Chinese New Year, Kunming, Day 2

So Thursday morning we had to decide between several places: Chongong flower village, Xishan (east mountains), and Shilin (Stone forest). The flower villages and East Mountains were written about as the less expensive option in Lonely Planet, while Shilin is an area that used to be underwater, and now has rock formations since the water has been long gone. The problem with Shilin is that the admissions is about 170+ kuai (about $22-25), and it costs an additional 100 kuai each way to get there (the ride is at least 1-2 hours)… all in all quite troublesome. The descriptions we’ve read described the area as beautiful but swarmed with tourists, especially during Chinese national holidays (Chinese New Year being one of the biggest holidays in China.)

We checked out of the hostel and left our luggage in the main office. After eating some noodles for breakfast, Laura and I decided to go to Xishan (western mountains). This area is known for a placed called Dragon Gate. The West Hills (西山 Xi Shan) provide a good view of the city and have a few ancient Daoist (Taoist) caves of sculptures. There are many of tombs, temples, and the dragon gate (group of grottos and sculptures, and corridors carved between 1731 and 1835 by Taoist monks). We asked the person at our hotel about how to take the bus there, but we wandered around aimlessly for about 15-20 minutes, and didn’t understand why we should take a bus East if we’re going West and then South. We finally took one bus (WEST) to a main bus station, where we finally found the bus that eventually took us to the Western mountains.

I would hardly describe our walk as a mountain walk. While it is technically a mountain, when we arrived we simply saw a winding paved road. It technically had two lanes of traffic, but if the car was large it was difficult for both cars to get through. The twisting roads reminded me of roads along the Amalfi Coast with more tour groups and the smell of gasoline. When we went through the gate we were immediately bombarded with Chinese asking if we wanted a ride up the hill. We did not want a ride to the top because our guide books both said there were a variety of temples we could stop by if we walked, and boy what a walk! We must have “hiked” uphill at least 5-10 miles. We stopped by three Buddhist/Taoist temples which were all beautiful (pictures to come). On our way to the temples there was a pedestrian path (away from the cars) which proved to be way more pleasant than walking uphill (with no sidewalk) along the road with cars/motorcycles honking every two seconds.

As we approached the main entrance that lead into the Dragon Gate, we were welcomed by many touristy stands where vendors sold various trinkets, including but not limited to cowboy hats, silver jewelry, and wood carvings. I’m sure the cowboy hats were quite authentic. We paid our entrance fee and started walking up the “cobblestone” pathways up, up and up. The walking paths were narrow and the people were numerous. It was quite overwhelming, especially since we were some of the only foreigners (read: Caucasians) there. We even had people trying to sneak pictures/videos of us with their cameras. We saw some amazing views of Dianchi (the huge lake south of Kunming), but we had been walking for many hours at this point. We considered going to the top to take a chairlift down, but we didn’t know how much it was or where it actually went. So we walked back DOWN the hill and tried getting a van to go back down. We finally negotiated with a driver and we paid 5 kuai/person. But that traffic I spoke about earlier? Well, it came back with a vengeance. After only 5 minutes of going downhill, the traffic backed up and stopped. We waited in the car 15-20 minutes and just gave up, got out of the van, and walked all the way down. At this point we were EXHAUSTED. We had seen many things and experienced life through Chinese tourism, but it was quite draining. In addition to that, we couldn’t find the bus stop. We approached a van to ask the price, but the driver was trying to rip us off with a price of 50 kuai/person. So, young as we are, we walked, and walked, and walked. I finally saw a cab, flagged it down, and we returned to the city for a mere 25 kuai.

We picked up our luggage and found a hot pot restaurant near our bus station. We ate hot pot, then got on our bus. I have been on a sleeper train before but never a sleeper bus. This was quite an experience. The bus had three rows of beds and each row had a lower bunk and a top bunk. The sheet, pillow, and “comforter” were a bright Halloween orange, and you had a small shelf above your feet to put a purse, bag, etc. The back of the bus had no isles between the beds, but instead had five beds in one row, with both a bottom bunk and a top bunk. My ticket number said I was in the row of five. I did not want to sleep next to a random stranger, so I was pretty unhappy. The entire bus was full, but luckily there were some foreigners, including a group of five, and I switched with one of them so three of them had the beds in the back.

I barely slept. We kept stopping for gas, the bus hit almost every bump along the way, and at one point a policeman stopped the bus and inspected it. I’m assuming the officer inspected it to make sure there were a correct amount of people on board. The beds were OKAY but the bumps in the road were just terrible.

We arrived in Lijiang on Friday morning around 4am, but we were allowed to stay on the bus and sleep until 7am. More about my Lijiang adventures later…

Chinese New Year- Kunming, Day 1

So this Chinese New Year was quite an experience. We had a week off from school. Many people tried leaving elsewhere the Friday or Saturday when we got out, but it had been snowing so much that many flights were canceled or delayed. Luckily Laura arrived from the United States on Tuesday and our flight to Kunming left on Wednesday morning. I was a bit worried about traveling first thing on Wednesday morning (2/6) because that was the beginning of the Chinese New Year for almost everyone else in China.

