adsventuresinchina

My colleague Brian happened to be in Chengdu last week and spent the afternoon with us on Sunday. After lunch at the Bookworm, we four wandered around Wenshu Monestary, a Buddhist temple, and its adjacent tea house. The tea house concept is lovely: Sit for as long as you’d like. Just relax. Eat some peanuts. Allow friendly waiters in timeless grey linen to keep pouring more hot water into your cup. Adore the babies…

Jiuzhaigou continued.

The timing of this entire China experience has been “off.” Once we knew we could not be here for the full academic year, we had to negotiate a way to make it work within both the terms of our employer and the terms of the Fulbright program, as well as the un-official terms of a pre-teen daughter in her first year of middle school. The plan we finally found workable was for Art to arrive first, in early February, and for Elle and I to join him in early March (giving us enough time here in China to qualify for dependent benefits). Our departure from California was weeks ahead of Elle’s regularly scheduled two-week spring break from her California middle school, but we went ahead and inserted an “early” two-week break at the beginning of our time here, to give her a chance to (re)acclimate to China and get over the jet lag, and because sending her to a new private school for just one week at the tail end of its winter term meant thousands of dollars (even at the best pro-rated terms). Even the school suggested we wait until March 21, the start of their spring term, for Elle to begin. And so… we have now been here in China for two weeks, and are just waiting out a few more days until Elle’s first day at CDIS (an amazing school that will get its own post one day). Then it may feel like we are back “on” track… though we’ve certainly been filling our days.

Notes from our trip to Jiuzhaigou last week.

• Our first flight there was almost a disaster, but ended happily. Our morning flight was probably the worst white-knuckled flight of Art’s or my life. After our pilot attempted, and then missed our landing (we were flying through a wintery storm, attempting to land on a bluff on top of a mountain), he aborted (smartly) and flew us safely all the way back to Chengdu. We waited four or five hours for a second plane (the airline had carted us by charter bus to a local restaurant where we were well-fed but kept in suspense about what might be happening), and another chance to get there. Our second flight to Jiuzhai Valley was smooth sailing and technically uneventful, though flying into the Jiuzhai-Huanglong airport which sits at 11,500 feet is breath-taking even when uneventful.

• Jiuzhaigou (“nine village valley”) is located in Sichuan Province’s Min Shan mountain range on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. We’d considered staying at the very cool-sounding Tibetan homestay recommended by friends, but opted instead for the Hotel InterContinental Resort. After the events of flying/re-flying, I was kind of glad we had (in spite of my–see below–declaration to “embrace wild China”). Also, our luck for the trip changed at check-in: an upgrade to a luxurious two bedroom, two bath suite with heavenly beds and two cozy fireplaces. Balconies jutting out into the tops of pine trees. Wild China? Baby steps.

• On our way to the park entrance on day one, along (literally) a long and winding road, a yak sauntered off the mountain and onto the road right beside our car. The way they do here.

• The Jiuzhai Valley National Park itself is top notch: a UNESCO World Heritage site and a supremely well-run park with mountains and trails and lakes and waterfall for days. It’s just the very beginning of spring in China and so the crowds were minimal and the park was fairly quiet. We’d been warned to get there before April when the crowds grow too dense to truly enjoy the place.

• We learned that the three of us can walk for hours, in quiet meditation, quite happily… in keeping with my plans for us to embrace “wild China” and my insistence that we get out of the cities and temples this time, and into China’s beautiful woods and mountains. That said, we were never “off trail” in Jiuzhaigou. The entire park is well-marked, with miles of wooden, boardwalk-like “trails” that make the park accessible to all. This is gentle walking. Not hiking.

• Still, there were periods of time when we were clipping along all alone in the silent woods, and that was all I needed.

• The bright sunshine and warmer air on day two was a much needed respite after just one week in Chengdu.

• Something new we noticed on the trails, at resting spots where groups of Chinese gathered for lunch: self-heating rice and noodle dishes pulled out of backpacks and brought to bubbling hot in minutes. Sans camping stove. Must investigate this further (or perhaps we Svensons are just really out of the camping loop and these are common everywhere?).

• The park is divided into two forks. We took the left side on our first day, the right side on our second (you could spend days on either side). Bright green shuttle vans transport you to the top and you then spend the day mostly working your way downhill, with many choices among the paths to take. Lakes along the way were in graduated stages of thawing, with water in assorted greens and blues (dictated by the limestone and algae content).

• We stopped at a few roadside outcroppings inside the park: mostly tourist areas covered in colorful Tibetan prayer flags, random taxidermy, packaged teas, shiny souvenirs. The air an even mix of cigarettes and incense. Shrines with stone offerings and beautiful people with rugged red cheeks wearing thick layers. I wish now that we’d done the homestay.

