Ancient Watchtowers of Kaiping
On my second day in Kaiping we started off the morning with a breakfast of tasty egg tarts from the local cake shop and then took the no. 4 bus out of the city towards Tangkou town where we then flagged down a passing van and negotiated with the driver (¥10) to take us the rest of the way to Li Gardens (立园) – more details here about the directions. Read more
Qingming in Kaiping
Last Monday was the Qingming Festival or “Tomb Sweeping Day” in China which is held on the 104th day after the winter solstice to honor departed ancestors and for people to enjoy the spring weather. As we were given the day off work I decided to take a short weekend trip out of Shenzhen to the little-known city of Kaiping (开平) located about 3 hours away by bus. The area is famous for its castle-like dwellings built by overseas Chinese in a mixture of western and eastern styles. Read more
Big Buddha in Ningbo
Yes this is another post featuring a big Buddha but this time it’s in a city you’ve probably never heard of.
Ningbo is a seaport city of around 2 million people facing the East China sea, not far from Shanghai. The city is primarily oriented around trade and while it isn’t particularly famous it did have one interesting brush with history when during World War II the Japan bombed the city with fleas carrying the bubonic plague. From this (and many other atrocities) you can get an idea why China still has such a deep hatred for their easterly neighbors.
I visited for a little over a day at the end of my previous trip around Jiangnan province and was pleasantly surprised to find clean and modern city, quite different from most other middle-tier Chinese cities. After being treated to a sumptuous lunch I was taken to a brand new temple about half an hour outside the city center. Clearly the economic troubles were having little effect here as the temple had one of the biggest bronze Buddhas I had ever seen sitting atop the hillside.
After this we paid a visit to the ancestral home of Chiang Kai-Shek nearby who was the Nationalist leader of China before the uprising of the Communist party (whom he had attempted to eradicate after the Japanese surrender in WWII). Surprisingly Chinese sentiments towards him are quite good (at least the people I spoke to) and the museum paints a fair picture of his life without any demonization you might expect. He died in Taipei in 1975.
In the evening we went for dinner in a restaurant near the port district. I have discussed at length in the past about my hatred for seafood but somehow everywhere I go people always want me to taste the local marine wildlife. Whilst most of the dinner was delicious this time I got to try “hairy crabs” which believe me are as unappealing as they sound. I really cannot fathom what makes people want to crack open these Alien facehugger-esq creatures and suck out their “tasty” flesh. For future reference this is how it makes me feel to eat one of these:
Whilst Ningbo was a great day trip please people, no more seafood!
Silk Production in Wuzhen
During my previous trip to Wuzhen (an ancient canal town near Shanghai) I was lucky enough to come across an old silk production factory which was still in active use, albeit mainly as a living museum these days. The process of turning a silkworm cocoon into fabric, known as sericulture, is fascinating so I took some photos and videos to show how it’s done:
Silkworms (technically moths) are cultivated in controlled environments with a female laying up to 400 eggs at a time. Once hatched, the larvae are fed huge quantities of mulberry leaves (up to 50,000 times its initial weight!) for around six-weeks after which it spins a silk cocoon around itself (pupating). During this time it produces about a kilometer of silk filament in 3-8 days. At this stage the silkworm cocoons are ready for use and are sorted by hand with the bad ones being removed.
Next the cocoons are boiled in water to soften the silk and prepare it for unwinding. The immersion in hot water also kills the silkworm larvae (predictably animal activists don’t like this bit).
Multiple strands of silk from 4-8 cocoons are joined to create a single strand making it much stronger. Amazingly around 5500 silkworms are required to produce just 1 kg of silk.
Each thread is then spun on to a reel by machine (known as filature). Raw silk contains sericin (a binding protein) which needs to be washed out at the same time before it can be used commercially.
The video above also shows the traditional manual method by which the spinning wheel was operated and more of how the automated machine operates.
