China / Silk Road

Mostly about a Tea Experience

2008-06-26T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hangzhou, China

After settling in to my cozy little room, I proceeded to negotiate the Hangzhou bus system to take me out to the countryside, just out of town, to a silk factory, where I saw the process of taking silk worm cocoons and making silk. I didn't go to the Silk Museum here, as I plan to see the one in Suzhou. Instead, I followed a Chinese tour group into a random (for me) factory. The tour was in Chinese, and the staff didn't speak English, but I could understand much of the process from observing the demonstrations. Interestingly, this factory made silk comforters. About 80% of the comforters had outer covers in pastel pink silk. There were also a few with natural undyed off-white covers. The only other colors were used in comforters with children's prints. The main work of this factory was making the silk batting that was the filling. A man demonstrated that you could take the batting, twist it roughly, play tug-o-war with it, and it didn't budge from its original shape. Quite impressive. It was possible to pull a fine thread of it out of the batting, but that didn't seem to harm anything. He also lit it twice with a match, but it promptly extinguished itself. It's lightweight and very soft. it seems that it would be terrific bedding. The benefit of joining a Chinese only tour group at a factory that doesn't appear to get foreign tour groups, was getting to see the price list for Chinese: The expensive, heavy weight quilts ran up to $100.00 USD (actually about 650 y, so a smidge under $100.00). The lightweight cheaper quilts were as low as 150y ($22.22 USD) for a twin, if I remember correctly. I wonder what the American tourist price would be? Lacking guanxi (advantageous business or social connections), foreigners always have to pay more. But when prices are posted, as they were at the factory, everyone pays the same. (They are rarely posted at tourist venues except in museum or higher end shops.)

Then I saw a fairly expensive car pull up to a tea selling place next to the Tea Museum, but unaffiliated with it. (That business wins on location!) After communicating with the receptionist with hand signals, it was made clear that I could enter, so I decided to follow him inside, originally to ask where the Tea Museum was. The staff misunderstood and ushered me with the man into a small alcove room to a tea tasting table. Then a worker brought in trays with three different grades of Dragon Well Tea (longjing cha). She took out four glasses and put the good grade of tea in two and the best grade of tea in two. (She managed to say “good” and “best” in English, but didn't know the word to explain the status of the 3^rd tea, which we didn't sample in any case. Then she poured about 2 oz of a-little-off-the- boil water on the tea, presumably to wet it, swished it around, poured off the excess water, and poured some new water on it. Additional water was added, to total three pourings of water. Later I read that this is nodding? bowing? (forgot the verb) the phoenix three times, done to make the tea drinking more ceremonious and to honor the guests (aka customers). After that, the man and I had to drink the tea very slowly, as it was scalding. As we slowly sipped it down, more water was added. Not until the tea had been completely drunk would there be any price discussion. Then negotiations commenced and continued briefly, but there was much less negotiation downward from the initial price than I'd experienced/seen at the various day and night markets. I'm not sure if that was because she was already giving the Chinese price or because longjing cha is so famous they don't have to discount it. In the end, I bought some of the “best” quality stuff; hopefully, my tea-drinking family and friends can tell the difference and will find the “best” stuff a treat. It didn't really impress me, but then, I'm not a tea-drinker. (To me it tasted like weak, overboiled spinach water and had no fragrance, although the saleswoman had us smell it before drinking it, so she must have perceived some scent.) The Chinese man with me, who could not have been a plant, as he had no way to know I'd follow him into the business, seemed to truly enjoy the stuff. He lit up a cigarette, settled back to relax and enjoy the excruciatingly long process of buying a tin of fresh tea.

Later I showed the tea to two Chinese women who spoke some English and asked for their assessment of the tea's quality and price. They had me open the tin, so they could examine the tea. Then they pronounced it “good” quality for “good pay,” which may be truly their opinion or just a way to make a silly tourist feel okay about her purchase.

