Thursday, July 9, 2009
July 4- Shanghai and Chicago
Independence day in America also marks our final day in China. I’m up at 7:00 am to pack and take my final stroll in Shanghai. Our bus leaves for the Airport at 12:00 PM and we gear-up for a 13 hour trip back to the states.
I’d like to thank my wonderful wife Apryl for helping to update my blog as it was blocked in China. If you have any other questions about my trip or China in general, please email me at gswyn8@yahoo.com.
I’d like to thank my wonderful wife Apryl for helping to update my blog as it was blocked in China. If you have any other questions about my trip or China in general, please email me at gswyn8@yahoo.com.
July 3- Shanghai
After a simply incredible trip, we have come to our final full day. Today is another free day and I set off at 9:00 am with my ever faithful traveling companion Jona Hall, 7th grade social studies teacher from Marietta, Ohio. Our first stop is to the museum commemorating the founding of the Chinese Communist Party. After a short subway trip and brief walk, we arrive and a modest looking 19 century apartment. Upon entering, we a greeted by 3 very serious looking guards who ask to check our bags. When it is discovered that we are carrying bottles of water, we are told to take a drink in order to ensure we are not bringing any high grade explosives into the museum. As I prepare to drink, I give the guards a rousing “GAMBE!” (Chinese for Cheers). Every guard cracks up, and returns my Gambe! One even says “Cheers!” in English. Glad I didn’t get thrown in the slammer. We explore the museum that traces the founding of the CCP. It becomes apparent that it was largely founded as an anti-imperial, nationalistic movement. We look at a variety of exhibits concluding with Mao and his cohorts signing a charter on a table in one of the rooms.
Our second stop takes us to the home, of Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Chinese Republic. Western educated, Sun was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty and creating the first Chinese Republic, a democratic government founded largely on western principles. As I walk around the museum, I am amazed at how incredibly intelligent Sun was. His ideas for improving China were much better thought-out than Mao’s and simply made more sense. He also looked to unify the nationalist and communist parties in China. Unfortunately, he died in 1925 at the age of 59. How China might have been different had he lived.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Propaganda Poster Museum. This museum traces the history and evolution of Chinese Propaganda posters from 1949 until the death of Mao in 1976. After a 50 minute walk, we discover that we can not find the museum despite being in the correct location. A friendly Chinese man who speaks English asks if he can help us and he indicates that we are in the right place. The museum is located in the basement of an apartment complex (odd location) and he gets us headed in the right direction. We enter the building and take the elevator to the bottom floor, all the while wondering if we are about to loose our kidneys to the black market. We enter and see the museum is a bit unconventional, yet fascination. Original propaganda posters, which are becoming incredibly hard to find, are in large plastic sleeves and tacked to the wall. Next to each poster is an English translation of what the poster says. The museum of divided into various eras of Mao’s rule from 1949-1954, the Great Leap Forward period, Cultural Revolution and mid 70’s until his death. Many things about this museum struck me as interesting. Firstly, it did not tow the party line as most museums do. It offered criticism of Mao and was the first place in China where I saw the disastrous Great Leap Forward mentioned (really a Great Leap Backwards, right my students?) There were also some posters that I found simply fascinating. The most interesting poster, by far, focused on the Civil Rights Movement in America in the 60’s. It’s caption was, “Help Out Black Brothers in America Obtain Freedom” clearly playing on the racial divide in America and screaming “how can you tell us Chinese our government is denying people’s right’s when 10% of your population is denied basic rights.” There was also a poster criticizing Deng Xiaoping, very interesting considering the fact that he was Mao’s successor.
In the gift shop, I could have spent hundreds of dollars. In addition to original propaganda posters for sale, the museum had an original middle school workbook used during the Cultural Revolution. It clearly demonstrated why the students during the Cultural Revolution were known as the “lost generation” as the books were simply filled with Maoist propaganda.
