Back in Kaifeng after a week on the road and blogspot is still inaccessible. No one knows why it is blocked. China maintains its traditional inscrutability.
My teaching partner Ms. Zhang took care of administering the final exams freeing me so I could travel. Marta accompanied me to nanjing then decided rather than return to Kaifeng for two days of classes to continue for the week. Nanjing was our favorite of the journey, Our three days there included the Massacre Memorial, a somber and well-designed tribute to the infamous World War II atrocities visited upon the city and China. Another highlight was the Presidential Palace, a reminder of the city's long history as the capital. On to Souzhou, the garden city, and Hangzhou, famous for the West Lake. These southern cities are clean and gleaming. As far as we could see, a lot of the old is gone. This appears to be true in much of China. There are many sites of interest but traditional China is rapidly disappearing. Our last stop was Shanghai, the symbol of New China. The famous Nanjing Road pedestrian area is a long strip of pricey shops. The crowds included plenty of Westerners. Whatever the state of the international economy Shanghai seems to be booming. It's a vertical city with its famous Pudong skyscrapers and forests of apartment buildings rising high both in stature and probably in rents. Shanghai wants to challenge New York for status as the world financial capital. Looking at this booming city and a China pouring money into infrastructure, I take this bid for supremacy seriously. I must mention the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, which takes riders on a tram car under river from the Bund to Pudong. I'm not sure what it is supposed to be but can only describe it as a psychedelic fun house ride with a narration that is baffling.
We wanted to take a ride on the Wangpo River and were negotiating a price when we started interacting with a group of Westerners. It was a large class from Arizona State University in China to travel and study. One of the faculty organizers is a historian. They were also going to a boat. We chatted a bit and he invited us to join them. We hopped on their bus to the docks and enjoyed the cruise as their guests. Thanks, Sun Devils!
We returned on an overnight train to Kaifeng. Got back in time to see the last quarter of Cavs-Magic game 5. I've got to start grading my stacks of finals. This week I'll travel south and enjoy some secenery, then back to Kaifeng to prepare for my return to the USA. I hope the Cavaliers are still playing!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Kaifeng visitors
Guiding a group from Shanghai to Seoul, The University of Akron Director of International Programs Dave Ayers brought a group of students and staff to Kaifeng last weekend. The group visited two of my classes Thursday. The students received them with all of the politeness, joy, and enthusiasm one comes to expect here. I organized a mixer at the pub Friday evening. I didn't know if five or fifty students would show up. When we trooped over after dinner, we found the crowd spilling out of the small bar onto the street. The guests were greeted with an ovation, the beer began to flow, and the UA kids had what I am sure is one of the most memorable evenings of their visit. They were given the star treatment. Each of them had an audience a fascinated audience of several students gathered around hanging on their every word. By 11:00 the crowd had dissipated as the students returned to their dorms under curfew. We foreigners were challenged by the remaining inventory at the bar and succeeded in reducing it significantly.
The next day I joined the group as it visited the Millennium City Park (see the April 15 post). It attempts to evoke Kaifeng's glory days during the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago. Later that day we took boats across the Yellow River and visited the Night Market. The day ended at the home of Shirley Wood, a retired Henan University faculty member who moved to China in 1946 with her new husband. I'm writing a bit more about her in my next article for the Wooster Daily Record.
Monday I saw a couple of young foreigners walking on a street near campus. That's always a surprise. I found that they were Brits on an eight month odyssey through Asia. We stopped at the pub and that evening a bunch of us took them out to dinner at the small night market down the street. I left in the middle of the 4th keg of beer since I had class the next morning, but I heard later the reveling went on through another, some whisky, karakoke, and on to about 4 AM. James and Sarah visited my class the next morning. They left that evening after a great Kaifeng experience!
Off to Nanjing this weekend and then points beyond while my poor students sweat through the final exams I've left for them. I hope I can post some pictures soon!
The next day I joined the group as it visited the Millennium City Park (see the April 15 post). It attempts to evoke Kaifeng's glory days during the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago. Later that day we took boats across the Yellow River and visited the Night Market. The day ended at the home of Shirley Wood, a retired Henan University faculty member who moved to China in 1946 with her new husband. I'm writing a bit more about her in my next article for the Wooster Daily Record.