After that I returned to the task of trying to find the Tea Museum, which took a little doing, as turned about 500 yards too soon. I could see the tea plantation all around me, but I had to point to the Chinese characters for Tea Museum with three different people to get directions I could understand. The museum was interesting, and had many captions in English. I learned that tea culture in China dates back to the Han dynasty, with various flowerings of it during Sui, Song, Tang, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Tang and Ming eras both showed major developments and improvements to the growing and production of tea, as well as the arts of tasting and drinking it. Before the Ming dynasty, it was mostly ground up and pressed into round cakes. Then a Ming dynasty emperor required that tribute to him be paid in loose tea. Emulation of the emperor brought loose tea into fashion. Also learned that there are six kinds of tea, all from the same plant and differing only in the processing: green, black, oolong (a mix of green and black), yellow (most popular with Southern China's minority groups), white, and (forgot the word, but they are mixed with other things—teas like Jasmine, a blend of black tea and actual jasmine flowers, are an example).

I didn't go to the official Tea Village, mostly because I didn't want to wait for the bus and have to negotiate how to get there, but instead just watched the local tea workers in their fields for a while. It's in a beautiful area, beneath vertically rising, misty topped mountains, with a pagoda on top of one of them. A lovely stream with blooming lotuses, edges some of the fields.

Then I saw a fairly expensive car pull up to a tea selling place next to the Tea Museum, but unaffiliated with it. It wasn't a shop, exactly, but more like a wholesale business store front, although they also sold in small quantities. (That business wins on location!) After communicating with the receptionist with hand signals, it was made clear that I could enter, so I decided to follow him inside, originally to ask where the Tea Museum was. The staff misunderstood and ushered me with the man into a small alcove room to a tea tasting table. Then a worker brought in trays with three different grades of Dragon Well Tea (longjing cha). She took out four glasses and put the good grade of tea in two and the best grade of tea in two. (She managed to say “good” and “best” in English, but didn't know the word to explain the status of the 3^rd tea, which we didn't sample in any case. Then she poured about 2 oz of a-little-off-the- boil water on the tea, presumably to wet it, swished it around, poured off the excess water, and poured some new water on it. Additional water was added, to total three pourings of water. Later I read that this is nodding? bowing? (forgot the verb) the phoenix three times, done to make the tea drinking more ceremonious and to honor the guests (aka customers). After that, the man and I had to drink the tea very slowly, as it was scalding. As we slowly sipped it down, more water was added. Not until the tea had been completely drunk would there be any price discussion. Then negotiations commenced and continued briefly, but there was much less negotiation downward from the initial price than I'd experienced/seen at the various day and night markets. I'm not sure if that was because she was already giving the Chinese price or because longjing cha is so famous they don't have to discount it. In the end, I bought some of the “best” quality stuff; hopefully, my tea-drinking family and friends can tell the difference and will find the “best” stuff a treat. It didn't really impress me, but then, I'm not a tea-drinker. The Chinese man with me, who could not have been a plant, as he had no way to know I'd follow him inside, seemed to truly enjoy the stuff. He lit up a cigarette, settled back to relax and enjoy the excruciatingly long process of buying a tin of fresh tea.

So it was a day of silk and tea, two items for which Hangzhou is famous. It took at least an hour to get to the silk factory and 45 minutes back, partly because buses are slower than taxis (but cheaper—and they let you see more of the local life and surroundings), and partly because it took me much longer to find and identify street and building names. Not all of the streets are marked. Those that are marked are not marked at every intersection, just periodically. Not all marked streets are double marked in both Chinese characters and pinyin. It's amazingly difficult to remember the look of a string of intricate characters that you can't read. Interestingly, I also found it difficult to remember the exact navigational significance of of which buildings I passed where; I'd recognize them, but couldn't reliably recall what they were landmarks for. Was Starbucks at the turn-off of the street I needed to get back to? Or just some place I remembered because I'd seen it previously and could read the name? Did I remember the stomachology hospital because the name amused me or because it marked a bus transfer point or both? Still, I got there (not to 100% of the intended “theres” but to some of them and to equally good or better substitute options) and back again without getting lost. Nonetheless, it is a bit stressful and exhausting. Hangzhou is a city of over 6 million, and the main downtown streets are 6-7 lanes wide (2 bike/scooter lanes and 4-5 car/bus/truck lanes). There are vast legions of buses and many run every 5 minutes. For shorter trips, there are public bicycle vendors. Bikes are one-speed basic models with a basket and a bell, but the land is flat, so that's okay. No one wears a helmet. Public transportation is highly efficient. Still, the size of the city is a bit intimidating.

