Yunnan Delights and Mishaps

It's been a week since I arrived in Yunnan province. Today, we are leaving Dali and heading to the ancient town of Lijiang. The last week has been full of fun sights and crazy mishaps. Highlights of Kunming include visiting the beautiful and peaceful Stone Forest, yet being taken to four different shopping places by the tour guide. We ended up wasting a whole day from 8am to 6pm, yet only got to be in the Stone Forest itself for less than two hours.

In Kunming, I got to visit the Minority Village with 22 reconstructions of typical minority villages and houses. They also hire members of the minority to come here to dress in their traditional clothing and work as representatives of their culture. I was most impressed by the Miao Cristian cherch. I couldn't believe that inside Minority Village Themepark was a Cristian cherch with services on Sundays. I chatted with one of te Miao girls sitting doing embroidery, and she said that there's a small branch of the Miao that are entirely Cristian b/c of a missionary that went there in the 1880s. That's amazing.

While at the Minority Village, I also reflected on the social and cultural implications of a minority themepark. In America, we studied the racist "exhibitions" at the expos of 1892 and 1915, how Native Americans and chinese were cast as the "other," exotic objects to be viewed on passing, and tourists became voyeurs into their fabricated and fictionalized "local habitat." wasn't I doing the same thing by touring these minority villages, recreated for tourists with much prettier decorations than in the real villages? What about the poor girls and guys who leave their home villages and don't get to return home during New Year's b/c it's peak tourist season. They only get 12 days of leave a year and some don't return home for 2 or 3 years. Who allowed the Han majority to showcase and exhibit the minority cultures in such a gawdy, themepark way? are the minorities getting a cut of the profit from the themepark? Do they have a say in how their culture is presented? How could I have criticized the way Americans put the Chinese and the Native Americans on display when I am now enjoying a display of minority cultures in China? Is it not the same?

In Dali, I really loved the yellow fields of mustard flowers and terraced farming. All over, you see yellow and green fields, blue skies, and white Bai minority houses with their grey borders and curved eaves. The peasants wear conical hats while they work in the green staircases of their fields. The views are breathtaking and peaceful. They make you think that life can be very simple and beautiful. I also enjoyed the ancient, walled town of Dali (as opposed to the modern city of Dali, aka Xiaguan). Its narrow alleys and old buildings are so quaint and peaceful. This place reminds me of the little towns of southern Spain. The local colorful scarves, woven cloth, embroidered mats, and tie-dyed sheets are so beautiful and rich. Moreover, I found this really cool hostel for 80/night right in the Dali ancient town. It's just two floors and only has 6 rooms, but there's a sun terrace, free laundry and internet, a tv room, and great decorations from Tibet and local cultures. Everything is fabric-covered or wood paneled, adn there's this really homey, bohemian feel to the place. Even better, it's right across a cherch (gvt authorized one, of course). We're gonna visit today for sunday service.

Crazy mishaps: I left one of my bags on the bus from Kunming to Dali and didn't realize it until I got to my student's house, when my student asked me if I'd left anything. I had to ride all the way back to the bus station and ask many many people if they'd seen my bag or my bus or my driver. Apparently, there is no lost and found in China, there aren't even any signs to distinguish who are the officials at the bus station and who are the merchants. After about an hour of searching, I finally found my bag. The driver had seen it left in the overhead rack, put it with a woman at a little store, but didn't tell the lady it was a passenger's bag. So when I asked the woman before if she'd seen a bag like mine, she said no. But after I finally got a hold of the driver, he instructed me to go to the store and they had it, with all my shampoo, conditioner, clothes, and toiletries all in place.

On Levina's end (the Indonesian girl I'm travelling with), she missed her plane from Tianjin to Kunming. Then when she went by herself from Kunming to Dali, she was left behind at a gas station somewhere midway between the two cities. She had to stay at this place for a night and catch another bus to Dali the next day.

The Fragrance of Friendship

Last Friday, a Chinese friend of mine called me to ask if I wanted to go with him and some friends to Fragrant Mountain 香山 in Beijing. I'd heard so many people talk about Xiangshan that I'd been wanting to go for a long time, so of course, I was thrilled at the chance. When we got there after a 2 hour bus ride, we found that we were too late in the season to see the red and yellow colors of the leaves in the height of beauty. Most of the leaves had fallen or were more brown and yellow than red. Plus, there were so many people along the way that we probably saw more human heads than leaves.

