. The qin has been a part of Chinese culture for more than 5,000 years. Several of us tried on traditional Chinese robes and posed as if playing one.
Siku Quanshu (Complete Library of the Four Treasures
After everyone had been extricated from the gift shop, we had lunch in the library cafeteria, concluding with ice cream in paper cups printed with the message, “Good luck on your examinations!” Our bus took us to Fucheng Gate Avenue and to a museum dedicated to Lu Xun (1881-1936), regarded as the most important figure in modern Chinese literature. Writing in vernacular as well as classical Chinese, he was a short story writer, editor, translator, literary critic, essayist, poet, and designer. His works are required reading for all Chinese schoolchildren. The expansive museum is located adjacent to his simple home, a typical Beijing courtyard house shaded by lilac trees that he planted in 1925.
Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth had no roads to begin with, but when many men pass one way, a road is made. —Lu Xun
Ly Xun Home
It was 4:15 when we arrived back at the hotel, so I had no time to prepare for my massage session with Zhao Tieliu (his name means “Molten Iron”). Zhao lost his sight during the Cultural Revolution. He studied Western and Chinese medicine in Braille, and has been giving his remarkable massages for more than 30 years. I met him and his wife in the lobby and led them up to our room where I spent an hour at this mercy as he pinched and kneaded and pressed my body from head to toe, working out knots and kinks that I never knew I had, all the while muttering words to his wife that I could not understand. Not all of it was pleasant—sometimes it downright hurt —but after my session, I felt flushed and relaxed. After taking a shower, I joined Jake and several members of our group in the lobby. We walked several blocks to Duck de Chine, a restaurant where we enjoyed the Peking Duck experience in a sleek modern setting.
Wednesday, April 26
Beijing (and Tianjin)
We began this morning with a visit to Liulichang Cultural Street in the Xuanwu district of Beijing. Literally meaning “Colored Glaze Factory Culture Street,” Liulichang was the site of a tile factory in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Over the years, the factory was replaced by vendors who sold curios and old books. Today it has become a bazaar of calligraphy, painting, and the tools of the four treasures of study (brush pen, ink stick, paper, and inkstone). We spent a pleasant morning strolling along the shady street, lined with shops made of grey tiles and bricks and adorned with traditional Chinese architectural details.
Rongbaozhai is the most famous shop on the street. Appropriate for our Grolier group, the meaning of rongbaozhai is “to make friends based on literary works.” The business was established in 1672 and the shop at 86 Liulichang opened in 1894. We enjoyed perusing the aisles of “the four treasures” and seeing their fine selection of original calligraphic works and paintings. At Jin Shi Zhai, we bought beautifully carved seal chops made of shoushan stone from Fujian Province: a water lily for me and a dragon for Jake. We joined our group for another protracted lunch at Xuji Mianguan, a lively noodle restaurant.
The bus departed at 1:30 for Tianjin, a major port and international commerce center, located on the coast 125 km east of Beijing. It is an impressive city that seems to exude wealth. We passed streets of large houses of varied architectural styles that were built for wealthy Europeans during the late 19th century when Tianjin was a treaty port. Our destination in Tianjin was Yangliuqing Woodblock Prints Museum. The museum collects and exhibits these colorful prints, and carries out research and restoration projects related to them. Historically associated with the Chinese New Year, Yangliuqing prints are traditionally posters hung over doors or lintels as decorations and carry blessings for the coming year. They originated during the Ming dynasty and have become Tianjin’s representative folk art genre. The posters are created through a process involving block
Yangliuqing Woodblock Prints Museum
printing and detailed hand coloring. A guide took us through the museum, explaining the various themes depicted in the posters: folklore, family life, and stories from literature and the theater. After a demonstration of the processes involved, we were invited to make our own print. I quickly learned that great skill is needed to apply just the right amount of ink and pressure to create a good impression. After the overall black outline is printed, blocks add additional areas of color and the final touches are applied by hand. The resulting prints are remarkably appealing. Jake and I bought a book of original prints depicting the heroes from Water Margin, one of the four classic Chinese novels. It was 6:30 pm by the time we boarded the bus in Tianjin and after 9:00 pm when we returned to our hotel in Beijing.
