Xi'an to Hangzhou

Twice two nights ago my message did not connect with the fershluggener blogger site. I'll do these blogs piecemeal now.

Xi'an as a shouting opera, which Westerners cannot seem to sit through too long. It's a predecessor of theBeijing opera. However, a favorite seems to be the Anhui opera, where I visited over ten years ago.

As some of us passed along the streets of Xi'an, one of our students popped out of a shop called Purple Haze to say Hey. I had to investigate what the shop was (shades of Jimi Hendrix). It was a hairdresser cum snack bar. Two if our crew got their hair done there (a male as well as a female).

Watched a Tang Dynasty show. The music was very nice.

Plane to Hangzhou. Despite half hour delay on the tarmac, it was an easy two-hour flight. Hot in Hangzhou: 95 degrees and high humidity. I've never been here so it is a real treat. Boated on West Lake, which has a scene which is depicted on the one Yuan note: the three moon-reflecting pools. Elaine and Frosty would like this place. It has little pollution, due to emphasis on light or high-tech industry; it has preserved a lot of the foliage; it has planted a lot, too. Lot of prosperity. Even peasants have built multi-storey homes here. Gated communities exist.

Went to the Six Harmonies Pagoda, about a thousand years old. Octagonal and wooden, 13-storeys on the outside, 7 on the inside.

Then to the Song Dynasty show in a Song Dynasty village. The show was a spectacle with, rain (mist fell on the audience), something resembling snow, stage and front seats mechanically moving to reconfigure area, horses galloping, a spectacular laser light show, cannons firing, and I'll try to think of what else.

Took a late evening walk. Street shops are open and there are a lot of people out in the hot night.

Our hotel has coffee for breakfast.

June 29, '06 Xi'an

Went to the east gate of the city. Then to the Shaanxi History Museum. Shaanxi is the province Xi'an is in. I'd been here two years ago but ow had a better chance to see the collection. Guide was better and friends accompanying us were more knowledgeable. I didn't know that when the Japanese bombed Pearl harbor and used the code Tora, Tora, Tora, it referred to an incident in Chinese history. Tora is Japanese for tiger and the Chinese for it is du. There is a figurene of a tiger that was a code between emperor and general. It was split in two and when they were united then the battle plan couled be effected. Some of our crew got coffees at the museum. Most of us have been doing without coffee.

Afternoon at the drum tower and the Muslim area around the mosque. The mosque is remarkable because it actually looks very Chinese in design. The minaret looks very Chinese. In the past two years the admission price has gone up from RMB 10 to 12.

Later, a student noticed us passing by and came out of a place to say Hey. The shop was called Purple Haze. Shades of Jimi Hendricks! I wondered what it in fact it was. Reassured that it was a hairdresser's. One girl got her hair done and added red streaks. Another girl got her nails done in multicolors. One of the guys had his hair done there, too. They serve snacks, as well.

Dinner tonight was Western food. When they announced this there was some consternation. Then we were reassured that it is the equivalent of Chinese food in the US which is americanized so we gamely went to try Sinified American food. This included burgers, fries and steak, et al.

Tang Dynasty music performance in the evening.

Xi'an has something called a shouting opera. It was an early influence on the Beijing opera. Westerners last there only a short time, said our guide.

Whenever we are served a Chinese dish we are told what it is good for: the complexion, digestion, the heat, etc. This is something we do not often hear about Western food. Maybe this is how the Chinese get their children accustomed to such a variety of foods. Some of our students have a very limited repertoire of things they choose to eat.

June 28 Xi'an

Train trip of almost thirteen hours to Xi'an was better than most expected. We were in stacked three high and there were no cabins, so lots of ambient noise until lights went out at 10PM. Most of us slept pretty well, or better than we thought.

The Xi'an Hotel is 4 star. Checked in but then went to tour the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Susan has seen it and it is my third time. Same with the Terra Cotta Warriors site. It's still exciting visiting these places.

