Diary_Day 8: Rest day in Deyang

There is not a great deal to report today as we were given a much needed rest.  Nancy and I ventured out about 11am, walking through the back streets for her to collect a dress she had had made.  We then went to Walmart – yes Walmart as in the American chain.  It was jam packed and dreadfully noisy.  The supermarket was full of American junk food and women screaming over microphones.

Nancy, who is a gym fanatic went in search of a gym we had been told about.  It is on the fifth floor of what is to be the new Accor hotel.  The hotel is still being built, but the gym is complete and so has been opened.  Nancy was most impressed with the fantastic, state of the art equipment. When we learned that it would cost just $10 for  a month’s membership, we both joined.  This will make me go for a while each evening next week. It was very strange doing a couple of kilometers on the high tech walking machine looking out the window at tuk tuks going past!

We joined some of the students for another dinner of delicious duck pancakes.  It was a ‘duck three ways’ dinner – duck pancakes, duck soup and another dish of duck with vegetables.  The dinner, including a bottle of wine, cost us the princely sum of $6 each!

Diary_Day 7: Ancient Irrigation System

This will always remain for me a magic day.  We went by fast train, around one hundred kilometres north-west to the World Heritage area of the Dujiangyan Irrigation System.

Just getting onto the train was an interesting experience in itself.  We had to go through the usual bag security check that is necessary to enter any station on the Metro system.  But because this was into the countryside, there was also a passport check and we were patted down and had a drug detection device run over our clothing.

 The city of Dujiangyan suffered greatly in the 2008 earthquake.  It was rebuilt in just two years, with donations from Shanghai.  Our local guide, Lisa, explained that for the rebuilding of the damaged areas, each affected city had an undamaged city assigned to it, which is why Shanghai money was diverted to the rebuilding of this city.

There is a strong Tibetan influence in Dujiangyan. Lisa told us several interesting cultural stories.  Apparently the houses have white stones on their roofs in memory of the legend that an ancient had a vision that if they washed a white stone in the blood of a dog, they would be protected from their enemies.  She also told us that because the Tibetans were nomadic, wealth could not be displayed in housing and so it was displayed in the jewellery of the women, particularly in earrings.

In the area leading to the irrigation system, there is a wonderful village of traditional architecture. It reminded me very much of a Sovereign Hill type of place.  Here we found whole streets of shops selling souvenirs of every kind.  Naturally we all went crazy, buying trinkets for just a few dollars each.  There were also many places to buy food and we loved a tasty Chinese pancake made with spring onion, egg and meat.  I have also become very fond of toffee crab apples which are strung on a stick, five to each stick.

Throughout the village there were beautiful photographs, taken in the early part of the 20^th century.  They depict the local people going about their daily lives.  In each case, the photographs have been enlarged to become wall-size murals and a particular part of the foreground has been brought out in 3D form – the rim of a basket, the head of a horse, the leaves on the vines being carried in a basket.  The photographs were taken by two particular men.  One was Zhuang Xueben (1909 – 1984).  Over ten years, he documented in word and photograph, the ethnic minority regions of western China, taking more than 10,000 photographs and writing millions of words in reports and diaries. The other photographer was Sidney David Gamble (1890-1968) and American sociologist, economist, humanitarian and photographer. Over three different periods of several years between 1917 and 1932, he  volunteered his time in China, joining the YMCA of Beijing and working in charge of social surveys of Chinese civilian education.

At the end of the village was a most beautiful old bridge.  It is frustrating that we cannot really get reliable information about these places.  However old, it was beautifully ornate and completely roofed over.  In times gone by, it would have had traders selling their wares all along both sides of it.

From there we entered the area of the irrigation system.  As mentioned before, it has a AAAAA rating as a World Heritage area.  The irrigation system was built 2200 years ago, during the the Qin dynasty, in response to the need of the people for fertile land.  The Sichuan plain was recognized as having fertile soil, but the annual cycle of drought and then flood meant that it could not reach its potential.  The Emperor had this ingenious system built and ever since, the Sichuan plain has  been an area of abundance.

We entered through most beautiful gardens with ponds of huge gold fish.  Statues of prominent people of the past lined the way.  An ingenious system of large stones encased in tubes of woven bamboo were displayed as well as tripods of timber. Both were important aspects of the irrigation system in ancient times, being used for damming water and for flood control. I find it fascinating that the Chinese were working on this solution to water problems at exactly the same time that the ancient Romans were also working on water supply with the building of aquaducts.

Past Fulong Temple, the place where Li Bing, governor of this prefecture in 250BC is said to have subdued an evil dragon, the path opened out to the most spectacular scene. There was the mighty flowing river with the mountains in the background.  Although heavy with grey cloud, we could still see mountains behind mountains behind mountains – such a wonderful vista.  Dotted throughout the surrounding hills, we could see pagoda and traditional Chinese homes.

