As always, I've been keeping an eye out for news stories about China that readers of this blog might find interesting:
The New York Times recently featured an article about using t'ai chi (太極拳, or tàijíquán) as a treatment for fibromyalgia, a condition that causes chronic pain. Participants in the study who practiced t'ai chi typically reported significant improvement in the severity of their symptoms—in some cases quite dramatic improvement. This study follows others that have shown the numerous health benefits of practicing t'ai chi. The website Supreme Chi Living (www.americantaichi.net), which is funded by the U.S. government and was formerly known as the Tai Chi for Consumer Health Information Center, has a wealth of information about legitimate scientific research on t'ai chi. As a former sometime practitioner of t'ai chi (these days, unfortunately, it's hard to find the time to do it even occasionally), I can certainly offer my anecdotal support for the idea that t'ai chi makes you feel better in a variety of ways.
T'ai chi master Yang Cheng-fu demonstrating
the pose called "single whip"
I've heard about democracy being practiced in China at the local government level, but the openness and freedom of such elections is limited. However, China is demonstrating a remarkable willingness to experiment with cutting-edge methods of governance that show real promise, as Joe Klein discussed in his recent column for Time entitled "How Can a Democracy Solve Tough Problems?" This is a perfect example of the kind of process by which China and the United States (along with other countries) can learn from each other. (Note that it is an American political scientist who has helped the Chinese government with the implementation of this system.)
In another democracy-related (or at least equality-related) development, the strikes happening in Chinese factories in recent months demonstrate the power of economic development and access to information in encouraging people to assert their rights. That sword can cut the other way, too, as the state of our own prosperous yet flabby democracy shows, but this evolution certainly offers hope for the people of China. The New York Times invited a number of experts to discuss the significance of the strikes on the page entitled "What Do China's Workers Want?"
The Times also recently featured an article about how a provincial court in China has decided to hear a case brought by a man who was denied a teaching job for which he was qualified after testing positive for H.I.V. The man's lawyer summed up the significance of this development: "In the past on sensitive cases like this, the court would be very reluctant to accept the case. But this time they accepted it smoothly and quickly. That means the legal system in China is making progress." You can read the article here.
All of these developments offer hope that China, despite the inherently autocratic nature of its political system, is making progress in ways that will make the lives of its people better in more than just a material sense. China faces many problems, but it continues to show determination and adaptability in dealing with them. Here's hoping the United States will show a little more of that as well.
Update – November 8, 2011: This post has now been reposted with images intact at this permalink on our new website.
Well, "next week" somehow turned into "in a few weeks," but here we go with Part 3 of my account of our trip.
After our leisurely stroll through downtown Hong Kong (see Part 2 of our HK trip), we decided to take a ferry to Cheung Chau (長洲), a small island in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. I had fond memories of it from a previous trip there in 1997.
If you'd like to experience Hong Kong yourself with an itinerary that will allow you leisure time to do some independent exploring, sign up for our Hong Kong 3-Day Tour or our China Highlights 11-Day Tour.
The cliché that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey, can be quite literally applied to a ferry trip in Hong Kong (though in our case the destination was pretty sweet, too). Although Hong Kong is a terrifically stimulating environment, it can also be stressful, but a leisurely, comfortable ferry ride forces you to relax and smell the figurative roses—roses that in this case happen to be colossal towers of glass and steel, along with the magnificent mountain and ocean scenery that surrounds them. Depending on how hot it is, you might choose to enjoy the view from an indoor seat, where the titanic air conditioning system will make you feel like you're closer to the North Pole than the sweltering South Pacific. Personally, I'd never want to miss the breeze and the sun on the outdoor deck. The only thing that could have possibly made our trip better? A cold six-pack of Tsingtao.
Click on any photo below to open a full-sized version in a separate window.
As you pull away from the ferry terminal, you have a great view of some of the tallest buildings in the world, including 2 International Finance Centre and the Center. You'll also see a great variety of vessels in the harbor (one of the busiest in the world, of course), some of them pleasantly quaint, such as this tugboat.
In this photo you can see Kowloon's International Commerce Centre, the tallest building in Hong Kong and #4 in the world, which was still under construction at the time this photo was taken. The ship in the foreground appears to be some kind of naval vessel.
