I'm just doing my final packing for my return trip to Canada today. I've got a whole new suitcase that I picked up in Guilin, hard to believe that I bought some much stuff here. My fight leaves at 4PM (it's now 11AM so I have an hour to grab a bite to eat before I have to grab a cab for the airport). I arrive in Victoria about 10 minutes before I depart, and that's only because I have a 3-hour layover in Vancouver. Got to love the 15 hour time difference.
This morning I wandered down Qianmen Dajie (Street) to see if I could recognize the Tank Man location. I couldn't, so it must have been a few blocks south of Tian'anmen Square. Or else the government has completely completely reconstructed that block to make it unrecognizable, which wouldn't surprise me.
I've been following the news, which is very interesting these days. The Edward Snowden revalations, which make it seem that the USA, Canada, UK etc are basically no better than China when it comes to snooping and generally intrusive behaviour.
There are massive protests going on in Turkey, Brazil and Bulgaria. What do you hear of these on the Western news? China is making a big to-do over Edward Snowden. Between that and the recent visit to the space station that's all we heard about on Chinese TV. Thank goodness for VPN and international news!
See you soon Canada! It's been an interesting trip for sure. Next stop Italy, so I'll be putting my Chinese to bed and trying to learn Italian on my flight home.
谢谢中国，下次见！
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
My Hutong
My hotel is in a Hutong in Qianmen District. "Hutong" literally means "alley", but has come to refer to the old style of Beijing neighbourhood. Back in the 70's when China opened up to the world, pretty much everyone in Beijing lived in a Hutong. A Hutong was formed when people basically built their houses so close together that they formed Hutongs, or alleys, between the houses. The layout is completely random and as a result the alleyways are irregular and very confusing. Most of the larger alleys have names like "Such-and-such Hutong", but there are smaller alleyways leading off everywhere.
This is my hotel (just to the left, the "Three-Legged Frog"). This is one of the larger alleyways, and is mainly shops and restaurants. There are lots of tourists, but quite a few locals as well.
One evening I decided to wander around. Off the main drag it is just locals, with their local restaurants and businesses. It's a completely random collection, you can find pretty much anything next to pretty much anything else. Some guy will have a little stall fixing mopeds, next door could be a photocopy place, a restaurant, or a "Smokes and Liquor" convenience store.
You can peek through where they are doing some construction. A little courtyard and a bunch more houses.
One of the little alleyways. Beyond there are more, smaller alleyways, houses, and who knows what.
The night of my walk it started pouring rain (of course) so I ducked in the first restaurant I found for dinner. I only had a 100 RMB note so the server gave me a hard time. Then I wandered home in the rain. I was sort of lost so by the time I got back to the hotel I was completely soaked.
This was my visit to Beijing!
This is my hotel (just to the left, the "Three-Legged Frog"). This is one of the larger alleyways, and is mainly shops and restaurants. There are lots of tourists, but quite a few locals as well.
One evening I decided to wander around. Off the main drag it is just locals, with their local restaurants and businesses. It's a completely random collection, you can find pretty much anything next to pretty much anything else. Some guy will have a little stall fixing mopeds, next door could be a photocopy place, a restaurant, or a "Smokes and Liquor" convenience store.
You can peek through where they are doing some construction. A little courtyard and a bunch more houses.
One of the little alleyways. Beyond there are more, smaller alleyways, houses, and who knows what.
The night of my walk it started pouring rain (of course) so I ducked in the first restaurant I found for dinner. I only had a 100 RMB note so the server gave me a hard time. Then I wandered home in the rain. I was sort of lost so by the time I got back to the hotel I was completely soaked.
This was my visit to Beijing!
Last Couple of Days in Beijing
I spent my last couple of days in Beijing wandering around, and I visited a couple of sites I hadn't managed to visit last time I was in town.
My hotel is in the Qian Men district, which is just south of Tian'anmen Square. Qian Men is also the name of the gate south of the South Gate ("Qian Men" literally means "before gate") and also the name of one of the main roads leading south. I think Qian Men Street is the site of the famous "Tank Man" photograph.
The Qian Men district is a major shopping district.
Here is a bridge near my hotel. Just random equations in the middle of nowhere ...
Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Park. As well as the site of a famous temple, this is a very large park. Like all parks in China, it is full of people doing whatever they like - dancing in the grass, singing, playing badminton, whatever. The singers and dancers drag along giant speakers like the size of a small carry-on (complete with wheels and a retractable handle). They all play their music pretty loud so there is quite a din in these parks. The only place I haven't seen this is at the Summer Palace (which may be why that is still my favourite park in Beijing).
A typical Chinese road. The main commuter roads are wide and busy, and as you can see there are lanes on either side. These are mostly for bicycles and mopeds, and are very common in China, even on the smaller roads.
A treat at the Night Market at Wangfujing Street. Yes they are alive, wriggling on their spits.
The Wangfujing Night Market (during the day).
