7/28/09
7-18-09: Carpets, Chinatown, The Era Show...and a great "Jim's a dork story" that is not to be missed. Please read on, and go easy on him...
Mine and my new travel partners will never forget our stay here and the new friends we made at our favorite neighborhood market around the corner...we could say we lucked out, but I think it was the pay off for the desire and determination to meet "The Real China"...right Bill?
Our day in Shanghi took us to a carpet weaving factory where Rodger showed us how the carpets are made, told us how long they took multiple artists to create, and led us to where we could buy them...the thing is, these were really, really expensive...which makes this next story that much funnier. Jim holds firm that it was DOMO'S FAULT!
While roaming around the carpet showroom Jim was sipping a bottle of water and wondering how much longer until they could press on from their current assault on the group's wallets. He was either checking the time or looking at his camera...whatever it was, he turned his wrist...the wrist connected to the hand that has holding the bottle of water! As the water tumbled out of the bottle and onto the top of a 15 ft by 20 ft rug, a rug that the group had just been informed cost in the thousands of dollars and had taken multiple weavers multiple YEARS to complete, his face he is told reflected to shock and dismay that only an action of this nature could produce. Only he, Domo, and one lucky, LUCKY!, group member was fortunate enough to witness this heart pumping event, but he was told that his face was a grand comedic sight to see. This was when Rodger showed how cool-awesome-smooth-and-in charge of all carpet existence he truly was: Jim sputtered like a 5 -year-old who had to tell his mom that he had spilled his cranberry juice on the new living room carpet"RRRRooodddgerrr, uhhhh, I, uh, ... spilled...". Rodger snapped his fingers, calmly summoned a fellow worker, and swiftly, like a well seasoned matador, wiped the carpet off the stack and had the young man dry off the water with has literally sitting politely on top of the tightly woven fibers of the elaborate carpet, a testament to the quality of their weaving prowess!!! Then Rodger just looked at me, smiled, and said "No big deal..." and walked away to find a possible PAYING customer. To say that Rodger's steely resolve was impressive would be a China-sized understatement...
After the rug experience we went China's Chinatown. The ultimate opportunity to see the same 100 items, sold at 1,000 different little tables, by 2,000 different calculator wielding sales people. As interesting as all this high octane commerce was for Domo and I once we bartered our little chess set down to about 7 dollars we chose to grab a miniature Chinese Red Bull "Vitamin Functional Drink" and walk through a park and around the outskirts of the surrounding area. This day was capped off by hanging out with the son of one of the guys working at restaurant we had dinner at that night. He didn't squeak a word, but he was able to play a fully functional game of chess for the first time after watching me show him the moves 3 times...amazing display of learning, memorization, and attention span. The gift of an mocha ice cream bar from the staff that watched us play and showered us with smiles and welcoming gaze that said "thank you..." was the best tasting meal of the trip...a trip made-up of great meals!
The evening was brought to a close with the Cirques Du Soleil style show spotlighting the culture and history of Shanghi. Domo napped on the bus and escaped kidnapping this time :-).
7-17-09: Hangzhou: West Lake boat ride, Tea Plantation, Lingyin Buddhist Temple Founded 236 A.D(the 60 ft. Buddha), Bus to Shanghi...
The tea plantation was a nice place for a rest in an air conditioned tea house and an education from the fastest tea packer in the land! She grew up on the plantation and it showed!
Our collected jaws dropped once again; this ritualistic "dropping-of-the-americans'-jaws" routine repeated itself regularly, we were to find, on this trip; as walked in and out of the ancient Buddhist temples. The 60 ft. Buddha and the smiling Buddha carved into the hillside, which survived the Cultural Revolution, were a visual representation of this culture's and religion's artistic passions and skills. But, surprisingly being allowed to walk among worshipers expressing their appreciation for their physical representations their philosophical ideologies left us with a larger memory than the 60 ft. camphor wood manmade carving ever could.