From the ferry, you can enjoy constantly varying views of endlessly varied Hong Kong. And as you cruise farther away from Hong Kong Island, a bigger scene unfurls before you—a picturesque combination of city, mountain, sea, and sky.
This is a view of Hong Kong Island from the west; the area on the left is the downtown area (the Central and Western District), and the area on the right is Aberdeen, in the southwest part of the island.
As you enter Cheung Chau Harbor, you can see that the local fishing fleet is still quite robust.
Here, you can see the breakwater protecting the harbor from large waves. The late-afternoon sun glints off the furrowed surface of the water.
The chance to enjoy the scenery while we recovered from hours of walking was itself more than worth the cost of the ticket, let alone the opportunity to relax and eat seafood on Cheung Chau.
(video by CIT)
This is the view alongside the ferry pier. Both small ferryboats, such as the one pictured here, and much larger ferry ships, serve the people of Cheung Chau. Some of the ferries we saw appeared to be something like "water taxis," run for the locals by private operators.
The waterfront near the pier shows the influence of the West and the influence of the tourist trade (a Circle K, a 7-Eleven, and a McDonald's all in a row; small shops selling knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, tchotchkes, curios, trinkets, and souvenirs), but most of the island is charmingly and convincingly local. In fact, I was delighted to find that it seemed as though nothing had changed since my visit 12 years earlier. In the modern world, that kind of reassuring consistency is hard to come by.
There are a number of restaurants along Cheung Chau's waterfront, specializing in seafood, of course. We chose one, more or less at random, and in our eager hunger inhaled a bountiful meal (I was so hungry that I forgot to take a photo until these dishes were all that remained). To my wife's discriminating Shanghainese palate, it was not the best seafood she had ever had but quite enjoyable nonetheless. Surprisingly, I recall the vegetables as being my favorite dish—simply prepared yet intensely flavorful. And there's nothing like a cold beer in a shady spot with a view of the ocean, except perhaps a cold beer on a Hong Kong ferry.
I've always found seafood tanks like these rather cruel, but I suppose their redeeming quality is that they force you to be more aware of where the pleasantly dead food on your plate came from than do most Western-style restaurants that hide the uglier bits of the preparation process—and they have the added virtue of allowing you to confirm that your food is indeed fresh.
All in all, I would describe Cheung Chau as an oasis of relaxation, a refuge from the bustle of the city. The part of the island that best epitomizes that quality is Cheung Chau Beach, a crescent-shaped stretch of sand just a few minutes' walk across the narrow part of the island from the waterfront.
From the beach, which faces Hong Kong Island to the east, you can admire the distant view of downtown HK while you relax, far away in both mind and body. The visible distance somehow makes it easier to let go of the urban insanity of modern life—which, paradoxically, is only a convenient ferry ride away when you need a little craziness. If I ever suddenly retire from human society to live as a nomad, this is one of the places I'll go. Call me "the convenient recluse." Tibetan monasteries are just too darn extreme.
Although my little pocket camcorder doesn't really do justice to the vividness of Hong Kong, I think this clip does capture the serenity of Cheung Chau Beach on the evening we relaxed there for an all-too-brief time.
(video by CIT)
As night began to fall, I took this photo of Cheung Chau Harbor.
After two days chock full of endless walking and flagrant gawking, we didn't have the energy for much partying by the time we got back to the city, but we did stroll around to do some shopping and take in the impressive bustle.
With stores, clubs, bars, night market stalls, street performers, and restaurants galore, there is never a shortage of nighttime activities in Hong Kong—even a simple stroll along the streets can be entertaining.
(video by CIT)
Two of my favorite memories of Hong Kong are things that I unfortunately didn't capture on film.
One of these memories is passing by the basketball courts on Cheung Chau where I had seen locals playing an intense style of pickup basketball—with one of them even dunking in the short time I watched them—on my first trip there in 1997. As a basketball fan since early childhood, I was deeply impressed. Way back then, when Chinese basketball was not yet on anyone's radar, I began to realize that it was only a matter of time before Chinese players would begin to emerge on the international scene. This time no one happened to be playing when we passed by, but just the sight of the same courts put a smile on my face.