The walk took us about two kilometres along the river, with a photograph at every turn. There were two very long swinging bridges that had to be crossed, both with bamboo ropes for suspension.  The whole way was lined with traders, one of them with steamed corn on the cob – a very welcome snack. On the way back, I succumbed to the temptation of having a calligraphy banner made.  It reads (in Chinese characters), ‘God helps those who help themselves’ and is written on a beautiful silk background. 

It was a two hour bus ride back to Deyang, during which most of us dozed.  Such had been the dissatisfaction with our Chengdu hotel, that in pulling into the hotel, there was an audible collective sigh of relief to be back ‘at home’ at our Deyang hotel. 

Diary_Day 6: Chengdu weekend

This day was spent entirely on the Chengdu metro, and we did so much walking that by early afternoon, each of us had burning feet.

Our day began with a visit to an ancient Chinese village – wonderful architecture and much of interest.  I was particularly taken by one building that hosted displays from Chinese opera, one of the main cultural traditions.  On display were fantastic costumes, masks and jewellery.  We visited a tea house where many students keenly bought up packets of Chinese tea to take back home. 

We then went to another village of traditional architecture.  I can’t work out whether it is truly ancient architecture or mostly reproduction.  Either way, it was wonderful and we spent a couple of hours there, wandering, photographing and of course spending money!  I managed to tick off many gifts to take back home.

From there we caught the train to the Global Centre, until very recently, the world’s largest building.  It was only opened in August 2013, its opening having been delayed because of around fifty men involved in its construction being jailed on corruption charges. Its size and opulence was breathtaking but I found it just too much! Of course every surface was high gloss and glitz– the floors, the walls and the ceilings. I imagine that the flooring alone would be worth billions of dollars. Many of our group had been keen to experience the artificial beach and the ski slopes, but were disappointed to find that those facilities are only open to hotel guests.  We had a tantalizing glimpse of some of the massive TV backdrop to that section.  It features an ever-changing sky line, with birds flying through a beautiful blue sky with fluffy white clouds.  At other times it changes to magnificent sunset. In both cases, it’s the sort of sky that would never be seen in Chengdu which is choking with pollution! Some students went ice skating and some to the movies, but many of us just planted ourselves and our burning feet at a coffee shop and spent our time there.  For a while, I walked on the whole floor of the building which has children’s clothing, but I soon gave up any idea of shopping when I saw the prices. 

I alone was given a real treat when one of our Chinese students invited me to accompany him to the top floor where he has a friend who works in an antique gallery. She got a clearance to take just two people there, so one of the Chinese girls and I were the lucky ones. It is where one can go, by invitation only, to buy priceless antiques.  I just can’t believe that his friend, who would only be around thirty at the most, has such a prestigious job. She walked us around murals, vases, statues, silk paintings, furniture, jewellery etc worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.  I don’t know whether or not she thought she might have a potential customer, but if she was, she was sadly mistaken!  I could only look and gasp.  Fortunately I was permitted to take photographs, many of which I am very pleased with.

We did not leave the Global Centre until 5:30pm, which meant that we travelled back to our hotel in peak hour.  The squash on the train was unbelievable! At one stage I commented to the students I was with, that I had experienced worse on Melbourne trains, but then within a few minutes, there were about half as many people again who got on.  We were just swept along with the tide of bodies, pushed deep into the carriage, without any need to hold on because there was no chance of falling down!

Unable to face another Chinese banquet or a night of socializing until midnight, I retired early and had a good night’s sleep, preparing myself for another full on day. 

Diary_Day 5: Chengdu weekend

This was the first of our two days in Chengdu.  It began with a visit to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda breeding, where we were able to see several giant pandas in various stages of sleep and wakefulness.  One obliged us by taking a walk and then breaking off some bamboo and sitting back to eat it.  The centre is beautifully laid out with paths meandering through bamboo-lined walkways.  I think it would be a beautifully cool environment on a hot day. The centre reminded me of Healesville sanctuary, except that the pandas’ enclosures were very much just that – not a natural environment that Healesville does so well.

From there we checked into our hotel quite near the centre of Chengdu. A city of some 18 million, This is the area where there was a major earthquake in 2008, with deaths of 70,000 and 4.8 million people homeless as a result.  In terms of architecture, the people talk pre- or post- earthquake.

Chengdu is a very modern city, with big glossy shopping centres and of course amazing traffic.  Its population is a staggering 18 million! Last night we went to Tianfu square in the centre of the city.  The square is headed by a huge statue of Mao Tse Tung, standing infront of the Chinese museum of science and technology. Tianfu square was where we witnessed a fantastic lightshow just with all the buildings - lights flashing on and off, cascading down buildings, changing colours as they zigzagged up others:  it was fabulous and we stayed for about half an hour just to sink it all in.  We got there on the metro rail system, which is just four years old and makes Melbourne's look old, dirty and out of date.  

