I'm Back

After a two month absence I am writing in my journal again. Unfortunately, beginning in May, Googles Blogspot could not be accessed in China. So even though everyone outside of China could see my blog, I could not.

I am back in St Louis for the month, readjusting to life in the good ol' USofA.

More to come.

On A Clear Day

Lately the weather in Nanjing has been gorgeous. Normally there is a grayish brown haze in the air; the downside effect of all of the growth going on in China. The main culprit of this haze seems to be cement dust from all of the new building for housing, industry, transportation and entertainment. This especially true in Jiangsu Province, which Nanjing is the capital of, and Shanghai, the economic capital of China.

So when I look up and actually see blue skies or when I go up in a tall building in the center of Nanjing and I can see the mountains that surround it; it is almost magical. Add to this spring flowers, green plants and budding trees and it is very pleasant right now. the other thing that is nice is hearing the birds; especially when I run to Zhong Shan Li (Nanjings main park)in the mornings.

I have been going to parks and walking around the JIETT campus taking pictures. Here are a few from Yuhuatai Scenic Area, the Botanical Gardens at Zhong Shan Li and the school I teach at JIETT.

Salsa in Hangzhou

"There is Heaven in the sky; on Earth there are Hangzhou and Suzhou", or so the saying, in China, goes. Both of these cities are places you should not miss if you visit China. They are places you should also visit with someone from China; so you can understand their beauty, history and culture. I visited Suzhou last March and a few weeks ago I finally visited, Hangzhou; in style.

I have been taking salsa lessons here in Nanjing; which is a story for another post. The teacher, Samba, who is a very charismatic teacher and a great dancer; decided to organize a trip to Hangzhou, to sight see and of course dance. Even though I am not too good a salsa; I couldn't pass up a trip to Hangzhou, with a new group of Chinese and International friends.

I couldn't have made a better decision. Hangzhou is a great city to visit; it is beautiful, cultural and accommodating to visitors. The highlight of this trip was seeing Xi Hu or as people kept saying Xi Hu lake, which would translate to West Lake lake.

The lake was beautiful, since the trees were just beginning to flower and the weather was cool but sunny. The lake also had a bridge called Broken Bridge on it, which has a story about a snake who changes into a woman. During a rain, she meets a man who offers her an umbrella. Soon after they fall in love and live happily ever after. So I thought I would give it a try and took an umbrella with me, but alas no women took the offer.

The other place of note was Lingyin Temple. I have no idea how many Buddas I saw carved in the stone cliffs and caves, but it was wonderful to see.

Of course I went to Hangzhou for the salsa dancing. Unfortunately, this didn't go so hot for me; the floor was too crowded for a beginner like me and I kept bumping into people and loosing concentration. So I watched more than I danced. The main regret I had was as usual, when I travel places, I had too little time to spend in Hangzhou.

Even better was the chance to get to know my salsa classmates. As you can see I was in great company and of course Samba was a great hostess. She has the ability to make everyone she meets feel special and brings out the best in people. Also special thanks to Peter for taking care of the logistics and for making sure I try to dance, when we have dance parties.

Foshan

When I decided to visit Foshan, I choose it because it is a short bus ride from Guangzhou and the Zu Miao Temple sounded interesting. The Zu Miao Temple is where Wong Fei Hung taught and after whom many kung fu movies were based on.

At first the temple was a little disappointing. On my way to the temple, I was besieged by beggars (this is topic I will have to address some day) and one very persistent con-artist dressed as a monk. Once inside the temple compound I found my timing was off. Many of the building were either being repaired or in needed repaired and the lion donce had just finished. Luckily the next day they were performing as I was walking pass a big hotel; so I got to see some of the dance. It is very acrobatic; with lots of jumping, lifting and balancing by the two performers in the costume.

If you are into martial arts and martial arts movies, this is the place to go, though. There was a lot of information on martial arts and martial art movies. Wong Fei Hung wasn't the only famous name connected with the temple Bruce Lee's teacher was from there.

If kung fu is not your thing, another part of the temple is given over to great teachers such as Confucius. It was in this section that I met a Chinese college student who was waiting for her boyfriend to get off work and was a little bored. So she was happy to practice her English and try to explain some of the exhibits to me. Her spoken English was not great and of course my Chinese is terrible but it was fun trying to figure out what the other was trying to say.

As luck would have it just a we had run out of exhibits it was time for her to meet her boyfriend at a garden in Foshan and the Nanfeng Kiln where I wanted to go was in the same direction. So we got on a bus that would take us to our destinations, unfortuneatly we got on the wrong bus and had to switch buses. But luck was still hanging around because as she was telling the driver where to let me off, another passenger, Christina, said she was going in that direction. So I found a new guide.