Later, while strolling along the streets of Kowloon, I watched a small crowd gather outside a media store that was showing a Michael Jackson concert DVD at the entrance. Although I haven't been a big Michael Jackson fan since I was about ten, I've always appreciated his magnetism as a performer, and to see it attract Chinese locals to a little TV on a street in Hong Kong several months after his death was somehow touching—the kind of thing that reminds us of our essential unity. As travelers, we seek the exotic and the new, but ultimately what we want to find, in spite of all our differences, is a deep connection with the people and places we visit, something that transcends the superficial, the local, and the temporal. I felt that in Hong Kong, as I've felt it everywhere I've gone in China, and it has made those travel experiences both exciting and comforting.
Update – November 8, 2011: This post has now been reposted with images intact at this permalink on our new website.
On our second full day in HK, we struck out on our own and enjoyed some sights and experiences no less beautiful and stimulating than the more touristy experiences we had had the day before. And of course, we only scratched the nanosurface of all that there is to do and see in Hong Kong.
If you'd like to experience Hong Kong yourself with an itinerary that will allow you to do your own independent exploring, sign up for our Hong Kong 3-Day Tour or our China Highlights 11-Day Tour.
Click on any photo below to open a full-sized version in a separate window.
We started off in Kowloon, whose claustrophobic urban canyons, crammed with billboards, have a bit more character than the more modern, sterile, finance-oriented buildings of the downtown area. Just the sight of it is highly suggestive, rich with the possibilities of so many lives in such a small space.
In the morning we each had a tasty bowl of spicy noodles at a little eatery with the almost hilariously unimaginative name "Chinese Noodle Restaurant." (Its Chinese name, 四川麻辣米綫, which I would translate as "Spicy Sichuan Rice Noodles," is a bit more descriptive.) When eating at places like this, be careful not to let them make you pay the "foreigner tax." Sometimes people who are obviously foreign (especially Westerners) are charged extra; this did in fact happen to us at one restaurant, but it wasn't here.
The food in Hong Kong is world renowned, and although as a semi-vegetarian I'm not as crazy about HK's Cantonese and seafood-oriented cuisine as I am about some of China's other regional cuisines, even my persnickety palate was pleased by the food we had there. These noodles were an even better morning stimulant than coffee.
Afterward, we took a subway ride from Kowloon to downtown HK, the Central District of Hong Kong Island. Although the subway ride was convenient and comfortable, I don't want to imagine what it must be like during a sweltering August afternoon rush hour. I just hope it has a massively powerful ventilation system.
The Landmark in downtown HK is probably one of the finest shopping malls in the world, with many of the most exclusive brands represented. As someone with rather plebian tastes and an utter lack of sartorial style, I felt about as comfortable as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It was beautiful and impressive, but I don't think anyone with a philosophical bent can help feeling a bit alienated by the hordes of worshippers at downtown Hong Kong's altar of Mammon.
After we emerged from the Landmark with our bank account fortunately still more or less intact, we witnessed an impressive phenomenon: the lunch rush amidst the office buildings in the Central District. Every day, tens or perhaps even hundreds of thousands of worker drones descend from their mile-high celestial cubicles simultaneously to swarm the streets and mingle with the crowds of shoppers and tourists. This video clip doesn't fully capture the intensity of it, but it was quite a sight (and sound).
We also witnessed the amusing sight of this "human billboard" (on the aptly named Theatre Lane) preparing some kind of costume—a sun, a sunflower, a strange mythical creature? I can't tell. Actually, "costume" doesn't do it justice. "Promotional siege engine" is a more accurate description.
Soon we took shelter from the crowd in the Kosmo Wellness Cafe, an oasis of calm with tasty (and at least nominallly healthful) beverages and friendly service.
Our beverages: a smoothie and some milk tea. I suppose drinking milk tea in Hong Kong is disappointingly predictable, but it was indeed good.
With all the time I've spent in places like San Francisco and Shanghai and New York, you might think I would be fairly gawk-proof at the sight of gleaming skyscrapers, but downtown HK is stimulating even to jaded eyes. As the scads of photos (many more than I'll inflict on you here) I took there prove, I spent a lot of time gazing upward at the impressive buildings, playing the role of slack-jawed American yokel, to the amusement of the locals around us, no doubt. At one point my wife even offered to buy me a bib. Well, she didn't say that, but I'm pretty sure she was thinking it.