Since my hotel was south of Tian'anmen, I ended up walking through the square at least a couple of times a day. There are checkpoints to get in, and you have to pass your bag through an x-ray. There are x-rays at all subway stations too (and many historical sites) but in most places it's just a formality. At Tian'anmen however they are very strict. They search bags, open envelopes and wand people with metal detectors. If you are Chinese, that is. For foreigners they just smile and wave you through. Yesterday was unusually busy and it turned out that Chairman Mao's Mosoleum was open! I've never seen it open before. The security was extra strict, and as I found out no cameras allowed :-( So I was denied entry :-( Since I had my big camera on me I couldn't even smuggle it in (I tried though).
The National Library of China, Library of Ancient Books. I know there are other library fans out there.
Beihai Park. ("Beihai" means "North Lake".) All the lakes in Beijing are man made.
From the other side. I can't remember what this is called but it was on a postcard I sent to someone, months and months ago.
My hotel is in the Qian Men district, which is just south of Tian'anmen Square. Qian Men is also the name of the gate south of the South Gate ("Qian Men" literally means "before gate") and also the name of one of the main roads leading south. I think Qian Men Street is the site of the famous "Tank Man" photograph.
The Qian Men district is a major shopping district.
Here is a bridge near my hotel. Just random equations in the middle of nowhere ...
Tian Tan (Temple of Heaven) Park. As well as the site of a famous temple, this is a very large park. Like all parks in China, it is full of people doing whatever they like - dancing in the grass, singing, playing badminton, whatever. The singers and dancers drag along giant speakers like the size of a small carry-on (complete with wheels and a retractable handle). They all play their music pretty loud so there is quite a din in these parks. The only place I haven't seen this is at the Summer Palace (which may be why that is still my favourite park in Beijing).
A typical Chinese road. The main commuter roads are wide and busy, and as you can see there are lanes on either side. These are mostly for bicycles and mopeds, and are very common in China, even on the smaller roads.
A treat at the Night Market at Wangfujing Street. Yes they are alive, wriggling on their spits.
The Wangfujing Night Market (during the day).
Since my hotel was south of Tian'anmen, I ended up walking through the square at least a couple of times a day. There are checkpoints to get in, and you have to pass your bag through an x-ray. There are x-rays at all subway stations too (and many historical sites) but in most places it's just a formality. At Tian'anmen however they are very strict. They search bags, open envelopes and wand people with metal detectors. If you are Chinese, that is. For foreigners they just smile and wave you through. Yesterday was unusually busy and it turned out that Chairman Mao's Mosoleum was open! I've never seen it open before. The security was extra strict, and as I found out no cameras allowed :-( So I was denied entry :-( Since I had my big camera on me I couldn't even smuggle it in (I tried though).
The National Library of China, Library of Ancient Books. I know there are other library fans out there.
Beihai Park. ("Beihai" means "North Lake".) All the lakes in Beijing are man made.
From the other side. I can't remember what this is called but it was on a postcard I sent to someone, months and months ago.
Monday, 24 June 2013
The Beijing "Tea Scam"
OK I'm sure it's not just unique to Beijing ...
I was out for a stroll around Tian'anmen Square on my first afternoon back in Beijing, when I was approached by a couple of young Chinese, a teacher and one of his students. They were visiting Beijing for a week from (I forget where) and were interested in chatting with a foreigner. I was shortly heading to the Temple of Heaven and so were they, so they suggested we wander over together. Strolling through Qian Men Street (a walking boulevard popular with tourists) they spotted a tea shop and suggested we stop for a drink:
There was a scrolling marquee sign that advertised tea, coffee and:
There were steps leading downstairs and it looked kind of seedy, so I politely declined. I've talked to a few others that have fallen for this trap though (and I read about it before my trip) - the scam is that they convince you to try several "special" Chinese teas, and when the bill arrives you find that you owe several thousand RMB or more (a few hundred dollars). "What? We had no idea," your hosts exclaim. A beefy Chinese guy with a purse (that may contain a gun?) will help you pay, or escort you to an ATM. So if you are approached by young Chinese students or pretty young ladies anxious to practice their English, be careful about where you go for a tea.
Yesterday I wandered around the Temple of Heaven and then Wangfujing Street (another popular shopping area) and was approached with tea invitations four times!
"We love Canadians here in China!"
"Yes I know, pretty much every one of you has invited me out for tea."
"Would you like to come with us for a tea?"
"No thanks."
"Why not?"
"Its getting kind of expensive, all these special teas!"
I was out for a stroll around Tian'anmen Square on my first afternoon back in Beijing, when I was approached by a couple of young Chinese, a teacher and one of his students. They were visiting Beijing for a week from (I forget where) and were interested in chatting with a foreigner. I was shortly heading to the Temple of Heaven and so were they, so they suggested we wander over together. Strolling through Qian Men Street (a walking boulevard popular with tourists) they spotted a tea shop and suggested we stop for a drink:
There was a scrolling marquee sign that advertised tea, coffee and:
There were steps leading downstairs and it looked kind of seedy, so I politely declined. I've talked to a few others that have fallen for this trap though (and I read about it before my trip) - the scam is that they convince you to try several "special" Chinese teas, and when the bill arrives you find that you owe several thousand RMB or more (a few hundred dollars). "What? We had no idea," your hosts exclaim. A beefy Chinese guy with a purse (that may contain a gun?) will help you pay, or escort you to an ATM. So if you are approached by young Chinese students or pretty young ladies anxious to practice their English, be careful about where you go for a tea.
