culture – Page 4 – HurricaneMaine

Huangpu cycle tour

As luck would have it, my Google Pixel stopped functioning correctly during Chinese New Year. I was able to buy a Xiaomi phone that is actually quite wonderful but apps take their time to figure things out when you are in a foreign country. Even though I could upload to WordPress initially, the last week gave me problems. Needless to say this post should have been published well over a week ago.

I have been to some of the places I went to on this tour before but was not aware of the history. Cycle Canton had this tour during Chinese New Year that explored more than I have seen before.

We visited the Huangpu Ancient Port, which was the entry point to Imperial China for all foreign traders. Just five families controlled the movement of goods in and out. The Emperor was never involved directly and the families were much like a cartel. The wharf and village is 1000 years old. They exported tea, porcelain, and silk. Ships had to dock in Macao first then be granted privilege to come to this port. The trade was called the Canton system. While they were docked here they fixed boats and would go from here on the Pearl River further in to Guangzhou on bamboo boats to go to 13factories. The cartel of 5 families held merchandise in a series of buildings on Shamian Island much like a warehouse. They would bring the goods then from there in Xiguan to Huangpu port to load onto the ships.

The three pillars of Guangzhou are the pagodas that are scattered in the area. I have visited two of them and actually ran my marathon around the third. These acted as lighthouses and markers to travelers. Before the big buildings, they were the landmarks you could see.

We then crossed on the ferry to Changzhou island, and visited a few historic sights.

One site was a hidden fortress Bei hu gang. This fortress has positions to shoot cannons. This fortress was used during the Opium Wars. They had canons and places for infantry and storage.

We toured the Huangpu Military Academy, which has great architecture. In 1911, Sun Yat Sen with others overthrew the Qing Dynasty. The newly named PRC though was only formed in the south. In 1921 they built a military school to help overthrow warlords in the North and learn military techniques. Chiang Kai Shek was leader of the school. In 1926 there was no more coordination between the nationalists and communists in China which led to the cultural revolution later when the communists took control.

One of two guard houses on each side of the gate facing the river.

This is one of China’s navy ships in the river.

Military propaganda for sale outside the military museum. We were surprised that material referencing Taiwan was being sold. Other items were the Kuomintang found by Sun Yat Sen.

We tested our biking skills weaving through urban villages. The buildings are called handshake buildings as you can be at your front door and shake hands with the person across from you. They were built for migrant workers. The farmers were much richer and lived in larger houses.

We also biked along a canal some call the ‘Venice of Guangzhou’. I have never been to Venice but am sure it is more than this.

We stopped for a lunch at a local restaurant that was next to the farms and fields of the very rural part of the island. Unfortunately metro lines are being added here so hard to decide what will be the future. There will be green spaces to bring visitors but this will most certainly change.

This is a photo of someone’s home taken from the second floor of the restaurant.

Ling family ancestral hall

We continued cycling through fields, greenways and more urban villages to visit the first foreign graveyard of China.

Here is the final resting place of many foreign diplomats, traders and sailors, including the first US Minister to China, who has been buried here since the late 1700’s. Many took multiple voyages back and forth, and it was noted that some died on the passages.

We also climbed a very large number of steps up a big hill to get a good view of the river.

This historically pivotal location was instrumental in trade and during war. We ended the tour on the banks of the Pearl River, overlooking a view of central Guangzhou, and drinking a beer at the local village. An epic tour, exploring the rural fringes of the city that is still greatly rural, at least for now.

Chinese new year

Warning. A bit of rambling about the last two weeks leading up to Chinese new Year!

This year for Chinese New Year we were advised not to go anywhere. We can’t leave China and there are a few imported cases and always a concern that all it takes is one to start another outbreak (though China’s policy about testing and quarantining to be sure means that areas are downgraded quickly in 3 to 4 weeks.) I am glad I went to Harbin at Christmas as it was shut down due to a few cases.

Last Chinese New Year I went to New Zealand and did not come back for 9 weeks. It was epic in terms of seeing sights but a bit nerve wracking not being sure where the world is headed. Fast forward to this year and I am glad to have been able to travel China last year, but not going anywhere right now was a bit unsettling. I looked at it as a time to spend with friends and relax a bit (except for chiropractor appointments).

