Travel

Entertaining angels

/ edebock / 8 Comments

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Hebrews 13:2

We’re back in Dalian and though we’ve only been living here since late February, it really did feel like we came home today. As we settle in and get back into routine, I find myself reminiscing about the many "angels" we encountered as we travelled. They may not actually have been heavenly beings but I can’t help thinking that God brought them across our path to make our way easier and more enjoyable. I’ve mentioned some of them in previous posts.

First there was Michael who helped us find our hotel when we arrived in Jinan and later led us to a restaurant and helped us order a delicious dinner. Though he wanted to spend more time being our guide, circumstances didn’t allow it but Michael kept in touch by texting for the remainder of our trip making sure that we were fine and offering to translate or advise if we needed him to.

Then there was the gentleman who volunteered to drive us from the village of Zhujianyu to the bus station in nearby Mingshui so that we could get back to Jinan after exploring the historical site. We didn’t get his name and though we offered, he wouldn’t accept any payment for his trouble. Definitely an "angel"!

Many of the long distance buses here have someone who rides along, collecting tickets or cash from passengers as they board at various pick up stops. She often disembarks somewhere near the outskirts of the city once everyone is on board but when we rode from Jinan to Qufu, the "stewardess" stayed on board all the way. When we pulled into the Qufu bus station, 6 km outside town, she left the bus with us, found us a taxi and made sure he knew where to take us before she boarded the bus again and it continued on to its next destination. We could have managed on our own but it was much easier having an "angel" who knew the language taking care of us.

That evening, when we went out to find some supper, we encountered another one of our "angels". We were thinking about eating at the local night market where food is cooked and sold on the street. We had just started walking through the market area checking out the various things that were being prepared when Daphne, a local college student, walked up to us and asked in excellent English if she could be of any help. She advised us not to eat at the market because it might not be very healthy (exactly the same advice that our own students give us). After asking us what we enjoy eating, she suggested a restaurant, took us there, helped us order and visited with us while we ate.

The next day Aku appeared out of nowhere to act as our guide to the Confucius Temple and Mansions but I mustn’t forget to also give credit to one more Qufu "angel", our host at the tiny Bao Tai Hotel. Our room was basic; the mattress was thin, the towels tiny and at $13 a night, we couldn’t complain about the room not being made up each day. What made our stay heavenly was our host. He didn’t speak a word of English but when we arrived, he asked us through gestures if we were hungry and when we said yes, he walked us around the corner to a little restaurant. While we ordered, he headed off on his bicycle to find a map of Qufu and brought it back to the restaurant for us. Later, he was able to communicate through the translator on his computer, that we were the first Canadian guests to ever stay in his establishment and he treated us like royalty. When we came downstairs to check out yesterday morning, he insisted on driving us to the bus station himself instead of allowing us to take a taxi! Though he isn’t smiling in the photo, I think that’s the only time I saw him without one. Yes, that’s definitely the face of an "angel"!

Second day in Qufu

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If you had an entire day to do anything you wanted, what would you do? That’s the situation we found ourselves in this morning. We’d allowed ourselves two full days in Qufu thinking that one might not be enough to see all three Confucius sites that we visited yesterday.

Knowing that we had an entire day to fill, we were in no hurry to get up this morning. I haven’t been sleeping well lately largely due to the fact that I’m fighting a nasty cold so a bit of extra rest was very welcome.

Once we were up and had had a late breakfast, we went to visit another ancient temple, this one dedicated to the memory of Yan Hui, a favourite disciple of Confucius. If it were located anywhere other than almost next door to the much larger and more impressive Confucius Temple complex, it would likely draw many visitors but we were almost alone and it was very peaceful. We could actually hear the birds chirping!

The Yan Temple has been undergoing renovations over the past few years. Apparently the cost of this massive facelift prompted a hefty increase to the admission fee which, I’m assuming, resulted in even fewer visitors. We learned, however, that if we could produce our combination tickets from yesterday, we would be admitted free of charge.

In addition to enjoying the tranquility of the temple grounds, we found the renovation project quite fascinating. One of the outer buildings houses a display of photos chronicling the meticulous work that has been done. The buildings that have been completed have received much more than a new paint job. Much dismantling and rebuilding was required to replace wooden parts and roofing that had deteriorated. Many of the intricate panels were taken down, painted and put up again.

