freda's world adventures

Hangzhou July 2, 2010

On Sunday, June 20th, I went with Fred and Sharon to Hangzhou.  Fred has friends there, Aga and Anatol, a young couple from Poland, whom he met through foosball.  (Have I mentioned Fred’s a foosball god in Shanghai?!?  Check out his website: www.shanghaifoosball.com  He sells foosball tables, coaches players, etc, and there are several photos on the site.)    We were going to have lunch together and see a bit of the city, especially West Lake, the city’s biggest “attraction.” 

The rainy season had started and on Sunday it poured during our drive (about 2 1/2 hours), but we watched a movie and tried to ignore the rain.  We found the apartment of Aga and Anatol, picked them up and drove downtown to have lunch.   Then we went for a walk around a portion of West Lake.    According to my Eyewitness travel guide, “Long considered one of the scenic wonders of China, covering over three square miles, West Lake (Xi Hu) is situated at the heart of Hangzhou.  Surrounded by gentle green hills, the lake’s willow-shaded causeways and fragrant cover of lotus blossoms have long been an inspiration for artists.”   An advertising article about Hangzhou in the Shanghai Daily, says: Embraced by hilly peaks on three sides, West Lake has been an attraction for centuries.  A poem about the lake goes like this: “Rippling water shimmering on a sunny day, misty mountains shrouded in rain; plain or gaily dressed like Xizi; West Lake is always alluring.”  The lines were written by the famous Song Dynasty (960-1279) poet Su Shi.  In the poem he compares West Lake to Xi Shi (Xizi), one of the “Four Beauties” in ancient China.”

Well, the line “shrouded in rain” describes our day.  We couldn’t see across the lake, to realise its size or see the “gentle green hills.”  Though, what we saw was picturesque….

a small bridge (never saw the main one)

misty rain - can't see far

Sharon and I with gay Chinese parasols

lotus plants (no flowers yet)

After ambling along for almost an hour, we were hot and sweaty, so we stopped for a cold drink, called Sharon and Fred’s driver, and drove to the Lingyin Temple.  Again from the Shanghai Daily:  “The temple is one of the largest Buddhist temples in China, and contains numerous pagodas and Buddhist grottoes.  The presence of a temple in the area can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty (Ad 317-420) when an Indian monk, Huili, came to the area.  He was inspired by the spiritual nature of the scenery here.  He figured the immortals had to live here and he named the temple Ling Yin (literally translated as Temple of the Soul’s Retreat) as the site is both quiet and beautiful, encouraging a peaceful feeling.   The monastery features a large number of grottoes and religious rock carvings.”

the carvings in the rocks are stunning

close up

carvings back in the hill

close up

this little guy followed his father's lead

but he didn't like it when the smoke got in his eyes

the misty rain did not stop the crowds

this temple had the largest Buddha I've ever seen

 After walking through the temple, we made our way up the hill (many stairs) to a lovely little tea house at the top.

beautiful, lush grounds as we climb

traditional doorways - that's Anatol and Fred

lions flanking the entrance

guardians

beautiful ponds and gardens

tea house

inside the teahouse looking out

tea ceremony (with Aga and Anatol in background)

pouring out the tea

a beautiful, tranquil setting

After enjoying tea, we made our way back down the hill to the car, where Bing, Fred and Sharon’s driver, was waiting.  We then dropped Aga and Anatol downtown and started on the long drive home, watching another movie along the way and were home by 9 p.m.    It was a lovely day despite rain.  I think the highlight was the tea ceremony.

Well, I’ve had a few weeks of spending time with friends, shopping and getting organized.  My bags are packed, I’m ready to go…  My next post will be from Vancouver.   Cheers!

Fengjing June 29, 2010

On Wednesday, June 16th, Sharon and I went on a “field trip” to the village of Fengjing, about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the city.  Sharon had the day off because it was the Dragon Boat Festival.  Mr. Shi drove us.  The town is famous as the peasant farmer’s painting village, and is also a small water village with a temple and other things to see.  Sharon’s and my purpose in going was to view and buy the famous paintings, but first we walked all through the water village.

Fengjing water village

scenic bridges and canals

and ever-present laundry

I love the windows

this reminded me of the Tower Gate in London

scenic canal AND laundry!

 Street scenes:

apple cart

Sharon got a great close up!

this lady was cleaning mushrooms

Sharon captured the full scene

roasted frogs for sale (we didn't buy them!)

the meat counter (unwrapped, in the open)

Mr. Shi buying some treat his wife likes (but I didn't)

the next six pictures are taken by Sharon – who is much bolder at taking intimate shots…

these people are playing mahjong - and shooed Sharon away when she took a picture

a sewing shop

when Sharon showed the woman this picture she didn't like it, so let Sharon take another

what a great face

plastic laid down in the main street of the village so this boy could squat and poop!

I love these rural scenes

garbage

and recycling

 This town also had an important centre from the Communist Party’s time, including an air raid shelter…

Comrades Sharon and Freda

the whole room

a display of Mao badges

Then to the actual peasant farmer’s painting village…

an explanation of the painting style

buildings decorated in the painting style

more decorated buildings

the painters are also farmers - the vegetable gardens

more gardens

artist at work

detail

her work station

Sharon is thrilled to meet this artist as it turned out she already owned one of her paintings..

she picked cucumbers from her garden for us

We bought a few paintings from this woman – she was so sweet, and very happy to have someone in her shop – it was a quiet day.  And then we wandered further down the path…

the path...

and ate lunch at a little local spot.  Mr. Shi ordered for us, and Sharon worried about the cleanliness and food, but it was delicious.   We shared a bottle of beer, so I figure that killed any bacteria!  See us drinking our beer from bowls….