Then, suddenly, you arrive at West Lake, located just at the edge of the center of town, and everything changes. Pedestrians and cyclists are everywhere. People are strolling around the huge lake, lovers walking, kids playing, elders sitting, small groups listening to impromptu musical performances on instruments I can't identify, etc. Small tourist boats of various descriptions go out on the lake. People stop to see the various pagodas and gardens, and so on. This seems to go on all day and evening. My hostel is beside the lake—very pleasant. Weather permitting, I'll spend tomorrow exploring around West Lake on foot, so I won't have to deal with public transportation, at least for a day.

Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, Hui Muslim neighborhood

2008-06-14T22:16:00.000-07:00

Shaanxi Provincial Museum
Our first stop was the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, reputed to be the best museum for ancient and medieval Chinese history, particularly of the Shang, Zhou, Han and Tang dynasties. The ground floor covers prehistory and the early dynastic period. Especially impressive were several enormous Shang and Western Zhou dynasty tripods (ding), Qin burial objects, bronze arrows, crossbows, and four original terracotta warrior statues.

Upstairs the second section is devoted to Han dynasty relics, including 40 terracotta figurines from the Xianyang tombs, bronze lamps, Wei figurines, and mythological animals. (The Portland Art Museum has a small collection of artifacts from this era, particularly figurines and mythological creatures.)

The third collection focuses chiefly on Sui and Tang artifacts: impressive tomb murals depicting a polo match and a series of painted pottery figurines with elaborate hairstyles and dress, including several bearded foreigners, musicians, and braying camels. Very interesting--and most of the exhibits at this museum had labels and explanations in English.

Shaanxi Province
Lonely Planet: Shaanxi province is part of China's loess plateau, an area covered by thick layers of microscopic silt that began blowing down from Siberia during the ice age. The hallmarks of China's "Yellow Earth," are cave houses (ya'odo'ng) and a fissured, treeless landscape.

Running across the south of the province are the Qinling Mountains, the major north-south watershed in China and home to a number of endangered species, such as the golden-haired monkey, the crested ibis, and the giant panda. (We didn't visit any of the wildlife areas.)

Xi'an
Lonely Planet background info: Xi'an, formerly Chang'an, was a thriving city of emperors, courtesans, poets, monks, merchants, foreigners, and soldiers; a place where many of the world's religions and cultures coexisted and Chinese culture reached an apogee of creativity and sophistication. Chang'an was the fabled beginning and end of the Silk Road, a colorful town with lute music, desert dust, where camel caravans unloaded goods from the Eurasian continent and packed up Chinese goods for the return trip.

Home to 11 Chinese dynasties, stretching back to the Zhou dynasty in the 11th century BCE, modern Xi'an sits in the fertile Wei River (tributary to the Yellow River) valley. Remnants of the ancient world are everywhere, from the first emperor's terracotta warriors to the Muslim influence that still characterizes the city today.

Destroyed in rebellions that marked the end of the Tang dynasty, by the 10th century Chang'an was no more. After that, the capital was moved to Beijing.

Xi'an retains the same rectangular shape that it had when first designed and built as Chang'an. The streets and avenues form a neat grid pattern that was later copied exactly in Osaka and especially Nara, Japan. The central block is surrounded by city walls that are wide enough to walk on. Today the city walls are a popular place for bicyclists and pedestrians. At the city center is an enormous Bell Tower.

Xi'an originally had two markets: the western market was for non-Han Chinese, i.e. all the traders on the Silk Road. There was also a neighborhood around the western market where foreigners were permitted to live. Required, actually, as they were not permitted to live elsewhere in the city. Their neighborhood district was walled in, an interior wall within the walled city itself. There there was an eastern market for Chinese goods. Han Chinese lived in that part of the city.

Hui (Chinese Muslims) Neighborhood

In the evening we walked through the old town western market area. These are the back streets behind/north of the drum tower. They've been home to the city's Hui community for centuries. The narrow lanes are full of butcher shops, sesame-oil factories, and small mosques. Lonely Planet recommends Xiyang Shi, Dapi Yuan, and Damaishi Jie streets to stroll along; they run off of Xi Dajie through an interesting Islamic food market. We saw these sorts of shops, but I don't know exactly which streets we walked on. We just wandered about as a small group.

