Great Wall Impressions

Great Wall Impressions

Our ‘hands down’ favorite aspect of Beijing was our 10km hike on the Great Wall! We followed the advice of friends and chose this full-day excursion that provided us five hours of appreciation for one of the ‘new seven wonders of the world.’ This section of the wall included both reconstructed and original (deteriorated) conditions of the wall and its many towers.

The natural mountainous landscape was a beautiful reminder of the Creator and the lovely weather was an added bonus! We had a wonderful day being outdoors together! Our bodies endured the extreme undulations of the ridgelines of the mountains during our trek. It was fun to envision many warriors defending ancient China from ‘marauding invaders’ because the wall consists of customary fortress crenellations for attack as well as defense ‘portals’ to repel wall climbers (these looked like built-in toilets).

Our hike was filled with beautiful vistas that featured the wall extending as far as the eye could see – both ahead and behind. We couldn’t resist this occasion to pose for numerous photos along the way! We were treated mostly to solitude at this remote section two hours northeast of Beijing. However, along some of the way we were ‘inconvenienced’ by a half-dozen would-be entrepreneurs who described themselves as ‘local farmers.’ We supposed it wasn’t planting time because they were intent on selling us T-shirts, drinks and their tour guide services!

Our long hike was strenuous – more like a ‘scramble’ in many places because it regularly required us to use at least three of our limbs! We rejoiced when we saw our ‘finish line’ of a swinging bridge over a frozen river – just in time because we had been lamenting the extremely steep climb to even greater heights that we could see beyond the river!

We have learned that many Chinese like to climb different sections of the Great Wall throughout China – not unlike hikers on the Appalachian Trail in the eastern US. After all, Chairman Mao challenged his nation with the statement that ‘you are not a man of courage if you do not climb the Great Wall…’ – so when we finished our wonderful day Tanner declared that she must indeed be a man of courage!

~ Jeff

Beijing Landmarks

Beijing Landmarks

Beijing is a grand capital city! The expansive formal public places formed of wide-open spaces and traditional Chinese architecture are quite moving. Perhaps most familiar is Tian’anmen Square, reportedly the largest public open space in the world. The magnificent rostrum (podium) and permanent parade viewing stands make for a striking governmental statement – even without a presidential motorcade, parade or student demonstration. Perhaps it is the giant image of Chairman Mao presiding high above the plaza that infuses the spirit of this place. Surprisingly the square is noticeably absent of significant trees or planting. Although certainly grand, for me it doesn’t measure up to the National Mall in Washington D.C. which presents a much stronger quality of space defined by buildings, monuments and landscaping.

On the north side of Tian’anmen Square, behind the rostrum, is the Forbidden City – another national treasure. This extensive complex is the former imperial home and grounds consisting of numerous plazas, courtyards, the palace and garden (park). The primary interest for me was the sheer magnitude of the place! It would take days to see everything – but who would want to! Disappointing was the condition of the exhibits – austere, primitive and poorly displayed. However, the arrangement of the buildings and surrounding spaces with strong axial layout did give a strong sense of the rigid, formal plan – perhaps properly illustrating the imperial rule. Tanner and I soon tired of this and preferred exploring the large garden – a respite for the ruling family including rock grottoes and ancient twisted trees.

Perhaps the highlight among the city landmarks was the Temple of Heaven complex. Although less well known to foreigners, this park presents a beautiful setting for the imperial ceremonial place of worship. We enjoyed discovering the juxtaposition of the layout of rectilinear forms (representing Earth) with round shapes (representing heaven), always arranged on a clear linear axis. The TianTan (w_rship building) and nearby Round Altar (sacrificial stone) were especially interesting and in much better condition than much of the Forbidden City.

We also enjoyed the Summer Palace, a park and residential retreat for the imperial family. However, our family’s absolute favorite excursion was our day on the Great Wall of China, but that deserves another post!

We enjoyed a week of (relatively) warm temperatures and no snow or ice on the ground – uncharacteristic for February for this northern city. However, Beijing’s lakes and rivers where frozen over and the trees and flowers were missing their color, which certainly influenced our appreciation – perhaps we’ll be able to return sometime…

~ Jeff

Winter Break Travels

As the Fall Semester drew to a close, we were all ready for a break because we had not taken time-off during the Christmas holiday. Quickly the restaurants and shops near our campus were closing for the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year break, and our surroundings becoming a ghost town, so we were anxious to get away! We had decided to travel within China (as opposed to following the lure of nearby countries), taking the opportunity to see more of this beautifully diverse country.

We have chronicled the travels we were blessed to make during the winter break between semesters at school. These are posted in six parts in chronological order such that Part 1 is placed first, at the ‘top’ of these blog postings. Please be sure to scroll down to see the following parts. We have included a few photographs with these articles but many more are posted in the Pictures pages of our blog. Hope you enjoy “traveling” along with us through our experiences!

