Christmas in Pingxiang

Unsurprisingly, Christmas in China has been very different.  Fortunately, however, there has been no shortage of festive spirit…

There was the usual run-up to Christmas last week as the students began to get excited about a holiday they don’t understand, and us teachers did the classic trick of filling lessons with Christmas films and parties.  I got my classes to make Christmas cards and most of them came back to me, with very sweet, affectionate messages about how much they love me.  It is no coincidence that their exams are next week...

I also received a number of presents from my students, the best of which came from one of my fresher classes.  I had to wait outside the classroom whilst there was much shrieking and giggling from inside, and then I walked in to find my present waiting on my desk surrounded by candles with all the students attempting to sing Jingle Bells.

Though somewhat shrine-like, the scary doll box contained a giant apple, and there was also an apple shaped wicker basket filled with tiny bits of paper on which all the students had written wishes for me and my family.  It was very sweet of them.

The Chinese obsession with apples is solid proof that they really aren’t sure what Christmas entails.  Apples have come at us from all angles, beautifully wrapped in paper or bags.  They are supposed to bring good fortune, and we don't have the heart to tell the students that the tradition isn’t as Christmassy as they might hope.

There was also a Christmas show put on by the English Association.  It was not good.  Perhaps because the microphones didn’t work.  Perhaps because it was entirely in Chinese.  Or perhaps because they kept dragging us Westerners out to sing songs or join in with performances.   

Our totally un-prepared and atrociously performed rendition of Jingle Bells was thwarted by piles of students thrusting balloons into our arms.  One girl even ran out of the crowd, hugged me and shouted that she loved me.  We really are the celebrities of the college.

Apart from apples and spectacularly awful shows, the Chinese don’t really celebrate Christmas, so we had a Christmas Eve party at Olina’s house to introduce our Chinese friends to the festivities.

Mostly, they sat around watching TV, but we were merry enough for all of them. 

Chrissy and Jav had bought some ‘Western’ food in Changsha so the boys set about making pasta and meatballs whilst me and Chrissy attempted a Thai red curry.  There was some heated competition between Team Pasta, who eventually congealed and slightly burnt it, and Team Curry, who added too much water and then evaporated it off all over Olina’s floor.  We were cooking on a small electric hob in the corner of the lounge though, so I think we did the best we could.

Here we all are with a multi-cultural feast of Chinese food, somewhat questionable Western food, and fruit cocktail surreptitiously spiked with vodka.

Later on Santa Jav appeared and gave out presents.

Celebrating Christmas with our Chinese friends was sweet, because for some of them it was their first Christmas and they were excited about everything.  Also, in China, it is acceptable, if not desirable, to give the tackiest presents ever.  Here's Terry with his new doll from Fiona.

After a lot of mulled wine, crackers and Christmas kareoke, we headed out to Barbara, Pingxiang’s one and only club.  Chaos ensued.  We probably shouldn't go back.

On Christmas morning it actually snowed.  Only for a few minutes, but it was a Pingxiang Christmas miracle.  We headed to a coffee bar for lunch.

Unfortunately there was a special Christmas menu all in Chinese with no pictures, so we had to take a bit of a gamble.  We managed to get steak, which was great, but sadly it came with unspecified orange soup (an insult to soup everywhere), fruit salad with an incomprehensible dressing of mayonnaise, and dozens of tarts filled with grey mush that tasted a bit like sweet porridge jelly.  Chrissy's face says it best.

We exchanged presents at lunch which made up for the distressing attempt at Christmas dinner.  Here I am in full panda hat and ear muffs from Chrissy and Jav.

I gave Terry a giant inflatable red donkey.

He liked it a lot.

In the evening we tagged along to a banquet that Taz’s college were throwing, and then saw Christmas out with a couple of drinks in Jav and Chrissy’s apartment.  More chaos ensued.

On Boxing Day we had unwisely agreed to help out a guy called Eden, who runs a chain of primary schools around the city called Crazy English.  Some of us didn’t make it out of bed but Jav and I struggled round 4 different schools, giving out sweets and hats and attempting to teach the children Christmas songs.  Mostly they just asked me to sing Lady Gaga.