In November, Chengdu is hosting a world trade fair.  Tianfu square had a huge welcome sign made of potted flowers – I estimate tens of thousands of them.  It made a very fragrant display.

Unfortunately our hotel, the Chengdu Grand Hotel did not match up to its name at all.  It was very dirty, had spasmodic electricity and no hot water in some of the rooms and despite its claims, the staff spoke no English at all. Several of us had phone calls during the first night – apparently from prostitutes, and Nancy had one knock on her door at 1am to ask if she wanted a ‘massage’!

The traffic situation in both Chengdu and Deyang is diabolical!  Not only is there a great deal of it, but the drivers seem quite determined to kill pedestrians. We have worked out the pecking order – first buses, then cars, then the deadly silent electric motor electric bikes, then tuk tuks, bicycles and lastly pedestrians. There is not any culture of trying to avoid pedestrians – it is up to the pedestrians to get out of their way.  Vehicles toot constantly – always to warn people to get out of the way, never, it seems, in anger. It amuses me though, that when a bus is stuck in traffic, it just toots, maybe in the hope that the six or so cars ahead of it will let it through. 

Diary_Day 4: Let loose in Deyang

The day started, as all days do, with our ever more frustrating language lesson.  Nancy and I are using it not so much for the language, but for increasing our awareness of how not to teach.  We find ourselves mucking up, getting on or phones, chattering etc when it is all out of our depth – a sobering lesson to any teacher.

We were then taken by local bus to a particular part of Deyang which was purported to sell all types of building materials.  We had been so looking forward to it, but found it to be not anything like that.  It was certainly tile shop after tile shop, but absolutely nothing else.  Venturing into one of them, we found an enlightening display of bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, all heavily tiled in the Chinese version of western style.  What an interesting experience that was!  My favourite was a living room that had four ornaments sitting next to each other on a tiled shelf: two mini versions of the terracotta warriors , a bulldog and then an antelope!  The furniture was Franco Cotzo on steroids and the tiled floor included a tiled ‘mat’. The grouting for the high gloss tiles was glossy gold with sparkles in it.

It is obvious that toilets are slowly changing to western style, as all the display bathrooms had a western style one in them.  Later in the day we were in a furniture shop and many of their beds had not the two-inch thick mattress that are the norm, but what appears to be an innerspring mattress.  Further investigation however, revealed not soft beds, but just a thicker version of the rock hard ones that we have now become used to.  One quilted mattress had literally only the quilting as any softness – it was laid right over a timber plank!

In the afternoon we were free to wander around the area close to our hotel.  We walked off the main roads and through the back streets where we passed hundreds of little stores, very dilapidated apartment blocks, street markets, groups playing Mah Jongg and even a women’s marching band that came past carrying some sort of banner.  Through the translator app on my phone – what a handy gadget that is turning out to be – we asked a group of people who were gathered around the gate of their apartment compound, if we could look at their garden.  They were delighted at the request and so invited us in.  That gave us the chance to see first hand the very ordinary condition of their living conditions. It was intriguing to see several quite flash cars parked in the compound, so obviously the people themselves are not as impoverished as their housing makes them appear.

Nancy found a shop in which she was able to have a dress made.  The shop owner was so delighted that we honoured her with a visit to her shop, that while Nancy was being measured up, she presented me with a lovely pink and grey scarf – one that I actually do like and will wear.

Everywhere we wandered, we had people turning or stopping to stare at us, making us feel quite the celebrities! How fortunate I am to be in a part of China that is still so closely aligned to how things have been in the past. 

I stopped to watch a group playing Mah Jongg.  What a wonderful opportunity!  Although we no doubt play a very different version to the real thing, it was so great to see the wall built in the same way and they were obviously making pungs and kongs as we do.  Naturally I took a photograph, but soon found a very angry woman accosting me.  Although her friends were obviously telling her to stop making a fuss, she was not happy until I had deleted both the Mah Jongg photograph and also one that I had taken of a lady with her sewing machine.  Nancy and our four Interior Design girls were standing around feeling helpless but they said later that they thought the woman was about to hit me.

We took a tuk tuk back to the hotel and stopped on the way at the city square where we were dancing last night.  There we saw several men cracking whips to make large spinning tops spin.  It was quite fascinating and obviously another daily public activity.  We came across a young couple with a little toddler who had a cute love heart Mohawk hair cut. 

I am quite fascinated that absolutely all advertising is western – all billboards, all shop signs, everything.  Even signs on buses have western faces in their graphics.  The place is obviously on the road to becoming westernized as fast as it can.

We finished the night with a hot pot, yet another style of Chinese cuisine.  It involved us all gathered around a huge pot of boiling broth and dropping meat and vegetables into it. Once cooked, they rose to the top and we then fished them out, dipped them into a garlic and spring onion pesto.  There were twelve of us at the table and it was huge fun.  Again the locals gathered round, all wanting photos with us.