Yesterday I wandered around the Temple of Heaven and then Wangfujing Street (another popular shopping area) and was approached with tea invitations four times!
"We love Canadians here in China!"
"Yes I know, pretty much every one of you has invited me out for tea."
"Would you like to come with us for a tea?"
"No thanks."
"Why not?"
"Its getting kind of expensive, all these special teas!"
Sunday, 23 June 2013
My Weekend at the Great Wall of China
I spent the weekend in a small farmhouse near the Great Wall of China. Actually the compound used to be the village schoolhouse. It consisted of a bunch of bedrooms (that used to be small classrooms) around an open courtyard.
Our host/guide was William Lindsay, a Brit who has been living in China for the past 25 years doing research on and studying the Great Wall of China. He and his wife Qi and her brother-in-law Dragon (who did pretty much all of the cooking) pampered us very nicely for 2 days. And my greatest surprise and joy of the weekend:
The village where we stayed was in a valley that was surrounded on pretty much all sides by mountains ringed by the Great Wall. The wall hikes we did were in the same neighbourhood as the trip I did back in April, with the Hutong School. One hike was to the west and the other to the east. So I am now pretty familiar with this stretch of wall.
The first day there was a light rain. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience, although it made some of the rocks pretty slippery, and I was soaked by the end of the hike. (And even the next day, which was clear and sunny, the brush was still wet from the previous day's rain.)
<pics to come>
The second day was sunny and clear.
<pics to come>
I'll post the pics separately since I'm having trouble with my Internet (as usual!) here at my hotel. The farmhouse had no wifi or Internet of any kind, it was the first two days in China where I wasn't frustrated and cursing slow and intermittent Internet.
Our host/guide was William Lindsay, a Brit who has been living in China for the past 25 years doing research on and studying the Great Wall of China. He and his wife Qi and her brother-in-law Dragon (who did pretty much all of the cooking) pampered us very nicely for 2 days. And my greatest surprise and joy of the weekend:
The village where we stayed was in a valley that was surrounded on pretty much all sides by mountains ringed by the Great Wall. The wall hikes we did were in the same neighbourhood as the trip I did back in April, with the Hutong School. One hike was to the west and the other to the east. So I am now pretty familiar with this stretch of wall.
The first day there was a light rain. It wasn't too much of an inconvenience, although it made some of the rocks pretty slippery, and I was soaked by the end of the hike. (And even the next day, which was clear and sunny, the brush was still wet from the previous day's rain.)
<pics to come>
The second day was sunny and clear.
<pics to come>
I'll post the pics separately since I'm having trouble with my Internet (as usual!) here at my hotel. The farmhouse had no wifi or Internet of any kind, it was the first two days in China where I wasn't frustrated and cursing slow and intermittent Internet.
My Classroom Visit - a few more pics
A few pics of my visit to Sandy's class.
Sandy introduced me to his class, and his class to me, in both English and Chinese.
I told them a bunch of interesting facts about Canada, mostly about how great Victoria is and how to make maple candy.
I brought some maple candy, but the teacher wouldn't let them have any unless they asked me a question in English. Like, "Do you like Spiderman?"
"What's your favourite pet?" "What's your favourite food?" "Do you like China?" What could I say?
"Sandy, you've had enough maple candy."
My flowers. Unfortunately I couldn't take them on the plane back to Beijing.
Dinner. Me toasting with Sandy's dad and grandad. The Chinese toast constantly during dinner, if they happen to have bai jiu out (or in this case red wine).
Peace between two great nations!
Sandy introduced me to his class, and his class to me, in both English and Chinese.
I told them a bunch of interesting facts about Canada, mostly about how great Victoria is and how to make maple candy.
I brought some maple candy, but the teacher wouldn't let them have any unless they asked me a question in English. Like, "Do you like Spiderman?"
"What's your favourite pet?" "What's your favourite food?" "Do you like China?" What could I say?
"Sandy, you've had enough maple candy."
They put on a little skit for me, in English, and then the whole class sang the "ABC" song.
My flowers. Unfortunately I couldn't take them on the plane back to Beijing.
Dinner. Me toasting with Sandy's dad and grandad. The Chinese toast constantly during dinner, if they happen to have bai jiu out (or in this case red wine).
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Back to Beijing
I'm packing up my stuff and flying back to Beijing today. The school is sending a car to take me to the airport (!) and in Beijing I'm going to spend a few days (Friday through Sunday) touring the Great Wall. I've signed up with a tour with a fellow who's been doing research and conservation work for many years -http://www.wildwall.com - it's an all inclusive tour so I can just relax, eat and drink, and hike the wall for a couple of days. Then I have 3 nights in Beijing before I fly home to Canada on Wednesday. Hard to believe my China visit is almost over, but expect some great pictures of the Wild Wall in the next few days!