China's autumn scenery, while pretty, doesn't compare with New England's fall scene. I always loved leaf-jumping and running up Prospect Street underneath flaming red trees and golden, sun-kissed maple trees. I still remember those two beautiful bright red trees that frame Cross Campus and the entrance to Sterling Memorial. I still remember apple picking through crisp, sweet-smelling orchards, warm homes permeated with the spicy smells of mulled cider, and of course, buttery apple pie. I now believe New England's autumn is the best in the whole world.

So although Xiangshan didn't compare with New England, it was fun just for the mountain-climbing/hiking and the new friends I made. I finally met some Chinese female friends.

Weekend by the Beach

Here in China, where grey brick and cement cities abound, I almost forgot how much I loved beaches. When I looked through my guidebook for places to visit in China, Qingdao paled in comparison to places like the mystical Huangshan, the historical Xian, and exotic Silk Road oases of Xinjiang. Yet I surprisingly enjoyed myself immensely in Qingdao this past weekend. Of course, it's not as beautiful as the beaches in Portugal and Spain, but it's as close to a European seaside town as one will get in Northern China.

Because it was under German occupation during the latter part of the 19th century, the city retains a lot of European architecture. Throughout the city, there are colorful German-style mansions and villas, tree-lined cobblestone streets, and red-tile roofs. It almost makes you forget that you are in China. When I arrived at the Qingdao train station at 12:30pm, the first thing that came to mind was: Spanish beach town, Malaga. The sun was shining brightly (not the muted, haze-filtered light of Tianjin, but real yellow sunshine) and the sky was deep blue. Then, when the taxi driver drove me through the windy, hilly streets, I was reminded of the old Alfama quarters in Lisbon. There's a relaxed and sophisticated feel to the city, remnants of its international past.


Another attraction to the city is the abundance of parks and trees. The old German Concession villa quarters, called BaDaGuan, remains shady and cool throughout the day because of the abundance of foliage. There's a ZhongShan Park in memory of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, and it's incredibly romantic to stroll there at sunset (esp. with a significant other). During the spring, the cherry blossoms, magnolias, peonies, and wisteria bloom, so I can only imagine how much more romantic it'll be. Since ZhongShan Park is free and open to the public, plenty of locals were having family picnics, playing evening badminton, and obviously enjoying themselves. I thought of Central Park in New York, and how important a large public green space is beneficial to the health of urban dwellers. I wish Tianjin had a large public park for its citizens. When will Chinese urban planners realize that cement plazas and treeless streets make peoples' lives hotter and more uncomfortable? Beijing is particularly bad, with long, long stretches of sun-baked, unshaded city blocks.

In addition to the Zhongshan Park, Qingdao also has a LuXun Park in memory of the 20th century Chinese novelist (author of The Story of Ah Q). It's another idyllic setting. The Luxun Memorial Pathway is bordered on one side with marble walls etched with the author's poems and pine-shaded, spectacular views of the rocky sea cliffs below.

An Unexpected Boon
I found out upon arrival that my hotel, which the director at the place I volunteer at had booked online for me, was pretty far away from the beach and touristy sights. It was a great hotel and all, one of many Home Inn chains in China, and the cleanest hotel room I've stayed at since I got to China. But the location was too far from the attractions. At first I was bummed out, but with persistent asking, the folks at the front desk told me various bus routes and places I could go around the hotel. I ended up at the TaiDong pedestrian shopping street. My new friend Wu Lin was from Qingdao and she'd told me about TaiDong and the night market there, so I just went with the flow and strolled through TaiDong for the rest of the day. It was a little like Tianjin's Binjiang Dao, but much smaller and cheaper. Plus there are two cool-looking buildings with murals painted on them.

The night life around TaiDong Street is really fun. There are tons of food vendors selling huge BBQ squid for 10 kwai each, BBQ tofu for 1 kwai each, stinky tofu, Bing Tang Hu Lou candies, and Chinese-style hamburgers "hanbao." The clothing and accessories stalls are packed together with a single fluorescent light bulb casually roped over a balanced horizontal bar. They sell everything from socks, jeans, shoes, purses, underwear, and pajamas to necklaces and scarves. The prices here are pretty reasonable and when you bargain, they only go down a little or not at all, showing that they don't do the price inflation like in Beijing's Silk Street. When I got back to TJ, I found that prices for things like tights, necklaces, and shirts I'd bought in Qingdao were about half of that of TJ prices. Yes, the farther south you go, the cheaper clothing gets. I don't think I would have visited or spent as much time in the TaiDong Shopping area if it hadn't been for the location of the Home Inn, which forced me to go there first. So in the end, it was a pleasant turn of events.

