On Growing Rice

We just returned from Arizona and are now at home in Oregon. Our trip this year took us through the center of California where much of the produce we find on our tables is grown. Rice is one of those crops that somehow seems out of place and yet there it is.

Growing rice really is a mystery to me. The rice that is grown in water to hold the stalks up (I am told) and is planted April. In the Yangtze Valley of China where the crop is harvested in October, the streets and highways are used to dry the harvest. Even in the middle of the villages rice is spread in the middle of the streets by the "people" to dry. It is not called the People's Republic of China without reason.

For those of us that have driven through California where large processing plants take care of the drying rice and machines plant that same rice in flooded paddies, it was a surprise when we come to a very wide road that cannot be driven on this week because the "people" are drying their rice crops. Really!

Canal very near the road with rice drying...water was everywhere.

Shanghai is very near sea level so there are canals everywhere and people live on the banks, grow crops in the borrow pits along side the road that are raised using the soils taken from the pits. The pits also fill with water. Is it understandable that a crop like rice would be a perfect one for the region. 

The natural order of thing was foreign to us too. The "people" were totally in control of the roads in these small villages and would not even acknowledge the cars at all. It takes a certain amount of getting used to and patience. 

I saw children playing in the areas between freeway off ramps in Beijing. Parents kept watch but open ground was at an a premium and the "people" do not hesitate to use what was going to waste. 

The infrastructure in the rural areas was not perfect and people keep warm using charcoal. A single light bulb that lights the center of the house might be a luxury for all I know. Children live in layers of quilting in the winter and resemble balls with legs. Their pants have a slit in the crotch so they can squat to go to the bathroom when the notion strikes them. Nothing is so private that a child cannot go potty anywhere.

Growing rice was the symbol for what I didn't understand totally. There was much to be learned and not nearly enough time. We were there last in 2011. China was growing up at that time but the simplicity for those living outside the cities was still very much on parade. I wonder what I would find now?

Rice being dried in the center of the village.

Broom hanging in a horsestall is hand made. The broom the man above is using is very similar.

I love travel so much. It seems that the experience follow me home. And I love to talk about it...not because anyone is interested but because it brings back such good memories.

Thank you for reading.

b+

PS: The pictures are my own. If you would like to use them just let me know.

Learning about China by reading Mao's Last Dancer

Note: The words high lighted in blue are ads included for your convenience.By running the cursor over the ads you can see what the ad is about before you click on it. I like that a lot

I have been in China three times now. During those three times I have spent a total of 8 weeks getting to know China but only on the surface. My husband and I have wandered here and there in Shanghai and in the countryside. But it wasn't until I read Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxi that I understood what really had happened to the Chinese people during the Cultural Revolution and as a result, what I had been seeing. The hurt from those years still can be seen in the attitude of it's older Chinese citizens.

Poster showing Jiang Qing promoting 
the fine arts during the Cultural Revolution while holding
 Mao's "Little Red Book" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Li Cunxi is a world famous dancer on the ballet stage and performed with the Houston Ballet for many years. He ended his career in Australia where he still lives with his wife and three children. He success in life belies the life he left behind in China. For the first 11 years of his life he lived in extreme poverty in a commune in Qingdao. He was one of seven boys. Had fate not taken him elsewhere, he would have been destined to be a truck driver when his father retired. But one day he was selected by his teacher as a child to be trained in Madame Mao's ballet school in Beijing. At the age of 11 he became one of the Communist Party's possessions and was raised to be not only a dance but a member of the Red Guard. This simple beautiful book lets the reader get a glimpse of what life was like and how the minds of the Chinese people were controlled through propaganda and lies.

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I have never read a book that said so much in such a simple way.  Li told the heart felt story beginning with his life as a small child, his life in the school of dance in Beijing and on to his time in Houston at the ballet.  The drama of his life unfolds in the story as he comes to the realization that he would never return to China willingly.

