thegoodfellas/blogset-br huggingface dataset:
streets until late to check this different scenario. Drum Tower pictureBell Tower picture***** Terracotta WarriorsPingmayo seen from closeThis is ranked as one of the finest tourist attractions, not just about China, but from the whole world. Who has never heard about the Chinese Terracotta warriors, each one unique made, and burried together with the emperor? So famous attractions has also its negative aspects: i) very expensive (150 RMB/person, they do accept student IDs); ii) generates too high expectations; iii) in summer there's a herd of people who come from all over China and the world; iv) different from the The Great Wall which has thousands of kilometers with different levels of difficulty which naturally puts people away, the soldiers are all located in a very small area. The result it's that you may keep at your mind more of the heat and "canned sardines" feeling rather a humankind masterpiece.The archeologic site it's a bit far from the city and the cheapest way to get there is by bus. At Xi'An's train station right you'll find bus #6. There'll probably be some people shouting "Pingmayo" which means soldier/army and it's the popular way Chinese refer to this monument.The most impressive pavillion is #1 and which is quite clear why. Its dimensions are huge and even though the soldiers are not that big and not easily seen at a distance there's a significant number of them. The other pavillions could be a little frustrating when compared to #1. Therefore, in a valuable tip, Lonely Planet recommends you to start from #3, then #2, and, finally, #1.Picture of Pavillion #1The sculptures represent soldiers and horses, in a very detailed level. These were made in 3 BC and found accidentally only in 1974. Putting all the archeologic pavillions together there are 8,000 soldiers, 130 carriages, 520 horses and 150 battle horses.Aligned soldiersBesides the unquestionable artistic value in place, one finding caught my attention for being ahead of its time. There were found many weapons and armor pieces in excellent state of conservation. Even after 2,500 years thse items were intact to corrosion because it had undergone chrome process. Such technology became available in the Western world only in the 18th century.My Couchsurfing host, ShirleyShirley andher pictures of CambodiaXi'An was a especially difficult city to find a host. For its size it had just a few CS members and even from this small portion was getting difficult to get an answer. Then Shirley saw my request and without asking her she invited me to stay at ther apartment. We had a very nice interaction and she presented me to some local food. For coincidence she had already been to Cambodia some time before, which was her first international experience. I saw how important Couchsurfers are for her life. The answer is: A LOT! Shirley plans to travel the world and change her life. For that she's been hosting almost every week CSers from different countries. One of your basic conversations was introducing her to Brazil, our cultural aspects, natural attractions, etc. Good Luck Shirley! I hope you
get your dreams realized! :)I hope you liked to know a little bit more about Xi'An. Next stop will be in a totally different course, now heading East to the Chinese coast. Next stop: Nanjing!
Last post: Adventure in the Yellow Moutain: Huangshan Versao em Portugues Last stopTraveling can also be a challenge and, even though I was very happy to be nearly finishing my Chinese odissey I started to show clear signs of fatigue. The long and tiring walk in Huangshan was kept in my body memories. Foot blisters, body pains, very sleepy, etc., and still, I could not rest properly because I had to take a 15-hour train journey to reach Xiamen. I took the train in Huangshan - almost late - and once again I had a great experience interacting with Chinese common people. This time I had a guidebook about Brazil, with some pictures - Ca's gift - and that left my train fellows really excited!IntroXiamen has a population of more than 3.5 million people and sits in coastal China being maybe the biggest and nearest city to Taiwan. It's also frequently ranked as one of the best big Chinese cities to live in.I had no specific focus in Xiamen since the city have no famous touristic attraction. The option to go over there was because it was easier/cheaper to get from Huangshan to Hong Kong without taking a flight and making more use of my time in China.Because of this context I went directly to the area that has the greatest touristic potential in Xiamen, the island of Gulangyu. It's a tiny island - around 2 km2 - where just 20,000 people live but has its charm. It's one of the busiest domestic tourism spots in China.Xiamen was one of the forced cities to open to international trade after China lost the Opium War to the British. Gulangyu at that time was assigned as an international area, and 1903 became a safe refuge for Europeans, Japaneses and wealthy Chinese. Thus, the island - even though not as much as described in Lonely Planet - recalls to an European colonial feeling given to its common architecture totally different from Chinese tradition.How to get thereArriving at Xiamen's train station you'll need to catch the bus to the seafront area. There are lots of buses going that way, thus it's worth to check at the time you get there. It wasn't that difficult to find people who could speak English in this city.After you get to the pier, turn left and you'll probably find the crowds in front of the ticket counters. Get on those lines and buy your ticket (~12 RMB return) to get to Gulangyu. After a 5 min ferry tour you'll arrive in the island.Where to stayUnfortunately Gulangyu doesn't have too many options of accommodation for the low cost traveler. Therefore, booking in advance is the rule, especially in the high season as July. Out of the three low cost accomodation options commonly known I stayed in two. The first, Gulangyu International Youth Hostel, it's not bad but it doesn't make any effort to get better, it's in the Chinese hostels average. The second one, Bay View Inn, it's extremely clean and the staff are really attentive and nice, above average. The
