Wo bu shuo Guangdong hua! Part II

 

Started off my third day going to an old Roman Catholic church that the French built. Started late, so when I finished looking around, I tried to get lunch at the local Cantonese sit-down restaurants.  But the Cantonese love Cantonese food, so they were jam packed with people. I was hungry.  I settled for a nice German bar/ restaurant that's popular with the Western expat community.  Had an assortment of sausages and sauerkraut.  Yummy.  Actually, it was probably the best Western-style meal I've had in all of Asia.

Paulaner beer from Munich is delicious, btw.

Wanted to go see some co-co commie stuff, so I started heading over to the PMI, the Peasant Movement Institute.  I wanted to go to the Whampoa Military Academy, where Sun Yat Sen, Zhou Enlai and Chiang Kai Shek all used to work, but that was 40 km out of town, and like I said, I started late.  Also, I wasn't so confident in my ability to make two bus connections in the middle of nowhere in a foreign environment.  Later, in Japan, I would learn that this really was not a problem, but China is very different than Japan, and wo bu shuo Guangdong hua!

So I settled for the PMI.  Mao and Zhou used to lecture peasants at the school on how to bring about peasant-based revolution in rural China.  A lot of the students were from the countryside.  Many of them were killed during the Guomindang's massacre of the reds just before or during the war with Japan.  I also stumbled across a lovely vase exhibit at the Guangzhou Main Library.

Vase exhibit

Peasant Movement Institute

Mao lecturing students in typical propaganda-style painting.  Notice the students listening to him as if he's a god.

A Chinese translation of The Communist Manifesto used at the school.

2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Venue

From there, I went to the more modern areas of Guangzhou.  Went into 2 really posh looking malls, where I bought a copy of The Lonely Planet: Japan from a foreign bookstore.  I also walked around the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games venue.  It was massive, and overlooked Guangzhou's increasingly impressive modern skyline.  I figure in about a decade, Guangzhou will be one of the economic bastions of China alongside HK and Shanghai.

At night, I went to eat dinner on Beijing Lu, the major road for night life and night shopping.  Nice place and pretty clean to Chinese city standards.  Saw a fight between a local vendor and a police officer.

The next day, I would pack up and leave for Hong Kong.

Wo bu shuo Guangdong hua! Part I

Okay, let me rewind a bit since I'm back in Wuhan.  I didn't get to update my blog as much as I wanted to while I was traveling East Asia.

When: January 21st, 2011
Where: Guangzhou, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
What: First stop on my backpacking trip, old school Bad Religion on my iPod

After I left Jingzhou, I went back to Wuhan and then down to Guangzhou via the fastest train in the world - the Wuhan-Guangzhou Super Express. It goes faster than the Shinkansen in Japan.  And apparently it isn't even a MagLev!

Guangzhou is such a pretty city, especially at night.  Once I got to the HI Hostel, I got an upgraded room for free because they needed my room for a bigger party.  I got the best room in the hostel - it overlooked the Pearl River.  Beautiful, but I was here to explore!  After dropping my bags, I took off to the Tea Market of the South, which is an EPIC tea market.  It spans many major roads and all the side streets and alleyways in between. I was so overwhelmed with how much tea and teaware there was, I forgot to buy something.  Southern China is a hotspot for tea and only now do I regret not getting anything there.

The next day I ran around the city.  I went to...

...the ferry across the Pearl River.

Shamian Island, an old colonial district turned tourist hotspot.  Once upon a time, no dogs and Chinese were allowed on this island.

Liwan Park. Very pretty park where the Cantonese come out of the woodwork to do kung fu, taichi chuan, badminton, and hacky sack. I also went through Antique Street, which was more of a market than an antique street.  I also saw something typical of Chinese markets - indiscriminate slaughtering of animals, including alligators.  Apparently, as the stereotype goes according to Mandarin Chinese, the Cantonese eat everything.

The Chen Clan Ancestral Hall.  A big complex for Chinese arts.

The Museum and Tomb of the Nanyue King

...and Yuexiu Park

Something you need to know about me.  When I travel, I love to move fast and hard.  In between the venues, I even stopped for breakfast, coffee, lunch, and a weird egg/ginger concoction that was strangely refreshing.  

I walked around Yuexiu Park (since there are a lot to things to see there) and the streets around my hostel for the rest of the day.  I saw an AA gun and Guangzhou 2010 Asian Games stuff in the park!

I was considering going to the Chinese Medicine Academy to get a massage, but it was getting late.  Oh well.

Overall, I was very impressed with Guangzhou after just one day of looking around.  Very clean and the traffic was not so bad.  Okay, maybe it was pretty bad, but compared to Wuhan it was tame.

Japan (in a New York Minute)

Well, I`ve been busy having adventures, so I totally forgot to update this thing.  If you`re a regular reader, sorry about that, but at least now I have stuff to talk about.

There`s only 3 more day left on my vacation here in Japan.  I am having a blast.  From Hakata (Fukuoka), I took the Shinkansen North-East to Hiroshima. I traveled to Miyajima, which is famous for it`s floating Torii Gate. I hiked up a mountain and went to my first onsen there as well.

From there, I went to Kansai, which has many (too many) things to see - Kobe, Osaka, and Kyoto.  I also made a side trip to Nara.

Moving north, I traveled to a small town called Takayama that overlooks the Japanese Alps.

