Monday 29 October 2012

Hello to family and friends,

A few weeks ago Don and I, along with Susan and Brad Hertz, went on a day trip to the neighbouring small city of Foshan. (population of only 3-6 million, depending on how you define the borders)
Michael, our student volunteer, offered to show us around, although he had never been to Foshan before. He brought a friend named Vicky.
We had a great day and Michael and Vicky were helpful.

We took the Metro or subway to the city and it took about an hour. The metro station was in front of an Ancestral Taoist Temple which included a memorial and museum dedicated to the martial arts master Huang Feihong. He was a 20th century Kung Fu expert who is revered in China today. It is said that Kung Fu, a form of martial arts, was born in Foshan. The ancestral temple site houses the Huang family home.

The rest of the day was visiting the porcelain district. This city has been the home to ceramic making, since the Stone Age. The area is lucky to have many colours of good clay. There was a very good museum, and a preserved village dating from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was fun to wander. The highlight was the Ancient Nanfeng Kiln, a huge firewood kiln constructed against a hill. It showed how large the production of ceramics was. The kiln was not in use but it boasted being in continuous use since 1506, and that makes it Ming Dynasty era. Don tried to explain why the kiln, running uphill, had better heat. Perhaps the highlight was looking at all the varied ceramics in the shops, for blocks and blocks. There were all shapes, sizes and qualities. It was beautiful.

Wish you had been with us!

24 October 2012

Hello Family and Friends,

We have had quite a few official Chinese dinners. They are unique and different from a Canadian-style meal.
While on our tour, the style was similar at the restaurants. I call them Lazy Susan Dinners and others call them Spinner Dinners.

Eight to ten people sit at a round table, which always has a tablecloth. The table has a large rotating raised centre, which I have always called a lazy Susan. Each place is set with a small plate, a soup bowl with a spoon, a teacup and saucer and chop sticks, usually on a little stand or rest. Then dishes are brought to the table and placed on the middle of the table. These are usually not brought all at once and it can take 20 minutes to have all the dishes assembled. You are full and they are still bringing more dishes. Often the soup comes last. The idea is to share the various dishes by rotating the lazy Susan. The dishes are usually delicious and I especially enjoy the vegetable dishes. We have had a great variety and the meat dishes have included: pork, beef, lamb, goose, chicken, fish, seafood, duck, eel…… Once on the Northwest tour we had a meal prepared at a wok, next to the table, and the dish of vegetables and meat was cooked by adding steaming stones about the size of a child's hand. Some of my favourite dishes have been cabbage, pumpkin and celery dishes and also a scrambled egg with tomato dish. The fried rice is always great and the dishes are always presented beautifully.

I am not very good at this style of eating.
For one thing, my chop stick use is still terrible and I usually resort to the soup spoon. This could be very poor manners but you get hungry eventually. For another thing, it seems that no matter how polite you are trying to be, that you are vying with each other for the food. It will take some more getting used to. I can see why this is a good system because you never have to bother with passing anything. It is just different. Maybe you had to know what Mom was like to appreciate my discomfort.


Good bye for now,
I will send a picture later.
I thought that I had one.

Friday 19 October 2012

Hello Family and Friends,

Don and I have become acquainted with some parts of the city and can ride the bus, almost successfully.
We ventured out to "Little Mama's" last week to buy the fabric that Denise wanted. The bus ride was almost a success and we only over-shot
the stop by one stop. It was an easy walk back to the fabric area. After bargaining for the best price, the fabric was measured out on the sidewalk. Denise will get 20 meters of red velvet-like fabric and 20 meters of gold. The price was 10 yuan per meter. That works out to about $1.50 per meter. It was a very good deal. On the way back we tried to get a taxi but were not successful. They couldn't understand our talk or the card we carried. Then we took the bus, each holding garbage bags full or cloth. Eventually we realized that things were not looking familiar. We got off. Since we were looking like homeless tourists, with our heavy garbage bags, a very nice bellman from a hotel on the street came over to help us hail a taxi. Even he had trouble. It took some time and I think it was because we were too close to home and the taxi wouldn't have made much money. It is surprising how many people look out for bewildered foreigners. We have been helped many times. They may be just waiting for us to need them, and we usually do.