Mr. Shi enjoying Sharon's use of Mandarin

drinking beer out of bowls - and our feast

And again you ask, so what did you buy??  Two from the artist in the photos…

rice planting scene

laundry hanging and shoes drying on the roof

and one larger picture from a shop in the town…

blossoming branches in porcelain vases

The photos don’t do them justice, so you’ll have to visit me in my new home… once I have one!  It was a long, hot day, but a very successful shopping adventure.

a shopping trip to the ’embroidery town’ June 29, 2010

On Thursday, June 10th, Janine organized a trip to the ’embroidery town’ on the outskirts of Suzhou.  Janine and Robin (with whom I went to Jingdezhen), Rosemary (another GM wife who lives in our building) and I left home at 9 a.m. for the almost two-hour drive.  I would have liked to have seen some of Suzhou, a city of canals and bridges and a lot of tourist sights, but this was a shopping trip!  (Maybe Don and I will go later in August, when we’re back in China for our packing up.)  The embroidery street is in the outskirts of Suzhou (so I didn’t get a glimpse of the city at all), and in a manner I have learned is typical in China, shop after shop line the street, all selling the same things.  One side of the street was going through reconstruction, and was a mess.  Luckily it wasn’t raining.

the street and broken sidewalk

at least the other side of the street was okay

beautiful lamp posts

We spent about three hours going in and out of all the shops, assessing the work, deciding what we liked.  There was everything from tacky tourist souvenirs, to the most exquisitely-detailed pictures that looked like paintings, the embroidery work was so fine.   Original pictures, and copies of Van Gogh’s and Monet’s.  And everything (or almost everything)done by hand….

work shop and gallery all in one

at least these women can chat while they work

fine detail

it really is an art form

aren't these kids cute?! They were doing desk work while their mother worked in the shop

So, after much deliberation and hard bargaining, we came away with a few lovely pieces.  I love both of mine.  This first one is a fan, in a stand, and the kind of embroidery where you don’t see any of the work – it looks the same from both sides.

fan, in the stand

a closer look at the detail

And the picture is of a water village, which you’ll have to see in person, because the photos don’t do it justice….

full picture (with my shadow)

detail

detail

We were hot, tired and very hungry after our afternoon of shopping, and stopped for a late lunch/early dinner at a Sofitel hotel restaurant on the way home, which was lovely.  All in all, a very good day!

kindergarten – keeping warm – fish – mahjong June 26, 2010

Shortly after we moved here I learned that Tina (GM wife) did volunteer work in a local Chinese school and I expressed my interest in doing the same.   But then we had our first visitor, Elsie, and after she left a few other activities intervened, and my good intentions were put on hold.  Finally, during my mother’s visit, I made it to the school with Tina and two other women she had recruited, Rachel and Shelley.  The school we go to is small, only a few classrooms, and we do our time in the two classrooms of the youngest children, kindergarten age approximately.  The children are absolutely adorable.  Shelley and I took the youngest class that first day, and have continued in the same class. For 45 minutes to an hour, in English, we sing songs, read stories, recite the alphabet, count, and do shapes and colours.   The kids repeat after us, or sing along with us – at least they do the actions to the songs – or listen to us read the story and then the teacher translate the story into Chinese.  Sometimes they fall asleep!  (See “Sleeping Chinese” blog.)  But, I was not offended by what appears to be boredom, because I’m pretty sure the reason they nod off is that they’re too hot.  My first time in the classroom was in April and it was warm.  I was wearing pants and a tshirt.  All the kids had on jackets in the classroom.  When one little girl finally struggled out of her coat, I saw she was wearing two sweaters underneath!! 

The Chinese are very concerned about being cold and catching cold and consequently the children are always over-bundled, particularly in the spring.  There was an article in the newspaper about keeping warm in early spring.  To quote: Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors say the average daily temperature should be above 15 degrees C. before people start taking off the wraps and wearing lighter-weight clothes.  A Chinese proverb goes, “chun wu qiu dong” or bundle up in the spring and stay cool in autumn (literally spring muffling, autumn freezing).  According to TCM, spring is the season for new growth when ‘yang’ (“hot” energy) rises in the universe and gradually builds.  But in early days the ‘yang’ is still too weak to resist the still-cold environment, just as vegetable sprouts need a greenhouse in early spring.  ‘Wu’ (bundling up) is necessary for people  so the ‘yang’ energy can gradually reach its peak in summer.  Low-level ‘yang’ in early spring can mean lower immunity and the body can be vulnerable to “invasion of pathogenic energies” that cause illness.   Today TCM practitioners say the reasons for keeping warm are frequent temperature changes. “The body’s temperature adjustment system is still in the winter mode, so heavy clothes help keep in the heat,” says Dr. Zheng (from Shanghai University of TCM).   The article went on to suggest which body parts needed to be kept warm to protect against different ailments.  Fascinating.  (Of course the children are not the only ones overdressed.  Older woman will never be seen with bare feet; in the summer they wear ankle-length nude socks inside their sandals.  )

I just have to add how impressed I am with the children in the classroom I “entertain” in.  (It does feel somewhat like “entertainment” as we “perform” at the front of the classroom!)  Most (though, not all) of them know how to count to 10, recite the alphabet, colours, shapes, and animal names in English, and know at least the chorus to a few songs that we sing.  (They love the hokey-pokey!)  And that’s their second language.   I’ve worked in enough schools to know not all of our children can do the same in their own language at this age. 

Here are the children, all adorable.

singing "five little ducks went out one day...."

down to three little ducks now

you can see some children wearing coats, though some not

and this little guy will soon be asleep!

And one last picture, to illustrate the “nude ankle-socks” (which I actually took two years ago when Don and I were in China).

this was taken in Taikung Lu, one of my favourite areas of the city

A few days after my large balcony pot (that I purchased in Jingdezhen) was delivered, Mr. Shi told me that in China this pot is not for plants but rather for water, lotus flower and fish.  That seemed like a great idea to me, and even though I only had one month left in the city, I decided to become a pet-fish-owner.  Mr. Shi took me to the flower market to buy the lotus flower.  The market is also where you buy the fish, but first the water had to sit in the pot for three days, to be safe for the fish (!), so I window-shopped the fish, but didn’t buy.  Mr. Shi did all the work….

llotus plant in the pot, and then rocks to hold the roots down

a closer look at the rocks holding down the plant

Mr. Shi filling the pot with water

fish for sale in the market

and happily swimming in my bowl

I had no idea there would be such ‘trauma’ involved in having pet fish….

