RETURN

People Republic of China a.k.a China, 中国, literally means Centre of the World or Middle Kingdom. Wat impression China has given u all da time?? Poor? Dirty? Noisy? Unrestful?? Undevoloped??? Or other negative terms??? Yes, indeed, everyone of u may think like tat, me oso sumtimes. But my viewpoint toward China has totally changed when stepped on my ancestor land after 20 years ‘exile’ at ‘ppl land’.

Hahahaha, this is my first time been to China. My journey started at 240506 and ended at 310506, total spent 8 days 7 nites in Jiangnan (江南), China. In my following paragraphs, I will act as travel Ambassador of China, I will write out my whole journey n oso help China to make sum promotions as well. OkOk, my route is like tat:

Kuala Lumpur --> Shanghai 上海 --> Suzhou 苏州 --> Wuxi 无锡 --> Nanjing 南京--> Hangzhou 杭州 --> Shanghai 上海 --> Kuala Lumpur

Before Going

Emm… B4 tat, I would like to tell u tat I m not traveling at ‘China’, but Jiangnan China, bcoz China is too Huge!!! Too Gigantic!!! Too Enormous!!!! U CANNOT say tat u ady been to Guangzhou or Shenzhen, then u tell others u been to China. Yes, same as me, I only been to Jiangnan China, a region merely has 5% land of Entire Chinese Land (Mainland, Taiwan, HK n Macao)

Actually, wat is Jiangnan 江南? Literally, it means South region of Yangtze River 长江以南地区. A lot of ppl said tat: 江南美女甲天下… hehe… meaning is Jiangnan has the most beautiful gals in the whole China. Izzit real??? Look there has a ‘look’lah.

Look!!! China So Big, Shanghai n Jiangnan just only a dot!

Those ‘Red Areas’ is my destinations in my journey.

As u noe, Shanghai is a megalopolis, a huge city, n Nanjing is a metropolis. But, wat do u think bout Suzhou, Wuxi n Hangzhou??? B4 I move, I tot my journey will b 2 cities n 3 small towns, hahaha… after 8 days, I discovered tat I m entirely mistaken….

Truthfully, as a typical SINOPHILE, I m so exicited n imsonia tat nite b4 go to Shanghai, tis feeling u really cant understand one, just like u r going to meet ur idol like tat.

Eastern Megalopolis 东方大都会
Shanghai 上海, 24 May 2006

Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Transport 上海磁浮列车

The distance btw KL n Shanghai is approximately 4000 km, roughly spent 5 hours to reach. We (my grandpa, my mum, me n my sister, my dad has to work, cant take leave) set out at 0850 hour n arrive there Pudong international airport (PVG) 浦东国际机场, about 1500 hour. Aftertat, in order to reach da Shanghai city centre, we take Shanghai Magnetic levitation transport 上海磁浮列车, or maglev, tat is the FASTEST land transport in da world!! Faster than japan bullet train!!!

The highest speed of maglev is…… 250kph?? 380kph??? NoNoNo…. Is


Can u look clearly?? Is 431 kph!!! 431 KPH leh!!!!!

Normally, if u took a bus from Pudong to Shanghai, is roughly an hour, but maglev only spend ur time of cooking a mi goreng, only 6 mins to 7mins ONLY!!!!

After reach Shanghai city centre… wait a minute, let me introduce sumthing bout Shanghai to u first….

Shanghai 上海
Population: estimated 24 million (not including 6 million mobile population, means not local ppl got 6m), total 30 million, God!!! (Must know this: Malaysia has 25 million ppl, KL only 1.8 million ppl)
History: only 150 years, but is da most advanced n developed region of China.
Local Delicacy: ‘small cage pau’ 小笼包
Special Product: Pixiu (Wat is this??? Keep on reading, later, I will tell u)

Chenghuang Temple 城隍庙

Our 1^st destination is Chenghuang Temple 城隍庙, emm…. Dun misinterpret, It is not a temple, although sounds a bit like. It is a big market, a very special shopping area, becoz all shops are designed in Chinese tranditional style, including this:

Chinese starbucks coffee

Of course, in Shanghai, we wont miss out a thing, there is xiao long pau (小笼包). Xiao long pau which sold in Chenghuang Temple is very famous n delicious. Emmm… for me, oklah, only a bit salty.

Trying a xiao long pau.

Chenghuang Temple is traditional Chinese style shopping centre. There are a lots of goods n souvenirs r been selling here.

At Chenghuang Temple

Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠塔

Later, we took our dinner nearby Cheng Huang Temple. Then we moved to 2^nd destination, tat is: The PEAK of ASIA, Oriental Pearl Tower, 东方明珠塔, it is da 3^rd tallest tower of da world n NO1 in Asia!!!!

Petrified by this magnificent tower.

Oriental Pearl Tower, tall 468m. There are 3 big ‘balls’ n 8 tiny ‘balls in da towers, there has a idiom to describe this building, tat is 大珠小珠落玉盘 (literally means big pearls n small pearls dropping on a jade plate.) Really, this tower very impressive, much more beautiful than our KL towerleh!!!

Shanghai nite scene, view frm 2^nd ball, 263m tall. In pic, the tall building is called Jinmao Building 金茂大厦, it is the tallest building in Mainland, n da fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height.