I would recommend this book to anyone that has opinions about international affairs and the true personality of the Chinese people.  It is a true eye-opener.

b
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A Day In China...Yes, bigger is better in Shanghai!

Technorati Tags: Chian, travel, Shanghai, skyscrapers

Both of these skyscrapers were the tallest in the world at one point! They are located on the Pudong side of the Huangpu River.   Air quality was very bad on this day so even though they were relatively close they are shrouded in smog. The World Finance Center (4th) is in the background and Jin Mao Tower (13th) in the front.  We have eaten at the Grand Cafe located in the Hyatt Regency at the top of the Jin Mau Tower.  The view of the Pearl Tower is spectacular in the evening.  As I recall, on a clear night you can the Yuan Gardens lit at night too.  A third skyscraper called the Shanghai Tower barely visible on the right of the picture will loom over the other two.  It is in the early stages of construction but it could be the tallest building in the near future. 

But this hulking Pearl Tower just blows me away. It seems so huge, especially when you stand at the base.  A normal camera cannot capture the whole thing.  (Pudong Area) Notice the cars in the foreground.

Until I see a boat making it's way up the canal near a country road! (West of Shanghai)

Have a wonderful day!

A A Day in China: A glimpse at the two sides of China!

 Oh my gosh...there really are two sides to China...a real working man's China and a luxurious expat/successful citizen China. I know, you heard that before, but this is the way it is out here where the rubber meets the road!  The choice you can make as an expat will be which China do you want to live in or are you wise enough to stand with one foot in both?  I, personally, prefer to straddle the line between the two.

Glasses Market

Yesterday, for example, we got on the subway system here in Pudong (eastside of Shanghai) at the Science and Technology museum terminal.  We traveled across Shanghai, changed train lines, were pushed and instructed by local people to finally arrive at the Chinese glasses market.  A market for eye glasses and opticians filled one floor of a very large building.  YEH 3 Optical (?) has every kind, color, quality of eye glasses you could ever want...and I mean every kind!  We wander through the vendors and selected one for no logical reason.  For us the idea that no one rushed out to grab our arm may have been the tipping point.

My daughter-in-law and I selected glasses.  Sunglasses for me and reading glasses for her.  After bargaining with the vendor we settled on a price...280 rmb for two complete pair AND they were to be ready in 30 minutes.  Now, in US Dollars that works out to be less than $50 for two pairs.  Can you believe that?

This was not a basement operation in a dark alley  This was a huge market for the Chinese people, the working living real people.  I am still just gobsmacked over it.  We were offered upgraded "U.S.A." lenses.  My daughter-in-law had the reflective coating placed on hers.  But better yet, they fit and work like the glasses I bought in the states.  I did a little math in my head and realized that, if I were to buy several pairs of glasses, I could pay for an airplane ticket to visit my family with the money saved by shopping in this market.

Because the average income for a working citizen is very small, their market prices reflect what they can afford.  It is all relative.

Nanjing Lu at night

On the other side of the coin, there is that expat/wealthy world.  We traveled across the city back to Pudong so my son and his wife could see the dentist.  We were greeted in a beautifully appointed office, cleaner that anything I had ever seen.  A technician cleaned their teeth and a French dentists examined for problems.  Their insurance paid for the visit.

We picked up our car at the subway and traveled to a spa where we had hair cuts.  Mine was one of the best I have every had.  We luxuriated as one young man washed your hair and gave you a head massage, another cut and styled the hair and a third dried the hair.  Another stop took us to the Dragon Fly spa where my daughter-in-law has a membership.  We had a facial wax.

A cocktail at a Mexican restaurant across the street was followed by a taxi ride to People Square and a walk down Nanjing Lu to savor the evening air and the sparkling lights. A short taxi ride took us to the Bund and dinner at the latest Lost Heaven location just across the street from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.  We wandered over to the hotel after a dinner in a most beautiful restaurant that served authentic Yunnan cuisine.