Mr. Shi bought me two of the orange fish (I don’t know what kind they are, but they look like baby koi, or large gold fish) and one mottle-coloured one with buggy-out eyes.  Not long after they arrived, one morning I went out to feed them and the mottle-coloured one was floating.  Ewww.  Luckily Don was home; he scooped it up by the tail and flushed it down the toilet!  When I told Mr. Shi one fish had died, he asked “red fish??” (I think they’re orange, not red, but whatever.)  I said no, the other one.  He said, “red fish good, other one not so good.”  Hmmm.  Makes me wonder why he bought that one!!  Anyway, a few days later he arrived with three new fish!  So, then I had five, though I couldn’t tell I had five fish because the water had become very dirty. 

 A few days later, before taking me shopping, Mr. Shi came early on purpose so we could clean out the big fish bowl.  The water was very dirty and slightly brackish.  So the fish were caught and put into one of the smaller bowls – I could finally see I had five!  Then water dumped, lotus plant and rocks taken out, pot cleaned, plant back in, rocks back in, new water – which has to sit for two days before it’s safe for the fish.  So, gave the fishies a little food in their temporary small pot and went out shopping. 

five little fish in a little bowl

going after food

Came home rather late (6:00), checked the fish before going next door to Rosemary’s for a glass of wine, only to find three fish in the bowl!!  HUH?!?  I have suicidal fish!!  I look behind the bowl, and there’s one lying dead beside the bowl — but no sign of the fifth fish!  So, where it has jumped to I’m not sure, though there is a crack in the patio, on purpose, for draining water, and I guess it could’ve slipped through the crack.  😛   Good grief!   Fish parenting is tough!! 

Mr. Shi came the next day, lifted up the cement block of the patio, and yes indeed, the fish had fallen underneath the block.   I was down to three fish.  (Echoes of  the song “five little ducks went out one day, over the hills and far away, mother duck said quack quack quack, and only four little ducks came back.”  How to re-write it for fish?!?) 

Once again Mr. Shi went to the market and came over with two new fish, one orange and one multi-coloured (not with buggy-out eyes, though, so I guess it’s an ‘okay’ kind).   Is five a lucky number??  Not to my knowledge.  I have no idea why Mr. Shi thinks I should have five fish, but five is the number, and the number is five.  (That’s a variation on a Monty Python line, though my boys would have to tell me from what skit.)   And today, when I woke up, my lotus flower was blooming!  I’m so glad I got a flower before I leave on Saturday for Canada….

the flower

only one, but it's lovely, surrounded by huge leaves

and you can see one of my fish

just a head poking out, looking for food

a little hard to see, but here's the multi-coloured one

In case you’re wondering – no, I couldn’t obtain Canadian passports for the fish, so they are going to a new home at the end of the week.  My friend Kim’s three children, Aimee, Hanson and Cadence will be foster parents.   I will take a picture of their new home and post it.   Fish-parenting has been a story-filled experience!!

As already mentioned in previous blogs, part of my Shanghai time has been spent learning how to play mahjong.  I really enjoyed it, and hope to continue playing in Detroit.  I’ve now got all the paraphernalia needed for playing – a table, the tiles and rails and a beautiful box to keep them in, and even a tray with a tile showing mahjong-playing ladies, for serving drinks on.

the box, made especially for a mahjong set

inside the box, compartments for the tiles and wooden rails

the table (excuse the plastic wrap still around the table legs)

the serving tray

A few weeks ago we had our last mahjong afternoon before everyone goes “home” for the summer.  Our host, Dorothy, decided we’d have a potluck lunch before playing.  We were all thrilled with her contribution: a box of chocolates decorated like majong tiles – gorgeous works of art and sinfully delicious too! 

almost every tile represented in chocolate

Janine, Raquel, me and Dorothy

Okay, that’s all for now.  Don is ‘home’ for the weekend.  Today he is golfing and later today we’ll have massages.  Monday (tomorrow) is his ‘going away’ party with his Shanghai office staff, which we will both attend, and then Tuesday morning he’s back to Detroit.  I have many errands this coming week, and a lot of packing to do for my upcoming six weeks in Vancouver-Detroit-Venice.  I will try to finish the blogs about my day trips to the “embroidery town” outside of Suzhou, the peasant famer’s painting village of Fengjing, and to Hangzhou before I leave town…. I will try. 

Until then, cheers!

The sleeping Chinese June 23, 2010

Last week, in one of the Shanghai magazines, I read about a website that I recommend you check out.  It will keep you busy until my next blog is finished.  Check out: www.sleepingchinese.com  It’s true that the Chinese are masters at sleeping in any location and in what looks like uncomfortable positions.  I’ve seen many examples, mostly when I don’t have my camera, including a street cleaner inside her garbage cart, another street cleaner sitting on the curb, head on his knees, and Mr. Shi in our van, waiting for my return.   Everytime I see something unique I wish I had my camera, but the photographer of this website has captured some fantastic examples.   I do have a couple of my own “sleeping Chinese” photos for your viewing pleasure. 

I hope he's not guarding anything important!

I love this shot - snoozing in the sun

I’ll be back soon!

Jingdezhen June 21, 2010

When Janine (a friend – and GM wife – who lives in the same apartment building) called on Saturday, May15th, to say she and Robin (another friend in the building) were planning an overnight trip to Jingdezhen because their husbands were out of town the following week, and would I like to go too, it took me about 5 minutes to decide it was just what I needed to take my mind off the impending move.  Don would be out of town as well. 

I pulled out my China travel guide: For centuries the ceramic capital of China, Jingdezhen is still one of the country’s major porcelain producers.  Although pottery kilns were operating here as far back as the Han dynasty, it was the discovery of real porcelain, during the Five Dynasties (907-79AD), which depended on locally found clay rich in feldspar, that brought Jingdezhen its pre-eminence.  During the Ming dynasty, its location near the imperial capital of Nanjing increased its importance and it became famous for fine porcelain with a blue underglaze.

