San Francisco

Last month I went back to the US during the Chinese New Year holiday. I took about two weeks off and spent most of that time back at home in Utah. Somewhat luckily, my flight had a 10 hour layover in San Francisco, before connecting back to Salt Lake City. Normally such a long layoff would be something to dread, but fortunately a few of my old college friends from Northwestern are living in San Francisco, turning a 10 hour layover into enough time to catch up with old friends and a quick tour of the city.

Flying the Blue Skies of the Pacific

After arriving in San Francisco, I went through customs as quickly as possible, then exited the terminal to go meet my friends. They picked me up and took me to a German restaurant for brunch. While we were waiting on the corner near the restaurant, I couldn't help but feel a bit of culture shock because of the diversity of the city. There were all different kinds of people, whereas in China it's so homogeneous. In the past I wouldn't think twice about something like that, but having spent over one year in mainland China without leaving the country, things seemed to have changed for me. Regardless, the brunch was amazing and some German sausages and potatoes were just what the doctor ordered after spending over 12 hours on a plane.

Ross, Dara, Chris, and Wes

After eating, they took me around the city a bit and showed me some of the local sites. Since Ross had just come to town for the weekend, he had to leave to go catch his flight, but Dara and Chris were able to keep showing me around, since they both live there. 

City Hall

Asian Art Museum Proves I Can't Get Away from China

We went for a hike near the bay where we could get a view of the ocean and also the Golden Gate Bridge. After being in China for so long, I couldn't help but enjoy the blue skies and breathe in deeply the fresh smelling air. Dara and Chris laughed at such behavior, but I figured I might as well embrace it.

Trail Near the Ocean

Golden Gate Bridge with Fog Rolling In

Wes Feeling Short with Chris and Dara

Light Through the Trees

Kids Playing in Foam from Crashing Waves

After the hike, Chris took us to the area where he lives called the Mission. We walked around the streets and sampled some of the local wares. There was an ice cream shop that is supposed to be one of the best around.  It had some unusual flavors and most seemed to be really tasty. The huge line out front of the shop proved that it's quite popular with the locals as well. The shop was right next to a big park, so we stopped there to relax for awhile. I was feeling the jetlag in full effect at that point and was struggling to keep it together at times.

View of San Francisco from the Park

Mission Park

Unfortunately, the day was getting close to an end. We did have enough time to grab a quick dinner before I left. We ate at a Mexican restaurant where I was able to partake of a glorious burrito, the likes of which I hadn't eaten for quite some time. After that, I had to go back to the airport and continue onward to Salt Lake City. While the time was pretty short, I really enjoyed catching up with those guys after not having seen some of them for almost two years. It was cool to get a quick glimpse of San Francisco as well and it seems like a great place to live. Thanks again to Chris and Dara for making it happen!

For more pictures, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/SanFrancisco#

Bamboo Shoots in Xialu Village

View Larger Map

About a month ago, before the Chinese New Year, I had about a week off of work in China before going back to the US. Since Chinese New Year is a time for people to go back to their hometowns and spend time with their family, lots of my coworkers were leaving the cities to go to the villages. One of my friends at work, Li Jian Qiao, asked if I wanted to go to his hometown and spend the day with him and his family. He mentioned that his parents had a bamboo garden, where we could search for some of the bamboo shoots that start growing in the springtime and are then used in cooking. Since I always enjoy going to the countryside in China and I love eating the bamboo shoots, the invitation was definitely an offer I couldn't refuse.

His hometown is an hour or two away from Hangzhou and is called Xialu Town or 夏履镇. We set off in the morning and had another one of our friends from work with us. After arriving at his home, we were greeted by his parents and also his daughter who stays with his parents. A lot of Chinese people will go to the cities for better jobs and better opportunities, and then leave their kids with the grandparents until they reach school age. That arrangement allows both the husband and wife to work full-time without paying for day care. It's a little sad in that they are often only able to see their kids on the weekends, but that's a common sacrifice for a lot of Chinese people.

The house they live in has two sides that are shared by Li's dad and his uncle. Being in China, the house is kind of walled off from the outside alley, as are most of the homes in the area. Li said that it was built sometime in the past 10-15 years. That style of building seems to be really common in the more modern village or rural areas in China. I've seen them a lot from the roadside when I've been taking buses around China, but have never really spent time near one, so it was interesting to check it out.

Alley Near Li's Home

The Li Estate

The Li Estate

Dried Duck

While we were relaxing at his house, we started partaking of the usual Chinese time killers, namely sitting in the sun, eating seeds and throwing the shells all over the ground, and drinking tea. That suited me just fine.

