Friday, July 25, 2008
Better Late Than Never
I don't think the saying "better late than never" exists over here because every Chinese person I know thinks that punctual is late. But, I just wanted to let you guys know that I am going to try and get completely updated this weekend. I just posted the pictures from Shanghai. They don't really have much meaning without an explanation, but that will come as soon as possible. Sorry again for being so late!
Shanghai Day 3
Day 3 in Shanghai was jam-packed with lots of planned activities. First, we went to Parkway Group Healthcare, an almost spa-like clinic that caters to foreigners who need basic care while in Shanghai. Apparently some Chinese people also use the facilities, but as it's very expensive and because credit cards are not yet something that everyone carries here, Chinese patients often show up with bundles of cash to pay for their care. They had operating facilities, primary care facilities, and even a room just for "Zhong Yi," or Chinese Traditional Medicine. The tour of Parkway was very quick and efficient. Afterwards, we learned a little bit about China's health insurance status quo and how the typical Chinese person receives care in Shanghai. It was very interesting and gave me a good idea for what I wanted to write my paper about (we all had to write a paper throughout this social study week).
Next we went to the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Center. Also known as the "World Fair," the global Expo event's roots extend back to the mid-1800s in France. One and a half centuries later, the main aim of inviting the world's nations to gather in one place and exhibit their countries' special manufactured products is still in place. Shanghai has been chosen for 2010 and has been preparing for a long time to host the event. At the Expo Center, there was a museum part that had lots of wonderful old pictures of Shanghai and models of the city in its different eras. To me, these photographs were particularly meaningful because of my grandparents. To those of you reading who aren't my family, my father's parents both grew up in Shanghai. As I peered at all the faded photographs, I could not help but try and imagine both of them walking down the pictures' streets, looking at the shops, eating in the restaurants...Here are the pictures:
Next, our host showed us a sprawling model of Shanghai's center. The model was unbelievably elaborate, from all the skyscrapers, down to the apartment buildings and trees. As we looked on, the scene changed from a daytime one to a nighttime one. Lights came on and the Huangpu River lit up. It was incredible, and yet it wasn't even big enough to have our host university on it. I cannot even imagine how long it took to make, not to mention how much effort it will take to actually erect the planned buildings for the Expo. Here are the pictures:
After they showed us the model, they led us into a circular movie theater. I don't really know how to explain this if you haven't been in one before. Basically, you stand in the middle of a circular room and the screen goes all the way around the walls. Whatever movie you watch, it is designed to make you feel like you are IN it. When I was last in China, 8 years ago, we went to one in Xi'An, the site of the terracotta warriors. The film was a virtual reality from the time in which the warriors were crafted. Soldiers on horseback thundered through us and all around us. It was something else and a little bit nauseating. This time, the film was a virtual reality tour through Shanghai. We were flying, running and driving at top speed through the entire city, seeing every sight to see to accompanying narration of two cute little children. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
Our next stop was Qi Bao (lit: Seven Treasures), a small ancient town in Shanghai and the only ancient town to still make up a part of Shanghai. The town was built in Song Dynasty, so somewhere in the 960 - 1126 range. During the Ming and Qing Dyansties, it became a bustling commerical center. There are two theories for why it is called "Seven Treasures." The first is that the name is derived from the Qi Bao Temple, whose good reputation earned it its name. The other theory stems from folktales about seven treasures (some of which have been found and some of which are still out there) in and around Qi Bao. The treasures includev an iron Buddha made in Ming Dynasty, a bronze bell also dating from the Ming Dynasty and said to have mysteriously appeared from nowhere, a Gold Script Lotus Sutra written by an imperial concubine of the 10th century, a one-thousand-year-old Chinese catalpa tree, a jade axe, a gold cockerel and a pair of jade chopsticks. Apparently, the existence of only the first four can be confirmed while only the Scripture and the bell have survived to this day. Found this info on http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/qibao-ancient-town.htm, since our teachers were too tired to explain. Besides, we don't know how to say Chinese catalpa tree in Chinese anyway.
As soon as we entered the village, we sat down at a restaurant for lunch. Our teachers were at the same place and apparently we could sit inside or outside. Perk of sitting inside: air conditioning. Perk of sitting outside: free cold beer. Some of the people we were with saw how excited the teachers were to have free cold beer that they opted to sit outside. I was not too excited to be sitting outside in the 95+ degree weather -- especially since I was not going to drink the air conditioning substitute. We ordered food, which was all a little too expensive for its mediocre quality. It was fine. We were all too hot to eat anyways. When my arm started getting sore from fanning everyone, we decided to call it quits and just start walking.