After leaving the temple, we headed over to the International Youth Hostel and rented bicycles. Leaving town, we rode out into the countryside to look at the farms where we saw corn, wheat and other crops that we couldn’t identify. Though they appear to have been seeded by machine, we saw many people, mostly women, out in the fields pulling weeds. Imagine doing that by hand on a Canadian farm! I have no idea how far we rode. I’m pretty sure my butt will be telling me about it tomorrow but it was well worth any discomfort I may have to put up with.

After an early supper, we were strolling back toward our hotel when we decided to rest for awhile on a stone bench near the main gate to the city wall, a great spot for people watching. Little did we know that we were in for an unexpected surprise. We were about to leave when someone began banging on the enormous drum atop the wall. It heralded the beginning of a gate closing ceremony complete with elaborately costumed guards, flag and lantern bearers, a herald and others we couldn’t identify. It was a perfect ending to our stay in historic Qufu!

A day with Confucius

/ edebock / 1 Comment

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.
Confucius

We left Jinan yesterday morning and travelled south by bus to Qufu (pronounce Chu Fu). Small by Chinese standards, with a population of only about 86 000 people, Qufu is famous as the hometown of the great sage, Kong Fuzi, better known to us by the westernized version of his name, Confucius.

The old walled centre of Qufu is small and easy to get around on foot but the three principle sites; the Confucius Temple, the Kong family mansions and the Confucius Forest where the great teacher and his many descendants are buried, are absolutely enormous. We spent all day today exploring them.

When we stopped at the ticket office to purchase the combination tickets that would allow us to visit all three sites, we were also thinking about hiring an English guide but before we could, we were approached by a young college student who called himself Aku, an abbreviated version of his difficult to pronounce Chinese name, who offered to act as our guide for free if we would simply use his camera to take a few pictures of him throughout the day. We agreed and found him to be a delightful and knowledgeable companion.

We started our day at the Confucius Temple, China’s second largest imperial building complex after the Forbidden City in Beijing which we hope to visit in July. The temple started out as a simple memorial hall some 2500 years ago but over the ages, it mushroomed to today’s compound which covers 327.5 acres and is 1.3 km in length from north to south.

Though there is some debate about whether Confucianism should be considered a religion or simply a system of philosophy, the temple was once a site where sacrifices were offered to Confucius. He was a great thinker, a teacher, editor, politician and a philosopher whose teachings emphasized personal and governmental morality, correct social relationships, justice, loyalty and sincerity. He was a strong proponent of ancestor worship which is something we have a hard time getting our heads around but I can’t help wondering if he ever intended that nations of people should worship him. Whether it was his intent or not, many Asian cultures including Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese have been strongly influenced by Confucianism.

After spending all morning touring the temple complex we stopped for lunch then moved on to the Confucius mansions, a maze of 450 halls, rooms, buildings and passages where his wealthy and powerful descendants lived like kings. Emperors were known to drop in for visits and a special ceremonial gate near the main entrance was opened only when this happened. The complex included administrative offices and meeting rooms, family residences, kitchens, guest rooms, studies, libraries and a treasury. A peaceful garden of flowers and greenery are found at the rear. Aku told us that his dream would be to build a home like this one in the Chinese countryside but I only coveted the garden and a few unique features like the round doorways! I could also imagine children having endless hours of fun playing hide-and-go-seek in the many passageways!

After relaxing over coffee, it was time for Aku to leave us as he had a bus to catch later in the day. We took a pedicab 2 km north to the Confucius Forest, the oldest and largest family cemetery in the world. There, Confucius and his descendants have been buried for more than 2000 years, a practice that continues up to the present time. The peaceful pine and cypress forest covers an area of more than 200 hectares. Burial mounds and memorial plaques are scattered haphazardly throughout the area. Confucius, himself, lies beneath a grassy mound enclosed by a low wall. Though most of the tourists crowded around the tomb were simply curious, there were those who knelt and others who made offerings of flowers.