Thursday, April 27
Beijing
Today was totally devoted to visiting the Forbidden City. Our bus dropped us off at 9:30 am at a street next to Tiananmen Square. The square was surrounded by barriers, restricting vehicle access. We went through a security check before we could cross under the street to get to the square proper. Tiananmen is named after the Gate of Heavenly Peace located to its north and separating it from the Forbidden City. The square adjoins the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, who proclaimed the founding of the PRC there on October 1, 1949. Tiananmen Square, being 109 acres, is one of the largest city squares in the world. After passing through the Meridian Gate with its iconic portrait of Chairman Mao overhead and undergoing a further security check, we were in the Forbidden City, the Chinese Imperial Palace from 1420 to 1912. It served as the home of emperors and their households and was the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years. The complex consists of 980 buildings and covers more than 180 acres. In 1987, it was declared a World Heritage Site and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Since 1925, the Forbidden City has been under the charge of the Palace Museum; with over 15 million annual visitors, it is one of the world’s most visited tourist attractions. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the heart of the Forbidden City. With the Dragon Throne at its center, it is its largest
and most important structure. I made an attempt to poke my camera somewhere into the crowds clamoring to get a view through the doorway, but quickly gave up. After a break for lunch at Bing Jiao, a restaurant located in a brick vault, we attempted to visit a book exhibition in the Hall of Martial Valor and to visit the Forbidden City Publishing House, but both were closed. Chung Wei, a representative of the Publishing House, led us to a Republican-era building where historic photos and shelves of Palace-inspired books and reproductions lined the walls. A female guide, wearing the dark robe of a Republican-era scholar and shoes sporting images of Minnie Mouse, guided us through the two floors, pointing out various artifacts that provided an insight into Chinese history and culture. Mr. Chung then led us along a long, narrow alley that marked the east boundary of the Forbidden City. As we followed him, we were able to glimpse into a series of courtyards through the partially-open doors that lined the way. We eventually reached the northeast corner of the City and gratefully collapsed on a row of benches. At that time we were told that the Publishing House was now open. Unfortunately, after all the walking we had done, most of us were not inclined to return the way we had come. At 5:00, we made our way through crowds of hawkers and beggars to our bus and were back at the Regent by 6:00. Jake and I enjoyed a quiet Italian dinner alone at Daccapo Restaurant in the hotel.
the Forbidden City a UNESCO site
Friday, April 28
Beijing
We assembled at 9:00 for the bus ride to the Great Wall, China’s great engineering triumph and a UNESCO site. The original wall was built more than 2,000 years ago during the Qin dynasty when China’s many kingdoms were unified and the separate walls of several independent kingdoms could be integrated into it. The original wall required hundreds of thousands of workers and more than 20 years to complete. It was nearing 11:00 when we reached Mútiányù, known for its Ming-era guard towers and excellent views. A local bus brought us from the parking lot to the foot of a ski lift which swept us over the trees to the Wall in less than four minutes. It was a thrill jumping on and off the swiftly moving lift as the attendants pushed us into our seats and yanked us out again when we reached the top. While Jake took photos from the base, I climbed several watchtowers in search of the best view. The sight of the Wall snaking off into the distance under a cloudless sky was just as magnificent as I had remembered it from my previous visit 35 years ago. We enjoyed a particularly delicious lunch at the Xian’r Laoman Restaurant at the visitors’ entrance to the compound, returning to the bus at 1:30 for our drive to the Summer Palace.
the Great Wall of China a UNESCO site
the Summer Palace a UNESCO site
Situated in the Haidian district, 15 km northwest of Beijing, the Summer Palace dates from 1750 when it was developed as a luxurious garden for royal families. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, it has greatly influenced Chinese horticulture and landscape design. We entered by the North Palace Gate and walked along a path bordered by flowering trees, pausing to take pictures of the Marble Boat, a lakeside pavilion erected by the Qianlong Emperor in 1755. We took a “dragon ferry� across Kunming Lake to South Lake Island, and then broke into groups to stroll along the shore or hike up Longevity Hill, made of excavated soil from the lake. It was pleasant to sit on a rock under the willow trees, a slight breeze blowing, and gaze at the view across the water to the hills and pagodas. This was one of the few times during our busy days that we have had the opportunity to pause, contemplate, and enjoy our surroundings.
