Suzhou - Technology's Heart

I arrive in Suzhou to spend a few days with my cousin before heading to Beijing. Suzhou used to be a relatively small, sleepy suburb of Shanghai famous for its World Heritage gardens. In recent times though, it's now famous for something completely different. The car that you drive, the computer you use to the drill that you dust down every Bank Holiday weekend - probably some part of each has been made or assembled here in Suzhou. I stay just out of town on SIP. Until recently, the only SIP I knew was the School Improvement Plan but I now knew it also stood for Suzhou Industrial Park. It is really an industrial park like we know though but more like a mini city - a league of nations.
I spend the first few days exploring the famous gardens and some of the ancient buildings in the town and, as I wander around, I cannot get my head around the extremes. Where my cousin lives it really is modern-day China totally Westernised in every way. We go out to a Western restaurant on the Friday evening and watch a laser and water show on one of the splendid lakes. Yet, in the blink of an eye, you see the other side of this country where people are huddled together in shacks trying to make a living by selling whatever they can.

One minute you see young Chinese families enjoying life at a mini Alton Towers and the next minute you spot an elderly fisherman trying to catch his next meal using traditional fishing methods.

Just One of the Locals

Well, I have had the official city tour and I've taken a trip out to Hangzou so now it was time to explore on my own!

I'd questioned a British couple about the finer points of working the Metro so my next stop Suxhou South Terminal. Easy! Like I was told, use the touch screens t select your destination and off you go. Although Shanghai is a city of nearly 30 million, everybody is screened as they enter the metro which gives you warm feeling of reassurance. I jump on the train and, despite the odd stare here and there, I settle back and enjoy the ride. I decide to hop off at People's Square and, as I weave my way out f the warren of tunnels, I pass three large glass containers each containing a host of deadly devices - guns, knives that look as though they've been snatched from the latest Kung-Fu movie set and gas canisters of every description. Now, am I reassured that these items have been seized or am I a little more concerned that these items are being carried around by every Tom, Dick and Harry?
After a brief glance, I suddenly emerge above ground. Instantly, I'm greeted by a happy smiling Chinese girl.
"Where you from?" bleats across the morning air.
"UK," I reply while continuing on my journey.
No Such luck. I've been caught!
"You American?"
"No, no, I'm from England."
The smile gets even bigger now, "Ah, you gentleman," she comments as she introduces me to her friends.
Gentleman, so they do like us after all.
Too much conversation now as she invites me for coffee with her friends to practise their English. her English seemed pretty good to me and I'd read the warnings about such scenarios in the guidebook which I had clutched firmly in my right hand.
Was she genuinely a nice girl from Shanghai pleased to see a Western face (which I almost certain she was) or was she one of those who wanted  to drag me off for a coffee and fleece me for every Yuan I had?
On this occasion, time wouldn't tell. In my true gentlemanly style, I smiled, gestured and bid my farewell.
At least, now, as I headed in the general direction f the Bund, I was safe in the knowledge that i had finally become one of the locals. As I edged away from my new-found friend, she informed me that I looked Chinese. Me? Chinese? yes, that's right, according to her I have the right colour eyes. Oh well, first time for everything. I make my escape smiling to myself that the Shanghainese consider me own of their own.

UNREST

Ok, I spoke too soon. I wander down passed the Town hall and catch my first sight of a Chinese Guard. Then they get just a little bit too close as I find mysef smack bang in the middle of some small-scale peasant revolt. I look around and witness lots of angry little men gathering wth banners and flags waving for al to see. Policemen watch the crowds as well as the stern-faced lilitary guards who look down form their little podiums.
'Great!' I think to myself. Imagine the headines - 'Welshman Arrested in Cinese Farmers' Demo'
I wonder what sentence that would carry? Fives years behind bars perhaps?