As it turned out by the time we got to the place for us to change buses it was close 5pm and there wouldn't be enough time for me to see much of Nanfeng kiln. So Christina invited me to see her office. She works for a company, Kinsyoma, that makes and sells ceramic and glass tiles for indoor use. In fact Foshan seems to be the ceramic tile center of China. Kinsyoma is expanding its operations, so the building was still under construction, and the showrooms were not finished yet. But next to the sales office was a large room where they had the tile samples laying on the floor.

I was surprised at the variety of types of tiles. Along with single pattern and mosaic patterns Kinsyoma also had tile pictures that could be applied to walls.

The other product that interest me was Kinsyoma's glass tiles. If I every get around to tiling my kitchen, I will have to see if they can produce tile for me. To top things off Christina gave me a CD of Kinsyoma's catalog to show anyone I know who might need tiles. So now I am a tile sales person.

Hong Kong

When I was deciding where to travel, during my holiday break, I asked people what I could do in Hong Kong. Everyone excitedly replied shopping. Shopping did not get me too excited; one because I am not independently wealthy and two because I don't need a lot of "stuff" cluttering up my life. Not to mention I can always go shopping in Nanjing, Shanghai or St Louis. So I almost did not go to Hong Kong.

But I knew there had to be more to this city; especially considering it modern history as a link to Mainland China. So I asked two people who had lived there and they told me about other things to do in Hong Kong besides shopping. Hong Kong (HK) sounded more interesting then. so off I went to see if it had more to offer than stores offering high priced goods.

The main thing I enjoyed was how easy it was to get around the city. Both of my friends had suggested that I purchase an Octopus card (HK's metro transportation card). That was a great suggestion because HK has a great mass transit system. It has 7 to 10 train lines, I have no idea how many buses and an outdoor escalator for pedestrians to take up a very steep hillside.

Beside the mechanized transportation system HK is also a very pedestrian friendly city. When I first ventured into the downtown part of the city, I couldn't figure out where all the people were. Which was strange in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Then I found the elevated walkways. It was great! It keeps pedestrians and automobiles out each other paths and gives people a nice view of the city.

The other thing that made HK so people friendly, was the parks. There seemed to be scores of little green spaces everywhere and unlike Mainland China they were free and had lots of places to sit. Which was good because before I discovered the hillside escalator I had walked all way up to a zoo on top of one of the hills. It was a pretty good climb.

The other thing I liked about HK was the architecture and public art. It has some pretty cool big tall building; which light up at night. Yes I know those lights waste electricity; but I am a sucker for flashing colored lights. Also unlike mainland China, cement is not the most prevalent building material. So buildings don't seem to deteriorate as fast and there is not a haze of cement dust in the air and covering every surface.

Some other things that I liked about HK was how international it was and the variety of restaurants to be found. English and Chinese are the most prevalent languages but I must have heard a half dozen languages being spoken the day I walked through HK proper; not to mention the number of accents I heard.

Eating is another global experience. The street were I had dinner at; hosted a United Nations of small restaurants. An "Italian" restaurant I eat at, Solemio, was was staffed by people from Nepal (yes, I asked where they were from). The people eating there were also from all parts of the globe(no I did not ask where they were from). At $HK300 ($US42), which includes wine and tip, the meal was a little pricey. But I had a great seabass dish.

The overall thing I liked about HK was that they seem to have actually planed things in the city and then actually followed the plans. It was nice being in a well planned city. My main regret now is that I only spent one full day and two half days in Hong Kong.

Here are a "few" photos from my brief stay.

Nanfeng Kiln in Foshan

The Ancient Nanfeng Kiln was an unexpected treat on my trip. One of my hobbies is ceramics and glass making. So I decided to check out this old kiln site. I did not realize this was much more than a historical interest spot.

Nanfeng should be on anyone's list who is interested in the arts. Historically, visually and experientially Nanfeng offer’s a lot. It has two ancient kilns; the dragon Nanfeng (meaning south wind) Kiln (built in the 1500’s) and the phoenix Gao Kiln (built a little after the dragon). These two kilns are still very functional. There are also three museum galleries; one historical, one contemporary and one for special exhibits.

Along with these things to see; there is also several very large clay studios for those who would like to experience the kilns. From the looks of the artwork around the park (maybe I should say institute) there have been quite a few talented artist who have worked here. There is also a sculpture park of over 250 MU (about 6000 acres). Unfortunately I did not have time to see the park and I think the studios were closed for the Spring Festival.

The two kilns, which are the main draw here, are huge. They are over 30 meters long and go up a hill in a series of large chambers. The chambers are large enough to walk in. See these two kilns would have been enough to satisfy me all by themselves. But now I want to go back and experience this "Holy Land" of ceramic culture as one of their signs says. Anybody want to join me?