A strip of water's spread in the setting sun, Half the river's emerald, half is red. I love the third night of the ninth month, The dew is like pearl; the moon like a bow. —Bai Juyi
Hua’s Courtyard
As the sun was setting, we returned to the bus and rode a short distance to Hua’s Courtyard for our final Grolier tour meal together. Sitting at communal tables, we feasted on Peking Duck and a wide variety of other Chinese specialties. We toasted Don and Libbie with Chinese wine. Don responded, saying that he hoped that these past twelve days have allowed us to gain a sense of the scope of Chinese culture and an insight into our Chinese hosts, who had made their country available to us. Before our group returned to the hotel for the last time, we detoured to the site of the 2008 Olympic Games. We could see the National Stadium, dubbed the “Bird’s Nest” in reference to the web of twisted steel that forms its roof. Nearby stands the National Aquatics Center, colloquially known as the “Water Cube,” illuminated by the changing colors of a series of lights. We drove back into Beijing, marveling anew at this vast city of spectacular architecture, dazzling lights, and extensive auto traffic. The days of Mao jackets and bicycles are over.
Saturday, April 29
Beijing
We ran into a few members of our group this morning as they were departing for the airport. As we wished each other safe travels, we felt that we were saying good-by to old friends. At 9:30, acting on a recommendation, we returned to Liulichang Street to visit the Wen Qing Tea House. A young woman named Wendy welcomed us to the shop in passable English, while her mother immediately began a complicated process of preparing tea. One side of the shop displayed shelves of handmade clay tea pots which Wendy said had been made by her sister. The remaining shelves and counters were filled with fascinating antiques and curios. Over the course of an hour, we sipped lychee black tea in tiny porcelain cups and explored the antiques. After more tea and negotiations, we purchased a Ming-era lock with a unique key and an antique horn seal chop fitted in a horn box. When we were leaving, the old lady slipped a tiny clay fish into my hand with a little chuckle. As we returned to the hotel in a taxi, I turned over the fish and discovered a copulating couple tucked into the back.
Later in the afternoon, we took a taxi to the UNESCO-listed Temple of Heaven. Set in a large park, the temple complex is regarded as a pinnacle of Ming design. It was completed in 1420 at a location that was conceived as the meeting point of heaven and earth. On this hot Saturday afternoon, it was a pleasure to walk the length of the Long Hall, a covered breezeway where groups of people were engaged in vigorous games of Dou Dizhu (a traditional Chinese version of poker) or Chinese chess. We ascended to the
principal temple, the circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, with its three glistening blue-tiled roofs. Later, while we were sitting on a bench nearby, a young woman approached us and asked if her father could watch us write something. She and her parents were from Anhui Province and her father had never seen how western writing was done. I wrote her name, Chang Hongyun, and her father smiled, revealing two goldframed teeth. They asked how old we were and seemed surprised to learn our ages.
the Temple of Heaven a UNESCO Site
We were fortunate to find a taxi to take us to Old Beijing Zhajiang Noodle King. We arrived 45 minutes before our 6:00 meeting time with the parents of my Chicago friend, Elizabeth. While waiting, we watched the antics of the restaurant’s greeter who barked orders at everyone and no one, reminding me of John Belushi in a Café Olympia skit. Donald and Lan Lan arrived a halfhour later, and we moved upstairs to a lowceilinged room with traditional dark Chinese furniture. We ordered beer and toasted each other, Elizabeth, and our two countries, Ganbi! Lan Lan presented me with a lovely strand of freshwater pearls, similar to the ones she was wearing. They ordered for us, and we shared nine or ten dishes, including mustard cabbage, hair fish, and mung bean curd. When we were full, we were served huge bowls of Beijing noodles, freshly made in boiling pots below. The waiters clattered a dozen little dishes as they added scallions, peas, bean sprouts, and other ingredients to each of our bowls. Although the noodles were delicious, we had not rationed our appetites earlier in the meal and hardly did justice to them. We posed for silly pictures with each other and with a comic plaster “Chinaman” before Donald ordered a car (paying for it with We Chat) to take us back to the Regent Hotel using the ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing (after Uber, allegedly the most valuable startup in the world.)