Dinner at a Hui (ethnic Han Chinese Muslim as opposed to Uighur or Kazakh non-Han Chinese Muslim--if that makes any sense) restaurant. We tore up a just made and still warm piece of thick unleavened bread into a bowl. This took some time, as the pieces were supposed to be small. In the meantime we snacked on crunchy fish skin, slices of beef in aspic, green beans and peppers, marinated lotus root, etc. Then we had a choice of beef or mutton with broth for the bowl of bread pieces. I chose the mutton. Added fresh coriander, hot red pepper paste, and pickled cloves of garlic. Everyone tried it under Chen's admonitions.

Found out yesterday that the tongue numbing ingredient that we have been noticing is Chinese Prickly Ash.

Still problems with my computer, so I'll continue the blog as I can.

Most of the people in the internet cafe I blogged from previously were playing games on the computer.

June 27, '06

I'm sending this from an internet cafe that I would not recognize as such from the outside. Over a hundred stations and most are occupied. One hour for 3 yuan (8 yuan =US dollar). My lap top and the internet connection at the university (NCUT) are still not functioning well. I cannot find your replies as the setup is the Chinese version of blogger. Also, the letters on this keyboard are mostly worn off. Perhaps I'll be able to access blogger and the internet normally in Xi'an.

The Dean will accompany us. This is some of the treatment from the NCUT staff that we are getting. Train will be a "hard sleeper" of three bunks a row and no separation into compartments. We'll know who snores.

June 26, '06

June 26, ‘06

Toured the Botanical Gardens and thought Elaine and Frosty would enjoy it. There is a Temple of the Reclining Buddha from Tang Dynasty (1,300 years ago) and a Buddha statue from the first year of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty 14th century. The site was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and has been restored. In one of the side temple buildings you could see through the windows statues being formed out of what looked like sticks and mud or clay.

Of interest only to myself was a memorial to Liang Qiqao a political activist under the late Qing Dynasty who lasted into the early Republican period. The memorial was not as well kept as I thought it might be. I wonder if he was eclipsed by history.

There is a huge conservatory on the grounds and the Academy of Sciences has a Botanical Institute nearby but not on this site.

Had to walk twenty minutes uphill to get to Fragrant Hills garden. We chose not to hike to the top and take the chair lift back, but to take the lift up and walk down. It took a strenuous forty minutes to get down on steps which were sometimes steep. I thought it would take us much longer. Others elected to take the lift back down. So we hikers came back to the entrance soaked in sweat. The lift ride up was really spectacular because of the view. However, despite last night’s rain (and the rain the night before) the smog obscured the view. As we climbed down we noticed some Chinese trying to run up the steps, other negotiating them barefooted.

Our guide, a small and wiry fellow who traipsed down the steps like a goat, has spent three months at Cal Poly Pomona. He now wants to do an undergraduate year at ETSU. Met another Chinese student before we left the hotel this morning who studied at Pomona, and she even sounded like a Valley Girl. Chinese students who wind up in California are grateful for the Asian population already there so they can get Chinese food. They tire of American food. However, probably not as much as some of our Tennessee students who have learned to order “Western steak” at the Japanese restaurant on campus. On shopping expeditions some of the students have found Pizza Hut or Outback, as well as MacDonald’s.

Dinner with the vice president who welcomed us when we first arrived. He is Korean by origin and his family came to China in 1940. Hangzhou-style restaurant. Kidney (a specialty of the house), two different fish, cucumber and pear in lemon sauce, duck, steamed bread in the shape of a clam shell that you open up and stuff with meat, a couple of soups, stuffed tofu and rice noodles, etc.

June 25, '06

June 25, ‘06

Internet came up briefly then went down again at the university. I guess we’ll have to wait till Xi’an in several days to attempt postings. We’re always busy and cannot get to an internet café, which will then cost us.

On campus today I saw both a self-propelled lawn mower and a weed whacker. The other tool was a two-wheeled platform where the cut grass was laid to remove who knows where. I remember scythes for cutting the grass in Russia over a decade ago. And here there is a glut of labor.

