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…
June 29- Shangri-La
Today, we embarked on a long yet wonderful bus ride to the town of Zhongdian, also known as the famed Shangri-La. This is what I thought rural China would look like. We entered an amazing panorama of canyons, mountains, and simply amazing landscapes. We took a brief stop to view the first bend of the Yangzi River, the largest and longest river in China. The initial view was only a preview to the splendor of Tiger Leaping Gorge. At Tiger Leaping Gorge, the Yangzi narrows considerably, creating some of the most spectacular views and powerful rapids I have ever seen. We hiked down a path of approximately 800 steps to behold the Yangzi and all of its glory. The sound of the water was like a continually churning freight train and we were continually getting sprayed by the water despite being about 50 feet above the riverbank. Our guide indicated that she takes tour groups on a two day hike through the cliffs around the gorge and the Yangzi. It will be on my itinerary next time.
After our hike into Tiger Leaping Gorge, we continued on our journey to our hotel in Shangri-La through some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. Streams, hills, cliffs, and yaks were seen everywhere. We stopped at a roadside market and got our first taste of Tibetan culture as we were greeted by children in traditional Tibetan outfits.
After checking into our hotel, a group set out to the old town section of Shangri-La around 7:30 PM. At this time, Tibetans perform traditional dances in the town square. This is something you simply don’t see in the States as the sense of community here is incredibly powerful. From 7:30 until 9:00, there is communal singing and dancing. Anyone can join in so I demonstrated my two left feet to my new Tibetan friends. After clearly showing I was not the next incarnation of the Tibetan Fred Astaire, we did some shopping in the old town market and returned to the hotel.
After our hike into Tiger Leaping Gorge, we continued on our journey to our hotel in Shangri-La through some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen. Streams, hills, cliffs, and yaks were seen everywhere. We stopped at a roadside market and got our first taste of Tibetan culture as we were greeted by children in traditional Tibetan outfits.
After checking into our hotel, a group set out to the old town section of Shangri-La around 7:30 PM. At this time, Tibetans perform traditional dances in the town square. This is something you simply don’t see in the States as the sense of community here is incredibly powerful. From 7:30 until 9:00, there is communal singing and dancing. Anyone can join in so I demonstrated my two left feet to my new Tibetan friends. After clearly showing I was not the next incarnation of the Tibetan Fred Astaire, we did some shopping in the old town market and returned to the hotel.
June 28- Lijiang
Today, we set off in the AM for a hike up Jade mountain in Northern Yunnan Province. Once again, rain greeted an outdoor pursuit. We arrived at the Mountain around 11:00 AM and could see very little. We took a gondola to the top to see out view obscured by clouds. We hiked a trail on the mountain and could only imagine the views we were missing if we had come on a sunny day. Some nice pictures were taken at the bottom and we had our first experience with Yaks. Following the foggy mountain trek, we went through a minority Baisha village where we were, once again inundated with people trying to sell us stuff. I truly feel that our group as increased China’s GDP by about 7.89%.
We had a free evening, so a small group of my fellow teachers went into Lijiang to bum around and find a place to eat. The first place we went to was a Mexican restaurant (go figure). The owners moved from Mexico City to open a little place in Lijiang. Soft tacos were good! Afterwards, we went to a place owned by a Dutch ex-pat who married a Chinese woman. He showed off their son who was adorable and gave of an interesting take on Chinese culture. An interesting experience concerning people born in the year of the Dragon: Myself and another study tour member, Chastity, are both born in 1976, the year of the dragon. Us dragon’s felt the need to toast, so we gave a rousing GAMBE! (Chinese Cheers). Apparently there was an excess of dragon power as my glass proceeded to shatter on contact…Dragon Power!
We had a free evening, so a small group of my fellow teachers went into Lijiang to bum around and find a place to eat. The first place we went to was a Mexican restaurant (go figure). The owners moved from Mexico City to open a little place in Lijiang. Soft tacos were good! Afterwards, we went to a place owned by a Dutch ex-pat who married a Chinese woman. He showed off their son who was adorable and gave of an interesting take on Chinese culture. An interesting experience concerning people born in the year of the Dragon: Myself and another study tour member, Chastity, are both born in 1976, the year of the dragon. Us dragon’s felt the need to toast, so we gave a rousing GAMBE! (Chinese Cheers). Apparently there was an excess of dragon power as my glass proceeded to shatter on contact…Dragon Power!
June 27- Lijiang
Following a restless night (the overhead light in the room wouldn’t turn off so we had to explain to a non-English speaking front desk what the problem was and then explain it to the maintenance man) we departed in the morning for Lijiang. We started the day with visit to ancient cobblestone streets outside of Lijiang. We got to see a wide variety of architectural styles and observed some Taoist buildings ransacked during the Cultural Revolution. We then visited Black Dragon pond and went to a school that taught traditional Dongba language. This is the traditional language of the Naxi people and he is one of 8 scholars who teach the language. We took a quick tour around Black Dragon Pond (nice but nothing spectacular, just a pond), shopped in the old town after dinner, and ended the day with a traditional Naxi music performance. The performance was interesting for the first 20 minutes but after and hour and a half of not understanding a word of what was being said and sitting on REALLY uncomfortable seats, we were more than ready to go. Lijiang, thus far, so-so…
June 26- Dali
We departed Kunming in the AM and embarked on a rainy journey to Dali. The flight was incredibly short. We literally took off, were in the air for 20 minutes and landed. On the ground, the rain did not stop and we began the most disappointing day of the trip. We started the day with a rainy boat ride on Erhai Lake. It was the most commercial, touristy excursion we had taken thus far. On board, we were scheduled to see ethnic minority Bai dancing and a traditional tea service. The dancers danced to bad Chinese techno and our “traditional tea service” was served in paper cups en mass. While we drank our tea in elegant paper cups, the Chinese Vanna White advertized their “traditional” boxed tea. We stopped at a small island where we were mobbed by street vendors selling everything from shrimp on a stick to “authentic jade Buddhas” to Mao memorabilia. We ran off. Our next island stop was to see a statue of Buddha. It was about 25 feet tall and quite ancient as it was built in 2003. Overall, the cruise was “socialism with Chinese characteristics” or Chinese capitalism at it’s finest.
