What I did during my summer vacation . . .

Having already reported to school nine mornings--the last five with students--and with Labor Day clocking in tomorrow, I shall here indulge in a farcically time-honored tradition:  A recounting of what I did during my summer vacation . . .

• I returned toTiananmen Square and the Forbidden City--seven years after my first visit (2004) and subsequent to China's hosting of the Summer Olympics in 2008.  Although Beijing manifests some notable changes, these two sites linger in a more timeless dimension invented by the respect, nostalgia, and perhaps even the hope that people can hold for the selective memory of history.

Group shot in Tiananmen Square in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City.

• With my friend Carolee, I learned how to navigate the Beijing subway system--a feat which greatly augmented our mobility in a city where we could not depend on taxis to stop for foreigners who probably spoke no Chinese and had little idea just where in the enormity of Beijing the desired destination might be situated.  Granted, we did have a few successful Beijing taxi experiences--usually because either the hotel or our tour leader orchestrated them.  Taxis that would stop generally wanted to forego the meter and charge a set price before the transport commenced!

• I experienced for the second time the Great Wall of China--the section known as Mutianyu on this occasion.  (In 2004 I visited the Badaling section.)  Even if the wall ultimately proved ineffective--it was breached multiple times--its symbolic legacy remains intact, both for China itself and as a testament to the imagination and ingenuity of the human spirit.

• I witnessed the awesome ranks of a terra cotta army, conceived and commissioned by a despotic ruler to guard his tomb.

• While on a bullet train between Suzhou and Shanghai, I observed the digital speedometer posted in our car steadily ascend until it recorded a top speed of 321 kph.  The view of the landscape outside blurred like it will while in a plane during those moments just before the momentum transfers from the wheels on the runway to all atmosphere.

• Also for a second time, I traveled to the DMZ--the no-man's land between North and South Korea.  Despite the splendor of the natural beauty of the area, an uneasy aura remains, reflecting perhaps the uneasy truce that originated this zone.

• At the invitation of grand-nephews, I put in some splendid trampoline time and rediscovered some forgotten trampoline technique.

• With launch support from my brothers, my sister Amy and a multitude of nieces and nephews embarked on a relaxing float atop the Henry's Fork of the Snake River at Island State Park during family reunion time.

• A legion of years has passed since I last wandered a zoo, but with my nephew Justin's family I renewed my acquaintance with said facility.  Zoos are so much more fun with kids!

• And . . . there's nothing else quite like a walk in summer with a grand-niece to hold your hand.

China #4: a Summary (continued)

3.       Night Trains: 

Interesting experiences . . . and would be quite doable overall if the toileting status were upgraded.  Actually, I’m perfectly fine with the “squatty” style of toilet—and the trains definitely incorporated the “squatty” style—but cleanliness becomes such an overwhelming issue when 50+ people are relegated to one squatty for an eight-hour journey.   (Personal bladder directive issued subsequent to perusal of the available facilities:  only ONE release authorized!)

We took two night trains—one between Beijing and Xi’an and then another between Xi’an and Suzhou.  Our tour group occupied two “hard sleeper” compartments, each compartment outfitted with six narrow bunks, three per opposing wall.  “Soft sleepers”—four-bunk compartments—are more expensive.  For some reason the first night train was more fun and provided a better night’s rest…maybe only because it was novel.  The second one, although certainly tolerable, unfolded more as a “suck-it-up” experience.

 Our tour group in the Beijing train station waiting for our train to Xi'an to be announced.

 I slept in the top bunk!

We had the "party" compartment!  Here's looking down from the top bunk to the game crew below.

4.       Xi’an (June 26 – 27):

·         Misty mountains line the eastern edge of Xi’an, where the terra cotta warriors stand at the ready, entombed with emperor who commissioned their creation.

·         Everything you have ever heard about how amazing the terra cotta warriors are—well, it’s all true.  Their presence is stunning; their conception is mind-bending.

·         The history of the people and events—factual and legendary—connected to the discovery of the terra cotta warriors in 1974, the subsequent excavations, and the development of a UNESCO cultural heritage site makes for some fascinating reading.  Check out this article.

·         Xi’an’s original city walls still stand.   These days one can circumnavigate their perimeter from on top either by foot, bicycle, or open mini-bus.  We bicycled—nine miles, round trip!

