Panda Heaven

A highlight of our stay in Chengdu was a half day stop at their renowned Panda Breeding Center, a world class research and breeding facility on the edge of town. For a variety of reasons, giant pandas are notoriously difficult to breed. This center, the closest of several research centers and preserves in the Chengdu area dedicated to panda research, has an enviable record at successful births, with one supermom recording more than 10 babies.





The center is located a beautifully landscaped facility that uses walls of bamboo to lead visitors into the central area housing the giant pandas. We first went to the area where young adults were just settling into their morning feeding of specially grown bamboo pods. The four adolescents that were out when we arrived were very laid back, seemingly comfortable with endless waves of tourists who come in to gawk. With all the food they could consume at their feet, they were content to lay back and enjoy the show of oohs and aahs. There was a little bit of stealing going on, but nothing too provocative. They have a wonderful enclosure that allows them ample space to play and move around. Amazing, beautiful animals – a gift to see so many of them enjoying each other so much.


After the adults, we moved to the main event, the enclosure with the cubs. These little balls of fur were so cute as they chased each other, and their caregiver, around their equally spacious and generously supplied play area. There were probably about 8 of them in total – running in and out of their indoor play area, interacting with the attendants. They seemed less aware of our presence than the adults and were much more mobile. We watched several of them climbing the structure, wrestling and playing on the slide. In an adjacent cage, visitors were able to pay to have their picture taken with the older adults, an option that we declined.





The research center also includes a rather large area for red pandas, a raccoon like animal that is related (through their mutual love for bamboo) to the giant pandas. Not nearly as cute, these isolated animals are placed in large pens that force them into unnatural proximity that leaves some of the red pandas earless - tell tale signs of a secret pecking order.





We watched them for a bit before going to a theater where they showed an informative video on their breeding habits and the work of the research center to help increase their numbers. Our half day tour ended with a quick trip through the museum where you could find out more about this odd, 6 million year old creature that has transformed itself from an aggressive carnivore to such a docile symbol of the need for global efforts to protect increasingly fragile ecosystems.

Our trip to Chengdu---Day One and Two

We have just returned from our trip to the southwest province of Sichuan. It was fantastic! Let us tell you a little about our trip. We left on Saturday morning on a plane. It took only one hour to get there. When we arrived, we went straight to our guesthouse. Our guesthouse looked like a regular building on the outside but inside the courtyard it was magnificant! There was a garden and a pond and lots of animals. For example, frogs, fish, rabbits, kittens, and guinea pigs. They also had toys for kids, books to read and swap. They also had a great kitchen where they made Chinese, Sichuan food and FRENCH fries!!!





On our first day there, we relaxed and went to an ancient temple. We heard monks chanting. It was a very peaceful place. On our second day we went to a nearby mountain and hiked up for about 4 hours. When we got to the top, it was an amazing sight...although almost everything was blocked by mist..you could smell all the green. Along the way were little villages where you could sleep or buy food but we wanted to go all the way to the White Cloud Temple. And we made it!!!






By 5:30 we were at the monastery. There were no other tourists there so it was just us and the monks and the people who took care of the temple. After we told them we wanted to spend the night, they showed us our rooms which were quite nice if simple. We had dinner with the monks..after they finished praying and then did some drawing and reading while looking over the mountain.



In the morning we woke to the sound of a gong...before sunrise and then had breakfast with the monks. It was also Hana's 11th birthday. It was a fun way to spend her birthday.



Going down the mountain my mom had a nervous breakdown. Every second my mom would order Hana to hold onto the rail (and Dad would keep telling my mom that it would be ok). I , on the other hand, was not nervous. My sister wasn't either. We counted over 6,200 steps going down.

When we got down the mountain, my mom started crying saying that we were so lucky to be alive.





We went back to Chengdu and our guesthouse to attend the Opera. The Sichuan Opera was fire-spitting, mask-changing and jaw-dropping. The acrobats were cool; the two women laid down on their backs and rolled a table on their feet and also a huge container made out of wood. It was amazing!!!


Ok. We will put up some pictures soon...of the monastery, pandas, monks, the mountain and then an ancient village that is not even on the maps!!!


Julia and Mom
(with pics by Dad)

Pollution

Everyone talks about the pollution in China. I am not sure any of us has really addressed this in much detail...and I won't here. All I wanted to say is that as I look out the window of my office today, I can't see beyond the building that is right next door. Usually, I can a soccer field that is near the office as well as numerous buildings on campus and beyond but today, for whatever reason, the whole city is caught in a brown, dust-like fog. We thought it would rain today but so far only more and more dust particles and heavy air.