After our kitschy cruise, we departed for butterfly spring, a spring where people washed their hands for good luck. They also had a butterfly sanctuary there which was interesting but not spectacular. From the spring, we visited a Chinese tie-dye factory where authentic tie-dye shirts were hand-made. I was expecting Grateful Dead memorabilia but no luck.
Our final stop was the Three Elegant Pagodas. These were ancient Buddhist stupas with the oldest being built around 1000 years ago. There was also a Buddhist monastery that looked interesting so we decided to take a trek to see it first hand. The monastery was interesting until we learned that it was built in 2003 by the local Chinese government to promote tourism in the region. Again, “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Mao must be rolling in his mausoleum….
After our kitschy cruise, we departed for butterfly spring, a spring where people washed their hands for good luck. They also had a butterfly sanctuary there which was interesting but not spectacular. From the spring, we visited a Chinese tie-dye factory where authentic tie-dye shirts were hand-made. I was expecting Grateful Dead memorabilia but no luck.
Our final stop was the Three Elegant Pagodas. These were ancient Buddhist stupas with the oldest being built around 1000 years ago. There was also a Buddhist monastery that looked interesting so we decided to take a trek to see it first hand. The monastery was interesting until we learned that it was built in 2003 by the local Chinese government to promote tourism in the region. Again, “socialism with Chinese characteristics”. Mao must be rolling in his mausoleum….
June 25- Kunming
An outdoor excursion today as we visit the stone forest outside of Kunming. The Stone Forest is an other-worldly panorama of stone steles created a couple of million years ago by the forces of nature. I could try to describe it in writing but I simply won’t be able to do the Stone Forest justice. I’ll just have to post a few pictures. We hiked for about 2 hours and saw absolutely spectacular landscapes. In the evening, we visited “The Hump” the final time and paid our respects to the Flying Tigers. We heard an account of an elderly Chinese woman who saw the Tiger’s go into action against the Japanese for the first time. Apparently, there was a great deal of fear that the Japanese were going to invade Kunming and commit the same atrocities that were seen and Nanking. The woman recounted her stories of dogfights over Kunming, downed Zero’s, and throngs of cheering Chinese with tears in her eyes….
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Finally, Greg found some internet access!
Sorry it's been almost a week since I've updated Greg's blog, but I've not talked to him much at all. His most recent hotel didn't have wireless internet access. He's on his way to Shanghai right now and feels pretty confident his hotel there will be more connected with the rest of the world. I got this e-mail today from him so I could send all of you an update. Olivia and I are counting down the days, literally....we made a chain and Olivia has been tearing a ring off each day and then counting how many days left until Daddy comes home! Hope to post more soon as he wraps up his last few days exploring China! Here's his Journal from where he left off last time:
Monday June 22
Today was the day that all members of the study tour have been eagerly anticipating: a visit to see the famed Terre Cotta Warriors. They did not disappoint as we were awed at the grandeur of this clay army constructed by Emperor Qin to guard his tomb in the afterlife. There are nearly 8,000 soldiers and horses at this site, each with unique physical features and military ranks. Many of the soldiers were destroyed during a peasant uprising following the Emperors untimely demise and therefore had to be reconstructed by archeologists, an incredible undertaking. Overall, the warriors seemingly speak to you and immediately transport one to China’s imperial past.
After a lunch of Chinese food (go figure), we had an interesting experience visiting a traditional Xian farm family. The family lived a rather simple existence in a cave dwelling. I was surprised at the strong Maoist/Communist influence as there were a number of Mao and CCP posters decorating the house. There were approximately 4 rooms in this cave dwelling, parts of which were literally dug into a cave and a well to get water. The family was extremely gracious and explained a bit about farm life in China, while their existence was simple; they appeared happy and relatively well-off.
Our final stop was to the Grand Mosque of Xian. This is the largest mosque in China and demonstrates the large number of ideas and religions that arrived in China via the Silk Road. We talked to an imam and had the opportunity to see other philosophies such as Taoism incorporated into Islam in China. We also walked through the Muslim quarter. This is an eclectic market area where you can buy anything from Guess jeans to Mao’s Little Red Book to lamb kebobs and tea. I found a bought Terre Cotta warrior chess set for a whopping 100 Yuan (about 14 bucks). This was good find considering there were 800 Yuan at Terre Cotta warrior museum.
