Deployed Task Group - North Asia
TE KAHA in China
By Able Combat Systems Specialist Andy Seay
After our visit to Hong Kong, TE KAHA set course towards Shanghai for a six-day visit. After a long transit up the Yangtze river we berthed at the naval jetty, to get a warm welcome from the PLA(N)—including a band.
TE KAHA was the first warship to visit Shanghai during the Shanghai Expo. Many of our ship’s company visited the New Zealand Pavilion and the second night in we hosted a reception for over 100 people. The Maori Cultural Group was very well received by the guests, especially their stirring haka.
While some of the ship’s company headed for Beijing and the Great Wall [see next article Beijing Tour] many stayed behind and discovered the thrill of bartering in the numerous markets around the place. On our last day, TE KAHA hosted an open day and some 2200 people came along. The visitors ranged from China’s Special Forces Group down to families with toddlers.
The whole visit was a success for the ship (and for New Zealand as a whole) and all of us on board look forward to visiting again.
A Warm Welcome from China’s Navy
The Chief of Staff of the Shanghai Naval Base, Senior Captain Wu Weihua hosted the welcoming ceremony.
The Maritime Component Commander New Zealand, Commodore Ross Smith (who had arrived earlier by air) and CDR Matt Williams paid a call on Rear Admiral Du Jinchen, Commander of China East Sea Fleet, as well as on officials of the Shanghai Municipality.
They also visited an escort ship of the Chinese Navy.
Beijing Tour
By LMT(P) B D Jamieson
“‘Nie How,’is how we say ‘hello’ in Beijing,” said Nancy our tour guide. And so began our trip to Beijing travelling on China Eastern Airlines. First stop, Tiananmen Square, the largest city centre square in the world. It can hold up to half a million people and has a colourful history. Tiananmen Square is also right next to the Forbidden City, where the Ming and Ching Dynasties ruled for over 500 years.
The rulers ‘city’ was forbidden up until the start of the 20th Century, when the last emperor died. The Forbidden City covers 70 hectares and it took us the better part of a day to walk from one end to the other. It has 9999 rooms in accordance with the Chinese belief that nine is a very lucky number. We were then treated to some fine Chinese cuisine at a restaurant in town before heading to an acrobatic show.
The acrobatic show was one of the highlights of the trip for me, their feats were spectacular: not only could they do most things blindfolded, the acrobats could do back flips blindfolded through basketball-sized hoops on the run!
Our next day was at the Great Wall of China. According to Nancy, “In China, you are not a man until you’ve climbed the Great Wall. So after today you will all be men.”
I am not sure how the women of our group felt about this comment, but never-the-less we continued on to the Wall.
The Great Wall was impressive! It took hundreds of years to build, to keep the invading Mongols out. It stretches in excess of 5000kms, with a width to allow four men on horse-back to ride side-by-side. There were watch towers as high as 10 metres at intervals; if the soldiers saw invading Mongols approaching they would light fires on top of their towers to warn others. The Great Wall crosses some pretty steep terrain (and we only saw a small part of it) and seeing it made you appreciate the back-breaking labour involved over so many years.
Next stop, the Birds’ Nest, from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games; it’s a marvel of modern engineering. AMT Stevens and AWTR Smale even managed to go for a 100m sprint down the track (but won no medals!)
We continued on to the Emperor’s Summer Palace where the emperors of the Ching and Ming Dynasties and their entourages would go for a few weeks of the summer outside of the Forbidden City. From here the Emperor could observe naval regattas on the man-made lake that is 50 ha and 3 m deep; similarly as impressive as the Forbidden City.
On our way out to dinner that night we stopped in at a pearl factory and we were shown how to tell real pearls from fake ones.
On our final day, Nancy took us to some local markets and gave us a heads up that you have to be on your ‘A game’ for haggling. So we managed to get a lot of shopping done at some “special prices for you my friend.” After the markets we were shown how silk is made from the cocoons of the Southern China silk worm.
Our last sight-seeing was at the Temple of Heaven. This was where the Emperor would come to pray for a successful harvest for the year. These days the area surrounding the Temple of Heaven is a public garden that you have to pay to get into. Local residents at the park were performing some Chinese opera, which was interesting, while other groups were performing Tai Chi (which looked like slow line dancing). A few from our group got involved and joined in quite nicely.
Nancy then got us sorted at Beijing Airport and we said our goodbyes to her. A big thanks to Nancy, who was an excellent tour guide. In a city where the language and cultural differences are substantial, you need a guide of her calibre. All in all a great trip and a truly culturally-enlightening experience for everyone.
ENDEAVOUR at Incheon, South Korea
By LT Vaughan Luckman RNZN
This year in mid-May HMNZS ENDEAVOUR returned to South Korea for a port visit to Incheon, which is the seaport of Seoul, the nation’s capital. (ENDEAVOUR was built at Ulsan, S Korea, in 1988.)
Berthing in Incheon created a few exciting challenges rarely encountered in our ships’ deployments. Due to the high tidal range, ships berth in a non-tidal basin protected by a set of locks. ENDEAVOUR’s Commanding Officer, CDR David Toms, said the entrance into the lock was “like going into dry-dock but without the aid of berthing lines”. The entrance and exit both went well and our ship’s company came through the experience with a new set of skills for the future.
New Zealanders are held in high regard by the South Koreans, who remember our contribution to the Korean War, sixty years ago. Their memory of that war, and their regard for the allies who assisted, provides a very humbling experience for visiting Kiwis.
The DMZ
Since July 1953 an Armistice has been in place between the North and the South with the former front line now marked by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Many of our ship’s company were fortunate enough to take a tour to the DMZ, and witness both North and South Korean soldiers facing off at the line in Panmunjom Village, which is the Joint Security Area where the Armistice was signed and peace negotiations still occur.
The DMZ stretches across the width of Korea, rigged with fences, sentry towers, anti-tank walls, and the heaviest concentration of landmines anywhere in the world. Being at the border brought home to us just how real this conflict was, and still is. Enlistment in the military is compulsory for all young Koreans and they all face the very real threat of having to go to war.
ENDEAVOUR was in South Korea just as conclusions were announced about the sinking of the South Korean warship ROKS CHEONAN. This incident highlighted how fragile the peace-state is between these two nations. There was intense pressure within the local media for action and, when ENDEAVOUR sailed, the presence of extra ROK Navy and Coast Guard vessels was evident through the Yellow Sea and Sea of Japan.
Our Host Navy
Throughout our week in Incheon, ENDEAVOUR had significant interaction with members of the ROK Navy, with a reception we hosted onboard, and a dinner hosted by RADM Park, ROK(N), the Incheon Defence Sector Command Commander. These made for a special opportunity to interact with another navy as well as learn something of the local culture.
Our ship’s Kapa Haka group also performed at the New Zealand Ambassador’s house during a dinner hosted by the NZ Defence Attaché. This offered a great chance to share our own culture which was very well received.
Incheon and Seoul
We were able to get out and explore both cities of Incheon and Seoul. Since 1953 South Korea has clawed itself from the devastation of war to now having one of the top 15 largest economies in the world. This growth has come through sheer hard work and is now evident in the very modern cities. Interspersed between this modern world however it is still easy to find tastes of the old, and their strong underlying culture.
All members of ENDEAVOUR got a lot out of this visit and left with great memories of a wonderful country. Professionally and personally, South Korea has a lot to offer and is definitely recommended to all.
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