Abbotsford News Friday, April 25, 2014
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From the Great Wall to the Forbidden City
42 travellers recently returned from their nine-day, all-inclusive trip to China hosted by the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce. Among the travellers were MLA Simon Gibson and his wife, chamber president Mike Welte and his wife, executive director of the Mission and District Chamber of Commerce, Michelle Favero, as well as members of the public, who were joined in China by eight other chamber members from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta and Thompson, Manitoba. Together, they visited four of China’s leading cities – Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai – to see the natural beauty and culture of each location. For executive director of the Abbotsford chamber, Allan Asaph, the experience brought him a better understanding of China. “The purpose of the trip was to introduce our members to the people, history and culture of ‘old’ China and the modern reality of ‘new’ China,” said Asaph. “In addition, we looked to establish business contacts and develop relationships in China.” The itinerary was fastpaced, with travellers often covering numerous sites in a single day, beginning with a tour of the stunning
Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce recently returned from their nine-day journey from China.
landscapes of Summer Palace, featuring Kunming Lake, Longevity Hill and the Seventeen Arch Bridge. On the second day, the group stopped at the fresh water pearl factory before heading to the site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Tiananmen Square, followed by a tour of the Palace Museum and the oldest part of Beijing, where they dined with a local family. Afterwards, they met with practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine at the Tong Ren
Tang pharmacy founded in 1669, and then visited the Temple of the Harvest, established in 1420 by Emperor YongLe of the Ming Dynasty. On day three, they flew to Shanghai and toured by bus through the local farming area to the city of Suzhou, known as the “Venice of the east.” Before boarding boats and coasting along the canals and waterways of the old town, the group explored the historical grounds of Tiger Hill, and the “leaning
tower” of China. The fourth day began with a visit to a silk factory, followed by a tour of the centuries old Lingering Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and then the National Embroidery Institute to see silk embroidery, which is considered an important local craft spanning back over 1,000 years. “Our tour host had arranged a special invitation for our group to visit the Singapore/Suzhou Industrial Park and meet with
a senior administrator,” said Asaph. “This joint Singapore-China project was started in 1994 and encompasses over 80 kilometres of planned industrial, commercial and residential development with a population of 1.2 million.” The following day the group visited a tea plantation, the Lingyin Temple and Monastery featuring a camphor-wood carved Buddha nearly 64 feet high. They then enjoyed a relaxing boat cruise and
dinner by the Huangpu River in the historic Bund section of the city, followed by a river tour of the captivating Pudong District. The last full day of the trip started with a return trip on the Shanghai to Pudong Airport Mag-Lev Train. “This $1.2-billion electric train makes a one-way 30.5-km trip in just over seven minutes, reaching a top speed of 431 kilometres per hour,” said Asaph. “When the two trains pass each other it is impossible to take a picture of the other train because of the speed.” The group then toured an Oriental rug factory before settling down for a Mongolian barbecue-style lunch. The afternoon was spent enjoying the sights at the Yu Garden, home of Shanghai’s old town bazaar. The travellers were entertained by the ERA show, a worldclass performance that includes acrobats, contortionists, dancers and musicians. “I think everyone enjoyed the people we met, the sights, the food and the companionship of our fellow travellers,” said Asaph. “We are looking to offer this trip again next year and possibly add another to Hong Kong and Thailand.”
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