After about an hour's stroll through the Hui quarter, Dr. Li led us to an unpretentious Muslim restaurant to try a local specialty: ya'ngro' u pa'omo' a soup dish that involves crumbling a flat 5" diameter disk of bread into a bowl, to which is added noodles, mutton, and broth. After a few minutes, the bread acquires the texture of matze squares, 1/4" in size. It was quite good.

ADD PHOTOS TO FINISH

University of Nationalities & Ming Dynasty Great Wall at Badaling

2008-06-13T16:30:00.000-07:00

University of Nationalities
We visited the University of Nationalities this morning, where we had a fascinating lecture on the history of China's relationship with its minorities over the past 2000+ years. China currently recognizes 56 ethnic groups-- the Han represent 90% of the population, and the other 55 minorities collectively make up the other 10%. The University of Nationalities is for minority students only. It's stated purpose is to educate and develop leadership talent among the minorities, although a few graduates thought that they didn't have equal access to the best jobs.
I enjoyed our tour of the campus museum of traditional ethnic clothing and artifacts of daily life of the 56 groups. We had lunch in the cafeteria, and the food wasn't bad.

Badaling, Changcheng – Great Wall
After lunch we went to the Ming dynasty portion of the Great Wall in Badaling, 70 km northwest of Beijing. Rain was threatening just as we arrived, so we needed to climb fairly quickly. Five of our group (2 women and 3 men, including 3 of us from PCC) made it up to a high tower, the destination which Chairman Mao designated for attaining manhood. Hurrying before the rain hit, John Sparks and I got up to the tower in 40 minutes and down in 20, although the tour leader said it was about a 90 minute round trip. I was a bit winded at the top, but not too badly. There was a distant boom of thunder but no lightning just as we reached the top, and the rain started before we got back to the bottom. The rain made some of the stones were a bit slippery but others, interestingly, seemed to absorb the water and maintained a safe surface. Everyone got down safely.

This part of the wall is made of big blocks of stone. The wall is wide enough that you could drive a modern car along the top, so it may have served not only to keep northern invaders out but also as an efficient transportation route, especially for the armies who guarded it. This portion of the wall runs along the mountain ridge, twisting and turning to conform with the mountainous landscape, so there are splendid views from the top.

He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.

--Mao Zedong

Lonely Planet--> Most visitors encounter the Great Wall at Badaling, its most photographed section, located 70 km northwest of Beijing. The raw scenery yields choice views of the wall snaking into the distance over undulating hills. Two sections of wall trail off from the main entrance. The restored wall crawls for a distance before nobly disintegrating into ruins. The section at Badaling was first built during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and was heavily restored in both the 1950s and 1980s. Punctuated with dilou (watchtowers), the 6 meter wide wall is clad in brick, typical of the stonework employed by the Ming when they expanded and fortified the Wall. Filled with dirt, rubble, and the bodies of workers who died building the wall, the Chinese also call the wall the longest cemetery in the world. As communists, they are quick to point out that the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, and several other historical monuments were built by a “slave society.”

Rainstorm

While we were driving back to Beijing (normally 1 hr to the Great Wall) a major thunder storm began. Thunder, occasional lightning, heavy rain, and some wind. The storm snarled up all the traffic and drenched the poor bicyclists and pedestrians, some of whom retreated to random doorways to wait it out and others of whom continued valiantly on for the 1 1/2 hr duration. In some areas the streets filled with water up to the curb, so pedestrians were crossing the street ankle deep in water. Bicyclists put on brightly-colored, specially cut ponchos that had a long front and back but shorter sides. The tires splashed up lots of water on riders' legs.

Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Hutong, Drum & Bell Towers, Opera

2008-06-12T16:29:00.000-07:00

Tiananmen Square.

The world's largest public square, entered at the heart of Beijing through the Gate of Heavenly Peace. The gate and square together have become an ironic symbol of China's struggling democracy movement (Tiananmen Square and surrounding streets, June 3-4, 1989.) People stroll, kids fly kites, and Chinese take photos of each other in front of the huge portrait of Chairman Mao hanging on the eponomous Memorial Hall.