Sunday, April 30
Beijing
We slept late, had a late breakfast, and spent most of the day organizing our purchases and packing for tomorrow’s early morning flight to Datong. At 5:30 pm, we walked across the street for a drink at the Legendale Hotel, recommended by our French friends on the Grolier tour. The opulent lobby within a 16-story atrium is decorated in an ornate neoclassical style embellished with massive chandeliers and gold trim. After we finished our cocktails, we crossed to the opposite side of the street and ordered sausages and onion rings at a craft beer pub called simply, Drunk. Tomorrow, we begin our trek west.
Legendale Hotel
Itinerary
April 9-30, 2017 Sunday
9
Depart: O’Hare International Airport, ORD, Terminal 1 on United Airlines Flight UA835 (Boeing 777-200/200ER) at 09:30 (on-time); Seats 34A and 34B EN ROUTE TO SHANGHAI, CHINA
Monday
10
Arrive Shanghai Pu Dong International, PVG, Terminal 2 at 13:05: (on-time); flight distance 7,128 miles Route: transfer from airport to Suzhou hotel by Nissan van: Driver: Mr. Jiao; driven 155 km Sites: Old Center of Suzhou Dinner: Blossom Hill Inn Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou: Classic Garden View: Room 201 No. 10 Nan Shizi Street, Daru Lane, Pingjiang Road, Gusu District, Suzhou SUZHOU, JIANGSU, CHINA
Tuesday
11
showers: 58°
Breakfast: Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou Sites: Classical Gardens of Suzhou (UNESCO World Heritage Site): Old Center of Suzhou, Xuan Miao Temple, The Humble Administrator’s Garden, Suzhou Museum (architect: I. M. Pei) Shopping: Old Center of Suzhou Dinner: Blossom Hill Inn Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou SUZHOU
Wednesday
12
cloudy: 50° to 55°
Breakfast: Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou Route: transfer from Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou to Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou Shantang: driven 13 km Sites: Silk Museum; Master of the Nets Garden; Shantang Historic Street Shopping: Silk Museum; Shantang Historic Street Activities: Canal boat cruise Dinner: Songhelou Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou Shantang: King Room 3211 No. 38 Yanzhu Hetou, Shantang Street, Gusu District, Suzhou SUZHOU
Thursday
13
hazy, mostly sunny: 55° to 70°
Breakfast: Blossom Hill Inn Suzhou Shantang Route: transfer from Suzhou inn to Shanghai hotel by Buick van: driven 104 km Sites: Shanghai: People’s Square, East Nanjing Road; The Bund: Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Custom House, Bank of China, Confluence of Suzhou and Huangpu Rivers; Former British Consulate; Peninsula Hotel Drinks: Fairmont Peace Hotel: Jasmine Lounge/Jazz Bar (Conde Verde cocktails) Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World; Deluxe King Room 2709, City Tower 88 Nanjing West Road, Huangpu, Shanghai SHANGHAI, MUNICIPALITY
hazy, sunny: 63° to 73°
Friday
14
Breakfast: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World: Windows on the Park Sites: Bund: Gutzlaff Signal Tower, Waldorf Astoria Hotel; Pudong: Shanghai Tower, World Financial Center; Shanghai Museum; Park Hotel. Activities: Cruise on Huangpu River; Bund Sightseeing Tunnel; Shanghai Tower Observation Deck Drinks: Waldorf Astoria Hotel: Long Bar Lounge (former Shanghai Club) Dinner: Lobby Café, Park Hotel Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World SHANGHAI
Saturday
15
hazy, mostly sunny: 60° to 75°
Breakfast: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World: Windows on the Park Sites: Former French Concession: Xintiandi, Shikumen Open House Museum, Site of the First National Congress of the CPC; Shanghai Museum; Renmin Square, Huanghe Jie food street Drinks: Xintiandi: Cobra Lily Dinner: Tai Sheng Yuan Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World SHANGHAI
Sunday
16
clear, sunny: 85°