After walking back to our tiny, family-run hotel where every room number begins and ends with 8, considered a lucky number by the Chinese, we’re spending a quiet evening resting our very weary feet. Our hosts don’t speak a word of English but they are clearly delighted to have us, their very first Canadian guests, staying with them.

To see what is right and not do it, is want of courage or of principle.
Confucius

Thank you, Dr. Bethune

/ edebock / 4 Comments

Over the past few years we’ve stretched our comfort zones to such an extent that we don’t really know where the edges are anymore! I’m pretty sure we stepped outside them this morning, though, when we boarded a bus and headed out into the Chinese countryside with no definite idea how we’d get back to Jinan!

The bus dropped us off beside the highway and we walked two kilometres into the historic village of Zhujiayu. After the noise and pollution of city life in China, a walk in the country was literally a breath of fresh air! The crops on either side of the road were heading out already but it was a bit too soon to tell for sure if they were barley or bearded wheat.

Walking the narrow stone streets of Zhujiayu is a journey back in time. Protected by hills on three sides and dating back to at least the Ming and Qing dynasties, it’s easy to see why it’s been used as a set for a number of movies and television dramas. Though the central street was crowded with vendors selling snacks and tacky tourist souvenirs, we were delighted to see that effort has been made to restore parts of the crumbling village including the wall that enclosed its northern flank and to bring history to life for those who visit. We watched a donkey grinding grain into course flour that was then sifted by hand and used to make the chive stuffed tortillas that we ate for lunch. They were cooked outdoors on a small clay oven.

We found the construction of the now crumbling structures fascinating. Most were built of stone from the surrounding hillsides but others were made of brick covered with a layer of some kind of plaster, a building method still in use in this country today. Beneath the tiled roofs was a thick layer of thatch that would have acted as insulation.

After spending a few hours exploring almost every nook and cranny in the village, it was time to figure out how we’d get back to Jinan. According to our trusty Lonely Planet guidebook, there might be a bus that would take us to nearby Mingshui where we could catch another bus back to Jinan. If not, we could walk back to the highway and try flagging down any bus heading back toward Jinan.

As we exited the site, we stopped at the tourist services building to see if anyone there spoke enough English to advise us. Neither of the women on duty did but one of them hustled out to find someone who could. She soon returned with three smiling men. One of them spoke a few words of English but he phoned his wife who was somewhat more fluent and by passing the phone back and forth, we learned that her advice was that we walk back to the highway and flag down a bus. After the gentlemen produced their cameras and had their pictures taken with us, we headed off to do just that.

As we exited the gate, however, we were surrounded by taxi drivers offering to drive us into Mingshui or even the entire 80 km back to Jinan. Of course, they wanted an exorbitant amount in return for their services so we quickly said no and went on our way. I soon noticed that one of the men who’d crowded around us as we talked to the taxi drivers was following us on the opposite side of the road. When we got out of earshot of the others, he crossed the road and told us in broken English that if we would wait for ten minutes while he walked home and got his car, he would drive us to the bus station in Mingshui at no cost! We’ve found over and over again that the Chinese are more than willing to do things like this for us; in fact, they seem to consider it a privilege! As he drove, he explained that one of the reasons that the Chinese love Canadians is because more than fifty years ago, a Canadian doctor helped the Chinese people very much. He was, of course, speaking of Dr. Norman Bethune who died in China in 1939 while serving as a battlefield physician during the Japanese invasion of this country. He is considered a beloved hero to this day.

Though the bus from Mingshui delivered us to an unfamiliar bus station (Jinan has at least three of them) the taxi ride back to our hotel wasn’t much longer than it would have been from the main station where we caught our outgoing bus this morning. Another adventure was complete and our comfort zones, just a little bit bigger! Thank you, Dr. Bethune!

City of Springs

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Our day began a few blocks from our hotel at Baotu Spring Park, Jinan’s most popular tourist site. "Spring" refers to the fact that the park is home to many of the 72 famous springs that are located in Jinan’s downtown district but today it could also have referred to the season and the new leaves on the the willows that overhang the many pools and the moat.

After wandering the crowded park for most of the morning, we rested our feet for almost two hours as we enjoyed a boat trip around the moat and across Daming Lake at the north end of the downtown district.

