Guilin & Yangshuo

Otherworldly and beautiful, the area of Guilin and Yangshuo almost escapes words and description.  It definitely ranks among the most beautiful places I have been in the world.  People ask me what I did when I went to Guilin and Yangshuo and the answer is: I looked.  A strange confusion grows on their face and they say again, but what did you do?  It is hard to describe.  I wasn’t base jumping, I didn’t rock climb [though it is popular there], I was there just to enjoy and look.  Like a beautiful water color painting, or an epic Chinese scroll,  the Guilin area simply offers scenery that is unmatched and almost unimaginable.  It is easy to see how these green mountains, which jut suddenly and strangely from open fields, inspired countless painters and writers.

These pictures are en route between Guilin and Yangshuo.  Often, however, I found myself just looking and not taking photographs on this journey.  That said, there are a few more available here.

A small note, the last picture [the one with the water grass] made me think to myself that it is no wonder people thought dragons or giant serpents lived in the waters.  The long grass waves and flows through, creating a mirage of motion of a passing beast.  Truly mythical natural scenery.

Baise!

My first stop in Mainland China was Baise.  Like before, the idea was for me to guest teach for a local college [Baise College] for about a week.  Fun times were had by all.  In the mornings, I taught guest lessons on Storytelling, Riddles and Tongue Twisters, and Folk stories with other ETAs.  In the afternoons, We would head to local middle schools to interact with students and teachers.  Nighttime found us either visiting college events [a drama competition which had my sides bursting with laughter], English corner [chatting until you lose your voice], or dropping by the local coffee shop which employs students.

I really loved Guangxi.  It barely edges out Sichuan as my favorite place in China [though food-wise, Sichuan might rank number one in the world].  I had more delicious noodles than I thought possible; I interacted with the friendliest people.  I have a hand journal full of tiny stories, people sketches, and musings.  As I looked them over, I realized that, while humorous, insightful, and life-altering for myself, these little pieces are probably of no interest to others.  Suffice to say that China always manages to put me off kilter and forcing me into positions that challenge my conceptions of the world and how life should be.  And each time I visit, I both love it and dislike it.  The myriad of emotions and thoughts are difficult to express at all, let alone through cold digitization.

As always, pics here.

Final China post – for now…

Honestly, Mainland China was nothing like what I expected. I’m not sure ‘what’ I expected, but China has always occupied a place of intrigue and adventure in my mind [probably thanks to Hollywood and literature]. I can honestly say, after my visit, that my previous notions definitely lumped Asia as a whole together. This could not be more removed from the reality. Japan is to China as soap is to orange juice it seems.

One unexpected benefit, though, was that the visit really helped me gain an understanding of Chinese characters. Back in Hong Kong, I find that the writing seems less jumbled lines and scratches and more like a genuine writing style. I’m recognizing more characters and there seems to be a little more reason behind the script. I’m still at a loss for what it means, but I feel like I’m on the right road at least.

China is the first place I’ve visited where I experienced immediate culture shock. Normally, I feel like I go through a honeymoon period of fascination and leave before I miss home or become frustrated. China cut through that, making me miss Hong Kong and even America. So otherworldly, different norms and expectations, there were times where I genuinely had a hard time there. These few posts simply can’t convey how great of a trip it was. I’ll likely read through them and offer two or three more posts later on this year – things I missed, things that impacted me that I didn’t realize, or just awesome photos.

In short, I love China. Some complain that it is polluted, filthy, and unmannered. To them, I answer that you are probably right. To them, I also say, “Embrace it!” But, to them, I also say, ‘If it falls on the ground in China, leave it there. You probably don’t want it back.’

I’m really looking forward to my next trip there this spring.

Beijing – 798

Even though we hadn’t hit up every temple in town, we decided that taking in some art would be up our alley. The resulting trip was the coolest ‘out of the ordinary’ thing we did in Beijing. The very industrial and modern 798 Art District houses some impressive art which was more subversive, political, and counter-culture than anything I expected to find in China.

The area is a converted abandoned Industrial sector. The buildings are old warehouses and factories, which now house sculptures, cafes, and art spaces. We spent a morning and afternoon here, but didn’t manage to see everything. If you get to Beijing, I suggest finding this little block of goodness. Again, pictures are often better [or at least more pleasing to you and easier on me].  I have tons more, but here are some goodies:

Beijing – The Great Wall

Simply put – it’s great! After our fiasco with the 919 bus, everything seemed to settle out as we reached the wall. The bus ride afforded some views of old towers and sections of the wall. Once we got to the wall, there are plenty of kiosks offering meat on a stick – my favorite treat – so we were in good position.