To Hong Kong…China Journey, Part One

Leaving on an overnight train to Shenzhen, we began our trek heading south in search of warm weather. Jeff and I had waited three hours in line for train tickets the week before (train travel is very popular with the Chinese), purchasing our only option of sleeper seats in two separate cabins. Tanner & I took the top bunks above an elderly Chinese couple with Jeff in the adjacent cabin over a young couple with a baby. We all managed to get some sleep in spite of noisy passengers and multiple stops throughout the night. Following our early morning arrival we eventually found the path to immigration to enter Hong Kong. Literally crossing the border bridge, aside high walls with barbed wire barriers, we entered a city much different from Mainland China. As even the currency is Hong Kong Dollars, we traded in some of our RMB for HKD and began translating yet another exchange rate. We took the ultra modern train/subway route into the heart of the city (Kowloon) to find our proposed accommodations. Lonely Planet had recommended budget rooms in “mansions” along Nathan Road, the main drag in HK. These mansions (old buildings) had been subdivided into numerous small “hotels” some with only portions of a floor. After reviewing Mr. Chan’s triple room options on the 14^th floor, we checked out Tanner’s pick at The Cosmic Hotel two floors below. When they showed us a cramped corner room with a view down Nathan Road, we took it negotiating a rate of $30. As the beds formed a “U” shape around the room, we could actually hold hands while lying down. The corner compact bathroom with showerhead over the toilet completed the suite. We had hoped this traveling would bring us close family time; we just had not considered it literally!

After taking the historic Star Ferry across to Hong Kong Island, we took the tram up to Victoria Peak to get oriented to the city. Following the beautiful trail around the peak, we took in lovely views across the harbor and to surrounding islands. Coming upon an overlook on the west side, an elderly man offered us a dark piece of glass through which to view the setting sun. We were overwhelmed to view a spectacular solar eclipse occurring! We knew that God had brought us to this particular place and moment to witness His glory! As we went on our way, we encouraged others to look, as most people on the mountain were unaware of the wondrous display. (It reminded us of other ways in which we are often unaware of His working.) Searching out dinner options we found Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. also on the Peak and were seated with a view of the nighttime HK Harbor. Since many of our Chinese students often spoke of Forrest Gump, we had recently watched the movie and enjoyed the many references to our southern roots and Greenbow, AL. As Forrest says we should all “live life like it’s the two minute warning.” We took many pictures to share with our student friends. Riding atop the double-decker bus and bargaining in the Temple Street Night Market ended our first day in HK.

For our second day in HK, Tanner chose a ferry trip over to Lamma Island, a picturesque island with a few small villages and an abundance of natural beauty. Walking a 5 km path across the island, we took in tropical views of flowers, mountains and sea. Before returning to the big island, we couldn’t resist sharing an order of fresh prawns. Sunday was our third HK day, and we chose a path through Kowloon Park to a nearby church. Upon hearing familiar congregational praise songs (…L_rd there is none like you…), we were overwhelmed in His presence! It had been five long months away from our ch_rch family, and we had not realized how much we missed singing & wo_shiping together with a large group in our own native language! It was a blessing to see the S_irit moving among many Asian people openly joining together in pra_se! The warmth of the people and the message from Revelation 3 of His warning to be not be lukewarm comfortable Chr_stains was extremely encouraging. Afterwards we took directions to a Chr_stain bookstore nearby where we were encouraged by another couple visiting from Michigan as well as the shop proprietor. Browsing through the shelves, we came across Gary Chapman’s Five Love Languages of Teenagers with our friends from Atlanta pictured on the cover…a sweet reminder of home! Of course then we thought of singing “ It’s a small world…” but thought they might not understand, so…we didn’t. We went on our way refreshed in His love brought to us by brothers and sisters in Chr_st! Our day ended with more bargaining at the Mong Kok Ladies Street Market where Tanner found a cool Batman belt and we all got HK T-shirts for a total of $8.50.

In many ways Hong Kong hit us like a blast of fresh air! We almost didn’t include it on our itinerary as we thought it was just another big city like Shanghai. However, it was a big city more like the US or Europe than China with Western influences, restaurants and shopping. We found delicious Mrs. Field’s cookies, 7-Elevens on every corner, Dr Pepper & Quaker Oat Squares at the supermarket, Caesar salad topped with chicken and English spoken everywhere. Hong Kong left us all with a wonderful taste of home that was what we needed in many ways.

From Hong Kong we traveled on along the coastline to Hainan, China’s popular beach island. At the recommendation of our previous Chinese Friendspeak readers, we went to the Da Dong Hai Bay beach in the city of Sanya. As we didn’t make a reservation, we took a city bus to a hotel that we had read about in LP. Unfortunately, the hotel had no available rooms, nor did the one across the street, or the one next to it, as we drug our suitcases to each and began to think maybe we should of made a reservation. Finally we found a Chinese hotel with a clerk who spoke a bit of English, and put on our shorts to head to the beach! (A real treat as we left Hangzhou wearing our heavy winter coats!) Even though this is not their high season, the beach was fairly crowded and swimmers were in the cold water. Palm trees and outdoor restaurants encircled the bay, but it didn’t compare to our beautiful Florida beaches! As this portion of the beach is very popular with Russians, we found many restaurants and shops with Russian words…yet another foreign language to us! (Here English is the third language!) We found a Russian beachside spot and ordered the carbonara and the fish meatloaf. (Yes, it was a bit odd!)