After awhile, we decided to go to the bamboo garden and dig for bamboo roots. All the farmers in the village have a sectioned off square of this big bamboo forest that they harvest. They cut down some of the trees as they get too large and sell the wood, as well as harvest the bamboo shoots to sell in the markets for people to eat. Since the wood is harvested only as there become too many trees, it's a very sustainable way to get wood and also some delicious shoots to eat in the springtime.

Bamboo Forest Entrance

Li's Daughter, Li Jian Qiao, and Lou Yao Lin

A Ravenous Bamboo Hunter

Bamboo Forest

Li's Bamboo Garden Area

Li with His Daughter

Since it was still pretty early in the year, there weren't a lot of bamboo shoots yet. Most of them were still underground so we had to dig down below the surface. For the most part all we could find were really small ones that weren't worth bothering about. After we had been digging for awhile, Lou got an idea from a TV show he had watched about how a lot of the bamboo shoots grow near the trees that have a lot of dead leaves around them. Sure enough, after searching a bit in areas like that we started to find a lot more. We found one big one that was worth taking home at the end.

Digging for Gold

Located a Small Bamboo Shoot

A Baby Bamboo Shoot

A Big Bamboo Shoot

Look at the Big the Fish I Caught

After we finished up at the bamboo garden, we went back to Li's house. His mom had prepared a big lunch for us and had used some bamboo shoots they had dug earlier in the cooking. There's not much better than some home cooking in China. Without trying to make myself look crazy, I took a couple pictures of the food while we were eating.

Lunch with Fish Head, Vegetables, Bamboo Shoots, and Dried Duck

We spent the afternoon walking around the village area and took part of some of the sights, sounds, and smells. Nearby, there was a large reservoir they use to store water for all the farmers in the area.

Water Reservoir

We also went into the city center that was a little further away. They had markets there and all kinds of crazy things to buy. In the market, most of the smaller livestock, such as chickens, were still alive in cages. If you wanted to buy a chicken, they would slaughter it right in front of you. That way you would know for sure that it was fresh. They had other types of dried meats, vegetables, tofu, local wine, or anything else you could imagine. Visiting these small markets is something I enjoy the most in China, just so you can see the real local life and humanity of the situation.

Woman in Alley Near City Center

Caged Chickens

Fish in Tubs

Vegetables

The Butcher Shop

Lou Negotiating the Sale of Some Local Wine

Dried, Salted Fish

Salted Pig's Head

After spending time in the city center, Lou and I headed back to Hangzhou, leaving Li at home to be with his family. It was really great to go to Li's hometown and see his family there. Being able to visit the countryside with a local makes the experience a lot better and lets you see the simple life that a lot of Chinese people still live outside the big cities. Lou and Li were very kind and showed me a great time, not to mention buying several gifts of local wares and delicacies for me and my family. I can't thank those guys enough and it will be an experience I will always remember.

For more pictures, check: http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/XialuVillage#

Christmas and New Year's in Hangzhou

In keeping with my tradition of doing all blog posts several weeks or months after the event happens, here is my Christmas and New Year's blog post. Since Christmas isn't a major holiday in China, I didn't get much vacation and wasn't able to go home for Christmas for the first time in my life. While I tried my best to enjoy the holiday season, it's just not the same without being at home. However, my family did send me a lot of the Christmas fare that I normally enjoy, which made things nicer.

 The Christmas Care Package Spread from My Family

There were a few Christmas celebrations in Hangzhou that I visited. The Sunday before Christmas there was an international Christian group's Christmas show. I didn't really know what to expect, but I figured I would at least check it out.  When I arrived, I was greeted with some raucous Christmas caroling. The music was of the get up and dance variety that we normally associate with some of the black churches in the US. It turns out that there are a large number of Africans in Hangzhou, from an array of countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Kenya. Besides that, there were a lot of people from other countries in Asia, Europe, South America, and even the good old USA. Together all these people have formed the Christian group in Hangzhou and helped to organize the event. There were probably over 200 people at the show. I have to say that the singing was fun to sit back and listen to, although they kept trying to make me get up to clap and sing along, something I was unwilling to oblige.

The first half of their Christmas show was a lot of fun with the singing, but the second half consisted of a nativity play that was done through modern dance. That part kind of lost me, since there wasn't any speaking and only strange dancing to new age music. Overall, though, it was fun to see and it was definitely the most international event I've been to in Hangzhou. I had no idea there were so many people from all over the world in Hangzhou, since normally I seldom see many foreigners in my normal day to day life. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring my camera to this Christmas show, so I have no photographic evidence to back up my claims.