We opted to do Badaling because it is the most visited and touristy section of the wall – which we read as easiest to get to and to walk. Beijing had gotten fairly cold, Shu Lan was definitely not prepared for a major hike, and I wasn’t in the mood to fight piercing winds as we scaled 70 degree inclines. I think we chose wisely.

The most “touristy part” of the wall was surprisingly emptier than we expected. Few hawkers were on the wall, since it was so cold. Oh man, was it cold! Wind blew so hard that I nearly fell over two or three times. I once grabbed Shu Lan as she floated up into the air! Ok, I’m exaggerating – but I did feel that I could occasionally be blown off the wall to the great below.

It is hard to capture the wall in words or pictures. I could give you hundreds of pictures of the wall but it is something that you simply have to experience. Impressive, never ending, and making you feel small – the Great Wall is just one of those things you have to go stand on to fully understand it.  That said, it would be a shame if I didn’t share any pictures:

Beijing – Shopping and Shows…

Day two was full of shopping. This means it was also full of haggling, bargaining, and broken hearts. I wish I could say I’m a great haggler, driving my hard bargain and gettin the deals. And I am during pre-game. I have a hard set low price; I discuss the game plan. But, I step up to the plate, see the pitch and say – hm…I could hit that ball. Shu Lan, of course, gasps and pulls me away saying, ‘Oh no you will not!’ Strangely, this good cop/bad cop routine worked. I gave the little merchant hope, while Shu Lan drove the prices down. We used the cold weather to our advantage – highlighting that no other customers were coming this wintery day. Even if I didn’t get the best price, I walked away feeling like I hadn’t gotten ripped off. Often, that is winning in these situations.

We decided to take in a show that night. After wandering and nearing hypothermia, we decided to go to Lao She Teahouse. It has been frequented by many famous folks and they aren’t shy about posting pictures of them everywhere. The show comes with a cup of tea, which they constantly refill, and some little sweets.

The performance is broken up into little chunks – tea pouring, dances, plate twirling, a comedy act, Peking Opera sampling, long neck tea dancing, acrobatics, etc – so you get to see a little of everything. A Chinese theatre experience is far from the Japanese or Western experiences I’ve had. Instead of reverentially watching the show or performers, you speak to your friends. It seems to be in vogue to not pay attention to the show, as if it is somehow intruding on your conversation. The atmosphere, however, was festive and fun – so it all seemed to work really well.

Plus, I saw, hands down, the coolest thing I’ve ever seen – Sichuan Face Changing Opera. It is hard to capture the drama and spectacle of the show in words and photographs – but, in short, a man dances dramatically with a vibrant costume and mask.  With stylized motions and fast music, the performer shifts around the stage. Then, his hand comes up, with it’s long sleeve, and drops suddenly – and BAM – a different mask is on his face. Repeatedly, different motions different faces – it was amazing. He must have changed into 10 masks.

Like I said, the writing of it simply doesn’t tell you how amazing it is. The Face Changing Opera was like witnessing a genuine and true piece of magic.  Some pics of the entire show:

Qingdao

When I first pitched Qingdao to Shu Lan she asked why I wanted to go. I said, ‘Oh, it is suppose to be the most beautiful city in China. They are known for their beaches and coast. Just suppose to be a cool city.’ I must have mumbled something about it being the site of the sailing Olympic games too. Now, the ladies are savvy, so she immediately saw through this and asked, ‘Why do you really want to go?’ To which, I was forced to answer, ‘Um…they make beer.’ Thankfully, I’ve got the kind of lady who doesn’t mind getting behind that – so Qingdao was our next stop!

Thankfully, Qingdao was even more beautiful than I had been told. The beaches are clean and gorgeous. We have a lot of great pictures – typical disgustingly beautiful beach scenes.   Those pictures that make you groan because people live there and see it everyday.  The problem was, though, while we were there Qingdao was freezing. This didn’t stop the locales from swimming, but it brought a lot of complaints from a cold Shu. Qingdao is really a coastal city, so I recommend you travel when it is a bit warmer.  Though, the upside is service was fast everywhere we went because there were few travelers.

Quick snapshot of our itinerary – again, two days [Christmas Day and after]. Christmas day and off season in China means that a lot of places were closed. So, we decided to take a impromptu walk down the seaside scenic path. We walked all day, taking in areas of the coast, seeing a castle, sculptures, and in general having a grand day bundled up in scarves and hats. All that walking, though, made for a tired pair – so we rose late the next day and then headed to tour the Tsingdao Beer Factory. We decided to take it easy, since Beijing was upcoming so we went back to the hostel to rest up for the adventure of Beijing and watched terrible movies on TV.  Not the super exciting adventures you were probably hoping for but a great vacation nonetheless.