Jeff went out for a run; I can't imagine that he' go far.

Beyond the trees, I see absolutely nothing though I can hear construction site noise on three sides. Not sure why the weather suddenly changed today; yesterday it was bright and in the 70s but today we could cut the air with a knife.

Ah, spring in Xi'an!

A Field Trip at School By Julia

Prologue: Today, I had a field trip with my class. Here are some of the things we did but also how I felt about the trip.

This afternoon we walked from our school to Jiaotong University. It took about 20 minutes to get there. Since everyone was singing on our walk there, I didn't get tired at all. Although I didn't know the words and couldn't sing, it was very pretty. My teacher had a tiny silver whistle to keep the kids attention (there are about 65 kids in my class and there were only two teachers). The whole first grade went on this trip and our class got to be at the front of the line.

The most important thing in China is sharing food, and that is what we all did on our field trip. At different points during our field trip we would stop and share our food ( three quarters of what I ate was from other kids). The snacks: included sugar-coated dried fruit, chips (that's what I brought), mousse jelly (yogurt on the top, jello on the bottom and fruit in the middle). My favorite new snack was afrench fry like snack coated with tomato.

We also did a lot of playing which included: a tag-like game where the person who is it wears a crown, catching something that felt like silk that was from a dandolion.

The biggest difference between American and Chinese kids is that Chinese kids cooperate a lot more than American kids. They share a lot, they form lines easily, they usually hold hands as we exit the school gates and at recess time, they always play together nicely. Maybe it is because of China's population; with so many people, they need to cooperate more.

The reason I liked this trip so much was the feasting and the playing. I am still struggling with trying to know what people are saying to me because I feel badly if I don't answer them. Here are some of the words and sentences I now know in Chinese and use almost every day:
1. hello
2. let's go outside and play
3. I am Julia ...wo shi Julia
4. i need to go to the bathroom...wo men cho cho wen ba...
5. can i borrow your pencil...je wo ee jer bee
6. good bye...zi dian
7. my sister's name is hana...ta shi hana.
8. hello teacher...lou shi how
9. i love my mom, dad and sister..wo i eye...mamam,..wo eye..baba...wo eye jeje
10. do not touch me! ..ba dong..wo
11. see you tomorrow...ming tien jen
12. can you or can you not give me homework today....ni neng bu neng gao su wo jia ting zuo ye.

So...as you can see, I am really starting to speak Chinese...

I miss you all...my family, my class and all of my friends!!!

The Uses of Adversity

A long time ago, back in our Polish Communist days, I read a good deal of Timothy Garton Ash who wrote a great essay about Uses of Adversity and life in communist countries. I find it so relevant here.

I had a most interesting class today and the long and short of it is that already (after a brief 6 weeks), I have discovered that there are least two Chinas. Both live side by side, everyone knows they both exist, they accept this and continue to live as if there were really only one China. The one China is the one that everyone talks about; it is not just the official line, but it is also what people tell themselves, everyday and on lots of levels. There are too many examples to focus on one but what happens is that everyone is searching, desperately for everything to work out, go smoothly, be positive and good...something they can say, "yes this is working," "see our economy is moving forward", peace will prevail in the world. This official China and the one that exists politically but also the one adopted my most in society.

The other China is what really happens everyday and everyone knows it. ..it is that life here remains so hard, people are struggling, their apartments are so small and every decision has to be approved by someone. Their lives are controlled, decisions are imposed on them, and they know their limits. Everyone is aware of this second reality but they also know that there is so little or nothing they can do to change this. So, why acknowledge it? What can one person do to change a place/culture/society like China. This is the reality: things don't work as the plan suggests, most people cannot buy most of the luxury goods that fill the shop and everyone is "coloring within the lines" only because they know what will happen if they don't. Yet, this reality is truly so awful and so unlikely to change, why bother getting it to it..why bother even acknowledging it. Instead, focus on the positive and go around the lines when you can and hope you don't get caught.

I learned much of my Polish by hearing and practising how to complain about communist life, politics and the unfairness of the world. I would sit with friends and hear about their lives, the choices they were forced to make, the lack of opportunities and their sacrifices and the indignity they had to face in so many ways we as Americans could not imagine.. Often, there was not even a bathroom in the apartment...but at these times, when we were all together, eating, drinking and bonding...nothing else seemed to matter. At least together we had reality and at least when we were together we were not forced to "live within the lie".

There were many uses and lessons for adversity.