The following day we followed Tanner’s choice to relax on the beach. Renting padded beach chairs under a cabana for $4/day, we sat back to read and take in the sights. People watching was very amusing as we began to notice many who came to pose on the beach. Although we often take photos on the beach, we have not seen such model-like posing…so we couldn’t resist taking pictures of the models and the photographers. After a friendly English-speaking girl at a nearby supermarket offered us tastes of many interesting fruits, Tanner decided she liked the “mountain dragon fruit” best. Jeff & I also took an interesting walk around the bay to discover terraces leading to steps, to walkways, to bridges, to a final overlook point which reminded us of those novels where someone accidentally?…slips into the sea…never to be seen again! Although we savored the respite, we were anxious to get back to the mainland, so we took off to Kunming early the next morning.

~ Cathy

On to Kunming…China Journey, Part Two

Our veteran American teacher friends recommended Kunming, Dali and Lijiang, all in the Yunnan province so we decided to make this the focus of our journey. At LP’s suggestion we found a centrally located nice hotel in Kunming, the ‘City of Eternal Spring,’ for $40/night including breakfast! Just down the street we found a Western style restaurant named Aloma’s that served homemade apple pie with ice cream for $2…a treat we enjoyed several times!

Even though LP described nearby Shilin (also known as the Stone Forest) as “ equal parts tourist trap and natural wonderland” we decided to give it a try. Taking a city bus to the long distance bus station, then a 2 hr ride on another bus, we arrived in the small village at Shilin and made our way down the main street to the entrance. Crossing a bridge, we began to notice stalagmite-like shapes rising around and in the water. As we entered a wooded area, we saw more & more of these odd shaped rocks (limestone karst) that eventually became a maze for our adventure. We followed musical sounds to find people dressed in native costumes (of the local Sani ethnic group) playing unique instruments and performing traditional dances at an open area among the rock. Unlike most other visitors with tour groups following a set path through the rocks, we forged our own route often finding ourselves far from the crowds and lost in the maze. We went up and down narrow passageways and through nooks and crannies finding endless wonderful rock formations! We marveled at the notion that this area was originally covered by water. Climbing the steps up to the central overlook pavilion, we posed with the multitudes…and then began to pose for them as many wanted to have their picture made with the foreigners. (We became almost as much of a spectacle as the rocks!) We noticed that we did not see any other foreigners in the park that day. After finally finding Sword Peak Pond, we made our way back through the maze. Before boarding the last bus out, we bargained with a local for a large box of oranges for $3.50…enough to share with others on our ride back to Kunming.

The next day, after a quick run to Wal-Mart (which happened to be just around the corner from our hotel) for snacks (actually a cheap lunch of pb & saltines), we took another two city buses in search of Xi Shan (West Mountain). As we had heard that locals say, “If you haven’t seen Xi Shan, then you haven’t seen Kunming.” we knew we must give it a try. At the end of the bus route we followed signs leading up the mountain, and we walked and we walked and we walked. Unfortunately the walk was along a road with only a small portion on a stair pathway. (Unlike the US, most mountains in China seem to have stone step pathways instead of natural dirt trodden paths.) We eventually came to a Buddhist Temple that was originally a summerhouse for a previous ruler. After much more walking we arrived at a chair lift to an upper mountain area, then followed a stone step path to the overlook. From here we had a great view of Dian Chi, the second largest lake in China, with the city of Kunming beyond. From this point we entered the Dragon Gate and began our descent. The saying also goes, “If you haven’t seen the Dragon Gate, then you haven’t seen Xi Shan”…so we hurried to get this in before the last bus back. This area featured more Buddhist Temples and an interesting cave/stairway built by a monk along the rock side of Xi Shan. The Dragon Gate was a cave carved into the rock cliff accessed by a long cavern stairway. It was a long day, but now we guess we can say we have seen Kunming! The next day we took a city bus to another long distance bus station and bought a ticket for the next bus to Dali…which happened to depart in seven minutes…so we scurried across the station and onto another bus for another adventure!

~ Cathy

Daze in Dali… China Journey, Part Three

After a long bus ride from Kunming, we arrived in the city of Xiaguan, the “New Dali.” We had been advised by guidebooks and other travelers to just hop on a bus and bust outta there, straight to the old town. We took a taxi instead for around the same price as 3 people on the bus.  Following a LP recommendation, we stayed in a new hotel called The Jade Emu just outside the old city walls. The Father really blessed us with friendly staff (“Oh, just check in when you’re ready!”) and a clean room (with electric blankets!) and beautiful surroundings (Cang Shan rising up behind us!).