The Bank of China Tower (left) and the Cheung Kong Center are the 12th and 52nd tallest buildings in the world, respectively.
Despite all of the industrial towers of steel and glass, downtown Hong Kong somehow manages to be rather charming, too, with its many shops, its cultural distinctiveness, and its pedestrian-friendly environment.
The trolleys, in particular, are rather quaint to an American's eye.
One somewhat unexpected sight we came across was this anti-Citibank demonstration. This and some other things we observed on our trip, along with the recent news about factory workers in China going on strike and successfully demanding better wages, gives me hope for the "little people" of China who have thus far largely been left behind by China's remarkable economic success.
This protester is wearing a shirt that reads "psycho" (or "insane") at the top, and it looks like the bottom part says "God destroys." At least I'm pretty sure he was a protester, not an actual self-declared psycho. In any case, I didn't even consider messing with him, and as you can see I waited until his back was turned to take this photo. My experience suggests that it's best just to take people labeled "psycho" at face value.
Next up: our ferry ride to Cheung Chau and a taste of Kowloon nightlife. I'll chronicle the rest of our trip next week.
Update – November 8, 2011: This post has now been reposted with images intact at this permalink on our new website.
If I had to sum up my perception of Hong Kong in one phrase, it would be "a place of extremes constantly juxtaposed": the ultramodern and the traditional, the fabulously (or perhaps absurdly) wealthy and the poor, the East and the West, the artificial and the natural. And as fast-paced and intense as it can be, there are even places in HK where you can truly slow down and relax. It is an incredibly dense microcosm of the world, and increasingly of China itself. Obviously, for a tourist or traveler, few places in the world are more fascinating and fun than Hong Kong.
Last November my wife and I had a chance to visit HK; it was her first time and my first time in twelve years. First, we took the "half-day" tour (it actually ended up being a bit longer, which was fine with us) that our clients take (on our Hong Kong 3-Day Tour and our China Highlights 11-Day Tour), and then we did some exploring on our own. Here are a few photos and video clips that show the many different sides of Hong Kong that we experienced.
Click on any photo below to open a full-sized version in a separate window.
The first stop on our tour was Man Mo Temple, a charming old Taoist temple in downtown Hong Kong.
The temple lies sheltered amidst tall apartment buildings, almost as if it were worshiping at the feet of modernity. Let's hope not—modernity could use a little more Taoism, not the other way around. (And by the way, yes, that is the moon up above, tiny as it looks.)
Literally, there is a thick Taoist atmosphere in the temple, including a tranquil, sunlight-streaked central area with incense coils suspended in midair that my little digital camera couldn't do justice to. (You can see a somewhat better attempt here.) This little nook is labeled "Hall of Ten Kings" (though you can't see the "ten" in this photo).
From what I saw, there tend to be more tourists at the temple than regular worshipers, but they are usually quiet and respectful and do not spoil the tranquil, meditative atmosphere.
Many visitors to the temple do pray and burn incense, however, regardless of where they may be from.
A closeup of the entrance to the temple, which was built in 1847.
The interior of Man Mo Temple
The ride up to Victoria Peak on the Peak Tram
The ride up the peak feels even steeper than it looks in this photo, and it's a fun trip, especially when the weather is as good as it was on that day in November 2009. A spectacular view of Hong Kong's vast cityscape and harbor spread out beneath you as you climb the mountain.
After you exit the tram, you can sit down at this comfortable cafe and enjoy a drink as you take in the view from the Peak Tower, one of the best city views to be found anywhere in the world.
I've seen a million variations of this photo, but it's nice to have been able to take a pretty decent one myself, even if it's not very original.
For those who have time to hang out on the mountain, there's a pleasant path that circles the mountaintop here. (taken from a point near the Peak Tower)
The Peak Tower, where the Peak Tram line ends, is (at least to me) an interesting work of modern architecture that augments the natural beauty of the mountain. Not quite Frank Lloyd Wright, perhaps, but I like it.