Once spun into a yarn the thread can then woven into a fabric. The contraption above is so complicated it has to be operated by two people with a woman sitting on top allow the weaving of complex multi-coloured patterns. It strangely reminded me of a church organ with foot pedals and complex patterns to be followed. No computer aided design around here!
The end result is a highly desirable and expensive fabric which is popular around the world with most of it coming from China and India. The next time you buy something silk bear a thought for all the silkworms which died to make it for you 
Wuzhen – Ancient Canal Town
My third port of call on my journey around Zhejian province was the ancient water town of Wuzhen. Located a little off the usual tourist trail Wuzhen is famed for its Venice-like canals, ancient stone bridges, wooden buildings, and delicate carvings. It’s said to be over 1000 years old and while its roots may lie in trade and agriculture the town is almost completely focused on tourism today. China and tourism usually equates to ultra-tacky souvenir stands and bus loads of noisy tour parties but in stark contrast this was surprisingly tasteful with the restoration not being over-done and enough room for the crowds to mingle in relative tranquility.
You’ll notice in the slide show some pictures of silk being made – I’ll be writing more about this in a later post along with a video detailing the process.
I arrived in the afternoon from Suzhou after one of the most hair-raising bus rides I have ever experienced in China whereupon we were unceremoniously dumped in the middle of what seemed like nowhere. A short walk and taxi ride later we arrived at the entrance-proper of the town. Here you checked into a guest house and payed the entrance fee (80 RMB) which I imagine is what partly keeps the masses out. A room in one of the traditional houses cost 450 RMB per night (more if you want one overlooking the water) which is pretty good value for what you get and included an interesting take on the traditional English breakfast (albeit the portion seemed to be sized for a midget).
If the town is picturesque by day then at night it really shines with subtle lighting accentuating the old wooden buildings and calm waterways. Walking along the 2km+ of canals is a wonderful experience on it own with endless buildings and courtyards to explores. Unfortunately the same cannot be said of the food which was over-priced and nothing to write home about. This is probably due to the town being controlled by a single organisation.
Around the town you could see various examples of traditional crafts being demonstrated by local people such as basket making, wood carving and silk dying. The above shot shows cylindrical vats of a special black sauce being brewed – it looked a lot like Marmite but with a totally different taste.
Of all the places I visited on my previous trip Wuzhen was definitely the best. Highly recommended for those seeking a taste of old China in an accessible location not far from Shanghai.
Suzhou – Master of Gardens
The second stop on my travels during the mid-autumn festival was Suzhou. The ancient city is renowned for its beautiful stone bridges, pagodas, and meticulously designed gardens. Because the trains from Shanghai were so packed the earliest we could get there was mid-afternoon by which time a lot of the gardens were beginning to close (my friend even tried to bribe a guard to get in one but he wasn’t having any of it!). Instead we contented ourselves with wandering around the tree-lined streets in search of somewhere nice to eat.
After some delicious hot-pot the night before we spent the morning exploring the Master of the Nets Garden (top) and Blue Wave Pavilion (above and below). The former is considered among the finest gardens in China and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, having first been constructed more than 800 years ago. Inspired by the simple and solitary life of a Chinese fisherman it is apparently regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of “relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery”.
The Blue Wave Pavilion is the oldest garden in Suzhou dating back to 1044 CE (Song Dynasty). Surrounded by a small lake it’s rather overgrown but retains a distinct beauty with its bamboo groves and a man-made hill upon which sits the pavilion after which the garden is named. You can well imagine scholars and government officials relaxing here sipping green tea and discussing the affairs of the time (probably with a few concubines!). Even to my untrained eyes the skill behind the design of these gardens was clear.
Whilst wandering around a friend remarked “Why doesn’t China know how to make such beautiful places anymore?” and indeed you have to wonder what on earth Mao was thinking when he kicked off the Cultural Revolution which led to the destruction of much of China’s heritage including the skills and thinking which lay behind them. Today China seems to yearn for this idyllic image of the past but has yet to learn how it can be interpreted in the modern world.
