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In Wuhan April showers seem to bring more May showers. It seems to alternate very beautiful and sunny
days with sharp rains on a weekly basis.
On a positive note, it keeps the air pollution down a bit and washes
away the urine smells that seem to linger and ferment on a regular basis.
Normally I
have something written about every two weeks, but the final three weeks of
April were full of a great visitor. This
visit prompted a 9-day tour of China, and some local Wuhan specials. I
was able to explore more of China than I’ve done in the past 8 months. Together
with my special wildlife biologist friend we explored the areas of Xian,
Beijing, Weihai, and Qu’fu.
Prior to the
trip Josh had a week to overcome jet lag and give a few presentations to
teachers at my school and students at another University. He came prepared with a great PowerPoint on
zoology for kindergarten teachers. The
teachers enjoyed his lecture and followed up with a few questions: “what is
more nutritious, a fertilized or unfertilized egg? How does a baby platypus nurse? What is
America’s position on Japanese whaling?”
He responded well and challenged the teachers to learn more about
insects and snakes, (animals that many felt uncomfortable discussing).
My favorite
memories of Josh during the trip were those of Chinese people sneaking pictures
of his tall stature ducking under low beams and bearing witness to his uncanny
ability to identify birds.
Together we
traveled to Xi’an, Beijing, Weihai, and Qu’fu.
We were advised earlier by my translator to change our travel plans and
go to Sichuan province instead of Xi’an.
Although he has never been to either place, he hears that the food and
women are better in Sichuan province.
After arriving to Xi’an, I was very happy that we stuck to our original
plan. Two friends from the CECP group
and my former neighbor and her two friends joined us for a weekend in this
ancient capital.
Xi’an’s
Muslim quarter was full of tourists, but the amazing food specialties were well
worth the visit. We tried cake on a
stick, spicy squid on a stick, persimmon doughnuts, local yoghurt, and a few
other odds and ends. Our full bellies
were ready to tackle the next day’s adventures of the Terracotta Warriors.
Someone from
our group found a Terracotta Warrior tour guide from Xi’an Craigslist. Helen, our guide, gave us a full day’s tour
and explanation of the city wall with incredible energy. Being a Shaanxi province native, she provided
detailed answers to many questions.
Although she was felt a little nervous having an archeologist and
English teacher in the tour group, she shared very interesting information and
also recommended a fabulous restaurant for dinner.
As Helen put
it, “Visiting China and not visiting the Terracotta warriors is like missing
the Great Wall.” I would have doubted
this statement prior to our visit. My
mother always talked about the uniqueness of this site and the underground
palace of China’s first emperor, but there is nothing like being in the pits of
it all. Even after traveling to the
great pyramids of Egypt, the Terracotta Warriors left me which a sensation that
which I still cannot shake.
Although Beijing is one of the largest and most polluted
cities in the world, it is also very different and full of unexpected
delights. Our three days were barely
enough to see the Great Wall and Forbidden City. In the future I would plan at least a solid
week to see more of this amazing city.
Despite warnings from other Chinese about the metro system, we found it
much more orderly and easy to use than the one in Wuhan.
We arrived too late on the first day to make it to the Great
Wall and most other things are closed on Monday, so we strolled through the
parks with blossoming peonies and amateur photographers. On Tuesday we were lucky to get train tickets
to Badaling, (a section of the great wall which is said to be the least
original and full of the most tourists).
This was another sweet surprise. The clear blue skies and fewer than expected
tourists added to the joy of climbing.
After climbing the first 4 towers, there were very few tourists and we
spent the rest of the day tackling every tower we could within this section. I must add that this was a serious climb and
a constant up and down. In my mind I
pictured the Great Wall to be so flat that you could ride a bike on it. This is about as far from reality as American
Chinese food is from real Chinese food.
We kept up our touristic exercise program the next day by
exploring the Czech embassy, Chairman Mao’s viewing hall, The Museum of
Disappointments, The Forbidden City, some Hutongs, and the best brewery in Beijing
all before catching a night train to Weihai.
Through a strange chain of events, we were among the final
viewers of the embalmed body of the Chairman.
Many Chinese people consider him to be one of the greatest leaders in
their history and several presented flowers and had very teary-eyed and solemn
looks.
The National Museum is also free, but more of a business
center than a museum. Even on the floor
plans it shows that the majority of spaces are for private conference spaces
rather than exhibits. There was little
information in English and unclear dates of specific items. We left within half-an-hour.
The Forbidden City is the place to go for treasure hunting. For an extra 10 RMB one can see a beautiful
wall of glazed dragons, the royal jewelry and costumes, and a five-story Peking
Opera theater. The intense collection,
including massive Jade carvings and ancient stamps were still not enough to
fill the hunger that no amount of ice cream bars could fill. By the early evening we were ravenous for a
solid meal.
Through a Lonely Planet guidebook we found a decent pizza
place before heading to the Great Leap Brewery.
This brewery had more than ten craft beers on tap and despite the odd
placement, (surrounded by local single-story traditional Chinese homes), it
drew in a diverse group of foreigners and Chinese.
That night we slept very well on the hard sleepers to Weihai
and met up with my former Wuhan neighbor in her new residence. She showed up some of the highlights to this
small beach city including an American-managed bar called Beavers. In the morning we took a quick boat trip to
see a giant stuffed Sperm Whale, two frisky pandas, and a museum about the 40
years of British occupation in that area.
 |
| ignoring tablets and watching birds |
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Qu’fu, (the home of Confucius and all of his ancestors), is
also in Shangdong province and we finished our journey with a quick look at the
great teacher’s hometown. The city is
relatively small for Chinese standards and seems to survive mostly through tourism. The Confucius temple was honored by almost
every major dynasty following Confucius’s life and there are hundreds of giant
stone tablets and ancient trees in every part of the temple.
The food throughout the trip was fantastic. We are incredibly thankful for the kind
people of Shangdong province and their ability to understand my basic Chinese
when ordering food or finding monuments.
Getting back to Wuhan was a restful relief and we spent the final days
seeing a few sights and enjoying a full night of Karaoke with the teachers from
the school.
Life is getting back to its relatively normal state. Dragon boat practice has resumed and my team is looking forward to the competition at the end of this month. No more ice cream bars until June!
For some
holidays many Japanese people will eat the rolls in whole facing a specific
direction depending on the year. We
faced northeast, and silently ate our first roll while thinking about a special
wish for the next year. Last year
Paola’s husband attended this same type of gathering and made a wish for a
baby. Paola is currently four months
pregnant. We celebrated with songs and
an interesting discussion about the meaning of our names. 