The dean was out at the railroad station warning the Cal Poly Pomona group to beware of pickpockets. Soon afterwards he himself was pickpocketed and lost his wallet. People always warn you about the train stations. There is a Chinese expression that goes something like: shrimp, lobster, etc.; you never know what kind of people are there.

One of our guides has decided that he prefers us Tenneseeans to the Californians. The Chinese guides have to work both groups and they weigh the groups’ personalities. When we were able to get into Qinghua University but prevented from touring the grounds of Beijing University (BeiDa), he compared the Poly people to BeiDa people, and again expressed his fondness for us. It probably factors in that he wants to come to ETSU.

Found out that mar jiang means sesame paste, so I’ve asked the international office staff to get a correct translation for the ingredient that numbs the tongue. It seems to be a pepper.

Numerous plates of food are served at a lazy Susan for groups or at banquets. Cold appetizers first, then hot dishes. A soup or two are interspersed with the hot dishes. Dessert is fruit, mostly watermelon (tasty), but yellow melon too, which I really like. At the end of the meal after the “dishes” are served, we are asked, what would we like for “food’? This means rice, probably steamed bread (haven’t had it yet at the end of meal), noodles, or jiaozi or Chinese dumplings (the kind my Chinese colleague in Japan made for Susan and me). We’ve had the dumplings stuffed with pork and with colored dough, green or reddish, filled with different veg. Usually we have had enough to eat and try to refuse the “food.” Our hosts then tell us that the dumplings are a specialty of this place and we have to concede to eat another course. The noodle dish is quite good also. It’s made with broth, egg, veg and other stuff.

June s22

June 22, ‘06

Made Chinese knots. The only thing I remember making in summer recreation programs is a lanyard. Cut outs go back to Tang Dynasty, ca 7th C. The knots go back much further and were found in the earliest of the archeological sites. I have another, expensive present, made by a very famous Chinese folk artist for Susan.

Temple of Heaven. Zipped through it, but got some pictures of our group on the spot where the emperor made his reports to heaven.

Hongqiao Market. Across the way from the Temple of Heaven. A five or six storey building filled with tourist items. Most people bought something. Negotiations were successful. I tried to get a kid’s panda T shirt for Gus but remembered he didn’t like a tight fit over the head. I was one of the only ones not to have purchased anything there. One of our girls came back with tea sets, purses, and all sorts of things saying, “I love this country.” At the zoo yesterday she bought a large plush turtle. I wonder how some of them will get their trove back. Many did buy suitcases, so they have it figured out. Others have bought musical instruments, tea sets, geomancer’s compasses, abaci, King-size bedspreads, wall hangings, and assorted geegaws.

Encountered finally for dinner items like duck liver, sea cucumber, a variety of duck innards, scallops, a sea fish (in contrast to freshwater fish), boned duck feet.

Internet was down at the university. It is presumably up but I am still not able to access it, so I cannot even receive email. Caleb’s is not working either.

June 21, '06

June 21, ‘06

We made Chinese folk cutouts: a butterfly, double happiness (two characters for happiness), and a variation on double happiness. I fleetingly thought of bringing them home as a gift for Susan, explaining that they were made by a famous artist and were expensive. (Susan: did you want me to buy some art?)

Went to the zoo and saw the pandas. The grounds of the zoo (est. 1906 in imperial times) are extensive. We got tired in the heat.

June 20, '06

June 20, ‘06

Great Wall. Weather was fine. Overcast and not too hot. When I came with Susan, it rained and I was in flip flops. The next time was sunny and hot. This time I chose the Heroes’ Trail. It’s extremely steep, but I hadn’t been this way before.

At lunch some discovered they liked an item but could not understand what it was. Turned out to be tripe. Also had shrimp, friend whole and eaten whole, and yam French fries. Among about 15 other dishes.

Ming Tombs. The Ding Ling tomb with the Emperor Wanli’s casket as well as his two empresses. Susan has been here too.

Took a walk in the evening. Chinese universities have walls and gates so they can be sealed off. I took an exit across railroad tracks along a long road that seemed to cater to neighborhood needs. The campus is a place where you expect to get away with some English. This street was very different. Lots of different kinds of people. It finally opened onto a larger street. A lot of haze in the air.