The square is laid out on a north-south axis, which represents the center of the Chinese universe. Mao's Memorial Hall and the entrance Gate of Heavenly Peace straddles the meridian line. The rectangular arrangement of the square echoes the layout of the Forbidden City, paying homage to tradition, yet with huge Soviet-inspired buildings. Mao conceived the square to project the enormity of the Communist Party, so it's a bit Stalinesque and Kim II-Sung-ish. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Mao reviewed parades of up to a million people here. In 1976, when Mao died, another million came here to pay their respects. In 1989, tanks forced pro-democracy students out of the square and Chinese troops killed hundreds of civilians in the Muxidi neighborhood to the west. The square is closely monitored by closed-circuit TV and plain-clothes police.

Forbidden City

Home to Ming and later Qing dynasty emperors, the Forbidden City, so named because it was off limits to the people for 500 years, is the largest and best preserved collection of buildings in China. Tourists now enter across from Tiananmen Square through the Meridian Gate, restored in the 17^th c. Originally, the gate was for the exclusive use of the emperor. The gate crosses the "Golden Stream," which is shaped to look like a Tartar bow and spanned by five marble bridges. Next you come to the Supreme Harmony Gate, which overlooks a gigantic courtyard that once held imperial audiences of 100,000 people.

Raised up on a marble terrace are the Three Great Halls: Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Middle Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest and most important structure in the Forbidden City. Built in the 15^th century, restored in the 17^th century after a fire, it housed ceremonial occasions, such as the emperor's birthday, the nomination of military leaders, etc.The Hall of Middle Harmony was just a transit hall for the emperor. Here he made last minute preparations, rehearsed speeches or received close ministers. The Hall of Preserving Harmony was used for banquets and later for imperial examinations.

To the rear is a 250 ton marble imperial carriageway carved with dragons and clouds, which was carved where it was quarried and then slid to Beijing on a specially-created ice path during the winter. The emperor was carried in his sedan chair through this carriageway. No one else was allowed to use it.

Finally, visitors come to the residential area: The Palace of Heavenly Purity. Later this was used to receive foreign envoys and high officials. Next is the Hall of Union and finally the Imperial Garden. The western and eastern sides of the Forbidden City had palatial living quarters with libraries, temples, theaters, gardens, and even a tennis court for the last emperor.

When the earlier Yuan (Mongol) dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, they inhabited the palace of the Forbidden City, but it wasn't as grand as it later became. The Khan refused to sleep in the royal palace and instead slept in a Mongol yurt off built off to one side.

Jingshan Park

After the Forbidden City tour, our group was free for the rest of the day. Some people returned to the hotel; others went shopping. John Sparks and I instead headed across from the Forbidden City to Jingshan Park [shan means mountain], the top of which is informally known as Coal Hill. The hill is covered in park lands with beautiful gardens. A hilly path and many steps climb to a temple at the top with a large Buddha statue and excellent 360 views of Beijing. Apparently coal was once dug from this site or nearby and later the hill was artificially remade, so that the emperor could live between the mountain (hill) and the sea (moat around the Forbidden City), thus providing proper feng shui for his eminence.

We exited Jingshan Park at its western gate, walked north along Jingshan Xijie through some nice tree-lined streets, crossed a foot bridge, Jinging Bridge, over Qianhai Lake (hai means sea--the Mongels/Yuan called the large lakes they found in Beijing seas), and came to the first of many hutong.

Hutongs

After Genghis Khan's army destroyed Beijing, the city was redesigned with rabbit warren like housing burrows in narrow alleyways called hutong. By the Qing dynasty there were over 2,000 such passageways riddling the city, increasing to around 6000 by the1950s; now the figure has dwindled again to around 200. Many are being torn down or remodeled. The current chaotic mishmash of old and new includes Qing dynasty courtyards riddled with modern brick outhouses and communist/socialist era conversions, overlooked by dreary gray apartment blocks.

After crossing the Jinging Bridge, we walked though Banchang Hutong—part was a new, fake hutong with the sorts of shops that backpackers staying in hostels might like: a coffee shop, upscale chocolate shop, upscale fashion clothing, and a shop with a sign that read, fucking good mojitos...shut up Just drink. This is a typical language translation problem--not knowing the register or vulgarity of a translation and the effect it will have on native speakers.