The day ended with some fun and spontaneity. Me and some friends walked to the South Gate of the Xian city wall and searched for a restaurant. We found a Chinese place (go figure) and again did the point and hope method of ordering. We once again got lucky as we had an excellent meal, with one item being similar to buffalo wings. Following dinner, we hopped in a Chinese cab for the first time. All I can say is that I lived through the experience as Chinese drivers are CRAZY!!!! You couldn’t pay me enough to drive in Xian. Following dinner, we returned to the Wild Goose Pagoda to see a water/light-show in from of the Pagoda. It was a bit less than the Bellagio in Vegas but entertaining nonetheless. As we were sitting at on outdoor café enjoying the show, we struck up a conversation with a young Chinese couple. The discussion ranged from western movies, to Chinese toilets, to the NBA. I’m consistently amazed that the Chinese know much more about the NBA than I do. If the NBA was smart, they’d start a new franchise in Beijing…
Tuesday, June 23
Today we had the opportunity to visit a middle school in Xian. As I said before, American’s are rock stars in China. We were greeted to the student body cheering and waving to us. I don’t think my American students would be that excited about a Chinese delegation visiting their school. We had the opportunity to visit a number of classes and were guided by two Chinese students who spoke English better than a few of my students back in the states. The first English class we visited greeted us with a song in English about friendship which caused a number of people in our group to tear up. The class than followed utilized much more technology than I anticipated as a Power Point with projector was used (as was the case in nearly every other class). The class size was around 60 students and there was not a single discipline problem. I asked a number of teachers what their main discipline problem was and most didn’t understand what I was asking. The common response that the greatest problem they had was students not grasping a concept. This is a huge difference from the states as students’ acting out seems to be a constant problem with most teachers. Discipline issues appear to be a non-factor in this particular Chinese school. Granted, this school is for advanced students. Out of 2000 applicants, it only accepts 300 new students per year. However, the general impression that I get is that, overall, Chinese students are extremely respectful and well behaved demonstration an adherence to Confucian principles.
We observed a few more classes and saw some instructional strategies used in the States such as cooperative learning, a strategy that was rarely used in China a few years ago. Following our classroom visit, we were taken to their television studio which was extremely state-of-the-art and a robotics lab. Students here created a robot that could sense heat and blow out a candle. Wow! The visit concluded with a student performance of traditional Chinese dance and music. We were also given gifts from the school that included traditional Chinese artwork and shadow puppets. A Chinese teacher made the observation that if we combined the creative element of American schools with the structure of Chinese schools, we would create the perfect learning environment. I couldn’t agree more.
Following the school visit, we had a free day in Xian and our first stop was a Taoist temple. I found it extremely interesting how many aspects of Taoism and Buddhism get intertwined in China. On the way there, we talked to our Buddhist cab driver through Richard Borer translation. He said he was Buddhist but that Taoism was good as well and asked us to light some incense for him. He also made some keen observations about Mao and the Cultural Revolution. The man was the first person we encountered in China who was decidedly anti-Mao. He stated that during the Cultural Revolution, him and other Buddhists were held down and beaten by the Red Guard while forced to put on dunce caps, renouncing their religion. As we entered the temple, there was the traditional burning of incense. There was a wall where people were rubbing coins. The legend goes that you will have good luck if you can get a coin to stick. Amazingly, this old Chinese woman got a coin to seemingly stay levitated on the wall. Weird stuff…
As we were exploring the temple, Richard again struck a conversation with a Chinese gentleman who was a Taoist monk. He amazingly invited us into the temple and had another monk get us temple food, a great honor. As we ate watermelon in the temple, we learned that the monk was also a Tai Chi master. He offered to give us a free Tai Chi lesson on the temple grounds after we finished exploring the temple. Following our exploration, the lesson began in a courtyard of the Taoist temple. With about 100 Chinese people laughing themselves silly, we attempted to duplicate this moves of the monk. With the exception of Jona, none of us were terribly successful. Following the ½ hour lesson, we departed after giving the monk gifts that we could scrounge up from our bag.
Following another death-defying cab ride, we proceeded to the south gate of the city wall to find a place to eat. We lost half of our group so I decided to scout a place to eat. I learned that crossing a roundabout in downtown Xian should cause your life insurance rates to increase tenfold. I felt like I was back in the ‘80’s playing Frogger only I was the frog. After nearly getting hit by a bus, I returned to my group and decided that we would locate a place to eat as a unit. After walking a few blocks, we discovered a Pizza Hut (Yeah American Food!!!). I learned that even in China, pizza is good…After packing, I decided to get a good nights rest to get ready for the flight to Kunming.
Wednesday, June 24
From Xian, we caught a morning flight to Kunming which is in Yunnan Provence in Southwestern China. After landing and lunch we explored some of the natural wonders around Kunming. Our first stop was the Dragon’s Gate in the Western Hills. The Dragon’s Gate is a Taoist temple that offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside. You are up a good 400 feet and the drop is nearly straight down. Don’t slip… We also visited the Grand View Pavilion that was a botanical garden. It again had many Taoist temples and beautiful trees and flowers. Banzai trees were everywhere and Mr. Meagi would have been proud…
In the evening, we explored downtown Kunming and located a restaurant called “The Hump”. The establishment gets its name from the route flown by the famed Flying Tigers, U.S. pilots who aided the Chinese in fighting Japan prior to the U.S. getting involved in WWII. “The Hump” was the route the planes had to fly between the Himalayas due to Japanese control of the Burma Road. The Restaurant was adorned with pictures and memorabilia of the Flying Tigers. Too cool! I foresee my students having an assignment on the Flying Tigers next year…
Thursday, June 25
An outdoor excursion today as we visit the stone forest outside of Kunming. The Stone Forest is an other-worldly panorama of stone steles created a couple of million years ago by the forces of nature. I could try to describe it in writing but I simply won’t be able to do the Stone Forest justice. I’ll just have to post a few pictures. We hiked for about 2 hours and saw absolutely spectacular landscapes. In the evening, we visited “The Hump” the final time and paid our respects to the Flying Tigers. We heard an account of an elderly Chinese woman who saw the Tiger’s go into action against the Japanese for the first time. Apparently, there was a great deal of fear that the Japanese were going to invade Kunming and commit the same atrocities that were seen and Nanking. The woman recounted her stories of dogfights over Kunming, downed Zero’s, and throngs of cheering Chinese with tears in her eyes….