After settling in (and playing darts on their dartboard) we set out to explore the old city. We were surprised to see medieval-like castle walls (like the ones the French have in the Holy Grail) with huge pagoda-ed gates at the N, S, E, and W walls. Those two (pagodas and medieval castles) still don’t seem to mix well in my mind, but Dali made it work. LP had warned that Dali was very touristy, but we walked in a lesser gate and there was no one in sight! Just a little brook running through a cobblestone lane. We followed the water and found more of the heart of town where we ate a Chinese/Mexican/American dinner of cashew chicken (Chinese), tacos (Mexican), and lasagna (American). Sounds strange, I know, but it was delicious. Apple pie for dessert if I remember right… (It was at this restaurant we saw the two Germans who had been at our hotel in Kunming AND on our bus to Dali. No, they aren’t stalking us, we all just have LP!)

The next morning was Sunday, so we drank tea and held a devo of sorts in our room. We moseyed around the town for a bit, looking at things, taking pictures, getting Dad some fried milky thing on a stick that left a sour taste in your mouth, watching native ladies dance, trying to get a bus to the lake, buying Mom new sunglasses because hers fell in the squatty potty in Kunming… those kind of things. Then we paid maybe 5Y each to walk along the top of the city walls (now we really felt like the French guys… or the French peas on the wall in Veggie Tales… something about French and walls). Walking here gave us awesome views of the famous Er Hai lake, Cang Shan mountain, San Ta (the three pagodas north of town), and the small old town itself. Up on top of the wall were at least 7 bride and groom pairs dressed to the 9s taking wedding pictures (I guess it costs less in a group). After forgetting the way down and walking a long way back we finally reached the ground where we caught a bus to Xizhou, a small town on the lake. The bus was crowded with native Bai women and took us about 20 minutes north past green crops and farms. Xizhou was about like you’d expect a small town to be, so we made it our priority to find the lake. We walked through the streets till about the edge of town and no lake. A little farther we asked directions to Er Hai from an old lady who pointed us onwards. So, to my dismay, we walk on. And, no lake. So we send Dad ahead, and he still cant find anything like water. After we exhaust all the possible ways we turn around and it’s back to Dali. The bus puts us out in a place we’ve never been before, so we have to find the way back. We see local women sitting on chairs and stools in the stream washing their vegetables. We find food at a mom-and-pop-with-a-dog place and conclude our Sunday. Monday morning we pull on our hiking boots, because we got a tour deal from our hotel to get a bus to Cang Shan, cable car up, entrance fee, and cable car down all together for a good price. So we hop in the car with 3 other Jade Emu-ers. 2 guys from South Carolina and a gal from England. All English teachers in China. When we get up from the cable car, we are greeted by a would-be waterfall, but it’s dried up. So much for coming in off-season… We follow a lovely 11 km (7 mile) path, which for once in China is not stairs, but a nice, flat, stone walkway around the mountain ridge. The Father blessed us yet again with sunny and warm weather! The beautiful scenery shows us only a slice of His beauty and power. We walked with the British girl, Sara, which was nice because she is a veteran teacher and gave us many tips about our next destinations. About halfway along, we met a Chinese woman with her mother and father who were also visiting Dali. She spoke excellent English, but her parents- not a word! Sara spoke enough Chinese to carry on a conversation with them and interpret for us. Even though we couldn’t speak well, they shared their raw white carrots with us. The daughter was a teacher in the Northeast of China, and a law and economics major, so she had some interesting discussions with my mom about American laws! It was a relaxing walk, and good for all of us to talk to other people besides each other! Once back in the city we went to the local market (just to look around- mom is not yet up to buying a whole live chicken to cook for dinner!), and then on to the lake (this was the real way, not another goose chase). The market was interesting and the lake was beautiful. Then (no, the day is not over yet) we went to the 3 pagodas that everyone says are a must-see, but the entrance fee is outrageous! But, it turns out its closed anyways, so we went into the parking lot and took not-so-great pictures from there. A man inside the gate offered to take pictures with our camera from where he was which was really nice and got us great pictures! Woohoo!

Our last day in Dali was actually only a morning and we spent it walking around town buying last minute doohas and visiting our favorite and most frequented place in the town. The Sweet Tooth! It’s a bakery recommended by LP with scrumptious desserts (or breakfasts…), AND it benefits local deaf community! That’s like everything you could want rolled into one place right there! We stopped by once a day at least. Oreo cheesecake, blackberry muffins (hot), chocolate-and-cheese muffins, mmmmm… But, we had to catch our bus to Lijiang so we took it to go! Dali was surprisingly calm and relaxing, not so many tourists, and stunningly beautiful! Zaijian Dali!