I guess it was inevitable given all the tourists with time and money who visit Victoria Peak, but yes, there is a shopping mall next to the Peak Tower called the Peak Galleria.
If you walk around the area near the Peak Tower, you can enjoy some beautiful views of the rest of Hong Kong Island and the surrounding area. Facing approximately southwest, you can see Cheung Chau (長洲) and part of Lantau Island (大嶼山) in the distance.
These peaks lie to the west of the Peak Tower.
This is the breathtaking view that greets you right outside the Peak Tower at the end of your tram ride up the mountainside: an army of skyscrapers, millions of people, and a long view out across one of the busiest harbors in the world to Kowloon.
At Aberdeen, you can take a relaxing boat ride around the harbor and check out the sampans and boathouses of the local fishermen, whose traditional way of life continues today.
Although fewer fishermen and families actually live full-time on the boats at Aberdeen these days, it is aptly described as a "floating community." I imagine life here must be profoundly intimate, both with other people and with the elements. Even a glimpse of it caught during a brief boat tour is fascinating.
The harbor at Aberdeen also features the internationally famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant, which is exactly what it sounds like: a restaurant on what appears to be a very large boat.
This video clip shows the essence of Hong Kong: that it is a place of extremes. Large yachts and speedboats owned by the fabulously wealthy float beside small junks and sampans owned by poor fishermen.
The south side of Hong Kong Island is much less developed than downtown Hong Kong on the north side, and when the weather is good, it is a truly beautiful and relaxing place. This is a shot of part of Repulse Bay.
This is another shot of tranquil Repulse Bay.
Some of our favorite moments in Hong Kong came after the tour was over and we had time to explore the area on our own—and on our Hong Kong itineraries we give you time to do the same. I'll share photos of and thoughts about those experiences next week!
As someone who remains constantly fascinated by China, I'm always keeping my eyes open for interesting news about every aspect of Chinese society. China is receiving more and more coverage in the mainstream Western media these days as it continues to grow and prosper and as more Westerners realize just how important and fascinating a country China is.
Time recently named a number of China's movers and shakers to its 2010 "Time 100" list: J.T. Wang, Bo Xilai, Robin Li, Jet Li, and Han Han—interesting and influential people, all. These days, it's increasingly true that anyone who's an important figure in China is an important figure in the world.
Time also recently released its 2010 "Best of Asia" list, in which China figures prominently, of course. I sometimes have a hard time finding good non-leather shoes, so I bought a pair of Feiyue shoes right after reading this article and doing a little research on Amazon!
The New York Times has also prominently featured some interesting China-related articles recently, including this fascinating piece about the sometimes disconcerting experiences of teachers from Mainland China participating in a program that allows them to teach in American schools. Unsurprisingly, the number of American schools offering Chinese language courses is on the rise, a phenomenon that the Times asked a number of experts to write about here. This article, on the other hand, is about the simultaneous efforts to both eradicate and document (and, in some cases, actually preserve) instances of "Chinglish" (also known by the more inclusive term "Engrish") in Shanghai's public places. (See this slideshow for some amusing signage featured on the Times website.)
In the near future I'll be more actively updating this blog with more stories, photos, and video from my travel experiences in China. In the meantime, happy reading!
The barrage of information—sensory, cultural, linguistic, emotional—that a Westerner traveling in China experiences can be both thrilling and overwhelming. Depending on your personality and interests, certain things tend to cut through that noise and grab your attention. For me, one of those things is dogs. On our most recent trip to China last November, my traveling companions and I found ourselves taking photos of the dogs we saw in all the different places we went. Although the phenomenon of “toy dog as fashion accessory” is definitely catching on in major Chinese cities, most of the dogs we photographed were living in more rural areas in a more traditional man-dog relationship, which is to say they were not relentlessly groomed and spoiled. In some cases the conditions they lived in were a bit pitiful. Like dogs anywhere else, however, one thing they all seemed to share was personality.
"Got no time for hangin' out—I got things to do, places to go." (photo by CIT)
Given the familiar and purposeful way with which he trotted down Dali’s Foreigner Street, the center of night life in the city, this party animal seemed to be running an errand or something. In fact, the more “urban” dogs we saw all seemed to share that sense of purpose and to live faster-paced lives, much like the cities’ human denizens.
