Hi Nan!

Well, the first thing I’d say is that Hainan is NOT the Hawaii of China. Grenada maybe. Of course, it’s not as enchanting this time around, and the long distances traveling in a taxi are irritating, and the stuff the Chinese call seafood is the same chopped up protein solids in a ginger sauce, with the single exception of coquilles Sainte Jacques served up in one of the garage-type diners. In any case, I don’t want to look at another peel-n-eat shrimp!
You can rent off road vehicles, jet skis, scuba gear but are then confined to a crowded holding pen for your activities-way too much control for Western tourists of this sort. The good part is that it really is true that the air is clean, the water is clean, and the ecology is better preserved here than anywhere else in China. Shallow water great for snorkeling and
white coral beaches make the outer islands off the main island a great place to play. The weather is lovely, this being winter in the tropics.

Freakish architecture entry #21: a hotel built in the style of an English castle, crenellated walls and all, “­but with a mirrored glass tower. Oy!

Next stop was Jiuhuashan, another sacred Buddhist mountain in Anhui Province (more spiritual than the nearby Huangshan) which means climbing the usual 999 temple steps. We had to fly into Hefei, the most dismal town I’ve seen in China and take a bus to Jiuhuashan. Once there, everything was blanketed with snow and hoar frost, which looked cool but 999 temple steps are dangerous on the best of days.
Freakish menu translations from Jiuhuashan Sacred Buddhist Mountain:

Numb and Sore Sausage (read that hot and spicy in the States)
Spongy Chicken Feet (marinated)
Brew the Hands of Pig (sauteed pigs feet)
Soil Chicken Fort with Tea Mushroom (no clue!)
Foul Fish of Anhui Type
“­and the winner is”­
Fat Bowel of Bacterium (Intestines with fungus)­

And finally, Shanghai! After the disappointment of Hainan and the dank and dismal Anhui Province, I was thrilled to be cruising down the Bund, admiring the stately colonial buildings on one side and the flashing neonopolis across the river, once again a growing, dynamic, exciting city of capitalist virtue. Here’s a contrast: David glanced at the buildings that once made up the German concession of Shangahi, those imposing Eurpoean mansions, and remarked that he shouldn’t feel proud to see those remnants of the colonial past: they are a scar that remains in China. My weak reply was that they are now all flying the Chinese flag. We were installed in the most famous scar, The Peace Hotel, having been upgraded to cavernous accommodations, gratis. This suite isbigger than my house. The bathroom is bigger than many hotel rooms.
The bathtub, not one of those dinky, bottom pinching numbers elsewhere, is as deep as a Jacuzzi and has a cascading water spout. There is a walk-in closet. I think I won’t be returning home!