"Little Mama's" was truly little compared to "Big Mama's." These are not official names, by the way. "Big Mama's" is the fabric district in Guangzhou and it is the second largest fabric centre in the world. The largest is in India. It is not just one building, but a whole district. It was a madhouse and wonderful. It was composed of thousands of tiny shops that must be brokers' shops. There were large carts being pedalled in every direction, carrying bolts of fabric. The accessories, buttons and zippers were endless. I just kept saying, "Kathy Pollock would love this." The cheap evening gown material and lace made me want to buy some, even though I can't sew very well. Even if you weren't a seamstress, you would have loved seeing it. It was a real working district and we could have been run over at every turn. There were dozens of men on bicycles that were offering rides. They scattered when a policeman showed up. Don bought some fry bread from a street vendor and I bought a bracelet from a street seller from Tibet. (I am starting my gift stash) Both these places were sights to behold.

Congratulations Inga on your new little baby girl.

Monday 15 October 2012

Hi from Guangzhou,

The report on the Silk Road Tour is finished. We returned to Guangzhou, braved the metro (subway) from the airport by ourselves, and then walked the 25 minutes to our apartment. Walking onto the campus was like "coming home." The campus was quiet, tidy and peaceful. A flashing police light came up behind us and it was a security man on his bike. He was just making his rounds. We were happy to be home, even with the instant humidity that greeted us.

Today in class the students were excited about the first Chinese Nobel Prize Winner for Literature. They were sincerely happy and "happy for China," as they said. His name is Mo Yan, which is a pen name. He is popular in China, so the reports say, but my students had not read his work. He writes social commentary, often in the form of epic historical novels. He has been influenced by the famous past author, Lu Xun, but he also encourages students to read world literature. That gives all you readers two authors to investigate, Mo Yan and Lu Xun.

Here are two bicycle photos. One was taken because it was the first time we had spotted a helmut. The second one is of a nice family that said we could take their picture. It is a common scene and the photo was taken in Dunhuang.

Sorry, the helmet photo is gone and so you have Don at the Crescent Moon Lake oasis, with a modern twist to it!

Sunday 14 October 2012

Hello from Guangzhou,

Don and I spent out last day with the tour in Dunhuang in Gansu province.
After the camel rides, we spent the afternoon visiting the Mogas Grottos. It was a
magnificent site. Mogao Grotto lies on a small oasis in the Gobi Desert and was established
by a Buddhist monk in the Tang Dynasty, and that means well over 1500 years ago.
There are more that 500 grottos or caves carved from the sandstone mountain. It has been called
"the largest Buddhist artistic treasury in the world" and is a UN World Heritage site. We saw
100 feet tall statues and murals that displayed majesty and adoration. The workmanship left us in awe.

I would visit this site again. Our visit was marred because of the crowds. Since the Mid-Autumn festival week
is a major week for travel, the crowds were crushing and we actually couldn't stay and look because we had to hurry
along. It was obvious that this place is revered for cultural and spiritual reasons.

Also, as a Christian visitor I could only marvel at the workmanship. The symbols, mythic figures and stories passed me by.
I didn't understand what I was seeing. For example, if visiting Israel, I would be able to understand and take interest in almost everything that I saw. I would instinctively understand the symbols in the Christian and the Jewish sites as well. Even a pile of stones in the desert would remind me of Lot's wife. We would know the symbolism. Next time I will prepare to know what I am looking at.

We had a good hotel in Dunhuang.
Nothing was arranged for the evening and so Don and I went downtown, with some of the others, and enjoyed the crowded, holiday night
market and street food. The fried bread was very good. We shared a taxi back to the hotel with the Despain's and were charged
triple because we hadn't arranged the price ahead. The driver hadn't turned on her meter. That served us right.
We questioned her and then realized that we were arguing over $1.00.

