Today (Friday July 11th), is the first day of three which we will be getting full day tours of different parts of China.
First, we head over to the local water purification plant for them to show us the strides they are making towards a cleaner environment. Step-by-step we saw near-raw sewage turn to clear water. They sort out anything from the water that is larger that 2 micrometers, which includes fertilizers, smog, bacteria, and just about anything other than pesticides and herbicides that make the water non-potable. This was very reassuring because I didn't know why we were allowed to shower but not drink the water; I assumed that we were bathing in strange diseases and bacteria, but instead its mainly water and should keep the bugs (and plants?) off our bodies. 90% of China's usable water comes from these factories, so they need to filter them as much as possible, good to know albeit a little boring to tour.
Second, we eat lunch downtown then head out towards rural China. They have an entire village set up for us named Xiang Tang or New Culture Village. As we drive through we are told that Xiang Tang enjoys 100% employment, large houses, and is largely self sufficient - a model of excellence for other towns and villages to attempt to copy. Before entering the town, we stop at toilets, on the way out I say "Go Sox!" to a kid wearing a Boston Red Sox hat. After chatting for three seconds it turns out he was a fellow Lincoln-Sudbury alum!
Driving around, it is apparent that money is no problem for this town; there are large houses with satellite dishes on the roofs, and there is a beautiful golf course that is part of a 100,000 quai per year country club. After our tour we take, our first stop within the village at a retirement home of sorts; while staying here, the old people of the town - including one 102-year-old lady - are able to live comfortably playing chess amongst open gardens full of roses and chickens. Once our entire group has huddled into the main room of the complex, the seniors joyfully belt out a tune thanking us for our arrival and commitment to their Olympic Games. Steve took a swell video of it, I'll try and get a link for that asap. We walked from the senior center next door to a tai chi training center, where a dozen or so folks went through a ritual to music in front of our group (yet again Steve has a video). From there we went into a school of calligraphy and art, where we saw some scholars working their craft. The Chinese traditional style of painting uses water color to create vague images in the background while using ink to fill in details for the primary images in the foreground - very interesting and beautiful.
The last trip we made before leaving Xiang Tang was to the Buddhist Temple. Entering through an intricate decorated red and gold wooden archway, we gaze upon an unbelievable walkway of elegantly placed bricks leading up to a pool with fountains. We walked up the stairs around the waterfalls and approached the main temples. Guarded by four warriors (from the North, South, East, and West) sat a large golden Buddha. No photographs are allowed within these sacred temples; very unfortunate because these were some of the most awe inspiring statues I have ever seen. In the main temple, three of these huge golden Buddhas sat very comfortably before me, even though they were constructed in the 1400s, they seemingly have lost none of their luster. The four warriors are impressive as well, at least eight feet in height each with a different weapon (sword, mace, lute, and halberd) stepping on the head of demons, ready to battle any foe from this world or the next. If they don't want me taking pictures of the Buddhas, I won't cross them.
After a long ride back, we ate a delicious dinner featuring Peking Duck at a nice restaurant downtown. Everyday I spend here is another I never want to forget.
Monday, July 14, 2008
The Winter/Old Summer Palace
As you can see my colleague, roomie, and brother from another mother Steve will now be presenting his own observations and incites to the Scublog from this point onwards; I will now pick up where he left off...
After playing basketball with some Beijing Sport University students (Sidenote: just as in the US, you don't wear a jersey to the court unless you bring some serious game. Of the eight of us there, our new Chinese friend sporting a Vince Carter throwback jersey was one of the two best players on the court, cutting to the basket or making threes at will.) and ate lunch, we headed over to the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan also known as the Winter Palace or the Old Summer Palace. Originally over 864 acres, most of the property was burned and pillaged by the Anglo-French Allied Forces (didn't they hate each other) during the Opium War of 1860. What remains is a variety of beautiful bridges and a hodgepodge of salvaged objects. While wandering Mario, Billy, Steve, and I broke off from the main group to explore an exhibit aside from the beaten path. There we got our picture taken by a Chinese kid who spoke a little English but was fluent in Russian. I encourage you to look at the pictures I have on my Picasa site, (and I'll try to get some of Steve's too, his are good) what remained on the palace grounds was unique, intricate, and exquisite; one can only imagine how glorious this area would've been had Westerners not brought the place to ruins. After meeting up with the main group again, we tried to go back to the university. However, the maps were a tad confusing and, while Mario could communicate with the workers through writing, (she's Japanese and the two written languages are very similar while their spoken are not) we got lost for about an hour or two, thoroughly wearing out our legs and minds.
Once we got back, I learned that we'll all be taking turns blogging for the Ithaca website - the link for which I will post on the side. Afterwards, we headed to the cafeteria to meet up with students from Delaware State who've lived in Beijing for five months and are leaving in a couple weeks. After soaking up tips about this foriegn city, language, and culture, they offered to take us out to Wudouko for some nightlife. It was a nice change of pace from all China, all the time but I'm ready dive back in tomorrow.
After playing basketball with some Beijing Sport University students (Sidenote: just as in the US, you don't wear a jersey to the court unless you bring some serious game. Of the eight of us there, our new Chinese friend sporting a Vince Carter throwback jersey was one of the two best players on the court, cutting to the basket or making threes at will.) and ate lunch, we headed over to the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan also known as the Winter Palace or the Old Summer Palace. Originally over 864 acres, most of the property was burned and pillaged by the Anglo-French Allied Forces (didn't they hate each other) during the Opium War of 1860. What remains is a variety of beautiful bridges and a hodgepodge of salvaged objects. While wandering Mario, Billy, Steve, and I broke off from the main group to explore an exhibit aside from the beaten path. There we got our picture taken by a Chinese kid who spoke a little English but was fluent in Russian. I encourage you to look at the pictures I have on my Picasa site, (and I'll try to get some of Steve's too, his are good) what remained on the palace grounds was unique, intricate, and exquisite; one can only imagine how glorious this area would've been had Westerners not brought the place to ruins. After meeting up with the main group again, we tried to go back to the university. However, the maps were a tad confusing and, while Mario could communicate with the workers through writing, (she's Japanese and the two written languages are very similar while their spoken are not) we got lost for about an hour or two, thoroughly wearing out our legs and minds.
Once we got back, I learned that we'll all be taking turns blogging for the Ithaca website - the link for which I will post on the side. Afterwards, we headed to the cafeteria to meet up with students from Delaware State who've lived in Beijing for five months and are leaving in a couple weeks. After soaking up tips about this foriegn city, language, and culture, they offered to take us out to Wudouko for some nightlife. It was a nice change of pace from all China, all the time but I'm ready dive back in tomorrow.
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