Some of the students went to Sam’s (one of them had a card). Others went to the shopping area again in downtown area, some especially to get Western food.

Cal Poly Pomona guy and King College student helped with computer. Able to run a virus scan that got rid of almost a score of them. Two remained on. By typing them into search, we deleted them. So I was able to get back on the computer. Sent messages to Susan and Myra, but nothing appeared in sent mail. Susan sent me an email noting that I got back on the blog. So I can receive emails but not send them. Did another virus scan just now, and none were found.

When I try to reply to an email I get a runtime error message. Debug . Message says “line 61 ‘undefined’ is null or not an object.” Sounds existential. Then a duplicate page of my Outlook web mail comes up. It happens each time after I select debug and then end debug. (Any suggestions, Myra or Barbara?)

Finally, my credit card gets an error message too (S: can you see if it has been blocked?). Perhaps, I’ll not be able to stock up on the edible wild tree fungus this time.

Lama Temple

June 19, 2006

Lecture on festivals.

Tour of Lama Temple. The erotic statues were covered in cloth. However the ones for sale by the establishment were not. Bought an amulet for the health concerns of a friend. Third time I’ve been here, the first time with Susan.

Walked to the Confucian institution labeled and early university.

Big treat was dinner at a nearby Buddhist vegetarian restaurant. A wonderful array of foods, some mimicking meats. The mock “pork” not only resembled the meat in taste but in texture and appearance as well. One of the soups had mar jiang in it (I don’t know the translation). I remember it from before because it makes my tongue somewhat numb for several hours afterwards.

Evening performance of acrobats.

Art; shopping

Last night, Chinese student took six American students out for Karaoke. Americans did not participate in the singing.

A bus and three subway lines took five of us to Qing Hua University, one of China’s most prestigious and founded by Americans. One of our guides has a roommate whose father is a nationally known artist and has his studio there. Dai Daquan showed us his work, mostly woodcuts and etchings. His work is in a variety of styles, from realism to abstraction. His topics cover rural elections, homosexuality, the Hui (ethnic Chinese Muslims of the western provinces (he’s originally from Xi’an where the terra cotta warriors are found), common people. He has a striking one of Shi Lu, a poet, painter, and playwright who went mad during 1960s-70s. Dai has good relations with the authorities because he has done a prize-winning portrait of Deng Xiaoping (the leader after Mao responsible for the reforms and opening of China). Dai gave us a photo of the Deng piece and another of his works, which we’ll give to the ETSU Art Department. Dai has several nice pieces I would like to own. Many are only $200. He has one of the Daoist philosopher Laozi with a realistic traditional Chinese robe but with an abstract head filled with paradoxes. Dai himself says, “when he becomes his most conservative, he will be contemporary.” We took this to mean a return to the traditional belief of China, like Daoism, will return him to the true character necessary for modern China. Dai “admires Laozi very much.”

Dai drove us on a brief tour of the huge campus. I recognized some of the buildings from two years ago. Dai pointed out some of the original American buildings. We had a large dinner at a Qing Hua student eatery and most of us will probably skip supper. The main Chinese meal is dinner (lunch to some), and suppers are smaller.

Coming back to our campus we always pass a Sam’s Club sign, and we are told there is a Walmart nearby. We do most of our shopping at a campus general convenience store called the Wu Mart.

The other Americans went to the biggest shopping street. It’s near the Forbidden City. I think they’ll have boosted the Chinese economy a little.

The reports are coming in. They went out in four groups and got a camera repaired and bought (Western) clothes, chinoiserie, jade, books, presents. And they ate American young adult soul food: McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut. Everyone is smiling.

It’s taking me a long time to access my ETSU account. Have to keep trying over and over. A variety of strange things have been happening on the internet. Emails to Myra and Barbara in ATS and Donna in Honors did not register in my sent box. Emails to Susan do appear in the sent messages box.

