The Great Wall of China at Simatai

I went to Simatai section of the Great Wall, about 70 miles north of Beijing, last weekend. It was really spectacular. Much better than the section at Badaling that I went to before. First, the Wall was the actual wall, rather than the 1960’s rebuilt version designed for tourists at Badaling. Second, because the location is remote, there were less other people and tourists. I was particularly struck by how the Wall was built on the very peaks of the mountains and towers every 50 or 100 yards apart. I climbed to the twelfth tower and farthest point allowed and had a spectacular view.

It boggles the mind how much human effort had to go into building the wall over peaks and mountains spanning across China. The designers really seemed to pick the most difficult areas to build the wall probably to make it that much harder for the Mongol hoards in the north to pass.

I asked how the Mongols eventually got through and I should have guessed the answer: bribery of guards and officials.

One of the best things about the trip was just getting out of Beijing. The air quality, green trees and mountains were a much needed change of scenery.I could also see how people live in the suburbs and countryside. They don't use big trucks and tractors to do construction or farming out in the country. They are work crews of 20+ guys with shovels, hoes, and carts. People sell fruits on the side of the road. Hotel managers sit on the side of road and wave and call at passing cars. A herd of cows crosses the road. An old couple sit by their tent (maybe a home?) near their honey bee boxes. I think of the midwest in America. How things are different here.

I watched World Cup matches for the first time. I saw the American team get beat by the Czech Republic 3 – 0 in their first match. Despite being beat I was proud of the American team for a few reasons. I liked to see the variety of ethnicities on the American team. White, Black, Latino, Asians players were all on the team. Compared with the all white Czech team, you could really see how America is a melting pot.

Another good point about the Americans was that they were not "fallers", meaning they didn’t fall and act hurt in order to get a call by the refs like I have seen other teams do. The American team had flashes of brilliance and decent technique and strategy. However, they were not able to control the ball nor as sharp, fast and decisive in their attack as other teams I have seen.

At my language school, where all the students are from different countries, I am reminded daily that football, or soccer as I know it, is the world’s most popular sport. Even a girl from Ghana, Africa, which the American team plays next, asked me if I was watching the games.

I am regularly asked why Americans do not watch soccer. My best guess is that soccer does not get as much TV and media time as baseball, American football, and basketball. It has not caught on yet and there may not be enough scoring.

As I said before I feel certain that I will not be going to Renmin University for another semester. I believe I can improve faster and use my time more efficiently by studying on my own for awhile. I want to check the job market now. I want to find a job where I can use Chinese. I think this would improve my Chinese and develop into a real business tool for me in the future. If I can not find anything then I probably will go back to school.

Getting along in China

Well, despite being in China I have been able to keep track of all the important things. Especially the best basketball team, the Phoenix Suns, making it to the conference finals of the NBA Playoffs!

I have been able to watch a few of games. Sometimes they are not on when an important Ping Pong Event or Badminton Match is on, but I have to remember this is China and not the USA.

There is nothing much more frustrating when you want to watch a Game 7 of the NBA Playoffs with your favorite team and the government controlled sports channel shows the Women's Badminton Doubles live from Malaysia.

There is no local sports bar that I can go to and watch it on cable TV.

I was talking with my roommate and we discussed what it takes to live in China as a westerner and we agreed you must have a lot of patience. For example, if you go to a restaurant and have certain expectations about the service, speed of service, kind of service etc, you could really get upset if you are stubborn about those expectations.

For example, unlike in the states where you might get everything served to you at once, in China the food comes parts at a time. The rice may be the last thing you get. Or the appetizer comes last. It just depends on how busy they are or if the waiter remembers you. Its not uncommon for customers to tell the waiter to get something or bring something a few times. Or maybe you ordered something and they bring something else.

Also I have seen a waitress kill a fly on a table the customers are eating at. The waiters clean the floors during business hours. However, only with a wet mop, not with a bucket and water. So the dirt and grime just gets moved to the side rather than removed completely. When they clean, if you do not move your feet, your shoes might get moped as well. I had to tell the waiter one time to wait till I was done eating before he mops under my table and chair.