~ Tanner

On to Lijiang…China Journey, Part Four

Leaving Dali we took a cheap minibus ride en route for Lijiang. The bus which held 19 passengers began with only about a dozen so we had lots of extra room for our backpacks and food bag, but as we continued out of town, the lady bus conductor continued to solicit riders as we stopped at numerous places along the way…until we had around 21 total…and our backpacks in our laps. Since we all had fallen in love with Dali, it was difficult to leave, and Tanner especially began to regret our departure. We thought we’d have a nice enjoyable time to read along the way, but this ride took us on turns and up winding mountainsides that had us all hanging on…especially when we got into a cloud and couldn’t see what was around the next curve! Needless to say we were all relieved to finally arrive in Lijiang! Again following LP’s suggestion, we called ahead to reserve a space at Mama Naxi’s. (The local minority people are the Naxi, pronounced “Nashee.’) Mama Naxi sent a lady to pick us up at the bus station, who wordlessly picked us up and took us to a dirt parking lot where another lady wearing house slippers met us – motioning for us to follow her through many long winding cobblestone streets dragging our luggage. We finally arrived at what turned out to be more of a hostel than we expected. Continuing to drag our luggage up a narrow staircase to a couple of connecting rooms with a small bathroom, they left us. (At this point Tanner was continuing to regret our departure from Dali.) Feeling a bit uncomfortable with a pivoting wood door latch, a curtain window to the hallway and no heat, Tanner & Jeff set out to checkout other LP recommendations before we committed to Mama Naxi’s – but as they returned without a better option, we moved into our rooms. Within a few minutes a hotel clerk rapped on the door, asking us if we’d like to join others for Mama’s dinner for the night…only 15 yuan ($2.50 each). Accepting the offer, we enjoyed especially good Chinese cooking of pork, chicken and vegetable dishes, and shared stories dining with fellow travelers from France and Canada. Back in the room we turned on the electric blankets and settled in for the night. It was quite a long night…with much raucous laughter and chattering from other guests…motion-sensitive lights illuminating our room through the corridor window as people came & went…and a dog that barked intermittently throughout the night…and of course the rooster welcoming the coming dawn! (…more regret from Tanner!) Awaking to our cold room without much sleep, we began surfing the Internet (at least the place did have wi-fi) for another hotel option. With our checkout time quickly approaching and many phone call hang-ups by Chinese hotel clerks who didn’t speak English, we put Tanner on the phone as our best resource for speaking the Chinese language tones. With only minutes to spare we found a nearby small Chinese hotel whose owner’s wife spoke English, negotiated a rate, and dragged our luggage down the narrow streets to a nice heated room for three! (We continued to feel a bit awkward as we passed Mama Naxi’s place numerous times during our stay in Lijiang, as we were unable to explain to them our need for heat, quiet and security – but language does create certain barriers. We did miss her cooking!…but at least we were now warm!) After settling in again, we set off to find lunch and the Black Dragon Pool, noted as “the most obligatory photo shoot in all of Southwestern China”. Winding our way through the lovely streets of Old Lijiang we found the Sifang (central square) and the old waterwheel where we had our first glimpse of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance. It is a majestic sight to behold, as the spectacular snow capped mountain forms a picturesque backdrop to this attractive old town! Walking north along a stream from the town, we eventually came upon the beautiful BD Pool with an arched bridge over to a lovely pagoda and the stunning JDS Mountain beyond!…and of course we took the obligatory photo…actually we took lots of them…not just because they were obligatory…but because the scene was awe inspiring! We also praised Him who created such beauty! We had a lovely walk around the pool, across the bridge and up into the pagoda. (The merchant in the bottom of the pagoda finally motioned us up the stairs after we insisted that we would like to go up…it looked as though it had not been accessed in a long time…but the view was lovely!) Satisfied with the beautiful images still dancing in our heads, we returned to the town in search of dinner. We found Mama Fu’s along a tranquil canal strung with red lanterns, and enjoyed veggies and our second serving of “baba”-a local specialty of wheat flatbread.

The following morning we took off in search of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which LP noted could be accessed by bus #7 from the city center. At the bus stop we found multiple mini bus drivers touting they drove bus #7, but no sign of official city buses, so we boarded one, along with another American and a few Chinese, and took off. Along the way one Chinese girl who spoke the best English began to tell us that we needed to pay to get into the JDSM. We showed her that we had already paid the historic entry fee in the city, which could also be used to access JDSM, but at the driver’s insistence she continued to tell us that we needed to pay an additional fee. Meanwhile with a lot of Chinese discussion, the American guy and Chinese girl in the back seat and another Chinese girl in the front passenger seat climbed over our seats and got down on the floor and hid themselves with blankets. Obviously, we were getting a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation! When we arrived at the entry gate, the driver began a loud discussion with the attendant pointing to us and seeming to indicate that we needed to pay. We showed our receipts from paying in the city, but received no indication from the attendant of what to do, so we did not pay. Finally the driver opened the door and insisted that we get out of the car, and then she sped away. We promptly exited, finding ourselves at the JDSM Park entry, but far from the city and the actual JDSM. We eventually found an attendant who spoke enough English to clarify that we did need to pay an additional reduced entry fee, and then asked that we wait a moment. Standing at the gate (too far to walk in either direction), Tanner angrily fretted that we never should have gotten in that mini bus and she hoped that American guy and Chinese girl got caught for sneaking into the park! I began to pray for safety and for God to continue to show Himself to us in unexpected ways! As we began to wonder if we should negotiate with one of the many tour buses coming through the gate for a lift, the attendant motioned us to a man in a car that had just entered. Using our Chinese phrase “duo shao qian,” we asked the man how much to ride. He waved “mei you” (no need) and motioned us into the car. He spoke no English, but smiled, and we used our minimal Chinese to tell him we wanted to go to the cable car station to access the top of JDSM. After taking us a few miles to the ticket booth and receiving clarification from the guard, he helped us purchase the cable car tickets, then drove us the additional miles up the mountain to the cable car station (all out of his way). He insisted that we could not pay him for the ride and politely bowed in response to our multiple expressions of thanks -“Xiexie a!” We knew He was providing for our needs!

