Summing it up from Shanghai

Alas, the fun and games of the past two weeks have wound down to a close. I remember thinking back in England, that 14 days was a long time to basically go on holiday. Well if that was the case, it sure went awfully fast. So fast that is hasn’t quite sunken in that I spent a fortnight in China, even as I fly towards Helsinki and London beyond.

Passing through culturally rich cities such as Xi’an, Luoyang and Taiyuan to financially rich ones such as Beijing, Nanjing and Shanghai, there were bound to be limitless highlights, and that remained true. From the Great Wall near Beijing to the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an to Shanghai’s Bund, there was something for everyone, and most people enjoyed everything.

To pick out one highlight for myself would be incredibly difficult, but I loved meeting up with my old classmates in Nanjing and Shanghai. After 7 days basically seeing China solely from a tourist’s perspective, it was refreshing to get down to street-level, as it were, and explore some of my old stomping grounds with friends I had not been able to see in 18 months. It was also interesting to see how Nanjing had changed, and thankfully my sentimental hole-in-the-walls were still around. For instance, Gold and Silver, across the alley from the Nanjing University Foreign Student Dormitory, was thriving like never before, despite the atrocious grub served up from behind a tinted glass screen.

It was also an “experience” to travel on China’s older sleeper trains. Whilst the 11-hour jaunt from Beijing through the loess areas to Taiyuan was a mundane, if bumpy affair, the 13-hour hellride from Pingyao to Xi’an was one for the history books. After arriving at Pingyao Station by golf cart, we made our way to the platform shivering thanks to the 2-degree weather. Relief emanated from the group as the train drew in. And then we stepped into our compartment. And started shivering once more. The thermometer read 2 degrees Celsius and despite 4 people occupying an area of 10m2, the temperature scarcely rose through the night. Hardly a comfortable experience, but it there was an amusing mystique to it, although that may have been the effect of the whiskey.

Still, that was but a minor flaw in what was otherwise a fantastic trip. The hotels were generally fantastic, but the Zhengzhou Crowne Plaza and Salvo Hotel Shanghai exceed description. The food also was excellent. In short, it was a lifestyle I would have little trouble adjusting to.

It was a relief to hear that China’s civilian wealth is still on the up, but press censorship is still a problem, as I experienced last night watching Channel News Asia’s coverage of the Tibet protests along the torch route. Whenever anything vaguely pro-Tibetan came up, the screen went black. Likewise, when I was surfing the BBC News website, I loaded up an article concerning the Tibet unrest and seconds later, “the server timed out.”

Both ethnic suppression and journalistic censorship have to abate before China is accepted as a fully modern country. Given that the CCCP is hell-bent on modernisation, it is difficult to understand this reluctance. Whilst it would be difficult to do so without Tibet and Xinjiang running riot, it is necessary in order for China to save face. Whilst pride will be hurt, it is worth sacrificing Tibet and Xinjiang, or at least granting them greater autonomy in order for China to build up its flagging international respect.

Still, from the relative safety of a foreigner’s perspective, China is a wonderful place. Living is both cheaper and more fun than Western Europe or North America. Cultural relics and modern wonders are both innumerable. Whilst there is trouble in paradise at present, once it recedes China will be as popular ever, and I will be up there saying “I told you so.”

Hemming and Hawing from Hangzhou

This weekend has seen one of China’s many national holidays come and go. Hangzhou, in East China’s Zhejiang province, has seen Ace Study Tours come and go. Now wait a minute. Surely this means that the tour passed through Hangzhou during one of the busiest periods of the year? Yes, that is correct. Still, Hangzhou is a fun little town of 6 million, sitting on the banks of the picturesque West Lake. But unfortunately for us, most of Shanghai and Ningbo shared that experience with us.

The normally peaceful West Lake resembled Nanjing Road in that you simply had to walk where everyone else was going. For that reason, Hangzhou was one of China’s warmest cities over the past weekend.

True, the tea plantations offered a respite from the chaos of the downtown area, but it took an hour and a half to cover the 20km to that area. Still, it was fascinating to see firsthand how tea was farmed and produced. To the ecologists amongst you, yes, crop rotation is practiced here. To think that all the tea the world drinks is handpicked is just incredible. Everything from PG Tips on up, all handpicked.