While in the gift shop, we struck up a conversation with the museum curator. He was clearly excited that two Americans were so fascinated with his museum. He gave us a plethora of information about the posters, Mao, and the Cultural Revolution. As we were thanking him and getting ready to leave, he looks at us and asks, “Do you have 5 more minutes?” Of course we do was the emphatic reply! He proceeds to walk us down a dark basement hallway and my spleen begins to worry that it is about to leave my body. He turns to a section of the wall and produces a set of keys, then seemingly unlocks and opens the wall. Behind that hidden door is another door that it also unlocks for us. He leads us into a dark room, flips on the light, and reveals the Nirvana on Mao propaganda. Inside the room is a wide array of posters, original propaganda paintings, statues, and most interesting Da-Zi-Bao. Da-Zi-Bao were propaganda posters made by average, usually young Chinese citizens during the Cultural Revolution. Often made by students or Red Guard, these home made posters accused teachers, parents, government leaders or fellow students of disloyalty to Mao and the Communist Party. Commonplace in the late 1960’s, original Da-Zi-Bao are now incredibly rare, most being destroyed and lost to the annals of history. The curator of the museum said that he as done an exhaustive search of China in order to fine preserve these pieces of Chinese history. It is also evident that he clearly does not want the Chinese government finding these exhibits. We talked for a number of minutes and I asked the curator point blank what he thought of Mao, as some of his exhibits had been somewhat critical. He said that prior to Mao, China was “like a million grains scattered all over. Mao brought all of those grains together.” When asked about the Cultural Revolution, he simply said, “let the art speak for itself.” Enough said.
After spending way more time in the museum that anticipated, we found a café for a late lunch around 4:00. After eating, we took a short walk town the famed Nanjing Road before deciding it would be better viewed in the evening. We then took a cab back to the Yuyuan Garden for some last minute shopping at the market. After making a few purchased including Olivia’s panda bear and some Dairy Queen ice cream, we decided to take an evening walk along the famed Bund, the embankment of the Huang Po River. As we walked, we discovered that construction preparing for the 2010 World Expo made the walk along the Bund a death-defying experience as we dodged construction trucks, tour busses, and crazy Shanghai cabbies. It brought me back to the 80’s and gave me a new-found respect for the frog in Frogger. As we walked, we came upon a lighthouse north of the Bund that turned out to be a restaurant. We decided to enter in order to get out of traffic and learned that we could eat at the top of the lighthouse. We ascended, our arrival at the top produced a spectacular view of Modern and Colonial Shanghai along the Bund. Across the Huang Po, we could see modern Shanghai in all its grander, with the Pearl and the world’s tallest building dominating the panorama. Our side of the river displayed colonial Shanghai, highlighting the 19th century architecture along the Bund.
We headed back onto the road and continued to proceed with caution as we made our way to Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the Times Square of Shanghai. Bright lights, throngs of people, and every high-end store you can imagine. At this point, exhaustion was beginning to set in as we had been on the go for nearly 14 hours so we headed back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat. We found an exotic Pizza Hut and shared our adventures with curriculum director John Frank. Simply and excellent day.
Our second stop takes us to the home, of Sun Yat-Sen, founder of the Chinese Republic. Western educated, Sun was instrumental in overthrowing the Qing dynasty and creating the first Chinese Republic, a democratic government founded largely on western principles. As I walk around the museum, I am amazed at how incredibly intelligent Sun was. His ideas for improving China were much better thought-out than Mao’s and simply made more sense. He also looked to unify the nationalist and communist parties in China. Unfortunately, he died in 1925 at the age of 59. How China might have been different had he lived.
The highlight of the day was a visit to the Propaganda Poster Museum. This museum traces the history and evolution of Chinese Propaganda posters from 1949 until the death of Mao in 1976. After a 50 minute walk, we discover that we can not find the museum despite being in the correct location. A friendly Chinese man who speaks English asks if he can help us and he indicates that we are in the right place. The museum is located in the basement of an apartment complex (odd location) and he gets us headed in the right direction. We enter the building and take the elevator to the bottom floor, all the while wondering if we are about to loose our kidneys to the black market. We enter and see the museum is a bit unconventional, yet fascination. Original propaganda posters, which are becoming incredibly hard to find, are in large plastic sleeves and tacked to the wall. Next to each poster is an English translation of what the poster says. The museum of divided into various eras of Mao’s rule from 1949-1954, the Great Leap Forward period, Cultural Revolution and mid 70’s until his death. Many things about this museum struck me as interesting. Firstly, it did not tow the party line as most museums do. It offered criticism of Mao and was the first place in China where I saw the disastrous Great Leap Forward mentioned (really a Great Leap Backwards, right my students?) There were also some posters that I found simply fascinating. The most interesting poster, by far, focused on the Civil Rights Movement in America in the 60’s. It’s caption was, “Help Out Black Brothers in America Obtain Freedom” clearly playing on the racial divide in America and screaming “how can you tell us Chinese our government is denying people’s right’s when 10% of your population is denied basic rights.” There was also a poster criticizing Deng Xiaoping, very interesting considering the fact that he was Mao’s successor.