My son and I... Waldorf Astoria Christmas Tree

The Waldorf Astoria Hotel is one of those legendary spots that reflects an era of understated elegance.  The Long Bar, our next stop, is one of just a few bars with that name around the world.  Here the very influential mix with the likes of us and all are treated to wonderful service.  My after dinner drink was a liqueur with "Vanilla" and "Madagascar" in the name.

So there you have it...a day straddling the line between the two cultures of China.  We are very lucky that we have been given the privilege of experiencing both.

Waldorf Long Bar Lounge/Pub

Have a wonderful day.


b

Technorati Tags: China, Shanghai, Travel

A Day in China...getting around in Shanghai

The first day we arrived here in Pudong (east Shanghai) we went to out granddaughter school for special Christmas events and a writer's workshop in the 2nd grade.  One of the delightful sidelights for these school visits is listening to expat teachers talk about their homes, families and their experiences here in China.  I love to see what they do when they are not being a "teacher".

One young teacher told about her father visiting recently.  She said he was  afraid to leave the Shanghai links here where our son lives.  He had gone out the wrong gate one day and was faced with guards that did not speak English.  They would not let him back in.  It frightened him to be locked out.  You have to understand what that would be like.

Pearl Tower...a landmark so we won't get lost!

 (photo by b)

The links provides shuttle to several stops over here on the east side of the Shanghai metro area.  A grocery store, park, metro station are jumping off places for what you would like to do.  We were given this similar experience when we were here several years ago.  However, since the subway system has expanded by several fold in those years, the shuttle only makes three stops now.  If, for example, we wanted to go to the city for the day, we would stop at the metro station and hop on the Green Line and get off on Nanjin Lu or even the People's Square.  From there we could walk around the very center of the city keeping tall buildings as markers for our location.  As long as we can walk we are always able to get around. 

If we were staying somewhere else, the first place we would locate would be a metro station.  This wonderful transportation system will take you anywhere you need to go.

Taxi's are always available so, if we decide to use one, we will carry business cards with the address on Chinese. Even travel books have the locations written in Chinese in the back of the book.  Just get us to a metro station and we will be fine. 

Afraid?  Well yes, it is a little intimidating and my heart is in my throat a lot of the time. I am very lucky my husband is up for the adventure too.  But here in China we feel safe.  Unlike Bangkok, for example, the charlatans do not lurk between buildings or in dark alleys. 

Be well and stay posted.

b

A Day in China...communication is not easy!

This is not as easy as it was six years ago when I wrote my very first blog post! We are in China again and the bigger the access to the Internet gets the harder it is to communicate with people that live outside the country. That is just the way it is. We arrived here in Shanghai last Thursday late in the afternoon. The air quality may be so bad that the private school my grandchildren attend might limit recess to the indoors. The temperature lingers at around 40 f. It is Sunday here. We went downtown for brunch at the Westin where we ate as opera and chamber music floated across the room of 200 expats. When we stepped outdoors and loaded on the van, women carrying Louis Vinton bags stood waiting for taxis. When we left the hotel we pulled onto street with clothes drying on poles outside windows. The juxtaposition of the extreme modern and ancient still amazes me.  Driving down that same street I clicked photos as fast as I could so I could look at them again to see the World Finance Center appear over on the east side of the Nanpu River.  That building was the tallest building in the world up until one just a few meters taller was built in Dubai.

This is the third time we have been in Shanghai...it will always take my breath away!

Life in China!

Tour Company VS Independent Travel

People's Square
Shanghai, People Republic of China


Guided Tour vs Independent Travel???

FYI...Nomadic Matt posted a blog about a guided tour company called Contiki Holidays. The article, Would You Contiki?, targeted travel mode choices, specifically back packing vs a tour company. He pointed out that we need to beware of tour companies claims that they are cheaper than independent travel. Back packing is probably not going to be my mode of travel. But I still find independent travel to be inexpensive and...well...independent.