• Many Chinese tourists still request to take a photo with us. Well, mostly with Art.

• Already, I’m accumulating a mother load lot of phone photos and camera photos. None are brilliant photography. They are my journals, and tell different stories. These below are from one camera. The very first is Long Lake: still in its wintery, frozen state.

• Dream the world.

To be continued…

July 1, 2011.  End of the road.  What an adsventure it’s been…

After the “grueling” (the girls would call it) karst hike, we went over to the ancient town of Fuli for a few hours to see how silk fans are made.  When in Rome, right?

But probably the nicest thing that happened to us in Yangshuo is that we discovered kayaking and realized the girls are almost old enough for this sport.  Hooray!  A new family sport that gets us onto water.  Cece is bigger and stronger and handled the oar really well, so she and Art were a good team, paddling in sync.  Elle is still a bit too small to handle one, so we deemed her “empress for the day” and I paddled for the two of us (great core workout).  Looking forward to more of this when Elle’s a little older…

And now… I think I’ve come to my last blog post as there’s simply no more time…

At the fan shop in Fuli...

A lesson...

Thumbs up...

Chinese fans...

Cooling off again...

Back in Fuli... this time for kayaking...

Vested...

Just go "that way" for an hour and a half... and stop when you see the 4th water buffalo...

Peace...

Nature...

The empress enjoyed her ride...

Life is beautiful...

Old town...

Farmer's restaurant...

History...

Quilt image 19...

Built in the Qing Dynasty...

Red...

We went through two caves in Yangshuo. This one was the Silver Cave which stretches and winds for a good mile or two. Nice to be in a cool, damp cave on a hot afternoon. Note: the Chinese do a lot with psycodelic lights inside caves...

Cool...

Lots of talk about stalactites and stalagmites...

Cool kids...

Our last street food: chestnuts...

Goodbye Yangshuo...

Yangshuo will likely be the part of our time in China that lingers longest in my heart…

We went because we needed to see the “other” China… and wanted something a little off the beaten path… with no more temples, walls, parks or tourist attractions to drag the girls through.  We totally got it.  A three hour flight to Guilin, then another hour by car and we arrived in Yangshuo.  This is a rock climbers paradise with hundreds/thousands of limestone karsts to climb.  It’s what you see on National Geographic when you catch a slice of “wild China” and we LOVED our time there.  We rafted down the Yu Long River, rode bikes, hiked, then more rafting, and even kayaking down the bigger Li River… explored a couple of caves, and swam in the river.  Plus massages!  (Cece had her first massage!  A 30 minute kid version.)  It was a magical week for us, and exactly what we needed after all these urban months in China.  We even saw stars in the night sky for the first time since leaving California…

Arriving at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat...

The Yu Long River...

Art and Elle in the lead...

You can see how we immediately relaxed...

I don't think the girls believed us until we were there...

Water buffalo cooling off...

The "eco-hotel" where we stayed... on the river about 10km from the town of Yangshuo...

Riding bikes... (click to enlarge and you'll see Art and the girls)...

You can see the humidity...

Moon hill...

Oh I wish it would rain...

Lush...

The town of Yangshuo...

The Karst Cafe... (best not to go to Yangshuo if signs like this don't appeal to you)

Take it easy...

Lazy afternoons...

The famous Yangshuo light show (600 dancers, on the water, surrounded by karsts). The show was created by Chinese director Zhang Yimou, who also created the opening ceremony of the 2008 olympics...

Lunch break. Yes, we let our kids do this. Frequently while traveling...

A different ride down the larger Li River, on a raft made out of PVC pipe...

Rafting with the Gerstl/Pepin family who were also in Yangshuo...

This goes on...

For hours...

Cormorants used for fishing...

Rafting fun...

Island girl...

Cooling off...

Along the road as we watched for the trailhead...

Country life...

This hike was exhilarating. Though the girls would describe it differently...

So quiet...

This land is her land...

Hikers paradise...

Ran into some of these guys...

We made it out...

Cushion covers in the sun...

June 30.  11:45pm.  And we’re packing for our flight home.  Scrambling.  So much remains unsaid and unposted here.  Will try to get a few more things up before the van arrives tomorrow afternoon to take us to the airport… including notes and pix from our time in Yangshuo last week.

