Chinese Muslims and Moped Cabs

Sunday, June 27
Our day started out with a trip to the Grand Mosque. Up until a few years ago, I did not know about the minority Muslim Chinese people. The early Muslims traveled here on the Silk Road, and brought their faith with them. Their architecture, their dress… even their food is an interesting blend of their Muslim heritage and the surrounding Chinese culture. Two Muslim boys ran through the courtyard, wearing their traditional caps to cover their heads, and played Kung Fu. A sign atop a pagoda in the mosque garden read, in Chinese characters, purity (one) faith- expressing the central Muslim belief in one god. Our lunch in a Muslim restaurant featured mutton (lamb), a staple of middle-eastern Muslim food, and noodles, favorite Northern Chinese food. It was delicious.
Since our afternoon was free, we headed to a Taoist temple, which was fascinating. But the cab ride back was a study in Chinese culture. No cabbie would agree to take us. Not speaking Chinese, we did not understand why. A nice gentleman explained to us that the cabbies were in the middle of shift change. No one wanted to take a group of Americans far away from their area right before the end of their shift. We finally convinced a moped cab driver to take us. Once settled in to the tiny benches and cage attached to the back of a moped, we ventured out into the crazy Chinese traffic, where traffic rules and tiny things like lane markers are never any obstacle for the Chinese drivers. One of my fellow teachers asked, “What is this we are riding in?” I’m pretty sure it is not street legal in the U.S., but we survived and enjoyed the ride, as the smaller vehicle made it possible for us to drive down some narrow streets and the breeze through the cab was delightful on this hot day.
Gift idea for the day: Brazil soccer jerseys. The World Cup is HUGE here. Another teacher and I have been looking for China national team jerseys to bring home for souvenirs. Wherever you go, you can find Brazil, Germany, and Italy, but no China. Sold out, perhaps? No. When we asked at a shop for “China Football jerseys”? Several shop attendants bust out in hysterical laughter. Finally someone explained, “China team, very bad. No one wear this. You buy Brazil?” By the way, Chinese national badminton and table tennis jerseys are readily available.

Final Gift Idea???

Before we saw the warriors, we went to factory where they make very fine copies of the Terracotta warriors. Just as with the real ones, they can replace the head with any unique face. So my gift idea for today: life-size terracotta soldiers with MY face on it, for everyone!

Terracotta Warriors

Saturday, June 26
Today was our trip to the countryside near Xi’an, where the Terracotta warriors lay hidden for thousands of years. Designed to be a force to defend the emperor in his afterlife, the foot soldiers and cavalry and chariots were forgotten until farmers, drilling for a new well, accidentally came upon the ancient force in the 70s. Many of the warriors remain buried, as the painstaking archeological work continues to this very day. While many of the warriors share the same body, each of their faces is different. The artisans made them to share the likenesses of the emperor’s real-life soldiers. Their hands grasp swords and bows and arrows that have long since disintegrated, but their faces reflect the determination of a well-trained and experienced guard worthy of an emperor.
Finally we spent the evening in the Muslim quarter. Xi’an is home to a sizable Muslim minority. Some of the best deals in town can be had here, but the crowds on this Saturday night were HUGE! We walked through the crowded alleyways and bought a few souvenirs. The evening was unusually cool and even a few raindrops fell, which the people in this dry province were surely glad to see.

Xi'an

Friday June 25
Today after an early flight (4 a.m. wake-up call) we arrived in Xi’ an (she an). Xi’an is home to the famous terra cotta warriors, which we will get to see tomorrow. But we started here with a visit to a school. I enjoyed very much observing a 5th grade math class in which every student was actively engaged and no one misbehaved for even a moment. Nonetheless, they were active, involved and excited about learning to calculate the volume of a cube.
Then we went for a short walk on the city wall, which is enormous. The wall was built during the Ming dynasty to protect the city from northern invaders. It’s much larger than any of the city walls I saw while in Europe. On Sunday Ellen and I are planning to rent bikes to ride along the top of it. It’s huge!
Finally we attended a dinner theater show, which featured music and dancing inspired by the Tang dynasty. Xi’an was the here have I heard that one before?
Gift idea of the day? Lots of raw meat lying out in the fresh air on the counter in the market. Meatloaf, anyone?