Monday June 22
Today was the day that all members of the study tour have been eagerly anticipating: a visit to see the famed Terre Cotta Warriors. They did not disappoint as we were awed at the grandeur of this clay army constructed by Emperor Qin to guard his tomb in the afterlife. There are nearly 8,000 soldiers and horses at this site, each with unique physical features and military ranks. Many of the soldiers were destroyed during a peasant uprising following the Emperors untimely demise and therefore had to be reconstructed by archeologists, an incredible undertaking. Overall, the warriors seemingly speak to you and immediately transport one to China’s imperial past.
After a lunch of Chinese food (go figure), we had an interesting experience visiting a traditional Xian farm family. The family lived a rather simple existence in a cave dwelling. I was surprised at the strong Maoist/Communist influence as there were a number of Mao and CCP posters decorating the house. There were approximately 4 rooms in this cave dwelling, parts of which were literally dug into a cave and a well to get water. The family was extremely gracious and explained a bit about farm life in China, while their existence was simple; they appeared happy and relatively well-off.
Our final stop was to the Grand Mosque of Xian. This is the largest mosque in China and demonstrates the large number of ideas and religions that arrived in China via the Silk Road. We talked to an imam and had the opportunity to see other philosophies such as Taoism incorporated into Islam in China. We also walked through the Muslim quarter. This is an eclectic market area where you can buy anything from Guess jeans to Mao’s Little Red Book to lamb kebobs and tea. I found a bought Terre Cotta warrior chess set for a whopping 100 Yuan (about 14 bucks). This was good find considering there were 800 Yuan at Terre Cotta warrior museum.
The day ended with some fun and spontaneity. Me and some friends walked to the South Gate of the Xian city wall and searched for a restaurant. We found a Chinese place (go figure) and again did the point and hope method of ordering. We once again got lucky as we had an excellent meal, with one item being similar to buffalo wings. Following dinner, we hopped in a Chinese cab for the first time. All I can say is that I lived through the experience as Chinese drivers are CRAZY!!!! You couldn’t pay me enough to drive in Xian. Following dinner, we returned to the Wild Goose Pagoda to see a water/light-show in from of the Pagoda. It was a bit less than the Bellagio in Vegas but entertaining nonetheless. As we were sitting at on outdoor café enjoying the show, we struck up a conversation with a young Chinese couple. The discussion ranged from western movies, to Chinese toilets, to the NBA. I’m consistently amazed that the Chinese know much more about the NBA than I do. If the NBA was smart, they’d start a new franchise in Beijing…
Tuesday, June 23
Today we had the opportunity to visit a middle school in Xian. As I said before, American’s are rock stars in China. We were greeted to the student body cheering and waving to us. I don’t think my American students would be that excited about a Chinese delegation visiting their school. We had the opportunity to visit a number of classes and were guided by two Chinese students who spoke English better than a few of my students back in the states. The first English class we visited greeted us with a song in English about friendship which caused a number of people in our group to tear up. The class than followed utilized much more technology than I anticipated as a Power Point with projector was used (as was the case in nearly every other class). The class size was around 60 students and there was not a single discipline problem. I asked a number of teachers what their main discipline problem was and most didn’t understand what I was asking. The common response that the greatest problem they had was students not grasping a concept. This is a huge difference from the states as students’ acting out seems to be a constant problem with most teachers. Discipline issues appear to be a non-factor in this particular Chinese school. Granted, this school is for advanced students. Out of 2000 applicants, it only accepts 300 new students per year. However, the general impression that I get is that, overall, Chinese students are extremely respectful and well behaved demonstration an adherence to Confucian principles.
We observed a few more classes and saw some instructional strategies used in the States such as cooperative learning, a strategy that was rarely used in China a few years ago. Following our classroom visit, we were taken to their television studio which was extremely state-of-the-art and a robotics lab. Students here created a robot that could sense heat and blow out a candle. Wow! The visit concluded with a student performance of traditional Chinese dance and music. We were also given gifts from the school that included traditional Chinese artwork and shadow puppets. A Chinese teacher made the observation that if we combined the creative element of American schools with the structure of Chinese schools, we would create the perfect learning environment. I couldn’t agree more.
Following the school visit, we had a free day in Xian and our first stop was a Taoist temple. I found it extremely interesting how many aspects of Taoism and Buddhism get intertwined in China. On the way there, we talked to our Buddhist cab driver through Richard Borer translation. He said he was Buddhist but that Taoism was good as well and asked us to light some incense for him. He also made some keen observations about Mao and the Cultural Revolution. The man was the first person we encountered in China who was decidedly anti-Mao. He stated that during the Cultural Revolution, him and other Buddhists were held down and beaten by the Red Guard while forced to put on dunce caps, renouncing their religion. As we entered the temple, there was the traditional burning of incense. There was a wall where people were rubbing coins. The legend goes that you will have good luck if you can get a coin to stick. Amazingly, this old Chinese woman got a coin to seemingly stay levitated on the wall. Weird stuff…
As we were exploring the temple, Richard again struck a conversation with a Chinese gentleman who was a Taoist monk. He amazingly invited us into the temple and had another monk get us temple food, a great honor. As we ate watermelon in the temple, we learned that the monk was also a Tai Chi master. He offered to give us a free Tai Chi lesson on the temple grounds after we finished exploring the temple. Following our exploration, the lesson began in a courtyard of the Taoist temple. With about 100 Chinese people laughing themselves silly, we attempted to duplicate this moves of the monk. With the exception of Jona, none of us were terribly successful. Following the ½ hour lesson, we departed after giving the monk gifts that we could scrounge up from our bag.
