Boog's Blog

BTC. Guiyang day two

Some sunshine and blue skies

Geology lesson on the route to Han village, old Han group, about a two hour bus ride southwest from the urban area. Karst formations and landscape. One of our group knew quite a bit about Karst history. The rest was revealed, where else: wikipedia.

The Han chine army defeated the locals about 600 years ago, and the Ming emperor got the 200 thousand strong army to stay. This village, isolated, has their decendents. Guide explained, to see modern Han dress go to Shanghai, for traditional Han culture come here.

The village, Jiachang, is made mostly of stone. Greeted by traditional dance symbolizing the old war, masks, drum beating and some chanting. The village is poor, dirty with winding alleys. Slits still evident in the stone structures.

In the main areas a few vendors. One selling shoes., embroidered, with front point (had a blade in it for fighting in previous perood). Feet still too big so the vendor took us through a Warren or alleys to see other shoes and maybe sizes. QB got to go shoe shopping in an old Han village!. No success.

On a road developed for buffalo the bus managed not to overturn, though it was close at times. Headed east to a botanical garden looking area about 90 minutes away. Decent lunch with good dumplings and broccoli as well as spicy beans.

Up another mountain road, about 90 minutes of tortured terrain in a bus that felt as if it had no shocks. Hairpin turns with impossible grades and clearances. Finally we reached the tea plants at 1600 meters.

These are very special plants. A few are thought to be 2000 years old. The area is being supported by the government, means lower taxes to encourage development.

At the top of the world, still Karst geology, we get to sample teas from this farm. Black, white, and green. Done somewhat formally we were able to quiz the owners and servers for an extended time. Got tastes, process and species questions answered. Then down the mountain and bit to see Green tea processing. A new plant was being built. There are three crops a year, no winter crop, and harvesting for the spring crop was over. Naturally we were told how they pick, with fingernails not fingers.

In the store, not yet really built, we looked at a box of tea, maybe 500 grams. $580. We passed. Suspect we drank three or four cups of this fine tea. Good, but we like the black tea of India and Sri Lanka better. Overall a very useful education in tea growing and processing in exchange for a very difficult ride. But the views..and the air quality are memorable. Could feel the difference in my lungs as soon as we returned to Guiyang.

Leave very early for Shanghai.

BTC. Guiyang, a bit further west

Overcast, some sun peaked through.

A visit to a Sunday Miao market in Kaili. Cultural performance in Guiyang

Yesterday when I asked one of the Miao leaders in the village if she left the village often she said no. She had been to another village a few hours walk away but not to Kaili. I assumed it was due to distance and the roads. No. No longer Miao people in Kaili, wear tee shirts, becoming too Han like, giving up the customs. She did not like the Han as they were not respectful of her culture.

Sunday market. Hum Fat’s Waller’s "feets too big". QB has not yet been able to get a single pair of shoes, not for lack of trying, feets too big. Outdoor barbershop still doing straight razor shaves and razor haircuts. Outdoor dentists reminiscent of 19th century, wonderful fabrics and almost all sorts of wares.

Guiyang, 1.8 million inner city, 3.2 million total. 87% Han. No Starbucks or McDonalds. KFC and Dairy Queen are popular. No frozen yogurt.

Cultural performance of Dong and other minorities peoples. Dong well known for their a capella chorus. Theatre large, maybe 1000 seats in a better part of town than our hotel. Big, loud, las Vegas type show. Not to our tastes but the locals appear to have liked it.

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BTC. Kaili

Overcast

Awakening by roosters or good imitations. Lasted at least an hour. Brings back memories of Vietnam and my stay with a farming family.

Lecture on minorities in china, visit to and lecture at, traditional medicine hospital, some time with Miao people

Visit to a TCM, traditional Chinese medicine hospital. Tour of the treatment rooms watching patients being treated by acupuncture, cupping, bleeding with cupping, and variants. Usual treatment is seven visits for about $100. Much cheaper than the attached western medicine hospital, used for heart attacks, severe injury. TCM is viewed as no risk and no harm to the body. Safer and better. Extensive herbs available, we saw several hundred in the dispensaries.

