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Tongli

2/1/2019

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Tongli is one of the small water towns outside Shanghai. On typical traffic days, it will take less than two hours to get to Tongli, but on the day we went in October 2018, there was a lot of construction. Three and a half hours after hotel departure, we arrived. Although we were grumpy from the interminable ride, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at one of the local restaurants, took a boat ride around the canals and spent free time, wandering the back alleys and buying local arts and crafts. All in all a good day.

We visited one of the many gardens in Tongli, The Retreat and Reflection Garden. The garden and buildings were built in the late 1800's. The location is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. If you are lucky, and we were that day in October, there might be opera performed in the main square.

There are other water towns like Tongi, with cobblestone alleys, stone bridges and winding canals. Zhujiajiao is the water town closest to Shanghai, only about 45 minutes away. Some others are Zhouzhuang, Xitang and Nanxun.

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Reed Flute Caves

1/25/2019

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Reed Flute Cave is in Guilin, China. It is an enormous cavern with stalactites and stalagmites that have been formed over hundreds of thousands of years. There are inscriptions throughout the cave, some of which date back to the Tang Dynasty. Although it has been around for almost all of history, they were uninhabited until the 1940's when a group of Chinese, fleeing the Japanese, hid there. The cave is named for the reeds that grow outside. The reeds are used to make flutes.

As evidenced by the pictures above, the rock formations are illuminated with multi-colored lights, giving it a Disney feel. Despite this, the cave and the formations inside are striking, as is the enormity of the cave, which takes about 30 minutes to walk through.

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Liu Sanjie

1/18/2019

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One of the most beautiful shows I have seen in China is the Liu Sanjie water, light and music show in Yangshuo. Yangshuo is a quaint little town about 1-1/2 hours from Guilin, in Guangxi Province. The town is the endpoint of the Li River cruise. I like to take cruise in the morning, arrive in Yangshuo in the afternoon, stay through dinner and catch the show in the evening.

The Liu Sanjie show is a spectacle of light and music. It takes place on the water and there are no bad seats. The only suggestion I have is to bring a zoom lens for a camera in order to get close-up views of the singers and dancers.

Liu Sanjie is the name of a young woman in folklore. Liu is the woman's last name; last names are listed first in Chinese, out of respect for the family name. "San" means "three" in Chinese and "jie" means "sister." Therefore Sanjie refers to the young woman's place in her family: the third born daughter of Mr. Liu. In Chinese families, children are often referred to by their place in the family, not their given name. The younger sister in the family will be called "meimei" which means "little sister." Meimei is not her name, but that is the name to which she is referred.

The "Liu Sanjie" story goes like this: Liu Sanjie is a legendary woman from the Zhuang ethnic minority. Her voice is fabled to be so spectacularly beautiful that she is also called the Song Fairy. As is customary in Zhuang traditions, Liu Sanjie gives an embroidered ball to the boy she likes, named A Niu. He then throws the ball across the river and onto a rock, high on a mountain, as a symbol of their everlasting love. That is basically the gist of this story, two farm villagers falling in love.

Despite the relatively boring nature of the story, it is a fantastic performance that is highly new and unusual to the western eye.

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Bamboo Raft Ride

1/11/2019

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The Li River is one of the most famous rivers in China due to its spectacular beauty. The river is lined on both sides with limestone karst peaks. The peaks look as if they are the setting of a science fiction movie, shaped like gumdrops. They are more like mountains from a Dr. Seuss book than true landscape.

In the past, I have brought travelers on a boat ride down the Li River, from Guilin to Yangshuo. However, on my most recent trip to that area, we went on one of the smaller tributaries, the Yulong River.

Because the Yulong is not as wide and deep as the Li, larger boats cannot navigate its waters. But bamboo rafts can be poled down the Yulong and that's just what we did. Locals, who also make their living by fishing, pole the bamboo rafts down river. Our ride was about 1-1/2 hours.

The rafts are decked out with two chairs for travelers to sit and enjoy the scenery. We were a caravan of rafts. At times it was quiet and peaceful. The only sound was the water. At times, the "gondoliers" would converse with one another, usually about their guests. I heard them comment, in the local dialect, that I speak Mandarin, but couldn't understand them when they spoke in their dialect. While that is generally true, I was able to decipher some of their conversations about the Americans for whom they rowed that day. As I always do, I smiled to myself and acted ignorant.

The most exciting part of the ride was when we were poled down the elevation changes where the locals built little dams, over which we needed to float. The first one was very scary. It appeared as if we would fall forward into the water. Each time we descended was a little scary, but it really was not a big deal.

The beauty of this part of China is breath-taking. Every single person with whom I have traveled to this area has had the same impression, beyond spectacular. Join me on a bamboo raft ride down the Yulong!

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Yangshuo Cooking School

1/4/2019

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A couple of years ago, one of our local Guangxi Province guides introduced me to Yangshuo Cooking School. Now it is a staple of any trip to that area of the country. After a visit to the local vegetable market (last blog), we travel into the countryside by van to the school. The school is located is in a tiny village and is housed in an old farm house. Each chef has their own station, in the open air, with a giant wok, wooden chopping block, giant cleaver and beautiful ingredients. Our host, Sophie, demonstrates the steps for each dish and then she comes around to help us.

