Day 15: Arrival in Pingliang

Our journey ended at an absolutely palatial hotel in Pingliang, the Guangcheng Hotel. It was clad in white marble, and on the long entrance staircase stood all the porters and assistants, all smartly dressed, all welcoming. Entering the lobby was breath taking, it was so large and through a row of pillars was a water fountain where a piano player gently serenaded with light songs. We were shown to our rooms which we housed in different buildings. These were beautifully furnished and immaculate. Porters brought our luggage to our floors, then we were whisked away for dinner.
This was a buffet providing a delectable assortment of hot and cold dishes, spicy and sweet. We returned to our rooms to be given gift bags, each containing a Pingliang collectors stampbook and a silver commemorative plate, amongst other goodies.

A group of us decided to check out the spa facilities. These were unisex as, another first for me, the facilities were au naturel. There was one main pool containing numerous sets of water jets targetting various areas of the body, and several small pools containing detoxifying minerals. There were also shower facilities and a massage room.

After spending an hour massaging our bodies with the various sprays of water we headed through to another area upstairs. We were towelled off and given a 'uniform': the tightest underwear imaginable, a large loose orange v-neck t-shirt and equally baggy white shorts (with decorative orange edging). We were then directed to go upstairs where we discovered a mixed-sex nightclub of the sit-down entertainment variety. Lots of seated tables dotted the floor, surrounding a slightly higher stage area. We arrived to a dashing young pop singer who belted out tunes we couldn't understand but it was thoroughly enjoyable. 'Clappers' were provided, plastic hands with hinged hands attached which clapped together when you swung them, and boy was the crowd in a good mood!

Next, a smartly dressed woman came out who performed the most awful and inane magic tricks, the kind we see how to do as kids, but perhaps more entertaining was the rhythm and earnestness she performed them with. The punch line of the first few tricks was the appearance of a white dove, which quickly lost appeal. All the while this act was excitedly narrated in Chinese, but that side was lost on us. Following that the MC came out, perhaps the Chinese version of Ryan Seacrest -- short, slender and energetic, and at least as camp. He tried to cajole people up for a game with large dice, but perhaps the inducement of winning drinks wasn't enough, but a few brave souls partook.

A Tibetan folk singer came out and regaled us with a couple of songs, waving in her shimmering attire. Then a wave of belly dancers took over the stage, swaying rhythmically. They danced and then withdrew to leave one dancer who continued the performance. She wriggled and swayed enchantingly, then half way through her performance she brought out a co-star: a snake. The performance was mesmerising, but you can't help but feel for the snake!

Then, a beautiful high-pitched voice came across the speakers, but it was not who we expected to walk on the stage, instead a man with the most amazing falsetto waltzed out. He broke in and out of falsetto for a song, before the MC returned for what must have been a witty dialogue for the Chinese. I get the unfortunate feeling we were the butt of at least a couple of the jokes, they better watch out I don't break out the translation books!

It was a thoroughly different and entertaining experience, however on our leaving, our Chinese-speaking friend had disappeared for a massage. We were not sure how to communicate with the front desk staff, and they seemed not sure how to deal with us either! Eventually (and it seems the wait is standard practice) we were presented with a bill which we promptly paid and departed.

While may not be evident in the astonishment expressed above, there does seem to be quite some mis-align between this world and that experienced by the less-fortunate and, while this may be no absolution, I keep up my donations to the Red Cross.


Tomorrow we start 'early', needing to be formally dressed for the day ahead -- attending the opening of a Trade Fair.