I can see that Hangzhou is a fantastic weekend retreat for the hardworking Shanghainese, with the peaceful lakeside setting and temperate climate, and now that it can be reached in just 78 minutes from China’s economic hub, it could even be a bedroom suburb to Shanghai’s elite business force. Imagine that: a bedroom suburb of 6 million. Only in China.

Still, I wasn’t really looking to escape the buzzing madness that is Shanghai – I was looking to embrace it and whilst I will get to that over the next two days, which is hardly sufficient time to rekindle my love for the city. Whilst Hangzhou was a pretty town in the mold of Xiamen or Yangzhou, the thing I crave with China is the energy it has to offer, and pretty much universally speaking, quaint little towns are not known for that atmosphere, even in an up-and-up country like China.

Seeing a Pattern?

Our beloved Vancouver Canucks have been eliminated from the playoffs, and look set to finish 9th overall in the Western Conference for the 2nd time since the resolution of the 2004-2005 lockout.
Whilst the team that bowed out in front of GM Place April 3rd had a vastly different identity from their counterparts of 2 years past, the end result was the same. The worrying thing is that the roster that couldn’t get it done this year is virtually identical to that which set club records 12 months ago. From that perspective, we should be glad that $12 million of salary will be pliable starting July 1st. Captain Markus Naslund’s hefty $6 million contract will be one of those to go, so there will be ample room for improvement. Still, GM Dave Nonis’s game plan should remain intact. There are still at least 2 years left of Roberto Luongo, meaning world-class goaltending will not leave Vancouver too soon. The same problem that confronted Nonis last season remains: the Canucks have 5 legitimate top six forwards. Yet this time, he has both plentiful financial belt room and a well-stocked farm to pick from. Young guns such as Ryan Shannon and Mason Raymond have both shown promise playing top-six minutes, and upper-level forwards such as Ryan Malone and Kristian Huselius have expired contracts that will be difficult to renew. In short, it is hard to imagine this nagging problem not being resolved.
Then take a look at Vancouver’s defence. Names such as Mattias Ohlund, Sami Salo and Alex Edler are epitomise dependable European defence. Then you’ve got Kevin Bieksa and Luc Bourdon, both feisty, strong, young defenseman. Lukas Krajicek skates with the grace of Scott Niedermayer and has a brilliant offensive mind. Don’t forget Willie Mitchell, one of the game’s premier defensive defenseman, responsible for almost as many saves as Roberto Luongo. Aaron Miller is veteran reliability, and Nathan McIver has some of the quickest fists out there. I think by now you’ll see my point. The Canucks have 9 defensemen capable of making most team’s top six.
Playing behind them is Roberto Luongo, thought by many to be the best goalie in the game today, and Curtis Sanford is a very capable back-up. Standing on the bench is Jack Adams Trophy winner, Alain Vigneault. If only that hole had been filled, the Canucks would have been headed deep into the post-season.
At least, that very simplistic analysis is forgoing one crucial bit of common sense: it is very difficult to do much if your team never fields a fully healthy line-up. Not one defenseman escaped the injury bug, and at times only one top-six player was available. When Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo suffered horrific injuries in an early November tilt against Nashville, many Canuckleheads forecasted a falling sky. Whilst it appeared they were wrong for a long time, I feel like I’m stuck between a thundercloud and a brick wall right about now.

Shock to System, of Sorts

The psyche of Johan has endured a rollercoaster ride over the past few days. Tuesday and Wednesday were spent living it up in Nanjing, his adopted hometown. His beloved Vancouver Canucks romped to a 6-2 win over the Calgary Flames to stay in the playoff race.

It would be fit to say things haven’t been going his way since leaving Nanjing Railway Station bleary-eyed and morose. The Canucks dropped a 2-1 decision to the Edmonton Oilers to fall out of playoff contention, and Johan also realised that he likely won’t be able to return to the Middle Kingdom for at least two years. In short Hangzhou, as far as he is concerned, has yet to bear fruit.

But luckily our man is a firm believer in the saying, “tomorrow is always a better day.” Heck, it seems like this may work out. See, Johan is a big fan of boating, and a fair portion of Saturday will be spent touring Hangzhou’s famed West Lake.