There was a lot to see, smell, and eat. Qian Bao's treasures extend to its small snacks. There was a lot of that chou doufu, unfortunately, so we had to breathe out of our mouths. But, it was still fun to see all the other strange snacks. For example, meat on a stick: who knew that such a simple idea could be expanded upon so creatively. We saw seahorses, pigeons, little lobsters, and ducklings all on a stick ready to jump to the top of your list of favorite foods. There were also lots of fried scallion cakes and steamed dumplings for sale. We didn't buy anything, but had a great time looking.
It was getting a little too hot, so we stopped off for some popsicles. The vendors were also selling bowls of ice with fruit on top. Considering my stomach was shaky to begin with, I decided to opt out of the icy fruit concoctions. We looked at some more shops for about a half hour and then went back to the bus and returned to the dorm. Here are pictures from Qi Bao:
That night, we met up with some people who were shopping again and went back to Manifesto for deserts and to hang out before going back for midnight check in.
Next we went to the Shanghai 2010 World Expo Center. Also known as the "World Fair," the global Expo event's roots extend back to the mid-1800s in France. One and a half centuries later, the main aim of inviting the world's nations to gather in one place and exhibit their countries' special manufactured products is still in place. Shanghai has been chosen for 2010 and has been preparing for a long time to host the event. At the Expo Center, there was a museum part that had lots of wonderful old pictures of Shanghai and models of the city in its different eras. To me, these photographs were particularly meaningful because of my grandparents. To those of you reading who aren't my family, my father's parents both grew up in Shanghai. As I peered at all the faded photographs, I could not help but try and imagine both of them walking down the pictures' streets, looking at the shops, eating in the restaurants...Here are the pictures:
Next, our host showed us a sprawling model of Shanghai's center. The model was unbelievably elaborate, from all the skyscrapers, down to the apartment buildings and trees. As we looked on, the scene changed from a daytime one to a nighttime one. Lights came on and the Huangpu River lit up. It was incredible, and yet it wasn't even big enough to have our host university on it. I cannot even imagine how long it took to make, not to mention how much effort it will take to actually erect the planned buildings for the Expo. Here are the pictures:
After they showed us the model, they led us into a circular movie theater. I don't really know how to explain this if you haven't been in one before. Basically, you stand in the middle of a circular room and the screen goes all the way around the walls. Whatever movie you watch, it is designed to make you feel like you are IN it. When I was last in China, 8 years ago, we went to one in Xi'An, the site of the terracotta warriors. The film was a virtual reality from the time in which the warriors were crafted. Soldiers on horseback thundered through us and all around us. It was something else and a little bit nauseating. This time, the film was a virtual reality tour through Shanghai. We were flying, running and driving at top speed through the entire city, seeing every sight to see to accompanying narration of two cute little children. It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.
Our next stop was Qi Bao (lit: Seven Treasures), a small ancient town in Shanghai and the only ancient town to still make up a part of Shanghai. The town was built in Song Dynasty, so somewhere in the 960 - 1126 range. During the Ming and Qing Dyansties, it became a bustling commerical center. There are two theories for why it is called "Seven Treasures." The first is that the name is derived from the Qi Bao Temple, whose good reputation earned it its name. The other theory stems from folktales about seven treasures (some of which have been found and some of which are still out there) in and around Qi Bao. The treasures includev an iron Buddha made in Ming Dynasty, a bronze bell also dating from the Ming Dynasty and said to have mysteriously appeared from nowhere, a Gold Script Lotus Sutra written by an imperial concubine of the 10th century, a one-thousand-year-old Chinese catalpa tree, a jade axe, a gold cockerel and a pair of jade chopsticks. Apparently, the existence of only the first four can be confirmed while only the Scripture and the bell have survived to this day. Found this info on http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shanghai/qibao-ancient-town.htm, since our teachers were too tired to explain. Besides, we don't know how to say Chinese catalpa tree in Chinese anyway.
As soon as we entered the village, we sat down at a restaurant for lunch. Our teachers were at the same place and apparently we could sit inside or outside. Perk of sitting inside: air conditioning. Perk of sitting outside: free cold beer. Some of the people we were with saw how excited the teachers were to have free cold beer that they opted to sit outside. I was not too excited to be sitting outside in the 95+ degree weather -- especially since I was not going to drink the air conditioning substitute. We ordered food, which was all a little too expensive for its mediocre quality. It was fine. We were all too hot to eat anyways. When my arm started getting sore from fanning everyone, we decided to call it quits and just start walking.