We were going porcelain shopping!!  Janine had been to Jingdezhen a few years earlier, so she was our expert, and a superb planner she turned out to be!  We booked our flights (only one flight in and out each day from Shanghai), booked a hotel, and packed wine and snacks, and camera.    We left early on Tuesday morning, the 18th.  Our flight out was delayed an hour.   We knew we were going to be waiting awhile when the flight attendants handed out the small meal while we were sitting on the runway.  (And yes, you read correctly.  Even on a one-hour flight in China, you always get served a small meal.)   But, we arrived late morning, (not too much time lost), were met at the airport by the tour guide we had hired for our first day, and taken to the hotel to check in.   Jingdezhen is a “third-tier” city, which refers to the population, and reflects the ammenities.  Janine had booked us into a fairly new hotel, and it was very nice for small-city (a few million) China, though the beds were harder than rock, (typical in China), and made sleeping rather difficult.  The staff bent over backwards to make sure we were happy.

Our first stop was the Museum of Ceramic History.  Our tour guide walked us through, giving small explanations.  It wasn’t very big – actually, a little disappointing given we were in the centre of porcelain production.  The Shanghai Museum’s ceramic display is more impressive.   But then we wandered along the main street lined with shops and galleries, and checked out some very exquisite porcelain – way out of our price range, for the most part, but absolutely stunning.   Our next stop was a porcelain factory, where we could see the process of making what China is famous for, through all the steps.

first the pottery wheel

creating the same piece over and over, by hand

drying racks

more drying, or waiting to be glazed

row upon row upon row

racks of pieces drying inside this window

the painting area

he's putting the signature of the factory on each piece

the painting is done in a few stages

many different styles

with Robin and our tour guide

Seeing the process of making the porcelain gave us a huge appreciation for the pieces we then went shopping for in the markets.  Our guide took us to a four-floor market, every shop selling pieces similar but different.   The pieces ranged from factory-produced to one-of-a-kind pieces by top-rated artists.  We spent a couple of hours going from shop to shop, looking at everything, asking prices on some things, our tour guide trailing behind us and helping with translations if we needed.  But, we didn’t buy anything our first day.  It was better to just get an idea of what we liked, what our choices were.  (We also thought we probably weren’t getting the best prices with our tour guide with us.)  After this indoor market, we went to a street market, where most of the stock was displayed outside.  Aren’t the colours great?!?

endless selection - all the same

seems dangerous to me to have breakables on the street

these carts were in use everywhere, all pulled by hand

Janine and Robin

I love all the colour!

street workers

We went back to the hotel overwhelmed by choice and exhausted.   How lovely that we’d brought wine in our suitcases.  We uncorked a bottle and had a much-needed glass and some nuts.  Then we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner.  The hotel had two restuarants – one Chinese and one Western.  We’d tried to reserve in the Chinese restaurant but it was full (!), so we went to the Western one – we were the only people in the restaurant!!  They allowed us to order from the Chinese menu, though, which was great because the “western” choices weren’t very interesting.  The Chinese food was excellent.

Then, back to our rooms for the piece de resistance: Janine had organized for foot massages in our room.  This was a production!  First, booking three massage therapists to come to the hotel had the hotel staff in a tizzy.  They couldn’t believe we were willing to pay 200 RMB each ($30), which was the cost for transportation to bring the women to the hotel, and to massage us for 90 minutes!!   At the appointed time, a young fellow showed up with the three women.  He was likely the driver and the safety net in case we proved to be three men (that’s our guess, anyway, and we called him the pimp).   Where we were all going to sit, how the massage would be given, was an issue that required a lot of conversation.  It was finally decided we’d sit at the end of the two beds in the room, and the women would be on their knees on the floor (though we’d offered chairs).  Then the buckets had to be filled with hot hot water for the customary feet soak – which was another production as kettles of hot water were brought by hotel staff.  Finally the room quietened down, our feet entered the hot water, the woman massaged our arms and thighs, and then feet out of the water, we lay back on the beds and the women massaged our feet.  And then, feet done, we lay on our stomachs and they massaged our backs, and then we sat up and they finished with our necks and shoulders.  Ahhhh!  Can you believe all that for only $30!!  Unbelievable. 

in our pj's, ready to relax

the massaging begins

The next day, after breakfast and checking out, and arranging for our suitcases to be stored at the hotel for the day, and making a reservation for dinner at the hotel for that evening (our flight wasn’t until 9:15 p.m.), we were off.  First stop was a large market that turned out to be still under construction.  Some of the shops were open, though, and in another few months this will be a great little “village” of shops.

lots of little bridges between the shop-lined streets

this shop had lovely pieces, though we didn't buy any

at the end of the little village, a small exhibit in this pagoda

Robin and me

Robin found a beautiful plate in this market, which she then lugged to another market Janine had been to before.  But, then we decided we’d grab a taxi, take Robin’s purchase back to the hotel to store, and we’d sit down for a quick cup of tea and a snack before venturing back to our four-floor market. 

drinking jasmine tea with bendy straws!

In the centre of the city is a great artistic commemoration to the making of porcelain: several statues that show the process, and then a humoungous sculpture of a tiger (because this is the year of the tiger; this centre piece changes every year), made entirely of porcelain dishes….

statues showing the process

painting

carrying the product to drying rack

the tiger made of porcelain dishes

it's absolutely HUGE

close up, you can see plates and coloured lids of pots

Another unique aspect of the town was the light posts, which were all covered in beautifully-painted porcelain, and had different designs in different areas of town.

me and Robin again

Once again we spent a few hours going through the four-floor market, and this time we all bought pieces (though, not always what we had thought we liked the day before – it was definitely a good idea to look one day and buy the second day).  We arranged to have them shipped back to Shanghai. 

After we’d had enough shopping we toured an ancient kiln area.  The on-site tour guide first showed us the process of making the pottery – like we had seen the daybefore, but this was mostly a demonstration, rather than a factory- and then to see the walk-in kiln – absolutely massive.

first a demonstration of the pottery-making process

and then the artists

amazing detail and a steady hand

every artist a completely different style

the wood-burning kiln is in this building

the workers walk into the kiln and load it up

the grounds were lush and beautiful

tour guides on the site

our tour guide with Robin and Janine

After our tour we taxied back to the hotel to have dinner.  We had an open bottle of wine from the night before that we wanted to finish before our dinner.  We asked if we could sit in the lounge area and have a glass of wine, but apparently that wasn’t allowed.  Hotel staff came to gingerly carry the opened bottle and take us to a private back room where we could have our drink (out of sight!) and then stay and eat our dinner.  Another delicious meal.  Then we organized our bags and had a taxi take us to the airport.  Unfortunately, when we got there we discovered our plane was delayed and they weren’t allowing us to check in until they knew an approximate time we would leave.  Finally we could check in, but… turns out they still didn’t know when (if?) we would leave.   After an uncomfortable wait in a very basic waiting room, with very little information – and our flights posted on the blackboard…

flights leaving Jingdezhen posted here!

we departed four hours after our scheduled time.  We finally arrived in Shanghai at 2:30 am.  And Janine’s driver, poor guy, had been at the airport the whole time, waiting for us.  We were home at 3:30, exhausted, but it had been a fantastic two days.