Followed by that will be a visit to the renowned tea plantations surrounding the city, which his uncle visited a fortnight previously. Whilst it is hard to soften the trauma endured by the poor boy, he acknowledged his privileged upbringing in a recent interview. As such, thinks could be a whole lot worse than they are.

An Old Adage Rings True

Yesterday, I spent a very enjoyable day at Nanjing International School, shooting the breeze and the basketball with many of my friends whom I met during my year at the school between 2005-2006. The student body is roughly 40% Koreans and 20% German, but also with large American, Swedish and Dutch populations. Unfortunately, not all of these nationalities are as at peace with their existence in China. Typically, the Asian kids have a better understanding of Chinese culture and thus feel comfortable in this setting. Of course, there are exceptions, but this unfortunate stereotype in generally secure.
The upsetting thing is the lack of respect some of my fellow westerners show for the Chinese, always going on and on: “they can’t do this, they can’t do that, they can’t do goddamned anything.”
Exactly why they perceive this Chinese inferiority remains an enigma to me. Perhaps this is because Chinese are generally poorer than westerners, but even if this is the case, it is a very poor basis for such a generalisation.
But this where my “old adage” comes in:

YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOOD YOU HAVE IT UNTIL IT’S GONE

I myself was another naïve westerner when I returned to China for the first time in nearly a decade in August 2005. For those first 6 months, we lived on a compound dominated by western businessmen and their families. The problem with these compounds is that they are usually located far from the downtown core of Nanjing, so while their hubbies boss around their Chinese minions, the expat WAGs grow bored in their luxurious houses and so usually do one of two things: stir up trouble in any forum possible, or blame their lack of initiative on “those stupid Chinese.” Never mind that said wife’s IQ may be the square root of that of their Chinese acquaintances. So more often that not, this disrespect for the Chinese will get passed down to the couple’s children, leading to unpleasant manners towards the locals.
Whilst I was, upon occasion, guilty of this same annoyance, my dad kept me real, as he loves China so much he could probably get a passport. Whereas some of my friend’s parents might encourage this behaviour, my father abhorred it and also let me know it. But all this was really a teething problem.
We returned home to England for a month in the deep winter of 2006, and within days I was yearning to return to Nanjing. When we finally did, in early February, we lived in a small apartment in downtown Nanjing. The apartment itself was a far cry from the one on the city fringe, but the location exponentially made up for it. And this time, I would not make the same mistake. I was determined to enjoy it. Now, sitting on the bullet train from Nanjing to Suzhou, I already miss the city deeply and can’t wait to return, hopefully for more than a couple of days. I have to say, the Hopkins Nanjing Center program looks ever more attractive.
I can only hope my friends experience the same epiphany, for once they embrace Nanjing, they won’t be able to let go.

Nice Start to the Day

I have been looking forward to le premier d’avril for a while now, for today is the day that I return to Nanjing, where I spent a year from summer ’05 to summer ‘06. During that time, I made many great friends at Nanjing International School, and got to know China from a viewpoint more in parallel with that of the Chinese. So its fair to say I was pretty excited when I woke up in Zhengzhou today, even if that was a 5:10 am alarm call.
We arrived at Zhengzhou Airport with plenty of time – 6:45 for an 8:05 departure. All was going swimmingly until we fell into line at the security checkpoint. 3 new tickets later, and we were threw, but the reasoning behind those 3 tickets is absurd. One member of our group was registered on her passport by her maiden name, whereas visa and ticket said otherwise. That got sorted pretty promptly, but considering that she had only once experienced problems with it before, it should have been a non-issue.
Then my father enters the fray. We are both formally named Johan, but his ticket head H van de Ven, so the security girl made sure to make an issue out of that. Upon changing his ticket, she saw that both our tickets read J van de Ven, so nagged us about that, before daddykins advising her in a rather forceful manner: “ta shi wo de haiza!,” or “that’s my son!!!”
So after that kafuffle, we made it through to the gate, minus a bottle of mouthwash, a bottle of water and a bottle of soap. Unfortunately, there was some sort of disturbance at our gate, but we managed to make it onto the plance at the Changsha/ Guangzhou gate.
Now I sit here on a very pleasant flight to Nanjing, relaxing with my packed lunch. This part of the day wasn’t a whole lot of fun, but there’s always some give and take, and I’m sure the rest of the day will be dreamy.