For Chinese New Year many Chinese return to their homes, or usually visit their parents or other family members. Last year was the year of the Pig, and it was a golden year which made last year especially lucky. Many women tried to have children during the Golden Year of the Pig because the pig is known not to work that hard, so being born in a golden year makes it easier for Pigs to be more successful. Now it is the year of the Rat. Next year is the year of the Ox. I was born during the year of the Ox. Ox are known for being loyal and stubborn. I think these descriptions fit me to a t.

I spent Saturday through Tuesday simply relaxing, cleaning up my house, and getting ready for Laura’s arrival. Those four days were the longest amount of time I’ve had to myself in Shanghai while in my apartment, so it was /REALLY/ nice to relax in my own place without the constant everyday worries from work. I tried going biking on Sunday (2/3) but there was ice on the ground. I hit black ice within less than 5 minutes of leaving, crashed, and messed up the brake and gears on my bike, so I couldn’t ride.

Back to Wednesday… we caught a taxi but originally we worried we wouldn’t get one. We left at around 5:15am to catch a 7:45am flight. We walked to the gate but there were no taxis there. Another man (who lived in the neighborhood) had called a taxi and when he learned when our flight was leaving, he gave us his cab. I gave him my card and hopefully he’ll contact me. Both Laura and I really appreciated the kind gesture on his part.

The plane flight was comfortable. We arrived around 11:30am. We got out luggage and took a cab to purchase the overnight bus on Thursday night to Lijiang. Afterwards we checked into our hostel. We then wandered around Kunming and ate some lunch. We had wanted to go to a place called the Bamboo temple but we couldn’t find the bus stop/station to get there. Instead we walked through the Bird and Flower market. At the market I bought a few touristy things. Afterwards we just explored other areas of the city. Because Chinese New Year had just begun, most places were closed. We wandered to a local park where we just walked around and saw the beautiful scenery. We tried finding a restaurant in our guidebook but it had shut down. We ate elsewhere and then saw many fireworks to start off the beginning of Chinese New Year. Since Laura was jetlagged and I was tired, we tried going to sleep early, but it was a bit difficult with the blasting of fireworks throughout the night.

Two "Whoa!" moments

Whoa! moment number 1:

I was walking through the gate to get into my school and one of the guards came up to me, smiling. He then motioned with his hand in a big circle around his belly and said to me, "Pregnant? Pregnant?!" I was wearing a big coat but I seriously haven't gained /that/ much weight! I just thought to myself, "Is he serious?!"

Moral of the story: Begin strict workout plan.


Whoa! moment number 2:

I checked my e-mail this morning, and one of the messages I received had this subject, "Referred by ________". The e-mail then spoke about how I had been referred to the writer by an old teacher of mine from GA. This person also wants to teach in China. Following this, the writer then listed said educational qualifications, attached a resume, and asked my advice.

Moral of the story: I'm growing up WAY too fast!

A Shanghai Winter

So although my Chinese New Year break is over and I have returned from my trip to Yunnan Province, I want to talk a bit about Shanghai in January.

With the people I've spoken to and the travel books I've read, Shanghai is supposed to be cold (with humidity) but rarely gets below freezing. I thought, in relation to my winters spent in New England the past four years that this winter would be nothing in comparison. But the past few weeks have severely proven me wrong. Not only has it been cold, over a period of two weeks it has also snowed in Shanghai at least 4 or 5 days. We even had a snow day off two Tuesdays ago. Ironically children had the day off but faculty were required to come into work. Although this may be normal for Washington State and Canada, I have never heard of such a thing in Pennsylvania or New Jersey schools. If the weather is poor enough that it's unsafe to let children travel to school, why force teachers? What was even more unfair was the fact that teachers who live in Puxi (in the area West of the river) didn't come in because the roads were too dangerous, but teachers who live in Pudong (the area East of the river) had to come in because we live closer. How ridiculous is that? It's a complete double standard.

ANYWAY... about the snow. When I first arrived back to Shanghai it simply rained for almos two weeks straight. We had maybe one day of sunshine before the snow started. Although colder, I much prefer snow to rain because at least you don't get soaked, plus you can have snowball fights and play outside. We didn't get that much snow (maybe a few inches), but in a city that has the same latitude as Austin, TX is not used to having to plow roads, clean snow off cars, and bike/drive on ice. The amount of snow Shanghai got over the period of Jan 24-Feb 2 was the most the city has gotten in like 57+ years. With this comes cold, and in an area this far south the buildings are poorly insulated and poorly heated. Many faculty members with school provided housing had a lot of trouble with their heating systems but luckily mine was fixed as soon as I returned to China.

When I returned on Sun January 13, I got in around 2pm. My internal clock was messed up but I ended up taking a shower around 11pm only to have my electricity turn off in the middle of the shower. This meant the heat turned off too. So I just spoke to the person at school in charge of housing and kindly demanded that he fix my electricity and heat (the heat hadn't been working previously but it wasn't as much a problem because in December it wasn't nearly as cold.)