Another lunch of local food with a particularly interesting tomato, slightly sour, and steamed egg dish. Eggplant, pork, peppers alternatives.

We then climbed to 1090 meters on a windey broken up road, aggressive driver, to a Miao village. Greeted with cultural dances and singing. Had us taste the homemade rice wine, too sour for my taste, as they welcomed us. Interesting traditional instruments including some from the earlier music demonstration.

Demonstration of how they do up their long hair, dyed jet Black using tea tree leaves.

The village is situated high up on a hill with many houses of wood with the distinctive Miao balconies. Penned water buffalo, dogs, chickens and very gentle people proud of their culture. Think Americans are friendly, interested and respectful of their culture, in response to my usual question.

Watched a hand pleated skirt being made. A one year process. Certainly teaches patience.

Descended 200 meters to another village, it looked feudal, well known for paper making. I tried to get the pulp evenly spread out over the sieve and failed miserably.

The road, there is only one, was finished just two years ago. Our guide said it took all day to reach the village before the new paved road.

After dinner tackled the supermarket. Underground, huge with 18 registers. Tried to buy yogurt. Hard to explain. Used Google translate. Success. The supermarket seems to start with the assumption that you are dishonest. Check you plastic bags on the way in at a check in counter. Have your goods checked on the way out like Costco.

BTC Changsha to Kali

A little less overcast

We arose early for the eleven hour train ride to Kali through terraced green mountainsides heading towards one of the most sparsely populated regions. About half way we enter Guizhou province, 87% mountains, elevation about 3000 feet, in a subtropical monsoon zone, forty to fifty inches of rain. May contain 50 billion tons of coal, along with other mining goodies.

Kali, our destination for today, is the Capitol city of the Miao and Dong Minority Autonomous prefecture. Silver jewelry, dancing, etc. Seems to be a universal theme for minorities.

The train. I like it and thought it better than Amtrak. Others disagreed. To me, cleaner and cleaned more often, others: used sheets. To me, sleepers more comfortable than seats, others: terrible, hurt the backs as they did not want to lie down. To me, bathroom cleaner and was cleaned, to there’s: squatters. May not have mentioned that there are eight women and me.

Kali is home to 48 of the 55 minorities. Being promoted as a tourist area it does not attract the Han, too much like the way they lived 20 years ago.

First a shoutout to Bing Bing; if you are reading this thanks for your excellent cultural and linguistic discussions. On my list, now, is to learn a bit about Corpus.

After a lovely dinner highlighted by the soured cabbage and red peppers served with sticky rice balls, a speciality dish of this region, as well as eggplant good enough to export, lots of very fresh veggies, pork and chicken dishes took a break and went for a walk. QB was not yet up to an evening walk, hopefully tomorrow.

Kali is a very charming city of about 200000 souls. Lit up a bit like Las Vegas.

First I went downstairs to the dragon club. Girls lined up to greet me and take me to a table to drink. Too much smoking, I passed.

Onto the main street with its surprisingly western looking clothing shops, then a shopping mall with a multilevel grocery store down escalators.

A short distance away was a large square. No exaggeration, saw one group of 300 line dancing. Another group of about 100 doing the same to different music. A few feet away 50 or so couples doing ballroom dancing. Most of the dancers in all the groups appeared to be seniors. I demurred on the ballroom dancing.

I like this town.

BTC. Changsha day two- Mao day.

Overcast and polluted.

Mao, all day. History lecture from the Chinese perspective, very mixed, with a view of early Mao, second Mao (devil Mao as second to Stalin), and heroized Mao

Most of those who demonize Mao are from the upper classes. Very few in middle class demonize him.

Well told story of how Mao with 35K troops managed to beat the nationalists with their initial 8millions of troops. He stopped the endless wars of China, or so it is believed.

Mao started the cultural revolution to purge the corruption of CCP, good motives but much suffering especially the upper classes. Without the cultural revolution a real danger of return to warlords via CCP officials.