Good bye for today,
MOM/Grandma/ Kathy/Kathleen

Friday 12 October 2012

Hello again,

I am still telling the story of our Silk Road Tour.

Our train arrived in the morning in Liuyuan at the train station and we took the bus through the Gobi Desert
to Dunhuang, in the province of Gansu. The desert was rocky, flat, and barren. It was obvious that coal is being mined somewhere as we saw mounds of coal along the way.

Dunhuang is a great place to visit. The outskirts of the town had the usual signs of extreme poverty, but the city
center is very nice and it was obvious that it is a tourist town.

Dunhuang was a major oasis stop on the old Silk Road and it would have been so welcome.
It has always been a frontier town with great strategic importance. It was at the crossroads to roads leading to
the west regions, east to Xian, south to India and north to Mongolia and Siberia. The Great Wall was extended to Dunguang.

Dunhuang is also called the "City of Sands."
This is because the Gobi Desert landscape becomes one of huge sand dunes at the southern edge of Dunhuang.
The sight was everything that most of us picture when we think of "desert." The dunes were massive and the sand was fine. It was a medium brown colour. Of course we had to have a camel ride and the place was set up for tourists. There were hundreds of camels waiting for their turn to take tourists on a one hour camel ride. Many of the young tourists were climbing the dunes and sliding back down. They had to wear cloth boots and you can see them in the photos. Bright orange. It was a long, hard climb.

After the camel ride we walked to Crescent Moon Lake. I wish I had realized how important a landmark this lake was. It was beautiful situated on the edge of the dunes. Apparently it has been a fresh lake for a few thousand years.

Good bye for now,
I would be happy to answer any questions.

MOM/ Grandma/ Kathleen/ Kathy

PS. Camels are beautiful animals. OK we were being dopey tourists, but it was fun!

Wednesday 10 October 2012

Hi again,

To keep following our Silk Road trail, you will have to use your imagination as to what an overnight trip on a train from Turpan to Dunhuang would be like. It was an adventure and one that we may need only once. We left the train station about 10:30 PM and arrived at Dunhuang around 7:00 AM. Really there is only a general schedule in this part of China and now I know how that works. There is a parallel set of tracks so that trains can speed by without any worry about the schedule being off an hour or two.

Each sleeper car had 8 tiny units that each slept 4 people in two bunks. It was a soft sleeper car and so there were not 6 people in hard triple bunks. We were lucky. There was a Western toilet at one end and an Eastern one at the other end, and in our car the Eastern one was much preferable. Don and I shared our little room with Margaret Kenelly and Marvin Wu, the tour owner. Marvin climbed in and said, "Not too clean, but not too dirty!"

We each had one quilt and a pillow and the mattress was nice and soft, the softest we had had in a long time.
The night sped by with many trains passing and blowing their whistles. It was quite a night! Very loud and cold by the morning. We were passing through the Gobi Desert. Can you believe it? The train personel provided good service.

When morning arrived, (I can't say that we woke up) Marvin said, "Oh, it's late. We are either behind schedule or else we have
passed the station." That's how the train trip was.

We have been getting reports about the Calgary Temple Open House. Congratulations Uncle Tom for doing a good job as the Open
House chairman. Everyone says that it was well organized and that the temple is very beautiful. I haven't heard a single complaint about anything. Congratulations to Wendy too. That was a huge job for both of you.

Good bye for now,
Mom, etc.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

Hello family and friends,

To further report on the Silk Road Trip, let me tell you about our second day in Turpan.
In the morning, we bused to the ancient town of Gaochang, another ancient ruins of a thriving city.
Again, since there is almost no rain in the area, the adobe ruins have been well preserved.
We could tell that it was an important economic, administrative, military, cultural and religious centre for 100's of years.
The area has been influenced by many religions as there are artifacts that represent
Buddhism, Manicheism (from Persia), Uighur Islam, and Nestorianism (a form of Christianity found in the Middle East).