The following are a few of the over 200 photos I took. By the way I left some of the photos sideways because they load faster and look better in that layout; so you will have to turn you computer sideways to see them, sorry.

Chen Clan Academy in Guangzhou

On my first trip to Guangzhou I thought it was such an interesting place, I just keep going back. Along with feeling like I am in Florida, due to the warm weather and vegetation; there are many historical and cultural venues that one can’t take them in, in one visit.

It has a tropical feel like Georgia and Florida in the United States. With many flowers and trees that are similar to those found in the South East portion of the US.

The first time I visited Guangzhou, I spent the whole morning at the Chen Clan Academy; a restored family compound from the Ming dynasty. The detailed craftsmanship of the buildings and artwork inside them was incredible. To find out more about the Chen family visit; http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangdong/guangzhou/chen_family.htm

Here are just a few of the photos I took.

Spring Fest

Spring Festival is over I think. It is hard to tell for sure because they are still setting fireworks off in the morning and evening. Fireworks seem to be an integral part of life in China. You hear them at all times of the day to celebrate anything from marriages, births, store openings, some restaurants seem to set them off every night. So I am not sure but I think the main celebration is for just one week though.

Now the moon is waxing its way into the new year and I am still not sure what to make of the holiday. The New Years celebration starts the beginning of the lunar calendar, which is only used to mark traditional holidays. What I was expecting to see was a lot of organized events, but if there were any parades or shows, other than CCTV's New Years Eve Gala, than I didn't know about it.

Actually what I was looking forward to was the city to put on some big fireworks display. What happened instead; was just before midnight, everybody put on their own fireworks display. Instead of popping open a bottle of campaign; people set off fireworks then go back and eat jiaozi(dumplings) and drink jiu(alcohol) or juice. At least that is what the family I spent New Years Eve with, did. But they were from Northern China. In Southern China which starts below the Chang Jiang (Yangze) River and is where Nanjing is located, they eat something else. But I don't know what.

The one thing I do know is, after spending Spring Festival in China, the holiday seems to be a family affair and the best way to spend it is with a family. I am glad I got a chance to spent it with a family. Mainly because everything shuts down for for a week and traveling is very difficult and crowded the week before and I imagine the week after; especially the trains. It all seems a little chaotic.

Personally I think it is nice, though, for a whole nation to take a week off to be with family. Even if it is a little difficult for us ex-patriots to get along.

Though I was disappointed about not be able to see an organized fireworks show, the fireworks I did see was spectacular. Unlike in the USA where people go to a park and the fire department sets off the fireworks in a nice orchestrated fashion, in China is seem every family sets off fireworks before they eat at midnight. The fireworks they use are not small firecrackers and rocket that individuals buy in the US, these range from packs 500 to 1000 firecrackers all the way up to sophisticated multistage rockets that the fire department set off back at home.

Now you may think that this seems a little dangerous. You are right. It is like being in the middle of a colorful Hollywood battle scene. There are colorful explosions everywhere, in all directions and it goes on for hours. Now you may also be saying to yourself; that sounds a little frightening. It is, but it is also very exciting,. . . and disconcerting,. . . and loud,. . . and fun.

The air is also full of smoke. So much so that in the morning when you look out the window you think it is foggy, but it is smoke from the night before. There is also bits of paper debris everywhere. The smoke takes while to dissipate but the debris is cleaned up surprisingly quickly by the street sweepers. These are people with brooms made out of bamboo tied together; who are on every street you see in China.

So in a country that is around the same width as the United States you have tens maybe hundreds of million of household celebrating at the same time. Remember the whole country of China only has one time zone, so when it is midnight in Beijing it is midnight in Xinjiang. Also less you think that the fireworks end after one night; they are also used before breakfast and dinner, for the whole week I think.

Now I have some idea what Chinese New Year is like in China. Here is a slide show.

Yixing Purple Pottery

As some of you know; I work with pottery as a hobby. So while in China one of the things I really wanted to do, was visit some of the famous pottery making places. As luck would have it I live just up the road from Yixing, home of the purple pottery teapots. Also as luck would have it; a student here whose English is very good lives by Yixing. So she and another students whose English is improving but whose mother used to make teapots, acted as my translator and guide.

So Wednesday I took a bus trip China to Yixing. This in itself was a story, a friend bought the ticket for me and of course since it was in Chinese, he told me which number was the gate number and which number was the seat number. But I forgot. Luckily I asked someone at, the what I thought was the right gate and she indicated that the other number was the gate number. So I went over the correct gate and then had to figure out when they were calling for my bus to load. Again I asked for help from another stranger and after nervously thinking I heard the name Yixing for two other bus, she motioned for me to get into line.