The other pleasant turn of events in Qingdao was the boat-tour-turned-bus-tour that ended up taking me to this red onion-shaped rotating viewing tower that I would have never known about on my own. Although the boat tour was just supposed to be a 30 minute ride and they slyly neglected to mention the mandatory bus tour of Qingdao afterward, I was glad they forced us to see places that I would never have gone to on my own. The "red onion" tower was amazing. Situated on a hillside, it offered spectacular 360 degree views of Qingdao from above, and the floor of the observation deck slowly rotated, just like Equinox in San Francisco. I'm learning that, in China, sometimes you get pleasantly surprised by going with the crazy flow of things. Don't get upset or frustrated, just take it in stride and let it be. Although, maybe that's also why the bad practices don't change; people passively accept it without protest.


Resting area for visitors near the end of the LuXun Poetry Walkway. It's a great place for a family picnic and terrific sea views.

My National Holiday - Part 1 - Shandong

Friday Night Bash
My National holiday fun started Friday 9/26. Friday evening, Alex (a foreign teacher from Britain who lives across the hall from me) and I met up with two American students studying abroad at our university. Turns out they bumped into a Chinese friend that one of them knew and so all 6 of us ate dinner and had good laughs. Next, our American student friends took us to an "international students" party. I use quotation marks because it really was a Korean students party. TJUFE has tons of Korean exchange students here studying Chinese. So the emcee spoke entirely in Korean and played some rowdy games like having couples eat Pocky sticks from opposite ends and work towards the middle. We also saw some really weird/hilarious talent shows of dancing and singing Korean-style. It was pretty fun, even although Alex, our two American friends, our Chinese friend Leo, and I understood nothing of it. After that, we went for late night kabobs and dumplings and had a great time laughing and debating with our majorly drunk American friend Chad, aka "the Legend." (He gets his nickname from his "legendary" status among all the Korean, Japanese, and Chinese students at TJUFE. I don't think there's any student at the university who doesn't know of the American guy who can speak a ton of Mandarin.)
Below: Korean guy singing and dancing in the talent show.


Shandong Adventures
The next day (Saturday 9/27) I left for my Chinese tour of Taishan, Jinan, and Qufu (Confucius' hometown). The travel agency was terribly unclear about a lot of things. For one: they told me it would be a 4 hour ride. It ended up being 5 hours. From 2:30pm to 8:30pm, I was sitting on the train with my legs squeezed together, unable to pee because that would mean leaving my bags unattended. For two, I found out when I got to Taishan that I was not going to arrive in Tianjin by 9/30 as the tour pamphlet suggested. Instead, i would take an overnight train and arrive in actuality on 10/1. They didn't mention this important detail to me. That foiled a lot of plans I had made.
When I got to Tai An (the town at the foot of Taishan), it was raining really hard and I couldn't find the guide who was supposed to be holding a card with my name on it. It was a little scary, but I had the cell phone number of the local contact and eventually found her. To be honest, it's stressful and a little lonely to travel on my own. But I often find myself doing that a lot because it's so hard to find people who share my interests and love of travel.

The first night I got to the hotel, I was feeling sad being in that double-bed hotel room by myself. There were only five people on our tour: two couples and me. I had to pay 70 yuan extra every night to make up for not having a roommate. The room was of course better than that hutong hotel I stayed at in Beijing, but still not good by American standards. The bathroom was a showerlette (shower and toilet in one) and the drain in the floor had cracks and a few tiles missing. A bunch of little jumpy, winged bugs also crawled or flew out of the drain, even though we were on the second floor. The toilet was a sit-down one, but the seat was cracked. I don't understand how they could let customers continue to use a cracked toilet seat. The carpet was threadbare and stained in several places, so I wore slippers with me all the time. They called this a two star hotel, but it would never pass inspection in the U.S. On the positive side, at least I didn't see any roaches and I didn't get bitten by any fleas/bed bugs. I could manage.

The same night I got to Tai An, I asked for directions to the nearest internet cafe (mainly b/c I had some business to attend to via email). It was just two stores down from the hotel. I ended up going there every night. Just like in Vietnam, Internet cafes give me a taste of home. When I see the familiar New York Times homepage and the familiar Gmail inbox, I am transported from this foreign, lonely place back to the English-speaking cyberworld I am used to in America. The 1.5yuan I spent every night for 1 hour of familiarity and comfort was well worth it.