The hostel we stayed in was amazing. Far from the penny pinching at a lot of places, they gave us tons of stuff for free – even throwing a friendly Christmas dinner party. A converted observatory, the rooms are big and have nice views of Qingdao. So, I recommend checking it out if you head there.

Qingdao was also great because we started getting more adventurous with food. Since neither of us speak Mandarin nor read simplified Chinese – we had previously limited ourselves to restaurants that either spoke some English or had English menus. De facto, this means our food in Shanghai was a little subpar. But, Qingdao offered us the opportunity to dive in. We took the express to Beijing – so best to express to some posts about that!  But first, I’ll post some pics of the seaside walk.

Pictures of Shanghai

Just a few:

More available here.

Watch Your Bag

Upon arriving in Shanghai and venturing out to a shopping district, a kind young gentleman said, ‘Sir, watch your bag!’ I, surprised, thanked him as we walked away. Odd but polite and always a good reminder in a city, right? But, I had heard stories of people saying, ‘Watch your wallet!’ and foolish tourists reach for their wallet – immediately letting the pickpocket know where the prize was located. But, you can see my bag, what is the point of telling me to watch my bag?

A full day and more people told me to watch my bag than I have had in my entire life. Coupled with the ever present sign posts to protect your belongings, I thought, ‘Wow, this is the most thoughtful city I think I’ve been in.’ Finally, this all came crashing down. Along with these ‘watch your bags’ there are ever present people with cards who want you to buy what they are pushing – purses, jewelry, and other fine goods. On the second day, I finally understood one of them as they carefully pronounced, ‘Watch or bag?’ and shoved the card toward me.

Hm… ‘or’….. ‘your’….

My brain clicked. All of these warnings and advice! Not one of them had probably said, ‘Watch your bag!’ Each of them had probably said, ‘Watch or bag,’ trying to get me to buy items. The thickly accented English had led me to believe that they were offering friendly advice. Shu Lan laughed as I told her and it made sense. “No wonder they looked so confused as you said thanks and walked away!”

The Road to Shanghai

After leaving Sichuan [actually after leaving Luzhou], my official work duties were over. So, I flew to Shanghai and met up with Shu Lan for our China holiday extravaganza. First up on our list was to hit up the town of Shanghai. We only had a night and two full days, so we had to pack it in. Thankfully, Shanghai seems to be Hong Kong lite. Since I can shop till I drop at home – and Shu Lan was planning to be in Shanghai for several days after I left for HK – we were able to skip out on the shopping.

Well… almost skip out. Turns out China gets cold and yours truly needed a coat. Let me tell you, finding a decent jacket in Shanghai is no problem. Finding one that won’t 1) cost you an arm and leg and 2) fits when you are built like a tank, now that takes work. We must have been to 20 shops all up and down Shanghai. Turns out, in China, my shoulders make me a XXL. That’s right kiddos – all you people who say ‘OMG Bryan you are so skinny!’ ‘You’ve lost SO much weight!’ ‘What’s your secret?’ Well, the secret is to move where people are super tiny apparently.

So, here are my Shanghai highlights:

The Bund – A big tourist destination that at first looks like a miniature of the Hong Kong skyline. A closer look, though, reveals a beautiful array of historic buildings. You can take a boat here [we didn’t]. Close by is also a corridor-like street [leads to Renmin Ave.], which has more cool buildings, good eats, and plenty of shopping.

Yu Yuan Gardens – located in the ‘old center’ of Shanghai, this Chinese garden. While there are some plants, the focus seems to be on elaborate rockery pieces, water, and cool looking buildings. Very picaresque. Strategically, if you head here you can also hit the ‘Old Shanghai’ areas. The buildings look cool, you can get some soup dumplings, and buy stuff till you are satiated.

Duolun Street – In the 1930s if you were an artist or a revolutionary – you were at Duolun street. There are some cool statues, the oldest [or maybe only] Chinese style Christian church, and a cool scene. Again, shopping on this street – primarily from vendors and artisans. It can be tricky to get to and you might find yourself on some alleys of Shanghai. This was interesting too, though, as we saw a part of Shanghai that a lot of tourists don’t make it to.

We saw other things in Shanghai, but like I said our time was limited. So, if you have only a day, I suggest those three. I didn’t take a ton of pictures, but the city has a 1920s feel with art deco buildings. It feels like a city removed from time.