After a late lunch, we spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling along the moat and watching the crowds of holidayers enjoying their day in the sun. People here obviously don’t see very many foreigners. Everywhere we went, heads swivelled to take a second look and people pointed us out to their companions. Though few of them speak any English the word "foreigner" seems to be part of their vocabulary as we heard it often! Children seemed to be particularly startled by our strange appearance but in general, everyone seemed happy that we were out doing what they were doing, enjoying a beautiful day in a beautiful place.

One of the challenges to being in a foreign country where you don’t understand the language can be finding food. Though there are a proliferation of tiny restaurants within a few blocks of our apartment in Dalian, when it came to finding supper tonight, we couldn’t figure out where all these people ate! Though there are McDonalds and KFCs all over the place, we wanted something a little more nourishing and authentic. After a somewhat frustrating search, we found a delicious meal at a crowded and noisy food court just off the sprawling central square which I’ve also seen referred to as the livingroom of Jinan.

As "senior citizens", over the age of 60, we were able to enter Baoto Spring Park free of charge this morning, saving approximately $6.50 each! Although I laughed about being referred to as a senior citizen at the time, after being on my feet in the hot sunshine for most of the day, I feel a bit more like one this evening!

Searching for the sea

/ edebock / 4 Comments

Dalian is known for its impressive coastline and many beaches. Though I’ve lived on the Alberta prairie for well over 30 years, I’m still a coastal girl at heart and I’ve been looking forward to warmer weather so that we could begin exploring that part of the city.

When the temperature climbed to at least 15ºC each of the past two afternoons, I decided that today might finally be the day to visit the shore. The day dawned bright and sunny and though it was a little cooler, the wind wasn’t blowing. I couldn’t wait any longer!

Our Lonely Planet guidebook suggested taking the bus to Fujiazhuang Beach. From there, we could walk a combination of sidewalks and boardwalks that run along the coast to Xinghai Square, a distance of 4 or 5 km. If we wanted to, we could continue further along the seaside but we haven’t been to Xinghai Square, the biggest city square in Asia, yet so we thought we’d probably spend some time there instead.

The guidebook told us to catch bus 5 on Jiefang Lu not far from the railway station. We know that area fairly well now but we couldn’t find bus 5! After walking along Jiefang checking the various bus stops, which fortunately have signage in English as well as Chinese, we discovered that bus 22 went to Xinghai Beach so we decided to take that one and see where we ended up. As it turns out, we were about 2 km from Xinghai Square but in the opposite direction from where we intended to be. Since we don’t have a city map, we didn’t know that until after we got back to the apartment and I looked it up on Google Maps!

In the meantime, we were on a beach which was all that really mattered to me! The sound of the waves lapping the shore and the smell of the sea was exactly what I was looking for even if there was no boardwalk to stroll on. For a crisp April day, Xinghai Beach was a happening place. While not as crowded as I’m sure it will be when summer comes, there were plenty of people walking the pebbly beach, sitting in the sunshine or flying kites. While I picked up bits of sea glass to add to my collection, many of them were picking up seaweed to take home and cook for dinner! Others were fishing.

We walked the full length of the beach then wandered through an amusement park that’s located at one end. There we rode the rather squeaky and dilapidated ferris wheel in order to get a better view of the area but the windows were so badly scratched that my pictures didn’t turn out very well!

Heading back toward the bus stop hoping to retrace our route and find our way home, we noticed that the tram also ran by and stopped there. There are only three tram routes in Dalian and we hadn’t ridden one yet so when we saw that one was coming and heading in the right direction, we ran for the stop and jumped on. We didn’t know for sure where it went but we knew that it would eventually end up in the city centre. As it turned out, it was a much shorter and quicker ride than the bus would have been.

I’m still determined to do the seaside walk but it will have to wait for another day!

What does it cost?

/ edebock / 6 Comments

The official currency of China is the renminbi or RMB. The primary unit of RMB is the yuan and the terms are used interchangeably. In addition, CNY sometimes appears on price tags instead of either of the other two terms. It simply means Chinese yuan.