price was almost the same so if you have the chance to choose the take the second one. I think both can be booked at Hostelbookers.com or Hostelworld.com.ArrivingWhen I got there and unloaded my stuff I had some goals. First, have a shower, because I had no shower for 2 days while I had to walk, take trains, etc., so really needed that. Second, to eat, because I was starving. Third, wash my clothes because I had no clean ones to wear anymore. Fourth, find out how to get to Hong Kong, where to stay there, the flight to Singapore, the flight to Paris, Europe details and, finally, the way back to Brazil. Last but not least, I had to sleep.However, before I went to sleep I could take a picture of Xiamen seen from Gulangyu.View of Xiamen at night from GulangyuThe second day was dedicated to the tours and so I could enjoy the island much better. I changed my hostel - there wasn't room for me for the second day - left my stuff and explored the island. Before lunch the island was fully packed by Chinese tourists. I waked through many alleys that can easily make you get lost. On the way I found European style buildings mixed with some others in Chinese traditional architecture. In the center of the island I found a wide vary of cheap Chinese restaurants. I could find a meal of 2 dumplings portions of chick and ginger and 1 Tsingtao beer for 12 RMB.Statue of KoxingaPicture of Statue of Koxingalooking at the seaOne of the islands most easily found touristic spots. It's called Statue of Koxinga, a national hero that expelled the Dutch from Taiwan in 1660. I could say it's one of the most visited places in the island and the alternative to get close to it would be to take a boat tour - or the ferry itself. It costs 15 RMB to get close to the statue.Sunlight RockThe highest spot in Gulangyu and surely worth a visit. From it one can see the view of the whole island historic center and city of Xiamen in the back. It's worth saying that the place was p-a-c-k-e-d with tourists making almost impossible to walk in the rock. It costs 60 RMB to go up. I'd like tosay that, only in this place during my whole stay in China they didn't want to accept my student ID. I first paid for the full fare but after I saw that it was written in English that they accepted student ID for half-fare I called the manager and after a short period of tension she decided to give my money back and charge me just the half-fare.View of Gulangyu and Xiamenfrom Sunlight RockWalking over GulangyuPicture of the nutcracker's storeThere were many others tourist attractions but that was enough for me. Just walking through Gulangyu's alleys was making me happy I had no pacience anymore for museums and gardens, etc, etc, etc. I walked through the whole island and tasted lots of local street food. One
of my findings was a delicious oyster pancake for 10 RMB - which, yeah, it gives you diarrhea but it was really good - and a bizarre ice cream made of pasta, beans and, of course, ice cream for just 20 RMB. In Gulangyu you can find many cafes which sell capuccino, fappuccino, etc., expensive and not that interesting but which seems to be the latest fashion among youngsters in China. Another curious point in times of world economic crisis was to find the ice cream places that advertise to have an authentic italiano gelatto. I really saw Italian men mixing the ice cream as an attraction to Chinese tourists. I also saw many stores selling nutcrackers. There were whole stores of nutcrackers, probably another coming up fashion in China.Going to YongdingFor a solo traveler getting to Yongding could be an excessive adventure which I wasn't looking for in the rainy season and just some days before I would leave China. So I tried to find a travel agency that could offer the tour to Yongding. I found one that stays almost next to the place where the ferry dropps you off in Gulangyu. It costs arround 150 RMB including tickets, transportation and lunch. This place was also one of the reasons for me to put the Xiamen region in my travel plan so I was pretty excited about what I would find.Yongding stays in the province of Fujian and has around 30,000 tulous, the original samples of what we could call as buildings or modern condominiums. These were built by the Hakka people - they used to live in the East coast of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and they spread around the world - as a solution to protect their community from the attack of animals or other people.Hongkeng TulouThe area my tour went to visit is a 3-hour drive from Xiamen, in the mountains of Fujian and we faced some rain on the way. We went to visit the Hongkeng Tulou, which is the most touristy one, so not the most authentic, but which still reserved a nice experience for me.When we arrived there our group would follow a tour script. Since I could not understand a thing about what they were saying I ended up visiting all the place on my own. Instead of going to the tulous first I decided to have the views from the top since there were no crowds there yet.View from the Hongkeng Tulou complexThe view is really impressive, there are many tulous in circle, egg and even squared forms. This is the kind of different architecture that even when you get used to watch at the first view it's hard to forget.Woman next to thetulou's entranceThe Hakka people went through a real diaspora not just around Asia but to the whole world. There are Hakka descendants scattered around US, Europe and Asia, many times occupying leadership positions. To be a Hakka it's almost like making part of a global fraternity that looks to keep their tradition and honor their ethnic group. Besides being