China #3: a Summary

Because I can’t quite fathom any mode that will truly encapsulate the China experience of June 19 – July 1, I shall succumb to summary—and not a very formal one either.  Numbering and bullets shall abound but within a chronological arc.  Also know that I have been to both mainland China and Hong Kong before:  The summer of 2004 I taught English for six weeks in Yangzhou, China, and this opportunity included “field trips” to Beijing and Nanjing, as well as to some smaller sites and cities near them.  A layover at Hong Kong’s airport the summer of 2006 triggered a strong desire to actually see and do the city that looked like almost a fantasy realm from the air, and in 2009 I finally did spend my Thanksgiving holiday there.  This past February I traveled to Shanghai for a long weekend and also visited Suzhou, so really only Xi’an was a totally brand new destination for this journey.  Hence, without further ado, the summary—of sorts . . .

1.       Hong Kong (June 19-22):
 Although still my favorite Asian city, Hong Kong summers are staggeringly sultry; even the most refined of ladies must forego glowing for down-right sweating.   As one who has a fascination for heavy air, perhaps even an affinity, I can carry on most satisfactorily while often my companions wilt.  I love the integration of sea, a changeable sky, peaky hills swathed in jungle green, and skyscrapers; I love the unique rhythm of a culture with a Chinese melody and a British beat; and I love the chance to sway in the upper deck of a double-decker bus as it winds through Central’s hilly terrain and then catch the sea breeze on the Star Ferry as it crosses from Central to Kowloon.

2.       Beijing (June 22-25): 

·       Carolee and I learned how to do the subway on our own.  Okay, we did have some input beforehand from the hotel staff!

·       One site Carolee and I both remembered quite clearly from our time in Beijing in 2004 was the Temple of Heaven.  Its beauty imbues a spirit of reverence.

·       The Forbidden City becomes the Imperial City once one enters.  I suppose because it is no longer “forbidden” if one has arrived inside!  All the buildings have tall thresholds—as well as mirrors—to keep out the evil spirits.  Apparently, evils spirits are short and shuffling sorts.

·       We visited—and climbed—the Mutianyu site of the Great Wall of China.  (In 2004 Carolee and I visited the other site near Beijing:  Badaling.)  Most of our Intrepid tour group walked up the “1000” stairs to the wall, although this site also has a gondola.  Then most of us took the “slide” down from the wall.  Yeah, baby, now I, too, am one who has slid down the Great Wall of China!

·       CONFESSION:  Somehow I got caught up in a Chinese TV soap opera during our days in Beijing.   Despite lacking any ability to understand the spoken language, I became entranced with the saga of Michael and Julia.  (When they instant messaged each other, those were their screen names…even if everything else they wrote was in Chinese!)  For a while I could not decide whether they were police or military.  (In China lots of people wear official-looking uniforms of various sorts.)  But I think they were military, and I think they were partners assigned to dangerous missions, and I think they fell in love, and I think they broke up (like the day before I started watching), and I think they still loved each other, and I was inordinately dismayed (and also embarrassed to be inordinately dismayed) to never know the full story!

·       There are no longer the legions of bikes on the roads like there were in 2004, yet a bike and its rider can still show up anywhere—any time.

The Temple of Heaven (a couple of hours before the rains!)

The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu)--climbing the 1000 stairs...all the way to the slide down.

The Forbidden City

And now the Imperial City.

3.     Night Trains:  (to be continued)

China #2: Food

I’ve been told I have a relatively adventurous palate.  Certainly willing to dabble with any cuisine, I will also sample pretty much any dish proffered provided it does not include any of the following:  reptiles, insects, entrails, or organs.  (Okay, I have eaten crocodile and frog legs, which, I believe, would both carry a reptilian classification.  I also liked them both!  They taste a bit like chicken with a fishy nuance but not exactly the same chicken with fishy nuance.  Both are distinctive, each holding its own unique melding of chicken/fishy nuance flavor and texture—go figure!)  Most plant-based food does not repel me intellectually or visually before sampling, although on multiple occasions I have tasted “vegetarian fare” that needs never be an included portion of my sustenance again.   Keep in mind, too, I really am not a foodie, connoisseur, or gastronome.  Mostly I just don’t like being hungry, and food that actually tastes good as it satisfies makes any day better.