Busy, Busier, Busiest

In the first week of this tour, we have visited an innumerable variety of amazing sights, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and the Terracotta Warriors. But even if we had just visited today’s highlights in that timeframe, it would have been a week well spent.
For today, we visited the Longmen Grottoes, half an hour out of Luoyang, as well as the White Horse Temple, another hour or so down the road. But the best was still to come: the afternoon was spent above Dengfeng, at the Shaolin Temple. See what I mean? A busy kind of day if ever there was one.
Still, it was interesting to see that the huge swath of nothingness that lay between Luoyang and Longmen develop into a fledgling college town in just 2.5 years.
The Grottoes themselves were as impressive as ever. If you’re unsure as to their colossal nature refer to yesterday’s post. To carve 15000 Buddha figurines into a cliff is impressive enough, but for that to have occurred 1300 years ago is verging on ridiculous. Then to see that some are as tall as 15 meters, the line is crossed and you’re looking at a damn near miracle. To put it mildly, it was quite a site.
The drive from the Grottoes to the White Horse Temple was…interesting, to the point of almost colliding with three buses overtaking consecutively. Not that I didn’t like it. If anything, it felt good to really be back in China as I know and love it.
The Temple itself was surprisingly pleasant. There was a gentle ambiance, embodying my admittedly limited understanding Buddhism. The pleasant smell of incense, sold by the kilogram in nearby shops, added to the atmosphere. Unfortunately, we were only able to spend half an hour there due to time constraints, but the experience was still deeply relaxing.
In a pattern that we have become very used to, we arrived at Shaolin at 2pm for a “late lunch,” within the same compound as one of the Wushu academies. Immediately after a decidedly average meal, we took in a performance at the adjoining academy. The feats of strength, both mental and physical, that were displayed by the students were just as awesome as my previous visit to the area. An interesting nugget of knowledge: the crack of the whip that echoes through the arena is caused not by any physical impact. It is the sound of the tip breaking the sound barrier.
Following the performance, we made quick stops at the Pagoda Forest and Shaolin Temple, where we saw firsthand what a Buddhist ceremony actually consists of. I now sit here trying to type of Zhengzhou’s most bumpy highway, but that is a minor annoyance that has no hope of offsetting what has really been an incredible day.

Flickr Update: As you probably will have noticed, I haven’t uploaded any photos recently, which is due to low bandwidth at hotels here in China, so I’ll try and put some more up when I get back to England.

See ya, Shaanxi

Train travel has become a recurring theme here at Meldreth Musings over the past week or so. Today, I sit here on a double-decker train from Xi’an, in Shaanxi province to Luoyang, in neighbouring Henan province, home to approximately 100 million people, as well as China’s highest AIDS rate. So a word from the wise: don’t develop serious health problems or engage in promiscuous sex in this area.
Funnily enough, according to the Lonely Planet, the cause of the endemic AIDS problem is due to a government initiative. Back in the 1980s, China’s blood reserves were precariously low. Cash incentives and tax rebates were handed out to those willing to give blood. Henan is host to a large, poor rural population, so farmers and peasants pumped out blood by the gallon. Unfortunately, these were the days before careful medical sanitization, so all it took was one unassuming AIDS sufferer to contaminate the province’s blood supplies. The problem was publicly admitted discovered when the blood had already made its way into the region’s medical channels, and so the story goes.
But it ain’t all bad. What, from the sounds of things so far sounds like a large African country really isn’t. Between Luoyang and Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, two magnificent “cultural relics” can be found. First off, there are the Longmen Grottoes, where dozens of Buddha statues of increasing size sit carved into the cliffs towering over the Yellow River.
Several hours down the road lays the town of Dengfeng, built around a few tourist hotels and restaurants. Doesn’t sound like much, I know, but there is obviously a cause of this tourist infrastructure, and it lays a few kilometres up the mountain: the Shaolin Monastery, where Wushu Kung Fu was developed. Down the single-track road from the Monastery is the Pagoda Forest, another dazzling testament to the engineering might of pre-Industrial China. Dozens of pagodas, big and small sit nestled among a hillside forest.
Near downtown Dengfeng, amongst the ever-popular Wushu academies lays the Shaolin Pagoda. After an ascent of several hundred steps, stunning views of the major sights of the area can be afforded. Of course, that is providing conditions are neither foggy nor Chinese polluted. But if those conditions prevail, then a mystical nature beholds the setting.
It probably sounds like this won’t be my first time in Henan, but boy, am I ever looking forward, after several slightly dull days in Shaanxi and Shanxi.