Summer Palace

Nationally, two-and-a-half-hour English language exams are held today, which must be passed to earn a bachelor’s degree. We had to get to the lecture site early. Streets were cordoned off with ropes to prevent traffic from getting too close and disturbing the exam takers. We were stopped at the building entrance and vetted before we were allowed in. The building was then locked. This happens all over China today. These exams are reminiscent of the examination system, complete with rigorous invigilation, of the past dynasties. (It’s 11:30 AM and I can hear the throngs of relieved students walking by after the exam.)

Summer Palace. Went up to the buildings at the highest point. An exerting hike in the heat. Met a Polish family with whom I could exchange a few words. Went to the Hall of Dispelling Clouds and the Tower of Buddhist Incense atop Longevity Hill. Then lower to the Hall of Buddha Confirming His Doctrine, the Site of the Devastated Xumi Holy Land, and finally to Suzhou Street. The latter is a recreation of a part of Suzhou city (on the Yangzi River and Grand Canal), to which we will travel later. The recreation has period shops along a canal and bridges. Lin Biao, the heir designate to Mao actually lived in the Summer Palace. Susan and I were here before, and this is my third visit.

One reported case of home sickness so far, but things appear better today.

Beihai; hutongs

One of the students who chose not to try the donkey described it as cross between meat and fruitcake. The student is a self-described picky eater who does not care for Chinese food. However, she took heart when she heard that the Chinese food here is different from the Chinese food in America. She is surviving to the extent that she refused the offer of her parents to send her a food care package.

Wind is blowing today and lots of grit in the air. There is a special inspectorate in Beijing that is responsible for going to construction sites to make sure that open areas are covered in tarps so that particles of earth will not be blown into the air by the winds.

We enjoyed calligraphy.

Tricycle pedicabs took us through the narrow-laned hutong (old quarter) area near Beihai Park.
We then walked over to Beihai (North Sea) Park where I wandered over a bridge to an island with a White Dagoba (pagoda in the Tibetan style of Mongolian Buddhism of the Yuan Dynasty, ca 13th century). From it's base there is a panoramic view of Beijing, including the Forbidden city and Prospect Hill. The sanctuary boasts a many-armed statue. In another part of the park the Round City has an white emerald statue of the Buddha (Sakyamuni) 1.5 meters tall. It has a slash mark on its left arm from when foreign troops came to supress the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Nearby are two trees planted in 12th or 13th centuries. On the way back we passed in front of the Chinese president's house.

One student opted for Skippy peanut butter (locally bought) and jelly sandwich tonight and another choose sardines and a tomato sauce. We know where to get some excellent Chinese food here.

Feng shui (wind & water)

Students went out to a restaurant yesterday with one of our Chinese students (who will be coming to ETSU this autumn). They ate numerous meats. One female said this was the first time she ever had lamb, duck, or donkey! She liked the donkey. Others liked the donkey, too. And I was afraid some of them might not be adventuresome.

Prof. Tuo gave a lecture on Daoism and religion in general. His pronunciation was difficult to understand but was enthusiastic. Everyone welcomed his talk, and they had many questions for him. He said that Mao consulted Daoist masters and felt he was also a Daoist adept in feng shui (used for predicting the best situations) to help deciding his military strategy or whether to reside in the Forbidden City (he chose not to live there on advice from a Daoist).

City Museum in the afternoon. A spectacular building finished this year. (One of the students got claustraphobic in a long circular passageway in the museum.) A great collection of Buddhist statuary, including some from the Buddhist Tantric school depicting enlightenment through sexual intercourse. The Chinese text accompanying these statues (translated for me by another of our Chinese student guides who wants to come to ETSU) said that intercourse was to be taken as metaphorical rather than literal.

Some of the oldsters went for dinner. The menus were in Chinese (as they are everywhere). There were pictures of food on the menus so we thought we could point to them. We discovered that the pictures were the same on each page--it was only the stationery the menus were printed on. So I and another fellow took the waitress out around the restaurant and pointed to what other patrons were eating. It was a great meal.

The Chinese are extremely helpful. The students are impressed by this. Some of the students already say they wish they could stay in China longer. However, at least one of the students got tired at the Forbidden City of seeing palace after palace in the heat.