The hutong themselves are regular living quarters for Beijing's poorer working class. The homes are tiny, perhaps 1-2 or possibly 3 rooms, about 6 x 10 feet each, with narrow passages between family units. Laundry hangs in tiny semi-courtyards or 3 x 3 entryways to some. Other homes have doors that open immediately off the street.

The Hutong streets, like streets all over Beijing were very clean. Throughout the city, street cleaners walk or bicycle around and use a stick with a point at the end to pick up trash and flick it into a bin they carry with them. Even cigarette butts are picked up. Reportedly there is a 100 yuan fine ($11.00) for littering, including cigarette butts, and for spitting on the street. We couldn't determine whether this was a long-standing custom among the Chinese or merely the recent government's project to enhance China's image for the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing in August.

Hutong lack indoor plumbing. Probably the street was used as the sewer with dumped chamber pots at one time—now the government has built public bathrooms about every block. They look new and fairly clean, but we didn't enter. Probably they are like the bathrooms in college dorms. Nearly all hutong run east-west to ensure that their main gates face south for good feng shui. The southern exposure maximizes sunshine and backs toward the negative forces of the north (e.g. Mongol invaders and cold, desert-gritty winds). Little connecting alleyways make a grid pattern, and map out the compass for residents.

Some hutong are named after families: Zhaotangzi Hutong = Alley of the Zhao family. Others have names from historical figures or features, and some have puzzling names like Dragon Whiskers Ditch Alley. Some also indicate the goods once sold there: dry flour alley, chrysanthemum lane.

We saw a public bathhouse with a historical marker suggesting it was at least 100 years old. We didn't go in, so we don't know if it is still in use for the residents of the hutong or whether the public bathrooms that the government built include showers or bathtubs.

Drum Tower and Bell Tower

Next we came to the city's drum and bell towers. We looked at the drum tower and climbed a very steep flight of stairs to top of the Bell Tower, from which we enjoyed excellent 360 views of the city all around. These buildings were used to announce the time to city residents before clocks were available.

Then we took a bicycle cab through a maze of additional streets in the famous Mao hutong, past Chairman Mao's former hutong residence to the metro station. Although many hutong are being raized and replaced with modern high-rise apartments, this one will likely remain because of its connection to Mao.

The bicycle cab was a tourist trap. We negotiated the price with the driver before we got in, but after we arrived at our destination, he kept harrassing us for more money. We ended up paying about 25% more than originally negotiated. Apparently this is fairly common. Oh well, we wanted to have one Chinese bicycle cab experience, so we did (and won't repeat it). At 5:00p.m. the metro crowded but not terribly so. People didn't queue, and only semi-waited for those on board to exit before boarding the trains.

Because we had limited time for dinner, John Sparks and I ordered a quick, not-very-delicious dinner at a Chinese fast food place in the Joy City six-story shopping mall, each floor of which has a silly teeny-bopper name, like “sexy,” or “sporty.”

Beijing Opera

According to our Chinese group leader, regular Beijing Opera programs are really long. This was a special show for tourists with excerpts from three of the most famous operas. One was the tale of a concubine who killed herself so that her warrior lover would escape the invading army. The second was not too memorable; I didn't like the high-pitched female vocals that are a traditional part of Chinese opera; the last one was the tale of Monkey tricking the Empress' s guards so that he could steal some peaches from her garden. It had lots of acrobatics, which the Chinese are famous for--enjoyable.

Beijing Metro and Summer Palace

2008-06-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

Beijing Metro

Walked down the street our Joy City Hotel was on, and walked and walked. Finally, we found the subway entrance, marked with a big blue D. The Beijing Metro runs well, even when crowded, as it was during morning rush hour when we used it. People didn't exactly queue but rather bunched up near the train doors and only sort of let passengers off before trying to board. People mostly exited through the center of the train doors, while new passengers streamed in on both sides of those exiting. There was some pushing but not excessive.