The cable car took us up to 4506 meters elevation – the snow capped top of Yulong Xueshan – Jade Dragon Snow Mountain against the backdrop of a glorious blue sky! Donning multiple layers of gloves and fleece, we slowly set off to climb the additional stairs up to the top amidst warnings of altitude sickness, oxygen tanks for rent, and those who were feeling queasy sitting on the steps along the way. We finally reached the summit at 4636 meters with awesome views of a rugged glacier beside us and the majestic peaks above! (We did happen to see the smuggled in American and his Chinese friend, much further back in the cable car line.) Returning to the city, we decided to take a Chinese tour to the Tiger Leaping Gorge the following day…hopefully avoiding being dropped off in odd places by mini-buses and traveling with smugglers! We actually shopped around at three agencies and found a competitive tour rate that we negotiated a bit lower…resulting in a cost less than we could obtain by taking the public bus.

Bright and early the following morning we met our Chinese tour as the only Westerners on the trip. Nine year-old Sam became our translator for the tour guide although his English vocabulary seemed limited to “hello, thank you, you’re welcome” – all with a big smile! The tour was wonderful…no worries about where to get off the bus, how to get to the gorge, or where to eat…lunch was included! With the sparkling sun in a bright blue sky above, we took in the incredible beauty of the river below reflecting the mountains above, delighting in His spectacular creation! The pathway followed along the edge of the river, beneath overhanging cliffs (which J&T attempted to jump up to touch), and through tunnels to a magnificent overlook of a large rock amid the roaring white water river below to which it was said the “tiger leapt to cross the gorge.” We all enjoyed the wonderful day…especially leaving the details to the tour guide…even if she only spoke Chinese! The next day we spent the morning walking through the lovely streets of Old Lijiang before making our way north to Chengdu. Lijiang was the western most point on our journey around China (and the closest to Tibet), so from there we began our trek back to the east.

~ Cathy

Things to Do around Chengdu…China Journey, Part Five

Arriving late in Chengdu, we hurried to bed in order to get an early start on our highlight in this city…pandas! Reaching the Giant Panda Research Base for opening at 8 am, we scurried to find the designated feeding sites. We delighted in seeing pandas consuming loads of bamboo stalks for breakfast. Some preferred the traditional upright sitting position while others reclined to eat. Studying their teeth and tongue motions was quite entertaining! We also quickly found the feeding station for the red pandas to witness an active group foraging among the bamboo and bowls of gruel. A movie on panda breeding followed, after which we could assume a slower pace. Our favorite part was a spontaneous “show” put on by two juvenile pandas that pushed, bit, chased, and tumbled over each other to the delight of visiting onlookers. Roaming peacocks, magnificent b/w swans and innumerable koi also inhabited the base – a lovely park setting. Steering clear of the Sichuan “fiery cuisine” we found a Western favorite called Grandma’s Kitchen, and feasted on a club sandwich & a Philly cheesesteak, followed by apple pie. The delicious banana bread obtained from a nearby Carrefour Supermarket became our morning staple.

At the recommendation of other American travelers we met along the way, we decided to take an overnight side trip to nearby Le Shan and Emei Shan. Again we joined a Chinese tour, saving money, time and heartache! We became familiar with the typical Chinese tour method: leave very early in the morning, board a bus filled with Chinese people looking at the odd Westerners, and listen to the smiling tour guide rattle on (in Chinese) with a mic about the upcoming site. We usually caught a few words: “good” or “beautiful” in the descriptions. On this tour a lovely young Chinese college student, Wang Lu (traveling with her parents), graciously aided us with English translations. The BIG attraction, literally, in Le Shan is the Grand Buddha – the world’s tallest Buddha. LP describes its fingernails as “bigger than the average human.” The statue is carved into a cliff overlooking the Dadu River and our visit came complete with misty fog across the water! Emerging onto the upper plaza, we had a close-up head view before descending the steep cliff side stairway to make our way to Buddha’s feet. Visiting  this site reminded us that we do not serve one made of stone and covered in moss, but the living & active great I AM! Leaving Le Shan our bus took us on to the base of Emei Shan for the night. After a hasty dinner we all attended a Chinese Variety Show (all in Chinese…of course!) where, as visiting Westerners, we were ushered up to the front VIP seats. There was a bit of acrobatics, tea pouring, dancing, puppetry, hand shadows, a contortionist, opera, comedy, kung fu fighting, fire breathing and even some amazing feats like a guy inserting a sword down his throat! Searching for an audience volunteer, they zeroed in on us foreigners and took Jeff up onstage, blindfolding him and pretending to throw knives at him to pop strategically placed ballpons! Tanner was a little frazzled by the charade, but Jeff won a stuffed monkey for his efforts! Returning to our rooms, we collapsed at the end of another long day!