My Presentation
It didn't go exactly according to script, but given that it was a class of 12 year olds, it went about as well as one could expect. When it came time to give out the candy, the teacher said the kids couldn't get one unless they asked me a question in English. So I got to field 48 questions! They even gave me a bouquet of flowers, I'm not sure how I'm going to get these back to Canada ...
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
I'm going to represent Canada at my Little Brother's school tomorrow
I'm visiting my "little brother" at his school tomorrow. He is 12 years old and in grade 6 (? I think). I'm going to tell them a bunch of interesting stuff about Canada, and then give them some Canadian treats (little maple sugar candies). My Chinese teacher has been helping me with some of the complicated words and grammar.
Wish me luck! (PS if you know any interesting Canadian facts (interesting to 12 year olds) send them along!)
My presentation (with some cheat sheets for the words I have trouble remembering):
加拿大是一个非常大的地方。 比中国大。
但是加拿大人非常少。 比北京人少。加拿大有3千5百万人口。
中国有北部南部。加拿大有东部 (bu1 = area)西部。也有北部，但是很少人，所以平时说只东部西部。加拿大没有南部。
（美国在加拿大的南边。美国人说：”加拿大是美国的帽子 (mao4 zi = hat)“。加拿大人说：”美国是加拿大的短裤 (duan3 ku4 = shorts)“！）
加拿大有10个省和3个地区 (di4 qu1 = territories)。3个地区 在北部。
我住在维多利亚市 (wei3 duo1 li4 ya4 = Victoria)，在英属哥伦比亚省 (ying1 shu3 ge1 lun2 bi3 ya4 = BC)，在加拿大的西区。维多利亚是英属哥伦比亚的首府 (shou3 fu3 = provincial capitol)。附近有温哥华市 (wen1 ge1 hua2 = Vancouver)。温哥华有很多中国人，大部分是香港人。
加拿大的首都 (shou3 du1 = capitol) 是渥太华市 (wo1 tai4 hua2 = Ottawa)，在安大略省 (an1 da4 lue3 = Ontario)。在加拿大的东区。安大略的首府是多伦多市 (duo1 lun2 duo3 = Toronto)。
在安大略的东边是魁北克省 (kui2 bei3 ke4 = Quebec)。魁北克人会说法语。我的女儿住在魁北克，她是大学生。（我的儿子也是大学生。他住在维多利亚。）
在加拿大的东区有很多很有名的地方。比如说五大湖 (wu3 da4 hu2 = Great Lakes) 和尼亚加拉大瀑布 (ni2 ya3 jia1 la1 da4 pu4 bu4 = Niagra Falls)。你们知道吗？
你们觉得加拿大的冬天冷不冷？
东部的天气和西部的天气不一样。
在西部有3条山脉 (shan1 mai4 = Mountain Range)。最西边是 "coastal" 山脉。西海岸 (hai3 an4 = the coast) 的夏天不太热，冬天不太冷，很舒服。但是冬天的时候常常下雨。英文说："wet coast"。
下一条是 "interior" 山脉，很干燥 (gan1 zao4 = dry)。最后一条是 "rocky" 山脉，很有名，非常漂亮。你们知道吗？
在加拿大的东边夏天很热，冬天非常冷。常常零下30度。冬天下雪下的很大。
你们见过加拿大的国旗 (guo2 qi2 = national flag) 吗？有两个红色的条纹 (tiao2 wen2 = stripe) ，中间 (zhong1 jian1 = middle) 还有 。。。什么？
英文说："from sea to sea" （从海到海）。加拿大的西边有海，东边也有海。（为什么国旗是红色的？加拿大的国旗1967年推出 (tui1 chu1 = introduce) 了，本来是蓝色的。人们不喜欢，所以换成 (huan4 cheng2 = change) 红色的。）
在中间有枫叶，枫树的叶子，加拿大的国树。
你们知道可以用枫树生产 (sheng1 chan3 = to produce) 什么？ 你们知道枫糖吗？ 吃过吗？
魁北克生产百分之七十五的枫糖。安大略，Vermont 也生产枫糖。它们一共生产百分之九十五的枫糖。同时要看 (yao4 kan4 = depends) 天气，季节 (ji4 jie2 = season)。枫糖喜欢寒冷 (han2 leng3 = cold climate) 的冬天和暖和 (nuan3 huo = warm climate) 的春天。
秋天的时候枫叶红的时候，非常漂亮，枫叶落下来 (luo4 xia4 lai2 = fall/drop)。冬天的时候树根 (shu4 gen1 = root) 有一种液体 (ye4 ti3 = liquid/sap) 可以采集糖 (cai3 ji1 tang2 = collect sugar)。
春天来了，天气越来越暖和 (nuan3 huo = warm)，英文说："the sap starts to run" － 液体跑到树上去了。
你们知道为什么树液体到树上去了？树的液体和身体的血 (xue3 or xie3 = blood) 很像。冬天的时候树睡觉，不需要液体。春天的时候树起床，液体到树上去了。
我们可以在树干 (shu4 gan4 = tree trunk) 上钻一个洞 (zuan4 yi2 ge4 dong4 = drill a hole)，挂水桶 (gua4 shui3 tong3 = hang a bucket)，采集液体 (cai3 ji1 ye4 ti3 = collect the sap)。
（如果春天来晚了，或者来早了，如果天气太热或者太冷，这种液体就比较少，很难采集 (cai3 ji1 = collect) 得到。所以枫糖要看季节 (ji jie = season) ，天气。）
生产枫糖的方法很简单。你需要煮液体 (zhu ye ti = boil the sap)，除去水份 (chu2 qu4 shui3 fen4 = remove the water)，当水份越来越少的时候，只剩下枫糖 (zhi3 sheng4 xia4 feng1 teng2 = just remains maple syrup)。40 升 (sheng1 = litre) 液体可以生产 1 升枫糖。枫糖和蜂蜜 (feng1 mi4 = honey) 很像。加拿大人用枫糖做早饭，跟煎饼 (jian1 bing = pancake) 或者 French toast。枫糖是加拿大的特产。
如果枫糖煮 (zhu3 = boil) 很长时间 ，就可以做糖果。这就是枫糖果 (feng1 tang2 guo3 = maple candy)。你们吃过吗？
Wish me luck! (PS if you know any interesting Canadian facts (interesting to 12 year olds) send them along!)