In China any boundaries limiting what ingredients could constitute human victuals seemingly blur.  Case in point—check out the following photos made at a popular night market specializing in meals-on-a-stick, one located on a side street connected to the most upscale (think Gucci, Prada, etc.) shopping district in Beijing:

 So...these actually look quite edible, yes?!  Just keep walking--so to speak--as we did...

 Now, these gave me the willies!

Yummy...NOT!

On these, the scorpions wiggled and writhed.  Apparently the buyer would first select a stick to be grilled.  (And maybe then the scorpions were stilled?!!)

Still, all this said and pictured, meals in China can also include some delectably memorable eats.  Fresh ingredients—but not moving, please—and novel combinations often culminate in a most pleasurable dining experience.  One of my favorite dishes on this latest trip was kung pao chicken.  Now I’m not talking about the ubiquitous Chinese-American style kung pao chicken here.  I’ve never eaten “ kung pao” anything in America that resembled the kung pao chicken I ate in China:  chicken and peanuts in spicy sauce.  Another favorite—and its name I never learned—was this caramelized sugar sauce poured over fresh apple chunks or baked chunks of sweet potato.  Although it was always served as part of the main course, it negated any craving for dessert!

China #1: Bonnie

My sister Diane said she would like a real people story from my trip to China.  Okay, then.  Meet Bonnie, the leader of our Intrepid group tour; she would be the one person actually from China whom I came to know best:

"Bonnie," for us--but Liu Yanqin for her real life in China--grew up in a rural farming area outside of Beijing, the eldest of two children.  Because her parents were farmers in the countryside, a second child was permitted if the first one was a girl, so Bonnie has a brother six years younger.  Bonnie is thirty, although one would never guess it to look at her; only after she recounts all her studies and work experience does one realize she definitely requires at least thirty years of existence already!  She confessed at the end of our trip that our group was her first one to lead for Intrepid, but her knowledge, skill, grace, and poise certainly proved her prior involvement in the travel and tourism industry.


During our first evening together as a tour group when we commenced the conventional tour group ritual of self-introductions, Bonnie included in her own introduction that she was Buddhist.  About a week into our nine-day tour while on our second night train journey--between Xi'an and Suzhou, by the way--Bonnie and I ended up alone for maybe twenty minutes in our narrow compartment sectioned by six bunks, three on each side.  Because most Chinese do not profess religion, especially on first meetings, I suspected from the beginning that Buddhism was important to Bonnie.  As she ate a vegetarian supper that evening I asked her if her whole family is Buddhist.  No, they are not.  And then she told me the story of how she became Buddhist.  It was not a quick conversion.  She had an interest and she studied, but she also had questions and some serious doubts.  Encouraged by some Buddhist friends and monks in Beijing to do a temple stay out in the mountains, she attempted on several occasions to arrange one, but work and then her father's health crisis prevented her.  Ultimately, though, it happened.  Bonnie admitted that she arrived at the temple stay no longer particularly hopeful that it would make much difference to her conflicted state of mind, but she chose to have the experience anyway.  In the end, the monk who taught her and addressed her questions opened her up to a full conversion.  I asked Bonnie how her family accepted her conversion to Buddhism.  She replied that at first they were a little worried, especially when she became a vegetarian, too, but they had since grown to accept it. 


As we talked, I think Bonnie could tell from some of my questions and comments that faith and things of the spirit are important in my own life.  She has offered to set up a temple stay for me any time I return to China.


Bonnie and I also discussed travel and politics.  As of yet, Bonnie has never traveled outside of China, and she's currently waiting to receive her card that will allow her to go to Hong Kong.  Previously she has applied to travel to the USA and also to Europe, but both applications were denied.  According to Bonnie, one must be careful not to create a record of "denials" for international travel because then it becomes even harder to receive permission, so she has decided to wait awhile before applying again.  The fact that I worked in Seoul, Korea, on a US military base no less, fascinated her, but I also believe that she had concerns about the intent of S. Korea and the USA with regard to N. Korea.  She asked if I thought S. Korea wanted to have a war with N. Korea.  When I said no, that any war between the two Koreas would result in devastating destruction for them both, that most people just wanted to have the chance to live their lives with family and friends, with peace and prosperity, she seemed relieved.  At the end of our tour, Bonnie invited me to travel to N. Korea with her.  I mentioned that for a citizen of the USA, that would be difficult.  "Oh, no," she said, "we can cross the border from China!"