City Garden 城市花园
Suzhou 苏州, 25 May 2006

We spent our 2^nd day at Suzhou. B4 tat, I found out a very odd phenomena, ok, look at this pic:

Guess wat time when I took this photo?? 0630?? 0725?? 0800??

Our 2^nd day morning call is at 0700 hour, but I was suddenly woken up at 0500. Why??? Bcoz I tot it ady 7 morning, wat do it means?? Technically Malaysia n China have no time difference, but in fact there r!!! I tell u, I took this pic at 5:20 morning!!!! If in Kuala Lumpur 0520 still in deep nightleh.

Later, we spent 1 n half hour to reach Suzhou. If u got read sum Chinese literature, u may noe a well-known idiom: 上有天堂, 下有苏杭 (literally means sky has heaven, earth has Suzhou n Hangzhou, means Suzhou n Hangzhou r heaven of human world 人间天堂).

Emmm…. Mayb u wont believe it, for me, this 2 cities r very comfortable n luxurious. If I have a chance, I must stay there for a looong period.

Shigong Mountain 石公山

Before we moved to Suzhou city centre, we paid a visit to a scenic park, called Shigong Mountain 石公山, which located at Taihu Xishan, 太湖西山 (literally means West mountain of Huge lake). Taihu Lake is da second largest freshwater lake of China, how big izzit?? Emm…. It size roughly equivalent to 2 Hong Kongs or 4 Singapores. Bigleh.

The Great Emperor n his princess sister visit Shigong Mountain.


Suzhou’s old tradition, make a wish, write on a red paper, n then paste on a tree.

Linwu Cave 林屋洞

After half an hour, we moved to another destination, tat is a natural underground cave, called Linwu Cave, 林屋洞. This cave ady have few billion year old, it was named the ninth wonderful cave of China. Million of thousands year ago, the cave was full of Taihu Lake water, it gave birth to lots of variety of species.

Linwu Cave, a prehistoric natural cave.

Tiger Hill 虎丘

As we already known, Italy has a leaning tower, called Piza tower. We Malaysia oso have one, at Teluk Intan (安顺斜塔). China is a big country, nothing he has no, now let me show u the leaning tower of China, which located at Tiger Hill 虎丘.

Tiger Hill, which ady has 2500 years hictory, originally it is a mausoleum of King Wu, 吴王, later, it became a temple. Tat day is our 2^nd day in da journey, unfortunately, the weather is not so ideal, got a bit drizzling. However, my mood still in exciting state.

Raining, Sword Pool of Tiger Hill 虎丘剑池


Tower of Tiger Hill, Landmark of Suzhou

Above is the leaning tower of China, Tiger Hill Tower, it was constructed at 10^th century, Song Dynasty. This tower has 7 storeys, it came frm this idiom: 救人一命胜造七级浮屠 (literally means save a life greater than build a 7 storeys tower).

As I ady stated just now, unlike Shanghai, Suzhou is a city garden. Why I say so? Because every buildings in Suzhou r probihited to build higher than 15M, 15M u noe!! Therefore Suzhou has no any skyscrapers or high rise buildings. It is a well-planned city, clean, tidy n comfortable. This is a specialty of Suzhou, let me give u sum information about this city garden.

Suzhou 苏州
Population: 6.6 million (not including 1 million of mobile population)
History: estimated 2500 years
Local delicacy: Guihua Fish 桂花鱼
Special Product: Silk

Indeed, Suzhou is a beautiful city, it full of art n literature smell everywhere.

Guanqian Street 观前街

Guanqian Street 观前街, a busy shopping street in Suzhou.


Wat is tis?? Answer: a BUS STOP!! (Shhtt… all bus stops of Suzhou r built like tis, so nice.)

Road light of Suzhou (Wa sei, need onot ah?!?!)

Lion Grove Garden 狮子林

Next morning, we still enjoyed our visits at this beautiful Suzhou. After breakfast, we went to Lion Grove Garden 狮子林. Lion Garden?? Izzit a lion protection area?? Or a Zoo?? NoNoNo… Lion Grove Garden is a garden without any Lion, originally it is a villa of a rich family during Qing Dynasty. (forgot who ady) Although it has no real lion, inside tat has sum special stones, their shape quite look like LIONs.

Look carefully!! There r 3 lions there. Can u see it??

3 beautiful paintings… uuooii…. Why da middle quite different from da others??


In front of a picturesque scenery at Lion Grove Garden.


Calligraphy of Emperor Qianlong 乾隆皇帝, actually shud b 真有趣, since真有趣 this word too common, so the ‘有’ is deleted, became真趣, means Very Interesting!!!

Suzhou Silk Mill 苏州丝厂

Silk, 丝绸, in ancient time, it is an extravagant n luxurious product. Ok, guys, silk is made frm wat materials? Ans: Silkworm 蚕. Ok, now we proceed to a famous Silk Mill in Suzhou.

Silkworm, so cute~~~~

A worker is collecting the cocoon of silk.

Boiling in hot water…..So pity, sacrificing for human needs….

Graveyard for Million of silkworms….

Few hours later, they transform to various silk products.

Fashion Show of Silk dresses.

Peaceful Metropolis 和平之都
Wuxi 无锡, 26 May 2006

After our dinner, we left this wonderful Suzhou n moved to another city, called Wuxi 无锡. Wuxi, b4 this journey, I really know no anything bout Wuxi, I even tot Wuxi just a small village, but in fact Wuxi, this city may more prosperous than KLleh….

