China Adventures

Hi all,
It's been awhile since our last entry because we've been so busy traveling and enjoying the sights and people of China. We have done and learned so much in the past few weeks it's hard to know where to begin in sharing our thoughts and experiences. We are currently in Yang Shuo (Just outside Guilin), a very famous tourist destination - the place with all the picturesque rice fields and large limestone mountains that are often seen in Chinese paintings. Late tonight, we will take a night train to Hong Kong, our final destination in China.

To catch you all up on some of the highlights of what we've seen and done on this whirlwind tour of China...

Train Interaction With the Locals - We took an overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an in the "hard sleeper" compartments...not as bad as it sounds. It's basically a carriage with triple high stacked bunks and lots of great opportunities to interact with the locals. Eric and I had seats a bit separate from the group, but were seated by a lovely Chinese grandma, mother and young daughter who we shared photos and snacks with. We also were seated with Hellen and Linda - two cousins age 17 and 20 who spoke some English. We had a great time talking with them about their school, teen idols, travel desires and families. We played some cards with them, shared music and photos as well and have been keeping in touch via email and messenger since. It was a fun train ride!

On another of our train rides, I acquired a little admirer in the dining car - a shy boy about age 10 who was sneaking photos of me with his dad's PDA. When I offered to take a photo with him, he finally agreed after hiding behind his dad for a few minutes. He sat on my lap and I gave him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled big and turned bright red - so cute! The next day when we de-trained, he made sure to give me a big wave goodbye. Eric was also a big hit with the little ladies. He acquired a cute little friend on our last train journey who he played a version of rubics cube with. She was quite enthralled. In general, we found the people on the train to be extremely friendly and excited to have us aboard. The family in our tour group even got a private concert commissioned last night in their seats by musicians sitting nearby them and in other cars down the train. There is certainly still a novelty of having Westerners around - especially on public trains and buses where it's more unusual to see tourists.

Terracotta Warriors - On the afternoon we arrived in Xi'an, we were taken by our local guide to see these amazing historical creations. Check out our photos to get a sense of the size and scope of what they've uncovered. And they haven't even finished the excavation. To read more about the Terracotta Warriors go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terracotta_Warriors.

Xi'an - We truly enjoyed this city of about 8 million. It's one of the only Chinese cities to still have in tact its historical city wall and we were able to take a bike ride with our friend Neil from our tour around the top of it - 14 kms in total. Due to the lack of single bikes, Eric and I rode tandem with me in the back. It took a bit of swerving before I figured out how to not lean and steer on my own accord and just let Eric do the work (that whole not being in control thing! :) We finally got into a groove and really enjoyed the view and just knowing we were riding on an ancient wall.

We also found a great little local noodle shop in one of the alleyways of this city and were served up 2 huge bowls of spicy noodles and 3 orange sodas for about $1. It's on my list of top meals in China. And shamefully, we have to admit to caving in and spending some time in Starbucks across the street from our hotel. It was just irresistible to have some familiar Western coffee, muffins and atmosphere. Though we were quite shocked to find that Starbucks has the same prices in China as it does in the USA, not at all reducing it's $3.50 coffees for the locals. Starbucks certainly was not as busy as all the McDonald's and KFC's we passed.

Panda Sanctuary - We spent a morning seeing pandas of all ages at this special sanctuary just outside of Chengdu...including iddy-biddy babies from 1 month to 4 days old! It was most fun to watch the "toddler" pandas who are about 10 months old. They are certainly docile animals - almost like teddy bears. The attendants in the "toddler" cage were able to easily pick them up, feed them and play with them. We could have sat there watching all day. As they get older they are more lethargic, not a surprise considering they spend something like 14-16 hours a day eating and the rest sleeping. And for a donation to the center, I was able to take a photo with one of the adolescent pandas (check out our photos from Chengdu!).

A Sense of Community in Parks, Squares and Tea Houses - All throughout China, people convene in the mornings and evenings to socialize and take part in dancing, singing, gaming and chatting. We got the best dose of this community feel when we were in Chengdu. After an afternoon nap, Eric and I set off with our friend Neil at about 4PM to the local park to check out the tea houses. Immediately when we entered the park, we saw a large group of people dancing to music blasting from a small speaker. They were ballroom dancing, line dancing and some of them were in their own little world dancing on the sidelines. The crowd was a mix of ages (though the majority were 40-50+), men and women...and no matter how good or bad they were, they were just enjoying the movement.

As we explored further into the park, we found an entire open-air pagoda filled with people watching as small groups put on dance performances, sang karaoke, or played traditional card games and mahjong. We sat in a tea house and played cards ourselves as we sipped tea along with others. Later in the evening as we were walking back to the hotel, we noticed that every public square or corner was filled with groups of people dancing, singing or drumming. Early in the mornings, people gather in the same way to practice Tai Chi and do exercises together. The atmosphere is so warm and inviting and gives off a real sense of community and belonging. We found ourselves thinking that if only we had a culture and practices this in the USA, we would not have the problems of loneliness and disconnectedness that is so common for our elderly. Everyone in a community - elderly and young - would be able to connect with each other and feel a part. This aspect of Chinese culture is by far one of our favorites.