The first time I went, amongst other dishes, we made egg dumplings, a treat for my gluten free friends. This time we prepared an appetizer of steamed vegetables stuffed with meat. We created chicken with cashews, beer fish, stir-fried eggplant (my favorite) and stir fried cabbage, which is surprising delicious and so easy. Once the meal is complete, we sat down at long farm tables in the open air and enjoyed the fruits of our labor.

Come see the surprises we have in store for you on our next journey!

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Vegetable Market

12/28/2018

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Before our cooking class in the countryside (next week's blog), we took a walk through a vegetable market and it was like walking back in time. Shoppers were perusing the merchandise, occasionally pointing to some eggplant or scallions. The produce is weighed using the old fashioned scales with the vegetables on one tray and weights on the other. Most of the shoppers frequent the same vendors, and stop for a chat before wandering home.

As we walked up and down the alleys of not only vegetables, but fruit, meat, fish (including frogs and turtles) and poultry, one of our group asked how the people decide from which to buy, "They all have a lot of the same products," she commented. Our local guide and cooking teacher told us that she looks at the produce and buys whatever looks freshest. Some buy from friends out of loyalty.

Regardless of the village, town or city, there are vegetable markets all over China. Join me on a trip and check it out!

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Victoria Peak

12/18/2018

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Victoria Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong island, is a hill in western Hong Kong with spectacular vistas of Victoria Harbor. The top of the peak is accessed by bus or by the 120 year old funicular, one of the world's oldest. When going up or down on the funicular, there is an optical illusion out the right side of the carriage. It appears as if the buildings are falling into the hill. Obviously, they are vertical, but the angle of the funicular creates this illusion.

When Hong Kong was a British colony, 1841 - 1997, The Peak was "the place" to live. It was exclusive to British ex-pats. Since there were no roads up The Peak in the early years, residents might be seen being carried up the hill in sedan chairs.

Hong Kong's Peak is still home to the uber-wealthy; it has been the least affordable city in the world for eight years. This year, a 9,217 square foot mansion sold for $180 million, about $19,400 per square foot. However, there are reports of purchases for up to $30,000 per square foot.

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Tai O Fishing Village

12/11/2018

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Lantau Island is one of the thousands of islands that make up Hong Kong. One of the fishing villages on the island is Tai O. The name means "large inlet". For the past 300 years, generations of families have built and lived in stilt homes in Tai O. The homes are referred to as "pang uks." The homes and village are quaint and picturesque, despite being dilapidated.

Tai O used to be a very important trading and fishing port. Although many still make their living as fisher people, the subsistence life motivates younger generations to move away from the village. Salted fish and shrimp paste are sold in storefronts all over the village.

Tai O is the port from which boats depart, bringing tourists to the open water in search of the elusive pink dolphin (see last week's blog).

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The Pink Dolphin

12/4/2018

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Hard to see the hue in this picture, but it was unmistakably pink!

The pink dolphin was a legend of Hong Kong, told to me by local residents and tour guides over the years. I had heard about the existence of boat tours around Lantau Island, the purpose of which is to try to find this elusive creature, but until my most recent trip to Hong Kong in October, I had not taken such a trip.

On October 21, 2018, my group went to Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island, one of the thousands of islands that comprise Hong Kong. We took a boat ride through the village and then sped for the open water. I had no idea we were looking for a pink dolphin. We drove near the new 55 kilometer bridge from Hong Kong to Macau which opened in late October. We were marveling at the bridge when our driver started pointed and gesturing. We looked where he pointed. There was the dolphin, jumping through waves. The hue is unmistakable, a light shade of pink.

The pink dolphins are endangered. Many locals who have been riding boats around the islands have never seen one. According to the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, the pink dolphin population of Hong Kong went from 158 in 2003 to 61 in 2014. Our boat captain was respectful of the dolphin and kept his distance, but others speed toward the dolphins, scaring and injuring them. Water and noise pollution has also endangered the dolphins in these waters. Noise pollution has increased significantly since the new airport was constructed on Lantau Island, particularly disturbing for dolphins because they rely on sonar to communicate.

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The Women of Yao

11/27/2018

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Last month, I visited the Longsheng rice terraces in Guangxi Province. We were fortunate to see a music performance by the local Yao women. The Yao are one of 55 ethnic minority groups in China. The Han people are the majority, and make up about 92% of the population.

Sources claim that there are approximately 2.5 million Yao. They live in Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, Yunnan, Jiangxi and Hunan provinces. The Yao women in the village we visited wear red embroidered dresses and have unusually long, black hair. There are 60 women in the village whose hair is more than 3 feet long and one whose hair is seven feet. We did not see any gray or white hair and the women claim that washing their hair with rice water (the water that is drained after cooking rice), keeps their hair long, shiny and black through old age.

The women's hair is cut only once in their lives, during a coming of age ceremony, around age 18, that precedes marriage. The cutting of the hair signifies that the girl is an adult and may marry. The women keep the hair that is cut off. After marriage and childbirth, the cut hair is weaved into the bun that the women wear.

Many of the women perform in the troupe that we saw. Two of our male travelers were called onto the stage to be a part of a mock marriage ceremony. It was quite amusing to see them paraded around on-stage when they had no idea what anyone was saying. They were great sports! Come to China with Chow Fun Tours and meet the locals.

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Tongli

Reed Flute Caves

Liu Sanjie

Bamboo Raft Ride

Yangshuo Cooking School

Vegetable Market

Victoria Peak

Tai O Fishing Village

The Pink Dolphin

The Women of Yao

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