Anyway... jumping back to the winter weather, we had off on Tuesday, January 29, but I still had to go in to work. That afternoon I took some snow pictures. Many people made snowmen, and some people had never even seen snow before. I hope you enjoy the following pictures around my neighborhood. (Notice the palm trees protected in bubble wrap!)

ERA——“时空之旅”

So last Sunday I had the pleasure of seeing the Chinese Circus. The performance was called ERA. One of my friends organized the occasion and about 10 of us from school ended up going to the show.

When we arrived at the performance center, the building looked like a giant igloo, almost similar to the old center where the Philadelphia Eagles have their pre-season training. Or it looked more like taking the Epcot circular ball thing and cut it in half:

To summarize it, the performances consisted not of your regular Barnum & Bailey acts, but instead a romanticized assortment of various acrobatic, physical, throwing and bending feats. The first part of the show had a semi-transparent circular enclosure. People in costumes biked in circles around the enclosure. Some wore bicycle helmets (shock of all shocks!) and the costumes were bright and tight- very reminiscent of the 80s.

Following this was a multimedia show with the viewpoint of a man bicycling through town. He then entered the stage biking carrying a large wagon behind him. On the wagon was a giant pot, which he opened. Then four women did walking handstands out of the pot toward offstage. The man wore a black vest that was a bit too small (and showed his belly and love handles), and he wore beat up baggy pants. Then male acrobats entered from nowhere, set up rings and started to dive through the rings are regular (and irregular intervals).

Other acts included a male and female acrobatic duet where there were two ribbon-type things hanging from the ceiling. They danced together and performed amazing feats. There were also other acrobats on stilts standing on a see-saw where two/three people would jump off, land on the opposite side, and propel the person on stilts into the air. The person on stilts would then flip and land (somehow) elegantly on the ground.

Other women acrobats:

The man with the black vest and pants also did a routine where he was throwing a large heavy ming dynasty (blue and white) designed pot. He would throw it 20 feet into the air and catch it without breaking. He also used the back of his neck to catch the falling vase. The beginning of the show also had a woman throwing bowls to a man balanced on a piece of board that was on a rolling cylinder. He would then catch it, balance a bowl on his foot, throw his foot up and catch the bowl on his head. He then took two bowls (with the first bowl still on his head), balanced them on his foot, threw it up into the air, and had the two bowls land on the bowl already on his head. He did this until about 15 or so bowls were on his head, followed by a drinking glass. Then he tried (3 times, but with no success) to get a spoon to balance in the glass that was in the stack of 15+ bowls. It was crazy.

My favorite acts were by far the last performance of the first act and the last performance of the second act. The first act had this strange wheel contraption with men inside the inner wheels to propel it forward, followed by a variety of men on top of the inner wheels, walking, doing cartwheels, walking on their hands, walking blindfolded, etc. There were at least 7 times when these men almost fell. They could have seriously hurt themselves but it was mind boggling how amazing they were.

The end of the second act consisted of a metal cage and motorcycles driving inside of it, in formations, and around the cage 360 degrees (both vertically and horizontally!!) This last picture will give you a better idea:
Yes, those white and red lines are people on motorcycles driving around inside the cage. There were 6 of the motorcyclists driving in there at one point. Simply dangerous and breathtaking.

You know you're back in China when...

You know you're back in China when...
- regularly seeing people outside wearing face masks doesn't surprise you.
- seeing someone pick up a piece of trash and throw it away does surprise you.
- the number of bikes on the street equals the number of cars on the street.
- while biking, you are un-fazed by cars driving within six inches of you.
- $15 for a fake bag is considered expensive.
- the standard person walking down the street stares at you.
- constant congestion is considered normal and even expected.
- some trucks are the same size as a regular American 4-door sedan.
- adults often play at the local playground.
- fireworks can be heard at random hours, either at night or during the day.
- cooking at home can be more expensive than eating out at a restaurant (depending on where you go.)
- you can get a delicious bowl of noodles for about $0.60.

Jet lag and cloudy days

For the most part I've been working and sleeping. This is good. I'm using my first week back in China to simply re-acclimate to the routine, culture, weather, my work and people.

Unfortunately the weather here leaves something to be desired. Since arriving Sunday afternoon I have yet to see sunshine. The weather has been a combination of cold rain, gloomy and overcast. We're apparently supposed to get sunshine on Friday, but I think it's pretty pathetic to go 5 days straight without directly seeing the sun. I also did not miss the air quality. I'm considering purchasing an air filter for my home but I honestly do not know how much air filters actually help the air in your home. Does anyone know for sure?

I've started reading the newspaper on-line (shocker of all shocks!) and there is a depressing article about China's air quality. It specifically focuses on Beijing in preparation for the Olympics but environmental issues are an ongoing problem here because China constantly ignores environmental issues. The air quality on "Blue Sky days" in Beijing is still considered severely polluted by European and Untied States standards. I worry about the obvious increase in health problems for the Chinese as well because the problems are long term. While I am not criticizing China, seeing people wear face masks while biking to work or walking shows that there's an obvious problem with the air.

Anyway... I enjoyed being home. It's good to be back but I miss my family and friends.