Well, our adventures in China have come to an end. Peter and I got back to Los Angeles this past weekend and are still recovering from jet lag. While it's hard to go back to school/work, it's also nice to be home. Plus, the last week of our travels, I was starting to feel a little bit too pregnant for heavy tourist activity.
Unfortunately, our laptop broke just as we started our travels outside Beijing, so I was unable to post while we were in Shanghai, Yunnan, and Hong Kong. I've taken the computer to the Mac Genius Bar and they tell me they can fix it soon, so I'll post a medley of pictures when they're available.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sunday, September 16, 2007
I Love Megalomania
This past Friday was our last night in Beijing. Peter and the other UCLA interns, Andrea and Guillermo, gave their presentations at CAUPD on Wednesday. Not a huge turnout of people, but the president of CAUPD was there, which we didn’t even realize until the end. We had a last dinner out with Andrea, Guillermo, Stephan, an intern from Germany, and Song Ting, an intern from Beijing University at a yummy Yunnan restaurant near our apartment building.
Now we are in Xi’an, home to several Chinese dynasties, and most importantly, home to the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang was an amazing figure in history. He united the Warring States into the first China, he created a universal coin system that lasted until the 1900s, he unified Chinese characters writing systems so that despite different dialects, China could communicate at least in writing, built up the Great Wall, and best of all, spent 40 years working on his afterlife preparations. Which is what we’re here to see. The largest tomb in the whole world, estimated to cover 56 sq km. This is Peter’s first trip. I’ve been here before in 1996, but I am no less awed by the tremendous scale, beauty, and resource allocation.
The life size soldiers are exquisite. All the faces are different, probably modeled after real soldiers. The tomb contains a full army contingent – calvary, infantry, charioteers, commanders – with all the details of their rank and position demonstrated in their uniforms, their stances, their headgear. What really fires up the imagination is thinking that next door to these Terracotta Warriors is the rest of the mausoleum, with its untold treasures, which remains unexcavated until Chinese archaeologists can figure out better ways to preserve what they unearth. I hope that happens within my lifetime.
Us at the South Gate of Xi'an's Old City Wall
Some of the 6,000+ soldiers in Pit 1
Now we are in Xi’an, home to several Chinese dynasties, and most importantly, home to the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Qin Shi Huang was an amazing figure in history. He united the Warring States into the first China, he created a universal coin system that lasted until the 1900s, he unified Chinese characters writing systems so that despite different dialects, China could communicate at least in writing, built up the Great Wall, and best of all, spent 40 years working on his afterlife preparations. Which is what we’re here to see. The largest tomb in the whole world, estimated to cover 56 sq km. This is Peter’s first trip. I’ve been here before in 1996, but I am no less awed by the tremendous scale, beauty, and resource allocation.
The life size soldiers are exquisite. All the faces are different, probably modeled after real soldiers. The tomb contains a full army contingent – calvary, infantry, charioteers, commanders – with all the details of their rank and position demonstrated in their uniforms, their stances, their headgear. What really fires up the imagination is thinking that next door to these Terracotta Warriors is the rest of the mausoleum, with its untold treasures, which remains unexcavated until Chinese archaeologists can figure out better ways to preserve what they unearth. I hope that happens within my lifetime.
Us at the South Gate of Xi'an's Old City Wall
Some of the 6,000+ soldiers in Pit 1
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Peter’s brother, Andy, Andy’s girlfriend, Kim, and her 1 ½ yr old son, Oliver, are currently visiting with us in China. Having Oliver around has been so fun and interesting. The people are fascinated by him. Chinese love children, and a white kid is all the more lovable. When with him, I constantly hear people saying 洋娃娃 yang wa wa, which means “doll” or “Yankee baby.” Peter thinks it’s hilarious and telling that foreign baby and doll are indicated by the same phrase. People are always trying to pick him up, pinch his cheeks, coo at him, or just stare. Here’s a great photo of what happened when we paused in the shade at the Forbidden City and were discovered by a Chinese tour group.
We leave Beijing at the end of this week – Peter’s internship is over. Stay tuned for our further adventures in other parts of China. Our itinerary still isn’t completely planned, but we did buy tickets today to travel to Xi’an, home to the Terracotta Soldiers, and then on to Shanghai.