Monday I saw a couple of young foreigners walking on a street near campus. That's always a surprise. I found that they were Brits on an eight month odyssey through Asia. We stopped at the pub and that evening a bunch of us took them out to dinner at the small night market down the street. I left in the middle of the 4th keg of beer since I had class the next morning, but I heard later the reveling went on through another, some whisky, karakoke, and on to about 4 AM. James and Sarah visited my class the next morning. They left that evening after a great Kaifeng experience!
Off to Nanjing this weekend and then points beyond while my poor students sweat through the final exams I've left for them. I hope I can post some pictures soon!
Difficulty
I haven't been able to get to blogspot for several days. I'm trying to post through a proxie server. Has the Great Firewall of China found some reason to block access? I haven't a clue.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
For Pingyao pix, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/PackLitePaul/Pingyao# and click the "slideshow" button on upper left.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Pingyao
Serendipitously in March this article appeared in The New York Times lauding the charms of Pingyao: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/world/asia/18pingyao.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pingyao&st=cse. Research showed that it lies within a half day’s train ride of Kaifeng so I vaulted it to the upper tier of my must-see list. With the warmth of spring and the waning of the semester, I hit the rails with friend Mike for a weekend journey.
We arrived in Yuci, where we had to transfer to Pingyao, and immediately sought return tickets. You can ‘t get round trip tickets in China which plays hell with planning. Tickets are on sale only 10 days from date of use to prevent scalping, which had become a big problem a few years ago especially around the big festival travel periods.
We had intended to take an overnight Sunday and get back to Kaifeng in time for me to teach my Monday morning class but the train was sold out, so we had to get the Sunday morning—there are only two trains a day on the Yuci-Kaifeng line.
We couldn’t get a train to Pingyao so we decided to take the bus. Although comfortable enough it made many stops and the hour train ride we missed became the two hour bus trip we got. Finally arriving at the station, we were about 1 ½ kilometers from the city’s south gate. A persistent tout followed us all the way to the south gate despite our firm “buyao” (don’t want).
Entering old Pingyao, electric carts and bicycles replaced cars. Inside the formidable Ming Dynasty walls that ring the city all was as it had been in the town’s glory days as a major Silk Road station and banking center. Our hotel was closer to the north gate so we wound our way through the city soaking up its medieval flavor.
Our hostel was an old courtyard home as all the numerous guest houses are—there are no new buildings inside the walls and I saw only one large hotel at the end of street next to the wall. You can get an idea of a home layout from the superb Chinese film “Raise the Red Lantern,” filmed in Pingyao and readily available in the USA.
We got the single ticket that’s good for about 20 admissions within the city for RMB 80 (about US $11), rented a couple of bicycles, and set off sightseeing. The town is compact but signage as usual is nonexistent;. You’re on your own in terms of finding everything. As a result we hit and missed, but found our way to the site of the first draft bank in China, residences, and temples. Only 50 meters from the hostel is the county government center including administrative offices, courts, the jail, and interrogation (torture) instruments. We were entering one of the courtyards when a group of guards in period costume herded to where a recreation of a trial was presented. A father pleaded for mercy towards his son, who got off with a beating. However, he had to shoulder the disgrace which would taint his family for generations.
Late Saturday afternoon the predicted rains came, the most steady and hardest I’ve seen since coming to China. We kibitzed with the crowd in the hostel and went out to dinner with a typical international group including a London lady, two Italians, an Argentine, and a Swiss.
One of our tasks Friday was to get the Pingyao-Yuci ticket—we sure didn’t want to repeat the bus experience. We had to bargain hard for the 2 kilometer electric cart ride including the strategic walkaway, but we got our price. As is so often the case, having made the deal the driver now became our friend. Friday night we were walking home from the other side of town. The driver happened by and gave us a free lift to the hostel. We made an appointment for him to pick us up at 6:30 AM Sunday to begin our journey back to Kaifeng.
We took the 7:00 AM. No seats but we relaxed in the dining car and had the standard (vegetarian!) breakfast for RMB 10 (about US $1.50). In Yuci we had a layover extended to 2.5 hours by a late train. Mike had wisely purchased hard sleeper berths so we could stretch out and nap on the long ride home. We finally walked through the gates into our compound at 11:00 PM. A long day, a great trip, a weekend well spent.
I'll post a slideshow of pix as soon as I can put it together.
We arrived in Yuci, where we had to transfer to Pingyao, and immediately sought return tickets. You can ‘t get round trip tickets in China which plays hell with planning. Tickets are on sale only 10 days from date of use to prevent scalping, which had become a big problem a few years ago especially around the big festival travel periods.