Terracotta

Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province is renowned for its link to the ancient Chinese ruler of Qin Shi Huang, whose tomb lays some 30km from the city center. As mentioned in my previous post, Xi’an has seen an economic revival due to the tourist industry, and so predictably, the area surrounding the Terracotta Warriors may well be the world’s first resort town composed entirely of concrete. Restaurants, hotels and shops are plentiful, all playing off the fame of the Terracotta centrepiece.
This was my second visit to Xi’an and the Warriors, and the tourist infrastructure has developed greatly in the 30 months since I first visited. True, the Brother-sponsored tickets are still around en masse, but restaurants and shops are everywhere, as well as a smattering of hostels and hotels.
The aura within the public pit complex is different. The clientele back then was slightly more purist, with archaeological aficionados here and there. Now, there are swarms of people wherever you look, from all economic thresholds and all nations.
But the awe had long disappeared from my imagination. “All” I saw was essentially a toy army. A simplistic way of looking at things, but accurate nonetheless. A terracotta state of mind, you might say.
Perhaps this would not be the case if I was able to rid myself of the nagging doubts of the story of the Warriors. For such ornate figures to still be intact 2200 years after their alleged construction. Sure, I believe they were constructed, but the fabrication theory seeps in once the story of the Warriors is examined. It is alleged that thousands of peasants burst into Qin’s tomb and smashed many of the warriors. But the Terracotta Army was “discovered” in 1978, two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Mao destroyed many ancient artefacts, and for a site of such magnitude to be passed over by the ferocious Red Guards. It just seems a bit stretched.
This may be the result of a somewhat terracotta state of mind, but terracotta evidence must be established before that state of mind is shattered.

Its Gonna be a Frosty Night

Forgive me if this appears to be a rant, but it appears that due to “Chinese State Rail Regulations,” the T2525 service from Taiyuan to Xi’an is not allowed to provide heat to its passengers. Translation: the heating is broken, deal with it. Still, in a way, the train – dirty duvets and all – balances out our terrific hotel back in Pingyao.
The International Financier’s Club/ Yunjincheng Hotel was one to be remembered. It was worth every atom of the five stars awarded to it by the Pingyao Tourist Commission Board. Set in the style of a 18th Century courtyard experience, complete with heated stone mattresses. Doesn’t sound very comfortable, but let’s put it this way: I haven’t slept better since arriving in China.
The town of Pingyao itself was fascinating. One of China’s few remaining walled cities, the ambience of pre-technology age China is fascinating. To think that somehow it managed to circumvent Mao’s hardline Communist policies serves to supplement an already unique atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Taiyuan. Once home to Oberlin College’s China link, the city of 3 million marked our arrival point in Shanxi province, but was more or less one grey dray, dotted by a few tourist hotels and a surprising amount of Russian-era architecture. True, the Jinci Temple was pleasant, and the toddlers’ rollerskating lessons adorable, the city itself doesn’t have a huge amount going for it.
Perhaps the Olympic cycling event, which is be held in the Shanxi capital, will bring with it a wave of economic prosperity, but that is a perhaps at best. Sure, all cities in China are economically booming, but nearby infrastructure has to improve.
An excellent case in point is Xi’an, several hundred kilometres further east. Originally an industrial town, it has blossomed wonderfully, with a per-head tourism industry amongst the most developed in China. There are facilities tailored to anyone’s tastes, A-list celebs and up. True, I wasn’t overly wowed by the Terracotta Army, but I know others who have raved about it.
Still, let’s hope frostbite doesn’t set in and spoil things! From Shanxi to Shaanxi here we come.