Frankenstein's dog (photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
Watching this weird-looking dog in Dali, however, really made me sad. A still photo doesn’t do its weirdness justice; the way it moved made it seem somehow broken, or as if a mad scientist had assembled it from leftover dog parts. It was clearly suffering from some kind of debilitating affliction.
"Take your photos, tourist, just don't block my light." (photo by CIT)
"You can't handle the truth." (photo by CIT)
"You come to me on this, the day of my daughter's wedding..." (photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
These guys were enjoying the sunlight partway up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain at White Water River, hanging out with tourists and yaks. They were apparently used to having their pictures taken, as they were uninterested in our presence and utterly nonchalant. Begging for food was clearly beneath them, too, so they also must have been quite well fed. Something about the self-assured coolness of that second dog somehow reminds me of Jack Nicholson or Marlon Brando.
"Don't mind if I hang out with you, do you? No, you don't." (photo by CIT)
"Dude, you really think you can say no to me?" (photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
This dog in Lijiang’s “old town” area of Baisha (“White Sand”) hung out with us in the open-air restaurant where we ate, begging for scraps, which it got quite a few of. At first I thought the owners wouldn’t want us feeding it and thus encouraging it to keep begging, but it didn’t seem to occur to them that some people wouldn’t want a dog underfoot as they ate. It didn’t bother us, at any rate. But this dog sure seemed to have a sense of entitlement—it made me feel like a total jerk for even considering not feeding it. A couple of other restaurants we ate at in Yunnan and Guangdong also had dogs hanging around, and they actually lent a certain charm to these places. Reminded me a bit of the dog lying on the bar at Arkey Blue’s Silver Dollar in Bandera, Texas, a “dude ranch” town I used to frequent as a kid.
(photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
(photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
I don’t even remember seeing these dogs that Tracy, a friend working in our Shanghai office, got photos of, but they’re cute little fellows.
Is this a dog, or a land manatee? (photo by CIT)
A gratuitous closeup shot of its charming ugliness (photo by CIT's Tracy Liu)
This dog in Shuhe, our favorite “old town” area of Lijiang, on the other hand, made quite an impression on us and probably a lot of other tourists, too. We all agreed that this is one homely pooch, clear proof that “ugly” is an international language. It’s no Sam, mind you, but not very attractive. Since it seemed like a nice dog, though, I’ll refrain from talking any further smack about it. Poor guy.
Mmmm...gimme some more o' that! (photo by CIT)
As you can see from its blurry tail, this dog roaming the streets of Shangri-La’s Old Town was quite pleased, presumably because it was being fed.
In memoriam: Rover (photo by CIT)
I’ve saved the most tragic dog for last. This dog that we met briefly in Guangdong seemed like a perfectly serviceable companion—healthy, apparently well behaved, and even reasonably good-looking. As we passed by, our local tour guide made a comment that this dog would “上桌子,” which literally means “go up on the table.” You can probably guess what he meant, but I unthinkingly and naively replied with something like “Oh, lots of dogs have a tendency to jump up on the table.” Foolish foreigner. What he meant, of course, was that the poor dog was destined to be someone’s dinner. As I understand it, in many places in China dogs are generally not eaten, but Guangdong is one of the exceptions. Man’s best friend, indeed. Although I try not to be culturally judgmental, I must admit this is one practice that seems just barbaric to me. On the other hand, if you don’t see anything barbaric, you’re not really traveling. That should be a saying. In any case, rest in peace, o tasty Rover.
China International Travel CA, Inc. (CIT) was founded in February 2009. We are experienced travel agents, most of us originally from China, who decided to open our own travel agency as partners in San Mateo, California. Having seen the questionable business practices of some companies in the China travel industry, we were determined to take better care of our customers and run our business in an ethical, transparent manner. We specialize in ticketing and tour arrangements for travel to China, but we also handle travel arrangements to and from the United States and other East Asian countries. Our wide variety of carefully designed tour packages will please most customers, but we're also happy to prepare custom tour packages to suit individual travelers' needs. Please contact us at (888) 648-1568 or chinatravelca[at]gmail[dot]com, and it will be our pleasure to provide you with friendly, thoughtful, and knowledgeable service.
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