JIARI (ex BAI LING)

By Jonathan Boonzaier

The JIARI, Zhongda Cruise Co
Text and images copyrighted by Jonathan Boonzaier, March 2004

JIARI in Shanghai

China's rampant economic growth over the past decade or so has resulted in a rapidly emerging middle class who have both the time and cash to chase after more leisurely pursuits such as holiday travel.

The funnel with the Shenzhen Zhongda Cruise Co logo

Cruising is beginning to attract the attention of the Chinese public, and several attempts have been made to start domestic cruise lines. Some of these have failed, for a variety of reasons, but one company, the Shenzhen-based Zhongda Cruise Co, appears to be enjoying a degree of success with local flagged cruise ship JIARI, which operates short two-night cruises from Shanghai to the picturesque island of Putuoshan.

Red is the theme of the main dining room of the Jiari, which serves Chinese food exclusively

In an age when cruise ships tend to be blandly international in operation and clientele, the JIARI is a welcome change as she represents one of the few remaining cruise ships that retain a truly national flavour.

Welcome on board. Like most modern cruise ships, the JIARI features a large two-deck atrium in its reception area

The JIARI is a ship that was designed, built and operated by the Chinese, for an almost exclusively Chinese clientele.

The outdoor sun deck

Cruising on a Chinese ship such as the JIARI proved to be an interesting and enlightening experience. It is certainly not for everyone. But for me, a dedicated passenger on just about anything that floats, it was by far one of the more interesting cruises I have taken in recent years..

The most prominent feature of the JIARI is the huge cylindrical dome perched on her stern

The 10,000-gt JIARI has perhaps one of the most unusual profiles of any cruise ship afloat today. This is partly because of the three-deck high cylindrical dome perched on her stern. But she didn't always look this way.

As built, the BAI LING was the functional looking coastal passenger vessel. Photo: Jonathan Boonzaier collection

Built at Hudong Shipyard in China in 1986 as the decidedly functional coastal passenger/cargo ship BAI LING, she spent several years trading along the Chinese coast carrying just over a thousand passengers in several classes. Luxurious she was not.

Sunset in Shanghai as the JIARI prepares to sail

In 1999 she was sold to Zhongda Cruise Co, a newly formed cruise operator in Shenzhen, who spent about $15 million converting her into a deluxe cruise ship. Deluxe by Chinese standards, that is. But the money was well spent. The Jiari is a comfortable vessel in which to travel, even if the layout may seem odd and the deckheads are extremely low in places. Into her compact hull is fitted a whole host of public rooms and amenities, including two Chinese restaurants, a western restaurant, a show lounge, cocktail bar, numerous private karaoke lounges, private dining rooms, a two-deck high entrance hall, a large indoor pool and an expansive men's only health club and massage parlour. For the more energetic there is a two-deck disco located in what was once the forward cargo hold.

The interior of the huge dome revealed: an elaborate private function room

A large VIP dining room and lounge occupies the stern part of the vessel and is situated in a huge dome that has an external appearance of a mosque.

An outside 4-berth cabin

Cabins on the ship range from small inside rooms to expansive multi-level suites with private balconies. All are very comfortable, spotlessly clean and come equipped with well-provisioned bathrooms. The cabin I occupied was a mid-range outside cabin with two large windows and a double bed.

The bedroom of a deluxe suite

This is the lounge area of a duplex suite. These suites also include a dining room another lounge area as well as an outdoor terrace

The JIARI's layout can seem very confusing at times. Staircases are wedged in here and there, and often only connect a couple of decks. The flow between the public rooms is also poor. To get to the show room, for instance, I had to walk along a narrow outside deck beside the lifeboats, taking care not to brush against the heavily greased lifeboat cables.

The cafeteria is located in the bottom level of the Jiari's giant dome, and is popular for buffet breakfasts

The dŽcor is distinctly Chinese, with lots of bright colours, especially red, and plenty of plastic flowers. It may not appeal to the average Western cruise passenger, but as I said before, this is cruising by the Chinese for the Chinese, so it is their tastes that matter.

I boarded the ship at around 6pm on a Friday evening along with 200 or so Chinese passengers. I was the only non-Chinese passenger, and was told the first westerner to have sailed on the ship.

The two-deck disco was once a cargo hold

This aroused a great deal of interest among the other passengers and crew who quickly decided to shower their foreign guest with Chinese hospitality and charm. My initial plan was to have a quick dinner in the restaurant and then go up on deck to watch our journey down the Huangpu River.

Many groups of passengers opt to have lavish Chinese banquets in the JIARI's plush private dining rooms

I never did get to see the river as I was invited to attend a Chinese banquet dinner in a plush private dining room by a group of congenial passengers. One of these, an executive working for the cruise line, Rachel, volunteered to act as my guide and translator throughout the cruise.

Except for the language, entertainment shows on the JIARI rival any international cruise ships

After dinner we all proceeded up to the show room to watch the cabaret show. It was surprisingly impressive. On par with shows offered on most western cruise ships, it featured singers and dancers, good choreography and elaborate costumes. The only difference was that it was all in Chinese.