My presentation (with some cheat sheets for the words I have trouble remembering):
加拿大是一个非常大的地方。 比中国大。
但是加拿大人非常少。 比北京人少。加拿大有3千5百万人口。
中国有北部南部。加拿大有东部 (bu1 = area)西部。也有北部，但是很少人，所以平时说只东部西部。加拿大没有南部。
（美国在加拿大的南边。美国人说：”加拿大是美国的帽子 (mao4 zi = hat)“。加拿大人说：”美国是加拿大的短裤 (duan3 ku4 = shorts)“！）
加拿大有10个省和3个地区 (di4 qu1 = territories)。3个地区 在北部。
我住在维多利亚市 (wei3 duo1 li4 ya4 = Victoria)，在英属哥伦比亚省 (ying1 shu3 ge1 lun2 bi3 ya4 = BC)，在加拿大的西区。维多利亚是英属哥伦比亚的首府 (shou3 fu3 = provincial capitol)。附近有温哥华市 (wen1 ge1 hua2 = Vancouver)。温哥华有很多中国人，大部分是香港人。
加拿大的首都 (shou3 du1 = capitol) 是渥太华市 (wo1 tai4 hua2 = Ottawa)，在安大略省 (an1 da4 lue3 = Ontario)。在加拿大的东区。安大略的首府是多伦多市 (duo1 lun2 duo3 = Toronto)。
在安大略的东边是魁北克省 (kui2 bei3 ke4 = Quebec)。魁北克人会说法语。我的女儿住在魁北克，她是大学生。（我的儿子也是大学生。他住在维多利亚。）
在加拿大的东区有很多很有名的地方。比如说五大湖 (wu3 da4 hu2 = Great Lakes) 和尼亚加拉大瀑布 (ni2 ya3 jia1 la1 da4 pu4 bu4 = Niagra Falls)。你们知道吗？
你们觉得加拿大的冬天冷不冷？
东部的天气和西部的天气不一样。
在西部有3条山脉 (shan1 mai4 = Mountain Range)。最西边是 "coastal" 山脉。西海岸 (hai3 an4 = the coast) 的夏天不太热，冬天不太冷，很舒服。但是冬天的时候常常下雨。英文说："wet coast"。
下一条是 "interior" 山脉，很干燥 (gan1 zao4 = dry)。最后一条是 "rocky" 山脉，很有名，非常漂亮。你们知道吗？
在加拿大的东边夏天很热，冬天非常冷。常常零下30度。冬天下雪下的很大。
你们见过加拿大的国旗 (guo2 qi2 = national flag) 吗？有两个红色的条纹 (tiao2 wen2 = stripe) ，中间 (zhong1 jian1 = middle) 还有 。。。什么？
英文说："from sea to sea" （从海到海）。加拿大的西边有海，东边也有海。（为什么国旗是红色的？加拿大的国旗1967年推出 (tui1 chu1 = introduce) 了，本来是蓝色的。人们不喜欢，所以换成 (huan4 cheng2 = change) 红色的。）
在中间有枫叶，枫树的叶子，加拿大的国树。
你们知道可以用枫树生产 (sheng1 chan3 = to produce) 什么？ 你们知道枫糖吗？ 吃过吗？
魁北克生产百分之七十五的枫糖。安大略，Vermont 也生产枫糖。它们一共生产百分之九十五的枫糖。同时要看 (yao4 kan4 = depends) 天气，季节 (ji4 jie2 = season)。枫糖喜欢寒冷 (han2 leng3 = cold climate) 的冬天和暖和 (nuan3 huo = warm climate) 的春天。
秋天的时候枫叶红的时候，非常漂亮，枫叶落下来 (luo4 xia4 lai2 = fall/drop)。冬天的时候树根 (shu4 gen1 = root) 有一种液体 (ye4 ti3 = liquid/sap) 可以采集糖 (cai3 ji1 tang2 = collect sugar)。
春天来了，天气越来越暖和 (nuan3 huo = warm)，英文说："the sap starts to run" － 液体跑到树上去了。
你们知道为什么树液体到树上去了？树的液体和身体的血 (xue3 or xie3 = blood) 很像。冬天的时候树睡觉，不需要液体。春天的时候树起床，液体到树上去了。
我们可以在树干 (shu4 gan4 = tree trunk) 上钻一个洞 (zuan4 yi2 ge4 dong4 = drill a hole)，挂水桶 (gua4 shui3 tong3 = hang a bucket)，采集液体 (cai3 ji1 ye4 ti3 = collect the sap)。
（如果春天来晚了，或者来早了，如果天气太热或者太冷，这种液体就比较少，很难采集 (cai3 ji1 = collect) 得到。所以枫糖要看季节 (ji jie = season) ，天气。）
生产枫糖的方法很简单。你需要煮液体 (zhu ye ti = boil the sap)，除去水份 (chu2 qu4 shui3 fen4 = remove the water)，当水份越来越少的时候，只剩下枫糖 (zhi3 sheng4 xia4 feng1 teng2 = just remains maple syrup)。40 升 (sheng1 = litre) 液体可以生产 1 升枫糖。枫糖和蜂蜜 (feng1 mi4 = honey) 很像。加拿大人用枫糖做早饭，跟煎饼 (jian1 bing = pancake) 或者 French toast。枫糖是加拿大的特产。
如果枫糖煮 (zhu3 = boil) 很长时间 ，就可以做糖果。这就是枫糖果 (feng1 tang2 guo3 = maple candy)。你们吃过吗？
Monday, 17 June 2013
Weekend Trip to Yangshuo
Yangshuo is a small town about an 60 km south of Guilin. It is one of the most popular places in China to visit, and as I found also one of the biggest tourist traps. However it was a ton of fun and I highly recommend it! If I was going to do this trip again I'd plan to spend at least a week there.
My host family was nice enough to drive me down. It was about an hour and a half by car. This is what the view looked like most of the way:
In Guilin you see the odd hill but Yangshuo is situated right in the middle of them. We went out to dinner and they ordered may local specialties:
Chicken, rice cooked in bamboo (I also had this in Kunming), stuffed tofu, veggies ...
Beer fish showed up last. 7 plates in all, for 4 of us. Then the mom pulled out 2 whole chickens (another Yangshuo specialty) and handed out plastic gloves, and we tucked in - ripped the chicken apart with our bare hands. It was a lot of fun!
