This year I’m planning on taking a small spring break trip to Huangshan (Yellow mountains) but the beginning was spent with friends in Guangzhou. We can’t leave China yet.
I met Elaine and my friends from school Anne and Trixie at the sports center. I had told them about the fashion hub mall underneath the sports center so we were going to spend the afternoon enjoying it. You can go to this mall and spend all day and still not see everything. From entertainment, games, shopping, restaurants, a real arctic town, and crafts including pottery.
First up is taking pictures at a photo booth.
Massage chairs came in handy. After running the day before and rowing dragon boats, it was timely.
There were plenty of photo ops depicting days past in China. You can actually rent traditional clothes to take pictures in the mall.
Of course we should buy cotton candy to share.
I’ve always wanted to try one of these karaoke pods. It is really made for two but we made it work. Directions were not in English so took us some time to figure out how to find songs.
We were entertained with kids playing games.
We did some shopping including my favorite Japanese store that has great collectibles. From there we went to another mall connected through an underground passageway.
We passed through that mall to get to the poutine restaurant on the street behind. Coronaritas and French fries with toppings was an great late lunch.
From there we went to the pig Cafe I have been at previously. It was a lot of fun with more people.
At the nearby upscale mall we went to the book store. There are items from around the world including the British Museum. I liked this lucky cat which is a riff on the Chinese lucky cat. This one had its middle finger up.
There are always interesting things to see at this mall. These bicycles are mostly art.
This is an actual art installation called Flow. It was fun to watch how people use it flowing in and out as well as the flow of lights.
The weekend before I completed a 21 km walk around Guangzhou with a friend and met some new ones. I would rather run that distance than walk it!
I went to a blood drive at a hospital to make a blood donation. I have done this before and have a blood donor card in China. I could not give blood though as they just changed their rules. I would have had to give blood one more time before I turned 56 to still give blood until 60. I was pretty disappointed but at least Jack gave blood for the first time.
This is a jellied dessert in a ginger syrup. What I like about deserts here is that they are not very sweet.
We then traveled to Nansha watershed park. Even though there are very few cases here, we still wear masks and there are checkpoints to check temperature and check health codes through the app. It tracks if you have been in a high risk area. If only other countries followed what could be done to keep infection low.
The lotus flowers were beautiful.
These are the pods from the lotus and the seeds are used here as well in cooking and medicine. The root is also used for cooking.
We walked along the water to look for birds. I found egrets.
Of coarse feeding the koi was fun.
View from the tower
We then walked through the forest.
Nansha port
We walked along the road to find the seafood market.
Fisherman’s wharf
At the seafood market they displayed many catches. They also showed the eggs that are in them as well as that is a delicacy.
Local fishermen sell their catch to grab customers before they enter the seafood market. Look at the size of the oysters.
What I bought was dried squids for a snack. We had already made plans for dinner. It was a great adventure looking at the variety of fish and shellfish being sold.
After a three hour school meeting on Saturday morning (it was a great meeting), I took a long walk around the favourview neighborhood while Jack made plans for sightseeing further south. The plan was to meet my friend Morgana for trivia that night at a restaurant/bar called the GOAT in Panyu. I had been promising her for some time. Since it is an hour away we needed other things to do.
Jack suggested Nansha which is a place I have wanted to go for some time. We headed to the gardens. Walking into the garden is a canal flanked by restaurants. We stopped for a late lunch. Women and children were dressing in traditional costumes for their photos to be taken.
We ate stinky tofu (it has a fermented smell but the taste is no different). We also had sour noodles.
These lovely women were kind to let me have their picture taken with them.
Down by the shore there is a beach but only to play in the sand. There is no swimming.
Near the beach I saw a robot in a vending machine for ice cream and a few simple drinks. Of course we needed to order ice cream just to see how it works.
We walked along to Nanling tower. I am always amazed how the tree roots grow here.
The statue of the goddess is to protect the harbor and the fishermen.
The two temples can be seen and you get there after ascending a fair amount of stairs. The Pagoda is further up to the right.
Outside the entry gate house are two lions standing at the ready. Inside are two gods that can hear and see 1000 km and are protectors from enemies.
They were setting off firecrackers from donations of others to the temple.
We climbed the first set of stairs to the first temple.
We climbed more stairs to the second temple. There we saw statues of great generals who battled at sea.
At the top of the next set of stairs was the pagoda and an arsenal that protected the port.
Entrance to the artillery bunker and cannon.
The big gun. We walked one other trail that led to another bunker and very large cannon.
We should know that a path that is quickly being grown over is not being used. The path was blocked at the bottom and we had to scale down a steep embankment. It was a better alternative to climbing all the steps again.