We leave Beijing at the end of this week – Peter’s internship is over. Stay tuned for our further adventures in other parts of China. Our itinerary still isn’t completely planned, but we did buy tickets today to travel to Xi’an, home to the Terracotta Soldiers, and then on to Shanghai.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Family Visit
Peter's mom and her friend, Sharon, arrived a few days ago, and we've been touring them around Beijing. They're fabulous guests, always pleased and entertained. The tour group is scheduled to expand soon when Andy, Peter's brother, and Kim, his girlfriend, arrive, along with Oliver, Kim's 1 1/2 yr old kiddo. I'm looking forward to seeing all the attention Oliver's going to get as a little white baby here. The Chinese love kids, and foreign babies are generally quite an attraction.
We started off with a little of Old Beijing, with meandering through hutongs. Of course, modern life intervened, see the below pics of a hutong traffic jam.
Next, we went to Jingshan Park, the highlight of which is a tall hill from which you get a great overview of the Forbidden City. And finally, a short walk over to Beihai Park, to see the famed Nine Dragons' Screen, a beautiful example of porcelain art.
On the next day, we tried to show them New Beijing, so we went back to Dashanzi/Factory 798, the largest of the contemporary arts districts in the Beijing area. Peter and I had gone about a month ago, but many exhibits had changed, and we hadn't seen anywhere close to the whole complex before anyways. It's a factory commune converted to art galleries, just an amazing space to display art.
We started off with a little of Old Beijing, with meandering through hutongs. Of course, modern life intervened, see the below pics of a hutong traffic jam.
Next, we went to Jingshan Park, the highlight of which is a tall hill from which you get a great overview of the Forbidden City. And finally, a short walk over to Beihai Park, to see the famed Nine Dragons' Screen, a beautiful example of porcelain art.
On the next day, we tried to show them New Beijing, so we went back to Dashanzi/Factory 798, the largest of the contemporary arts districts in the Beijing area. Peter and I had gone about a month ago, but many exhibits had changed, and we hadn't seen anywhere close to the whole complex before anyways. It's a factory commune converted to art galleries, just an amazing space to display art.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Qingdao
For my 31st birthday, we took a weekend trip to Qingdao. Before you think that Peter has become a master planner of romantic weekend surprises, let’s just say that we started out with a high-speed train to Qingdao which excited him much more than I. Certainly the technology has improved in Chinese train travel, but the ticketing system is still really arcane, and the trains still unfortunately smell of bathroom. But it did have a top speed of over 150 miles/hour (exactly 250 km/h).
Qingdao is a coastal city, home to Tsingtao beer, a nice leftover from its days as a German concession. The older part of the city has a distinctly European flair, with narrow, wind-y streets, and churches prominent in the skyline. We wandered around a bit, and stumbled upon its large, daily open-air fish and produce market, which I have pictured below. There are lots of “bathing beaches” in Qingdao, creatively named by number, which offer nice city views and a bit of respite from the crazy heat.
We splurged and stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, a lovely five-star hotel. One of the nice things about traveling in Asia is that these luxury hotels, while still expensive by local standards, are much cheaper than in the U.S. Western breakfast in bed, that made Peter happy as a clam.
We went to the Qingdao Beer Festival Saturday night, in a part of town called Beer City. Basically you pay admission into this beer theme park, where Tsingtao Beer, Budweiser, Asahi, and a bunch of German brands each have tents under which there is a stage with a singer or other entertainment, and lots of tables filled with Chinese drunks. Basically a big beer garden. There was also an amphitheatre, and some state fair-type rides.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really have a train ticket back, and they were all sold out, so we had to take a flight back to Beijing. The only seats available were in first-class, where the two flight attendants fussed over the eight first-class passengers constantly. I sat in seat 1A. Definitely a luxury weekend.
Qingdao is a coastal city, home to Tsingtao beer, a nice leftover from its days as a German concession. The older part of the city has a distinctly European flair, with narrow, wind-y streets, and churches prominent in the skyline. We wandered around a bit, and stumbled upon its large, daily open-air fish and produce market, which I have pictured below. There are lots of “bathing beaches” in Qingdao, creatively named by number, which offer nice city views and a bit of respite from the crazy heat.
We splurged and stayed at the Shangri-La Hotel, a lovely five-star hotel. One of the nice things about traveling in Asia is that these luxury hotels, while still expensive by local standards, are much cheaper than in the U.S. Western breakfast in bed, that made Peter happy as a clam.
