Domestic Flight on Shenzhen Airlines

The airport in Hangzhou - Xiaoshan International -was bright & clean, and the waiting rooms were relatively quiet. We checked in without any problem at the Shenzhen Airlines counter, passed through Customs and security in good time, and went to find our gate. I was surprised to see fresh fruit at some of the kiosks in the waiting areas beyond security. There were a few people smoking, but not so much that the smell was noticeable. I was amused to hear an announcement repeated several times, "Flight number ### has been changed ... due to arrangement of the airline." It is different from any announcement I've ever heard in an airport, and a reminder that we were not in the US.

I found out later that this airport is considered a Garden Airport because of its lush setting and many flower gardens. It is also one of the most important territorial airports in China - and the eighth busiest airport in the county in 2007. The airport is on the southern shore of the Qiantang River and 27 kilometers from downtown Hangzhou.

Before leaving on the trip, I had heard a lot of stories from folks in my office who had travelled to China. One of the things I dreaded most, as a result of their stories, was a domestic flight. I was not looking forward to air fouled by cigarette smoke on obsolete and unsafe planes. Since my expectations were so low, I was pleasantly surprised to find that taking a domestic flight in China was comparable to taking the same type of flight in the US. I did smell cigarette smoke once during the flight, but that was all. The plane seemed to be in good condition, the safety demonstration and recitation was similar if not the same, and the amount of leg room was about the same. It was a good flight.

On the plane I had some time to consider our mission so far. I realized that the trip was a learning experience on a number of levels - business & economic development, cultural, culinary, etiquette, and so on. Our hosts in Huzhou were as enthusiastic about sharing their cultural heritage as they were about describing their economic development accomplishments and plans. Several of the people we met in Huzhou mentioned the description of the area by a famous poet, Dai Biaoyuan. His words:

Mountains Standing Around Tian Mu Mouintain,

Rivers Running from Tai Lake,

I traveled so many places along Yangtze,

Huzhou is the only place where I'd like to live.

This picture is characteristic of many Huzhou landscapes and shows the mountains in the poet's verse.

We felt a strong personal connection to the people we met in Huzhou, something that I did not expect. The picture below and to the left shows Lucille with Mr. Zhou, Vice Director, Administrative Committee of the Huzhou Economic Development Zone. The picture below and to the right shows Mr. Sun, Director, Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Huzhou, and John Barber, Evergreen Timber.