Patience does not mean lowering your standards, but rather being understanding and sometimes tolerant that the Chinese are learning. I have seen improvements at businesses and restaurants regarding service and quality, albeit slowly, and it makes me think that international standards are creeping into Chinese society similar to the way they picked up on Western ideas of Christmas and even Mothers Day and Valentines Day. Also in the same way they are making products to meet demands of western consumers, the Chinese are picking up and in and outs of the International business and standards. But it will take time and thus we must be patient.

Finally, it looks like spring has taken hold after some fits and starts. The sun is shining early in the morning and I guess it will be a warm day. But I have added some pictures of Houhai park, another one of the emperor’s local hangouts, that I took in the last cold days of winter.

As everyone knows, there are over 1.2 billion people in China. One could take a map of China and start drawing a line from Dongbei, previously known as Manchuria, continue a little west of Beijing, south through Sichuan Province (known for its spicy food) and ending in Yunan Province on the southern coast. Around 94% of China’s population, or over 1.1 billion would live on eastern side of that line. From a glance at a map, the space all those people live in looks about the same as the western US.

Why do most people in China live in on the eastern side? The eastern side is more temperate, flat, fertile, lower elevations, and oceanside. Two great rivers, the Yellow river in the north and the Yangtze river in the south, which flow out into the Pacific Ocean created a lot of good land for agriculture. The western side of China is famous for the Gobi Desert and the Himalaya Mountains. I suppose it is much harder to live over there.

So what it my point? It is that China is even more crowded than it looks on a map. China looks to be a decent sized country on the map, but in fact most of it’s huge population lives on the eastern side.

I think this massive population density has an effect on culture. But I am still trying to figure out what kind of effects. One hypothesis is that it makes people feel more at ease approaching one another and having less personal space. Chinese students in universities may share a room with as many as 8 other students. No wonder I see them studying late into the night in empty classrooms around campus. Where else can they find some quiet space!

I was sitting at an outdoor pavilion on campus yesterday when a student sat next to me. Though I was enjoying my own peace and tranquility as the dusk approached, she in all seriousness suddenly asked me in English “What do you think of the people first policy?” Well, I don’t know what the people first policy is.

But this is not the first time I have been approached like this. I guess Chinese students want to A) Practice speaking English B) Are interested to know what foreigners think C) Hoping to make new friends D) Out of their minds E) Both A and B are correct

I guessed E. This student then went on to ask me many questions about policies, what things are like in my country, and finally to explain to me, though I really didn’t care to hear it from her, what was happening in China.

Finally, she walked off. I tried to use Chinese the whole conversation. I am becoming adamant about using Chinese. I want to practice too!

Anyway, when you come to China, prepare to see and meet alot of people. And as I have said before, expect the unexpected.

Off and On Spring

Just when you think Spring is here, it starts to snow again. It can be a shock to be under the impression warm sunny days are ahead and open the curtain to see a blizzard of white. Oh well, such is life.

I have always liked Chinese food. I am not sure if this pertains, but I learned something from my Economics class regarding the Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility

“The law of diminishing marginal utility is based on the idea that at a given point in time an individual's want for a good can be satisfied. The extra satisfaction that an individual derives from consuming successive units of a good tends to increase but later at a declining rate so that an individual would be willing to buy more of a good only if its price will decrease.”

I think this means I get less and less satisfaction from successively eating Chinese food. Matter of fact, I would really like to eat some homemade tacos, Hawaiian style pizza, and some Lasagna. Maybe some biscuits and mashed potatoes too. I hear other students in my classes, who are all from other countries like me say similar things. The Austrian girl misses her chocolates and pastries, the Korean kids miss their authentic Korean dishes etc. My roommate Bengt misses Pann-biff, a big fat Swedish Meatball, served with potatoes and sauce. That sounds great to me too! He also misses his girlfriend’s Smorgish-Tarte, some kind of cake with tuna. I may have to pass on that.

