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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1982-11-24, Page 28PAGE10A—GODERICH SIGNALSTAR, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24,1982 Goderich women enjoy trip to China Visit the Great W w 11, BY JOANNE BUCHANAN On November 11, Lenore Bradley and Isobel MacDonald, both of Goderich, returned home froman exciting in- ternational tour of China. Highlights of the trip in- cluded a visit to the Great Wall, a silk factory and a Vietnamese refugee camp. The Chinese people were wonderful and the country rich in ancient history, says Mrs. Bradley. The two women flew out of Toronto airport on October 20 with a London, Ontario based tour group consisting of 11 people. In 25 hours, including a two-hour stop in Vancouver and a 40 minute stop in Tokyo for fuel, they landed in Hong Kong where they stayed for one and half days. There they saw the palatial home of Mr. Chent, 'the richest man in Hong Kong,along with his four Rolls Royces, one of them plated in gold. They also saw a; home built in 1825 for $16 million by a . Chinese Mau who gained his wealth by selling tiger balm. Today, that home is worth five times as much and a niece still lives there. Mrs. Bradley explain that the palatial homes belong to the very wealthy Chinese. Government officials live in single dwelling homes and the poor are crowded into one -bedroom town houses. There are a lot of cars in Hong Kong but no drivers under the age of 21. After leaving Hong Kong, the group flew to Hanzho in Mainland ,China, one of the oldest cities in all of China, and started their tour from there. In total, 14. days were spent in Mainland China. A. head tour guide stayed with the group as translator for the whole tour and various otherguides met the group at each of their stops. Mrs. Bradley says Han- zhou has a population of 800,000 and consists mostly of tea and vegetable farms. In Hanzhou, the group visited a 1600 -year-old Buddah templewith, a 300 - foot, high gold gilded Laughing: Buddah statue in the front hall .and a mass of ebony carvings and sculp- tures depicting religious history in the back hall. Next the group visited a garden featuring jade trees, 'very strange' looking" goldfish in ponds and a tea house. At the tea house, they were served a starchy food made of lotus root. "Everywhere we went, we were given tea as soon as we arrived, mostly Jasmin, green or black tea. The Chinese claim that tea should be taken first thing in the morning for good health," ' explains Mrs. Bradley. Next came a bus tour and then a boat trip before the group took a train to Shanghai. In that city of 11 million people, theaverage temperature is between 75 and 80 degrees. Since there are 900 persons per square mile, every inch of ground is used to the best advantage for crops of cotton and. vegetables. "There is. absolutely no land, wasted," says Mrs. Bradley Save Big with. "Case Cash Certificates" instant Discounts on: • Lubricants • Service Shop • Batteries Installed Parts • Bucket Teeth and • Plus other Maintenance Cutting Edges and Accessory Parts • Tillage Tool Part NOW ' 'HRU NOVEMBER 31)th 0. \ew edding .overage Policy in the interest of utilizing space to the maximum, SIGNAL -STAR will introduce a in wedding policy effective JANUARY 1, 1983 change While we appreciate the news value of weddings, it will be necessary to abbreviate them as much as possible. A photograph and brief description for each wedding will be used. The description is 'to include only the main details, (see our new wedding forms). Also please note, if the wedding picture and story are handed in more than eight weeks after the event, there is a $15. charge. If you would like a-more'd"etailed wr1'le-up, you are required to provide your own story and photograph and pray $25. for insertion in the,paper.- Thank you for your understanding and co-operation in this matter. Goderich� SIGNAL-STA Goderich Editorial Department silk factoryand Vietnamese refugee camp Following a visit to an arts and craftscentre and tour of the city, the group was en- tertained by the head of Chinese tourism at a 20 course dinner including Peking duck, scampi and apples dipped in batter and sugar syrup. They stayed at a famous international hotel with wine velvet curtains, marble pillars, canopy beds and writing desks. The group also visited the children's palace where a program was put on for them. Mrs. Bradley explains that, in Communist China, if both parents work, children are sent to the children's palace after regular school and given an education in cultural activities such as music, _ ballet and art. Education in China is ex- cellent, says Mrs: Bradley, and English is, taught as a second language. Next the group visited an agricultural commune on the outskirts of Shanghai. There they discovered 250 families living on 600 acres with a barn for cattle, a