Following another death-defying cab ride, we proceeded to the south gate of the city wall to find a place to eat. We lost half of our group so I decided to scout a place to eat. I learned that crossing a roundabout in downtown Xian should cause your life insurance rates to increase tenfold. I felt like I was back in the ‘80’s playing Frogger only I was the frog. After nearly getting hit by a bus, I returned to my group and decided that we would locate a place to eat as a unit. After walking a few blocks, we discovered a Pizza Hut (Yeah American Food!!!). I learned that even in China, pizza is good…After packing, I decided to get a good nights rest to get ready for the flight to Kunming.
Wednesday, June 24
From Xian, we caught a morning flight to Kunming which is in Yunnan Provence in Southwestern China. After landing and lunch we explored some of the natural wonders around Kunming. Our first stop was the Dragon’s Gate in the Western Hills. The Dragon’s Gate is a Taoist temple that offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside. You are up a good 400 feet and the drop is nearly straight down. Don’t slip… We also visited the Grand View Pavilion that was a botanical garden. It again had many Taoist temples and beautiful trees and flowers. Banzai trees were everywhere and Mr. Meagi would have been proud…
In the evening, we explored downtown Kunming and located a restaurant called “The Hump”. The establishment gets its name from the route flown by the famed Flying Tigers, U.S. pilots who aided the Chinese in fighting Japan prior to the U.S. getting involved in WWII. “The Hump” was the route the planes had to fly between the Himalayas due to Japanese control of the Burma Road. The Restaurant was adorned with pictures and memorabilia of the Flying Tigers. Too cool! I foresee my students having an assignment on the Flying Tigers next year…
Thursday, June 25
An outdoor excursion today as we visit the stone forest outside of Kunming. The Stone Forest is an other-worldly panorama of stone steles created a couple of million years ago by the forces of nature. I could try to describe it in writing but I simply won’t be able to do the Stone Forest justice. I’ll just have to post a few pictures. We hiked for about 2 hours and saw absolutely spectacular landscapes. In the evening, we visited “The Hump” the final time and paid our respects to the Flying Tigers. We heard an account of an elderly Chinese woman who saw the Tiger’s go into action against the Japanese for the first time. Apparently, there was a great deal of fear that the Japanese were going to invade Kunming and commit the same atrocities that were seen and Nanking. The woman recounted her stories of dogfights over Kunming, downed Zero’s, and throngs of cheering Chinese with tears in her eyes….
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Xian and Pictures
Sunday June 21
After an interesting overnight train ride, we arrived in Xian around 10:00 am. Our first taste of the culture of Xian was a trip to the local McDonald’s where we ate an exotic meal of double cheeseburgers and fries. Following our dining experience, we checked into our hotel (again, REALLY nice), freshened up with a well-needed shower, and headed out to explore Xian. Our first major stop was to the city wall. Built during the Ming Dynasty around 1370, it was intended to protect the then capital of China from invasion. The wall is massive and dwarfs the famous city wall of York, England. There are three gates and we entered through the south. The total perimeter of the wall is totals more than 8 miles and it averages around 30 meters in height. It is the only fully intact city wall in all of China and helped to protect the start of the ancient silk road . It is truly an impressive sight and the opportunity to walk on the wall was surreal.
Following the wall visit, we went to the Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum. This was a fairly typical museum that traced the history of Shanxi Provence from pre-historic times through the Qing dynasty. There had a few original Terra Cotta warriors which was cool.
After the museum, we had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant and headed to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This structure is actually a Buddhist temple built on a site where a goose dropped dead after monks prayed for meat (go figure!) We ended the day with a traditional dinner of dumplings and had the opportunity to sample around 25 different types. After dinner, we watched a traditional Tang dynasty singing and dancing show where the performers used musical instruments and costumes from that era. After the performance, time to crash. Tomorrow, it’s a visit to see the Terre Cotta warriors…
After an interesting overnight train ride, we arrived in Xian around 10:00 am. Our first taste of the culture of Xian was a trip to the local McDonald’s where we ate an exotic meal of double cheeseburgers and fries. Following our dining experience, we checked into our hotel (again, REALLY nice), freshened up with a well-needed shower, and headed out to explore Xian. Our first major stop was to the city wall. Built during the Ming Dynasty around 1370, it was intended to protect the then capital of China from invasion. The wall is massive and dwarfs the famous city wall of York, England. There are three gates and we entered through the south. The total perimeter of the wall is totals more than 8 miles and it averages around 30 meters in height. It is the only fully intact city wall in all of China and helped to protect the start of the ancient silk road . It is truly an impressive sight and the opportunity to walk on the wall was surreal.
Following the wall visit, we went to the Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum. This was a fairly typical museum that traced the history of Shanxi Provence from pre-historic times through the Qing dynasty. There had a few original Terra Cotta warriors which was cool.
After the museum, we had lunch at a traditional Chinese restaurant and headed to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This structure is actually a Buddhist temple built on a site where a goose dropped dead after monks prayed for meat (go figure!) We ended the day with a traditional dinner of dumplings and had the opportunity to sample around 25 different types. After dinner, we watched a traditional Tang dynasty singing and dancing show where the performers used musical instruments and costumes from that era. After the performance, time to crash. Tomorrow, it’s a visit to see the Terre Cotta warriors…
Confucian Temple, Confucius Statue
Summer Palace
Greg at the Bird's Nest
Lama Temple
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
In Greg's Own Words
China Travel JournalMonday June 15th
WE took off from O’Hare to Beijing around 1:00 PM Chicago time and flew over Green Bay, into Canada, Hudson Bay, the polar ice cap, crossed the international date line, south through Siberia, and into China. We arrived around 3:30 PM local time, a 13 hour flight. On the ground, there were a plethora of checkpoints where travelers had temperatures checked searching for unfortunate souls with H1 N1 virus. We were all lucky!!!