Earlier this week the girls had their last play date in China: a trip to the Water Cube. Remember… the place where Michael Phelps won all those gold medals at the 2008 Olympics.  It’s been transformed into an indoor water park.  We had to do it once, and the girls had a blast…

Just to note, the Water Cube sits just across the parking lot from the Bird’s Nest, the 2008 Olympic stadium, designed by the “dissident Chinese artist” Ai WeiWei.  Mr. Ai was held in jail for 3 of the 5 months we’ve been in China.  He was released last week…

Last play date in Beijing: Cece, Annie, Jasmine, Karen, Elle and Celine

The Water Cube...

Again...

Nearing the end of our marathon...

Future olympians...

Only Art...

Where Michael Phelps made history, winning 8 gold medals...

The aquatic center portion of the cube...

Pure China style...

Elle...

Peach...

Fun (but maybe more fun if it were in open air...)

Cece, you did it!

Friends...

Celine and Elle... they've been so good for each other...

Cece loved dancing to the tsunami...

Safe?

Art rode the radical slide. Naturally...

Just swim. Just swim. Go on with your story… (D. Roshi)

One of the most energizing areas of Beijing is the 798 Art District.  Like many of the best things in Beijing, it’s far from where we live (too far), and I didn’t get enough time there. Lesson learned.  Next time we live in Beijing, we’ll make a point to live closer to it…

Over the last 10 years, the 798 district has taken over an area of the city where 60 years ago communist military factories were cranking it out in Beijing.  Most of the factories were built as cooperative projects between the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic… and it’s quite refreshing now to see them in use as creative spaces.  In block after block of great old buildings of form and function are hundreds of galleries, studios and living spaces.  Art and I hit 6 or 7 of the galleries on this day, most notably the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Galleria Continua, and MR Gallery.  Thrilled to feel something different than the vibe I often feel in China which is actually a sort of non-vibe.  An absence of yearning…

My favorite work was in Swiss painter/sculptor Not Vital’s show Full On.  Haunting gauzy-blurry self portraits (at the Ullens).  The one or two examples of his paintings from this show that I can find online do no justice to the sum. Who is this man?

Also liked South African artist Kendell Geers’ show Fin de Partie.  And then, because it strikes my heart… the photographs of archives of Chinese orphans by Jiang Jian.

A few snapshots, mostly as we wandered outside…

798 man...

Why does the mere presence of grafitti make me so happy?

Life...

Art walks through art. Multimedia work by Chinese artist Li Hui...

Made in China...

Tongue in the Ullen's lobby...

The artist life...

In repurposed factory space...

My space...

More great space...

Helmet man...

Look...

Alley life...

Pork...

Geers 1

Geers 2

Geers 3

We went from Geers' show...

To Jiang Jian's...

Jiang Jian 1

Jiang Jian 2

Jiang Jian 3

Jiang Jian 4

Everyone should know by now that Art is endless, inexhaustible energy… wanting to do and go and see and listen and question All. The. Time.  His enthusiasm is infectious, and we love him like crazy for it.  Though I have to admit, at this point, he’s wearing us down a bit…

Still.  I’m glad we’ve not wasted a minute of our time here in China.  There’s always something to see, and Art always makes sure we’ve got an itinerary.  One Sunday in May (the day after the international festival at the girls’ school) we covered both the hills of Jingshan Park (where the last Ming emperor hanged himself on a tree) and the imperial garden and lake of Beihai Park… then rounded out the day over by Houhai Lake tracking down Hutong Pizza.  A walnut & brie salad waiting for me at the end of a long weekend. Coincidence or bribe?

I continue to look up...

A rock show at Jingshan Park on this day...

Art prefers to get right down to business...

From a high point in the park, looking into the backside of the Forbidden City (note: you can also see the top of the "Egg" shining at about 2 o'clock)...

Photo by Cece...

The Chinese are really fond of making the peace sign (constantly) in photos. I've grown so tired of it...

At times so endearingly sweet together...

... that I forget how much they fight...

Bamboo, yellow glaze and pretty girl in matching dress...

Market man...

Dry goods...

More...

Likely the last paintwork picture I'll post on this blog...

OK... just one more...

Doubles...

Old drainage tile in wall...

Another...

On the wall near the White Dagoba...

The White Dagoba. A "dagoba" is a Tibetan style "pagoda"...

Deities...

She was here...

The captain has found another boat...

Sweet little lake for a Sunday afternoon. That's the white dagoba/pagoda in the distance...

My quiet Daisy Jane...

Finally... we are heading to dinner...

I am more in love than ever with Chinese food. But when we find a place like this, I can't help myself...

Best pizza in Beijing every year for at least the last 6 years...and...

Tomorrow I will eat cabbage. On this day: brie...

Hutong mailbox... because I know you're as interested in these kinds of things as I...