Sailing Along China’s Southern Coast

The nine days of the cruise on the Viking Yi Dun ship will end tomorrow.  We will fly to Lhasa, Tibet, the day after tomorrow for something completely different.  The daily excursions have left me little time for writing my blogs.  But I’m motivated to share the many photos I’ve taken along with my observations as a tourist visiting China for the first time.

Since my blog from Shanghai and Zhoushan, we have visited three port cities as the ship sails south toward Hong Kong.  Those cities are Dongtou, Pingtan, and Xiamen.  I had never heard of any of these cities.  Yet, they are significant, each with their unique histories and sites to visit.  We are provided the choice of several excursions at each port.  I will attempt to explain the highlights as illustrated by my photos in the accompanying picture gallery.

Dongtou

Dongtou is situated on the largest of 168 islands in the region.  Fishing is the traditional way of life for the native inhabitants of this area.  There are no beaches, so there are no large tourist resorts.  Our excursion took us to a tower at the top of the highest mountain on the largest island, called the Wanghai Tower.  The tower that we visited, as shown in my photographs, was completed in 2007.  But this location was home to several ancient towers dating from the fifth century.  The previous towers were always popular because of the 360-degree view of the surrounding landscapes.  Inside the tower is a museum highlighting the fishing culture of the local people.

One aspect of current China that is gaining increasing publicity is the over-construction of buildings throughout the country.  The government has sought to promote tourism primarily to Chinese tourists.  We felt like we were one of the first foreign cruise ships to visit Dongtou.  (Actually, our Yi Dun Viking ship operated from 2018-20 exclusively serving Chinese travelers.  Covid stopped all tourist activity.  Our cruise is the first Viking Yi Dun cruise for American travelers since covid.)

I have many photos of groups of identical skyscrapers.  Many of these buildings are empty.  Particularly in Dongtou, we were informed that the government had constructed a complex of buildings intended to house a college/university.  But the grounds, which included a soccer field and tennis courts were totally deserted.  (See the photo in the gallery.)

In the evening we attended an amazing outdoor dramatic performance.  The subject was something to do with Buddhism, but it was all in Chinese and the English explanation was not very clear.  In any case, it included 200 performers with a great sound system, lighting, and a rotating stage with a capacity for a thousand attendees.  The production and performance were impressive.  View the photos.

Pingtan

Pingtan is the city closest on China’s coast to the island of Taiwan.  It is home to a large naval base, which could ostensibly be used to attack Taiwan.  Our guides simply speak of Taiwan as part of China.  They say that Taiwan has a special relationship with the Peoples Republic of China, similar to Macau (home to many casinos), and Hong Kong (before it was transferred by the UK back to PRC control).  I was pleased to see that there are Taiwanese food products available in mainland China stores.  There are also flights between the PRC and Taiwan. 

China is being so successful in the world as the leading manufacturing nation, one can only hope that the PRC will not try to overrun Taiwan militarily to force it under PRC rule.  Certainly, China is observing what has happened to Russia since the attack on Ukraine.  Attacking Taiwan would ruin China’s current success in world trading with the US and its allies.

Our excursion in Pingtan was to a modern recreation of a traditional Chinese village.  Intended primarily to cater to Chinese tourists, there is a five-star hotel, many restaurants, a large museum highlighting the local fishermen’s culture, and a copy of Donghou’s Wanghai Tower.  It is amazing to see the large extent of this recreation of an ancient Chinese village, called the “Haitan Ancient Town.”  Its area spans several square blocks.  The museum text explanations were only in Chinese.  Our guide led us through the three-story building translating along the way.  Once again, though the government intended to attract Chinese tourists, we Americans were the only visitors that day.  However, Haitan ancient town was much more alive and open for business than the Potalaka ghost town described in my previous blog.  I bought a hat and some dried mango.

Xiamen

Xiamen, unlike Dongtou and Pingtan described above, is a large city of over five million people.  It is a major port city with a long history.  Its skyscrapers are amazing.  It is famous for its large university and a two-thousand-year-old Buddhist temple (which we didn’t see).

Our excursion was to a city park containing different modern stone sculptures.  There was a school for young students to learn traditional painting techniques.  And we were entertained by a puppet show.  This was our second puppet show performance of this trip.  The first one was a guest performance on the ship one evening by a visiting troupe.  IThe show in the Xiamen Park was presented by young performers.  The main performance was in the traditional style of the puppeteers holding the puppets up above a screen.  After the conclusion of the main show, the puppeteers came out front and demonstrated the moves that create the wonderful illusions behind the screen.

In three days…

In three days, we will be in Lhasa, Tibet.  Lhasa lies at twelve thousand feet elevation. The weather will be much cooler than the hot weather we’ve experienced in southern China.  We brought warm clothes to wear during our three days in Tibet.  Tibet’s inclusion in this Viking itinerary was one of the main inducements to book this trip.  I’ll be blogging…

Previously while in Beijing, the “Great Chinese Internet Firewall” blocked me from my email account as well as other platforms.  While at sea the last few days I was able to download a VPN app.  (Download of VPN’s is prevented inside China.)  I don’t know if it will work.  If not, then I probably will not be able to publish any blogs until we return to Reno.  So If you don’t hear from me for a week or so after this blog, you’ll understand why.