We had intended to take an overnight Sunday and get back to Kaifeng in time for me to teach my Monday morning class but the train was sold out, so we had to get the Sunday morning—there are only two trains a day on the Yuci-Kaifeng line.
We couldn’t get a train to Pingyao so we decided to take the bus. Although comfortable enough it made many stops and the hour train ride we missed became the two hour bus trip we got. Finally arriving at the station, we were about 1 ½ kilometers from the city’s south gate. A persistent tout followed us all the way to the south gate despite our firm “buyao” (don’t want).
Entering old Pingyao, electric carts and bicycles replaced cars. Inside the formidable Ming Dynasty walls that ring the city all was as it had been in the town’s glory days as a major Silk Road station and banking center. Our hotel was closer to the north gate so we wound our way through the city soaking up its medieval flavor.
Our hostel was an old courtyard home as all the numerous guest houses are—there are no new buildings inside the walls and I saw only one large hotel at the end of street next to the wall. You can get an idea of a home layout from the superb Chinese film “Raise the Red Lantern,” filmed in Pingyao and readily available in the USA.
We got the single ticket that’s good for about 20 admissions within the city for RMB 80 (about US $11), rented a couple of bicycles, and set off sightseeing. The town is compact but signage as usual is nonexistent;. You’re on your own in terms of finding everything. As a result we hit and missed, but found our way to the site of the first draft bank in China, residences, and temples. Only 50 meters from the hostel is the county government center including administrative offices, courts, the jail, and interrogation (torture) instruments. We were entering one of the courtyards when a group of guards in period costume herded to where a recreation of a trial was presented. A father pleaded for mercy towards his son, who got off with a beating. However, he had to shoulder the disgrace which would taint his family for generations.
Late Saturday afternoon the predicted rains came, the most steady and hardest I’ve seen since coming to China. We kibitzed with the crowd in the hostel and went out to dinner with a typical international group including a London lady, two Italians, an Argentine, and a Swiss.
One of our tasks Friday was to get the Pingyao-Yuci ticket—we sure didn’t want to repeat the bus experience. We had to bargain hard for the 2 kilometer electric cart ride including the strategic walkaway, but we got our price. As is so often the case, having made the deal the driver now became our friend. Friday night we were walking home from the other side of town. The driver happened by and gave us a free lift to the hostel. We made an appointment for him to pick us up at 6:30 AM Sunday to begin our journey back to Kaifeng.
We took the 7:00 AM. No seats but we relaxed in the dining car and had the standard (vegetarian!) breakfast for RMB 10 (about US $1.50). In Yuci we had a layover extended to 2.5 hours by a late train. Mike had wisely purchased hard sleeper berths so we could stretch out and nap on the long ride home. We finally walked through the gates into our compound at 11:00 PM. A long day, a great trip, a weekend well spent.
I'll post a slideshow of pix as soon as I can put it together.
Guanxi
Guanxi means “relationships” in China and is vital to get a job, promotion, or to get anything done. The American analogue is connection but as with many things gunaxi is much more complex in China.
When we went to get train tickets at the booth across from the campus south gate we were rudely surprised. Soft sleeper for Thursday night? Meiyo (no). Hard sleeper? Meiyo. Seat? Meiyo, Only Friday night, which would shrink our weekend trip to invisibility. Then I remembered: Mr. Ma, Director of International Programs, has powerful guanzxi. When I entered his office he was eager to see me. Henan University has a new leader and The University of Akron President Louis Proenza had sent his counterpart a letter of congratulations. Official correspondence carries weight in China. Big news—I was mentioned in the letter. The new president wants to have a meal with me. I have guanxi!
I explained our dilemma. Mr. Ma picked up his phone and began to tap out some numbers. “I’ll call you later,” he said.
A couple of hours later he told me to come to his office and pick up the tickets. Two hard sleeper berths. Guanxi.
When we went to get train tickets at the booth across from the campus south gate we were rudely surprised. Soft sleeper for Thursday night? Meiyo (no). Hard sleeper? Meiyo. Seat? Meiyo, Only Friday night, which would shrink our weekend trip to invisibility. Then I remembered: Mr. Ma, Director of International Programs, has powerful guanzxi. When I entered his office he was eager to see me. Henan University has a new leader and The University of Akron President Louis Proenza had sent his counterpart a letter of congratulations. Official correspondence carries weight in China. Big news—I was mentioned in the letter. The new president wants to have a meal with me. I have guanxi!