Something interesting happened on the way to Gaochang. We were driven to the site in small donkey carts. They RACED down
the dirt road with 5 or 6 tourists in each. It was fun as they raced past one another. I reached the site and 3 tourists boarded my cart for the return trip. They sat on one side and as the cart turned, the whole thing and the donkey tipped over. No one was hurt, but someone could have been. It was pretty astounding. In this area of China there are no rules, no law suits, and no child labor regulations as some of the drivers were not even teenagers. Also, this is the only place where children were pestering tourists to buy booklets and "stuff."

Next time I will report on the train system and what it is like to take the soft sleeper train.

Happy Birthday to Peter. Can you believe that he has entered a new decade?
Thanks again for all the news and emails from home.

Good bye for now,

Mom/Grandma/Kathy/Kathleen

Monday 8 October 2012

Hi from China,

Last Tuesday in Turpan was a big day and so I will continue.

One of the most interesting things that we saw was the ancient irrigation system called the Karze. I thought of all the family members who have spent hours irrigating, mainly Grandpa and Uncle Ian and their helpers, and Ian with his surveying expertise. This was really a great system that has allowed the desert to be productive. The system is regarded as the third greatest engineering wonder in China after the Great Wall and the Grand Canal. It is worth studying about if anyone needs a school report. The water was brought down from the mountains to the north in man-made, underground passages. It had to be underground to halt evaporation. Then the water was dispersed in little irrigation ditches like the ones that ran all over southern Alberta in the 50's before the wheel moves took over. It was great. A real miracle of engineering. It has allowed the area to grow cherries, apricots, melons, and the grapes that are dried into raisins. How the engineers ever matched and coordinated all the underground waterways is amazing.

For supper we went to a Uighur dinner show and it was delicious, entertaining and elegant. The men in the show had many dance steps and kicks that were like Russian dancing. That makes sense since Russia is just across the border. They say "the Ruskies."

The Turpan Hotel was a 3 star and not bad at all. The service all over China is very personal and attentive.
I did barter for a blue lapis lazuli necklace and bought it, of course. A nice souvenir from a very interesting place. The lapis comes from the mountains here as does jade and malachite. Since I can't tell good jade from plastic and the malachite was too pricey, I am very happy with a great blue necklace and one that I had fun dealing with the girl for.

Keep posted,
Mom/ Grandma/ Kathleen/ Kathy

Sunday 7 October 2012

Hello,
Before I forget, below is a picture of Moon Cakes taken in our hotel room in Urumqi. This is the festival where everyone celebrates with Moon Cakes.
On last Tuesday morning we boarded a bus and drove to Turpan, or Turfan as the locals in Turpan pronounce it. It was a beautiful drive east along the Flaming Mountains of the Tianshan range. The bus drove just to the south of the mountains into the Turpan Depression which is the second lowest place on earth, next to the Dead Sea. It is also the hottest and driest place in China, along with being the lowest. Once a temperature of 62 degrees F. was recorded. There is almost no rainfall here. It was a rock desert and when we stopped at a WC it was cold and windy. There are wind farms and oil wells along the way. It is a rich mineral province but very bleak and barren. The mountains here are red in the sunlight and farther to the north you can see snow topped mountains. They are high and majestic. That was a surprise. There is almost no vegetation to be seen and very few villages. The highway was good.

We drove into the Flaming Mountains to see the Bezklik Grottos which are famous for wall art featuring scenes of royalty and Buddhism. It was such a remote and impressive site. The murals have been raided and are in museums across the world, but we could see the remnants and they are detailed, colourful and interesting. It was a flourishing place for 1000 years from the 400's CE or AD. The grottos are caves and passage ways cut into the cliffs.