In the gift shop, I could have spent hundreds of dollars. In addition to original propaganda posters for sale, the museum had an original middle school workbook used during the Cultural Revolution. It clearly demonstrated why the students during the Cultural Revolution were known as the “lost generation” as the books were simply filled with Maoist propaganda.
While in the gift shop, we struck up a conversation with the museum curator. He was clearly excited that two Americans were so fascinated with his museum. He gave us a plethora of information about the posters, Mao, and the Cultural Revolution. As we were thanking him and getting ready to leave, he looks at us and asks, “Do you have 5 more minutes?” Of course we do was the emphatic reply! He proceeds to walk us down a dark basement hallway and my spleen begins to worry that it is about to leave my body. He turns to a section of the wall and produces a set of keys, then seemingly unlocks and opens the wall. Behind that hidden door is another door that it also unlocks for us. He leads us into a dark room, flips on the light, and reveals the Nirvana on Mao propaganda. Inside the room is a wide array of posters, original propaganda paintings, statues, and most interesting Da-Zi-Bao. Da-Zi-Bao were propaganda posters made by average, usually young Chinese citizens during the Cultural Revolution. Often made by students or Red Guard, these home made posters accused teachers, parents, government leaders or fellow students of disloyalty to Mao and the Communist Party. Commonplace in the late 1960’s, original Da-Zi-Bao are now incredibly rare, most being destroyed and lost to the annals of history. The curator of the museum said that he as done an exhaustive search of China in order to fine preserve these pieces of Chinese history. It is also evident that he clearly does not want the Chinese government finding these exhibits. We talked for a number of minutes and I asked the curator point blank what he thought of Mao, as some of his exhibits had been somewhat critical. He said that prior to Mao, China was “like a million grains scattered all over. Mao brought all of those grains together.” When asked about the Cultural Revolution, he simply said, “let the art speak for itself.” Enough said.
After spending way more time in the museum that anticipated, we found a café for a late lunch around 4:00. After eating, we took a short walk town the famed Nanjing Road before deciding it would be better viewed in the evening. We then took a cab back to the Yuyuan Garden for some last minute shopping at the market. After making a few purchased including Olivia’s panda bear and some Dairy Queen ice cream, we decided to take an evening walk along the famed Bund, the embankment of the Huang Po River. As we walked, we discovered that construction preparing for the 2010 World Expo made the walk along the Bund a death-defying experience as we dodged construction trucks, tour busses, and crazy Shanghai cabbies. It brought me back to the 80’s and gave me a new-found respect for the frog in Frogger. As we walked, we came upon a lighthouse north of the Bund that turned out to be a restaurant. We decided to enter in order to get out of traffic and learned that we could eat at the top of the lighthouse. We ascended, our arrival at the top produced a spectacular view of Modern and Colonial Shanghai along the Bund. Across the Huang Po, we could see modern Shanghai in all its grander, with the Pearl and the world’s tallest building dominating the panorama. Our side of the river displayed colonial Shanghai, highlighting the 19th century architecture along the Bund.
We headed back onto the road and continued to proceed with caution as we made our way to Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the Times Square of Shanghai. Bright lights, throngs of people, and every high-end store you can imagine. At this point, exhaustion was beginning to set in as we had been on the go for nearly 14 hours so we headed back to the hotel to grab a bite to eat. We found an exotic Pizza Hut and shared our adventures with curriculum director John Frank. Simply and excellent day.
July 2- Shanghai
Today was a highlight of the 3 week trip. We started the day with a visit to Zhu-jia-jiao, a water town about 45 miles outside of Shanghai. The best was I can describe Zhu-jia-jao is that it is the Venice of China. It is a town where the streets are canals, only accessible by boat. It is as if one has stepped back if time when visiting here. We took a boat cruise down the canals to get a taste of this ancient city. Afterwards, we had the opportunity to explore the many shops town the side streets of this amazing water town. You can keep Venice, I’ll take Zhu-jia-jiao.
We returned to downtown Shanghai in the afternoon and visited the Shanghai Museum. This museum contains a plethora of artifacts from all era’s Chinese history. Lonely Planet guide book suggests spending at least half a day here; we had a whopping 90 minutes. Like my first visit to the Louvre, I had to spend my time wisely. I started with a quick stop to a Ming and Qing dynasty furniture exhibit. It highlighted the simplicity of the Ming era and the opulence of the Qing era.