Frankly once you’ve seen a couple of these gardens they all begin to look the same. One day will probably be enough for most travelers to get a satisfactory taste of Suzhou. The old lady above has clearly stayed too long!
Chinese Culture 101 | Part 3 – Society
This post is part of a series exploring Chinese culture. See the links at the bottom of this page for more.
China is made up of 56 distinct ethnic groups with Han Chinese making up the vast majority (92%) of its 1.3 billion population. Customs and traditions vary greatly between towns, cities and provinces making it hard to provide a comprehensive summary.
Religion
Photo by emilienchen
Though China is officially an atheist country its religious roots lie within Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and from these most social and moral values are derived. Organised religion is strictly controlled by the government however there are a growing number of Christian groups who worship in unregistered house churches. There are also a significant number of Chinese Muslims who arrived via the Silk Road trade route beginning in 650 AD and still retain their own distinct culture.
Family
The family has traditionally been the basic unit of Chinese society and whilst the dynamics and structure have changed significantly in recent history there still remains a strong emphasis on strong family ties. With both parents usually expected to work, grandparents often take care of the upbringing of their grandchildren and in turn their children take care of them in old age. In both work and family life people are suppose to show deference to their elders and superiors which comes from the Confucian virtues of “filial piety” and “loyalty” (to the emperor).
Photo by lille abe
Most married couples in China are subject to the controversial One-child Policy which was introduced in 1979 to curb massive population growth. It is believed to have prevented more than 300 million births since then and whilst the policy has been implicated in an increase in forced abortions and female infanticide it still has wide support. Having more than one child is punished through large fines and the withdrawal of state benefits (civil servants may lose their job also).
As older generations experienced much hardship during the Cultural Revolution their primary concern has been to create a stable future and to this end children are expected to work hard and find stable jobs so that they may be supported in the future. Anything which deviates from the norm is generally frowned upon.
Photo by krsalis
For only children, under immense pressure to excel within their education and extreme pampering from their family, another consequence of the policy has been the emergence of so called “little emperors” who have had their social and emotional growth stunted by this upbringing. A generation of self-centered consumers has developed, often quite at odds with realities of life outside their immediate sphere of existence.
Due to the propensity for preferring sons over daughters (as traditional bread winners, especially in rural areas) China is facing a large population imbalance with currently around 120 boys born for every 100 girls. By 2020 there will be 30 million more men than women which could potentially lead to social instability.
Harmony
Illustration by Guy Billout
The Chinese government, under Hu Jintao‘s premiership, has placed much stress on the need to create a “harmonious society” which is a concept that aims for a “basically well-off” middle-class oriented society. However, the slogan has been misappropriated as internet slang to stand for censorship – to say “my website has been harmonized” is to say “my website has been censored”. Critics say that the concept is a facade behind which CCP restrains freedom to ensure that no one is able to challenge or displace them from their monopolistic rule. Many popular websites such as YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Wikipedia and Blogspot are regularly blocked without warning during sensitive periods.
Next time we focus on education in China and how the emphasis on exams affects people’s thinking.
Read more
Chinese Culture 101 | Part 2 – Language
This post is part of a series exploring Chinese culture. See the links at the bottom of this page for more.
Photo by My Hobo Soul
It has often been said that you cannot fully understand a country’s culture without knowing its language as language is the verbal expression of culture. The same can be said of Chinese which is the most widely spoken language in the world as well as one of the most impenetrable for foreigners. There are many regional dialects of Chinese although the most widely spoken is Mandarin (the official language, spoken on the mainland) and Cantonese (used in Hong Kong and parts of the south).
Photo by nocas
Written Chinese characters evolved over time from earlier forms of hieroglyphs. Whilst the original characters were pictorial (e.g. human – 人) they have evolved over time and today most characters contain phonetic parts which indicate pronunciation as well as meaning. Chinese contains over 40,000 characters but a well-educated person can recognize around 6,000 characters; some 3,000 are required to read a newspaper.