The value of the yuan fluctuates, of course. This morning 6.16 yuan equal one Canadian dollar which seems to be about average in recent weeks. To make calculating easier, we tend to divide prices by 6 to get an idea how much things would cost in Canadian dollars. It’s not exact but it gives us a ballpark figure and is much easier to figure out in our heads. I’ll use 6.16 (and a calculator!) for the prices I post here.

Let’s begin with our recent trip to Dandong and the Great Wall:

  • 4.5 hour bus trip from Dalian to Dandong – $31.82 per person return
  • budget hotel room with private bathroom – $21.10 per night including a sumptuous buffet breakfast for 2 – we couldn’t help joking that it was like buying breakfast and having a hotel room thrown in for free!
  • 12 km bus ride to the Great Wall – $0.97 per person
  • entrance to the Great Wall – $9.74 per person
  • taxi back to Dandong, shared by 4 people – $6.49

Obviously, for those of us who are blessed to have Canadian or American dollars in our pockets, travel in China is very inexpensive. I’m looking ahead to our upcoming Labor Day holiday at the end of this month and have learned that a return flight to the city of Yantai (one hour each way) would cost less than $140 per person including all taxes and fees.

But what about everyday living? Riding a city bus in Dalian costs 1 yuan, or approximately 16 cents and here are a few prices from our local supermarket:

  • 8 x 100 grams of yogurt – $2.09
  • 50 green tea bags – $2.09
  • 400 grams of noodles – $0.75
  • 8 large slices of hearty bread – $1.27
  • 500 mL bottle of soya sauce – $1.70
  • 500 grams of honey – $3.41
  • 2 L jug of apple juice – $4.22 ($3.86 if you buy two)
  • 330 mL can of Coke – $0.41
  • 600 mL bottle of Coke – $0.49
  • 55 gram Snickers bar – $0.57
  • 10 rolls of 3 ply toilet paper – $4.14

We buy most of our fresh food at the street market. Here’s why:

  • 9 large farm fresh eggs – $0.81
  • 6 bananas from the Philippines – $1.20
  • 1 medium zucchini – $0.31
  • 1 large head of broccoli – $1.54
  • 2 delicious cobs of fresh corn – $1.14
  • 1 kg of white rice – $0.97
  • 540 g (1.2 lb) of pork – $2.44

Buying water is not an option here as the tap water isn’t safe to drink. Bottled water is available everywhere. We have a dispenser in the kitchen and have an 18.9 L jug delivered to our door (at the top of 67 stairs) for $1.95 whenever we need one. At the supermarket, a 550 mL bottle sells for $0.13 and a 1.5 L bottle for $0.37.

Coffee, on the other hand, is quite expensive. A 200 gram bottle of Nescafe instant sells for $13.23 at the supermarket. A small cup of regular coffee can be had at KFC for under a dollar but the prices are significantly higher and vary quite considerably at western style coffee shops where you’re also paying for the ambiance. We’ve paid from $1.62 to $5.29 for Richard’s large Americano coffees and from $2.92 to $5.36 for my mochas.

We bought a basic cell phone for around $60 and we’re paying approximately $50 for internet service for the entire semester that we’ll be here. When I’m tempted to complain about how slow and unpredictable it is, I remind myself of that!

On Monday, I went for my first haircut in China. I had no idea what to expect in terms of cost. My hair was shampooed, cut by the lead stylist, washed again to get rid of all the bits of hair, then blown dry all for a grand total of $3.25 Canadian! I could have had it done by one of the other stylists for just $2.44 but at prices like that, I decided to splurge and I’m super happy with the results!

The thing to keep in mind when we marvel at prices like these ones is that we’re thinking in terms of Canadian incomes. It’s difficult to find accurate information about Chinese incomes but we understand that, at 5000 yuan (just over $800) each per month, we’re being paid very well compared to many professional people in China. When Richard picked up our paycheques this morning, he discovered that we each had to pay 6 yuan (less than $1) in tax! On top of that, we’re living in a rent free apartment. The majority of Chinese, especially those living outside the cities, are very poor and cannot imagine the luxuries that we take for granted.