I explained our dilemma. Mr. Ma picked up his phone and began to tap out some numbers. “I’ll call you later,” he said.
A couple of hours later he told me to come to his office and pick up the tickets. Two hard sleeper berths. Guanxi.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Doing the Tourist Thing in China, Too
I just returned from Pingyao and am now busy prepping the last round of classes and getting the final exams ready. I'll catch up on posting this week but in the meantime here's the latest article published by The Daily Record in Wooster on Sunday, May 10. The title is theirs.
Ni hao. Hello from Kaifeng, China, where I am teaching at Henan University for a semester.
This is a great time to visit China if you're a little adventurous.
As a person who has organized 20 since 1994, I am an advocate of the guided tour for a short visit. They're efficient and make maximum use of limited time. The typical China tour includes Beijing (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven), Xi'an (Terra Cotta Warriors) and Shanghai (China's modern side).
For those with more moxie and time, China offers a long list of enticing destinations on paths not yet heavily beaten. The visitor will find a deep and rich culture, good accommodations and endless shopping at reasonable to joyously low prices.
China has invested considerably in its infrastructure. Airports are shiny and efficient. The railway system is what America had for passengers 60 years ago. The trains run frequently and mostly on time. There are sleepers and comfortable seats. In a nation of 1.3 billion they are often crowded on the most popular routes and during holidays.
Traveling by train gives the traveler a chance to mix with the people. They'll treat weigoren ("outside country person") with a mix of deference and politeness. Food is offered. Chinese lessons are given. Smiles and laughs are frequent.
Many people outside the major centers still regard foreigners as curiosities. I've been asked many times to pose with eager Chinese in photographs. Fantasy satisfied -- now I have had the celebrity experience.
Chinese people are busy taking pictures of everything and everybody, a measure of the country's growing prosperity. Another of the anomalies one encounters on the other side of the world is a sight not see in the West anymore: rolls of fresh film for sale around major tourist places.
Prepare for friendliness. Prepare also for frustration. Despite the government's push, it's still hard to find English speakers. We're told children are learning English from elementary school onward. However, during a recent trip to Beijing I stopped several young people asking directions and not a single one understood me.
Tourist services are sadly lacking. Stepping off the train or plane in a major Western center the traveler quickly finds a tourist center offering advice, maps, suggested itineraries and other help in all the major languages.
Sadly there is no equivalent in China even at the prime tourist spots. We visited Xi'an, home of the famous terra cotta warriors. In the ever-seething mass that is a busy Chinese train station, the only aid as offered by the untrustworthy touts who wanted primarily to separate us from our money.
In a way, the underdevelopment of tourism is part of the charm. You still have the increasingly rare feeling of being in front. The lure of the exotic and the thrill of discovery are palpable. Places of interest are not yet overdone.
To fully enjoy China's culinary delights you must become adept with chopsticks. I was surprised recently in a Beijing restaurant to find a fork on the table. Outside the capital and big tourist hotels you'll not see Western utensils. Eating with chopsticks puts you into the mainstream of society. It is especially important should you have the great pleasure of sharing a meal with Chinese people.
Food is sometimes termed the national obsession. Only the hip modern crowd in the biggest cities tends to mix at bars and clubs. The vast majority of Chinese socialize over meals. A typical Chinese meal begins with a long discussion between the person ordering and the server. Dishes are selected for balance of types, flavors, and color.
The cold appetizers arrive first, starting the parade of dishes. Each new arrival invites discussion and critiques. Large groups eat at a round table with a lazy Susan in the center. As the ever-growing and changing cast makes its way around diners take morsels with their chopsticks.
You'll know the feast is over when two or three steaming tureens of soup arrive. Chinese believe this aids digestion. Hot water or tea is the usual meal accompaniment for the same reason. There are usually no cold drinks (you don't want ice anyway; the tap water is not potable).
When banqueting with locals toasts are frequent. Although nondrinkers can substitute the temptation to join the jollity is strong. Your Chinese hosts will toast you again and again with beer and the native baijiu. Good form requires you take a drink and "Gambe!" means "bottoms up." Polite sipping will get you through but spirits of the moment might burn their way through your resistance.
Many pleasures await the traveler ready to dive in. China will assault your senses and challenge your ingenuity. Ultimately you'll step away from the table full, happy, and already looking forward to the next meal.
_____________
This is a great time to visit China if you're a little adventurous.