Tuesday June 16th (Beijing Time)
After arrival at the hotel (REALLY NICE PLACE) we ate dinner at a Chinese buffet which did not resemble the China buffet in Danville at all. Following dinner, myself and two of my fellow traveler, Noah and Loren, headed out to Tiananmen Square for our first glimpse of Chinese culture (and Mao). We were amazed at the amount of construction going on at 9:00 in the evening and how so many workers were working on so little. Following some pictures, I headed back to try and get some sleep and combat jet lag.
Wednesday June 17th
Jet lag is not fun…After sleeping for about one hour on the plane, I was up at 4:00 am. My roommate Jerry was up as well so we decided to head to Tiananmen Square for the flag-raising ceremony. I got some pictures and video but, overall, the flag-raising experience was a bit overrated. Following the ceremony, we walked around a bit to get a feel for Beijing. We walked around the square and say Mao’s mausoleum and the Hall of the People.
We then returned to the hotel and met up with the rest of the group. After breakfast, we returned to Tiananmen Square and visited the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City was spectacular! It was the residence of all Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The architecture was incredible and the gardens were quite impressive. I’ll try and post a few more pictures…
Following the Forbidden City, we visited the Temple of Heaven which was also built during the Ming Dynasty. Its purpose was for the emperor to make offerings to the gods in order to ensure a good harvest. We closed the day with a dinner of Beijing Duck which was interesting but good. It’s roasted duck served on Pita bread with sauce. It’s not back to the hotel where I’ll try and crash….
Thursday June 18th
Jet lag still has me!!! I woke up around 4:30 am and tossed and turned until 5:00 am. At that point, I decided to stop trying to fight sleep so I went for a morning run. I ran to Tiananmen Square, around the square, and back for a grand total of about 5 miles. I was amazed at the amount of work being done to the street and sidewalks. I have to laugh that out of 7 workers, only one is really doing any work…I am also amazed at the strong police and military presence around the square. Don’t piss and soldiers off!
After some eats, we headed for the Great Wall on an overcast, humid, rainy day. As we left Beijing and got closer to the wall, I was shocked at how hilly/mountainous the landscape became so quickly. As we near the wall, it starts to rain harder. Nice. We took a gondola to the top as it takes about 3 hours to hike to the wall (next time I’ll hike to it!) The gondola ride was quite impressive in spite of my desire to hike to the top. I spite of the rain, it was truly impressed by the wall and its grandeur. It is truly built on a mountain. How it could have been built using 12 century technology is beyond me. The rain put visibility at about 50 meters at most so I couldn’t see the entire scope of the wall (bummer!) The mist did give the experience an other-worldly ambiance however. I could almost see Mongols invading through the mist…
Following the great wall, we grabbed some lunch and headed out to the Ming tombs. The tombs were built as burial grounds for the Ming emperors, relatives, and concubines (bad to be a concubine as you were buried with the emperor alive!) The tombs had some elaborate statures and were an excellent example of Ming ere architecture. We closed the day with an Acrobatics Show in Beijing. It was a mix between Chinese Cirque de Sole and America’s Got Talent. Overall, quite entertaining.
Friday, June 19th
Today turned out to be a simply amazing day. This was our first free day so it was our first day of the trip where we were truly on our own. We started the day with a trip to Tiananmen Square to visit Mao’s who has been embalmed for 33 years inside his mausoleum. Overall, the old man looks pretty good…I was surprised at the amount of reverence the Chinese still show towards Mao as there were thousands of flowers laid by his tomb. I actually got to go through the tomb twice. I didn’t know that to see the museum inside you had to get a ticket outside the tomb. The tickets were free but I had to go through the process a second time anyway. Go Communism!!!
Following Mao, our little group of Americans in China split up as some of us headed to the Lama Temple while others went to other destinations. The Lama Temple is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside of Tibet. Walking in, you could tell the place had an incredibly spiritual vibe. Too cool. There were a number of monks inside and a plethora of Chinese burring incense and praying to a variety of Tibetan Buddhist gods. I wasn’t supposed to take pictures inside but I snuck a bunch. What a rebel! The highlight is the largest wooden Buddha in the world that stands about 40 meters tall. How I wanted to rub its belly….
We searched for a restaurant and went to a little place outside of the monastery. It’s always a fun experience to point to something in the menu and have no idea what you are ordering. Luckily, all of the food was excellent. We ate some time of beef stew, an egg and chicken dish, and a chicken stew/soup that was crazy hot but really good. We stupid tourists didn’t know that everything was served family style so we had WAY too much food! Nonetheless, we spent around $7 a piece. I love a good exchange rate!!!!
After lunch my group got a bit lost trying to find the Confucius Temple and Imperial college (not my fault; I told my group the right way to go but they insisted on going the opposite. Women….) Ultimately, getting momentarily lost was the best thing that could have happened as a number of serendipitous experiences began to occur. We reconnected with a number of people in our tour group including Richard Bohr (he is professor of Chinese studies at St. John’s University in St. Paul. The guy is fluent in Chinese and absolutely brilliant. He is the master, I am the grasshopper….) On our way to the temple, we ran into a bunch of middle school Chinese students. Let me tell you, in China, Americans are rock stars. The students wanted to talk our pictures and talk to us constantly. When they found out we were teachers, they were blown away. I must have answered 576 questions about American culture, schools, basketball, you name it, in 15 minutes. Cool experience….
