China Moments [第四册]

Here is a small smattering of images from my trip in China.  For 54 days, I took pictures, pointed out weird things, and generally was bemused.  The videos may come up later, or never at all.  Enjoy!  

This was inside the Bird's Nest.  The stadium is actually quite intrinsic. And amazing if you don't have a fear of heights.

Black currant-hibiscus tea, black sesame-walnut cookies, and red bean scones. Starbucks in China is by far my favorite.

Oh come on, aren't they cute?  Sorta?

Some of Tianjin's best statues and sculptures are also very curious.  They have over 21 bridges, and neither one is the same...

And of course, NBA is big no matter what.

There's something striking about a traditional Bai painting next to modern cotton candy.  Ask me about significance later.

A Hero's Tale, or rather 'Brave.'

For the Torch Festival, people will build their own torches and find ways to make the offering bigger and bigger, so that the smoke will bring their wishes to the gods.

Buttered tea is a traditional minority drink.  It just depends on what minority.

They were having a feast, so they decided to eat some pigs.

When they cook a feast in a village, they really do go all out.

Durian, peaches, kiwis, lychees.  And creamy vanilla.

Steamed shrimp dumplings, when perfectly done, are heavenly.

Pure decadence: black pudding-chocolate milquetoast (that's how it's spelled, blame the Taiwanese), Pocky in dark chocolate sauce with chocolate whipped cream, and kiwi sauce.

Spicy green bean curd. Don't knock it until you try it.

It's a pun: have a long and happy life. But the sound for 'year' and 'to break something' are the same... Hence, break a bottle for a year of prosperity!

Lake fish and shrimp, fried up in a doughy mix of potatoes and eggs.

 

At the temple I visited near Jizushan (or Chicken Foot Mountain), they go through thousands of the red candles a week.

There's something endless about a pagoda on a foggy day, especially when the sky suddenly opens.

P.S. Brownie points if anyone can figure out where a couple of these places are!

China Moments [第三册]

Here's a very important thing you HAVE to realize: China is filled with people.  There are days when you are going to stand on a subway and mutter under your breath, feeling like canned sardines, squished and compressed against each other, with little air conditioning.  There are days when you see a single seat on a bus and want to dive, throw yourself onto it, even if you just sit for one stop.

Outdoor concerts in China are ridiculously packed with people, trash, mosquitoes...

And then, there are days, hours even, where you get lucky and get to feel ridiculously free from the human constraint.

There are lakes that are empty and clear, with nothing on the horizon but the sun...

The thing that I actually love the most about being surrounded by people in China is the madness that seems to erupt.  I'm not talking about tempers that get too short, and burn everyone in the vicinity.  I'm talking about the creative powers that no one seems to really tap until they can't help themselves.

In Beijing, there's an area called 七九八, which means 'Seven Eight Nine.'  It's also called 79Bar. It's an artist haven, getaway, forever place.  There's graffiti, sculptures, art exhibits.

Hey Che!  First China, then Morocco... Where next?

Alright, yes, Bumblebee was there.

It wasn't just this side of the bus that was painted.

The face freaked me out.  And the mug was actually tall enough to reach my waist.

79Bar is so full of art and beauty.  A friend I know would also say it's full of hipsters.  And he's right.

They're Chinese hipsters who smoke French import Gauloise cigarettes and talk about Europeans in the south.

M

China Moments [第二册]

My China itinerary was planned somewhat along these lines:

Mother: Sweetie, you need a break. You're working too hard.
Me: [looking like death] Alright...
Mother: You know your internship?  Well, it got cancelled. So, I called some friends to help you around China! Just fill out this visa.
Me: [blinks] ....WHAT?!

To explain, I had just come off a semester of a full 18-hour-course-load, taking a 20-hour per week internship, doing 5-7 hours a week in a psychology lab, tutoring, working as entertainment producer for our student television program, contributing to the student newspaper AND participating in three different student  clubs.

I then decided to spend my summer doing some biology research, taking a summer course and continuing my 20-hour per week internship.

Of course, my mother (bless her heart) somehow took this to mean that I was working myself too thin.  And decided to do what mothers do best: (s)mother me with love.

Originally, I was going to China to do an internship.  The paperwork had been filled out, I was in the process of getting my visa, and I even had my ticket purchased.  But then, the position was stopped. Finished. Paused.  Insert bureaucracy that I cannot understand.