Photo by SubZeroConsciousness
The pictorial nature of the characters also affects the way Chinese think as they often view things intuitively in terms of the big picture rather than in the west where analytical logic is more prevalent.
Spoken Chinese is equally complex with four possible tones used in Mandarin to pronounce each syllable (Cantonese has nine!). Mis-pronouncing the tone can give the word a completely different meaning making conversations for beginners accident prone! You may notice Chinese pay more attention to the way things are said rather than what is being said as the subtle subtext is often more important than the actual content itself (although this is slowly changing).
Next time we focus on how religion, family, and how the concept of harmondy influences Chinese society and culture.
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Chinese Culture 101 | Part 1 – History
Whilst to an outsider Chinese culture can seem complex and confusing a large part of being successful in China requires a basic level of cultural understanding which is often lacking when foreign enterprises set up shop here initially. Indeed many high-profile failures can be attributed to basic misunderstandings which inevitably led to breakdowns in trust and ultimately conflict.
Photo by Roevin
With a little prior knowledge it doesn’t have to be this way and, in somewhat of a continuation from a short presentation I wrote last year, this series of posts aims to explore the main facets of Chinese culture with the aim of providing an overview of the key differences between east and west that one can expect to encounter and how they can be dealt with; Chinese culture in a nutshell if you like!
Over the next three weeks we’ll take a high-level look at Chinese history, language, society, education, food, core concepts in thinking, and key differences with practical tips and advice to help. Hopefully by the end of it you’ll have a clearer grasp of the essentials which should go some way to lessen the impact of culture shock for those new to China and perhaps shed some new light for those already here. In addition I hope to get your feedback and make improvements as there are bound to be differences of opinion or interpretation.
So without further ado we begin with a bit of background…
History
To understand China first you have to know a little about its history. China is one of the world’s oldest civilisations dating back more than five millennia and was ruled by successive dynasties until 1912. During this time many great discoveries in the fields of science and technology were made including the inventions of paper, printing, gunpowder, and the compass. This period also saw the construction of many landmarks such as the Great Wall which stretches over 4000 miles. After a period of foreign occupation and civil war the Communist Party of China (CCP) led by Mao Zedong gained control of mainland China in 1949 and established the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“The People’s Liberation Army is the great school of Mao Zedong thought.”
During the 50s and 60s mainland China underwent a series of disruptive socioeconomic movements (the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution) that left much of its education system and economy in shambles. It wasn’t until new leaders such as Deng Xiaoping began implementing a series of political and economic reforms that eventually led to China’s rapid economic development starting in the 1990s.
Photo by MK Media Productions
The modern China of today is as much shaped by its past as it is rapidly abandoning old ways and looking to the future. While many of its big cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen etc.) are comparable to any in the west the underlying culture is still vastly different. Traveling outside large urban areas also highlights the growing disparity between rich and poor which is important to remember when considering China as a whole.
Next time we focus on how Chinese culture has been influenced by language.
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Nothing To See Here, Move Along
Until today I’ve tried to avoid commenting to much on the anniversary of the events which happened 20 years ago in Beijing because I don’t really feel qualified and not being Chinese am not sure if it’s really my place to do so either. That said I do have very strong feelings about the current issues which have become starkly oblique in the light of the Internet crackdown we are currently experiencing. To me this is all the more staggering considering it’s 2009 and despite the most advanced and pervasive communication networks available to man we are still facing some extremely dark realities within hidden truths.
I think the Chinese artist and designer Ai Weiwei puts this best in his recent blog post (translated):
Without freedom of speech, without freedom of news, without freedom of elections, we are not people, we do not need to remember. Lacking the right to remember, we choose to forget. [continued]
Unless the Chinese people speak out in unison there is little hope for change in the future and with a generation of single-child offspring who are almost totally apolitical this seems very unlikely.