Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/04/25

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Subject: Re: [Leica] China
From: "4Season" <4season@boulder.net>
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 17:26:24 -0600

Yours sounds like a great trip! I visited China for for the first time last
Summer, travelling along the silk trading routes, from Kashgar to Guangzhou.
Of the stops you mention, I have visited Beijing and Xian.

Photographically speaking, I think my favorite travel photos are those in
which I dropped preconceived notions of what I should be seeing, and simply
photographed things which seemed interesting and unexpected. Yes, there are
tile roofs, bicycle carts and fierce lion statues to be seen, but also
snappily-dressed yuppies with the ubiquitous Motorola and Nokia cell phones.
Mao? He doesn't seem to be too popular anymore.

As a tour group we were never served any food which might be deemed overly
"exotic", but especially before we headed into the Cantonese-speaking
southeast, the flavors were distinctly different from what I grew up with.
Mostly, it was tasty, but sometimes seemed like one rich meal (at round
tables, always with glass turntables!) after another, and sometimes, more
than a half-dozen dishes to choose from, when one or two might've sufficed.
Sometimes, all I really wanted was hot rice, tea, and maybe a Coke! Deluxe
restaurants, I decided, have fresh tablecloths. Okay ones have a tablecloth
covered with a sheet of plastic. Below that, you get just the greasy sheets
of plastic, and maybe, a spittoon in the corner. Though the food was good
and fresh, everyone welcomed the occasional  break offered by western-style
restaurants.

Xian in particular, had a prosperous, modern feel to it, and the central
part of the city, within the old city walls, is charming. On the way to see
the terracotta warriors, many hawkers are selling souvenir books,
miniatures, even CD-ROMs. If you want a memento of your visit, maybe this is
the route to go, as no photos are allowed inside at all. Inside one of the
official gift shops, you may meet the farmer who discovered the warriors: He
now makes his living autographing books.

Of China's domestic airlines, I have travelled on China Northwest and
Xinjiang Airlines. The former was modern and perfectly normal; the latter
was an adventure in Russian aircraft! Tinny speakers blared out the movie
soundtrack, the air blower is located in the seat back, and smells exactly
like a stale seat cushion. Overhead bins popped open upon takeoff, folks
immediately unbuckle and mill about upon touching down on the ground, and in
one case, a crashing noise emanated from the galley, whereupon a dozen soda
cans came rolling down the aisle! Speaking of soda, some of the domestic
soft drinks are very good, so give them a try if you can.

I looked for classic-style cameras once or twice, but found only a
nondescript little rangefinder camera that looked like an inexpensive
Minolta Hi Matic, and modern Seagull SLRs. The well-to-do seem to favor the
SLRs and camcorders.

Ugh, xray machines at all airports--and train stations. Forget hand
inspection, just try not to let any single roll of film get zapped too many
times.  I just tossed all but the film in the camera into a Film Shield bag,
and no one cared to look further. The 400-speed film was fine.

Perhaps September and October are cooler months: Southeastern China was hot
and very humid in July, making denim clothing a really bad choice, as it's
heavy, bulky and takes forever to dry.

Jeff

From: Gareth Jolly <garethjolly@bigpond.com>
>I was wondering if anyone has any recommends, tips or sage advice for
China.