And what did I buy, you’re asking?!?  Well…

a beautiful large pot for the balcony

an exquisite tea set and tray, hand-painted

and three very different display pieces

A month of visitors – part four – the boys’ last few days in Shanghai June 19, 2010

On Monday May 8th, the four of us went to Expo.  It was a perfect day – a little cool in the morning, very warm in the afternoon, blue sky and sunshine (such a rarity in Shanghai!).  We took the local ferry, one block from our apartment, to the Expo grounds. 

on the ferry, approaching the Expo grounds

Nanpu Bridge

a view of the Expo Cultural Centre, with the China pavilion to the side

Don had arranged timed tickets for the GM Pavilion, which is where we started our day.   It was well done – a look at what the future might look like for the automotive industry.   The woman at the GM pavilion who had organized our “easy-access” entrance, also managed for us to go to the Canadian, U.S. and UK pavilions by the “easy-access” route, so off we went to Canada.

Cirque de Soleil performers outside the pavilion

Canada's cedar pavilion

We are "Cha-na-da" in Chinese

inside Canada's pavilion

 The easy-access entrance included a VIP tour of the pavilion.  We had a lovely young woman, originally from South America, but growing up in Canada, give us the tour.  She not only spoke Spanish and flawless English, but was fluent in French and Mandarin as well. 

The UK pavilion may be the most intriguing. 

from a distance you can see the Union Jack

up close you just see hundreds and hundreds of prongs

another view of the outside

inside, the walls were covered in seed pods embedded in plexiglass

close-up of the pods - every one a different seed

the light changed the look every time we turned around

We couldn’t stop taking pictures in the UK pavilion – it was fascinating.  Our tour guide told us that each of those plexiglass rods, with one seed at the end of each, and no two seeds the same, will be distributed to classrooms in China and the UK, a symbol of working together for a sustainable planet.

Wandering the Expo grounds was just as interesting as going inside the pavilions.

the grounds are vast

and filled with intriguing looking pavilions

Of coure, being half-Dutch, I had to check out The Netherlands’ pavilion, called “Happy Street.” 

the 'houses' reminded us of a development in Rotterdam

up the wandering street we walked - turns out it's in a figure 8 shape

more of the Netherlands "Happy Street"

looking in each window of the little houses we saw typical Dutch scenes, or artistic interpretations

a 'character' from a Dick Bruna children's story

and of course tulips in a greenhouse

We stopped for lunch and we stopped for the toilet.  Always happy when we find the “chinglish” signs!!

Tum left

okay!

Our GM contact miraculously managed to get us into the China pavilion – definitely the biggest and best!

the China pavilion

inside, looking up at the structure

I think this captures the sentiment

Our last pavilion of the day was Italy – very intriguing and artistic….

inside Italy

orchestra on the wall

fashion on the wall

pasta on the wall

and of course wine on the wall

After a long and excellent day, it was time to go home for our own glass of wine!

exiting the grounds

On Tuesday, the boys and I went to Jiashan, to be guests of the English Major students that Rob and Dave teach at Guangbiao University, (named after a rich Hong Kong fellow who thought it would be fun to own a university).   Originally, when Rob and Dave asked if the boys would be willing to visit their classes, and maybe talk with the students, answer questions about what university in Canada is like, etc, we thought we might be having to talk in front a large group of students.  It turned out, the students wanted to have a celebration (they don’t get many foreigners!) and they entertained us.  (The Chinese love to put on a show!)  Even though these kids are 20 or 21 years old, they are endearingly innocent, and more like  North American 14 year olds.   They were very sweet.

waiting for the show to begin

Tai Kwan Do demonstration

solo act (with Rob on guitar)

group act

hip-hop dance routine

Tai chi

Lucas sang too!

and they called for an encore

 The last “event” was a kind of challenging game.  Everyone sat in a circle, leaned back and joined hands, and then the chairs were pulled out and it was a human bridge, of sorts….

first everyone sits in a circle

getting ready is half the fun

joining hands

all chairs out, a human chain

 After this last game, everyone took many, many pictures – us with them in a variety of combinations – and we were presented with a small gift of a homemade chinese food, and then we said goodbye and were off for the 1 1/2 hour drive home. As Lucas said when we were back in the van, “that was strangely fun!” 

On Wednesday morning, the boys and I went on a tour of the old lanes and alleyways with Shanghai photographer Gangfeng Wang.   (Check out one of my earlier blogs to see one of the photos of his I bought.)   Because Gangfeng Wang grew up in the area, he was very comfortable talking with the locals and we were able to enter some of their homes – a real experience.

Gangfeng Wang

old alley

this is where she cooks her meals

from the rooftop 'balcony' of one home, viewing the the other balconies, and new Shanghai in the background

'balconies'

I love the mop used as clothesline

no modesty for laundry in Shanghai!

alley restaurant - the menu

the dishes...

and the cooking area

we were graciously invited into this woman's home

a communal kitchen

pet birds

Gangfeng talks with a local resident

slippers drying in the sun

the plane trees are in full leaf now

The tour was informative and fascinating.  Three hours later we were off to play mahjong for the last time.  Then home for packing and a final family dinner.  The boys left early Thursday morning to return to Vancouver, suitcases loaded down with new clothes, souvenirs and snack foods. 