Once I got on the bus my confusion wasn't over. There was a man sitting in the seat next to mine and he didn't seem to want to move to let me get to my seat. Then an older man across the isle started talking to the man and the man started yelling at the older man. All the while people were squeezing and bumping past me to get to their seats. Finally the stubborn man got up and found another seat, I sat down and someone totally different sat down. I have no idea what had just happened, but the bus ride was enjoyable from then on.

Yixing is actually a nice, small city. The air is clean, there seems to be a lot of greenery and the pace is relaxed (except of one of the local bus drivers). My translator and guide were Li Qing and Chen Shi Tao. They are students at the old campus of JIETT where I teach. Chen Shi Tao's mother used to make tea pots and acted as our guide. Li Qing's pronunciation is very clear and her voice is very pleasant, so she is a good translator. Both students are very enthusiastic and enjoyable to be around.

The pottery making is not done in Yixing though, it is in a smaller town withing Yixing's jurisdiction; called Dingshu. The first place we went to was the pottery museum. Unfortunately we got there just after the craftsman who makes teapots at the museum went to lunch. But the people there showed us what he was working on and I was impressed with the quality. Chen Shi Tao said his mother would make one teapot a day, so a lot of craftsmanship go into these teapots.

We also saw some of the raw material including a chunk of clay just out of the ground and several bags of clay. Each bag which looked like it was around 10kg (20lbs) and cost 3000RMB ($430). Expensive stuff. I can't actually tell you exactly how the teapots are made since I didn't get a chance to see one made. But I do know that the pots are hand built rather than thrown on a spinning wheel like we do in the west. From my experience hand building takes longer than throwing", but there is less clay wasted in the process. Which is good at 3000RMB per bag (about $425).

Yixing clay is a deep brown that under certain light can look purple. The feel of the clay was very smooth when I briefly touched it. I have a feeling would be great to work with. It seems very plastic and suitable for shaping. A more detailed description can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_clay

The teapots themselves are small and only hold enough for one or two people at the most. They are unglazed and porous. This allows the teapot to take on the aroma of the tea used in it and usually people will only use one variety of tea in an individual pot. The teapots range in both quality and design with the most expensive teapots probably going for 1000's of RMB. The price also depends on who made it. There are some artist who have made a name for themselves and can ask for higher prices.

When I went looking for a teapot to buy; the first one I picked up that I really like was $800 and it just felt great in my hand. But I settled for a less expensive teapot. Chen Shi Tao helped me bargin (actually he bargained, I just smiled).

Yixing is an interesting place and I did not get to see or do all that I wanted to there. So I shall return.

Bus Ride

Periodically, here in Nanjing, I get on a bus just to see where it goes. I usually ride it to the end of the line or until I get to a place where I want to get off. Then I get off go across the street and ride the same bus number back. Only once did that not work. One evening, a couple of months ago, I got on my most frequently used bus #52 but I was a little tired, I was catching the bus at an unusual place for me and you guessed it, I got on the bus going in the opposite direction.

When I realized I wasn't recognizing anything, I thought no problem and got off the bus went across the street. After I had walked several blocks in both direction I realized there wasn't a bus stop for #52 going in the other direction. Then I remembered that when I looked at the map of the bus route, on the bus, that it makes a loop and heads back to where it started.

Again, although I was a little disconcerted, I thought no problem I will walk to the end of the loop and find the return bus. Remember that I mentioned I was tired. Well as it got darker and colder I realized I did not know how to find out where the bus route went; since the map on the bus was written in Chinese characters. Even though I was somewhat familiar with the area, because a friend had taken me here to show me where I could shop for things, I didn't know it well enough to navigate in the dark.

Obviously I found my way back to my apartment, since I am writing this. But I had to do the one thing an American male hates to do. I had to admit I was lost and I called a Chinese teacher friend of mine, , whose English is good and who would know how to direct me. At last, something I tried that evening worked and she directed me to the nearest subway station where I could find a bus to take me back to campus.

Then just as I approached a bus stop and could see the Metro station sign, I looked up and saw the 52. So I said what the heck got on, the bus made the loop and took me home. It only took to two extra hours of walking in the cold and dark but I finally got back.

Buses In China

From Vehicle CN 1

Traffic jam from a buses point of view.

From Vehicle CN 1

Bus schedule for a supermarket bus line.

Oh yes, I do have the Internet, I do have the Internet Today. . .

The Internet is back in the Old Campus where I live. So for the moment I can communicate with the virtual world again. But I am late for an appointment. So see/talk to you later.

No Internet

I may not be able to post or email much for a while until the school fixes the internet where I live. I am in a bar right now posting this. But stay tuned.