Today was the first day that a few students confided in me that they too acknowledged this second China...moreover, they long for change and even more opening up. I don't think they had anything particular in mind but I just think they long for more opportunity to express themselves as individuals.

Yet, if you come here for a short visit, I think you would be most surprised by the smiles, the kindness and the optimism...everyone is indeed hopeful and China will march on and they will march together. Where the Chinese march to and how long it takes is anyone's guess but what is not is that even if they don't say it or won't even directly address the multitude of problems, discomfort or indignities they face, everyone, underneath it all, knows there are at least two Chinas.

I continue to wonder if I will have any of these Poland-like bonding sessions, will our knowledge of China stay as superficial as some would like it to be...Jeff says that he will not go to another huge feast where we all sit around the table and compliment each other excessively and then eat and eat...and at the end share some "real thoughts" through toasts.

I can see what adversity has done for so many Chinese..they are incredibly hard working and unbelievably competitive (imagine how difficult everything is when you have to compete against 1.3 billion) but what else will it do...for them? our girls? us?

Pingyao

We took our first trip out of Xi’an last week to the town of Pingyao, an incredibly quaint UNESCO world heritage site that has an unique collection of consistent Ming / Qing era architecture, within the reach of an overnight train from Xian. Rather than add to the number of words on this blog, as it seems we've been a bit wordy of late, I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking...



Here are my travel partners adapting to local custom – great alleys and entrance ways to secluded courtyards.





Pingyao’s calling card is a consistent architectural style that represents a step back in time. It’s said to have China's only remaining original, intact Ming era wall circling the old town center. It has a quiet, laid back feel was such a nice break from the fast pace China’s major cities.

Quick fact – did you know that by 2020, China expects to have 15 cities with populations OVER 25 million residents. Amazing.




They use the street as social space much more than we do - lots of great opportunities to watch the locals like this fellow, who I think might have helped with some of the original construction. Also crowds like these seem to quickly form around Chinese chess, card games, or cute American girls working their way in the streets.




They have great guesthouses here - we found a wonderful one in the center of town. Here is one of the courtyards in the interior of our guest house. Buildings here, except for those on the main commercial streets, have rather modest front entrances that open up to eleborate courtyards and connecting buildings behind these walls. Really charming.




Seems like there were lots of kids here. Don’t think the one child policy is as rigorously enforced as in metro areas.








Lots of family shops, like this one specializing in twisted pastries. Pasteries are another of China’s under appreciated culinary joys… Don’t get me started on the quality of Chinese food.




Helped by some strange local fermented barley based beverage that, being open to local traditions, I readily consumed, I ponder the challenges facing China’s rural collectives in this era of globalization…



Cheers

A little homesick?

We are in a good routine; life seems almost normal now.

We walk the girls to school, we see the same parents going through the same routine, rushing kids to school, wiping their faces or buttoning up their coats. We are stared at less but receive about the same number of smiles and nods. We have grown accustomed to our hot oatmeal in the morning with hot yo-tou (chinese fried dough) as our pre-school chaser. Even the afternoons of badmitten, walks in the neighborhood or visits to the store are enjoyable, relaxing, if somewhat mundane. (We still do take notice as kids pee in the streets or something really unusual hangs in a window (like a duck head) but we feel comfortable and relaxed here.

This is obviously good; we feel safe and we more relexad.

At the same time, it means that our life here is much less of an exciting adventure. It's not as fun when kids still call out your name and circle around you, as they do with Julia, but you can't understand all of their whispers. She tells me that she hears "American" "American" in Chinese all the time. What could they be saying?
It is certainly not as cute when you hear echoes of "hello" "hello" "what is your name?" as you walk down the street. We know now that there is little sense responding because that is usually about all they know or want to say.

Hana admitted last night that she was starting to miss people. I guess when the excitement wears off, it is natural to miss your house, your bed, your grandparents, your friends...and all the familiar people and things that you take for granted.

I too miss seeing the faces of parents and teachers at Everett and the people I have come to love at First Plymouth. What I wouldn't do for a random hug from someone on the street or a friend to just call and say, "hey friend, how about lunch today?" "Are we going to the gym tomorrow?" What I wouldn't give for a bonding session with my sister or one of my sister in laws ....with a glass of red wine in hand.

I never thought that I took my family and friends for granted, but today I just can't help thinking that I probably have. I wish I hadn't....

We are off this weekend to a town called Pingyao that is supposed to be like a historic Chinese village...hardly changed or affected by modernization or communism. We shall see. We will experience an overnight train and I am sure many adventures.

Hope you are all well..!