Anyway, Thursday night I had an oily Kongpao Jiding (Spicy chicken with onions and peanuts), followed by Tofu with a lot of soy sauce and onions, followed by tomato and egg soup, and finally some rice cakes. I am not sure what it was, but Friday morning my stomach hurt. After several early morning trips to the bathroom, which can disturb my roommate's sleep, I finally threw up into the sink about 10 minutes before class started! I was relieved temporarily and went to class. But upon the start of the second class, I felt really sick again and went back to my room. That was the first time I have had to miss class since I have been at Renmin University. I wanted to gut it out, but I had no concentration and I did not want to cause a disturbance in class.

Finally, I felt better later after drinking some warm water and some friends giving me stomach medicine. Later, I finally became hungry again and was able to get some bananas and pears. I remember Mom always telling me bananas were good for digestion and they did seem to help. I was able to go to work last night and this morning I felt rejuvenated. However, I am still loathe to eating oily spicy food for a while. I will stick to a diet of soup, noodles, breads, fruits and lightly cooked vegetables for the present.

Tiger Claw Strike! Flying Duck Kick! - Chinese TV

Did I mention there is a plethora of Kung-fu movies and shows on TV. I like martial arts and will forever be a fan of Bruce Lee, so it does not bother me much. However, sometimes you flip the channels and its one kung-fu fight after another. Sometimes it looks realistic and practical, and sometimes fanciful, magical and unattainable. If well done, it can be fun to watch.
Many movies, shows and music come into the mainland from Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, more and more are being produced on the mainland. I watched a part of the New Years Special Music and Entertainment Special on TV. It lasts for hours, leading up to New Years Day. I read the Super Bowl, the most watched show in the US, was watched by about 100 million Americans. The Chinese New Years Special was watched by an estimated 800 million Chinese. Notice that is 8 times more than how many watched the Super Bowl. That happens to equal the number of Chinese who live on less than $2 a day.

The Chinese New Year Special was performed live. It had the top new and favorite celebrities singing, dancing, comedy sketches etc. A good performance by a new talent can bring instant stardom.

Another thing Chinese like to watch is acrobatics and super-human feats. Some of the acrobatic stunts are amazing. I think of the long, long hours of practice that went to doing them. However, I do not enjoy watching girls who can do amazing feats of contortionism. It just sends creepy shivers down my spine to see a girl touch her nose with her toe, over her back! I have a hard time just touching my toes with my fingertips without bending my knees.

Chinese TV is certainly unabashedly commercialistic. Not only do commercials interrupt programming as much as in the states, there is no shortage of Infomercials. Infomercials selling everything from masks that will turn your skin a lighter, whiter complexion, bust and butt enhancers, shoes that add 7 cm to your height, body suits that straighten your back and improve your posture, magical hair boosting and restoration creams, liquids, sprays, and helmets that shoot some kind of beam into your scalp. For kids who are pressured to studying all day and night, gadgets and games for children to help them learn English faster and make studying more fun.

Are people lives determined when they are kids?
You can see the extremes people go to sometimes. I have kids as young as 12-14 in some of my English classes. Their parents make them go to school to pick up and absorb what they can, knowing that if the kids read and speak English well they are more assured of a bright future. I have also seen kids made to grope, pull and beg on people, especially foreigners until they can get some money out of them. I have seen a child about 5 or 6 years old laying out on a pedestrian bridge everyday for over three weeks. The little child acts like a child, rolling around and fiddling with the little can, showing little awareness of anything. I got fed up of seeing this day after day and talked to the Security at Renmin University on how to report that. But they said I was wasting my breath informing the police. The child is being watched by someone and being used to beg.
But when you compare some kids who are starting off early in school to study versus a child who spends his days holding a can, I wonder how the begging child can ever reverse course and have a better life.