There was a lot to see, smell, and eat. Qian Bao's treasures extend to its small snacks. There was a lot of that chou doufu, unfortunately, so we had to breathe out of our mouths. But, it was still fun to see all the other strange snacks. For example, meat on a stick: who knew that such a simple idea could be expanded upon so creatively. We saw seahorses, pigeons, little lobsters, and ducklings all on a stick ready to jump to the top of your list of favorite foods. There were also lots of fried scallion cakes and steamed dumplings for sale. We didn't buy anything, but had a great time looking.
It was getting a little too hot, so we stopped off for some popsicles. The vendors were also selling bowls of ice with fruit on top. Considering my stomach was shaky to begin with, I decided to opt out of the icy fruit concoctions. We looked at some more shops for about a half hour and then went back to the bus and returned to the dorm. Here are pictures from Qi Bao:
That night, we met up with some people who were shopping again and went back to Manifesto for deserts and to hang out before going back for midnight check in.
Shanghai Day 2
Day 2 was a long one. We started early, getting on our bus and traveling 2 hours to Haining (a city west of Shanghai). Our agenda for the day consisted of going to a leather factory and then to a big shopping center that featured many of Haining's leather consumer goods. Haining is known for its leather and was our first social study-related site.
The company, called Ausen, was very hospitable to us, showing us into a big conference room that had water and fruit provided for our comfort. Next, Ausen's vice president and a few other Ausen administrative employees gave us a presentation on the company's history and current state. It was pretty interesting. They are a very young company and are owned by an American furniture brand. They not only provide leather and synthetic materials for furniture manufacturing, but also make some of the furniture as well. They do not have a big market presence in China, but rather ship out to the US and other countries.
We were supposed to ask questions afterwards. We were allowed to use English, so some people asked about how the housing crisis in the US had impacted their sales, whether they were a private or public company, and whether or not the market for furniture and other such durables in China was growing. The fifth year students would translate our questions as well as the company representatives' answers. I was really impressed with how well those students were able to translate as well as how surprisingly understandable the translations were. It made me think that we know enough Chinese to say a lot -- what we still need to work on is being able to find the right way to use the words we know to convey what might seem like a complicated English sentence's meaning through Chinese. Easier said than done.
After the presentation, our hosts gave us gift bags and then took us on a tour of the factory. I get the feeling that this factory was from the upper tiers of Chinese factories as they come. However, it was still a little uncomfortable to be a tourist looking at people who were forced to come in and work long manual labor hours on a Sunday. I cannot really explain it, but even though I know that these conditions, these jobs, these people are all part of the low costs that make economic growth go round, it is still really hard to look at these workers and optimistically celebrate the rapid development of the Chinese economy. Here are some of the pictures:
Big boxes. Berkline is the name of Ausen's American furnishing parter.
This is how your sofa is made.
This is how the leather on your sofa is made.
These are the people who piece together that leather.
Looking on and definitely too nervous to ask questions.
Not sure what this was for, but it was a very fancy-looking machine.
After we saw the factory, we got back on the bus and went to "Leather City," an enormous shopping complex with shops selling all kinds of leather goods: shoes, bags, wallets, belts, jackets...you name it and they had it in leather. There were also other things such as jeans, but the leather was the crown jewel. The people who own the complex gave us a brief presentation as well and then let us go shop.
We were disappointed by the goods. They all looked good from a couple of feet away, but once you got closer, they were not so well made and always had a little something about them that made you think it wasn't worth it to even bargain over. After realizing we weren't going to buy anything, we went to another building in the complex where we heard there was an arcade. It turned out to be the best decision of the day. We bought a lot of tokens and went crazy at the basketball machines. The Chinese shoppers in the arcade were all watching us, thinking God knows what. Probably laughing at us because we were having way too much fun. Then, we tried some DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), but we couldn't figure out how to navigate the menus, so we always ended up picking the hardest level and making fools of ourselves in front of the small crowds that had gathered to watch us. Finally, we tried our luck at the stuffed animal machines, but we could never position that claw thing well enough to actually get a stuffed animal. I have to wonder, does anyone ever have success at those things? I have yet to meet someone who has gotten a toy out of them. So frustrating.
Having tried to milk every ounce of joy out of our last minute in the arcade, we ran back to the bus barely in time to be the last ones to make it back. We all slept on the way back to Shanghai. Here are some pictures from Leather City:
This little boy also was not enchanted by the leather goods in the stores.
Basketball! Eli, the best one out of all of us, definitely gave Yao Ming a run for his money.