As a person who has organized 20 since 1994, I am an advocate of the guided tour for a short visit. They're efficient and make maximum use of limited time. The typical China tour includes Beijing (Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven), Xi'an (Terra Cotta Warriors) and Shanghai (China's modern side).
For those with more moxie and time, China offers a long list of enticing destinations on paths not yet heavily beaten. The visitor will find a deep and rich culture, good accommodations and endless shopping at reasonable to joyously low prices.
China has invested considerably in its infrastructure. Airports are shiny and efficient. The railway system is what America had for passengers 60 years ago. The trains run frequently and mostly on time. There are sleepers and comfortable seats. In a nation of 1.3 billion they are often crowded on the most popular routes and during holidays.
Traveling by train gives the traveler a chance to mix with the people. They'll treat weigoren ("outside country person") with a mix of deference and politeness. Food is offered. Chinese lessons are given. Smiles and laughs are frequent.
Many people outside the major centers still regard foreigners as curiosities. I've been asked many times to pose with eager Chinese in photographs. Fantasy satisfied -- now I have had the celebrity experience.
Chinese people are busy taking pictures of everything and everybody, a measure of the country's growing prosperity. Another of the anomalies one encounters on the other side of the world is a sight not see in the West anymore: rolls of fresh film for sale around major tourist places.
Prepare for friendliness. Prepare also for frustration. Despite the government's push, it's still hard to find English speakers. We're told children are learning English from elementary school onward. However, during a recent trip to Beijing I stopped several young people asking directions and not a single one understood me.
Tourist services are sadly lacking. Stepping off the train or plane in a major Western center the traveler quickly finds a tourist center offering advice, maps, suggested itineraries and other help in all the major languages.
Sadly there is no equivalent in China even at the prime tourist spots. We visited Xi'an, home of the famous terra cotta warriors. In the ever-seething mass that is a busy Chinese train station, the only aid as offered by the untrustworthy touts who wanted primarily to separate us from our money.
In a way, the underdevelopment of tourism is part of the charm. You still have the increasingly rare feeling of being in front. The lure of the exotic and the thrill of discovery are palpable. Places of interest are not yet overdone.
To fully enjoy China's culinary delights you must become adept with chopsticks. I was surprised recently in a Beijing restaurant to find a fork on the table. Outside the capital and big tourist hotels you'll not see Western utensils. Eating with chopsticks puts you into the mainstream of society. It is especially important should you have the great pleasure of sharing a meal with Chinese people.
Food is sometimes termed the national obsession. Only the hip modern crowd in the biggest cities tends to mix at bars and clubs. The vast majority of Chinese socialize over meals. A typical Chinese meal begins with a long discussion between the person ordering and the server. Dishes are selected for balance of types, flavors, and color.
The cold appetizers arrive first, starting the parade of dishes. Each new arrival invites discussion and critiques. Large groups eat at a round table with a lazy Susan in the center. As the ever-growing and changing cast makes its way around diners take morsels with their chopsticks.
You'll know the feast is over when two or three steaming tureens of soup arrive. Chinese believe this aids digestion. Hot water or tea is the usual meal accompaniment for the same reason. There are usually no cold drinks (you don't want ice anyway; the tap water is not potable).
When banqueting with locals toasts are frequent. Although nondrinkers can substitute the temptation to join the jollity is strong. Your Chinese hosts will toast you again and again with beer and the native baijiu. Good form requires you take a drink and "Gambe!" means "bottoms up." Polite sipping will get you through but spirits of the moment might burn their way through your resistance.
Many pleasures await the traveler ready to dive in. China will assault your senses and challenge your ingenuity. Ultimately you'll step away from the table full, happy, and already looking forward to the next meal.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wall Walking and Weekend Encounters
Saturday Zohar and I tried to walk the walls of Kaifeng. Have I introduced Zohar? Marta, one of the young teachers from Beloit College, is plugged into the couch surfer network (http://www.couchsurfing.org). Zohar from Israel was traveling through China and stayed with her. Since I have a guest bedroom I offered it to him for a night. He continued to Xi'an & points beyond and later returned to Kaifeng. He's now a student at Henan University studying Chinese. You can check out his blog at http://milchblog.blogspot.com
Initially we went to the North Gate but access was blocked.
We hiked the old canal down to the Dragon Pavilion where we found a path up to the old wall. We hiked south for some distance. Sometimes it was wooded path, sometimes garbage strewn areas with signs of homeless camps. There is a small museum at the West Gate requiring a 10 yuan admission.