Chinese New Year is hallmarked with families deep cleaning their houses and removing excess. This allows for the old to leave and allow the new in. I used some of the time to clean and organize my belongings as well. The cats did not like their deep clean, but that was necessary too! I came across a 2020 ornament I was given on the 1st of last year when I entered Greece. I thought maybe it should be destroyed given the year that we had, but would make a good ornament to remember that year.

This year is the year of the OX: The Ox is the second of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. The Ox was about to be the first to arrive, but Rat tricked Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox. Thus, Ox became the second animal. (The pig is the last animal as it had to stop and eat along the way!) Ox are know to be hardworking and honest.

In the weeks before Chinese New Year, many decorations could be seen going up around the city.

Okay, not a decoration, but where else do you see a chicken in a box sitting at a bus stop? I am certain it was someones dinner that night!

Chinese lanterns in the tree near the train station.

Over Chinese New Year, my Google phone stopped working correctly. That made it impossible to do anything as getting rides, ordering food, paying for groceries use the phone. Compounded to that is the code used to track whether you have been to a place with covid cases. Without the phone it is inaccessible. During Chinese New Year, many places close as it is like our Christmas to new Years. Jack was able to take me to a Xiaomi store to get a Mi 10. It has taken awhile to get my apps loaded and things working (let alone recovering everything from my old phone (without a Google phone and all the great apps and backups that would be impossible).

In the mall, a Tim Horton’s opened up, so we stopped for some coffee.

Over Chinese New Year was Valentine’s Day. Jack gave me some Moutai, which is a kind of baijiu (a grain alcohol that is pretty strong). Each type os different and Moutai is aged longer and the most expensive that you can buy here.

I also was able to get together with my friend Lily and her son Edward. (and Killian). I haven’t seen her in 6 months as our schedule always conflicted. It was great to meet for Dim Sum and share some banana bread I made for a party a few days before.

This is a new statue from a famous sculptor in Guangzhou of robust ladies in a variety of athletic pursuits. It shows beauty in everyday life and freedom and enchantment in their figures. It flies in the face of portrayal of chubby women and that is the purpose.

A sculpture of an ox.

At the start of Chinese New Year, I went to Haizhu park to meet people for some live music. It was part of a cultural event where they carved olive pits, learned other crafts, then stayed overnight in a hostel that focused on books and coming together. i did not get to participate in the other events due to an appointment and work the next day. It was good to visit this amazing place and hear music with friends. The rooms are tucked in among the books.

The decorations in Haizhu park where beautiful. I had been there during the day, but not at night.

I also was able to visit the pig cafe. A cafe full of potbelly pigs! What heaven. Instead of buying a drink and food for me to enter, your purchase food for the pigs. Each bowl of food after is much cheaper and it was fun to feed all the piggies!

At school we usually have a lion dance and other festivities, but many of these have been cancelled to stop large public gatherings. Our Chinese department worked with students to put on a fascinating show for the school. All students wore masks during the assembly and it was great to see the singing and dancing. The students who performed the fan dance were wonderful as well as those who were acting out scenes from Mulan.

At the end of the last day before vacation, our school held a get together on the rooftop of the new building. Wine, beer, snacks, subs, smores, and karaoke made for a very fun night! I work at an unbelievable and supportive school!

Cycling around Xigua in old Canton

I took a tour with Cycle Canton on Saturday. This area used to be called Canton before it was named Guangzhou. The old part of the city was enclosed in an ancient wall and the area to the west was called Xigua. Xi means west in Mandarin. The city wall is in blue around the Canton area in yellow. The red area to the left is Xigua.

It was noted that affluent families in the enclosed city would want their young men to marry a woman from Xigua for the best match possible. Xigua was where the merchants lived and where trading would happen. It was one of the first ports that allowed international trading in Guangzhou.

Xigua is also where Bruce Lee’s family ancestral home is located. Though he was born elsewhere and lived elsewhere, his father is from here and therefore where the family is officially registered.