After a few hours we arrived at Turpan, had a meal and went to visit the Ancient City of Jiaohe which is located on an island which is a perfect strategic location as the vertical cliffs on the island are over 100 feet high. No city walls were needed. This site had been occupied for over 2000 years and it is a large city made with mud adobe bricks. Since it rarely rains here, much is preserved and there were wells, temples, monasteries, administration buildings, etc. Look this one up. It is an UNESCO site.

The area is still a Uighur area and we went to a Uighur home which opened up into a great courtyard with low tables, carpets all over and all under a grape trellis. We had raisins and were entertained with dancing. The raisin industry is interesting. The raisins are dried in buildings that are made with bricks so that the walls are a lattice work. The wind blows through and dries the grapes naturally, making raisins. We saw these building everywhere, even on top of the homes. It looked like a poor area.

I will save the rest of the first day in Turpan for tomorrow.

Good bye for now,
MOM/Grandma/Kathy/Kathleen

Saturday 6 October 2012

Hello again,

We returned from our Silk Road Tour and can report that the Silk Road is still there, almost as difficult to travel as

when Marco Polo travelled through.  I have gained new respect for him.  The northwest of China is huge, barren, dry and

magnificent.  It was such a thrill to see expected and unexpected sights.

We had a 5 and 1/2 hour flight from Guangzhou to Urumqi and just noticing the time taken will tell your how far away Xinjiang Province is.

It is the largest, hottest, driest province in China.  In some ways it was like going to another country.  Most of the people are not Han Chinese but Islamic Uighurs who came south during the 7th or 8th century.  Another Islamic group came from the southwest and hence a mixing with the Chinese in the Western Regions.  There  was definitely a different gene pool working there.  The people were larger and more European looking.  There were many mosques and women in headscarves, although not many in the full burka.

Pronounce Uighur as "wee-gur" and you will be close.

As far as Urumqi goes, I still have not found exactly how to say it. It was in a valley with low mountains surrounding it on the north and west.

Urumqi is a large city and we were taken to the largest bazaar in the world, except for Istanbul.  I was not buying that line, but I did buy a junky little hand mirror with a peacock.  The area is known for its fruit and raisins.  The raisins especially were impressive mounded up in huge piles in the bazaar.  There were so many different kinds and colours.  More on how raisins can grow in a desert later.

Dinner was good, as was the hotel in the centre of the city.

I will report on our tour daily, since no one want to read an essay all at once.

Good bye and our love,

We are missing family on this Thanksgiving weekend.

Be thankful and life will be better for us all.

Mom/ Grandma

Saturday 6 October 2012

Hello again,

We returned from our Silk Road Tour and can report that the Silk Road is still there, almost as difficult to travel as
when Marco Polo travelled through. I have gained new respect for him. The northwest of China is huge, barren, dry and
magnificent. It was such a thrill to see expected and unexpected sights.

We had a 5 and 1/2 hour flight from Guangzhou to Urumqi and just noticing the time taken will tell your how far away Xinjiang Province is.
It is the largest, hottest, driest province in China. In some ways it was like going to another country. Most of the people are not Han Chinese but Islamic Uighurs who came south during the 7th or 8th century. Another Islamic group came from the southwest and hence a mixing with the Chinese in the Western Regions. There was definitely a different gene pool working there. The people were larger and more European looking. There were many mosques and women in headscarves, although not many in the full burka.

Pronounce Uighur as "wee-gur" and you will be close.

As far as Urumqi goes, I still have not found exactly how to say it. It was in a valley with low mountains surrounding it on the north and west.
Urumqi is a large city and we were taken to the largest bazaar in the world, except for Istanbul. I was not buying that line, but I did buy a junky little hand mirror with a peacock. The area is known for its fruit and raisins. The raisins especially were impressive mounded up in huge piles in the bazaar. There were so many different kinds and colours. More on how raisins can grow in a desert later.

Dinner was good, as was the hotel in the centre of the city.

I will report on our tour daily, since no one want to read an essay all at once.

Good bye and our love,
We are missing family on this Thanksgiving weekend.
Be thankful and life will be better for us all.

Mom/ Grandma