We roughly spent 2 hours to Wuxi frm Suzhou. Wuxi 无锡, literally means No Tin (bijih timah) or Tin-less. Why it called like this? According to historian records, 2000 years ago, Wuxi actually produced lots of tin ore, since here has a lot of tin, so many kingdoms want to take control of this tin-rich place, wars n conflicts occurred all da time. Later, a general dunwan to see this place destroy by wars, so he named this place “Wuxi” (No Tin), soon this place became peaceful ever after. So, Wuxi oso has a meaning of ‘Peaceful’. Now, tin ore of Wuxi has ady depleted for a long time.

Wuxi 无锡
Population: 5.6 million (not including 1 million of mobiles)
History: estimated 2000 years
Local delicacy: Wuxi ketchup pork bone 无锡酱排骨
Special product: Purple sand teapot 紫砂茶壶, pearl

Three Kingdoms City三国城

Our 1^st destination at Wuxi is THREE KINGDOMS CITY 三国城, Wow~~~~ Sounds very powerful. This three kingdoms city actually is a giant studio, it is specially constructed for establishing the shooting of CCTV series “Romance of three kingdoms 三国演义”, this ‘ancient’ city is extremely huge, it really made u feel u r in three kingdoms period (AD 220 – AD 280).

In front of a war ship n sea fortress. The lake is Taihu Lake.


A pretty young court damsel cosplayer in palace of Wu Kingdom.

A great Wu Kingdom Palace 吴王宫

Da thing which made u deeply feel urself in three kingdoms period is a fighting show, called Three Heroes VS Lv Bu 三英战吕布. If u read b4 Romance of Three Kingdoms this famous historical novel, sure u will noe the 3 heroes. They r Liu Bei 刘备 n his 2 loyal brothers, Guan Yu 关羽 n Zhang Fei 张飞, n tat Lv Bu 吕布 is their enemy. This history event happened roughly at AD190 sumthing.

Three Heroes VS Lv Bu 三英战吕布


Wow, look like real battlefield!!!


Hiiiyyaaak!!!!

Generals n his faithful knights.

War!!! Kill!!! Sha!!! 杀!!!

I LOVE Three Kingdoms so much!!!! It is too heavy to say goodbye. Later, we proceeded to a purple sand teapot factory.

Wuxi Purple Sand Teapot Factory 无锡紫砂茶壶厂

The world largest purple sand teapot!!!

Look!! Those water wont come out frm da cup!!! (High quality)


A great variety of purple sand teapots.

Wuxi Shopping Centre and Walking Street 无锡购物中心和步行街

After dinner, We went SHOPPING at Wuxi city centre. Compared to Shanghai, Wuxi is many times smaller, but its shopping area is very centralized, very big….

Nite scene of Wuxi shopping area

Why shopping area got temple one???

Spacious walking street of Wuxi

Tat nite, we had a nice sleep in the most deluxe hotel (5 stars, only 1 time in da journey) of Wuxi city. Next day, we proceeded to a fresh water pearl factory which is the largest in China.

Wuxi Fresh Water Pearl Factory 无锡淡水珍珠厂

Wawaaaa!!!! So beautiful!!!!!!!~~~!!!!!

How does a pearl produced???? Wuxi, this city is located beside the Taihu Lake, so all da pearls r produced at lakebed of Taihu Lake. Oooo??? How??

Ans: In a clam. One clam can produce roughly 33 pearls….

If compared to Japan sea water pearl, Wuxi fresh water pearl is many times cheaper than japan one. The most expensive pearl type is GOLD pearl. How much izzit per one???

GODssssss……………!!!! It equal to RM134000 (fainted****)

Giant Buddha of Ling Mountain 灵山大佛

After visited pearl factory, we moved to a very very beautiful n holy place, tat is Giant Buddha of Ling Mountain 灵山大佛, tat Buddha statue is the world tallest Buddha statue, tall 88m. Another special thing is this place is Terribly WINDY, my hat was blown away by kaze several times.

Giant Lotus n giant Buddha

Pillar of King Asoka, who disseminated the Greatness of Buddhism during 3^rd century in India.


China, a Buddhist land. China has the world largest Buddhist population, roughly 150 million ppl.


Giant Buddha hand, this hand is same size with da giant Buddha statue which far behind. U will bring back auspiciousness after u touched His hand.

Twin Buddhas, big one is 88m, smaller one only 8m tall.

Hundreds of thousand Buddha followers paying homage to our Great teacher, Lord Buddha Sakyamuni.

The most impressive moment in this place is da fountain performances of NINE DRAGONS WELCOME THE BIRTH OF BUDDHA 九龙灌顶. Very beautiful, really breathtaking, it made u feel u r in Buddha period of Ancient India. At tat moment, I was very very very very excited.

At the beginning, the nine dragon statues shot da water to tat closed lotus. Aftertat, da lotus opened, da GOLDEN Buddha boy appeared. The fountain getting stronger, washing the holy body of Buddha. Tat time, the water really big, sprayed everywhere, caused everyone wet like hell. Eventually, Buddha was born. Tat moment, is so Amazing!!! Namo Buddhaya~~~~~!!!!

The Wuxi local government roughly spent ￥700 million to construct this Ling Mountain Temple place, tat’s why so Spectacular. Ok, Wuxi trip was ended.