A main street in Xiguan area.

There is also a Lion Dance museum. The Lion dance is traditional during the Chinese New Year. I have posted it before and will most likely post another next week as well!

The Lion costume is worn by two people: one at the front and one in the back. They do some really incredible acrobatics sometimes running around like a lion or standing tall with one person on another’s shoulders in the costume.

We toured some back streets of Xiguan that is where merchants use to be. Now there are sections for every market you can find here: Dried goods market, fruit and vegetable market…..pretty much a market for anything that you need…..

This is an example of hair threading. They use criss crossed pieces of thread to take the fine hair and literally yank them out of the follicle.

From here we continued along the back streets to Shamian Island. After the British won the second opium war (fought over trade issues), they laid claim to this part as a port for trade. The British controlled 80% of the island while France controlled 20%. You can see the difference on the architecture here. This was the first International port.

Many of these buildings show colonial architecture.

This church is on the French side of the island.

From here we left to go to the riverside to take the ferry across to the other side in Haizhu. The side of the rivers is called the bund.

This is the British custom house and the first clock tower in the area.

In Haizhu we visited the Haizhuang Buddhist temple that i did not know existed. As with all temples it was very serene and beautiful. At the entrance of the temple, there is what looks like a swastika. It’s arms are pointed a different direction. The symbol in Buddhism denotes plurality, abundance, prosperity, and long life. The Nazi’s took the symbol and turned the arms clockwise as their national symbol.

In the old part of Haizhu we wandered the streets, weaving through the alleys. This building was a place built for a young man who was to marry someone chosen by his family, but he was in love with another. he took some of the family money with him and built a beautiful house with a courtyard where they married and lived.

The woodwork is amazing.

The top of the mansion from a distance. The building in front is the entrance to the courtyard.

In many of the old buildings, there are three layers of doors. The inner one is shown closed in this picture. The second door looks like a gate with bars. It is pulled across to let air flow in but keep people out (cats of course would love to sleep on the bars). Unfortunately, everyone could see in and what was going on in the house. The last set of doors was like saloon doors where people could not see what was going on inside but the second doors could still be used for ventilation.

Biking back along the south side of the river.

Cycling through the Nanhuaxi village where there are many former opium dens, outdoor markets, and ancient villas and ancestral halls..

Friends who joined on the tour stayed at my place at night to celebrate one of their birthday’s. We ate Indian and cupcakes in my apartment before going out to Hooley’s to watch some members of school who are in the band Gigantic.

Morgana, myself, Jack, and Amber in the background.

Jack and I at the celebration.

It was a glow party, so plenty of glow in the dark items.

I rarely go out like that and usually only one big night a year. It was fun to be with friends on a night out.

Photobombing in Xiang Xue Park

Not too far from my school in Science City is this beautiful park full of plum trees. They are blooming now with white or pink flowers. Because of the beautiful trees, so many people were there and Jack and I decided only to go if we could find a parking space. We both hate crowds.

But once there the photobombing opportunity made it worth it!

Photo bombing a live performance was not the original goal. You could hear singing everywhere and Jack explained that many of them were live streaming. They have some followers who will send them money but if they do something special they can sometimes get more. So I decided to photobomb them for those watching. I then took a picture of what I saw. Meanwhile Jack took pictures of me.

Then the one singer realized what I was doing! So funny!!!! They didn’t ask me to sing though which is a good thing…

This was my picture from behind the singers.

Beautiful flowers were everywhere. The plum trees were in full bloom and the bees were buzzing. It was so fragrant just walking through the park.

Lots of people everywhere, talking and enjoying the day. Many brought lunch, some played games….

It is a nice free place to enjoy nature and be outside.

I had wondered if there were bee hives here and there were at one end of the park. The darker honey is made from the summer pollen and the lighter from the winter pollen. I purchased some of the lighter honey as I had already purchased the darker from a farmers market a few months ago.

Bees busy making honey from the winter pollen (lighter in color and thicker honey)

This honey is the honey made from the summer pollen.