Unfortunately right after dinner it started pouring rain, and my hosts decided to drive back to Guilin. I found a hotel room, then wandered about town in the rain. Did I mention it was a tourist trap? Very crowded, and with all the umbrellas it was impossible to get around. There were blocks and blocks of bars, each about 10 feet wide, each with live music, and each trying to drown out all the rest. You can imagine it was quite a din! I found a German restaurant with a covered patio ordered some dark German beer and salty peanuts, and sat back and enjoyed the show.
The next day it was still drizzling rain. Here are a couple of views of wet Yangshuo in the morning. The crowds from the night before have dissipated.
Even though it was raining, I just had one day in town, so I rented a bicycle to have a tour of the countryside. The bicycle tout told me 30 RMB, and I asked "Per hour?" "No, three hours." Huh, 5 bucks for 3 hours? She also talked me into getting a guide, 100 RMB. I figured what the heck it would be nice to not get lost for a change.
Outside of Yangshuo the countryside was very beautiful and there were lots of small villages. Despite all the mountains the roads and pathways were all very flat.
We passed through farms growing just about everything - rice, vegetables, fruit trees, etc. In some of the paddies we saw farmers planting rice. In some we saw water buffalo tilling the ground.
Here is my guide, twirling her umbrella while she waits for me to take pictures. Since it was raining I rode "Chinese style", one hand on the handlebars and one hand holding my umbrella over my head. She explained to me that 10 or 12 years ago there were very few tourists. The villagers could cut firewood and hunt. But now the government has banned logging and hunting to save the environment for the tourists, so the villagers have to buy food and wood in the city. However they all now have a much higher income and standard of living, selling goods to tourists, opening hotels and restaurants, guiding, and so forth. So a lot of villagers are building larger houses for themselves (like the white houses in the picture above). However the old mud houses stayed cool in the summer, when the temperatures regularly reach 36 degrees, and the new brick houses don't, so now they have to add air conditioning in all the new houses as well.
Here's another popular activity for tourists, sailing down the river on reed boats. The big boat in the middle is actually a floating BBQ and bar.
Most of the time (but not all) we were on paved pathways. They used to be all mud, but the government has paved most of them for the benefit of the tourists.
There are a lot of attractions to see around Yangshuo. I only had one day, so I chose to just see Assembling Dragon Cave, and spend the rest of the day cycling around the countryside. There were other caves in the vicinity but this one had the coolest name.
They actually took s through a couple of the sections of the cave by boat.
Notice all the brightly coloured lights? This cave was so busy they didn't bother turning them on and off when the tour groups when through. You could hear the announcer from the groups ahead and behind us, making it difficult to understand what was going on. (And of course everything was in Chinese. I heard that they had tour groups for foreigners but I didn't bother.)