On Christmas Eve, there was a big Christmas party at this Euro-American Center in Hangzhou. It was advertised on the local expat forum, so I expected somewhat of a low-key event with mostly foreigners attending. However, I was once again duped into going to a event that was anything but low key and of which 99% where Chinese. The lines for all the games were way too long to be worth playing and there were of course huge crowds for the show they had. I don't know why I expected anything different, because that's how it always is here.

Santa Does Come to China

Large Plastic Christmas Tree

Some Christmas Caroling

Chinese Christmas Punk Band?

Santa Giving Some Gifts

Just a Few People Here for the Party

On Christmas day, I didn't really do anything too special. Just watched some Christmas movies and took the day off work. That weekend, however, it actually snowed in Hangzhou for the first time since I've been in China. So at least I got to have a little snow for Christmas. It was nice to see some snowflakes falling, but it wasn't cold enough for much to stick on the ground, so it was all gone by the end of the day.

Snowflakes from My Window

One week later was of course New Year's. Since China has the separate Chinese New Year, there isn't much celebration for the other New Year. I'd say that since the holidays in China are few and far between and extremely crowded for traveling, so far they're getting about a D- in holidays. During the weekend after New Year's, I headed to the lake because we'd been having a small stretch of warm weather. Luckily, I was there in time for some nice views during the sunset over the lake.

So those were my holidays this year in China. It was fun, but not quite the same as being at home and with family. Hope everyone else enjoyed their holidays and wish everyone a great start to 2010!

Some more pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/Christmas2009InHangzhou#

http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/HangzhouWestLakeSunset#

Datong - Hanging Temple

View Inner Mongolia Trip in a larger map

The second and final day in Datong I headed to the Hanging Temple, which is an hour's ride outside of the city. Like the name suggests, the temple is in a constant state of suspension on the side of a mountain. It was built about 1500 years ago, similarly to the Yungang Grottoes, but the temple isn't in the original, crumbling form and has been renovated several times. Considering its precarious position hanging from the side of a mountain, with loads of tourists visiting everyday and the need to support their weight, it doesn't surprise me that it has been fixed up a little.

Hanging Temple (懸空寺)

Temple from a Distance

Wes and Hanging Temple

Temple from Below

Temple Side View

As you can see from the pictures, most of the temple rests on a ledge that has been carved back into the rock. However, some of the walkways and other parts are suspended merely by some thin wooden stilts. Seems pretty safe, especially with hordes of tourists loaded up on the walkways waiting to go through the temple. Because the temple is carved into the mountain, it provides a really nice cover from the elements. When walking around outside of the temple, it was really cold and windy, but inside you couldn't feel any wind and it was a lot warmer.

Stilted Walkway

Stilted Part of Temple

After walking around the areas outside of the temple, I went on the walking tour through the temple. You follow a procession of tourists through a set walking path and go over, up, and back through nearly all rooms, walkways, and areas of the temple. While it only takes a half hour or so, it's really cool to see the temple and the surrounding mountain scenery.

Hanging Temple Up Close

On Top Level of Temple

Wes with Temple and Mountains

Because it is a temple, there were also several interesting religious statues in some of the side rooms of the temple.

I Like the Angry, Blue Warlord on the Right

(This might be something similar to the good angel, bad angel situation. The white statue on the left seems to be advocating peace, the blue one on the right war, and the bronze statue in the middle listening to them, but that's just a guess.)

Black Eyed Statues

I took a bit more time to walk around and take pictures of the temple after the tour. Admittedly, a lot of the pictures look pretty much the same, but you can never have enough pictures and different angles.

Full View of Hanging Temple

Characteristic Chinese Rock Denoting Landmark with Fancy Writing (懸空寺)

After visiting the Hanging Temple, I got on a train back to Hangzhou that same afternoon. That concludes my trip to Inner Mongolia (Hohhot, Grasslands, and Desert) and Datong (Yungang Grottoes and Hanging Temple). It might have taken me three months to finish all the blog posts, but at least I finally got around to it. All told I was traveling for about 8 days and covered over 2500 miles. It was a blast and definitely a side of China I haven't seen before. I went from one side of a rail line all the way to the other side, from Hangzhou to Baotou.

Train Sign Commemorating the Inner Mongolia and Datong Trip October 2009

For more pictures of the Hanging Temple, see: http://picasaweb.google.com/wallred10/DatongHangingTemple#