Ancient Capital 千年帝都
Nanjing 南京, 27 May 2006

Ehhh?? After Buddha, then Christ’s turn??? No No, this is not Christianity, but a Painful n unforgettable memory of Nanjing ppl (1937.12.13 – 1938.1, the Nanjing Massacre aka The Rape of Nanjing). Seriously, my feeling was very down tat moment~~~~ (In front of Nanjing Massacre Museum)

Nanjing, is a very ancient city, it had became capital city for ten dynasties 十朝古都, many of emperors or kings like to select Nanjing as his empire capital, because of one reason. Tat is the Feng Shui 风水of Nanjing is the most ideal in the China, tat’s why lots of kings, warlords fought with each other to control Nanjing n launched many times of severe devastation on Nanjing in order to break the good Feng Shui of previous dynasty.

Nanjing Massacre Museum 南京大屠杀纪念馆

Throughout the history, there were 128 massacres happened in Nanjing (so scary!!!), the most recent n inhuman massacre was occurred frm 13 DEC 1937 to JAN 1938, the well-known Rape of Nanjing, tat launched by notorious Japanese Imperial Army!!!! This massacre was infamous as the Nazi Holocaust. There are 90% of Nanjing residents or 300000 ppl were slaughtered cruelly, including those ARMLESS children, old fellows, women. Among the victims, women were treated most brutally. All of them were gang-raped several times b4 they were killed.

Some incomplete or broken skeletons found, shows tat those were killed brutally. Now sure u noe y i previously so hate japanese..... (now i ady forgiven them, but never forget)

This is a shame of our nation. Never forget this tragedy. May the 300000 victims rest peacefully.

Nanjing 南京
Population: 5.3 million (not including 1 million mobiles)
History: estimated 2500 years
Local delicacy: Nanjing Salty Duck 南京盐水鸭
Special product: Art of Inside Crystal Drawing 水晶内画, Jade 玉

After finished ‘mourning’, our next destination is Bridge of Yangtze River 长江大桥. This is not a normal bridge tat u noe, it is a wonderful n awesome brigde u ever met, even our penang bridge cant compare its Greatness…

Bridge of Yangtze River 长江大桥

This bridge began build in 1960 n spent 8 years to finish construction, just imagine tat moment, during 1960s, China still in a period of disturbance; starvation, international conflicts, cultural revolution caused million of ppl died in China, however, because of Mao Zedong 毛泽东, the bridge still built successfully. Throughout history, lots of ppl were trying to build a bridge to cross the wavy Yangtze River, included Sun Yat-sen 孙中山, KMT Chiang Kai-sek 蒋介石 n even Japanese army, but all of them failed.

Across the 2.8km long mighty Yangtze River. This bridge has 2 layers; upper layer is for normal transport, and second layer is a railway.

From da fort of Yangtze River Bridge, u can view the whole scenery of Nanjing city, very beautiful!!!

Inside the fort of bridge, there are a gallery of a famous artist, Mr Gong Liang 龚良先生, who skillful in drawing art of inside crystal水晶内画. This art is called First Greatness of Nanjing 南京一绝.

He is Mr. Gong Liang. Look at right pic, this is his greatest masterpiece, use 7 months to complete. Dun think this art very easy, actually very very difficult…..

Various kinds of Inside Crystal Drawings….

Photo wit Mr. Gong Liang.

My crystal…

If compared with Suzhou n Wuxi, Nanjing is a bit messy, but goods r much cheaper than they. After dinner, we went to a famous shopping area of Nanjing which located at band of Qinhuai River 秦淮河, called Fuzi Temple or Confucius Temple夫子庙, oso not a temple, although sounds a bit like. Why this shopping street called ‘Confucius Temple’?? Actually in da ancient time, this place is an ‘unified’ examination hall for those student of whole country 考状元. Therefore in order to get a great result, they prayed to da Confucius.

Confucius Temple夫子庙

Nanjing, exactly is a city of knowledge, because there are more than 120 universities in this city……Look!!! This shopping area is very very spacious, n very twinkling…. Stunning~~~

Wa Sei~~~ So so so so…. (Cant describe in words)

Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen 中山陵

Next morning, we proceeded to a mausoleum which commemorate a GREAT person who greatly contributed to Chinese nations, he is Dr. Sun Yat-sen or Sun Zhongshan 孙中山先生. Ehem… dun tell me u dunnoe who is He. He is our Chinese nations’ Father, 中国国父.

Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866–March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary and political leader who had a significant role in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty. A founder of the Kuomintang, Sun was the first provisional president when the Republic of China was founded in 1912. He developed a political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People which still heavily influences Chinese government today. A great man definitely has a great mausoleum.

My mum, my sis, me n my grandpa in front of Zhongshan mausoleum 中山陵.

Wat is da differences btw 2 pics?? Left is go up one, another is go down frm mausoleum. Look carefully, u may discover da Miracles.

Thanks to u, Dr. Sun, because of u, we no need to tie a pigtail behind da head 留辫, we no need be forced to wear a tiny shoe 缠脚.

Nanjing Jade Market 南京玉器市场

Later, we went to a government-owned jade market. Inside has various beautiful jades. Got big got small…..

A jade Guan Yin Bodhisattva.