Expo

Wednesday June 23
The Shanghai Expo set an attendance record yesterday. 500,000 people waiting in line to see exhibits from around the world. Since many Chinese people are very excited about the Expo the city is full of visitors. For some Chinese, it is their only chance to “see the world”. It is very expensive for Chinese people to travel and they may not be able to acquire the necessary visa to go where they would like to go. Once they arrive at the Expo, they begin the waiting. The larger, elaborate exhibits (for example: Japan, Saudi Arabia, USA), which people have heard are good, required as much as a five hour wait. As a member of the group said, “If there wasn’t a wait, there was a very good reason why.” Those pavilions did not have much to see."
My highlight: eating kebab in a Turkish restaurant in China and speaking German with the manager, who used to live in Germany. The Turkish ice cream guy was the best. He scooped the ice cream with a 3 ½ foot long scoop and then performed tricks with the scoop pulling the cone, stuck to the scoop, right out of your hand spun it around before handing it back to you with great flair.
Also interesting, the Chinese, hot and tired, fast asleep on the benches in the shade. After a long day, in 95 degree heat, I could certainly understand that! The most popular gift idea from the expo, Haibo, the blue mascot that looks like a little man made out of toothpaste. Haibos for everyone?

Shanghai Jade Buddha Temple

Tuesday June 22
Today we arrived in Shanghai, home of the 2010 Expo. Shanghai is a city of 25 million people and right now it is busier than ever because each day hundreds of thousands of visitors arrive to experience the world through the expo exhibitions. More about the expo is to come, because we will spend our entire day there tomorrow.
Upon our arrival, our tour bus entered a narrow street, an alleyway really, which is home to the Jade Buddha Temple. An oncoming tour bus blocked the road, because it was not over far enough. The buses honked at each other until our guide said simply, “We can get out here and walk.” While waited to enter the temple the two drivers plus the driver of taxi trapped behind us, shouted at each other in the street. I imagine the conversation went something like this. “You moron, move your bus.” “No, you move your bus, I was here first…” This was remarkable because in all the traffic we have experienced, in all the times we have approached another vehicle had to stop, back up and try again, this is the first time there has been any degree of anger. Ironically, this confrontation took place in front of the home of the Buddhists monks, known for their serenity and patience.
Inside the temple complex, we observed people kowtowing (bowing down) before figures of the Buddha and bodhisattvas (lesser buddhas), lighting incense and letting it burn as an offering to the Buddha. We also saw thousands of tiny Buddhas. The Buddhas appear temporarily in the temple complex with the name of a benefactor. For a smaller donation Buddhists can tie a red ribbon to the door of the temple, or hang a red ribbon from a lantern, asking the Buddha for help.
Finally, we went to the temple tea room where we tasted a variety of teas, each having its own medicinal properties. We learned that one should always wash their tea leaves before brewing tea. This is something that even our Chinese guide did not know.

Suzhou

Monday June 21
First, we went to Lingering Garden. The home and gradens of a very wealthy family, the Lius. It is now open to the public, a very big draw for tourists because you can see there traditional architecture, furniture and, of course, the beautiful gardens including a water garden.
Next, we went to a silk factory and I got to see silk worm cocoons being unwound and prepared to be turned into beautiful silk fabric. It was interesting and I think I undertand the process better than I did before. I made videos to bring back. Later we saw ladies using silk thread in vibrant colrs embroidering intricate designs. I have never seen such amazing embroidery. For the first time I truly understand why it was for so many years that the Chinese did not want to trade with the West. Their level of artistry was so advanced, their finished products so fine that the goods available in the rest of the world were simply not needed by the Chinese people.
Finally some of us, (not me!) are getting a little tired of Chinese food. So we ate at Pizza Hut last night. The menu was huge! Besides pizza (just like the ones you can eat right there in Pendleton) they had steak on the menu! I also had green tea with pear and lilly to drink. Delicious! Finally, we got donuts from “sweet donut” which looks a lot like Duncan Donuts, but the donuts were so pretty. Intricate designs decorated the tops. And they tasted great too.
Silk Factory
Tea House
Canal Cruise
Embroidery Factory