The highlight for me was the exhibit of ancient Chinese coins. It highlighted the evolution of Chinese currency and coinage from the Shang to the Qing dynasties. Materials and sizes of coins underwent huge changes over 2500 years of history. The most interesting part of the exhibit was a collection of coins used on the ancient Silk Road. This collection demonstrated the impact of cultural diffusion on Chinese culture as many of the coins used on this route were written in Latin, Greek, and Arabic.
We ended the museum visit by checking out the bronze exhibit. This exhibit showed all things bronze from every Chinese dynasty ranging from swords and spears to water vessels and wine vats. Our main mission in the Bronze exhibit was to find an ancient Chinese seismograph for study tour member Jona Hall, but to no avail. After 3 weeks of searching, we were ultimately unable to find this Chinese artifact. Bummer…
Our final scheduled stop was to a silk mill. We had the opportunity to see how silk was made, from the silkworm to the final product. It was extremely interesting and I was amazed at how strong silk fibers were. We eventually learned that the main point of the stop was for us to further aid the Chinese economy by purchasing a variety of extremely expensive silk products. No takers however…
That evening, the group had its farewell dinner where gifts were given to advisors, guides, and tour leaders. We also were serenaded by a synopsis of the trip sung to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme as created by a few study tour members. I think the trip was a bit longer than a three hour tour…
We ended the evening with the entire group going to a karaoke club. The karaoke clubs in China are much different than those in the States. Rather than one person singing in front of a packed house of 500 patrons, you instead rent out a room for a 3 hour block. This equals less pressure, more fun. After finding a way to cram 24 people in a room build for 10, the hilarity began. The first song was the B-52’s “Love Shack” and I got my vocal chords working with a rousing rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”. In addition to the lyrics, the TV screen also plays video, most of which appears to be taken from bad recreations of trashy romance novels. It makes it hard to sing when you’re trying your best not to bust out laughing. Other highlights (or lowlights) of the evening included “Superfreak”, “Just a Jigalo”, “Summer Lovin’” (a karaoke must), “Piano Man” (again sung by yours truly) and an awful rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. In spite of some off-key singing, a good time was had by all…
We returned to downtown Shanghai in the afternoon and visited the Shanghai Museum. This museum contains a plethora of artifacts from all era’s Chinese history. Lonely Planet guide book suggests spending at least half a day here; we had a whopping 90 minutes. Like my first visit to the Louvre, I had to spend my time wisely. I started with a quick stop to a Ming and Qing dynasty furniture exhibit. It highlighted the simplicity of the Ming era and the opulence of the Qing era.
The highlight for me was the exhibit of ancient Chinese coins. It highlighted the evolution of Chinese currency and coinage from the Shang to the Qing dynasties. Materials and sizes of coins underwent huge changes over 2500 years of history. The most interesting part of the exhibit was a collection of coins used on the ancient Silk Road. This collection demonstrated the impact of cultural diffusion on Chinese culture as many of the coins used on this route were written in Latin, Greek, and Arabic.
We ended the museum visit by checking out the bronze exhibit. This exhibit showed all things bronze from every Chinese dynasty ranging from swords and spears to water vessels and wine vats. Our main mission in the Bronze exhibit was to find an ancient Chinese seismograph for study tour member Jona Hall, but to no avail. After 3 weeks of searching, we were ultimately unable to find this Chinese artifact. Bummer…
Our final scheduled stop was to a silk mill. We had the opportunity to see how silk was made, from the silkworm to the final product. It was extremely interesting and I was amazed at how strong silk fibers were. We eventually learned that the main point of the stop was for us to further aid the Chinese economy by purchasing a variety of extremely expensive silk products. No takers however…
That evening, the group had its farewell dinner where gifts were given to advisors, guides, and tour leaders. We also were serenaded by a synopsis of the trip sung to the “Gilligan’s Island” theme as created by a few study tour members. I think the trip was a bit longer than a three hour tour…
We ended the evening with the entire group going to a karaoke club. The karaoke clubs in China are much different than those in the States. Rather than one person singing in front of a packed house of 500 patrons, you instead rent out a room for a 3 hour block. This equals less pressure, more fun. After finding a way to cram 24 people in a room build for 10, the hilarity began. The first song was the B-52’s “Love Shack” and I got my vocal chords working with a rousing rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline”. In addition to the lyrics, the TV screen also plays video, most of which appears to be taken from bad recreations of trashy romance novels. It makes it hard to sing when you’re trying your best not to bust out laughing. Other highlights (or lowlights) of the evening included “Superfreak”, “Just a Jigalo”, “Summer Lovin’” (a karaoke must), “Piano Man” (again sung by yours truly) and an awful rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. In spite of some off-key singing, a good time was had by all…
July 1- Shanghai
Today it’s back to the big city as we catch a flight for our final destination, Shanghai. We connect in Kunming and fly from Kunming to Shanghai for a total flight time of around 5 hours. Shanghai, also known as the Paris of the east, lives up to its expectations and does not disappoint. After a week in rural Yunnan province, we are awestruck by this city that is the poster child for modern Chinese capitalism. With skyscrapers and every high-end store you can think of, I wondered if I was still in China or if I somehow transported to New York City.