I’m so glad they had the opportunity to visit us in Shanghai and see a little of China, because the next day we got life-changing news: Don’s boss told him he was being moved out of his job to make room for a female executive that needed a position, but where we would go was not yet determined.   We were devastated!   (I still am, for that matter.)   After almost four weeks of high stress, with Don talking with his boss, and me crying off and on, it was finally announced that Don would be the VP of U.S. Sales Operations (an excellent opportunity and challenge for Don) and we would be moving to Detroit.   My “Shanghai Adventure” is quickly coming to an end.  However, stay tuned for more blogs about the places I’ve visited and the shopping I’ve done in the mad rush to do as much as possible before I have to leave!

A Month of Family, Part Two May 31, 2010

The boys arrived late in the afternoon on Thursday, April 22nd.  Poor guys were back on a plane first thing Friday morning, as the four of us (the boys, Mom and I – Don had gone the day before to attend the Beijing Auto Show) flew to Beijing.  After the usual suitcase retrieval, we met our tour guide, Selina, and were taken to our hotel to check in and freshen up.  Don met us there, and then we were off to the Ancient Observatory.  Astronomy is one of Nico’s passions, so I knew this would particularly interest him, but it was fascinating for all of us.   The observatory is one of the oldest in the world, dating back to 1442, and has several bronze instruments on the roof, including an azimuth theodolite, used to measure the altitude of celestial bodies, and an armillary sphere for measuring the coordinates of planets and stars.  (Yes, this info comes from the guide book!)

Ecliptic armillary sphere on the left

one of a collection of reproduction astronomical devices in the courtyard

Our next stop was a rickshaw ride through one of Beijing’s hutong neighbourhoods.  As I described in the blog of Elsie’s visit, a hutong is an old courtyard-style of housing, found in the alleyways and particular to Beijing.  (The old-style housing in Shanghai is different, and I’ll talk about them next blog.)  It was a lovely afternoon for a rickshaw ride.

Nico and me

Don and Lucas

Mom

shop-lined streets

narrow lanes

and roasting ducks in the windows...

The traffic in Beijing was horrendous, and we’d had a bit of a late start, so by the time we finished in the hutong, we were pressed for time to get to our reserved acrobatic show.  It was decided, as we sat idling in traffic, wondering how we’d fit dinner in before the show, that we would have pizzas delivered to the theatre, and we gobbled down a couple of slices each sitting on the theatre steps.  I wish we’d taken pictures!   The show was spectacular…

these ladies were amazing!

and these men and women also!

All in all, a great finish to our first day in Beijing.  Back to the hotel for a good sleep before tackling the Great Wall.

Saturday was a gorgeous, sunny day.  Don and I were excited to be going to the Great Wall in such perfect conditions, especially after our snowy visit in early March! 

This time we went to the area called Mutianyu.  It was a long, steep climb just to get to the cable car to take us to the top….

walking the hill up to the cable car - our tour guide, Selina, was a great help

and I was worried about mom making it, given she is waiting for hip-replacement surgery and in some pain, but she was determined.

On the Great Wall

We walked a little of the wall all together, and then Don and the boys went off on a longer walk, while Selina and I helped mom to make it up to the first tower and back again….

Mom did it!!

some steep steps to climb on the Wall

so amazing...

view through a tower window

very mountainous terrain

wedding photos at the Wall

the bride was beautiful

it was a lovely spring day

a great day to be on the Great Wall

After clambering about, the boys tobaggoned down while Selina, mom and I went back by cable car.  Then we went to lunch.

After lunch we went to the Summer Palace.  This is where the emperors from the Qing dynasty spent their summers.  Housed on extensive grounds  (716 acres) with a large lake, on a beautiful day it’s a lovely place to stroll.   After climbing the Great Wall, however, we were a little too tired to stroll for long, so we took a “dragon” boat ride across the lake.  We also walked the “Long Corridor” which is 2,388 (728 metres)long, and decorated with over 14,000 different paintings. 

scenic bridge near the entrance

small boats to hire

"dragon boat" to cross the lake

the 'dragon' points the way

various structures on the palace grounds

Long Corridor

one of the 14,000 paintings on the corridor

a perfect day for flying a kite

and a lovely place to be as the sun went down

We went back to the hotel to clean up, and then out for dinner to the Beijing Noodle King Restaurant, where we had eaten in March, and loved – great food!

the 'welcome' at the restaurant entrance

We went back to the hotel for a drink in the lobby, and then fell into bed.

On Sunday, after breakfast and checking out, our first stop was the Temple of Heaven.  The Temple of Heaven, was completed during the Ming dynasty and is more correctly known as Tian Tan. It  is one of the largest complexes in China, and it was here that the emperor would make sacrifices and pray to heaven and his ancestors at the winter solstice for a good harvest . 

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests

detail of the building

 The roof of the hall is supported on 28 highly-decorated pillars. At the centre, the four huge columns, known as Dragon Well pillars, represent the seasons, while the other 234 smaller pillars symbolize the months in a year plus the two-hour time periods in a day.

inside pillars

But, the best part of visiting the Temple of Heaven on a Sunday morning is the surrounding park that is a meeting place for practitioners of tai ji (tai chi), as well as dancing groups, musicians and players of dominoes….

waltzing through the park

tai ji ball

tai ji ball

Don gives the tai ji ball a try

dancing with a ribbon

I love the concentration on these faces

After the Temple of Heaven we went to the silk carpet factory we’d gone to in March, and bought two smaller carpets for our cavernous hallway.  Mom bought one too.   After lunch we were off to Tian’an Men Square and Forbidden City.

The boys were blown away by how large Tian’an Men Square is, which can hold one million people.

Tian'an Men Square

Mao's Mausoleum, where his embalmed body lies

revolutionary statue outside Mao's Mausoleum

Forbidden City is also massive…. every time mom and the boys thought we were through the last gate, there was another one!

just one of many sections of Forbidden City

Forbidden City

lions guard the entrance

We made it through the Forbidden City just in time for the skies to open and the rain to pour down.  Back into the van and off to the airport.  Unfortunately our flight out was delayed by 3 1/2 hours due to bad weather.   Not such a great ending, but a wonderful weekend. 

Next up, the boys in Shanghai….

A Month of Family May 16, 2010

First, my mother arrives:

My mother arrived on April 10th for 2 1/2 weeks with us.  Spring had sprung,

beautiful flower boxes

and adbundant gardens

the weather was warming up, though still cool and rainy at times, and the city was coming into full bloom.  Expo preparation was in high gear, as well, and every day we saw a few projects completed.