This being Kaifeng, the emphasis is on food—of course!
At one point we tiptoed across a short span about half a meter wide with a 10 meter drop on each side—definitely scary. The south wall was in good shape with a wide rampart but when we reached the South Gate our journey was over. We couldn't get back onto the wall and since it was getting late we took a taxi back to campus. We'd walked about 8 kilometers over 5 hours.
From what I gather tourism is one of Kaifeng's most important industries. Almost all the visitors are Chinese, who are familiar with Kaifeng's history as an imperial capital and its famous sites. The city government is apparently engaging in some wall restoration. We passed through a construction zone where workers are refurbishing and shoring up the old structure. There is also a plan to dredge the canal to allow for boat rides from the Lord Bao Temple in the Southwest to the Dragon Pavilion and on to the Iron Pagoda on the north side of campus. If the city does these things it will go a long way to luring more tourists and maybe some Westerners which would be a big economic boost. Below, boats filled with holiday crowds on the lakes around the Dragon Pavilion.
Sunday Z and I went to the Kaifeng Museum.
We signed the register to the usual celebrity fanfare.
There I saw three Western guys and could tell from their accents that they were Americans. They were visiting from Qingdao where they are teaching. Hector is making a video log of his China experience. You can hit his blog at http://chicanohek.blogspot.com. Scott is Jewish and was excited at the prospect of learning a bit more about this aspect of Kaifeng history so Z arranged a visit to our friend Guo Yan's home (see my March 8 entry).
(L to R) front: Hector, Guo Yan, her grandmother and husband / back: Paul and Scott
Hector wrote me subsequently, "We had such a wonderful time in Kaifeng! I am seriously thinking about going there for a summer gig or simply to soak up the Kaifengness of the place."
It's always nice when people appreciate your home town, even your temporary adopted one.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Zhongzhou
Campus has emptied out for Mayday. When China has a major holiday, many people travel, and in China many people means wall-to-wall crowds on trains and at any popular destination. I thought it best to remain home but, “You don't really have to stay in Kaifeng for the whole holiday actually,” Yufeng e-mailed Thursday night. “How about a small outing to Zhengzhou tomorrow?” She suggested we visit the Henan Museum. I’d heard it was closed for renovation but she insisted that it was open. Turns out we were both right.I met her by Di Mar, the East Gate, where the day’s narrative was foreshadowed by a group of community musicians who had gathered to do a concert in the park under the old city walls.
We took a new bus line to the provincial capital, about an hour from Kiafeng. Yufeng tells me she doesn't plan very well, a trait she says is endemically Chinese. She makes it up as she goes along and asks questions and directions of any willing ear. People are always obliging. I find the Chinese treat you pretty much as a blank which is understandable in a 1.3 billion person sea, but when you're dealing one-on-one they are polite and helpful.
There was a long line at the museum. Must be open! After lunch Yufeng found that we could jump the line by buying tickets to see an afternoon concert of traditional music. ine, we’ll spend a couple of hours viewing the exhibits and then the show.
Except that only two galleries were open, but what pieces we saw are exquisite. One of the many joys of an extended visit is the chance to explore China’s rich artistic heritage and long history
Yufeng suggested we check out the city center which was as jammed as… well, as a Chinese city center on a national holiday. Back at the museum we were part of a small audience in a new auditorium that enjoyed the concert of traditional music, mostly from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.), considered one of the high points of Chinese history. The short program was worth every bit the 15 yuan (about US$2) ticket. Beautiful costumes, tight playing by dedicated musicians, fine lighting, a thoroughly professional and heartfelt performance.
Except that only two galleries were open, but what pieces we saw are exquisite. One of the many joys of an extended visit is the chance to explore China’s rich artistic heritage and long history
Yufeng suggested we check out the city center which was as jammed as… well, as a Chinese city center on a national holiday. Back at the museum we were part of a small audience in a new auditorium that enjoyed the concert of traditional music, mostly from the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.), considered one of the high points of Chinese history. The short program was worth every bit the 15 yuan (about US$2) ticket. Beautiful costumes, tight playing by dedicated musicians, fine lighting, a thoroughly professional and heartfelt performance.
Back to Kaifeng, dinner near campus at a small restaurant new to both of us with the usual great food—really good corn soup. A nice outing, just another day in China. Thanks, Yufeng.
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