After lunch, we continued our journey to Hangzhou 杭州, it took about 4 hours to reach, Zzzzz…. Sleep in bus……

Heavenly Land 人间天堂
Hangzhou 杭州, 28 May 2006

When we talk’bout Hangzhou, surely u will think of tat attractive scenery of West Lake 西湖. Yes, West Lake is really beautiful, in ancient China, lots of emperors, government high-rank officers, scholars, n so on love to have their vacation at West Lake, because too unbearably stunning….. like Emperor Qianlong had been to West Lake 6 times….

Hangzhou 杭州
Population: 7 million (not including 1 million mobiles)
History: estimated 2500 years
Local Delicacy: Dongpo pork 东坡肉, beggar chicken 叫化鸡
Special product: Dragon Well Green Tea of West Lake 西湖龙井绿茶

Wat is the special of this normal pic??? Hangzhou is a zero polluted city. Firstly, their cars r very less. Secondly, motorbike is BANNED, u can find tat there is a ‘motorbike’ inside da pic, actually it is electric-powered bicycle, Thirdly, u may see tat there is a ‘bus’ in da middle of pic…. Haha… this is not a normal bus, this is their public transport, called ‘electric bus’….. tat’s y Hangzhou’s air so fresh~~~~

Night of West Lake 西湖之夜

Tonite is the most focal point 重头戏 of our journey, tat is a Great show, is Wonderful performance. ‘Night of West Lake 西湖之夜’

King Qian arrange his army 钱王点兵.

Acrobatics performances. Very scary…..

Liang Zhu 梁祝, Chinese ‘Romeo & Juliet’,a classical love story.

Hangzhou at 1930s.

Tea story in Hangzhou.

Performances of other nations' dancing.

Cartoon world n finally, welcome to The Paradise on Earth 人间天堂欢迎您.

The ‘Night of West Lake’ really very nice, Aaarrgghh….. I love you, Hangzhou~~~ Next morning, we still in Hangzhou, unlike other destinations, we spent 2 nites in here since here is too beautiful. Today, we hav a wonderful cruise on da beautiful heavenly-blessed West Lake.

Cruise on West Lake 游西湖

Sum picturesque scenery of West Lake during sunny morning.

After cruising, we went along the band of West Lake, wow, the air is very fresh n nice. I daresay tat West Lake is the most beautiful lake garden in da world. I wished one day I can live there permanently….

水光瀲艷晴方好，山色空濛雨亦奇。欲把西湖比西子，淡粧濃抹總相宜。
(Unable to use English to describe this beauty of West Lake.)

Like Suzhou, Hangzhou has their unique roads light.

Memory Museum of Su Shi 苏东坡纪念馆

Later, we paid a visit to a memory museum of a great poet, Su Shi 苏轼 aka Su Dongpo 苏东坡 (1037 – 1101), he was a writer, poet, artist, calligrapher and statesman of the Song Dynasty, one of the major poets of the Song era. I know him very well n quite admire him, because I read sum of his poem during high school period.

With Su Shi da knowledgeable.

Wawa… very excited when saw him calligraphies. This poem I memorized b4, n it oso a song sang by Teresa Teng. This is da content:

水调歌头

明月几时有？把酒问青天。不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年。我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。起舞弄清影，何似在人间？

转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。

Ehhh…. Sounds familiarleh…. Faye Wong oso sang b4~~~~

Behind me is a computer-automatic writing calligraphy. The poem oso my favourite. I show it for u~~~ very meaningful 1… (still remembered when form 5, teacher forced every student to memorize…)

念奴娇 赤壁怀古

大江东去，浪淘尽，千古风流人物。故垒西边，人道是、三国周郎赤壁。乱石穿空，惊涛拍岸，卷起千堆雪。江山如画，一时多少豪杰。

遥想公谨当年，小乔初嫁了，雄姿英发。羽扇纶巾，谈笑间、强虏灰飞烟灭。故国神游，多情应笑我，早生华发。人间如梦，一尊还酹江月。

After tat, we still had a walk along da West Lake band, breathe da fresh air, view da scenic mountains n water, felt like walking at heaven……..

Louwailou Restaurant 楼外楼

Lunch time!!! We had our delicious n extravagant lunch at an old imperial restaurant, called Louwailou 楼外楼, which constructed in 1848.

B4 lunch in Louwailou Restaurant.

Mausoleum of General Yue Fei 岳王庙

After dinner, we continued our journey to Mausoleum of General Yue Fei 岳王庙. In da road to his mausoleum, we met another great person, not a Hero, but a Heroin 巾帼英雄, Qiu Jin 秋瑾 (1875 – 1907), she is a great revolutionary in 19^th century who even Dr. Sun Yat-sen admired too, she gave her life to anti-Qing Empire revolution. She was killed after a failed uprising.

Tomb of Heroin, Qiu Jin


Tomb of Tiger hero, Wu Song 打虎英雄武松之墓

General Yue Fei 岳飞, undoubtedly every Chinese surely know him, especially tat story: Mother Yue written 4 characters on Yue Fei’s back, tat is:

‘Serve the country loyally’

Yue Fei (1103 – 1142) was a patriot and nationalist military leader who fought for the Southern Song Dynasty against the Northern huns. He was a valiant general, unfortunately, he was falsely incriminated n killed by a national traitor, Qin Hui 秦桧, n Yue Fei’s 23 year-old son oso cant escape frm it. Today, Yue Fei symbolize Patriotism n Loyalty. Yea….He is my childhood idol…..