The next day, our tour guide took us to Jinan, the city of springs, to see Lake DaMing (大明湖）and Baodu Springs (趵突泉). Because it was still a day before the start of the National Holiday week, there weren't that many people and our walks around the gardens of Baodu Springs and Lake DaMing were very peaceful and serene. I enjoyed the natural scenery, fresh air and trickling sounds of water.

Taking a sip of fresh spring water from Baodu Springs (the tour guide said this spring water is supposedly good to drink without boiling, I was cautious and only took a small tiny sip)


Look at the goldfish swarming around me! Someone before me was feeding them.


One of the last lotus flowers still in bloom at Lake DaMing


A toddler baby in downtown Jinan running around with his butt wide open. To save on diapers, many Chinese parents dress their babies in pants with a split in the front and back and they pee or poo out in public.



The next day, we climbed Taishan. Because it was only the first day of the National holiday, there weren't as many people as there would be later on, but still, it was a busy place. We took a little bus halfway up the mountain to the Mid-Heaven Door 中天门, and then walked the rest of the way up to the peak. The path was all staircases, and in some cases the steps were so steep I felt afraid to look down. For most of the area around Mid-Heaven Door, we were surrounded with mist (see photos). But as we ascended, we found ourselves above it. Nearer and nearer to the top at South Heaven Door 南天门, we could see oceans of clouds below us and the bright blue sky above us. It was the freshest air and bluest sky I've ever experienced in China. No pollution, no haze, just pure nature, earth, and sky. Amazing.

Here's a short video of the view above the clouds.


The little bus we rode from the foot of the mountain to Mid-Heaven's Door 中天门.


Beginning the climb up Taishan from 中天门.


All produce and goods on Taishan are carried up by human laborers bearing loads balanced on their shoulders, just like in the old days.


Police officers and tourists crowding a bridge on the way up to Taishan. Notice the heavy fog.


Taishan's famous Welcoming Pine 迎客松. See how the lone pine tree stretches its branches out in welcome to us visitors.


Twisty, gnarly trees enveloped in mist.


We get past the mist and glimpse the first sight of South Heaven Door 南天门, but we still have a long way to go.


Oceans of clouds brushing against Taishan.


The crowds approach the South Heaven Door 南天门.


Right after passing South Heaven Door, there are restaurants, bathrooms, souvenir shops, and hotels all along Heaven Street 天街.


Vendors everywhere sell these Chinese crepes wrapped around a scallion. They are dry and hard and don't taste very good, but these 煎饼卷葱 are supposed to be a Taishan specialty.


Locks being sold at a temple on Taishan. People leave a lock at the temple to "lock in" their prayers and blessings.


Dreamy rooftops and distant mountains. A heavenly sight indeed.


Sitting on top of the world, with the clouds behind me.


The highest part of Taishan. Notice all the locks in the background.


Riding the tram down halfway. Look at the cars disappearing into the mist.


Qufu 曲阜- Confucius' hometown and burial place. I enjoyed Qufu the least because it was the day after climbing Taishan and I was still tired. Also, it was the second day of the National holiday, so there were so many more people than before. There was no place to move and you just kept being pushed ahead by the people behind you. Also, there's not that much to see in Confucius Temple, Mansion and Forest.

View from inside the world's largest Confucius Temple


An ancient tree in the Confucius Temple. They call it Dragon Tree because it looks like a dragon. Right beside (not pictured) it is another tree they call the Phoenix Tree.


People pushing and clawing to touch one of the legendary trees for good luck.


Confucius' Tombstone in the Confucius Memorial Forest



FOOD
Another great thing about Shandong province was the food. The city of Tai An is supposed to be famous for its tofu because the water used to make it comes from Taishan, it's sweet mountain water. I have to admit that the tofu fa and soft tofu dishes I had here were delicious, so smooth and silky, like butter that melts away in your mouth.

Northern Style breakfast: Savory tofu fa with cilantro, carrots, chili sauce, and soy sauce.

A refreshing cold plate appetizer of soft tofu, raw green and red peppers, onions, and pickled duck eggs in a light soy sauce. So silky and smooth.


The Green Onion Pancakes here are awesome. So crispy and fried right in front of you. They sell by the pound. I got a ton for only 2 or 3 yuan.


Other great Shandong breakfast foods are the pan-fried buns 煎包子 and filled crepes 韭菜煎饼.


Wow, they even sell rabbit here.


We have roasted lamb skewers in Tianjin too, but have you ever seen so many being cooked all at once? There were at least 50 skewers there.


In the end, I really enjoyed my time in Tai An, especially after the nice older couple from Tianjin took me in and looked after me on the way back to Tianjin.