When we finally arrived at the Confucian Temple, I was amazed at the vibe that permeated from the place. I can’t way I have ever bought into Feng Shui but the entire temple simply had this aura about it that I can’t put into words. You could almost feel the spirit of the thousands of past Confucian scholars who studies there. The architecture was fabulous as were the ancient Confucian artifacts and texts present there.
The day concluded with a final run in with serendipity. As we were leaving the temple, the aforementioned Richard Bohr struck up a conversation with a street vendor who was selling “authentic Confucian calligraphy”. Richard then told us that the old man wanted us to accompany him to his home. Me, always the skeptic, saw red flags waving everywhere as I was expecting to get ripped-off, mugged, or get my kidneys sold on the Chinese black market. I reluctantly accompanied my group to this man’s residence, a small room 10 ft by 10 ft in a Hutong or small Chinese residential street. Basically, the street and his room looked like a dive. We enter the small, cramped, humid room and he instructs us to sit on his bed or wherever we can find room. As Richard begins talking to him, some amazing revelations are revealed. This man was once a Profession of Calligraphy at Beijing University. Our guess was that during the Cultural Revolution, he was persecuted and banished to the countryside. He simply had the look of a weathered man who took all that life can throw at you and then some. He also revealed that he was currently teaching at a middle school in spite of the fact that he is 77 years old. We sat, talked, laughed, and ate watermelon that his neighbor brought in for us for around two hours as the old man made beautiful calligraphy works for us. I had him write “Olivia” and he explained the Chinese meaning to me. I even got the entire event recorded. Overall, a simply excellent day.
Saturday June 20
Today we checked out of our hotel in Beijing and will leave for Xian on an overnight train tonight. After checkout, we went to the summer palace, yet another playground for Chinese emperors. This was build during the Qing dynasty (the last one before overthrow by the republic of Sun Yat Sen) and is very similar to Ming architecture. We went on a boat ride around Lake Kunming and got a good vantage point of the palace. Following the boat ride, we went on a tour of the Olympic Venues including the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube where Michael Phelps won 837 gold medals. We ended the day at the Wang-fu-jing business district where I bought my girls, Apryl and Olivia, pearl necklaces. The girls should be happy! At 9:00 PM we boarded an overnight train to Xian, home of the Terre Cotta warriors…
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pictures
Finally some pictures!!
Unfortunately he's only sent two so far. He has a much better internet connection at his current hotel, so he is planning on sending me a post for all of you to read soon. He arrived in Xi'an via an overnight train. He is really looking forward to seeing the Terra Cottta Warriors tomorrow. Hope to post more soon!
Greg at the Great Wall
Me and Mao
Friday, June 19, 2009
Beijing
Hello students, family, and friends! This is actually Apryl (Mrs. Swyn) writing for Greg. He is experiencing the communist government first hand....they have his blog blocked! He wants to apologize for the lack of posts, but his hotel has had terrible wireless internet access. Olivia and I have only talked to him once and gotten one e-mail, which I will include excerpts of. He hopes his next hotel provides him the opportunity to send more e-mails (so I can post them on this blog) and send pictures, which he says he would love to share with everyone!
So, a summary of Beijing...
Day One (6/17/2009): Tiananmen Square at night and during the daytime, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and a traditional Peking Roast Duck dinner. For those of you who know Greg well, and know that he is NOT a morning person, this will confirm how much he is suffering from jet lag. "I was wiped but had jet lag so bad, my roomate and I got up at 4:00 am and went to the flag raising at Tiannamen Sq." Note: 4 am!! As his wife, I am shocked!!! Aside from that, I don't know about his experiences at any of these places. He'll have to fill all you loyal readers in when he returns.
Day Two (6/18/2009): The Great Wall was "so amazing but so disappointing....It was rainy and foggy we could only see about 50 yards." He also went to a Cloisonne Factory, which he said was incredible. They were making beautiful statues out of the cloisonne. He would have loved to purchase one, but wasn't sure how to get it back here safely. They were also told they could find them cheaper in other places. He also went to the Ming Tombs and an Acrobatic Show. I can't wait to hear details about the Acrobatic Show!! His day ended with a visit to a night market. "I was at the night market in Beijing. Can you say total Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel? There were fried scorpions, fried starfish, fried silkworms, you name it...I think I smelled stinky tofu as well. Absolutely rank!"
Day Three (6/19/2009): Free Study Day. He went with a guy in his tour group who speaks fluent Chinese. I believe he is a professor of Chinese in Minnesota.
"So yesterday was amazing. It was our first free study day. I went to Mao's tomb (twice, long story) and got to see the embalmbed Mao Tse Tong followed by the Mao museum. Pretty cool. From there, I went to the Lama Temple, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monestary outside of Tibet. So cool....you'd love it. Huge pagoda type structures, monks burning inscence, and the largest carved wooden Buddha in the world (about 40 feet tall, I thing). The whole place had such a peaceful atmosphere. Lunch on our own was interesting...Got to order something that I had no idea what it was. We manged to luck out, however and got some really good Chinese food which was a bit different than China Buffet. I ordered a beef stew, someone else in my group had this chicken dish that was CRAZY spicy, and someone else got this egg and chicken thing. It's served family style so when it was all said and done, we had WAY too much food. The waitresses must have thought we were idiots...
From there, we hit the Confucian Temple where Chinese scholars have taken Confucian governmental entrance exams since about 1300. Unreal...such an amazing setting. It oozed history and had such a great vibe. You have to see my pictures.
