Guess The Place!

Last week I had to leave the country for a visa run, and didn't want to return to Hong Kong. I also had only one slot left in the passport and didn't want to go anywhere I needed a visa, like Cambodia or Thailand.

The language on this sign is a giveaway!

Yep, Macau. I had Portuguese food for the first time, I think, in my life. It was a treat to sit in a nice quiet restaurant and order non-Chinese food with some very inexpensive and good wine and eat with a fork. (Though, I think I have forgotten how to eat with a fork. I kept hitting my teeth with the tines.)

This is one little alley on one the middle island, which had great Portuguese gelato.

Rainy Day Lotus at the Hospital Grounds

Shot this lotus while visiting a friend who is recovering from an operation.

Total Solar

I was in kindergarten during the last eclipse I can remember.

The sky was overcast so we couldn't see the sun, but the few minutes of darkness was pretty cool.

This was the darkest point, about 9:08. It was light again in a few mintues.

Anren: Tiny Shoes Museum

One of the interesting things learned here was how widespread the tiny feet fashion was. There were examples of shoes from very diverse areas of China. The museum, with its uneven floors and room dividers made of rope, really makes you sympathize with the restriction and discomfort adorned by these tiny works of art. The shoes' parts:

Near the end of the displays were many pictures of famous women and feminists in China, from recent history as well as modern.

The museum cluster is half price (Y50 to see everything) with your panda card.

Anren: Quake Museum

The main reason for my visit to Jianchuan was the quake museum. There is always controversy when a museum commemorates a disaster or dark chapter in history. This one tells of the event, has a selection of quake inspired art, and includes an earthquake science floor. The entrance wall is lined with poems of the 'Children to Mothers in Heaven' sort, thankfully in Chinese so I only got a mild sense of how tear-jerking they are. This neat sculpture of the quake area is built from twisted rebar:

There are several quake detruction and rescue diorama type exhibits.

One of the things people remember most was the prime minister's swift flight to the disaster area as soon as the news of the quake broke. Here is the water bottle and handwipes he used as well as the megaphone.

One of the most interesting areas was the quake inspired art. Quite a few of the well known heroic stories were depicted, like the mother who managed to text a message to her surviving baby underneath her before the mother died, and the boy who saluted the soldiers rescuing him with his good arm. This one is called Face Changing (an art typical of Sichuan theatre) and shows a Sichuan opera mask, and the front face is covered with newspaper articles on the disaster.

Anren: Badges, Seals, and Clocks

The Jianchuan museum cluster in Anren has ten (or more) museums. Jianchuan is the name of the founder, one of the modern Chinese robber barons. Most of the museums glorify the modern history and military of China. I didn't really expect to be impressed, but found a few of the displays fascinating and the buildings really well done. They are a rare look at how modern Chinese see themselves.

Hundreds of clocks covered with slogans and propaganda are displayed in the Clocks hall. Some are running and fill the space with ticks and chimes.

Anren: Western Sichuan Folk Museum

Shaking off the writing block on this blog to post my visit to Anren, which is a museum town about an hour out of the city. This year the tourism bureau is issuing panda cards which will get you free admission to many sights in the province so I wanted to make the rounds while I still could. The first museum I stumbled into was the free West Sichuan folk Musuem. I loved the buildings.

The descriptions were quite critical of the feudal and patriarchal customs being depicted. Bridal chair:

Women's Day

International Women's day is always a big deal in China - you just say 3/8 and everyone knows what you are talking about. There seems to have been much more of a fuss made about Women's Day than usual this year, perhaps because it is very close to another, more troubling anniversary. (I am avoiding the Tib*tan area of town this week.) Most schools and communities will have some kind of activity and several stores and restaurants have deals for women or women's products. I forgot about going out to take advantage of drink specials until too late last night. Ah well, there is always next year!

Lantern Day

The last day of winter holiday is Lantern Day. The fireworks are nearly as intense as they are on the first.



The lanterns were quite interesting, with designs, pictures, or calligraphy on the sides.



The old area of Jinli Street was packed with people, even though there was a cover charge to get in.

Went back..

The one place visitors have to see when they visit.



Peacocks; I didn't see any females or babies this time. Wrong time of year maybe.



When I'd been before there was nobody in the nursery, but there were a few this time. They were a treat to watch.

Farmer Happy

A student once mentioned visiting and eating at 'farmer happy', and I was completely puzzled. What he meant was a nong jia le, or guest farm. These are places in the country where people go to relax and experience rural life, and they are very in vogue in Sichuan where they first started out. People like to go out in the morning, eat simply prepared organic food for lunch, and then drink tea and play ma jiang or cards during the day. Many nong jia le have other activities like karaoke, ping pong, horseback riding, fishing, or picking flowers and fruit. They are often the venue of choice for class reunions and corporate functions too. I am fascinated with nong jia le, not the least because I can find so little information about them in English, and also because there are hundreds of them around the city. I've written about San Sheng Xiang (Flower Town) before but only got to see a small part of it, and today visited a different area.

Camera shy waterfowl:



Fish pond:



The bird park is almost like a petting zoo. It costs one yuan to get in, and five yuan for a handful of corn to feed the birds. You can have peacocks and pheasants eating out of your hand. It seems like a pretty glamourous kind of farm life, with peacocks and black swans mingling with the ducks, chickens, and pigs.