The “beautification” of my walking route progressed daily….

construction site wall painted and decorated

planters placed down Puming Lu, one of the main routes to Expo

planters feature poinsettas and marigolds; my driver calls them "Merry Christmas-Expo" flowers!

stringing lights in the trees

sidewalk planters added

 Displays around the City:

me and Haibao

I showed mom some of the same sites I showed Elsie (such as YuYuan Gardens, Taikung Lu artist enclave, Shanghai History Museum in the Pearl Tower),  and some different ones.  One site that was completely new to me was Soong Ching-ling’s home.  She was married to Dr. Sun Yet-Sen, and after he died, became one of the most significant political figures of the early 20th century in her own right.  There was a very good display of information regarding her life and work to go through first.  Then we took a quick walk through the home, which displays pieces of furniture, personal items and photos from when she lived there, and finished our visit in the lovely back yard.

Mom in the garden

Another thing mom and I could do, which wasn’t possible when Elsie was here, was to walk on the newly-re-opened Bund, definitely the landmark associated with old-Shanghai.  If you’ve read my previous blogs, you will know Don and I had walked a good portion of the new Bund a few weeks earlier, but mom and I started at the Peace Hotel (which the guidebook says is “the most distinctive building on the Bund, built in 1930 by millionaire Sir Victor Sassoon”), made our way past all the classic 1920’s and ’30’s buildings (including chartered banks, Customs House and the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, where the entrance is flanked by bronze lions), and all the way to the end (where Don and I had started) to take the ferry home.  It was a glorious day for a long walk.  I had had Mr. Shi drop us off by the Peace Hotel and told him we’d take the ferry home.  Well, he actually pouted!!  He was so worried that mom wouldn’t be able to walk that far, or that we might take a taxi home.  He said, “no taxi!” and I had to reassure him that if we had any problem we’d call him.  About an hour after we were home, he called me to make sure we got home okay!  He’s such a good man.

Mom on the Bund walk, with Pudong and the Pearl Tower backdrop

Customs House (with the clock) and the HSBC building, with the Peace Hotel (with the green triangle roof) at the far right

the Pudong skyline - World Finance Centre, Jinmao Tower

a great view of our apartment complex

This is so China!

Backwards? Really??

And these two pictures are so China also!

first he climbs up for a better view

and down he crouches to see better (!)

Mom and I also went to the Shanghai Museum.  We picked oneof the rainiest days she was here for this outing.  It turned out a large number of others thought it was a good day for the museum, as well (!) and we had to stand in line, outside in the wind and rain, for 20 minutes, as the line of people slowly moved through the inside security check.

lining up in the rain outside the beautiful Shanghai Museum

That was an unfortunate start but, once inside, the museum is really wonderful, displaying cultural relics from China’s neolithic period through the Qing dynasty, a span of over 5000 years, and is divided into sections for bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, coins, jade, furniture and traditional minority costumes, with the bronzes and ceramics being their highlights.  Mom and I only managed a few hours and about half the displays, but I went back with the boys and we spent 3 1/2 hours going through every display.

bronzeware

bronze wine vessel

more bronze wine vessels

bronze water bowl

Ming dynasty ceramics

ceramic bowl

and a ceramic plate

glazed pottery figures

masks

sculpture

Chinese furniture

One day we wandered through the Shanghai Art Museum’s displays, and then ate lunch at the lovely roof-top restaurant, where the views would be excellent on a sunny day!

a rainy view, but mom is spring-sunshine-bright

After lunch we went to the Old China Hand Reading Room, a lovely space opened by photographer and publisher Deke Erh, filled with antique furnishings and stuffed-full bookshelves…

Old China Hand Reading Room

 and then wandered along the tree-lined French Concession area streets….

these are Plane trees - the ones I despaired of during the winter, sure they wouldn't bud.

We went to the flower market…

with Mr. Shi

and early in the visit, we went to the fabric market, where mom had great fun having custom made coat, suit and blouse made at one of our favourite stalls….

Sun (pronounced 'soon'), one of our favourite shop owners

And of course no visitor is fully initiated into Shanghai life without a trip to the grocery stores or wet markets.  Mom took several pictures in the Carrefour (my usual grocery shopping stop), and the boys supplemented her pictures for your viewing pleasure, because mom wouldn’t go anywhere near the snakes!!

dried fish products

open meat bins

more open meat - really! ... all the meat is 'open' for grabbing

I don't actually buy meat from this store... it's too disgusting!

the fresh frog department

lots of snakes - eww, gross!

I usually by-pass the snakes; they give me the creeps

the dumplings look good

and these ones are so cute!

fruit

lots of great vegetables

what kind of fruit is this??

The day before the boys arrived, mom celebrated her 78th birthday with us.  Before going out to a great fusion Thai-Burma restaurant, we took her to the Glamour Bar for a pre-dinner chocolate martini – mmm, delicious!

Mom looking glamourous in the Glamour Bar

Cheers and Happy Birthday Mom!!

Next up: the boys arrive and we all go to Beijing….

A long weekend (and cultural information) April 9, 2010

While the Christian world celebrated Easter weekend, here in China it was the Qingming Festival, otherwise known as Tomb Sweeping Day (on Monday, April 5th).  This was coincidental, as “the Qingming Festival is based on the solar calendar and occurs two weeks after the vernal equinox – usually April 4, 5, or 6.”  (All of the following information is directly quoted from an article by Laura Tang, found in the April edition of the monthly magazine put out by SEA – Shanghai Expatriate Association – and the sites her source as Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China by Carol Stepanchuk and Charles Wong, 1991.) 