The highlight of the day came on a whim and I wound up getting Olivia the coolest gift ever. I'll try to make this brief and I could describe the situation better over Skype but I'll try...For most of the day, I was with Richard Borer, the chinese language prof. (brilliant guy) On our way out of the temple, this old chinese guy approaches him and they start talking. He has some caligraphy that he wants to sell us...I'm thinking great, more street vendor crap. Richard then tells us that this guy is a teacher and he wants us to follow him to his house. Again, I'm REALLY skeptical...but our group follows him. His place is this little dive of an apartment if you can call it that. It was all of 10 x 10 feet with a little desk and a bed. To make a long story short, turns out this guy was a professor of caligraphy at Beijing University. I have him write Olivia's name and he makes this beautiful poster. What's cool is that I have the whole process videotaped with him explaining what everything means. Unreal experience!"
Those are the adventures thus far for Mr. Swyn. Stay tuned, and hopefully we'll get to hear more frequently about his travels around China!
So, a summary of Beijing...
Day One (6/17/2009): Tiananmen Square at night and during the daytime, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and a traditional Peking Roast Duck dinner. For those of you who know Greg well, and know that he is NOT a morning person, this will confirm how much he is suffering from jet lag. "I was wiped but had jet lag so bad, my roomate and I got up at 4:00 am and went to the flag raising at Tiannamen Sq." Note: 4 am!! As his wife, I am shocked!!! Aside from that, I don't know about his experiences at any of these places. He'll have to fill all you loyal readers in when he returns.
Day Two (6/18/2009): The Great Wall was "so amazing but so disappointing....It was rainy and foggy we could only see about 50 yards." He also went to a Cloisonne Factory, which he said was incredible. They were making beautiful statues out of the cloisonne. He would have loved to purchase one, but wasn't sure how to get it back here safely. They were also told they could find them cheaper in other places. He also went to the Ming Tombs and an Acrobatic Show. I can't wait to hear details about the Acrobatic Show!! His day ended with a visit to a night market. "I was at the night market in Beijing. Can you say total Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel? There were fried scorpions, fried starfish, fried silkworms, you name it...I think I smelled stinky tofu as well. Absolutely rank!"
Day Three (6/19/2009): Free Study Day. He went with a guy in his tour group who speaks fluent Chinese. I believe he is a professor of Chinese in Minnesota.
"So yesterday was amazing. It was our first free study day. I went to Mao's tomb (twice, long story) and got to see the embalmbed Mao Tse Tong followed by the Mao museum. Pretty cool. From there, I went to the Lama Temple, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monestary outside of Tibet. So cool....you'd love it. Huge pagoda type structures, monks burning inscence, and the largest carved wooden Buddha in the world (about 40 feet tall, I thing). The whole place had such a peaceful atmosphere. Lunch on our own was interesting...Got to order something that I had no idea what it was. We manged to luck out, however and got some really good Chinese food which was a bit different than China Buffet. I ordered a beef stew, someone else in my group had this chicken dish that was CRAZY spicy, and someone else got this egg and chicken thing. It's served family style so when it was all said and done, we had WAY too much food. The waitresses must have thought we were idiots...
From there, we hit the Confucian Temple where Chinese scholars have taken Confucian governmental entrance exams since about 1300. Unreal...such an amazing setting. It oozed history and had such a great vibe. You have to see my pictures.
The highlight of the day came on a whim and I wound up getting Olivia the coolest gift ever. I'll try to make this brief and I could describe the situation better over Skype but I'll try...For most of the day, I was with Richard Borer, the chinese language prof. (brilliant guy) On our way out of the temple, this old chinese guy approaches him and they start talking. He has some caligraphy that he wants to sell us...I'm thinking great, more street vendor crap. Richard then tells us that this guy is a teacher and he wants us to follow him to his house. Again, I'm REALLY skeptical...but our group follows him. His place is this little dive of an apartment if you can call it that. It was all of 10 x 10 feet with a little desk and a bed. To make a long story short, turns out this guy was a professor of caligraphy at Beijing University. I have him write Olivia's name and he makes this beautiful poster. What's cool is that I have the whole process videotaped with him explaining what everything means. Unreal experience!"
Those are the adventures thus far for Mr. Swyn. Stay tuned, and hopefully we'll get to hear more frequently about his travels around China!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Two days before I leave! Here are the cities and hotels I will be staying if you want to check them out...
Beijing; June 16-20: Beijing Jianguo Garden Hotel- www.jianguogardenhotel.com
Xi'an; June 21-23: Titan Times Hotel- www.titantimeshotel.com
Kunming; June 24-25: New Era Hotel- www.erahotel.cn
Dali; June 26: The Regent Hotel- www.regenthotel.cn
Lijiang; June 27-28: Golden Spring Hotel- http://lj.jqhotel.cn/contact_en-us.php
Zhongdian; June 29-30: Holy Palace Hotel- www.ynlfx.com
Shanghai; July 1-3: Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai- http://ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/shgdt
Beijing; June 16-20: Beijing Jianguo Garden Hotel- www.jianguogardenhotel.com
Xi'an; June 21-23: Titan Times Hotel- www.titantimeshotel.com
Kunming; June 24-25: New Era Hotel- www.erahotel.cn
Dali; June 26: The Regent Hotel- www.regenthotel.cn
Lijiang; June 27-28: Golden Spring Hotel- http://lj.jqhotel.cn/contact_en-us.php
Zhongdian; June 29-30: Holy Palace Hotel- www.ynlfx.com
Shanghai; July 1-3: Holiday Inn Downtown Shanghai- http://ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/shgdt
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)