AIR TICKETS -  TAIPEI CHINA HK  TRIP

Air ticket from Taipei to Jingmen is a total of S$322.20

HOTELS -  TAIPEI CHINA HK  TRIP

OTHER TRANSPORT -  TAIPEI CHINA HK TRIP

(276X 2)

(297X 2)

I spent my June holidays from 5 June to 25 Jun 2011, in Taiwan, China and HK with my brother, parents and grand parents. The entire trip was 20 days. It was my first encounter with real Chinese culture of different countries. It was an enriching experience for me to learn about different Chinese communities and the way they speak the Chinese language. In Taiwan, they like to use “sze ah”to end the sentence whilst in China, the people like to use “mei she” to express it is OK.

In Taiwan, we visited the Fisherman’s Wharf just across from Dan Shui in Northern TAIPEI. In the city, we visited Taipei 101 and also the famous Palace Museum, where I learn about the Chinese civilisation. It also showcase the treasures from the various Chinese dynasties e.g Ming Dynasty.. such as the Jade Cabbage.
From Taiwan, we crossed over to China’s Quan Zhou where I visited my ancestor shrine /hall and learnt about the history of our Ding clan which has its roots in Tan Tay. I am the 25th generation and it first started in 1251. And till now 2011 it has a 760 ancestral history.

Then we went on to visit Xiamen, Xiamen University ..also the beautiful island of Gulangyi- with so many attractive shopfronts like our conservation shophouses with multi-racial crowds like Orchard Road. The most outstanding feature is the statue of hero Zhen Chen Kong standing 15.6 m and build from 621 huge white granite stones standing at the island.

We took the night train to Ji An, I slept in the train cubicle beds like in Star Cruise. From Ji An, we explored the mountain springs and spas in An Fu - Wu Gong Shan as well as Jing Gang Shan, which is the birth place of the Communist party in 1921. This year is their 90th anniversary celebrations so it was very exciting. We spent several days in Jing Gang Shan and took the cable cars over the waterfalls and forests, also went to the peak to enjoy the splendid mountainous ranges like Huang Yang Jie where a famous battle was fought between the Nationalist and Communist. The state museum in Jing Gang Shan also capture the entire history of the birth of Chinese Communist Party until the beginning of Modern China. The entire Jiong Gang shan has become a popular tourist district and we also do some shopping at Tien Jie.

For a change from city life, we travelled to the farms near Kan Zhou in Ma Jia Shi to enjoy village life. We spent several days fishing in the ponds, looking at pigs, stroll in padi fields and stayed in the simple house of our relatives who are farmers. They are very friendly and hospitable to us. Along Gan River, I saw the fisherman using Commorants to catch fishes.

Then we travelled to Shenzhen and took the MTR to Hong Kong. It was tiring moving from place to place with several luggages. HK is very crowded and squeezy but the MTR is very convenient. Our Hotel L in Island South overlook and has a full mountain view of the Victoria Peak. I enjoyed the special tram ride up the slope to the Victoria Peak- and see the whole HK city landscape of skyscrapers. We also visited the Wax Museum, and at last, I can have a picture with Albert Einstein’s wax look a like.

It was a fruitful and meaningful trip for me as I try to speak mandarin, read Chinese road names and try to understand the culture of our Chinese friends in Taiwan, China and HK to appreciate much more than what I see on TV.
 

HISTORY OF JINGGANGSHAN

Jinggangshan is known as the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army (the People's Liberation Army of China) and the "cradle of the Chinese revolution". After the Kuomintang (KMT) turned against the Communist Party during the Shanghai Massacre of 1927, the Communists either went underground or fled to the countryside. Following the unsuccessful Autumn Harvest Uprising in Changsha, Mao Zedong led his 1000 remaining men to Jinggangshan, where he set up his first peasant soviet.
Mao reorganised his forces at the mountain village of Sanwan, consolidating them into a single regiment - the "1st Regiment, 1st Division, of the First Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army". Mao then made an alliance with the local bandit chieftains Wang Zuo and Yuan Wencai, who had previously had little association with the Communists. For the first year he set up military headquarters at the town of Maoping, a small market town encircled by low hills guarding the main western route into Jinggangshan. In November, the army occupied Chaling, some 80 km to the west, though this was quickly overrun by KMT troops.

When pressure from KMT troops became too great, Mao abandoned Maoping and withdrew up the mountain to Wang Zuo's stronghold at Dajing (Big Well), from which they could control the mountain passes. That winter the Communists drilled with the local bandits and the next year incorporated them into their regular army. In February a battalion from the KMT's Jiangxi Army occupied Xincheng, a town north of Maoping. During the night of February 17, Mao surrounded them with three battalions of his own and routed them the next day.

Zhu De and his 1000 remaining troops, who had participated in the abortive Nanchang Uprising, joined Mao Zedong toward the end of April 1928. Together the two proclaimed the formation of the Fourth Army. Other veterans who joined the new base included Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi. The partnership between Mao Zedong and Zhu De marked the heyday of the Jinggangshan base area, which rapidly expanded to included at its peak in the summer of 1928, parts of seven counties with a population of more than 500,000. The two merged their armies form the Fourth "Red Army". Together with Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo's forces, their soldiers numbered more than 8000. A popular story from that period recounts the hardworking Zhu De carrying grain for the troops up the mountain since agriculture was nigh impossible on Jinggangshan itself. It was also around this period that Mao Zedong formulated his theories of rural-based revolution and guerrilla warfare.

In July 1928, Zhu De's 28th and 29th regiments crossed into Hunan with plans to take the important communication hub of Hengyang. Mao Zedong's 31st and 32nd regiments were supposed to hold Maoping and Ninggang until Zhu returned. They were, however, unable to hold back the advance of the Kuomintang's Jiangxi units and lost Ninggang and two neighbouring counties. On August 30, the young officer He Tingying managed to hold the narrow pass of Huangyangjie with a single under-strength battalion against three regiments of the Hunanese Eight Army and one regiment of Jiangxi troops, thus saving Maoping from being overrun. As the size of the Communist forces grew and pressure grew from the Kuomintang, the Fourth Army was forced to move out. From January 14, 1929, the organisation moved to Ruijin, further south in Jiangxi province, where the Jiangxi Soviet was eventually set up. At the same time, the Kuomintang were executing another encirclement campaign, involving 25,000 men from fourteen regiments. Peng Dehuai was left in command of an 800-man-strong force, formerly the Fifth Army. By February, his remaining troops broke up under heavy attack from Wu Shang's Hunan troops.

After the Jiangxi Soviet had established itself in southern Jiangxi, Jinggangshan became the northwestern frontier of Communist operations. Peng Dehuai returned with a much stronger Fifth Army in early 1930, basing himself just north of Jinggangshan. In late February 1930, the bandits Yuan Wencai and Wang Zuo were assassinated by Communist guerillas, probably on orders from officials in the Jiangxi Soviet. Their men made Wang Yunlong, Wang Zuo's younger brother, their new leader. Most Communist forces left the area in 1934, when the Long March began. By the time they returned in 1949, Wang Yunlong had been succeeded by his son. He was charged with banditry and executed.