Breakfast: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World: Windows on the Park Activities: Grolier Tour commences (Guides: Don J. Cohn and Libbie Cohn) Sites: Bund Embankment: Peninsula Hotel to Peace Hotel; Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre (owner-founder Yang Pei Ming); French Concession: Ding Xiang Garden; Shanghai Museum Shopping: Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre Lunch: Xian Yue Hien Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World SHANGHAI
Monday
17
brief rain, hazy, sunny: 80°
Breakfast: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World: Windows on the Park Activities: Grolier Tour Sites: Shanghai Library; St. Ignatius Jesuit Library: Bibliotheca Si Ka Wei Lunch: Du Xiao Yue (Taiwanese) Dinner: Mei Long Zhen Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World SHANGHAI
Tuesday
18
rain early, then clear, sunny: 75°-80°
Breakfast: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World: Windows on the Park Activities: Grolier Tour Route: morning bus over Hangzhou Bay Bridge to Ningbo (driven 213 km) Sites: Ningbo: Tianyi Ge Pavilion Library and Garden. Lunch: near Ningbo: Lao An Dong Drinks: Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo: Lounge Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo (Huaqiao Haosheng Dajudian): King Bed Standard Room 710 Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo, 230 Liuting Street, Ningbo, Zhejiang NINGBO, ZHEJIANG
partly cloudy: 78°
Wednesday
19
Breakfast: Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo restaurant Activities: Grolier Tour; Rui’an County: wooden movable-type printing Route: morning bus to Rui’an County (driven 278 km); afternoon bus to Wenzhou (driven 27 km); Sites Ningbo Museum (architect: Wang Shu); Rui’an County: wooden moveable-type printing site (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List) Lunch: Taizhou Highway service area: McDonald’s Dinner: Wenzhou: Miao restaurant Shangri-La Hotel Wenzhou: Deluxe King Room 1019 1 Xiangyuan Road, Wenzhou WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG
Thursday
20
overcast, rain: 68° to 75°
Breakfast: Shangri-La Hotel Wenzhou: Coffee Garden Activities: Grolier Tour; West Lake cruise to Gushan Island Route: morning train to Hangzhou (rail distance 582 km) Depart: Wenzhou South Railway Station on Train D382, Car 9, First Class Seats 4D and 4F at 09:44 (on-time) Arrive Hangzhou East Railway Station, at 12:36 (on-time) Sites: Hangzhou: West Lake Cultural Landscape (UNESCO): Xiling Seal Art Society; West Lake: Gushan Island, Bai Causeway Lunch: Hangzhou: Waipojia Shangri-La Hangzhou Hotel: West Wing Hill View King Room 270 78 Beishan Road, Hangzhou HANGZHOU, ZHEJIANG
Friday
21
hazy, mostly sunny, then overcast: 72° to 80°
Breakfast: Shangri-La Hangzhou Hotel: Shang Palace Activities: Grolier Tour Route: early morning bus to Wuxi, Langqiao, Jing County, Anhui Province (driven 272 km); continuation early afternoon bus to Nanjing (driven 168 km) Sites: Xuancheng: Red Star Paper Company, Xuan Paper Culture Park (UNESCO Intangible); Nanjing: Jinling Buddhist Publishing House (UNESCO Intangible) Shopping : Xuancheng: Red Star Paper Company; Nanjing; Jinling Buddhist Publishing House Lunch: Jingxian: box lunch in bus Dinner: Nanjing: Hong Xing (Szechuan); Drinks: Nanjing: InterContinental Nanjing: Sky Bar Lounge InterContinental Nanjing: included; King Bed Superior with City View Room 6603 No. 1 Zhongyang Road, Gulou District, Nanjing NANJING, JIANGSU
Saturday
22
light rain, overcast: 62° to 70°
Breakfast: InterContinental Nanjing: Horizon Café Activities: Grolier Tour Route: afternoon bullet train to Beijing (rail distance 1,023 km) Sites: Nanjing: Ming City Walls; Zijin Mountain Park: Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Museum (UNESCO Intangible), Sun Yatsen Tomb Shopping: Nanjing Yunjin Brocade Museum Lunch: Nanjing: Zijin Mountain Park food stand: Nanjing Da Pai Dang (ZhongShanLing) Depart: Nanjing South Railway Station, on Train G146, Car 3, First Class Seats 2A and 2C at 16:37 (on-time) ; Arrive Beijing South Railway Station, at 20:51 (on-time) Regent Hotel Beijing: Deluxe King Room 623 99 Jinbao Street, Wangfujing, Bejing BEIJING, MUNICIPALITY