Then I went to Japan`s Vancouver: the very pretty city of Yokohama.  When I used to take iaido, my sensei told me Yokohama was an international city with international flair.  It was totally worth my time.

Bypassing Tokyo, I went to see my friend Joyce and her JET Program colleagues.  Joyce and I had a culinary adventure in Sendai.  Good food, and great fun.

And now I am in the big city.  Tokyo.

Guangzhou to HK to Macau to NIHON!

Konnichiwa and Nai ho!

I have about 2 minutes to update this thing before the hostel computer kicks me off.  After Jingzhou I went back to Wuhan for a day.  Saw some colleagues who were still at the school.

From there, I took the Wuhan-Guangzhou bullet train (the fastest train in the world as of now) to Guangzhou.  Fun times were had down there.

From Guangzhou, it was only a hop, skp and a jump to Hong Kong, one of my fav places in all Asia.  Met new friends and my friend Stephanie from Vancity.

Macau. Lost at tables, but in style.

Now I am in Nihon!  Will write more later.

Paul

Jingzhou

Jingzhou - the ancient capital of the Chu Kingdom during the Warring States Period.  It was one of the most powerful factions until defeated by the Kingdom of Qin. More importantly, it's the hometown of my girlfriend Cathy.

The city is one big historical artifact.  It's one of the few Chinese cities with well preserved city walls.  The local museum houses some very impressive jade exhibits, well preserved weapons (that still have a blade's edge) and even a mummy!

I stayed at Cathy's mother's home, which is near a very pretty but run-down park.  It was a really old abode that probably harked back to the Cultural Revolution.  It housed 4 families in a sort of hutong style.  On one side of the main open-air foyer were the bedrooms, and on the other side were the kitchens. Staying there made me feel like I was REALLY in China.

Cathy's cousin drove us around town and even out to an ancient Chu tomb about 70 km away.  The whole area was still under excavation, and we were one of two groups who got to look around the tomb that day.  The highlight of the tomb was a pit about 100 meters long displaying about 35 chariots and 100 horses.  Another interesting part was the current excavation, which was of a princess or well-loved concubine.  The bottom of the pit had a lot of jade pieces, and archaeologists figured that the "host" really liked this girl.  It was really neat to see current excavation work.
 
Archaeologists don't know who this "host" is, although they know that the entire outlying area is part of his tomb.  He could be a king or prince of Chu, or maybe wealthy royalty.  They haven't started digging up his tomb yet, which is under a foothill, since there's still a lot of work to be done around the main tomb.

Another highlight of my trip to Jingzhou was the local cuisine.  The Spring Festival is coming up, and Cathy's uncle hosted a dinner reunion (the first of many in the upcoming weeks leading up to Lunar New Year). I was invited, but I was wary to keep away from the baijiu, even though Cathy found out it was the expensive stuff.  Seriously, I can't tell the difference between the 30 kwai stuff and the 600 kwai stuff.  All baijiu tastes like nail polish or barf to me. I much prefer sugelan weishiji - Scotch whisky.

I also got a nice pair of aviators to combat the glare of the sun across the snow.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself in Jingzhou.  I got to see Cathy's family and her very historical hometown. Unfortunately, she couldn't come with me on my big adventure, which starts early tomorrow.

Guangzhou and Hong Kong! I'm coming for you!!!

Xi'an Photos

Xi'an is a pretty city...much prettier than Wuhan that's for sure.
Here's a view from the Bell Tower.

Big Goose Pagoda. A journey the monk took to India influenced the writing of "Journey to the West."
Came to see a light show but ended up disappointed.

The Great Mosque in the Muslim Quarter.  Chinese and Arabic writing on tablets.

Strange looking Starbucks in the middle of the city attracts many expats.

Typical street in the Muslim Quarter.  I scored my new North Face frame pack near here.

My colleagues in the middle of a very narrow 4 way intersection filled with cars, pedestrians, bikes, scooters, and hustle-n'-bustle.

A high ranking officer at the Terracotta Warrior Site

Some of my students do a face-plant like this...but on their keyboards

Pit #1.  They are legion!!!

Me with the person who found the Terracotta Warriors back in the 1970s. He sits and signs books all day. Apparently, the government pays him to sit there.

Pit #1

Pit #1

My colleagues on the City Wall.

City Wall shot

This was messed up.  I think there was a celebration earlier in the week.

From the city wall looking at inside city

Winner!

People warming up by burning things

The East Gate by night

Revolutionary Park and Memorial to the 8th Route Army.

Crazy Cup of coffee...but it wasn't coffee...it was tea,

Xi'an

Happy New Year!!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted on here. Christmas has come and gone, I had a trip to Xianning hot springs...so many other things have happened since my last post!

Just got back to Wuhan from Xi'an - the ancient capital of China.  Went with 3 other teachers from the school...2 PE teachers and an English/Drama teacher.  Some highlights were the Muslim Quarter, New Years Celebrations, and of course, the Terracotta Warrior Army.  I scored in the Muslim Quarter by haggling a North Face factory defect down from 280 to 210 kwai.  I'll post some nifty pictures of Xi'an on my blog as the week progresses.

We have 1 more week of instruction, then a week of invigilating exams.  After that, my backpacking adventure begins.  Jingzhou is next on the piste. On deck, Guangzhou and HK.

Paul

In Xianning waiting for the train