Postcards from Guangxi

March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 2 Comments

A bridge in Guilin, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

A street performer in Guilin. The sign on the left says: "Don't eat cats and dogs. Don't eat friends." The other one says, "With global warming comes smog/haze. The country (government) should ban firecrackers."

A woman I passed on the way to my hostel in Guilin. The sign on the left says, “Don’t eat cats and dogs. Don’t eat friends.” The other one says, “With global warming comes smog/haze. The country (government) should ban firecrackers.” Fireworks are commonly used to celebrate Chinese New Year, but some people have called for a ban on them to curb air pollution.

In a cab, somewhere between Guilin and Yangshuo county.

Yangshuo county, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China.

Biking through an old town outside Yangshuo county.

In pilots we trust

March 18, 2014May 26, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 2 Comments

Ever since a Boeing 777 bound for Beijing went missing, the capital has been abuzz with theories about the plane.

Terrorism? Pilot error? A fatal mechanical malfunction? With each passing day and no sign of Malaysia flight MH370, speculation over the fate of the 239 passengers and crew on board — including 154 Chinese — only grows.

“I don’t want to think about. I don’t dare,” my Chinese teacher Cathy said last week, during a break in one of our lessons. Cathy prefers taking the train or riding in a car over flying because she feels safer on the ground, even though the statistics say otherwise. Continue reading →

Fly the smoggy skies

March 6, 2014March 6, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 6 Comments

This is your Captain speaking. It’s 4:30 p.m. local time, March 6, 2024, and we’re beginning our descent into Beijing, although you could never tell by looking out the window. Visibility is at 5 feet and shrinking. The weather forecast calls for cancer-causing smog, followed overnight by acid rain.

Masks will be dropping from the ceiling in the next couple of minutes, but don’t be alarmed. If your final destination is Beijing, you must put on a World Health Organization-approved pollution mask before leaving the airport. If you’re traveling with a small child, please make sure their mask is properly secured before putting yours on.

Beijing, from 20,000 feet.

Our cabin crew will be going around in a few minutes to hand out anti-acid tablets. Unlike the masks, these aren’t required, but I highly advise taking a few just in case that lamb meat you order for lunch turns out to be diseased rat. That actually happened to me once, and I got so bloated that I looked like a woman pregnant with twins in her third trimester.

Pollution masks fall from the ceiling. A few people who were asleep during the announcement scream, but quickly calm down after they realize the plane hasn’t lost cabin pressure; they’re just landing in Beijing.

A few more things to tell you while we prepare for landing. Recently, there have been scandals involving baby formula, bottled water, fruit and vegetables containing high levels of pesticide, recycled cooking oil … (turns to co-pilot, voice barely audible: Bob, I know I’m forgetting something) … oh, and fresh air in a can. If, like me, you have a pulse, then you’re probably concerned about at least one of these things. However, all of these items are for sale in our duty-free catalog and can be purchased using Mastercard or Visa.

One more reminder: if you’re outside and your mask gets undone, don’t run. Just lie on the ground and dial 120. Medical personnel with oxygen tanks will respond within minutes to assist you.

It’s been a pleasure having you on board, and we hope you enjoy your stay in Beijing.

Man on the Moon Hill

February 25, 2014May 26, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 6 Comments

To get a birds-eye view of Yangshuo’s picturesque scenery, I hiked up a hill a few miles south of the county’s bustling center.

Moon Hill.

The hill is known for its natural arch, and the Chinese call it Yueliang shan (月亮山), which literally translates into moon mountain. Sections of the 1,250-foot hike to the arch are steep, but the trail is paved with concrete steps. Continue reading →

Scenery unforgettable; the camera bag, not so much

February 11, 2014May 26, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 4 Comments

I’ve traveled enough that preparing for a trip has become routine. The night before I leave, I make sure essential items have already been packed. Plenty of clean underwear. Passport. Cellphone charger. ATM card. Digital SLR camera.

I sleep easier knowing that when I wake up the following morning, all I have to worry about is brushing my teeth (never optional) and showering (sometimes optional).

For Chinese New Year, I traveled to Yangshuo (阳朔), a county in southern China’s Guangxi (广西）Zhuang Autonomous Region. Because of its unique landscape, Guangxi is a place I’d been wanting to visit ever since I moved to China. The province’s karst peaks give it an otherworldly feel. Continue reading →

The USA isn’t the only melting pot around

January 29, 2014January 30, 2014 / slightlyreworded / 2 Comments

To practice my Chinese, I make an effort to strike up conversations with strangers in Beijing. One thing I’ve discovered is that almost none of the people I meet are from here.

They come to the Chinese capital from all over the country to study or work, and make up a significant portion of the city’s 20 million residents. Nearly one in three people in Beijing are migrant workers, according to China Daily.

This becomes most apparent during Chinese New Year, when everyone who isn’t a native Beijinger returns home to celebrate the holiday with their families. Bustling neighborhoods slow to a crawl. Beijing’s notoriously bad traffic becomes manageable. I can even usually find a seat on the subway, which feels like a luxury because it’s so overcrowded most of the time.

The 40-day travel rush around the Spring Festival period is called chunyun. According to Xinhua News Agency, Chinese passengers will make an estimated 3.62 billion trips during this year’s chunyun, which is commonly referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration.

A man drags his luggage behind an electric bike in Beijing. The capital empties out in the week leading up to the Spring Festival holiday, with millions returning to their hometowns.

The holiday travel puts a huge strain on China’s rail and air transportation networks. A friend of mine who runs a restaurant in Beijing said last week that his waitresses have had trouble getting train tickets home. One lined up outside a ticket office before dawn several days in a row, but came up empty-handed, he said.

I’ll be traveling during chunyun, but not to visit family. I’m flying to Yangshuo in southern China, a small city known for its karst peaks, which inspired the artwork on the back of the 20 yuan bill.

I should have plenty of opportunities to practice speaking Chinese while wandering through the countryside. And, with it being Spring Festival, I might even meet a few “real” locals.

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 →