from a different ethnic group, these people communicate through a different language, the Hakka language, which is different from Mandarim.Central area inside the tulouAs impressive as looking to the tulous from the outside is when you can get a glimpse from inside. Even though the people who live inside - with the government incentive - are transforming it in something directed towards tourism there are still some people living there as they usually did, especially on those which are in bad state of conservation.I got into a tulou which as really bad maintained and apparently not openned to visits. It was pouring hard but still I could admire the wooden made structure inside the tulou that circled the inner garden.In of the greatest tulous there was a ceremony area making the view even more interesting. Unfortunately, as there are people still living there, tourists - especially those who could be taken as foreigners as me - can only get access to the ground level. So I could not go upstairs for a panoramic picture. However, the locals know the tourists curiosity and they sell your picture taken in the entrance. I could lower the price to 12 RMB and took this plastified and enlarged picture home. To avoid loosing it I took a picture with my camera. This surely is one of the most impressive views inside a tulou.My picture inside the biggest tulouThe endAnd I reach the end of my Chinese adventure. Almost a whole month with plenty of happiness, different people, learning, challenges, stress, and unforgetable experiences. China is a millenial giant which is just getting back to its power position. Has lots of things to teach us in terms of culture, citzenship and urbanistic approaches. Besides the language barriers this is for sure a wonderful place to travel in terms of landscapes, culture and safety. I broke my prejudices about the Chinese people and I was offer help everywhere I went and from everyone in order to accomplish my plan. Thank you China for this unforgettable experience. Now, let's go to Europe. 1 day in Paris!
Previous Post: Suzhou and its gardensPortuguese VersionIntroFinally I reached the biggest and most developed city of China, and also ranked among the most influent cities of the world. Shanghai was a secondary minor city, less important than Nanjing, Hangzhou or Suzhou until the Opium War. After that, the city, which is strategically placed next to the sea and big rivers coming from inner China, was compulsorily openned to trade. Location of Shanghai in ChinaIn 1842, eight Western countries - Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Austro-Hungarian Empire, US and UK - and Japan were granted territorial concessions which worked as international independent areas. Even though most of the population were Chinese, the Chinese law did not apply in these areas. Since then Shanghai went through an economic, social and cultural boom becoming around the 20's and 30's the most developed city in East Asia.Map of Shanghai in 1907Shanghai started to loose its prestige in 1937, after being conquered by Japanese and experiecing a sharp decline in trade even after it was returned to China. Following those events, after the Cultural Revolution, most of business and cultural influence fled to Taiwan and Hong Kong, starting decades of shadow coupled with communism power over China.In 1990, Shanghai started to reborn from the ashes through a government programme that planned - and was successfull - to transform Pudong area in financial services center and also headquarter area for big companies. Nowadays, there's located the 3rd tallest building in the world, Shanghai World Financial Center. The city enjoys an extensive public transportation system, some great green areas, and lots of buildings in European style that remained from the old concessions. Add up to that a population of more than 23 million people and the dream of wealth for the rich - qualified professionals, university students, etc - and the poor - rural migrants looking for jobs.Actual map of ShanghaiArriving in ShanghaiAs I planned I left Suzhou very early, around 7 am, and took the bullet train with destination to Shanghai. The trip didn't last 30 min and I arrived in the city's central station. I bought a map and found the way to my hostel in the central area. I was sleeping at the Mingtown Nanjing Road Youth Hostel, which had an excellent cost of 50-60 RMB/night in the dorm.Location is everything around Shanghai, and you're gonna probably find lots of hostels around the whole city but it's worth to pay a little extra to stay next to the central area. There's an excellent subway system but it cannot take you everywhere, and, remember, if everything was far and big in whole China, imagine in the biggest city.I left my stuff and looked for a train ticket branch - in the big cities you'll often find train ticket branches outside the train stations. This time I needed a combo Shanghai -> Huanghsan -> Fuzhou -> Xiamen. There is my last 4 train tickets to be bought in China. The city of Fuzhou was not a touristic stop, just technical, to change trains and get to Xiamen. Some may
