Chongqing Cliff Notes - Part 2

July 16, 2014

A drive into the outskirts of Chongqing with the purpose
of visiting and conversing with educators at a university
of teacher preparation turned out to be a big deal.

Each of our group was presented with a scroll with specially
selected writings from Confucius (I still have to get this
translated.).

Hanging with Confucius again.

The university hosted a 28-plate dinner in our honor. I was
using my best etiquette and felt a bit overwhelmed, but
honored all the same.

A view of Chongqing as we returned to the city.

While back in Beijing, two cities earlier in my itinerary, we visited a hot pot restaurant.  Recall my post called, "The Noodle Dancer."  During that interactive dinner, I got my nails done.  I know this is going to seem silly and trivial, but sometimes little things lead to bigger events.  Well, that nail polish was, by this time, pealing like old paint, and it was driving me crazy!  I needed it off and didn't have any nail polish remover.  In this south mountain town, I spied a drugstore.  The perfect place to pick some up.  Scanning the aisles carefully, I couldn't figure out if they had any or not.  While I had a rough idea what it might look like, I couldn't read any of the labels.  When I finally gave up finding it myself, I enlisted the help of the sales clerk.  Through gestures and acting, she figured out what I wanted, I think.  She didn't have any.  

In the meantime, two girls who looked to be about 12 years old were curious about me and began creeping in a little closer.  After exchanging friendly smiles, I posed my question to them.  "Is there any nail polish remover here?"  I gestured wiping the chipping, purple stuff off of my nails.  They seemed to understand what I wanted, and we went from one shop to the next together.  No luck.  We said good-bye.  I thanked them and caught up with some of the others who were shopping/wandering around the outdoor merchants' stalls.

Kitchen utensils, fans (both electric and hand-powered palm leaf styles), fruit, hardware, and a variety of other odds and ends took my attention for some time. Presently, I felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to find the two girls behind me.  They had Cheshire Cat smiles on their faces and proudly produced a bottle of nail polish remover.  Tah dah!  I gushed thankfulness and gratitude and tried to pay them, but they refused to take any money and ran off.  I really did try to pay them.  In fact, I started after them to try to give them some yuan, but gave it up when another man started yelling at me.  To this day I don't know whether that man thought I was trying to hurt the girls, or whether he was just a yeller.  I tend to think he was a yeller because he followed me and my group around until we boarded the bus again, all the while talking/yelling.  Thing is, even my tour director, who speaks fluent Mandarin, couldn't understand what the man was trying to say.  But I digress.  The kindness of those girls will not soon be forgotten.  In a world where I'm seen as a rich American by many, and someone from whom a few yuan might be made, it was a refreshing reminder that some people just want to make a friendly connection.  :)

The temple in the city.  A juxtaposition of tradition and progress

Entering the temple in Chongqing.  We
are here for lectures on Buddhists poetry

The temple in Chongqing

There are always items available for purchase at temples.
Incense, talismans, statues, jewelry... you name it.

Places for worshippers

Incense for sale

This looks like it leads to a quiet and peaceful
place.  At this point, though, I learned that I
was supposed to be in the conference room
with my group for our first lecture at this venue.
No more photos for now. 

Chongqing Cliff Notes - Part 1

The city view tour begins our visit to Chongqing.  We are blown away by the size of the city.  The buildings touch the sky.  The roads and rivers are the backbone here.  Where the Yangtzi and the Jialing Rivers meet, they continue flowing south as only the Yangtzi. Barges carrying coal, sand, and crates move up and down the river all day long.

A first view of the city of Chongqing, China

On the street near our hotel.  Tempting, but after
our head-cracking experience at the Xi'an hospital,
no Fulbright members opted to get a treatment here. 

The infamous durian fruit.  It's been described as smelling
like feet, dead and rotting things, and just plain awful.  I
met anyone who loves and eats this fruit.

Visits to the grocery store are interesting.  I don't know
what this fruit is called, but it sure is beautiful.

Bulk noodles

The fish department at the grocery strode

The poultry and rabbit department at the
grocery store.

More Chongqing city views

Chongqing City View

A visit to Jielong Middle School included dance,
tai chi, and musical performances.  We feel like such
celebrities when we arrive at our school sites.  

These girls did their best to teach us how to do their ribbon
dance.

Music class ended up being a time to play around with the
camera.

In the photo above, you can see part of the Jielong, a wind instrument.  This school prides itself in keeping this and other performance arts alive.  Jielong Chuida means wind and percussion instrument playing.  It is listed as one of China's non-material cultural heritages in 2006.  Jielong Chuida bands often perform at weddings, funerals, sports events, and business conferences.  The students offered us an opportunity to try to play music and dance.  They were very kind, but we knew they were amused. 

It feels right.  Why were they giggling?