Poignant story of how mud cakes from Mao’s relatives ended the great leap forward.

Finally the defied Mao. Now a religious festival, as a pilgrimage. Sprung up by itself. A great mass of mostly lower class but many others have defied. Non-political, religious.

Prior to Mao childhood home we stopped at a farmer’s house, house of six persons who grow rice and other crops, self-sufficient selling some rice to the government at a discounted price as a tax.

Lunch was another learning experience. A pot of treatment, steaming, on the table and a metal bowl maybe a half liter. One washes your rice bowl and chopsticks in the tea by pouring tea over the chopsticks while they are in the empty rice bowl. Then pour out the liquid into the metal bowl and repeat.

During our visit to Shaoshen, boyhood home of Mao, and a repeat lesson on how the legal system and culture works. Have seen this lesson many times. No photos inside Mao’s home. Guide says no police. This meant photos are okay. As we have repeatedly seen what is not detected is legal.

Smoking in front of no smoking signs common. When I point to the sign they immediately put out the smoke.

Fortunately QB is better, will eat again in August, birthday cake.

Shopping this evening. Tomorrow we have an 11 hour train journey to Kali. About 800 km Southwest. Sparsely populated with minority people. Need to shop for food on the train.

Photos. The Chinese frequently asked us to be photographed with them. Dafne, an African American was generally the most prized photo subject.

BTC Changsha

Overcast, polluted,

Hunan provincial museum, best in China. Each guide has said their museum is the best. The degree of provincial loyalty is evident in food as well.

The museum is built around what has started to be a pattern. A noble, in this case female, has a tomb that is excavated.. Han this time. Bronzes, lacquer ware, porcelain, fewer weapons. Good mummy.

One highlight is the construction of the planets rotating around the sun, from reconstruction of writings on silk found in the tombs. Galileo would have impressed to have seen this 2000 years earlier.

Exhibition of embroidery – I might have been the highlight. Several young ladies showed me the works and wanted me to see them all. I helped with some English.

Finally a lunch (and later a dinner) that has been hoped for. Hunan in a local restaurant. About half of the 10 dishes were hot the way the locals eat, a few milder and some fresh veggies without much heat. All agreed to come back here for dinner.

Unfortunately QB is sick and suffering. Nausea, stomach hurts and extreme fatigue. Woke up this morning with the symptoms and has remained in bed, unfed, all day.

Afternoon lecture on rice development from the VP of the rice development Institute. Then off by bus to visit fields. Except for the work involved I am prepared to grow rice. All of my knowledge is metric except for the unit called mu; I will be doing conversions.

Dinner, more of the same good food with frog(too boney and bland meat) pigs ears (mostly lost in the spicing with some thinking it was pork skins), dried smoky beef. (my favorite).

QB still sleeping and drifting after my return.

BTC. Wuhan to Changsha

Fog and some light rain

Rolled into Wuhan, 8 millions strong, on the northern edge of the rice bowl, rice, tea, oranges, wheat, corn, in about that order, late evening. The city lights were ablaze, few seemed to be LED. Apartments as well as commercial enterprises gaily lit in multi colors.

We were assigned room 8530.. No eighth floor. Back to ask, the leading 8 is for luck.

Wuhan, provincial capital, Hubei, Lake North sits in the middle reach of the Yangtze. Changsha, Lake South, in Hunan, train ride away, will be our head resting place for three nights. About 200 miles, almost due south (a bit southwest) but as we took a local, four sleeper beds in our open compartment, takes 4 hours. Nothing like the bullet train to X’ian.

The beds are three high on each side with narrow ladders. Pillows of unknown cleanliness, toilets that should not be visited. Naturally more people than beds so the aisles are crowded. Food carts, musac, some of it western.

Bronze age tomb, intact, from the warring states period. Shows how little has changed with how the nobility took care of themselves. At least until the end of the Quing dynasty. Did get to hear interesting two toned bronze bells, hammer and stick struck, described as chimes. An enormous set found in his tomb. 20 minute enjoyable concert, many aftertones.