Of course, my mother filled in the blanks. Why not use the time to decompress?  After all, the ticket HAD been bought.  There was just a small matter of getting a tourist visa.  So, she called some friends.  The recommendations came in.  She created a list.

1. Beijing
2. Nanjing
3. Hangzhou
4. Shanxi
5. Shanghai

And that is how I ended up heading to Beijing, China.

My cousin and I decided that we'd do something touristy.  We took a rickshaw tour. 

China Moments [第一册]

So, I went to China last summer (the summer of 2012), before I went to Morocco for study abroad.  In my rush to pack and organize for my semester of journalism, I never got to update my Chinese moments.  Let's start with this list of TOP 10 standouts.

1. Chinese traffic is crazy.  Trying to drive is like playing Mario Cart, except that there are constantly cars/trucks/bikes coming towards you, squeezing in front of you, etc.  And that friggin' blue turtle shell?  Yeah, it's ALWAYS THERE.  Trying to cross the street is like playing Frogger.  On expert.  In double-time. (And public transportation isn't any better...)

2. People are just as likely to believe that everyone in the States lives in a mansion (which, given apartment costs in China, might as well be true), has had plastic surgery, and has a wardrobe full of designer items as they are to believe that the government has ... issues.  If you don't  believe me, check out weibo.com, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

3. When you go to a shopping center, please do not provoke the vendors.  Please, for your safety, please. I witnessed three fights in the span of one hour.  Mostly, it had to do with the vendor throwing punches (or items) at a disgruntled customer who had haggled over the price and then left.  Seriously, if you do decide to buy and haggle on the price, you better be prepared to pay for it.

4. If you do not speak your mind or stand your ground, you run the risk of being scammed.  I say this as an observation: anyone who is a tourist knows that their best chance of escaping harassment is looking like s/he knows what's going down.  Otherwise, you run the risk of being scammed. So, please, please, please, be aware of your surroundings.

5. Chinese food rocks. Hard. All night long.  There's so much to try, and if you know where to go, it's fresh, cheap and DELICIOUS.  I had the privilege of experiencing authentic Taiwan egg custard tarts, rose pastries, fresh dumplings, and sixteen types of minority food, in the span of a day.

6. There are always fun things to do.  Case in point: I went to a concert in Hangzhou (yay for Coca-Cola sponsorship), sang karaoke in Shanghai (even though Anthony Bourdain would have screamed "NO" as soon as someone said "Kara-"), went to the Fire Torch Festival in Kunming (which is basically a pyromaniac's wet dream.  Seriously, over three tons of flammable materials), and went hiking in Chengde.

7. There is a fear of rabies.  A legitimate, widespread, massive fear of rabies.  I went to the hospital a few times (yay for family members and such... :/) and every time, even on Sunday, the rabies office was open.  The hospital had so many cases of people being scratched or nipped by dogs and then coming in for a rabies shot, that they opened a office to deal with it.  And the office was open 7 days a week, from 9am-5pm.  There was always a wait.

8. If you think people in the US of A have a fear of immigrants, you need to meet some of the people I ran into.  There is a FIERCE territorial desire to protect their city (or in some extreme situations, their neighborhood) from "outsiders."  I learned that they define "outsiders" as anyone from a different province or city.  This territorial thinking probably comes from a very traditional belief: that the family is the center of your world, and anyone who threatens the family will be dealt with accordingly.

9. As much as people may believe there is an ignorance and arrogance in Chinese society (which, honestly, every society has), there is also a ruthlessness in all aspects of business.  I saw two beggars/panhandlers going at it, because one stated that the other had stolen his spot.  I heard a lady talk about watching a pickpocket threaten someone who wanted to go to the police.  My cousin came home badly shaken up because a female panhandler cornered her on the subway and threatened her with a pot.

10. The fast food culture is as integral to Chinese society as it is to the States.  While I really don't like Chinese KFC, or McDonald's, I'm very hooked on Starbucks.  Their desserts?  Delicious.

As an aside: While staying in my hostel in Shanghai, I met two guys from Chicago, IL.  We got to talking.  Interestingly, I introduced myself as Canadian, and they decided to disabuse all of my notions of the states.  Their biggest point: "It's bulls**t that people say there's hunger in America!  There's a f**king dollar menu.  There's no way in hell anyone's going hungry."  They were there because their uncle had bought them a three month vacation.  Draw your own conclusions.