Are we entering the Chinese century? During the eighteen days in China, we tried to decide. Today’s China is a winner because it joins two things that should not go together: a government of absolute power and a fast-paced market economy. China’s march to economic success started with a commitment to low-cost manufacturing. China imported […]
There is so much history in China… let’s take up the challenge to cover it briefly and discover how modern China got to where it is today. There is evidence of prehistoric man in China going back well past 50,000 years. Pottery, stonework and other signs of village life start roughly 8,000 years ago. Some […]
Our last stop in China was Shanghai. We had just two days of touring here, leaving several much-needed free days available to catch our breath. Aside from cooking classes and fan/sword-dancing, we watched an acrobat show, visited an old garden, strolled the riverside Bund and toured the well-stocked Shanghai Museum. (Luckily we had added three […]
We walked through the park watching all the couples dance by. Saturday mornings were when everyone local got together to dance at the park. You could see people of every age dancing in the main square, and more selected groups with private instructors. I watched as a group of old ladies did the most ridiculous […]
We took two cooking classes in China: the first was in Beijing (see Dumpling Daze post) and the second was in Shanghai. The cuisine in Shanghai is characterized as less sweet and slightly spicier, but is nowhere near as spicy as that found in Szechuan province. Our lesson at The Kitchen Studio focused on home […]
Well, almost. The high-speed train we took from Nanjing to Shanghai is as sleek and shiny as a silver bullet and, at 300 km/hr, goes almost as fast. Everything in China seems to be new and improved, or at least improving. Transportation is no exception. This particular train is less than a year old and […]
Our feet stuck to the giant sticky pads as powerful jets blew air all over us. Reaching the other end of the chamber, one of the accompanying employees opened the air lock. We stepped into the clean room where people in full body suits were all working at their designated stations. Most of them wore […]
Our guide Lily said, “Here it is!” We gazed up at the memorial of Sun-yat-sen, the first official president of China. It was Sun-yat-sen who helped organize the revolution to overthrow Puyi, the last emperor. The walkway was lined with trees instead of the usual sculptures of soldiers. For Sun had not wanted armed men […]
After Beijing, we entered a hectic stretch that covered three cities in six days. The first stop Xi’an was the original capital of China and is the home of the Terracotta Warriors, a variety of tasty local restaurants and a superb calligraphy school, all described elsewhere. Here we visited the Xi’an Museum to see excellent […]
During our travels we’ve shopped many a tourist stand and we hereby award a prize to the merchants of Yongshuo in the Guilin region. They are the most rapacious we have met so far! Another prize goes to the curio dealers of Xi’an. As our guide Gerard explained, they have a wide range of yesterday’s […]
We got out of the car and were immediately mobbed by old ladies waving guns around, shouting at us. My mom’s face went stony, and we tried to get away! They chased us until we were forced to stop and take out some money. Then we bought two of the first lady’s water guns and proceeded […]
We sailed up the river just as the sun dropped over the horizon. Our destination? A secluded stretch of water. Our goal? To fish with Cormorants. A Cormorant is a duck-like bird that excels at finding and catching fish. The fisherman ties a rope around their neck so they can’t swallow the fish though. It […]
Eating in China has been one of our best culinary adventures yet. This caught me by surprise because I didn’t think I really liked Chinese food. With the exception of dim sum in Chinatown, most of what I had sampled at home came slathered in a goopy brown sauce laden with soggy vegetables and tiny […]
“Hold your arms out in a big ball. Feel that you are holding the heavens and the universe. Now, breath in as you raise your arms and the universe expands. “ We listened carefully to the Tai Chi master. The family was secluded deep within the gardens of the Emperor’s Heavenly Palace, standing in a […]
We stepped in to a long glass and metal building, built around one of China’s treasures. Before us lay deep trenches running in a vertical direction. Inside these trenches there were hundreds of soldiers. These soldiers stared straight ahead, not giving us a second glance. There had clearly been some sort of attack, as smashed […]
Did you know Chinese opera singers paint their faces so they look like characters? They learn to paint theri face by practicing on paper masks. We took a class with an opera master from the Beijing Opera to learn about this and then he taught us to sing a bit of Chinese Opera. Here are […]
The Great Wall loomed large in my pantheon of must-see destinations. More than 2,000 years old, it is the single biggest man-made structure on the planet. Someone once told me you could even see it from the moon. While I believe that this assertion has been scientifically dispelled, having now visited, it remains larger than […]
Piggy had a long trek today! Where was she? Extra bonus: what do the Chinese letters on the hill mean? Send your guess to me by email! katherine@365saturdays.org
We started China in the capital city of Beijing, and started Beijing in its iconic heart – Tiananmen Square. This is famous in the West as the place where Chinses students protested for democracy in 1989, and we have read in the Western press that there are some still seeking change in China inspired by the […]
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