Across from the trees are a large space for food stalls. I was thirsty so we went in search of something to drink. In Chinese:

Wǒ kěle. Wǒ xiǎng hē guǒzhī. I am thirsty. I want to drink juice.

Sugar cane juice which was sweet but not as sweet as I thought it would be. It was delicious.

This bread was yummy. It is baked in a very hot oven that makes a well.

This dessert is frozen with liquid nitrogen making it very cold and you can blow clouds with your breath.

The food and fresh produce is amazing as it is everywhere here in China.

Running with visually impaired individuals

On Sunday four of us from school learned how to run as a running guide with visually impaired individuals. It was a great day and the gentleman Bin that I led spoke some English and I spoke some Chinese as well.

We held this rigid elastic band and used it to guide. Pulling up means to step up. Pulling down means to step down. Pulling left is to go left while pushing my right elbow against him means to go right. Pulling back means to stop or slow down. Communication is key to be at the right pace and it was a lot of fun.

Bin and I holding the band that we run with.

Late that day I went to Jack’s apartment in Favorview where we drank coffee at the clubhouse. There was a book club meeting there. People are the same all over. I loved how they brought snacks and drinks (they drank tea though in my book club it is often wine). They even had gifts for each other. But mostly they talked about the book while mostly just talking and learning about each other. We do the same as well. They were lovely to watch and notice the care of one another. I can’t wait for my book club meeting next week!

Food, running, and more food

You can find any kind of food here in Guangzhou including a Poutine place. This restaurant is not far from me and friends met to try different versions of toppings for french fries. There is the original Canadian poutine as well as others inspired by different countries. I tried the Lhaksa poutine with shrimp and crab meat. It had coconut and was spicy.

On the weekend, Jack took me to the Liwan district for authentic Cantonese food. It was off the beaten path. We had bamboo noodles. It is regular rice noodles but shaped using bamboo sticks. The soup had pork blood cubes in it. That is a standard Cantonese dish.

Afterwards we went for dessert. You know the place is good when there is a long line waiting for take out.

This dessert Bai xiang guo had papaya in it and a sweet juice. I’m not sure what else is in it. It looks like a rice noodle (chang fen) and the dish is good for those with a sore throat.

Rice triangles with a variety of fillings which could be pork, mushroom, bean, or plum. They are stranded in bamboo leaves.

This dish is made with almond paste and rice milk. It is not as thick as a pudding and it’s served warm. It reminds me of the filling of a bear claw but not as sweet.

The next morning we went running on the Guangzhou International Bio Island. It is a manmade island that houses international corporations many for pharmaceutical and other technology. Self driving cars are tested here and move people around on the island. There is a great running track around the perimeter and it is very beautiful to run with the view of the river.

Mangrove trees. Unfortunately many were taken down when guangzhou was developed and the islandsc were made.

Burning Rick works with individual genetic testing of cancer patients for individualized treatments.

Astra Zeneca China. This company is one of the covid-19 vaccine developers.

Then later we went for sauerkraut fish. It is a sour soup that is quite hot. There are many different peppers and the little round ones that look like peppercorns makes your mouth completely numb of you accidentally eat them.

Later in the week we went to another fish place where you add in other items to the fish and sauce you choose. This was Mekong fish with a spicy garlic sauce. There is so much incredible food here.

We passed by a place where young children get their hair cut. They sit in cats and watch cartoons to keep them still for their haircut. Clever.

Celebrating New years

After arriving back from Shanghai I spent more time with Jack. He had been so sweet and lovely. He gave me a great silk floral arrangement and organic perfume oil for my birthday.

I went to lunches with my friend Elaine. She always finds great food to try. This was a black tea with whipped cream and pecans. It was delicious.

Jack surprised me with plans to go to a village north of the city called Xitou. We had already made plans to go to my friends Tricia and Dan’s for new years eve get together in Huadu so went on a road trip a night early.

Ww ate at a place in Xitou village. They had rice wine that has bees soaking in it. It is to help with certain medical conditions. I didn’t try it but very curious….

The food was amazing. The soup (tang) was made with many different kinds of mushrooms. It was very tasty soup. The sweet potatoes had the best sauce ever.

The mountains in Xitou were beautiful.