Here is where I add the caveat. I have traveled with a tour company and it was just the perfect thing at the time. I was innocent and inexperienced. It would not have worked for me to travel independently in anyway. But, after doing the tour thing a couple of times on the east coast, I learned how to do it myself. A little research and a lot of common sense has allowed me to travel in a some exotic places.

So don't get rid of the travel pamphlets...you could take a trip with a tour company, learn what their tricks are (pick their brains folks) and then do it yourself. Go back to that wonderful place you didn't get enough of the first time and just hang out, doing things at your own pace and enjoy!

b

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Shanghai, China A Bloggers View

My son, his wife and our two granddaughters flew back to Shanghai, China today. They spend about six weeks in the states in the summer and have jobs in Pu Dong, Shanghai, PRC. They have lived in China for four years. So, as a result of this wonderful son's job, my husband and I have spent about six weeks in China over the last three years. When I say we have "been there and done that", I mean we really have been there and done that. AND I want to be there and do that again really soon.

Shanghai is just a wonderful city in every regard. It has been dubbed the "Paris of the Orient". Charming neighborhoods, interesting shops and just enough of the ancient city remain to make it very charming. The Chinese do not speak English fluently but they are very welcoming and helpful. Expats and tourist collect business cards for their favorite restaurants or locations and hand them to the taxi drivers. Usually you will arrive where you intend to be. The Metro subway system is absolutely wonderful and getting better all the time.

People Park
Originally uploaded by Always at Home

In the year 2010 Shanghai will the hosting a Expo 2010 Shanghai (上海世界博览会) on the water front near the down town. On May 1 the Expo will open to what is expected to be the largest crowds the World Expo's history. The are expecting 60-70 million people at a rate of about 400,000 per day. While this sounds like a huge number of people, we need to keep in mind that Shanghai is one of the largest if not the largest city in the world. Local people and return visitors might increase the count.

Preparations for this have been going on for years and, when they are done, they will have restructures a very large part of the water front on the Nan Pu River that divides the city. The Chinese have moved the shipyard out to an island and torn down some horrible slums to make way for the event. The city will put on a very big show for people around the world. (Widipedia information)

When China hosted the Olympics last year they doubled the size of the airport in Shanghai and over the last couple of years, they have also upgraded their subway system. We found it very easy to get to the center of the city from the east side, (Pu Dong). While shopping downtown is very expensive, you can still find bargains by asking about markets. There are fabric markets, eye glass markets, children's markets and even a wonderful knock off market. This knock off market is located in a subway station on the eastside and inquiries will lead to the location. While the government doesn't want to appear to be breaking international rules on selling knockoffs they don't totally shut this sort of thing down. The market was at one time in the open air in down town Shanghai. When the Olympics drew near they moved the market to it's new location.

Some of the best restaurants can be found in the French Concession. Just wander up and down the street and choose what looks good. You will not be disappointed. I can personally recommend Azul. By going to Frommers restaurant guide you will find the best of the best. I believe Fodors even has a listing in the back of all the restaurants in Chinese and we had a lot of success in showing the Taxi drivers this information.

For the ultimate dining experience, a trip to Pu Dong and the Grand Hyatt would be my choice. You will dine in a restaurant that is unrivaled. The food is magnificent, the view is...words fail me...and the service will spoil you forever. Your table will over look the Pearl Tower and the old city across the river. The evening we dined there the fog made the city look like a fairy land. Located in the Jin Mao Tower, (a building that was at one time the tallest building in the world and according to one website still the tallest in China), the Grand Hyatt has lived up to its name.

There are not many places in the world that I would go to again and again. Shanghai is the exception...I don't think we have even begun to understand and explore this city. We will definitely "be there and do that" again.

b

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• World expo 2010 in Shanghai expects 60/70 million visitors (chinaherald.net)