All in all, it was a busy weekend.  It felt strange not to be with family, but I certainly wasn't alone.  And it was sad that Santa didn't made it to China (no doubt stopped at customs), but various gifts from very lovely people back home meant I had something to open on Christmas morning.

So, somewhat surprisingly, for all it’s peculiarities, the Chinese twist hasn’t detracted from the festive joy.  Merrry (slightly late) Christmas to all!

A Chinese BBQ

Just as the weather was getting colder, winter was approaching and people were starting to wear padded pyjamas in the street, China decided to turn it around.  Yesterday was 23ºC and sunny.  It definitely won’t last so I thought I should gloat about it while I still can.

One of Terry and Javid’s classes invited us to a BBQ in an orange grove as their ‘English Corner’.  English Corner is run by the students and usually happens every Wednesday night.  It is supposed to be an extra-curricular activity to give the students more opportunities to practice their English.  Usually it results in us Westerners being forced to sing songs, play games or give little speeches.  We always provide them with appalling performances and it becomes a battle to see who gets landed with the more embarrassing tasks.  Somehow they keep inviting us back.

So it was a welcome change from our ritual humiliation to be invited to a Sunday morning BBQ.  We took the bus from the front of college, got off about 10 seconds later and then trekked through the Pingxiang countryside to an orange grove.

It was free to eat the oranges while we were there (and I snuck quite a few out) so we did a little orange picking in the sunshine.  There were some families out picking too, as well as men in the orange business.  Here’s one guy purchasing some oranges with the highly modern method of a weight on a stick.

Terry and Taz tried to play orange cricket with a massive log.

We then spent a while threading food onto sticks.  Chinese BBQs don’t involve burgers or sausages, but we had meatballs, meat-on-a-stick, fish-on-a-stick, tofu, cabbage, aubergine, tarot root, potato, pepper and a type of suet.

To be honest, I wasn’t fully convinced we were going to be able to cook any of it, especially when my ‘team’ tried to start the BBQ with wet leaves.  There were some other unconventional attempts at fire-starting from one of the other teams...

Fanning the flames with a broom did not help.

Fortunately the monitor had brought charcoal so we managed to get a fire going with newspaper and the coals eventually started heating.  I was quite pleased with our efforts actually.  Miraculously everything cooked, and we only burnt the odd meatball.

  

This is April, who did most of the cooking, including marinating everything in oil, chilli and paprika.  The food actually tasted amazing.

Here’s Team Tan.  We had the best fire.

Taz had brought some beer and everyone was very happy.

Chrissy and I had to leave early as we had lots of work to do, but naturally there was time for a few more photos.

An open-air BBQ in an orange grove in ‘winter’.  China remains full of surprises.

Sports Meeting

Last week was the college’s Sports Meeting, so we all had 3 days of holiday whilst the students took part in various races and events on the athletics track and set off fireworks fairly continuously, day and night.  We didn’t get involved in any of the actual ‘Meeting’ but we were fully immersed in the opening ceremony, which fell on the last day of Dad’s visit and was quite an impressive send-off.

We went out early to watch the events unfold and before we knew it we were part of the parade.

There were lots of flags…

There was lots of red…

And, of course, there were lots of balloons.  If one of them popped there was uproar.

Here we are marching past the judges and important looking people in the Foreign Languages parade.

We didn’t have a clue what we were doing and just sort of strolled around waving at our ‘fans’ in the crowd.

Then there was some dancing and some Tai Chi.

Here are some of the freshers dancing to High School Musical’s ‘We’re All In This Together’.

Afterwards, in a natural progression from ceremonial grandeur, there was a tug-of-war tournament for the teachers.   

We got dragged in to join the Foreign Languages Department, waited about an hour for our turn and then failed miserably.  Perhaps we weren’t all pulling our weight…

Can’t fault Chrissy’s efforts though.

Our humiliating defeat was rewarded with big bags of washing powder that were brought round to our apartments later that morning.  I doubt we will ever comprehend why.

Just another day at Pingxiang College.

Suzhou and Hangzhou

On the train to Suzhou I met Stuart, the first Westerner I’ve encountered in China to speak fluent Chinese.  It turned out that he now works in Shanghai and commutes from Suzhou, so was able to get us a taxi into the city even though it was peak time on a Friday night.  He then bartered down our hotel price by a significant amount.  It was very impressive, and has given me motivation to work harder at my Mandarin!