Statue of General Yue, behind da statue, there is da masterpiece of Yue Fei. 还我河山, literally means ‘Return my rivers and mountains’, it shows his firm intension to claim back his mother lost land.

Yue Fei was not only a general, he had a high literature level. He had a famous poem, I guessed all of u ady had da idea, tat is 满江红, literally means River Become Red Entirely, This 1 is his poem, the contents very ‘powerful’…. Btw, this poem had ady became a famous song….

怒 发 冲 冠 凭 栏 处
潇 潇 雨 歇
抬 望 眼 仰 天 长 啸
壮 怀 激 烈

三 十 功 名 尘 与 土
八 千 里 路 云 和 月
摸 等 闲 白 了 少 年 头
空 悲 切

靖 康 耻 犹 未 雪
臣 子 恨 何 时 灭
驾 长 车 踏 破 贺 兰 山 缺

壮 志 饥 餐 胡 虏 肉
笑 谈 渴 饮 匈 奴 血
待 从 头 收 拾 旧 山 河
朝 天 阕

Sang by a famous Hong Kong Singer, Lo Man 罗文

Great traitor of Chinese history, Qin Hui n his wife.

Dragon Well Tea Farm 龙井茶园

Greeenie Dragon Well Tea Farms…

After giving homage to General Yue, we went for our HIGH TEA…. at Dragon Well Tea Farm 龙井茶园. Hav u guys watched a Hong Kong TV drama 茶是故乡浓? This drama was shot here partly. If u r a tea amateur, definitely u know tat the BEST tea is green tea (haven fermented), n the BEST of green tea is Dragon Well of West Lake 西湖龙井, of course da price oso the BEST~~~

500g double A class Dragon Well costs ￥900~~~~ WaSei~~~

Saint of Tea, Lu Yu 茶圣陆羽

Qinghe Street 清河坊

Still has an hour for dinner, nothing to do who~~~ aiya, went SHOPPinglah. Ya, We went to a shopping street tat hav hundred years history, called Qinghe Street 清河坊. Lots of souvenirs n tiny goods r sold cheaply…..

Qinghe Street.


Ahahaha….. Real person of Wu Dalang 真人版武大郎, Wu Dalang is brother of Wu Song, he is a character in Chinese classical novel ‘Legendary of Water Margin 水浒传’.

Night Scenery of West Lake 西湖夜景

After dinner is free time!!! Hav do think where shud we go leh??? To shopping again?? Or else…. The tour leader recommended us to enjoy the night scenery of West Lake n watch da fountain performance. Wow… great idea~~~~

We took taxi to there. Chinese taxi is quite expensive than us, in Malaysia, the meter begins at RM2, but China one is ￥10 (RM5). But here taxi is more easily caught ~~~

Cheated by a Hangzhou Taxi

Ok, we took a taxi, n Go!!! …………… Eh??? The taxi stopped!!! Eh??? Why so fast one!?!?! Just only 5 minutes reached ady ah?!?! ‘是，是。已经到啦！’ Taxi driver said. Since we noe nothing bout where da fountain is, we trust dat Taxi. But, very odd, why we cant see anything 1??? We walking n searching…. Still din see anything look like fountain.

I cant stand anymore!!! So I asked Mr. Policeman, he said ‘在前面，在前面’, then we walked n walked, then asked few Mr. Policeman, all of them gave da same answer. Shtttt…. We r cheated by da taxi driver!!!! Sigh, we missed da fountain show.

Nvmlah, just take it as a lessonloh, btw, scenery of nite West Lake oso very beautiful mah~~~~

Splendid!!! Nite scene of West Lake~~~

Still got 2 days is the end of our trip~~~ why time flow so fast 1???? Next morning, we left Hangzhou city centre to a small town, Wuzhen 乌镇, Wuzhen is water village 水乡, sumthing like Vanice. It took 2 hours to reach there.

In da way to Wuzhen, I saw a lot of castles, villas, big houses…. This kind of bungalows roughly got thousand ++, n all of them r more than 3 storeys, Wow, Hangzhou ppl so wealthy!!! But….

Those castles is not a tourism place, but is residence for………………. FARMERs!!!!!!!! Unbelievable~~~~

Water Village of Wuzhen 乌镇水乡

We finally reached Wuzhen!!!

Remember!!! Wuzhen is not specially build for tourism industry, here is a very old n traditional residential area, still got ppl live inside this town. Looks!!! Someone is washing her cloth beside the river.

Wuzhen, is a typical traditional old-style mediaeval village, it remains the smell of 18^th century, if u got watch old-fashion drama 古装戏, u will feel familiar of it….

Typical street of old-China.

Nuke weapons???? Dun b afraid, they r Wine.

Wuzhen is famous in producing wine n cotton cloth.

Old-style sewing n cotton coloring mill. Very familiarleh… those scenes tat several times appear in TV dramas.