clear, sunny: 60° to 75°
Sunday
23
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour Sites: Panjiayuan flea market; Yahai district: Wei Li private library Shopping: Panjiayuan flea market Lunch: Xi Bei Dinner: Mei Zhou Dong Po Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Monday
24
clear, sunny: 60° to 75°
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour Sites: Chao Yang district: Kongfz.com. offices and library (met CEO He Bao Cheng), Lu Jingren Book Design (met Lu Jingren) Lunch: Kongfz.com. cafeteria Dinner: Su Thai Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Tuesday
25
clear, sunny, windy: 60° to 72°
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour; SRH massage: Zhao Tieliu Sites: National Library of China: Exhibition Galleries including Shakespeare to Sherlock Exhibition, Treasures of British Library, North Building exhibits; Fucheng Gate Avenue: Lu Xun Museum Shopping: National Library of China Lunch: National Library of China cafeteria Dinner: Duck de Chine Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Wednesday
26
sunny, overcast: 52° to 72°
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour Route: afternoon bus to Tianjin, Hebei Province, and evening return (driven 276 km) Sites: Beijing: Liulichang “Culture Street”: Rongbaozhai Studio; Tianjin: Yangliuqing Woodblock Prints Museum, architecture of Treaty Port area Shopping: Beijing: Liulichang “Culture Street”: Jin Shi Zhai; Tianjin: Yangliuqing Woodblock Prints Museum store Lunch: Beijing: Xuji Mianguan Drinks: Regent Hotel Beijing: Lobby Lounge Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
clear, sunny: 55° to 75°
Thursday
27
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour Sites: Tiananmen Square: Great Hall of the People, Mausoleum of Mao Zedong; Forbidden City: Imperial Palaces of Ming and Qing Dynasties (UNESCO): Meridian Gate, Palace Museum, Hall of Supreme Harmony, Wuying Palace, Western Palaces, Forbidden City Publishing House, North Gate Lunch: Forbidden City: Bing Jiao Shopping: Forbidden Palace Museum stores Dinner: Regent Hotel Beijing: Daccapo Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Friday
28
clear, sunny, hazy late: 55° to 82°
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour; ski lift to access Mutianyu Great Wall; Summer Palace: Dragon Ferry on Kunming Lake to South Lake Island Route: morning bus to Mutianyu Great Wall (driven 71 km); afternoon bus to Summer Palace and to Hua’s Courtyard (driven 77 km); evening bus to Olympic Village and hotel; (driven 13 km) Sites: Great Wall at Mutianyu (UNESCO); Summer Palace (UNESCO): North Palace Gate, Qing Boathouses, Marble Boat, Kunming Lake, Dragon King Temple; Olympic Village: National Aquatics Center (“Water Cube”), National Stadium (“Bird’s Nest”) Lunch: Mutianyu Great Wall: Xian’r Laoman Dinner: Beijing: Hua’s Courtyard Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Saturday
29
clear, sunny: 65° to 80°
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Activities: Grolier Tour ends Sites: Temple of Heaven (UNESCO): East Gate, Temple of Heaven Park, Long Corridor, Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests Shopping: Liulichang “Culture Street”: Wen Qing Teahouse Dinner: Old Beijing Zhajiang Noodle King: dinner with Donald and Lan Lan Jia (Elizabeth Jia’s parents) Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
Sunday
30
clear, sunny, wispy clouds: 68° to 85
Breakfast: Regent Hotel Beijing: Jinbao 99 Sites: Legendale Hotel Drinks: Legendale Hotel: Lobby Lounge Dinner: Drunk Regent Hotel Beijing BEIJING
clear, sunny: 68° to 80°
A journal kept by Susan Hanes during a trip through China from April 9—May 14, 2017. Volume 2. Photos by Susan Hanes and George Leonard, c. 2017
Volume 2