Took the metro to a transfer to the circle line, then came up near three tall buildings (the 3^rd is still under construction) that look like modern versions of Cambodia's Ankor Wat. From there, we accidentally went the wrong way on the boulevard and didn't notice until we had walked quite a ways. No harm-- we got to see parts of town off the tourist track, places where regular people are busy living and working. We turned back, found the Zoo, which was our landmark, and then proceeded. We passed Beijing Botanical Gardens and looked in at the huge collection of bamboo. According to Lonely Planet, the gardens have over 3000 types of plants and a rainforest house. We finally reached the canal where we took a boat up to the far end of the Old Summer Palace grounds on a lake. Disembarking,we walked the length of one side of Kunming Lake, which covers ¾ of the park, and is overlooked by Longevity Hill, where Emperor Qianlong used to watch navy drills on the lake... a very pleasant and scenic walk.

Old Summer Palace = Yuanming Yuan

Lonely Planet--> One of Beijing's most visited sights, the immense park of the summer palace requires at least half a day to tour. The opulent palace temples, gardens, pavilions, lakes, and covered corridors were once the playground of the imperial court. Royalty took refuge here from the insufferable summer heat that roasted the Forbidden City. The site had long been a royal garden and was considerably enlarged in the 18th c. by Emperor Qianlong, whose 100,000 laborers deepened and expanded Kunming Lake/Kunming Hu.

Anglo-French troops damaged the buildings during the second Opium War (1856-60). Empress Dowager Cixi commenced a refit in 1888 with money earmarked to modernize the navy, the fallout from which eventually ended her rule; the Marble Boat at the northern edge of the lake was the only "ship" she had built—although unsinkable, it didn't exactly please the navy. The halls all have poetic names: Buddhist Fragrance Pavilion, Cloud Dispelling Hall, Temple of the Sea 0f Wisdom, Dragon King Temple. The Hall of Benevolence and Longivity has a hardwood throne decorated with bronze animals, including a qilin, a mythical hybrid animal that only appears in times of harmony, which apparently explains why no one has actually seen a qilin.

Foreign troops, incensed by the Boxer Rebellion, burned the Summer Palace in 1900, prompting further restoration work. By 1949,the palace had again fallen into disrepair, prompting more restoration after Mao's death.

Beijing Arrival

2008-06-09T16:20:00.000-07:00

Portland, Oregon to Beijing, China

Left Portland at 10:20 am Monday, June 9th, with PCC ESOL colleague John Sparks.

Two hours to San Francisco.

Two hour wait at SFO airport.

12 hour flight on Air China to Beijing.

Due to crossing the international date line, we arrived on Tues. June 10 at about 4 p.m.

Overnight at the Joy City Hotel and complex, which fills an entire city block. The back side of the hotel is a six-story shopping mall with cinema and food court. The entire exterior of the mall side of the hotel is covered in video screen segments, all lit up in colors. On the corner is a huge electronic billboard. They call that street Beijing's Times Square—it’s just as tacky as the original Times Square. I cringe at staying at this hotel. My room looked like a business executive's hotel suite anywhere in the world. Oh, well, I just went to sleep to recover from the long trip and jet lag.

China adventure 2008

2008-06-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

China’s Silk Road

"Arguably the world’s most important pre-modern trade route, participants traverse this ancient braid of caravan trails that at one time stretched more than 7,000 kilometers from China to the Mediterranean. It served as a highway not just for merchandise, but also for ideas—religious, cultural, and artistic. The major themes of the seminar are the history of the Silk Road; Chinese history, art, and religions; and the cultures and peoples of Central Asia.”

--CIEE Faculty Seminar literature

This tantalizing ad encouraged me to apply immediately. Happily, my proposal was accepted, and so I’m off to see and experience Beijing, Xi’an, and several towns along the Silk Road--Dunhuang, Turpan, ürümqi, and Kashgar.

After studying and traveling along the Silk Road, I’ll visit two additional Chinese cities: Hangzhou and Suzhou. Hangzhou is reportedly one of China’s most beautiful and prosperous cities, first acclaimed in the West by Marco Polo. Suzhou is famed for its beautiful and serene Ming Dynasty scholars' gardens; it is also one of Portland, Oregon’s sister cities.

This is me with some of my current PCC ESOL students. They are wishing me well on my trip.