Early (again) the next morning we boarded the bus to ascend Emei Shan. Driving over 1-1/2 hours up, we reached the cable car station to access the mountaintop. At the top we found another lengthy stair ascent awaiting us, along with vendors selling 10Y ($1.50) straw “shoes” for the ice and snow…what?…no one warned us of these conditions!…the language barrier continues! Finding our hiking boots insufficiently slip-proof, we strapped on the straw and slowly made our way up the steps. Crossing a sort of frozen bridge, we encountered hungry wild monkeys intent on searching us for breakfast! A deep grunting warned me that our bag of snacks hanging from my arm was drawing unwanted attention. As the vicious primate “attacked me” (growling and grabbing the bag) Tanner fled to safety and I could only laugh – not knowing the determination of the aggressor. Our tour guide quickly rescued me, warding off the aggressive monkey by yelling at him and stuffing our snack bag into his backpack…once again heartache (or other aches?) avoided by the tour! Our friend Wang Lu’s father took an unexpected slip on the ice and found himself in need of a “sedan chair ride” for the remainder of the day. The large gold Jinding Temple is on the mountaintop along with a multi-headed Buddha statue seated upon elephants. We were dismayed to see a devoted young monk circling the Buddha and kneeling to pray every few steps with his face to the frozen plaza. Hoping to catch a glimpse of the coveted sunrise view on top, instead we found the cloud covered mist and fog -“prevalent year-round” per LP. He did bring us one break in the clouds to the lovely blue sky beyond which seemed much more glorious than the manmade structures below! In the afternoon we explored lower areas of the mountain finding an unusual yellow dome-shaped temple topped with an elephant and a reindeer(?). The ancient trees & picturesque pavilions among the forests and streams formed an enchanting pathway for our mountain descent. At the end of the day Mr. Wang purchased a finale “sedan chair ride” for his daughter that she insisted we all have a turn trying out…so we rode down Emei Shan (a least for a few minutes) in style!

~ Cathy

Down the Yangtze…China Journey, Part Six

As Chinese tours continued to ease our traveling anxieties, we found one to join taking in the magnificent Three Gorges along the Yangtze River that per LP “ranks among the nation’s top scenic marvels.” (The fabled Yangtze is the mightiest in China and the world’s third longest river.) Leaving Chengdu by public bus, a man took us from to the city long-distance bus station where he haggled with a bus driver who evidently decided his bus was full, so he obtained us a ticket on the next bus out. After four hours we arrived in Chongqing after an en route phone call from the tour operator advising us to stay on the bus until the last stop. Waiting on a street corner in Chongqing we quickly drew a crowd until a man walked up with “Hendrick” on a piece of paper motioning for us to follow. He dropped us off at travel agency where they told us we had two hours to find lunch and return. Upon our return another man hurriedly escorted us around the block to a bus where we joined our tour group en route to Wanzhou – three hours downriver (During high season boats are boarded in Chongqing vs. a shorter ride from Wanzhou in the “slack” season). Unlike our previous Chinese tours, this group included western comrades: three English teachers from Great Britain and four English-speaking Poles. That evening we boarded a Chinese boat in Wanzhou traveling on a two-night ride down the Yangtze. Even though the tour operator had told us the accommodations would be similar to our Chinese hotel in Chengdu, we found no towels (not that anyone would want to use the shower), thin blankets without heat, and overpriced food in the dining room. Fortunately, we had brought banana bread, pb and crackers! Coming back on the boat one evening we found a “resident” feline feasting on his rodent catch in the center aisle. Although the surrounding physical conditions were unsettling, the natural gorge outside was gorgeous! With our winter coats zipped up high, we enjoyed beautiful views of the Three River Gorges surrounded in an ethereal foggy mist! Transferring in the afternoon to a smaller boat, we rode through the spectacular Three Little Gorges before arriving in Yicheng the following morning. A bus in Yicheng took us to the monumental Three Gorges Dam for an overview of the facility that provides one fifth of China’s electricity (including Hangzhou!). Afterwards we took a three-hour bus ride along with the other Westerners to the large city of Wuhan. We had previously planned to travel on northward (cold!!) to Xian for 2 days to see the famed terra cotta warriors, but finding a $30 midnight flight back to Hangzhou lured us back to our familiar campus and warmer temperatures! We were certainly blessed with a safe journey filled with many opportunities to view the beauty of His creation in China!