This was the mall that housed Zara.
Night lights.
Even the roads are fancy here.
At manifesto. We look happy, but we were even happier when the cake came!
The company, called Ausen, was very hospitable to us, showing us into a big conference room that had water and fruit provided for our comfort. Next, Ausen's vice president and a few other Ausen administrative employees gave us a presentation on the company's history and current state. It was pretty interesting. They are a very young company and are owned by an American furniture brand. They not only provide leather and synthetic materials for furniture manufacturing, but also make some of the furniture as well. They do not have a big market presence in China, but rather ship out to the US and other countries.
We were supposed to ask questions afterwards. We were allowed to use English, so some people asked about how the housing crisis in the US had impacted their sales, whether they were a private or public company, and whether or not the market for furniture and other such durables in China was growing. The fifth year students would translate our questions as well as the company representatives' answers. I was really impressed with how well those students were able to translate as well as how surprisingly understandable the translations were. It made me think that we know enough Chinese to say a lot -- what we still need to work on is being able to find the right way to use the words we know to convey what might seem like a complicated English sentence's meaning through Chinese. Easier said than done.
After the presentation, our hosts gave us gift bags and then took us on a tour of the factory. I get the feeling that this factory was from the upper tiers of Chinese factories as they come. However, it was still a little uncomfortable to be a tourist looking at people who were forced to come in and work long manual labor hours on a Sunday. I cannot really explain it, but even though I know that these conditions, these jobs, these people are all part of the low costs that make economic growth go round, it is still really hard to look at these workers and optimistically celebrate the rapid development of the Chinese economy. Here are some of the pictures:
Big boxes. Berkline is the name of Ausen's American furnishing parter.
This is how your sofa is made.
This is how the leather on your sofa is made.
These are the people who piece together that leather.
Looking on and definitely too nervous to ask questions.
Not sure what this was for, but it was a very fancy-looking machine.After we saw the factory, we got back on the bus and went to "Leather City," an enormous shopping complex with shops selling all kinds of leather goods: shoes, bags, wallets, belts, jackets...you name it and they had it in leather. There were also other things such as jeans, but the leather was the crown jewel. The people who own the complex gave us a brief presentation as well and then let us go shop.
We were disappointed by the goods. They all looked good from a couple of feet away, but once you got closer, they were not so well made and always had a little something about them that made you think it wasn't worth it to even bargain over. After realizing we weren't going to buy anything, we went to another building in the complex where we heard there was an arcade. It turned out to be the best decision of the day. We bought a lot of tokens and went crazy at the basketball machines. The Chinese shoppers in the arcade were all watching us, thinking God knows what. Probably laughing at us because we were having way too much fun. Then, we tried some DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), but we couldn't figure out how to navigate the menus, so we always ended up picking the hardest level and making fools of ourselves in front of the small crowds that had gathered to watch us. Finally, we tried our luck at the stuffed animal machines, but we could never position that claw thing well enough to actually get a stuffed animal. I have to wonder, does anyone ever have success at those things? I have yet to meet someone who has gotten a toy out of them. So frustrating.
Having tried to milk every ounce of joy out of our last minute in the arcade, we ran back to the bus barely in time to be the last ones to make it back. We all slept on the way back to Shanghai. Here are some pictures from Leather City:
This little boy also was not enchanted by the leather goods in the stores.
Basketball! Eli, the best one out of all of us, definitely gave Yao Ming a run for his money.That night, we decided to go out and explore a little bit. First we went to a fancy mall where I had heard there was a Zara, one of my favorite stores in the world. Unfortunately, Zara's hit or miss clothing turned out to be a miss this time. But, I still had fun looking. We checked out some of the other stores, but they were all through the roof expensive (Versace, Armani, etc). One thing I noticed is that the saleswomen here stay about 3 inches behind you every minute that you are looking at clothing through their boutique. It's something I expect in Europe, but definitely not what I had anticipated in Shanghai.
We spent a little longer shopping and then went to a lovely little place called Manifesto. We got some CHOCOLATE CAKE, talked, relaxed, and then headed back to the dorm in time to make our midnight curfew. Here are some of the pictures from walking around at night in Shanghai:
We spent a little longer shopping and then went to a lovely little place called Manifesto. We got some CHOCOLATE CAKE, talked, relaxed, and then headed back to the dorm in time to make our midnight curfew. Here are some of the pictures from walking around at night in Shanghai:
This was the mall that housed Zara.
Night lights.
Even the roads are fancy here.
At manifesto. We look happy, but we were even happier when the cake came!
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