Lunch, noisy, next to a wedding banquet. Usual large one, then off to the train.

Riding south into the Hunan rice bowl villages are now numerous and landscape mostly flat. Did not see many urban areas. Green and villages. Train rocked gently.

BTC. The Dam

Raining hard with dense fog.

As I write this we have been sitting in the middle of the river, not moving, for at least seven hours. Nothing is moving on the river.

Naturally it is claimed that this weather is not usual and has been caused by the dam construction, as is the more humid summers etc.

Eventually the fog lifted enough for us to get a bus to Yichang. Stopped at the big dam on the way.

Once again, large scale and many tourists. An entertainment complex is being built. Tour guide spouted about three thousand statistics to show how big, how biggest, how everything. Very proud. Worth seeing. Wikipedia will have many details and numbers. Currently 95% completed.

Cruise ends at Yichang. We were to go through the five enormous locks, four hour transit of 113 meters, but it is closed for a month. So, bus to Yichang, then the tour group bus to Wuhan.
Yichang, 4 millions people, hydroelectric city due to its dam. 17 more dams to be built on this river which ends in Shanghai.

BTC. River cruise. Three gorges

Cool and windy

The boat stopped again in the morning for another optional tour; we declined. After breakfast tried to get off the boat to take a walk – until the tour returned. "Sorry, you cannot get off the boat, you did not pay for the view ". The galleys were all blocked.

The first gorge, Qutang, takes about 20 minutes on our boat. Sheer walls from the blasting done to widen the riverside. On the cliffs, no homes as too sheer, but a very clear high water mark evident for hundreds of kms. The winter flooding takes, with control by the dam, the water to 175 meters. By the erosion on the sides it is clear that it always goes to this height. The ride through the gorge is very windy, very; a good wind tunnel.

Next a ferry ride, many hours, on a tributary of the Yangtze. Daning river to see several of the spectacular lesser gorges. The older town is now more than 200 feet below the water line. The new town about 500 above the water line.

Sheer cliffs with farmers still working villages as high as 4500 feet. They carry goods, as well as tv and refrigerators up on paths we could not walk. Some of the oldest farmers still have bound feet.

Hanging coffins seen – basically stone coffins 2000 years old built into crevices on the vertical walls. Maybe used ropes to lower, bamboo ropes.

Transferred to a sanpam to access even smaller gorges. Flotilla of modern reconstructions, with gorges peopled by persons doing folk songs, former boat trackers transformed into sanpam navigators. Hokey but pleasant with good views.

Once again, China tourism, like much of the trip to date, writ large. Counted 9 cruise ships converging to the smaller gorges.

BTC. River cruise

Morning rain.

One minute I am drifting awake looking at the riverside towns through a morning haze, then another cruise ship pulls aside. I can shake hands with a passenger on the opposing side.

We have docked at Fengue, Ghost City, in the sense of superstitions. But, it was decided that instead we should visit relocation village and a farmers family that had been relocated.

Before the dam was built the water level in the winter raised 10 meters. After the three gorges 50 meters. So, those on the banks, like the farmer family, had to move.

The village is situated high up a mountain side. Terraced gardens and farming. Often self sufficient for all food, including fruits and veggies, surplus taken to market.

He was, in the beginning, very sorrowful about moving but now very happy. Better spring water, considerable payment, 5000 sq. foot family house of cement rather than mud, no leaks.

I asked him what he thought about America. Very rich, so why do you have to borrow money from poor china?

Afterwards we visited his local market which was in preparation for Labor day (May day) tremendous diversity of foods, not any hint of a monoculture. Outdoor markets very low cost as no transportation or expensive indoor rent. Naturally all parts of the animals. Also some fish in the market.

Cruises, we have been told, have lectures both for entertainment and education. First a talk of how Chinese medicine works. Theory behind stimulating the main channels via acupuncture, acupressure, cupping, scraping with water buffalo horn and red health liquid.