One step from North Korea

/ edebock / 9 Comments

According to our Lonely Planet guidebook, after traversing the Great Wall we had two choices for returning to the parking area where we’d catch a ride back to Dandong. We could either follow the river on a narrow dirt path or choose a hiking trail along the cliff face. The couple we were travelling with expressed a preference for the easier riverside trail but I was secretly delighted when we couldn’t locate it and had to set off along the more challenging route instead! We shared it with many other people and didn’t actually see anyone below us so I’m assuming that the easier path isn’t there anymore. Instead, we looked down on the fence that ran along our side of the river and separated us from North Korea.

Even though I’ve pretty much managed to overcome my lifelong fear of heights, as we went along I was very thankful for the sturdy metal fence that provided both protection from falling and a handrail when it was needed. In places, the hike was an easy one but we also scrambled up, down and over some rocky faces that were quite challenging. Then, as we neared the end of the path, we came upon a suspension bridge! In the past, that would have finished me off but instead I was able to enjoy it and even provide encouragement for one of our companions whose fear was written all over his face.

Shortly before we reached the end of our journey, we reached the spot known as Yibukua or ‘one step across’, a particularly narrow part of the river between the two countries. Perhaps the water is high at this time of year because it would have taken more than one giant step to cross it but regardless, the barbed wire fence made it impossible for anyone foolish enough to try. Signs also made it very clear that we shouldn’t attempt to cross and if that wasn’t enough deterrent, the gun-toting North Korean soldiers patrolling in the distance definitely would be.

At no point did we feel that we were in any danger though. Chinese tourists do visit North Korea and we probably could too but I doubt that we ever will. I do feel like I should have a stamp on my passport that says that I was one step away though!

Views from the Wall

/ edebock / 2 Comments

Can you imagine having the Great Wall of China in your own backyard? We were amazed to look over the edge of a lower portion of the wall and see a small farm nestled below. Chickens scratched the bare ground, small fields waited for seed and trees grew on the terraced hillside while the wall towered above. That’s some windbreak!

As we began to climb, we could see a small Chinese village nearby, its red roofs standing out against the brown of early spring, and when we reached the peak, a narrow branch of the Yalu River wound its way across the landscape spread out below. On the North Korean side of the river, flat agricultural land disappeared into the distant haze. The scene was deceptively peaceful considering the tension that that country is visiting on the world stage today.

Great Wall, fantastic experience!

/ edebock / 7 Comments

How can I possibly put the Great Wall of China, the most enormous construction project in human history, into words that truly do it justice? For most of my life I couldn’t possibly have imagined that I would one day stand on this historic structure but that’s exactly what I did on Friday morning!

Known as Tiger Mountain Great Wall, the segment of the wall located about 12 km northeast of Dandong sees far fewer tourists than the sections that are closer to Beijing. Built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1664), it runs parallel to the North Korean border and is the easternmost section of the Great Wall. Buffeted by wind and rain for more than 500 years, the wall had fallen into ruin until a large scale restoration project was begun in 1992. Now fully restored, it snakes its way up the steep mountainside to a height of 146.3 metres. One of three watchtowers stands like a beacon at the peak and provides a panoramic view across the Yalu River and into North Korea. From the peak, the wall makes a quick descent down the back side of the mountain ending near a narrow branch of the river.

As we left our bus and walked up the road toward it, seeing the Great Wall winding its way up the hillside in the morning mist was an absolute thrill. Of course, we couldn’t help wondering how well our old knees would handle the climb but I think the sheer exhilaration of being there helped carry us up the steep incline.

The forecast called for rain on Friday but Colleen (the redhead in one of the photos) and I are convinced that the umbrellas in my backpack and the rain cape in her bag were good luck charms as the weather was great; not too warm or too cold, no wind and not a drop of rain all day!

Since it was a holiday in China, we shared the wall with many other people but it wasn’t overly crowded and there was a wonderful sense of camaraderie as we shared this incredible experience with one another. We only heard a few words of English all day but plenty of delighted laughter as people huffed and puffed their way up the steep cement stairs that made up much of the climb. There were also high fives given as well as the universal thumbs up sign.

After reaching the far end of the wall, we enjoyed a fairly challenging hike back to our starting point but I’ll tell you more about that in a future post. For now though, I’m happy to say that our knees survived both the wall and the hike and we weren’t even sore afterward. Obviously, climbing the 67 stairs up to our apartment more than once a day for the past six weeks was excellent preparation!