We went to the Qingdao Beer Festival Saturday night, in a part of town called Beer City. Basically you pay admission into this beer theme park, where Tsingtao Beer, Budweiser, Asahi, and a bunch of German brands each have tents under which there is a stage with a singer or other entertainment, and lots of tables filled with Chinese drunks. Basically a big beer garden. There was also an amphitheatre, and some state fair-type rides.
Unfortunately, we didn’t really have a train ticket back, and they were all sold out, so we had to take a flight back to Beijing. The only seats available were in first-class, where the two flight attendants fussed over the eight first-class passengers constantly. I sat in seat 1A. Definitely a luxury weekend.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Good Luck Beijing
There are 340 some days left until the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Beijing is wasting no time getting ready. Currently there is something called "Good Luck Beijing" going on, where they have exhibition tournaments in various events to test out the stadiums and staff.
Peter being the baseball addict that he is, we had to go to the baseball Good Luck Beijing event. We went to the final game, between China and Japan. Japan dominated, with the score 5-2 at the end. It was a pretty quick game, for which I am always grateful to the baseball gods.
In this case, I think it was more to ensure time for the elaborate awards ceremony at the end. The Chinese audience was not the most sophisticated baseball audience (baseball is not nearly as popular here as basketball, volleyball, badminton, diving, any other sport where China either has a star, or is historically strong in) and cheered for any bat to ball contact, even repetitive foul balls. The cheers were much louder for the fuwas 福娃, the "Friendlies," the Chinese Olympics' ubiquitous mascots. They came on the field, danced around while they set up the podiums, and then medals and flowers were distributed to the players individually. We caught the Caucasian press guy from MLB.com taking pictures of the crowd rather than the ceremony also, and agreed that the crowd reaction was more entertaining.
Peter being the baseball addict that he is, we had to go to the baseball Good Luck Beijing event. We went to the final game, between China and Japan. Japan dominated, with the score 5-2 at the end. It was a pretty quick game, for which I am always grateful to the baseball gods.
In this case, I think it was more to ensure time for the elaborate awards ceremony at the end. The Chinese audience was not the most sophisticated baseball audience (baseball is not nearly as popular here as basketball, volleyball, badminton, diving, any other sport where China either has a star, or is historically strong in) and cheered for any bat to ball contact, even repetitive foul balls. The cheers were much louder for the fuwas 福娃, the "Friendlies," the Chinese Olympics' ubiquitous mascots. They came on the field, danced around while they set up the podiums, and then medals and flowers were distributed to the players individually. We caught the Caucasian press guy from MLB.com taking pictures of the crowd rather than the ceremony also, and agreed that the crowd reaction was more entertaining.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Markets and Economics
There’s one English-language TV channel available to us, CCTV 9, run by the main Chinese TV network. Needless to say, we’ve been watching it frequently. It’s a mix of news, cultural pieces, and travel pieces. My favorite show is the economic news, as it’s the most clearly propagandized segment. It’s all about the art of reading between the lines. For example, there’s been a lot in the news here lately about the rise in consumer prices, mostly food, particularly pork. A big rise, something like 5% over the last month. The Chinese news reports about the increase in the consumer price index, in pork prices, and talks about various things the government is doing to improve the situation. But nothing about the actual underlying cause. I mean, they mention things like increased demand, and being sort of between pig harvests, but that makes no sense. The cyclical nature of pig availability is likely the same every year, and demand does not spike quite that suddenly. Really, what’s going on is some mysterious pig illness, but they’re never going to discuss that.
What they do constantly champion is the robustness of the Chinese economy. So, in the spirit of China’s economic prowess (its annual exports that now exceed US$1 trillion), it was time for us to finally go shopping for touristy things. We went to Panjiayuan Antiques Market, a giant outdoor market with everything from vases to shadow puppets to embroidery to paintings and everything in between. It was overwhelming. The things for sale were likely not true antiques, but there were still lots of beautiful things. We bought some small watercolor paintings depicting Chinese girl children and babies to put up for the impending kiddo. Check out the pictures below…
What they do constantly champion is the robustness of the Chinese economy. So, in the spirit of China’s economic prowess (its annual exports that now exceed US$1 trillion), it was time for us to finally go shopping for touristy things. We went to Panjiayuan Antiques Market, a giant outdoor market with everything from vases to shadow puppets to embroidery to paintings and everything in between. It was overwhelming. The things for sale were likely not true antiques, but there were still lots of beautiful things. We bought some small watercolor paintings depicting Chinese girl children and babies to put up for the impending kiddo. Check out the pictures below…
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