These birds called out, "ni hao, ni hao" (hello, hello) as we walked by.



This fellow was in the bird pen.



We realized his fate when we noticed this poster outside a restaurant, detailing the benefits and flavours of different parts of a deer.

Down by the Big Boat

'The big boat' is one of the more recognizable landmarks in town. It's actually a building that houses a couple of restaurants.



There is a newly developed walking street/recreation area with many late night restaurants and bars.The town is starting to put on its holiday finery for the coming Spring Festival.

Keeping Warm

In frigid, plus five degree temperatures you can get a breeze on your hands when driving an electric bike. Many are equipped with these handle covers that keep the drivers' hands toasty.

Map of 加拿大

A friend pointed out a map of Canada (jiānádà) in the bookstore today. It was only ten yuan so I picked it up and have been figuring out the Chinese names of places I know and love. The map is a curious document, since some of the names are marked in English as well but many are not, and the Chinese names are definitely based on Mandarin pronunciation rather than Cantonese. Some towns, surprisingly, seem not to exist - Peace River is nowhere to be seen, though the associated body of water is labeled 皮斯河 písī hé. Grimshaw, or 各里姆肖 gèlĭmŭxiào, is on the map but Fairview (费尔维优 fèiĕrwéiyōu) is not. And some main highways are marked, but none are numbered.

艾伯塔 àibótă is Alberta, and of the many ways of translating Edmonton the clumsy 挨德蒙顿 áidémēngdùn is the most common. On a drive from the capital up to 曼宁 mànníng, a place name that slips quite easily into Chinese, you might stop at the A&W in 怀特考特 huáitèkăotè (Whitecourt), or hold on until 福克斯克里克 fúkèsī kèlĭkè (Fox Creek). Or you might decide to go through 奴湖村 núhú cūn - Slave Lake (village) instead.

Grande Prairie comes through as 大草原成 dàcăoyuán chéng, a translation, while further north we find 帕德尔普雷里 pàdéĕr pŭléilĭ - Paddle Prairie. Most lakes are not given the Chinese word for lake, but called láikè; for example, 威廉斯来克 wēiliánsī láikè - Williams lake. On the other hand, nearly every place name starting with 'Fort' translates it; Fort Mac is 麦克默里堡 màikèmòlĭ băo, Fort Sask is 萨斯喀彻温堡 sàsīkāchèwēn băo. I was curious to see the names of places like Medicine Hat and Moose Jaw, but they are just transliterated - 梅迪辛哈特 méidíxīn hātè and 穆斯乔 mùsīqiáo. Brooks is 布鲁克斯 bùlŭkèsī.

Waiting for the bus

I count seven ducks in two bags - pretty efficient way to carry them. Chickens are transported like this too; somehow they don't wiggle their way out of the bags.

Three Wheelers

Outside the market.

My area is well served by the independent drivers on three wheelers - the san lun che. They hang around the gates of large apartment complexes and outside markets and are about the same cost as a cab. When my foot was bad I used them a lot to get around for short distances and got to really like riding with the open air street's eye view as well as the way they efficiently navigate all the little side streets and shortcuts. During rush hour the san lun che are faster than cabs because they can travel in the bike lanes. They are great for covering short distances in a hurry or for when your optimal bus stop is a kilometer or more away.

A few weeks ago as I left the market there were several drivers waiting for customers, including a few of the faster electric powered trikes and one older woman on a pedal only model. I decided to give the older woman some business, and was about three feet away when I realized she had only one arm. I must have stood for a few seconds with a 'hey, she has no arm' look on my face because she repeatedly assured me the lack of arm was no problem and brought me home.

Cultural scenes

I couldn't resist posting another scenery picture though.



As far as I could figure out from the explanation, this woman is wearing not a scabbard, but a hook for holding a milk pail when a yak is milked.



Old mill.



Outside one of the temples.



Tib*tan sky burial area (where the dead are left for the birds).

It Really is That Beautiful

The name 'Jiuzhaigou' is often pronounced with a sense of wonder; it's said to have some of the beautiful lakes in the world. I had researched going there before but the more details I learned, the more I hesitated - 300 rmb entrance fee, an additional mandatory bus fare to ride between scenic sites once you get in, ten thousand visitors per day ... didn't sound like a good time. When a friend invited me on the tour I accepted because I wanted to see Huanglong and had lower expectations for our day in Jiuzhaigou. (Our trip was mid week and not during a regular holiday, so even though there were lots of people there it didn't feel too crowded.)

We arrived as the morning fog was burning off:



The squirrels here are adorable, with stripes and little tufted ears.



Water, snow, rocks, and autumn colours blend into some of the loveliest natural scenes:






This lake has fish, and is so clear you can see the light shining through their fins.



These are the tour buses that you ride between scenic areas. It is possible to walk, but it takes much longer to get through.



Waterfalls:




The shot every Jiuzhaigou visitor has to get:



Back in Canada I had heard Chinese people say that the Canadian Rockies are OK but mountains in China are way more beautiful. I'd always dismissed this as homesickness, but now am beginning to understand.