Qingming means “clear brightness” and comes from the idea that, at this time of year, the air and light become clear and pure.  People, no longer struggling through winter, are refreshed by spring.  At one time, Qingming was a celebration of spring’s return.  Similar to springtime celebrations in other cultures, or even the secular side of Easter, the Chinese people would enjoy dancing, singing and picnicking, and they would boil and colour eggs.  Later, the eggs would be broken to symbolize the opening and distribution of life throughout the earth.  The emperor would plant trees on the palace grounds as part of fertility rites.  Villagers would place pine branches in front doors to symbolize long life and hang sprigs of willows under the eaves as a symbol of life and a talisman against evil.  …This celebration of new life evolved into a solemn rite of showing reverence and respect to ancestors, because the Chinese see death and life as being closely linked.  Indeed, they traditionally believed that the dead were responsible for ensuring fertility in families and in the land.  It was important to make sacrifices of food and spirit money to ancestors to ensure abundant blessings and good fortune rather than illness, misfortune and hunger.  For hundreds of years, these offerings comprised a form of  ancestor worship that included caring for the ancestral graves.  The families would set out with hoes and brooms to sweep away dirt and remove weeds from the area.  Unlike the elaborate tombs built for emperors, a common gravesite was small, but accomodated ranking members of the family – those who had contributed to the continuation of the family line.  Married couples would be buried in the main area, with single persons and children around perimeter.  A good location of interment, in alignment with the principles of feng shui, and subsequent proper care of gravesite would ensure the descendents health and prosperity.  When choosing a gravesite, families would often employ the services of a geomancer, or feng shui master, who would determine the most auspicious site….  The arrangement of the tomb or gravesite and the subsequent yearly cleanings and offerings would keep the ancestors content – integral parts of ancestor worship.  Ancestor worship was an act of reverence, honour and obligation.   Ancestors were treated like living beings believed to have rights and responsibilities.  They had the right to be honoured and treated with proper respect and the correlating responsibility to honour the requests of descendents.  If a descendent did not pay proper respect to his ancestor, the ancestor might punish him as if he was a naughty child.  However, if an ancestor ignored the pleas of his descendents, he may find himself abandoned and left to fend for himself among despised wandering ghosts…..  Today, younger generations continue observing the Qingming Festival, now sometimes referred to as “Tomb Sweeping Day.”  Even those who have abandoned the practise of ancestor worship feel uncomfortable discarding the traditions of Qingming altogether.  Visiting and caring for the grave indicates that the family has not died out, and represents the head of the family’s devotion to his descendents.  These time-honoured rites give a sense of peace, continuity and belonging gained by remembering favourite or admired ancestors.  For many, the Qingming festival provides a significant occasion to simply remember deceased loved ones and show respect for their memories.  … The Chinese government now promotes the celebration of Qingming, believing that the continuation of such traditions cultivates a hormonious society.  In recent years, the current government designated Qingming a national holiday during which schools and many offices are closed.

Having no ancestors in China, we did not sweep a tomb.  We did, however, have a lovely long weekend, starting Friday evening, with a group of us meeting for happy hour drinks and dinner at a local Italian restaurant.

On Saturday Don golfed, I did some shopping with Sharon, and then we had our friends, the Choi’s, over for dinner – Richard, Kim, and their three children Aimee, Hanson and Cady.  (We met them in Florida, Kim was part of the book club there, and then they were transferred to Shanghai about a year and a half ago.)  They brought us the most beautiful house-warming gift – phoenix (female) and dragon (male) sculptures – not sure what they’re made of, but some kind of wood, we think, and painted spectacularly –

the phoenix

the dragon

On Sunday, Mr. Shi took us to a Peach Blossom Festival – which was his idea to show us, after we had been talking about blossoming trees.  The place was a large park, full of peach trees bursting into three different colours of blooms….

entrance to the park

three colours of blossoms

Don amongst the many blossoms

such a pretty setting

A beautiful setting, hundreds of blossoming trees, and then an exhibition-game park-atmosphere, with mid-way-type attractions, like games, activities, craft vendors and food stalls….

she's so cute, but looks a little worried about the monkey on her shoulder

kids rolling inside these plastic barrels around the lake

amazing works of art, to eat

he pours out the heated sugar-concoction into an animal shape, creating the candy-on-a-stick

There were baby ducks for sale, and children having great fun chasing them and choosing their pets… well, pets for a few weeks, and then, probably dinner!!

corralling a pet... (or dinner?)

And of course, peach blossom branches to buy for home….

After wandering around the peach blossom festival, we first made a stop at one of our favourite furniture stores to order a couple of small tables for our long, cavernous hallway (where we had thought the “altar” table would go, but then changed our minds on that), and then to the flower market to buy a couple of vase-like-pots – one for umbrellas and one for these intriguing bamboo-like-stalks-with-birds-of-paradise-type-flowers attached.  I have no idea what they are, but they look cool.  We have placed them in our “lobby,” and together with my shoe cabinet (yay – it’s here!) and chairs, our lobby is looking good, if I do say so myself.  We just need a picture to go on the wall above the cabinet, but I will take my time to find what I want.

shoe cabinet, with one (of two) chairs flanking the cabinet, and the pot of unknown plants

inside the shoe cabinet

upclose look at the unknown stalks

After all that shopping, we stopped off at home for a glass of wine and to change our clothes, and then we went out for dinner to a Greek place in an area called Cool Docks, overlooking the river.  We were home early enough to watch a movie – Crazy Heart, for which Jeff Bridges won best actor, which I had just bought at a DVD store for 10 kwai (slang, like “buck,” and equivalent to about $1.50).  We thought Bridges was great in an average movie.

Monday (Tomb Sweeping Day) was gorgeous – sunny and very warm.  We took the ferry across the river and walked on the renovated, extended, newly re-opened Bund – just another part of the huge  number of buildings and clean-up projects around the city in preparation for Expo.  The Bund is an historical area of Shanghai, “originally a towpath for dragging barges of rice, it gets its Anglo-Indian name from the embankments built up to discourage flooding (band is an embankment in Hindi).  It became the seat of foreign power in the early 20th century and the iconic stone buildings typify colonial-era Shanghai.”  (from my Lonely Planet City Guide to Shanghai.)  Even though the official re-opening had been the previous weekend, with hoardes of people out walking, this weekend was equally as busy, and I include a few pictures of the crowds and the view so you can experience vicariously….

look at those crowds!

the whole sweep of the Bund

the view of Pudong from the Bund

All in all, a great weekend.

And now, in just a few short hours, our second visitor – my mother – is arriving.  Next time I’ll have details of our time together.

Happy 25th Birthday, Nico!!  We love you!