We began our stay in Shanghai with a visit to Yuynan Garden. Built during the Ming dynasty this gardens highlight Ming era architecture while adding a Feng Shui, natural element with gardens and Koi ponds. The Gardens created an interesting juxtaposition as the Ming era architecture was overlooked by the modern Shanghai skyline.
We finished the evening with a night cruise down the Huang Pu River. We were treated to spectacular views of modern Shanghai and the 19th century architecture of colonial rule.
We began our stay in Shanghai with a visit to Yuynan Garden. Built during the Ming dynasty this gardens highlight Ming era architecture while adding a Feng Shui, natural element with gardens and Koi ponds. The Gardens created an interesting juxtaposition as the Ming era architecture was overlooked by the modern Shanghai skyline.
We finished the evening with a night cruise down the Huang Pu River. We were treated to spectacular views of modern Shanghai and the 19th century architecture of colonial rule.
June 30- Shangri-La
We woke up to a sunny day (initially) as we departed to visit Ganden Songzanlin Monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery and village. It is everything that one would expect a Buddhist monastery to be with men clad in reddish-orange robes, stupas, statues of Buddha, and burning incense. Many portions of this monastery were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and are in the process of being rebuilt. I learned a number of things that actually make Buddhism a bit more confusing. For one, there are numerous braches that go way beyond Mahayana and Theravada. Tibetan Buddhists place a strong emphasis on heaven and hell that seems to contradict the premise of reincarnation. I asked our guide about this but she kind of dodged the question. It was also interesting that there we no pictures of the Dali Lama up anywhere but numerous pictures of the Panchen Lama. This indicates either a strong governmental influence or a fear of government repercussion as the Panchen Lama is controlled by Beijing.
We also had the opportunity to visit a Tibetan family who lived in the monastery. Their home was a juxtaposition of traditional Tibetan life and modernity as many aspects of the home were extremely traditional yet there were a plethora of modern conveniences such as TV, DVD player, blender, and dishwasher. We were served a traditional meal of yak cheese (very sour), yak butter tea, and buckwheat bread. The most surprising aspect of the home, in my opinion was the small Buddhist shrine in the home. Looming over the pictures of Buddhist figures and Lamas, was a large picture of Mao. I found this incredible as Mao ordered this monastery destroyed. It simply shows the continued powerful presence that Mao Tse Tung continues to have on the Chinese psyche.
Following the monastery visit, we returned to the hotel for a free evening and rain (go figure). We walked to the old town section in a steady downpour and arrived to find the town square nearly vacant. We did some shopping the in stores that were actually open and headed home to pack for the final trip to Shanghai and to dry off…
We also had the opportunity to visit a Tibetan family who lived in the monastery. Their home was a juxtaposition of traditional Tibetan life and modernity as many aspects of the home were extremely traditional yet there were a plethora of modern conveniences such as TV, DVD player, blender, and dishwasher. We were served a traditional meal of yak cheese (very sour), yak butter tea, and buckwheat bread. The most surprising aspect of the home, in my opinion was the small Buddhist shrine in the home. Looming over the pictures of Buddhist figures and Lamas, was a large picture of Mao. I found this incredible as Mao ordered this monastery destroyed. It simply shows the continued powerful presence that Mao Tse Tung continues to have on the Chinese psyche.
Following the monastery visit, we returned to the hotel for a free evening and rain (go figure). We walked to the old town section in a steady downpour and arrived to find the town square nearly vacant. We did some shopping the in stores that were actually open and headed home to pack for the final trip to Shanghai and to dry off…
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