The school highlights this tree, which is
growing on the foundation of a rock.  They
say that it is a metaphor for giving children a
firm foundation.

The tree shown above is one of two planted in 1995.  The trees were the same size when they were planted, but now, in 2013, the difference is great (The very small one is to the left of this one.  It is not pictured.).  The school staff guides students to draw a conclusion about this mystery.  They tell us that the bigger, stronger one has roots that have gone much deeper into the earth.   It absorbs more nutrients. Additionally, this larger tree has set its roots between the stones, overcoming harsh conditions.  This is a metaphor for students and their growth potential.  Only by standing on solid ground and meeting challenges can children grow into such a towering tree.  

The Stilwell Museum was an interesting look
at U.S. China alliances during WWII.

A poignant photo in the Stilwell Museum.

Learning about the Fighting Tigers, General Stilwell, and
U.S. - China alliances during WWII.

A wine shop on the street in Chongqing

A common activity for men.  They play cards (and gamble)
on the streets.

At several of the schools and universities that
we have visited, there are sculptures, or paintings,
or writings of Confucius.  He is back in the good
graces of the Chinese government after being
expelled for awhile.

A scene in the courtyard of the Great Hall of the People.

The Great Hall of the People in Chongqing, China

Great and small groups of people flock to the square

in the shadow of the Great Hall of the People

 to dance the evening away.

Another look at Chongqing proper.

Chongqing has between four and six thousand bridges, depending on who's telling the story.  The city is built on solid rock, like Manhattan, so does not have a great earthquake danger.  Flying from Xi'an to Chongqing was a great opportunity to see the terrain.  Looking out the window, I could see mountains, green valleys, and terrace-farming most of the way.  Abruptly, however, the farmland makes way for a multitude of high rise buildings.  The city appears so suddenly that it feels like a scene change in a movie.  It was 102 degrees fahrenheit that first day in Chongqing, and it hit like the blast from a furnace as we deplaned.  

More From Xi'an

July 13-15, 2013

We enjoyed riding the city perimeter on the wall.  It's an 8-mile trek and is a fantastic was to enjoy city views.  There was a music track playing, and that made the ride even more fun. 

 Another highlight is Xi'an was visiting the Big Goose Pagoda at night.  There was a water show with lights.  Enjoy.

 While staying in Xi'an, our Fulbright groups made an overnight trip to Hu County.  This is where we stayed with rural families for dinner, a relaxing evening, and a trip to the local hot springs for a dip.  My pre-conceived idea about hot springs meant that I picture us trekking through the hills to find an isolated but totally wonderful natural hot spring.  It turned out to be an indoor swimming pool  :)

Dumpling-making ingredients

The real cooks in the kitchen

Part of our dinner in Hu County

Learning to make dumplings

In Hu County, we met a famous artist.  He is known for his peasant paintings.  During the Cultural Revolution, it was not good to be a scholar, professional, or skilled artist.  Those kind of folks needed to go "underground" if you will.  Mr. Tong began to paint the scenes of the daily lives of peasants along with others who could not deny their creative drive.  Peasant painting has become a sought-after genre.  I was honored to meet him and to tour his gallery and home.

Mr. Tong shows us some of his work.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

July 12, 2013

Following a presentation about the development of acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, and the clinical applications of each (Dr. Wang Ruihui, Deputy President of Shanxi University of Chinese Medicine), Fulbrighters visited the Chinese Medicine History Museum and a hospital where we observed the practice of these TCM methods.  The museum included the largest catalog of items used for treating a variety of ailments.  Some reported benefits of these treatments are that they are suitable for a range of applications, they are inexpensive, and they are easy to perform. The practices originated in the age of clan communities in primitive Chinese society. 

Acupuncture is the inserting of needles at points on the body along meridians.  You might be interested in knowing that the first acupuncture needles were made of stone.  They evolved over time into bone and then metal.  Some were even made of earthenware and bamboo.  There are nine kinds of needles for different functions.

A model shows the meridians
along which needles can be
effectively inserted.

A volunteer gets acupuncture.

Primitive people also discovered the healing effect of warming the body.  A common burning material is moxa (purified mugwort leaves) and wool.  This mixture ignites without flames and is placed near the body at specific points to affect healing.  Since this seemed like a low risk treatment, I tried it out.  The warmth and aroma of the burning herb is, indeed, relaxing.

This Moxibustion patient is complaining of stomach pain.

Cupping comes from primitive societies as well.  It is the application of a cup-shaped vessel to the body that traps hot air, which pulls the skin into the cup.  In the beginning, cups were made of horn.  Now they are made of glass or plastic.  In fact, since this visit, I have seen a cupping kit in a pharmacy/beauty store that they were perfectly willing to sell to me.  I guess I could hang out a shingle and go into practice.