barn for chickens and a hot house for plants along with a school and a store. There was no wasted land. Vegetables were the main crop as op- posed to rice and wheat because five vegetable crops can be produced per year whereas only 'two of rice or wheat can be grown. The group next took a three and a half hour boat ride down river and Mrs. Bradley noted that Shanghai is a very crowded port. That night, they were treated to an acrobatic show which also featured trained. tigers, dogs, bears and even a rooster. Following that, they enjoyed a Cantonese dinner at a restaurant which was over 100 years old and still under the ownership of the same family. At this point, Mrs. Bradley noted that all meals were served with a hot washcloth at the beginning and end of the meal. The Canadian tour group was allowed to eat with forks rather than chop sticks though. The closest thing to bread which the group could get in China was a dough -like substance, sometimes filled with meat and sometimes with sugar. The next morning, the group caught a train to Suchou, a city which Marco Polo visited in the 13th IT'S WORTH THE DRIVE! . 1 •SUITS •SPORTSCOATS •BLAZERS . SIZES 38 TO 48 • REG • TALL • SHORT N34 ALBERT ST. CLINTON MEN'S WEAR 482-9351/ sT JEWELLERS 8 ALBERT ST., CLINTON 482-3901 AT THE' MAIN CORNER Another of our In-store services , FINE JEWELLERY APPRAISALS Done by. our AGS Certified Gemologist, in our accredited gem laboratory. One week service on most appraisals. Drop in or phone for complete information on Anstett"s Jewellery Approisal service. HOURS: Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m.-6 p `(n.; Fridays 9 a.m. till 9 p.m.; Saturdays 9 a..m.-5:30 p.m. century. Here they visited, two beautiful gardens, the highest pagoda in China and. the 1600 mile long grand canal" which serves as the road to Peking. In Wuxi, the group visited a silk factory which Mrs. Bradley found fascinating. She explains: silk worm cocoons fed ' on mulberry leaves are brought to the factory by farmers. They are baked for five minutes, sorted and dropped into boiling water for 18 minutes. A piece of thread is then pulled off the end and the rest fed into 'a weaving machine. While it is being unraveled, it must 'be kept wet. Silk thread is only one- quarter the thickness of Inman hair and it takes several threads woven together to meet the required thickness stan- dards (there are 1000 litres of thread on one cocoon). The thread is then put on a spool ready for shipping to fac- tories where it is dyed and made into silk. There were 1,000 workers in the silk factory and 80 per cent of them were women. One is required to have good eyes, fingers and teeth (for biting thread) to work there. The business started 3,000 years ago. • In Wuxi, the group . also visited a clay factory where rare black clay is handmade into figurines. These are not baked but dried and then painted. Mrs. Bradley noted con- siderable irrigation in Wuxi. The population is 800,000 and there are 300,000 bicycles. Only government officials drive cars. The group next took a boat ride in an old-style Chinese boat and then caught the train for Nanking, a modern city which was once the the capital of China. The population here is 3.6 million. Mrs. Bradley was impressed by a four mile long bridge there which had two layers, cars driving on top and trains below. In the morning, the group took a plane to Peking, a lovely old city with a population of 10 million, three million bicycles and lots of trees and parks. Once a year (which happened to be the day the group arrived) the school children are let out of school to clean all the yards and parks throughout the city. In Peking the group visited a temple built in 1420 without nails and saw the remains of 500,000 year old Peking man there. They also saw the biggest square in the world there which held the city's library, memorial hall (which will seat 10,000 for dinner), museum, etc. And they saw many panda bears in zoos (Peking is the honie of the Panda bear). In Peking, the group also toured the summer palace where many of China's emperors lived. It was built. over 800 years ago and parts of it were rebuilt in 1903 when the last emperor died. It has 9,000 rooms and is laid out on 500 acres surrounded by a wall and a moat. In the centre is a man-made lake which can be used for swimming in summer and skating in winter (Peking weather is much like Canadian weather). After a 10 course lunch which, of course, included Peking duck, the group was treated to professional folk dancing and some opera. Next they travelled 60 miles by bus to the Great Wall, one of the seven wonders of the world. This stone and earth wall is 1700 miles long, 6.6 metres high and runs from north to south Besi IntereSt ,1 to 5 years Annual We represent many Trust Companies. We are often able to arrange for the highest Interest being of- fered on Guaranteed