After having our lunch in Wuzhen, we returned to Shanghai!!! This day was the seventh day, still got 2 days is da time to say ‘bye bye’ to Ancestor Land~~~~

Eastern Megalopolis 东方大都会
Shanghai 上海, 30 May 2006

OkOk~~~ Shanghai again!!!! Tell u again bout Shanghai~

Shanghai 上海
Population: estimated 24 million (not including 6 million mobile population, means not local ppl got 6m), total 30 million, Wa Sei. (Must know this: Malaysia has 25 million ppl, KL only 1.8 million ppl)
History: only 150 years, but is da most advanced n developed region of China.
Local Delicacy: ‘small cage pau’ 小笼包
Special Product: Pixiu (Wat is this again??? Later, I will explain to u)

Mausoleum of Mdm Song Qingling 宋庆龄陵园

Ladies n gentlemen, Who is Mdm Song Qingling 宋庆龄?? Shallow explanation is She was wife of Dr. Sun Yat-sen; deep explanation She was a Great warrior of Patriotism, Democracy, Internationalism and Communisn, n also she was Honorary President of People Republic’s of China. Gengleh!!!

Now we were at Mausoleum of Mdm Song Qingling (January 27, 1892 – May 29, 1981).


Same as her great husband, Mdm Song Qingling is our Chinese nation mother, 中国国母.

Pixiu Museum 貔貅馆

Later, we went a Pixiu museum. OkOk, main pt coming, wat is a Pixiu??? Pixiu, do u noe how do write Pixiu in Chinese?? Pixiu, 貔貅. Wat is Pixiu actually? Sumbody will ask in kidding way, izzit Pixiu same as Pikachu??? Definitely Not!!! Pixiu is a legendary creature. Here sum information regarding Pixiu.

Pixiu (貔貅 pinyin pí xiū) originally known as Pi Xie 辟邪 (avoid evil spirits in Chinese) is a Chinese mythical creature. It reembles a winged lion. Pixiu is an earth and sea variation, particularly an influential and auspicious creature for wealth. It is said to have a voracious appetite towards only gold and silver. Therefore traditionally to the Chinese, Pixiu has always been regarded as an auspicious creature that possessed mystical power capable of drawing Cai Qi 财气 (wealth) from all directions Thus, it is helpful for those who are going through a bad year according to Chinese zodiac.

A family of Jade Pixius r invited (cannot use ‘buy’ because It is Godly creature) to our home. Little story: At first, my mum still deciding whether Pixiu is suitable to a Buddhist?? Then, a young man who r very sincere in Buddhism came out suddenly, my mum n him hav a great conversation regarding Buddhism.

Later, my mum intended to invite one pixiu (tat green bigger pixiu 1), unbelievably, the young man let 3 small pixius to follow tat big 1 (it means ‘buy’ 1 big, ‘free’ 1 middle n 2 small). My one is black color one, could u see it? I named It ‘Xiao Pi’ 小貔.

The big one costs ￥480, middle one costs ￥200, the smaller one costs ￥100.

Xiangyang Street 襄阳街

When we talk bout China, sumbody surely will say tat Chinese ppl never respect other’s intellectual right, because u can buy any imitation products in anyplace of China. Actually, Chinese government is putting a great effort to decrease the selling of imitation.

Our next destination was Xiangyang Street 襄阳街, it is the largest imitation market in Shanghai. Everything r imitation, everything can b bargained. Our local tour guide told us his experience, his bought a Gucci handbag wit ￥300, but, u believe onot, the original price is ￥6000!!!!!

Xiangyang street, will b closed on the end of June this year. Anyone wanna visit it, hurry up!!!

In this place u can train ur bargaining skill….

This is my result of bargaining.

1. A T-shirt, frm ￥90 cut until ￥30, off 66.67%
2. A leather bell, frm ￥80 cut until ￥25, off 68.75%
3. A leather wallet, frm ￥120 cut until ￥60, off 50.00%

Terribleleh~~~~ they original price r very scary 1~~~~

Our last dinner was held in a ‘Ship’. Ship???

Imperial Dragon Restaurant 帝龙

Yes, indeed in a dragon boat. The restaurant called Imperial Dragon 帝龙, it is not a moving boat but is a static 1, located on the Huangpu River 黄埔江. But, since the river is wavy, so u will feel sum seasickness 晕船.

Night Cruise on Huangpu River 夜游黄浦江.

The event after our last dinner, was our main show in our trip, tat is Night Cruise on Huangpu River 夜游黄浦江.

Wa Sei!!!!!!! So, so, so, so……IMPRESSIVE~~~~

The Shanghai Bund 上海滩

After an hour enjoying those MAGNIFICENT, SPLENDID, RESPLENDENT, IMPRESSIVE, MAJESTIC, ELEGANT, GORGEOUS n etc etc Night Scenery of Huangpu River on the cruise, then we proceeded to a very famous place, guess wat??? Tat beach ar??? Can sing 1 ar???

The Shanghai Bund 上海滩, familiarleh, this word… but it is not a beach 滩, okok, let me present my melodious voice~~~

浪奔浪流
万里滔滔江水永不休
淘尽了世间事
混作滔滔一片潮流

是喜是愁
浪里分不清欢笑悲忧
成功失败
浪里看不出有未有

爱你恨你
问君知否
似大江一发不收
转千弯转千滩
亦未平复此中争斗

又有喜又有愁
就算分不清欢笑悲忧
仍愿翻百千浪
在我心中起伏够

Thx~~~ :p

The Shanghai Bund.

Yiii~~~ who is he ar??? A Shanghai celebrity??? Nolah, This handsome guy is Jeff Li, he is our local tour guide, he is frm City Garden, Suzhou…

31 May 2006 is Our last day of our trip, my heart is extremely heavy n heavy…. I woke up very early tat day.

Now is 0530, but u can see a lot of Chinese ppl doing exercise, so healthy.