The village was also beautiful. Some old buildings are original. Many new places have been erected for others to come from the city to stay and is growing as a tourist destination.

We also had congee and rice roll with egg the next morning in the village.

Then we took a hike to the next village.

We took a wrong road and saw this bird. It is a wild bird that stays there and is hand fed. He was fascinating. The owner of the property brought it a cooked potato to feed the bird.

There is actually a place to charge your phone and make a call in the middle of the bamboo forest. This is solar powered.

In the other village they grow Camellia flowers for tea. It is also being developed for tourism.

After the hike we walked in the village to look at what they are selling.

Tofu dessert and sesame seed dessert. Warm and delicious.

Lunch was amazing at another village. The sour cabbage dish was delightful.

We arrived at my friend’s. There we played games, ate pizza and dips, and watched movies and shows until the new year. With the pandemic, there are no formal ball drop celebrations and in China there are some parties. Getting together as a small group was still better.

I’m the morning, Jack and I ran 5k, had breakfast with everyone and took a stroll around their area. It was a great end of one year and start of the next.

Sun Island, Siberian Tiger Park, and Volga Manor

Sun Island

It was cold. We started the tour at -20C and finished at -16C. There are a few coffee shops around to get out of the cold. Of course if you keep moving and don’t take your hands out of gloves to take pictures it is easier.

These sculptures are made by making artificial snow as that snow is wetter and sticker than the snows that falls on Harbin. They place the snow in big wooden boxes to pack then use the block to make these incredible sculptures that are the largest in the world. All of this is made from packed snow.

It started out at -20C and when the sun was shining warned up a bit.

You could ride this vehicle and soon around on the river ice.

This one is still under construction and looks like a little mushroom house village.

Siberian Tiger Park

The siberian tiger park was pretty cool. People move through the various paddocks in caged vehicles. Some tigers are in cages if they are not acclimated to weather, weak, pregnant, or young. They can get enough nutrition that way. There are over 1300 tigers and the park is very large.

You can pay to feed them by holding meat through the bars or even feed them a live chicken which is dropped through a chute.

Some of the buses also will be used to feed the tigers. You can always tell which bus.

They are such beautiful animals.

Volga Manor

This was a Russian village created by a wealthy entrepreneur in the turn of the century. It prospered until the cultural revolution when it was destroyed. Since then it has been rebuilt on the actual style of the original buildings.

We took a bus to the castle at the end where you took a freight lift to the 5th floor. There you could lay on an inner tube and hold on to each others legs to sled ride down this impressive ice chute. It was so fun we did it twice.

We looked at the Russian church.

There were many other buildings that were not open.

Of course there was a vodka chateau. We learned about vodka.

Sampling the vodka was fun. It was poured in ice cups. I sampled an amber colored vodka that had a definite spicy kick at the end. I also tried a dark colored vodka that had a really full flavor. You could buy your favorite vodka in the gift shop. I purchased the two I tried!

Walking back to the bus was beautiful to see the lit houses.

Afterwards some pedestrian street shopping and food at a Japanese restaurant. On the way back to the hotel we saw this sign which is so very covid-19. It is a little blurry as the bus started moving.

Harbin ice festival

Merry Christmas! An early morning start to catch the plane and I had some of the stollen bread that my dear friend Tricia and Dan bought me for my birthday! It was delicious. Not like the recipe I grew up with which is a yeast soft bread with candied fruits and nuts inside. This was somewhere between that and a fruitcake. It was yummy and will be good when I’m hungry on the trip.

The flight to Harbin was diverted due to weather and did not arrive on time. I still had enough time to change into multiple layers to visit the Ice Festival. On the way there you could see people on large snow mounds making it into something for the festival. Harbin is close to the Russian border with China.

We arrived at the festival around 3 in the afternoon. The sun sets just after 4 here. So far the weather is not bad. It is cold but tolerable with layers. If course when the sun goes down….

It is negative 16 Celsius. That is around negative 5 F.

It was great to see my friends Amber and Michael on this trip. I haven’t seen them in awhile. A core group of us met and took trips together this summer. Covid-19 wreaked havoc but did give us that.