br asking why I would do that in my first hour after I got to Shanghai. The answer is that train tickets must be bought in advance in China, otherwise you'd rik yourself to get a standing ticket - yeah, exactly, no seat - or, getting some boring overstay and loose your itinerary.Purchasing the ticketsAs I got more experienced on that, I asked a hostel employee to write down all my needs in Chinese in a little paper. Then, I reached the train ticket counter I just had to show them the paper. Still, there were some doubts - apparently the teller could not believe that some arrivals/departures were so close to each other, but, yeah, that was my plan. What wasn't part of my plan was that she misunderstood me - and I realized that too late - and instead of taking sleeper seats - so I could sleep - she took all hard seats - which basically means no sleep at all while you'll get 90o seats squeezed with many other Chinese. So I got happy for the next days without knowing about my conditions in the train to Huangshan.Time to meet Shanghai!A map, a bag, an umbrella and it's time to get on the street to explore this giant!Yuyuan GardensThe story of the the Yuyuan Gardens goes back to 1559, during Ming dynasty, when Pan Yundan decided to build a sumptuous garden - it came to be the largest and most prestigious one in Shanghai at that time - to his father Pan En.Inside of Yuyuan GardensHowever, expenses with the construction would eventually led the family to bankruptcy. Since then the garden changed many hands, was taken by the British during the Opium War and by the Japanese during WW2, finally being reopenned to public in 1961. The entrance costs 40 RMB.Around Yuyuan GardensMaybe more interesting than the gardens itself is the neighborhood around. A big commercial area with plenty of traditional Chinese style buildings which were restored to give room to dozens of stores that offer from souveniers to meals. A good time to buy little gifts and put your bargaining skills on practice. Be ready to ask 5-6x less than the advertised price, and buy at that value. The walking away tatic works!The view around Yuyuan GardensCity God's TempleTemple's facade pcitureThis is a tiny temple next to the gardens and the entrance costs only 10 RMB. It's not so special if you're not a Buddhist. Maybe the most attractive thing is the temple's facade, quite adorned, however it could be seen for free from outside.There's still China in ShanghaiPicture of a small street in ShanghaiIf you talk to people that went to Shanghai or even read books as Lonely Planet there's some significant chances that you end up seeing the city as something that do not represent real China, a modern Frankenstein created as a combination of years of Western and Eastern influences aimed to trade and commerce. Truth is that most parts of Shanghai do not look like other "Chinas" I've found in Beijing, Datong, Pingyao
or Xi An. However those cities did not look like Nanjing or Suzhou. As I've said before in another post, in a general manner, the cities located at China's Eastern coast are likely to be much more modern than the others, which is natural, since that are has been undergoing economic liberalization for many years already. That doesn't mean that the old China does not exist. You just need to walk, get lost, and.. suddenly...Yeah, I suddenly found a rare place in Shanghai - chaos, mess, wires, chickens, dogs, sellers, typically Asia. For instants I found I had gone back to Cambodia - Eric, one of my Chinese friends once said that when he as born in the 80's, his city Guangzhou was quite similar to what he has seen in Cambodia. So, yes, the old China is there, we just can't get restricted to guide books about what's nice or what is not in a city. A simple walk would reveal interesting impressions.People walking in a small street of ShanghaiSince I was in the middle of the neighborhood I decided to explore it on foot and I noticed people were not that used to foreigners there. A maze of small alleys with small houses circled by avenues and buildings in construction - the own reflection of China in modern times. I bought an ice-cream - btw, ice-creams in China are wonderful and deserve an article about even taking into account the fact that I ended up with a red beans ice-cram! - and I went walking and observing people around, carrying everything and remembering some months ago. Then I thought about testing the prices and looked for a barber shop. I found and asked him to cut my hair and thought we had agreed in the price - 5 RMB. In the end I was giving him the 5 RMB bill when he showed me the 50 RMB bill. Obviously he was trying to cheat on me, but since 5 RMB was actually too cheap - even less than Cambodia - I paid him 10 RMB and left his shop.Is it possible to find Chinese enjoying free time in Shnaghai?Curiously looked that my trip in Shanghai had been granted the mission to prove some mistakes from common sense about there. From what I read back in Lonely Planet, differently from other Chinese cities it would be much harder to find someone having free time or doing common and usual daily stuff because Shanghai was the chaos of black-tie men, the taxis and skyscrapers. Well, it did not take too long until I realized it was not that way. First with the small neighborhood I found and second, with a park in the French Concession area.Fuxing ParkPicture of Fuxing Park -French architectureFuxing Park was built inside the French Concession and thus shows French architecture elements. My expectation was to find an empty park but it happened the opposite and I found Chinese elderly make active use of their free time.Not so different from our "serestas" in Brazil - at least for someone