The PU JI, one of the regular overnight passenger ships that operate between Shanghai and Putuoshan Island offer far more basic conditions than what those on board the JIARI

I spent the rest of the night watching the ship sail through the muddy waters of the Yangtze Delta, and finished off with a couple of beers in the bar, watching the crew try to figure out who I was and how they could communicate with me. None of them spoke any English, but they were quite friendly and charming in a rough sort of way. The Chinese are not known for their finesse Ð they love to argue and conversations consist mainly of shouting. Even the crew exhibited these traits. A simple request for something would often result in what sounded like a huge argument as they discussed the matter amongst themselves before acting upon it. The JIARI, as a result, was a constant cacophony of noise.

The passengers on board the JIARI did not believe in wasting time lying about in bed. As a result, most of them were already out and about when I emerged from my cabin at 07h00 on Saturday morning.

They were a cross-section of middle class Shanghainese society. The older ones sat around in drab suits, alternating between chain-smoking pungent Long Life and Double Happiness cigarettes (the Double Happiness Company is also one of the major brassier manufacturers in China Ð I kid you not) and drinking copious amounts of oolong tea. The younger ones were more trendily dressed and roaming around exploring the outer decks of the ship.

By this time we were approaching Putuoshan Island in the company of two of the overnight passenger boats from Shanghai. There was only one pier at the dock, so each ship had to take its turn to unload passengers before moving off to the anchorage while another took its place.

One of the many temples on this island of Gods and Goddesses

Our turn came at 09h00, and I went ashore with Rachel tagging along as my guide. Putuoshan is a small but beautiful island that is held sacred by most Chinese as legend dictates it was the home of the Goddess Guanyin. There are about 100 Buddhist temples scattered around the island as a result.

Putuoshan Island offers a peace and tranquility seldom found in Chinese cities

There is no industry on the island, so it is remarkably free of the heavy air pollution that smothers most major Chinese cities. The air was instead perfumed with the smell of spring blossoms and burning incense.

The local authorities charge visitors to the island RMB 100 (US$12) to land, and the money appears to be put to good use. Putuoshan is extremely clean and well kept, and there are numerous signs translated into English to help foreign tourists Ð all rarities in most of China that I have experienced. We spent the morning visiting some of the ancient and not so ancient temples on the island. Buddhist temples are supposed to be calm and peaceful places, but this is not the case in China. Putuoshan is visited each day by hordes of Chinese tourists from the provinces, hell-bent on getting in as many prayers and as much sightseeing they possibly can.

Mass tourism, Chinese style

Mass groups in drab suits and bright baseball caps followed tour guides equipped with loudhailers and big flags, while at the same time jostling each other out the way as they tried to get a kneeling spot in front of a Buddha statue, a place at the incense burning pit or a hand on the lucky Buddha's head (you rub his head for luck, in case you don't know).

The din coming from the combination of guides yelling through their microphones, and everyone else shouting to be heard over them is indescribable. Add to that the frequent sounds of serious throat clearing and expectorating, and you get the typical feel of a tourist spot in China.

After visiting six or so temples Rachel and I took a break at a beachfront restaurant serving fresh seafood. The beach was beautiful and the surroundings tranquil. That was until about eight tour groups arrived at the restaurant en masse.

We fled the tourists and took a long and pleasant walk along the empty coastal road. We then climbed the 2000 steps to the top of the sacred Mount Putou. I'll have to hand it to some of the elderly Chinese Ð they may look as ancient as the mountain itself, but they are fit as a fiddle. They motored their way up to the top, leaving the younger generations, myself included, panting in their wake. Of course there was the mandatory temple at the top, along with a few shops that had been officially certified as "Civilized Establishments" by the local authorities.

We returned via one of the many bush trails on the mountain. Others took the cable car down. I would have taken it up had I known of its existence.

JIARI waits off Putoushan Island for her turn to embark passengers for the return voyage to Shanghai

Back at the dock we had to kick our heels in one of the smoke-filled waiting rooms until the JIARI returned to the dock at 18h00.

We sailed as soon as everyone was onboard, and this time a group of passengers decided I should try the western restaurant, which had a menu featuring the usual things the Chinese think foreigners like to eat Ð fish & chips, steak & chips, etc. I ordered the Italian Chicken for my main course, which turned out to be deep-fried bread with shredded bits of chicken (also deep-fried) on top. I finished off with a vegetable salad that was more like mayonnaise soup. We should have stuck with the Chinese food. Afterwards there was another show, but it was poorly attended as most of the passengers, exhausted from their strenuous day and the fresh air, had gone to bed. It wasn't long before I followed them.

The Oriental Pearl tower looms over the bow of the JIARI in Shanghai

On Sunday morning I awoke at 07h00, just as the ship was pulling up to her dock in Shanghai. Astern of us was the SUZUHAO, a large Japanese-built ferry that runs between Shanghai and Osaka. Further ahead in the distance was one of China Shipping Group's German-built passenger/container ships. A small sailing ship called CONCORDIA passed by as I was having breakfast.

All that was left for me to do was bid farewell to my new Chinese friends and head off back into the vast impersonal metropolis that is Shanghai today.

- Jonathan Boonzaier (c) 2004