Nanjing Road 南京路

Our last last last last destination is a famous n largest shopping street of Shanghai, tat is Nanjing Road 南京路. All fashion of shoes, shirts, skirts n so on, r very IN 1, it follow the trend of Japan, HK closely.

Shopping in Nanjing Road…..


Took pic wit the cute Jingjing 晶晶 wit her buddies.

Village of Dai minority race 傣家村

Tat day is Duanwu Festival 端午节, this is the 1^st time celebrate a festival in oversea. We had our lunch in Village of Dai minority race 傣家村, by the same time, celebrate our traditional festival.


Some traditional performances during lunch time.

Everything has a beginning has it end. After a 8 days 7 nites trip in Jiangnan eventually finished in 1535 hour. My feeling is very heavy tat moment, dunnoe what time can come back to Jiangnan again. But, I believe tat within 5 years, I definitely will return to my ancestor land again~~~~ See u, Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing, Hangzhou n my dearest China.

Happy events always end very fast, this is the time to say ‘bye bye’.

欢乐的时光过得特别快，是时候说拜拜。

Said 'good bye' to GIANT panda in Pudong airport.

In conclusion, this Jiangnan trip really is a wonderful experience. Previously, I only hav paper knowledge on China, but now I ady noe China in pratically manner.

OkOk, now u may ask me Wat is the differences btw Malaysia n China?? I will answer u: countless differences.

In China, there r a lot of things gave me a very deep impression in my mind.

1. The traffic of is very terrible, very teruk!!! If u ady scare to cross a Malaysia’s road, definitely u will hav a road crossing severe phobia after crossed a China road. Not only hav to beware of car, even bicycle will cause u severe injureleh!!! Btw their road r spacious, normal road oso 3 lanes one.
2. There r many ppl, many vehicles in China every day, every moment, every second. Sooo scaryleh~~~ in other country, only when demonstration or procession, there will hav so such much ppl!!!!
3. There are very few foreigners in China, even Mat Salleh, all r Chinese, all r yellows. Unlike our country, so many indons, so many bengalas…. Like rojak~~~
4. China shopping street is cleaner n more spacious n tidy than expected.
5. Dun suppose 1.3 billion Chinese r speaking mandarin. China is a country of dialects, Shanghai ppl speak Shanghainese, Wuxi n Suzhou ppl speak Wu dialects n so on, sumtimes u even think they r speaking ‘french’ or ‘spanish’… da pronunciation too different frm mandarin.
6. Chinese shops mostly close very early, roughly 2130 to 2230 hour.
7. Not to expect to find a ‘mamak stall’ or kopitiam to Yam Cha during nite in China.
8. Chinese speaks very loud, like arguing, sumtimes they r very rude n unfriendly.

I hav nth to say bout Malaysia Airlines Berhad, why?? Pls see below!!!

This trip, I gave 85 mark, the schedule arranged very well. At last, thx to our tour leader CK Tan, tour guide Jeff Li, hope to see u guys again…. Bye!!!

My dear friendliers, Beibei 贝贝, Jingjing 晶晶, Huanhuan 欢欢, Yingying 迎迎, Nini 妮妮….. see u in Beijing in 2008 (really!!!)

And oso thanks for finishing this long post. Bye~~~

At last, I list all places tat I ady been during my wonderful trip:

1. Shanghai Magnetic Levitation Transport 上海磁浮列车
2. Chenghuang Temple 城隍庙
3. Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠塔
4. Shigong Mountain 石公山
5. Linwu Cave 林屋洞
6. Tiger Hill 虎丘
7. Guanqian Street 观前街
8. Lion Grove Garden 狮子林
9. Suzhou Silk Mill 苏州丝厂
10. Three Kingdoms City三国城
11. Wuxi Purple Sand Teapot Factory 无锡紫砂茶壶厂
12. Wuxi Shopping Centre and Walking Street 无锡购物中心和步行街
13. Wuxi Fresh Water Pearl Factory 无锡淡水珍珠厂
14. Giant Buddha of Ling Mountain 灵山大佛
15. Nanjing Massacre Museum 南京大屠杀纪念馆
16. Bridge of Yangtze River 长江大桥
17. Confucius Temple夫子庙
18. Mausoleum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen 中山陵
19. Nanjing Jade Market 南京玉器市场
20. Night of West Lake 西湖之夜
21. Cruise on West Lake 游西湖
22. Memory Museum of Su Shi 苏东坡纪念馆
23. Louwailou Restaurant 楼外楼
24. Mausoleum of General Yue Fei 岳王庙
25. Dragon Well Tea Farm 龙井茶园
26. Qinghe Street 清河坊
27. Night Scenery of West Lake 西湖夜景
28. Water Village of Wuzhen 乌镇水乡
29. Mausoleum of Mdm Song Qingling 宋庆龄陵园
30. Pixiu Museum 貔貅馆
31. Xiangyang Street 襄阳街
32. Imperial Dragon Restaurant 帝龙
33. Night Cruise on Huangpu River 夜游黄浦江
34. The Shanghai Bund 上海滩
35. Nanjing Road 南京路
36. Village of Dai minority race 傣家村

NEXT DESTINATION: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA. (haha, kiddinglah….)

Very tired ar~~~ rest rest rest…..