I worried about how the students would react to today's lecturer's pronunciation because you could tell they were having difficulty with it, but some said how much they were interested in what he had to say about religion. Everything is an adventure, from buying postage stamps (you have to put the glue on them to make them stick), to negotiating with persistent souvenir sellers, to understanding the best approach a squat toilet.

Dragons, Forbidden City.

Breakfast was a a soup, a bread filled with something like kale, a vegetable pancake, and dumplings.

Dean Guo gave a lecture on "lung" (or long, dragons). He used the Chinese term to differentiate the benevolent East Asian beast from the terrifying and rapacious dragon of Western culture. It was a lecture that appealed to all levels of our audience, who found his disquisition of great interest.

After lunch, he led us on a visit to the Forbidden City, where we looked for examples of what he taught us. We did see the dragon's son who is associated with water, as his image is used in the downspouts.

Japanese-style noodle soup for lunch.

Forbidden City. Susan and I came here in 1980s. I returned two years ago. It still is amazing, but nothing like the first time in seeing it. The weather was hot and going through the first part of the place strikes you with the space, symmetry, and sumptuous palace architecture. The Last Emperor was filmed here. The next part is smaller, but there are rocks, trees, and greenery (and some protection from the sun) for contrast. Frosty would enjoy this and the following.

Jingshan (Prospect or Coal Hill) is across the street from the Forbidden City exit. There was some commotion as a homeless person lay in the street where heavy traffic had to get around him. Jingshan is a park created on the soil removed from the Forbidden City moat area and other refuse. It is wooded, cooler, and refuge from the bustle of Beijing. I'd never been here before. The pavillion at the summit was under renovation, but I managed the climb to get an overview of the Forbidden City.

One of the students did everything right with transformer and adapter but blew a fuse with her hair straightener. Fortunately, she bought another hair implement for a minimal price.

It's pleasing to see our students negotiating for food (and other things) in a system that is often quite incomprehensible to them. Our hosts are extremely helpful, as are the daily people, with whom the students come into contact.

Tiananmen

Official welcome by NCUT (North China Technical University) Vice-President Li. discussion of our planned activities. Toured the campus. NCUT has a championship women's softball team.

Tiananmen [Heavenly Peace Gate) Square. Walked the length of it to Tiananmen Gate , the entry way into the Frobidden City, which we will see tomorrow. Along the way, we passed the Mao Mausoleum. We decided to visit. Had to leave a dean and a colleague to guard back- and fannypacks, water bottles, etc. All of us were admitted into the mausoleum except one, for wearing flip-flops. Susan and I had seen Mao in the 80s. You could buy flowers and place them before the glass behind which he is laid out. There was a large number of these flowers bought by those paying their respects.

We visited the gate where Mao and his guests reviewed the parades. Also, he proclaimed the People's Republic here in 1949. His huge portrait still is displayed here. There were waiting areas with upholstered individual chairs for the dignitaries, for their comfort before they needed to stand before the crowds.

It started to rain as we got near the gate and when we started onto it, the rain came down hard. We shared umbrellas, but some of the umbrellas protected our packs & bottles, which we could not take with us. The dean again guarded the collection, but he was soaked when we returned, choosing to keep the stuff dry. As we walked back across the square, we all got more-or-less wet.

We got from the dean later this evening a herbal remedy to mix with hot water to drink to protect us from catching cold. Not an unpleasant tasting treatment.

The dean bought us a nice lunch of six or so plates of cold appetizers, about ten or more plates of hot food, including a Chinese cornbread and corn soup. Steamed bread and watermelon.

My nom de plume, Tianshanski, I took from the Tianshan Mountains (Mountains of Heaven) of northwestern China, that our group crossed two summers ago, albeit in a bus.

The adventure begins

Made it to Beijing. Big traffic jam on way from airport. Everything else went well. It’s close to 12:30 AM and we just got here about an hour ago. We meet at 8AM for breakfast and orientation. Everbody's knackered.

Departure eve

Tomorrow on the 11th of June we set off for China.