At the bottom there was a pond with not only fish but turtles. They are a delicacy here in this part of the world but think they are safe here.
A snack of Buffalo milk yogurt with ginger. Also red bean warm dessert.
At the GOAT, we were in first place after the first round on 80’s trivia but skipped after the others especially Pixar movies. A good weekend!
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.
Officer courtyard.
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. Officer desks. Courtyard for muster. 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.
Cycle Canton also had another tour last weekend. Fei Gallery was created when a land developer had to put in a parking space but resented it. So he used half of the space for an art gallery and also a permanent installation. Outside the building a three sided surround was built with windows taken from old Hutong houses torn down from up north. He also collected artifacts to put in the windows. The locals pointed out that in the South they use different household items so he asked them to donate representative items.
I made a quick video walking around. I thought you could see through to the other side but there is indeed a mirror inside the windows.
Looking down from the second floor you can see PVC tubes that allowed you to see to the other side of the window wall where a wet market used to be.
Inside the building is art displays and a cafe.
A diorama made inside of an old TV.
We then cycled through the streets of Dongshankou. This is a very old part of the city with many beautiful buildings of mostly colonial style as foreigners chose to live here and build missionaries and schools.
The Triple Rooster is an art gallery and a cafe. I chose to drink coconut coffee which had large blocks and shavings of fresh coconut in the coffee.
Mao Tse-tung lived up here in the second floor of this building.
The Baptist church is also found here and which is unchanged from when it was built. It also has a balcony inside facing the pulpit for members or a choir. It is still currently in use today.
More images of riding around Dongshankou.
We ended at Kui Yuan gallery that is next door to wherethe Communist party headquarters was founded. There was some great art by Guangzhou artists. The floors are original and show the tile work of the day.
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.
Opera house.
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.
Mike and Amber!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.
The last few weeks were spent going to various Japanese restaurants. Here are just a couple of places.
I went out with Jack and friends Elaine, Killian, and Maiko to a Japanese restaurant that specializes in eel. It was amazing.
Fried soba noodles were delicious.
I also noted a new restaurant near me that specializes in hot pot where you dip the cooked food in a raw egg. Jack and I managed to get a table one night. I was not sure of the raw egg in terms of safety but it was yummy. It turns out the eggs are from vaccinated chickens and flown in from Japan.
This week Bernie Sanders image at the inauguration resulted in many memes. I grabbed this one of Bernie at hot pot.
They also specialize in Omurice. It is a fried rice on a plate where an omelet is cooked with the inside still runny and then when it is cut it flows over the rice. A curry sauce is spooned over top. Here is a video: https://youtu.be/PyOsGWpGk2I
I also went bowling this week with Jack. It has been over a decade since I bowled and it was fun. I won once but at least scored a little more each game we played.
This week was also a surprise at the faculty meeting. Besides the usual snacks was cheese, crackers, and caviar with wine and beer. Not sure why, but nice to have something unexpected.
Running on Sunday morning at Favorview. I like to people watch so always fun somewhere new.
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.
Taking a picture of their camera.And another…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.
Jack.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!
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.
Beautiful park in the center.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.An international hotel on the island.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.
The Garden Hotel is the oldest luxury hotel in Guangzhou. I have been there this year at the TedX conference, the AmCham ball, and the 90’s Christmas party. At that party, I won a free night stay. As I had only a few weeks to do so, I decided to do it the last weekend of vacation.
After a run to and back from my covid-19 test required to return to work, I packed up and left for Dim Sum with colleagues.
Pomegranate custard.Radishes. There were many great dishes.
Then I left to pick up Jack by Didi and headed for the Garden Hotel.
We didn’t get settled in when they sent up a snack. Phyllis dough with filling was just yummy.
We were given a pass to the executive lounge for high tea. Great snacks and tea or juice to drink.
The view from the executive lounge.Walking through the garden after tea.
We were delivered another snack to the room.
We walked around the neighborhood as it is one of the oldest in Guangzhou. There are middle eastern and african restaurants. Unfortunately as we found many of them closed due to covid-19. We had been looking for the Ethiopian restaurant, but it was closed. Instead we found a Syrian restaurant. I had Foul which is a slightly sour bean dish. Along with the hummus was a flat bread.
After dinner we went back to the executive lounge for drinks (included in the free pass). They also had Dim sum snacks.
The live entertainment was great. I requested a few songs which they knew and sang quite well like Adele’s “Rolling in the deep” and Alannis Morrisette’s “You outta know”.
Breakfast the next morning was great followers by sauna and outdoor hot tub.
I had never won anything before so a stay in a great hotel was amazing. A relaxing start to the New Year.