Trade Deficit
I have been reading articles about the US and Chinese economy. As far as America is concerned, the trade deficit was the largest ever recorded, and China is the biggest so-called culprit. Some blame the Chinese government for not allowing the Chinese currency, the RMB, to fluctuate according to market factors. The Chinese have the RMB pegged to about 8.11 to the US dollar. This helps keep Chinese goods cheap and drives exports. I feel this certainly needs to be looked at.
If you look at Chinese exports, a majority sells based on its value. Decent quality at a cheap price. The cheap price primarily comes from cheap labor. It is my feeling that cheap labor is the biggest contributor to China’s growth. With 800 million still making only $2 dollars a day, that reserve still can be tapped for years.

By keeping the exchange rate fixed, this allows the Chinese to keep making use of cheap labor. If the rate of exchange were allowed to change, all the dollars being used to buy goods in RMB would cause the price of RMB to increase. Chinese goods would become more expensive, and production and manufacturing in China would be more expensive. Thus factories and jobs stay in the states, more goods made in the US are bought in US. I have seen US politicians putting more pressure on China to change its exchange rate policy, everything from direct comments to Chinese officials to putting forth bills in congress.

In the meantime, how can America compete? In the short term, getting China to change its exchange rate policy is needed. But in the long-term, it seems clear to me that Americans need to be smart, creative, inventive, and efficient. But that is too much for me to discuss at this juncture.

Trip to Changsha, China

Well, I went on a little trip to alleviate some stress. The school was feeling so empty, everyone was gone, both work and school were out, I decided to get out of town. I had a friend who lives in Hunan Province invite me out to visit, so I gave it a shot and went. I took an overnight train from West Beijing Station. That building is an awesome structure visually. It is really big, daunting and has a distinct Chinese flavor.

I rode in a soft sleeper car on the train. The soft sleeper cars have many small rooms, each with four beds. I could fit snugly into one of the beds. The beds were clean and comfortable and each had a TV on one end, by your feet, and the headphones, channel and volume control by your head. I left Beijing around 6 Pm and arrived in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan Province, at 7 Am the next day. I heard Hunan Province is known for a few things. It is where Mao Ze Dong was born and raised. I hear Mao’s little hometown, about 2 hour drive from Changsha, has become a small tourist spot. Another thing is Hunan food is pretty spicy but very delicious. Chinese people outside of Hunan are very prejudiced towards men from Hunan. I guess men from Hunan are very rude, boorish, ill-mannered, and all around bad. However, based on my trip I can not attest to that.

Anyway, Changsha has about 3.6 million people.Its amazing to me how many cities in China are huge, 3 or 4 times the population of Phoenix, and I had never heard of them until I came to China. As I was entering the city, I could see from the window some somewhat common sites. New huge modern high rises towering over ghetto-like housing and crumbling buildings. Piles of trash just heaped together on the ground left to the elements. That reminds me, I have rarely seen garbage trucks to the scale that we have in the states. In many places garbage collection is done by street workers with a dustpan and broom, or guys on bicycles pulling a cart.

After arrival, I unfortunately discovered my friend was busy most of the time I was there and I would have to do explore the city on my own. Fortunately I can attest that Hunan food is pretty good. I was able to eat at a few good restaurants, but it was really spicy!

The highlight of my trip was Yue Lu Mountian, on the outskirts of the city. The mountain is home to a big Buddhist temple. I climbed the mountain and explored the temple. I was surprised when a Buddhist nun gave me some apples and nuts. People usually give to the monks and nuns, not the other way around. I like the smell around a temple. The incense smells so good and makes one feel like they are in another world.

Back in the city, I went to Buxinjie, the most lively, clean, and modern part of the city. I have to admit though, I think I may have been the only white person in the city. I didn't see any others except near the train station, and everywhere I went I got stares, long looks, startled expressions, and called at "Hello!" You can tell when people are talking about you when someone looks at you, then nudges their friend, and their friend turns around and looks at you too and they start talking.