Some of the ice houses were already starting to light up when we arrived.

We went ice bicycling. It was pretty fun around this frozen track that wound through a building and under a bridge. Hard to move legs in the bulky clothes but once you find a rhythm…

There were some restaurants to stop in and get warm. While we were there the sun went down and the ice buildings were lit up.

This snow sculpture of the Buddha is my favorite of the day. It is enormous.

As the festival officially opened in February, some buildings were still being constructed. Ice from the river is brought in and cut into smaller blocks. It is 1 meter deep there. Lights are put in on the top blocks. It takes a lot of orbison to hand cut all of these blocks.

The shows they usually have are with Russian acrobats. They unfortunately could not come back to China due to covid-19 restrictions. They had finishing and dancing which the audience participated in and warmed us up.

More nighttime pictures. Eventually my phone powered down from the cold but taking my hands out to take pictures left my fingers numb!

Afterwards we removed layers at the hotel and went to a nearby neighborhood for hotpot. Yummy and just what was needed after being in the cold. Finally I drank the Harbin beer manufactured here in the actual city.

Xinchang ancient town, Christmas Eve

In the morning of the 24th we strolled the lanes, carved stone-arch bridges and old wooden buildings. They have the conserved courtyard-style architecture reminiscent of the Ming and Qing dynasties. This is a glimpse of a time when Pudong was actually a string of individual villages similar to this one.

We sampled foods including glutinous rice balls, bean cakes, warm chestnuts, and others.

We stopped at a great coffee house and had dirty coffee which was more steamed milk and dusted with chocolate. The cutest dog played fetch the whole time we were there.

We also did a lot of shopping. Beautiful antiques, jade, stone, and antiques were everywhere. Afterwards we cooked vegetarian chili, rice pudding, and snacks. My friends Tricia and Dan came to Cat’s for dinner and they brought me a stollen bread they found in Shanghai. It is a Christmas tradition and so happy to have it this year. I have some really great friends.

Active weekend with a surprise exclusive visit

The weekend started out with Japanese food with a couple friends. I played it safe on the food but did have sake. I was to travel the next morning to run a fun half marathon with friends for charity and needed to be good with what I ate. We ran so that a few new runners could set a goal of running their first event and then we added raising charity for food banks. My friends Trisha And Daniel had this great idea months ago and I was keen to join in!

The next morning I drove with two friends, Jack and Claire to Huadu which is the north part of the city. I attended my last class for the leadership assessment class as we drove using zoom. It was beautiful sunshine but much colder of late.

We ran through the ecological park that connected with other parks. I couldn’t help but stop and take a couple pictures. My time was still 2 hours and 7 minutes trying to take it slow. However I made a wrong turn and ended 2 km away from where I needed to be so had extra amount of running.

We went afterwards to a nice restaurant (Sean was gracious to let us shower at his apartment.)

After the lunch Jack drive to the Imperial Springs. It is a hot spring resort that is pretty pricey. 400 USD for a standard room and much more for the villas that have their own hot spring in the residence. Jack had a personal connection to one of the dignitaries in charge and we were given permission to enter. It was beautiful but it had much more history than its beauty.

It also has a presidential palace that dignitaries use when they visit. We were allowed to walk in the upper floors. The actual loving areas need an elevator to go below. The top buildings are meeting rooms and in the typical Chinese style of the Tang dynasty. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama have stayed here (Obama after he left office.)

A video of the view off the balcony of the main meeting room over top of the presidential quarters: https://youtu.be/wx7yFMRG2u4

We ate at the hot pot buffet restaurant. Pricey but very good food.

The next day I went for a hike with my friends Joanna. We started at baiyun and found the elevated walkway to the 5 rams park. It was beautiful and we passed through some parks I had not been to yet. The elevated paths connect the parks and then you walk through portions of the parks.

One of the parks that we went through was the Sculpture Park. We only walked along the part of the park that took us to the next section of pathway. There were quite a few sculptures in this part alone.

We also enjoyed noodle soup for lunch with handmade pulled noodles. So yummy and good on a cool day after walking.