Tourists learn Vietnamese group dancing on board the Beibu Gulf Star during its maiden voyage last month. [Photo/China Daily]
The voyages of China’s early navigators have become an inspiration for today’s travelers. Lin Qi sets sail to rediscover the adventure.
Editor’s note: The Silk Road’s land and sea routes are being reincarnated not only as critical trade links but also as travel itineraries. China Daily is exploring the ancient destinations’ new lives as the China National Tourism Administration declares 2015 the “Year of Silk Road Tourism”.
One week after we disembarked from the Beibu Gulf Star, Meng Yanfang, a Nanning-based website editor with whom I shared the six-bed cabin aboard, says: “I went through an ordeal of waves and currents on the sea that I would never ever want again. Other than that, I miss quite a lot the enjoyment of we six women living together and gossiping about other passengers. It reminds me of the experience of living in a university dormitory.”
I couldn’t agree more. On a cloudy day last month, I boarded the cruise-container ship on its maiden voyage from Beihai, in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. For eight days, the liner carried some 304 passengers across the South China Sea, tracing the route of the great Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He (1371-1433) and his expeditionary fleet.
I was surprised when I entered Cabin 308. The room had three bunk beds, one desk and six lockers. It has no window because－unlike some other rooms－it doesn’t face the sea. The major difference from my university dorm room: We had an in-room sink on board.
The nine-floor-high ship measures 135 meters long and 20.6 meters wide, and sails at a speed of 18 knots, according to Wang Jun, general manager of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Cruise Terminal Co, which owns and operates the ship.
The inaugural trip featured stops at three Maritime Silk Road ports－Vietnam’s Da Nang, which is famous for the beautiful My Khe Beach; Malaysia’s Kuantan, which boasts a peaceful community of Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus; and finally Vietnam’s Nha Trang, from which a boat trip to the neighboring four islands is a must-do－before returning to Beihai.
Wang says the company envisions the new cruise line as a 21st-century Maritime Silk Road. It conveniently transports Chinese tourists to Southeast Asian destinations.
Apart from the 12 first-and business-class rooms, the other 39 cabins were similarly equipped with bunk beds. Many passengers, however, weren’t too excited about their plainly furnished nautical residence.
They looked for enjoyment in the entertainment facilities. Young children spent all day in the play area, while their parents spent time on treadmills or in the reading room. Young adults preferred playing poker and soaking up the sun on the deck.
And one would find no other travelers more dashing than the group of “dama” (aunties) and “dashu” (uncles), who are in their late 40s, 50s and early 60s. They had great fun aboard, whether the sea was peaceful or turbulent.
They turned the deck into an open-air photo studio. Flamboyantly dressed aunties seemed to know dozens of photo poses. And uncles patiently did photographers’ duties. They danced and sang to their utmost at parties.
They paid no heed to the strong waves, which made young people－some crew members included－terribly sick and confined them mostly to their beds. Typically, they showed a good appetite and enjoyed sharing travel anecdotes.
“I don’t feel nauseated at all. I just have difficulty editing photos because of the rocking,” Qu Caihong, a photographer from Guangxi’s capital Nanning, said as she worked on her laptop in our cabin one day. “Don’t look down upon us seniors,” added Qu, who is in her 60s. “After all, we’ve been through much more of life’s vicissitudes than you guys.”
Then she left for the deck, where she had an appointment with a passenger who was a dancer before retirement, to learn some dancing tips.
I couldn’t help thinking about those heroic Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) navigators. Zheng He’s fleet traveled the seas seven times, reaching as far as East Africa.
Our ship covered only a small part of their sailing range. Many felt relieved to be ashore again when we returned to Beihai’s port.
The ocean is paradise, it seems, for the brave and the veterans of life.
Su Qiulan and Huo Yan contributed to the story.