My heart rate returns to normal and I finally find the Nanjing Road - Shnaghai's equivaent to Oxford Street (in the height of the Christmas shopping period). I wander along thinking to myself if any of those protesters have seen this side of Shanghai life? or more to the point, do they really want to? Do they want to become the next victims of consumerism or were they shouting to keep hod of their traditional way of life?
I end up on the Bund and decide to venture across the water to Pudong, the financial heart of the city. To get there you have to take a short ride through the sightseeing tunnel. As you board your small theme-park style car you embark on your very own Technicolour voyage. The strobe lighting and lively commentary on this four minute journey brings a whole new meaning to tunnel travel. just imagine how much more interesting the 35 minute Chanel crossing would be if Eurotunnel decided to install such technology?
If you ever decide to venture to these eastern shores, be prepared to encounter the unexpected at every turn. As I endeavoured to track down the Pauliner Bar (yes some German beer was calling), I stumbled across an elderly gentleman parked up with his rusty old bicycle, beaming from ear to ear and shouting out with unexplained joy. On closer inspection, you noticed that he was clutching a tortoise by the the tail. I couldn't quite decide whether his shouts were an attempt to sell the poor creature to a wealthy financier or was it merely the fact that he was overcome with  emotion that he had found that night's supper?

I return to my hotel to prepare to move on to Suzhou. I head out of the city by taxi and am amazed that there are simply no rules of the road for drivers. I don't think anyone can suffer from constipation in Shanghai as a short taxi ride will cure any such problem. I try to relax and say to myself that i must return to this great city before I head to New Zealand.

Bicycles and Horns

There's no doubt about it. Shanghai is an amazing city.
Once you get used to the frantic traffic, beeping horns and throngs of people, this place really does have lots to offer.
The city has a static population of 21,000 with another 10,000 floaters so with these numbers, the only way is up! Everywhere you look, there are tower blocks after tower blocks.
A view from the Bund and you see the modern Shanghai with the names of famous world banks lit up for all to see. At one stage, a third of the world's cranes were located here.
In the last ten years, the city has grown out of all proportion and, just by looking around, you see that the vast majority of people lead a very modern lifestyle.

Just Close Your Eyes and Go!

Well, that's it! My first week in China is nearly over. As the wheels of the Virgin Atlantic plane finally touched down on the tarmac at Pudong Airport, my childhood ambition of setting off around the world had finally come true.
A little apprehensive of the Chinese Customs at first but these were negotiated with ease. 'What more could go wrong I thought to myself?'
I breezed in to the Arrivals Hall and, after a short search, there was the driver who would take me to the hotel. Well, that's what I thought! I gestured to the name Jackson (in amongst four other names) and pointed to myself. I then went on to explain that I needed to print my voucher but he just smiled and handed me his mobile. I spoke to the person on the other end of the line but still no real mutual understanding. I made my way to the business desk and asked to print my voucher - no problems there. I emerged from a little office to find my driver had gone so I paced up and down the welcoming party of taxi drivers once again in the hope of finding my smiling friend. No such luck. I was then approached by an Airport Guide who kindly rang the taxi firm I was using and within minutes there stood my taxi driver. All's well I hear you say but this was a different guy. Two people by the name of Jackson arriving at Pudong Airport at the same time on the same day? Never!
Anyway, after a split second of decision making (yes, I'm getting quicker at making these life-changing decisions), I opted for taxi driver number two. He spoke good English and welcomed me to Shanghai as he led me to an old, clapped out Ford. The man who had greeted me was simply the guide as there was a younger gentleman who carried out the driving. As we pulled on to the motorway, he simply said, 'We don't obey any rules of the road in Shanghai.' 'OK,' I thought, I've faced worse but then he turned to face me once again and began to explain the meaning of the word Shanghai.
'Shanghai, in Chinese means city above the ocean.'
'Lovely,' I thought to myself.
He then went on to add, 'In English, we have a different name. It means KIDNAP.'
'Oh shit, I should have taken the other Taxi,' went through my mind at a million miles an hour.
We negotiated the Sunday Shanghai traffic and finally arrived at the hotel with the driver giving me two final pieces of advice.
1. Don't drink the tap water
2. When crossing the road, just shut your eyes and go!

11 DAYS TO BLAST OFF!

There's a saying in Wales which reads, 'The Best Welshman is a Welshman Away from Home' so I have finally decided to see if it's true.
From my small home town in West Wales, I will travel to China, New Zealand, Fiji and the United States and that's just to start.