Most people all over China are bilingual to some extent. People are taught Mandarin, standard Chinese, in school. However, with family and friends people use their regional dialect or language. Some dialects are similar to Mandarin such as the Beijing dialect. However, most are as different as English is to French. I could not understand what Hunan people said among themselves, but we could converse in Mandarin one-on-one. We are lucky that in the states we can use regular English everywhere, maybe with the exception of some places in Kentucky or Arkansas. Just kidding! However, in China, the reality is many people have to study Mandarin so they can talk with people from other places or watch the National news etc.

Finally, on my way back to Beijing I had a startling discovery. I was looking in the mirror and found what looked like a colorless hair on my head. Upon further inspection, I found it to be a white hair! Wow, my first one!

Coincidentally, the next day back in Beijing, I woke up and opened the curtain to see the biggest snowfall of the winter. The entire city turned as white as a dove.

Ditan Temple Fair

I went to Ditan (Temple of the Earth) Park in the north part of the city. By the way, Beijing has a long history. Used during the last three dynasties, the Emperor's palace, also known as the Forbidden City, is in the center of the city. The entrance to the Forbidden City is the one that is particularly recognizable, because it now has a big framed picture of Mao Ze Dong on the front. There is something very conspicuous about this placement to me. As if they replaced the emperor with Mao Ze Dong. There is something fitting in that, replacing one dictator for eh-hem.

Anyway, Ditan, the Temple of the Earth is to the north of the Palace, Temple of Heaven is to the south, Temple of the Sun and Moon to the East and West. I understand one of the Emperor's big jobs was to go to these temples, offer prayers and sacrifice.

My visit to Ditan was not to make any sacrifices or offer prayers, rather to see the festival being held there. The Temples have all become public parks now, open to the people. The parks are used to hold public fairs and festivals. Inside Ditan, there were many shops selling all kinds of special New Years gifts, toys, games, arts and crafts, and food. There were areas that had games for people to play and win prizes like a state fair. I tried a few including throwing Chinese coins through a big wooden board in order to hit a bronze gong and trying to break light bulbs over a metal bowl. I don't know what the trick is, but I threw those light bulbs hard and still couldn't break a single one.

The crowd was big. The mass of people moved through the many different twists and turns of the paths. The shops outnumbered the entertainment and arts and crafts, but it was still interesting.

I saw food there I will never forget. Rather, they were unforgettable because they were disgusting. Something that one might see on Fear Factor! Bugs and scorpions, little chickens on a stick. I am not sure if the scorpions were some kind of gimmick food, but I did see people buy and eat them. Though I don't think that is normal Chinese cuisine, I have heard that in China anything that moves can be on the dinner table.

Beijing New Year's Festival

Beijing went crazy last night. I walked with some friends around 9 pm to have dinner at Bi-sheng-ke, the Chinese name for Pizza Hut, to celebrate the Chinese New Year. As we were walking there were many people on the streets unleashing powerful firecrackers and dazzling displays of light in all directions. Fireworks were going off all around the city in little alleys and next to main thoroughfares. People were swinging long strings of firecrackers around them and even holding pipes that shot off huge rockets that exploded into light. I thought it looked awfully dangerous, having been injured slightly when I was young by a little bottle rocket.

At around 11:50 the city just exploded. I went outside to hear the action. There were lights and explosions in all directions. I jumped because I would look in one direction to see a display when right behind me another guy lit a string of firecrackers that went off like a machine gun. Then I jumped again as the pops shot off from another direction. What really blows me away is how close to the buildings the fireworks go off. I would think lawyers or insurance people might be watching.

I hear that Chinese usually spend this time with their families. In some cases they sit around a table and make dumplings together. Kids are asked relentlessly by their grandparents about school and their grades. I understand that is a way of showing affection!

Its late January, and I have come to the conclusion Beijing winters are not sooo bad. Over the past month temperature hovered around the freezing point, but it has barely snowed and has been dry. It was windy in December, but not recently. Not as good as Arizona, but better than Chicago.

Recently Mom told me, "if you have a positive attitude you will be more successful".