The bus ride to Shanghi was another opportunity to view the countryside, the farmland, and the change from a rural expanse to a world financial and cultural metropolitan center. Many have said that in the last decade the world has witnessed the "awakening of the sleeping giant" as China has thrust itself onto the global stage...and the dragon's head rests in Shanghi!
7/24/09
7-16-09 Lingering Garden, Silk Factory, Embroidery Factory (Amazing, but no photos allowed), Middle school meet/greet & tour, Bus ride to Hangzhou..
Domo and I could have spent as many years studying the garden of Bonsai Trees as it took them to mature to their current thick trunked grandeur...hundreds of years.
The musicians and Feng Shui inspired setting was a welcomed respite from the busyness of the cities, as well as a lull before the long bus ride awaiting us to our next garrison in Hangzou.
The silk factory was another example of the beauty that can derive from long hours of painstaking attention to detail. This art form appeared to be the epitome of toil laden expression...until we entered the embroidery factory and received an education in the eye crossing, fine-motor skill testing art of Chinese Embroidery. No photos were allowed, and after learning about what goes into these pieces, the protection of these masterpieces is more than understood. If you ever need your mind and senses blown, Google Chinese Embroidery!
The meeting at the Middle school was a great time to see that kids are kids, no matter their location on the earth. They all like video games, home cooked meals, music, technology, and sports. These students are sacrificing much freedom and relaxation to obtain a higher level of education, and I was inspired by their work ethic and broad smiles.
The ride to Hangzhou was punctuated by a stop at a rest stop/truck stop along the toll highway. There resides the most pungent and disagreeable odor Jim's nose has encountered to date, and if you know the jobs Jim's had over the years, this is an impressive statement! We believe it to be a mixture of the infamous "Stinky Tofu", Bulute (or some other fermented egg concoction), public restroom, road-weary human funk, and a produce/fish market that housed the largest frozen-salted-plastic sealed fish to ever be sold at a truck stop...in the middle of nowhere mind you. Who would be craving a 25lb frozen-salted-plastic sealed fish while driving a long stretch of highway, I have yet to conjure up a guess...but, I digress.
7/23/09
7-15-09 Arrive in Shanghi, 100k bus ride to Suzhou, Explored Tiger Hill, Drifted the Canal, Strolled though the town, and Gathered with locals as they shopped and let the shopping carts fly!!!
After meting our new guide Emily, we were introduced to Suzhou by hiking up the steps to Tiger Hill, the "Leaning Tower of Pisa" of China. The damp cloud of humidity that shrouded the stepped historic sight made it felt like we were roaming through ancient ruins in a south american rain forest, just as much as the equally impressive 7-story ancient leaning pagoda. Our mist filled breaths were exchanged for muffled "wow"-heavy exclamations as we crested the final flight to find the tower looming above us. The lush green flora that draped and framed the stone adornments that have survived the ages were intensified by the grey cloud back ground that matched the stone, leaving only the emerald leaves and vines to shine and glow in the midday light.
Our trip down the canal, which reminded the Venetian explorer Marco Polo of his hometown due to its abundance of bridges, was a divergence from the Washington D.C like surroundings we had just flown from in Beijing. The mix of old and new was palatable as we paraded through the market streets filled with mixed smells, sights, and emotions. The smiles we received were welcomed; though the final verdict was that any commerce that the tours bring to this area is positive, this experience rode the fine line between traveling and tourism for Domo and Jim...We can only hope that the smiles & dollars we left behind will make a day better for one or two of the beautiful children we met. Maybe it will fund an extra rumble on the mechanical ride outside the corner store, or will provide a cool treat to bat away the swarming heat.
Watching the new bricks being laid all along the canal's banks, the new cars parked along the road sides, and the phone lines strung across elderly looking landscapes quickly began to epitomize today's China: Modern sprouting in the damp shadows of history.
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