~ Cathy

Christmas in CHINA

We decided to jump right in…bought a tree and got it up and decorated the week after Thanksgiving with a Tree Trimming party!…began playing carols night and day…and wore our red and green clothes to class. I was so ready, I started talking about Christmas in all my classes…playing ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,’ discussing what gifts we can give and why we give gifts, introducing Christmas traditions, teaching the students to sing ‘Joy to the World,’ showing pictures of holiday lights on houses, and talking about the true meaning of Christmas! Many students told me that they thought Christmas was just like their Spring Festival/Chinese New Year, so I asked a lot of questions to find out more about their holiday. There are some similarities between the two holidays: gifts for children (they give their children red envelopes with money inside), the biggest holiday celebrated in the country, and a special time for families to gather together and enjoy lots of traditional foods. I told them that after this the similarity ends…the Chinese New Year is more like our New Year’s celebration…Christmas is celebrating a birth that changed the world!

One of my students took us to a Chinese Christmas Program off campus at a nearby hotel. Upon arrival we were immediately escorted to the front seats and treated as special guests, and asked to speak during the program! There was a variety of singing, dancing and skits along with a roaming Santa with candy. There was also a visiting speaker talking about the love of our Father. We were blessed to see the heart-felt expressions of love for Him. Later that evening on our campus, we joined the foreign students for a Holiday Party hosted by Chinese students in the Cultural Communication Assoc. We all decorated a couple of small fiber optic trees and played some silly games…like walking with your leg tied to a blindfolded partner while directing him to pop balloons with a stick.  We also received an invitation to be special guests at another Program “about the Christmas” by the Chinese-German Institute. (As special guests we are escorted to sit in the front at tables prepared with fruit and juice.) A wide variety of traditional and contemporary dancing & singing filled the stage…we only recognized the singing of Jingle Bells in Chinese. At the conclusion all were invited to join in a massive “bunny hop” dance around the room.

Friends had told us that the stores here would have Christmas items so there was no need to bring anything. Well many stores have dollar store decorations, brightly colored tinsel garland, and spray can snow and stencils, but not Christmas napkins or Christmas cookie cutters or red & green sprinkles or Christmas candles, or Christmas candies or cookies, and NO Chex (to make the mix). So I had to make do with what I could find: moon and bear shaped cookies with cinnamon sugar (I brought the cinnamon from home.), green candles that smelled a little like green apples, and a heavily sugar coated cereal-like snack that looked like an elongated Chex (actually about 3″ long) which I couldn’t imagine would taste good as a mix…so I just put them in a bowl alone. I had all my classes over to our apartment the week of the 25th for a Christmas party! I served the moon & bear cookies (supplemented with my homemade brownies), hot chocolate with Chinese marshmallows (a sweeter-spongier variety), and  the elongated sugar “Chex” with Christmas napkins (found at the last minute by an American friend at a French store downtown). We passed around an illustrated book of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (which I brought from home) each student reading a page and showing the pictures, followed by my explanation of “arose such a clatter” and “tore open the shutter and threw up the sash”, etc. Playing a modified version of a white elephant gift exchange and singing carols were followed by photos in front of the tree with Santa hats. Everyone remarked how much they enjoyed the party with many bringing gifts and cards. No one used the lovely napkins; they all took them home as a souvenir.

The weekend before Christmas we also hosted a couple of parties. The first was a low key gathering for the other foreign teachers in our building. The group of German teachers, one Chinese German teacher with her daughter and one British teacher joined together with us in one apartment. With coaxing, the Germans sang “O Tannenbaum” which was followed by Silent Night sung in English & German simultaneously. The next evening we hosted our close student friends for a party. Each student brought a white elephant gift to exchange. The most sought after gift was a crisp $1 dollar bill. During the party we went caroling down our hallway to the other foreign teachers rooms with ‘Jingle Bells’ and ‘We Wish You…’ The concluding highlight was having each student wearing a Santa hat strike a unique pose in front of the tree for a photo.

Since Christmas is not a national holiday in China, classes continued as usual. However, we rescheduled our classes to take the day off.  We knew before we left Atlanta that Christmas would be a difficult time for us in China. We have always spent Christmas in Mongomery with our family there, and any other way would be unusual. At Bonnie Ray’s suggestion, we planned to go out for a Christmas meal as it would be different than our usual tradition. We began the day as most in the US with opening presents. Skype visiting time with our families followed for the next two hours as they were celebrating Christmas Eve back home. It was sad and sweet to talk with them. We also received a few visits from Chinese student friends bearing special gifts. We felt a bit odd inviting them in as we were still in our pjs…oh well…can’t hide those odd American customs! We finally got out for an early dinner at a nearby Western restaurant. It was a treat to have a meal which resembled familiar food. As we were out and about, we heard many call out, “Merry Christmas”…guess they knew Americans would be celebrating this day. We received oodles of emails and text messages from students with wishes for Christmas as they all seemed to want to share somehow in this special occasion. We continued our Christmas the following day with old-fashioned visits to other American friends here, and a family outing for foot massages for all of us…a gift from Jeff’s parents! It was certainly NOT our typical Christmas…but then, this is China!

~ Cathy