Investment Certificates.. *Subject to change Gaiser-Kneale Insurance Brokers Inc. EXETER CLINTON GRAND BEND GODERICH 235-2420 482-9747 238=8484 524-2118 Get inv�lved. in acciden! prevention Plan to attend our Accident Investigation Seminar DECEMBER 8, 1982 THE FESTIVAL MOTOR INN, 1 144 Ontario Street, STRATFORD sponsored by PERTH -HURON SECTION, WESTERN ONTARIO DIVISION INDUSTRIAL ACCIDENT PREVENTION ASSOCIATION For further information on this and other events please contact Mrs. Stella Bannister- (51 9) 473-9450 or Mrs. Shirley Gera, Reliance Electric - (51 9) 271-3630 The I.A.RA can help. along a ridge of mountains. It features beacon towers every . eighth mile where fires used to be lit to wain of approaching enemies. The wall was built from 450-221 B.C. when 12 of the Chinese provinces were warring amongst themselves. It was partly v(recked and then rebuilt with flat stone and brick in the 15th century. Camels were used and are still used there as beasts of burden. After lunch on top of the mountain, the group took a bus to one of the 13 Ming tombs (huge shrine like temples containing tombs where various emperors are buried), the only one to be excavated so far. It was found completely intact with treasurers of every description. It took over a year for the excavation at a cost of millions of dollars. The other tombs have been left alone because of the cost of excavation. Next, it was back to Peking for a 15 course meal which included all parts of the Peking duck including its liver and brains served still inside the head. Then the group was treated to a famous ballet, the best in all Asia and China. Next the group boarded a 'plane for Canton, a busy import-export city 2500 years oldnd famous for its ivory carvings. Then it .was back to Hong Kong for two days and a tour of Kowloon and the new territories where Mrs. Bradley noted that Hakka women do the work in the fields while the men stay at home. A tour of Hong Kong harbor revealed one of the • best harbors in the world with the airport right beside it. However, there is the problem of junk boats in the harbor. Theseare boats on which people live in .over- crowded and dirty conditions and make a living by fishing. They are slowly being phased out. Next the group visited Macau; a Portugese island at - the mouth of the Pearl River. This island of six square miles has a population of 420,000 and is famous for its three gambling casinos, horse races and annual car races. The group stayed here two days before going back to China. They also visited a Viet- nameserefugee camp which they entered with special permission. The refugees were extremely friendly and presented the group with armfuls of silk flowers which they make to sell for a wage of $6 per week. Next the group visited Shiqui, a city 'wild with bicycles' and stores that stayed open at night. They visited another commune where they saw rice laid on cement floors to dry, a girl weaving bamboo utensils and water buffalo ploughing the fields. Mrs. Bradley feels that she and her group got a very good overall view of China and she came to the con- clusion that the people there are better off than they ever have been at any other time in their history. "They all have enough food to eat now and some of them even have a bit of money left over to spend," she explains. Mrs. Bradley would some day like to re -visit China and see even more ,of that in- teresting country. However, if she can, she will try to visit Russia next. Mid. and Mrs. Ronald Murray Plunkett Wed outdoors A late afternoon outdoor wedding on October 30, united Jane Louise Carter and Ronald Murray Plunkett, both of R.R. 2 Bayfield, in marriage. The Reverend Norman Pick officiated at the double ring ceremony held at the home of the bride's aunt and uncle, Ross and Betty Feagan, R.R. 2, Clinton. The bride is the daughter of Don and Isabel Harris of R.R. 2 Bayfield and the groom is the son of Alvin and Jewel Plunkett of Auburn: Sheree Berlet of London was the maid of honour and the flowergirl was Kelly Carter, daughter of the bride. Greg Arthur of Lindsay was the best man and Scott Lobb of Holmesville, nephew of the groom, was the ringbearer. Following the wedding and dinner, a reception was held at the Goderich Township Community Centre, Holmesville. After a wedding trip to Las Vegas, Nevada, the couple are residing at R.R. 2 Bayfield. Gerilynne Carroll and Michael Nephew were married October 2 at the McMaster University Chapel in Hamilton—The wedding service was performed by the Reverend Robert Hall, minister of North Street United, Church, Goderich. Michael Nephew is the son of Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Nephew of Goderich and Gerilynne Carroll is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. P." Carroll of Calgary, Alberta. Gerilynne and Michael are both graduates of McMaster University and are residing in Toronto.