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Din Tai Fung

7/26/2019

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Soup dumplings look the same on the outside, despite what's in the middle. In order for patrons to remember which steam basket is which, they put little symbols in the baskets, like the orange chicken above.
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Din Tai Fung restaurants around the work make over two million soup dumplings each month!
Din Tai Fung is a restaurant that specializes in soup dumplings. Din Tai Fung first opened in Taiwan, but now has branches all over the world including China and the west coast of the United States.

What is a soup dumpling? It is a dumpling with a filling of meat and/or vegetables, but what separates the soup dumpling from the rest of world's dumplings is that it is also filled with about one tablespoon of soup. When the dumpling is punctured, there is a delicious juicy pop.

Soup dumplings are from Shanghai, so the Shanghai branch is usually where I go when I need a Din Tai Fung fix, but it doesn't matter which branch you go to...the recipe is exact and precise at all the restaurants. The filling is a specific weight, apparently 16 grams. The wrapper is also a specific weight. The circumference of each dumpling is the same. And every dumpling is sealed with 18 pleats at the top. In this way, every dumpling that Din Tai Fung sells is cooked evenly during the four minutes in the steamer.

How do they get the soup into the dumpling without spilling out while creating the little packages? The soup is cleverly disguised as a small cube of jelly that melts inside the dumpling as it steams!

Join me in China and see, and eat, the magic for yourself!

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Despite the hard work that Din Tai Fung workers put into their craft, when a customer peers through the window to the kitchen, they stop momentarily to give the "thumbs up" sign.
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China Art Museum

7/19/2019

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I love the China Art Museum in Shanghai, which houses modern Chinese art and is one of the largest art museums in Asia. The building is the former China Pavilion of Expo 2010, which was modeled after an ancient Chinese crown.

On the top floor of the museum is an 3-D, digital, animated version of the famous classical Chinese painting "Along the River at Qingming Festival."
The original scroll was painted by Song Dynasty artist Zhang Zeduan (1085-1145). Qingming Festival is also known as "Grave Sweeping Day." The many scenes depicted in the painting reveal the lifestyle of the Song Dynasty people and was one of the Last Emperor's favorite paintings. The original painting is now housed at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

The electronic version was first exhibited at the China Expo in 2010, for a period of three months. During that time, visitors would make a reservation and then wait for hours in order to see the digital mural in which the characters move. Every four minutes, the scene changes from night to day and back. The digital masterpiece is mesmerizing.

The original scroll is approximately ten inches high and close to six yards long. The electronic version is about 20 times that size. I did not have a lot of time when I most recently visited the China Art Museum. I spent about 20 minutes in the room that houses the digital piece. I could have spent all afternoon watching all the different scenes. "
Featuring a total of 814 characters, 73 domesticated animals, more than 50 vehicles and boats, and some magnificent architecture including bridges and city walls on a 36 metre by 4.8 metre digital panel, visitors embark on a pictorial journey that slowly moves them from one scene to another, through bobbing boats, swaying willow trees, hard-working beasts of burden and touting vendors" (South China Morning Post, 9 July 2018).

Of course, the digital mural is just one piece on one floor of the enormous treasure trove of Chinese artwork. I am most inspired by the sculptures both outside, and inside, the pavilion.

It's quite obvious, by the lack of English translations on the artwork descriptions, that very few foreigners make the trip to this museum, but I believe it is well worth a few hours of time, perhaps even more compelling than the Shanghai Museum in People's Park.

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School Visit in China

7/12/2019

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On every trip to China, whether with a student or mixed age group, I try to visit a local school. The experience is amazing for all involved. We Americans get a glimpse into life in a Chinese school, which is rigorous. Kids are there from early morning through dinner, but usually don't have a lot of homework once they leave school. In the villages, there are often 30-40 students in one room (and they are all well-behaved). Their schools are rudimentary in comparison to the schools in the U.S. but that does not seem to prevent them from excellence in their future careers. 

For the Chinese students, a visit might be the most exciting thing that has happened in a year, or perhaps in their lives, depending on the location of the school. There is a lot of giggling and singing and hand motions to try to communicate. They have a basic command of English, but are often embarrassed to use it.

​I am always amazed when we are asked for our autographs. They bring their notebooks to us and ask us to sign our names. I write a sentence or two as well. The picture below is one of my many moments of celebrity during my time in China.
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A Walk from Hongcun to Xidi

7/5/2019

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I am so fortunate that in my travels, I am able not only spend time with the local people, but I am also able to enjoy the outdoors. There is a 2-3 hour walk from Hongcun village to Xidi village in Anhui Province. The path is definitely the one less traveled by. Before cars, it was the only way to travel between the villages.  Today, it's very easy to get in a car and drive, but I always like to understand a place through the people and their local community. On this day, we ran into a grazing water buffalo, tea farmers, a man and his donkey. We crossed a couple of streams, despite some fearful travelers. (Rightly so! It was slippery and the water was cold!) We crossed a couple bridges. We sang and talked and soaked in the sun, rocks, trees and water. 
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    Lauren Drazen

    I have traveled all over the world, including adventures in China, Uganda, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina, Vietnam, Israel, Jordan, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, England, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, Netherlands, Canada and Mexico!  My greatest love is introducing Americans to the sites, traditions and people of China.  My hope is to give travelers a new lens through which to see the world.

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Lauren Drazen
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lauren@chowfuntours.com

Phone:  860-833-2106
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