A big underground store! You had to walk past every single vendor to get through. "Chinese people love to shop," is what my guide told me, but I think they just get strong-armed into it so often they just give up and buy stuff. Even I bought a little dragon sculpture here. However I took this opportunity to ditch my tour group and wander through the rest of the caves on my own.
This is where the cave exits. Or rather, this is where you exit after you walk through the miles and miles of souvenir stalls after exiting the cave.
Next we cycled over to "Sun Moon Hill" where there was a nice restaurant.
I ordered Yangshuo duck and stir-fried greens with mushrooms, yum! This restaurant was a recommendation of the guide, I think she was friends with the owner.
(As an aside, my guide worked the same way most of these kinds of guides work. Their guiding fee is a kind of loss leader, and then they steer you to friendly restaurants and attractions. My guide bought my Dragon Cave ticket for me (netting me a small discount off the regular price), recommended the restaurant for lunch, and signed me up for a cooking class later in the afternoon. I'm sure she got a commission off of each of these.)
More scenes of the Yangshuo countryside.
We were on a part of the trail here that had not yet been modernized. It was very muddy and very bumpy.
Back in Yangshuo. Isn't it beautiful?
As we were biking around my guide was explaining to me all the different activities that were available in Yangshuo. Apparently they even have a language school to teach foreigners Chinese! One thing that caught my attention was a cooking school. "I'd like to do that!" I said, so she immediately called her friend and signed me up.
After getting back to Yangshuo and dropping off my bike (they didn't charge me any extra, even though I was out for over 4 1/2 hours, and had paid for 3, which made me think there was probably some room for haggling) I had about an hour to kill so I picked a different pub and had a beer and a snack. I must be on holiday or something.
At the school they gave us a menu of the various dishes we could cook and we got to pick 2 meat and 1 veggie dish. Of course I insisted on "Beer Fish" (a Yangshuo favourite) and we also picked "Sichuan Beef with Mint" and "Sichuan Fried String Beans". Our teacher then took s to the market to pick up the ingredients.
My classmates. There were a couple of ladies from Tennissee, and some school kids (and a couple of moms) from Washington DC. The kids were all 8-12 years old and in a Chinese immersion program at their school in Washington. Their level of Chinese was amazing. The older kids had been studying Chinese for 4-5 years. Above we are getting a lecture on the various produce in the veggie market.
Next we went to the meat market.
Warning - some of you may want to skip the next photograph (Chinese meat market).
Some of the animals for sale. We didn't buy any of these, however we were gruesomely interested. The lady in the back is burning the hair off one of the animals with a blow torch while her friend sits and texts on her phone. They also had ducks, chickens and geese crowded into cages. They had everything else you could imagine but most of it was pre-cut in chunks.
Chef Ian getting ready to cook.
My class hard at work. First we prepared all the ingredients for the 3 dishes, and then we pulled out the woks and cooked. We each had our own wok on a gas burner and each cooked all 3 dishes.
Local Beer Fish. We used catfish but you can substitute just about any fish. It was sooooo goooddddd, even better than the beer fish I had with dinner the previous night. Probably because I cooked it with love (and extra beer and chilies).
Sichuan beef with mint and Sichuan string beans.
Right after dinner I had to run for the bus back to Guilin. I had a nice chat with my seatmate, who was thrilled to be sitting next to a foreigner, and didn't speak barely a word of English. I got home at about 10PM. It was a good day.
My host family was nice enough to drive me down. It was about an hour and a half by car. This is what the view looked like most of the way:
In Guilin you see the odd hill but Yangshuo is situated right in the middle of them. We went out to dinner and they ordered may local specialties:
Chicken, rice cooked in bamboo (I also had this in Kunming), stuffed tofu, veggies ...
Beer fish showed up last. 7 plates in all, for 4 of us. Then the mom pulled out 2 whole chickens (another Yangshuo specialty) and handed out plastic gloves, and we tucked in - ripped the chicken apart with our bare hands. It was a lot of fun!
Unfortunately right after dinner it started pouring rain, and my hosts decided to drive back to Guilin. I found a hotel room, then wandered about town in the rain. Did I mention it was a tourist trap? Very crowded, and with all the umbrellas it was impossible to get around. There were blocks and blocks of bars, each about 10 feet wide, each with live music, and each trying to drown out all the rest. You can imagine it was quite a din! I found a German restaurant with a covered patio ordered some dark German beer and salty peanuts, and sat back and enjoyed the show.
The next day it was still drizzling rain. Here are a couple of views of wet Yangshuo in the morning. The crowds from the night before have dissipated.
Even though it was raining, I just had one day in town, so I rented a bicycle to have a tour of the countryside. The bicycle tout told me 30 RMB, and I asked "Per hour?" "No, three hours." Huh, 5 bucks for 3 hours? She also talked me into getting a guide, 100 RMB. I figured what the heck it would be nice to not get lost for a change.
Outside of Yangshuo the countryside was very beautiful and there were lots of small villages. Despite all the mountains the roads and pathways were all very flat.
