It's a Tai Chi Morning

July 21, 2013

Each day on our itinerary held its highlights, and this last day in Chongqing was not about to be outdone.  Dressed in our workout duds, we Fulbrighters headed to the section of town where there was a basketball gym, a track, and an all-around play area for non-athletes.  We were to meet up with Mr. Hu's Tai Chi master for a lesson.  

A captivating demonstration

Tai Chi master demonstrating what it SHOULD look like

This is so much harder than it looks.  My sparring partner was really strong and was not going easy on the rookie American.  Check out the look of concentration on my face.

Dazu Rock Carvings

July 20, 2013

In Dazu County, in the municipality of Chongqing, a historic wonder hides in the mountains.  The Dazu Rock Carvings are on UNESCOs World Heritage List.  They are a series of grand carvings of Buddhist, Tao, and Confucian themes.  One section's story feels peaceful and serene, such as the carvings showing people's dedication to their elder family members.  Another section is disturbing.  I almost want to look away but can't.  This section depicts images of what hell is like.  Figures are being tortured in a variety of imaginative ways.

The first carvings were done in Early Tang Dynasty in the 650s, but the main body of work commenced in the 9th century.  Wei Junjing began the carvings in 892.  Others followed his example to continue the great work.  From early Tang through the Ming and Qing dynasties, the site endured and was not destroyed by natural or man-made disasters (a fire destroyed a section, but that was repaired during the Ming and Qing period).  That is probably the last time there was any significant work done on the carvings.

There were sections with vibrant and beautiful blues that look as if they were painted within  this last decade.  Master craftsmen worked to create this wonder until the end of the 13th century when war caused the work to stop for good.

Chongqing Cliff Notes - Part 3 - The Cruise

July 18, 2013

The day began with a drive into the mountain country surrounding the metropolitan center.  That gave us a bird's eye view of the beautiful Chongqing South Mountain scenery.  Real people; rural people, who didn't have time to put out the "good chopsticks" for the American teachers were about their business in the small mountain town we stopped at.  We split up and wandered around.  There were some small brick and mortar shops and more than a few outdoor stalls set up.  We had some time to kill before our afternoon lectures.  My mission during this stop led to one of my favorite memories.

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 evening finally arrived.  An itinerary highlight was this cruise along the Yantze and Jieling Rivers. They join here and then the Yangtze continues to flow south toward the Three Gorges Dam.  We didn't see the dam on this trip.  After running back and forth to find and board our boat, we all finally made it and scoped out a good place at the rail to enjoy the cruise... which started an hour later.  

Yep.  Posed.

What better way to while away the hour before
launch than to blow bubbles!

Our boat was for pleasure; this one is working into the evening.  

Another tour boat on the Yangtze.

The view is totally worth it.

On board

Chongqing from the river