Hotel survives fire that razed ancient town

January 15, 2014January 29, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 1 Comment

The hotel I stayed at in Dukezong survived Saturday’s fire, which destroyed most of the ancient town.

“We were very lucky, our hotel suffered little damage,” said Matthieu Lelievre, who owns Kersang’s Relay Station hotel with his wife and her family.

More than 80 percent of the buildings in Dukezong, located in southwestern China’s Yunnan province, were destroyed in the fire. The New York Times reported on Tuesday that local officials said the blaze was caused by an electrical problem that ignited a curtain inside a guesthouse. Continue reading →

Sometimes what’s old deserves to stay up

January 14, 2014January 29, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 8 Comments

A 1,300-year-old town I visited last summer in southwestern China’s Yunnan province was razed by a fire on Saturday.

According to CNN, the fire raged for more than 10 hours, destroying two-thirds of the 240 houses in the town of Dukezong. No casualties were reported.

The narrow, cobblestone streets that gave the ancient Tibetan town part of its charm made it difficult for firetrucks to maneuver. Arson has been ruled out, according to the report, but an investigation into the fire is ongoing.

The ancient town of Dukezong, as it looked in June when I visited.

The town’s well-preserved wooden houses are the latest in a long line of historically significant Chinese structures to disappear, many at the hands of man. Continue reading →

Postcards from Beijing

December 27, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 2 Comments

A man prepares to kick a jianzi, or Chinese hacky sack, in front of the Drum Tower.

Nanluoguxiang, which was built during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), is one of Beijing’s most popular hutong, or alleyways.

A couple chats at the edge of a lake in Houhai, a popular nightlife destination where many residences have been converted into restaurants and bars.

Jin Ding Xuan, a well known dim sum restaurant chain.

Air pollution and dust are huge problems in Beijing. The Chinese government has vowed to reduce pollution by closing factories and restricting the number of vehicles on the road.

A car after a dust storm last summer.

The Lama Temple, a temple and monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism, after a snow last winter.

The Lama Temple, a monastery of the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism, after a snow last winter.

A waitress at a bar on Wudaoying Hutong. With more than 350 million smokers, Chinese is the largest consumer and producer of tobacco.

A waitress at a punk bar on Wudaoying Hutong. With more than 350 million smokers, China is the largest consumer and producer of tobacco.

The grandson from China

December 9, 2013January 29, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 3 Comments

I recently returned to the U.S. to attend my grandfather’s funeral in northwestern Michigan. My grandfather Ed was well liked, and friends and family came from all over — Nevada, California, Ohio and even Canada — to pay their respects.

Perhaps it’s because I live so far away, but I was repeatedly introduced as “the grandson from China,” which led to a lot of questions. Isn’t China becoming more capitalist? (Absolutely.) Do the Chinese celebrate Christmas? (Only in a commercial sense.) Have you eaten dog? (No.) But would you try it if you were served dog? (No, really I wouldn’t.) Continue reading →

To Grandpa with love, in real time

November 12, 2013January 29, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 8 Comments

When my Dad died in 1989, I didn’t find out about it until hours after the fact. It happened suddenly — he suffered an abdominal aneurysm and quickly bled to death internally — and I was out of town at the time.

My mom didn’t have a cell phone that she could call me from in the ambulance that took Dad to the hospital. They were still uncommon then and obnoxiously large and expensive. I was in a car with a friend and his father, less than 70 miles from home, but essentially unreachable.

Today, I live in Beijing, a world away from my family in the United States. Yet as my Grandpa, stricken with final stage Parkinson’s disease, enters the final days or hours of his life, I’m receiving texts and emails every few hours about his condition. My aunts are uploading on Facebook pictures of relatives by Grandpa’s bedside, kissing his face, holding his hand and playing guitar. Continue reading →

A soon-to-be lost art?

November 5, 2013November 12, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 8 Comments

In this photo, an elderly man uses a brush dipped in water to write a poem at the Yuan Dynasty City Wall park in Beijing.

Some Chinese practice calligraphy at parks for exercise, while others do it to show off their handwriting.

Chinese leader Mao Zedong and the Communist Party once considered doing away with Chinese characters and instead using a Roman-based alphabet system. The plan failed, but the millenia-old writing system now faces another threat: texting. Continue reading →

The Queen of Beers

September 12, 2013October 23, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 5 Comments

If Budweiser is the King of Beers, then Hello Kitty is definitely the Queen of Beers.

Available in six tropical flavors — including passion fruit, lemon lime and banana – Hello Kitty Beer is sure to sap whatever manliness you possess with just one sip. The beer was introduced in Taiwan and is now available on the Chinese mainland.

According to ABC News, the beverage is marketed toward adult fans of the cartoon cat (wink, wink; take a look at the can and judge for yourself). Continue reading →

60 is the new 16

September 11, 2013October 23, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 2 Comments

I was standing at a bus stop recently when a lady got in line behind me. She put down her bags and began twisting her arms from side to side.

With the grace of a gymnast, she raised one of her legs onto a metal railing at least three feet high. With her leg still propped up, she bent toward her foot, her chin nearly touching her ankle.

Did I mention she looked like she was in her 60s? Continue reading →

Beijing, I can see your underpants

August 21, 2013October 21, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 3 Comments

Beijing has the world cornered on ugly buildings. And perhaps none has drawn as much criticism as the CCTV Tower. This silver-gray monstrosity opened in 2008 and has been disappointing people looking up ever since.

Some say the 44-story skyscraper, which serves as the headquarters of China Central Television, resembles a pair of boxers shorts. Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, who designed the CCTV Tower, told CNN that it is “a building that is constantly mutable and that emanates creativity.”

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Postcards from Yunnan

July 22, 2013October 21, 2013 / slightlyreworded / 6 Comments

This is as close as I got to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the world's deepest river canyons. I had planned to hike the gorge, but the trail was closed because of a landslide.

View of the Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the world’s deepest river canyons, from my bus window. I had planned to hike a trail that cuts through the gorge, but it was closed due to a landslide.