Mt. Emei Shan - This was where we got our major workout of the trip. Eric decided the planned hike at this famous Buddhist mountain was not strenuous enough, so despite warnings from our guides of wild monkeys, snakes and a path less traveled, we opted to take the 23 km hike from the top of the mountain to the monastery where we'd meet the group to stay the night. Neil and another of our group members, Barbara, also came along on this adventure. Turns out, the Chinese version of "dangerous" hiking is not dangerous at all. The path was paved in stone with steps the entire way. We saw no snakes, but we did see lots of other people. In fact, there were snack shops and even restaurants dotted along the trail the entire way and near each of the monasteries we passed. The wild monkey warning was true, but we had sticks to bang on the ground to keep them at bay so they wouldn't attack us to get our bags and food. We did hear a couple interesting monkey stories from others we passed, but the monkeys we encountered must have felt well fed because they pretty much left us alone. What was difficult about the hike was the thousands (and we are not exaggerating here) of steps down the mountain. While we did have some uphill and flat areas, the bulk of the hike was steps down. At first, no prob. After 4 hours, our knees and legs began to ache. The next day, I almost couldn't walk from soreness. However, on day 2 we still had to hike the remainder of the way down the mountain. The result: I didn't walk normal for 4 days and had to have help walking down even 1 step. Eric, luckily, was in slightly better shape.

The other notable, and very amazing part of our visit to Mt. Emei Shan was staying 3 nights at monasteries - one at the bottom of the mountain and one part way up the mountain. These are working monasteries, open to the public and run by devout lamas. Our rooms were simple and the toilets/showers were communal (i.e., no doors and only small divides), but we didn't mind one bit. Throughout the night, and in the wee hours of the morning, we often woke to chanting, gongs banging, wood blocks clacking and the smell of incense. Had we been anywhere else, we would have not been happy with a 3, 4 and 5AM wake up call, but we found the smells and sounds of the monasteries to be very relaxing and peaceful. And the mountainous setting in lush forest and with magical, misty fog only added to the spiritual ambiance. It was by far the coolest place we've stayed so far.

The Bus Journey to Changching - This is on the list not so much as a highlight, but more as a point of disbelief...let me explain. After leaving Mt. Emei Shan, we boarded an 8-hour public bus to Changching where we would catch the boat to cruise the Yangtze. A public bus going long-distance is an experience in itself - we only almost had a head on collision once. In China right of way is pretty much determined by size of vehicle and overtaking other cars is permitted as long as the driver thinks he can - regardless of blind curves - and is indicated by beeping one's horn to say "here I come, get out of the way!." Scary driving rules aside, towards the beginning of the journey a young Chinese couple with a cute, bobble-head baby of about 2 months boarded and sat in the seats in front-diagonal to us. We noticed pretty early on that the baby had no diaper, but only a slit cut in the bottom of her pants (which is very common in China). We were curious how the mother would know when the baby needed to pee or otherwise, and what she would do. We soon found out...when she noticed it was peeing, she leaned its bum over the front of her seat and it peed on the floor. Ok, so you'd think she'd at least wipe it up when it finished. Not so. Instead, it just rolled to and fro. Supposedly baby's pee is considered very clean in China, but we weren't convinced. While we were not in the immediate range of "attack" of the drifting pee, we immediately decided to take our bags off the floor not knowing who had sat there before us! Thank God the little thing didn't have to go number 2!

Yangtze River Cruise and the Three Gorges - This 3-day cruise was a great chance to kick back and relax after 2 weeks of being on the move. Eric unfortunately came down with the flu on the first night so spend the majority of the cruise in our cabin sleeping and reading. It was good timing because he didn't miss too much and was feeling better by the time we got off the boat. I spent the three days catching up on journaling, reading and hanging out with Neil and other group members. The Yangtze isn't exactly a beautiful river...it's brown, polluted and there are many cities dotted along the way that aren't exactly scenic.

The part of the journey that was lovely was the three gorges tour where we were taken on smaller boats into some of the river off-shoots to see amazing gorges with rising cliff rock walls. Due to the Three Gorges Dam Project and building of the largest dam in the world to supply hydroelectric power, the river is rising and over a million people have had to be relocated on higher ground. They have built entire new cities, the old ones now being completely submerged. The final stage of the project and water level increase will be completed by 2009. At the end of our cruise, we were given a tour of the dam site. When everything is finished, the electricity from the dam will supply something like 8-10% of China's electricity. To read a bit more on the project check out:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1999/china.50/asian.superpower/three.gorges/

Yang Shuo - This has been a highlight of our site seeing and experiencing in China. As mentioned above, it's one of the most well-recognized scenic areas of the country (check out our photos to see). In just three short days here, we've cruised the Li River (much prettier than the Yangtze), watched Cormorant fishing (a traditional way of fishing using Cormorant birds), gone bike riding in the country side to see the rice paddies and ancient villages, watched a spectacular show performed on the Li River with impressive lighting, sound and effects and over 600 actors (including some of the local fisherman), gotten a relaxing massage and taken a cooking class. This town was discovered by Western backpackers about 10 years ago and so has quite the backpacking culture complete with restaurants serving Western food, fun bars and great shopping. We thought we were in heaven when we ordered the "French" breakfast and were served French Toast, yogurt, fruit and scrambled eggs - yum! And compared to the cities we've visited with millions, this town of about 60,000 residents has felt much more manageable. A great place to end our visit to mainland China.

In addition to all the things we've seen and done on this trip, we have also learned so much from our conversations with people and our general observations. We will soon be posting a separate blog entry to share our thoughts and impressions about the Chinese - their culture, traditions, politics and hopes for the future. Stay tuned!