We passed through farms growing just about everything - rice, vegetables, fruit trees, etc. In some of the paddies we saw farmers planting rice. In some we saw water buffalo tilling the ground.
Here is my guide, twirling her umbrella while she waits for me to take pictures. Since it was raining I rode "Chinese style", one hand on the handlebars and one hand holding my umbrella over my head. She explained to me that 10 or 12 years ago there were very few tourists. The villagers could cut firewood and hunt. But now the government has banned logging and hunting to save the environment for the tourists, so the villagers have to buy food and wood in the city. However they all now have a much higher income and standard of living, selling goods to tourists, opening hotels and restaurants, guiding, and so forth. So a lot of villagers are building larger houses for themselves (like the white houses in the picture above). However the old mud houses stayed cool in the summer, when the temperatures regularly reach 36 degrees, and the new brick houses don't, so now they have to add air conditioning in all the new houses as well.
Here's another popular activity for tourists, sailing down the river on reed boats. The big boat in the middle is actually a floating BBQ and bar.
Most of the time (but not all) we were on paved pathways. They used to be all mud, but the government has paved most of them for the benefit of the tourists.
There are a lot of attractions to see around Yangshuo. I only had one day, so I chose to just see Assembling Dragon Cave, and spend the rest of the day cycling around the countryside. There were other caves in the vicinity but this one had the coolest name.
They actually took s through a couple of the sections of the cave by boat.
Notice all the brightly coloured lights? This cave was so busy they didn't bother turning them on and off when the tour groups when through. You could hear the announcer from the groups ahead and behind us, making it difficult to understand what was going on. (And of course everything was in Chinese. I heard that they had tour groups for foreigners but I didn't bother.)
A big underground store! You had to walk past every single vendor to get through. "Chinese people love to shop," is what my guide told me, but I think they just get strong-armed into it so often they just give up and buy stuff. Even I bought a little dragon sculpture here. However I took this opportunity to ditch my tour group and wander through the rest of the caves on my own.
This is where the cave exits. Or rather, this is where you exit after you walk through the miles and miles of souvenir stalls after exiting the cave.
Next we cycled over to "Sun Moon Hill" where there was a nice restaurant.
I ordered Yangshuo duck and stir-fried greens with mushrooms, yum! This restaurant was a recommendation of the guide, I think she was friends with the owner.
(As an aside, my guide worked the same way most of these kinds of guides work. Their guiding fee is a kind of loss leader, and then they steer you to friendly restaurants and attractions. My guide bought my Dragon Cave ticket for me (netting me a small discount off the regular price), recommended the restaurant for lunch, and signed me up for a cooking class later in the afternoon. I'm sure she got a commission off of each of these.)
More scenes of the Yangshuo countryside.
We were on a part of the trail here that had not yet been modernized. It was very muddy and very bumpy.
Back in Yangshuo. Isn't it beautiful?
As we were biking around my guide was explaining to me all the different activities that were available in Yangshuo. Apparently they even have a language school to teach foreigners Chinese! One thing that caught my attention was a cooking school. "I'd like to do that!" I said, so she immediately called her friend and signed me up.
After getting back to Yangshuo and dropping off my bike (they didn't charge me any extra, even though I was out for over 4 1/2 hours, and had paid for 3, which made me think there was probably some room for haggling) I had about an hour to kill so I picked a different pub and had a beer and a snack. I must be on holiday or something.
At the school they gave us a menu of the various dishes we could cook and we got to pick 2 meat and 1 veggie dish. Of course I insisted on "Beer Fish" (a Yangshuo favourite) and we also picked "Sichuan Beef with Mint" and "Sichuan Fried String Beans". Our teacher then took s to the market to pick up the ingredients.
My classmates. There were a couple of ladies from Tennissee, and some school kids (and a couple of moms) from Washington DC. The kids were all 8-12 years old and in a Chinese immersion program at their school in Washington. Their level of Chinese was amazing. The older kids had been studying Chinese for 4-5 years. Above we are getting a lecture on the various produce in the veggie market.
Next we went to the meat market.
Warning - some of you may want to skip the next photograph (Chinese meat market).
Some of the animals for sale. We didn't buy any of these, however we were gruesomely interested. The lady in the back is burning the hair off one of the animals with a blow torch while her friend sits and texts on her phone. They also had ducks, chickens and geese crowded into cages. They had everything else you could imagine but most of it was pre-cut in chunks.
Chef Ian getting ready to cook.
My class hard at work. First we prepared all the ingredients for the 3 dishes, and then we pulled out the woks and cooked. We each had our own wok on a gas burner and each cooked all 3 dishes.
Local Beer Fish. We used catfish but you can substitute just about any fish. It was sooooo goooddddd, even better than the beer fish I had with dinner the previous night. Probably because I cooked it with love (and extra beer and chilies).
Sichuan beef with mint and Sichuan string beans.
Right after dinner I had to run for the bus back to Guilin. I had a nice chat with my seatmate, who was thrilled to be sitting next to a foreigner, and didn't speak barely a word of English. I got home at about 10PM. It was a good day.
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