Suzhou is known as ‘the Venice of the East’, and once we escaped from the horrendously busy city streets it was a charming place.  Once a moated city, it is built around a network of canals that feed the gardens for which it is most famous.  Just behind the rows of shops and restaurants would be paths alongside the canals, like this one.

On Saturday, we walked around the city, avoiding the buses full of package tours.  Here’s one of the quieter spots in Suzhou; no tourists and nobody trying to sell you anything.

There were lots of beautiful old bridges over the canals.

We visited a couple of the gardens.  Here I am in Wangshi Yuan.

And here’s Dad.

Chinese gardens are very different to English gardens – the emphasis is not on natural beauty but artistic beauty.  Every tree, rock and pool is carefully sculpted for ‘balance, harmony, proportion and variety’ (thanks, Rough Guide).  It was apt, then, that there were many students from art colleges sitting around painting or drawing the scenery.

After getting lost exiting our second garden, Ou Yuan, we stumbled across a big, beautiful park.  We then took a taxi down to the Grand Canal to investigate boats to Hangzhou, but sadly they no longer run.  Nonetheless, we saw some of the world’s longest canal, a feat of engineering on a par with the Great Wall.  Well done China.

In the late afternoon we took a bus to Hangzhou instead.  The roads ran along the same route as the Canal so a lot of the scenery was very pretty.

On Sunday we explored Xi Hu (West Lake), the huge lake which makes Hangzhou such a popular tourist attraction.  It has a rough area of 3 squared kilometres and there are lots of little islands in the middle.  We took a boat out on the lake to the largest island, Santanyinyue (Three Flags Reflecting the Moon).  It was quite misty in the morning but the sun was trying to break through, making the views pleasantly mysterious.

Here we are on the island.

We then visited the northern shore of Xi Hu and strolled around one of the many parks surrounding the lake.

It was very peaceful.

There were 2 causeways stretching across the lake, one down the west side and one across the north side, and lots of cycling tourists.

As we walked back to our hotel in the afternoon we noticed a large crowd had gathered around a tree, pointing and taking photos.  Intrigued, we investigated.  What could attract such excitement?

It was a squirrel.

We sat around admiring the views for a while longer and then decided to get a taxi to the station which we thought was relatively nearby.  We were so relaxed from our day at the lake that we approached this task in a very relaxed way.  Big mistake.  No taxis would drive us to the station as it was a very busy time and, as we later found out, the station we wanted was very far away.  Eventually one man in a small van agreed.  He then took us to the wrong station.  He then got lost on his way to the right station.  We missed our train back to Pingxiang by minutes.

As I knew there were no more fast trains that day, I was more than a little upset.  But we managed to exchange our tickets for the next train, a sleeper train that would take over 10 hours.  It was comfortable enough and we were sharing our 2-bunk compartment with a nice, quiet, non-smoking girl, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Father deserved better.  He didn’t mind though.

We got back to the college around 5am, shattered, but with classes to teach at 8am, so we decided to skip sleep for the night.

I felt the trip was worth the exhaustion though.  5 provinces in 5 days is no mean feat but I’m so pleased we managed to see so much.  China has a huge amount to offer and travelling has made me eager for more.  If only the small matter of teaching didn’t keep getting in the way.

Shanghai

Last week Pingxiang welcomed its very own foreign dignitary from England, Dr. Tan.  To celebrate his arrival the college granted me a few days' leave to go travelling.

Well, they didn’t, but we went anyway.

We only had 5 days to travel so it was a busy trip but we saw everything we wanted to see and it was great for me to see some famous parts of China!

First stop – Shanghai.  After a 2-hour delay at the airport we arrived quite late but luckily the new metro system in place made navigation in the city really easy.  2 years ago there were only 4 lines – now there are 10!  It’s a lot like the London Underground, but bigger.  At Renmin Square, the central station, there were no less than 20 different exits.  Confusing, to say the least.

Early Thursday morning we walked from our conveniently-placed hotel to the Bund.  The Bund displays both Shanghai’s original and modern skylines; across the river, the colonial architecture of the western bank faces the skyscrapers of the eastern bank.  The vast extent of Shanghai’s economic development is glaringly obvious, but in a very scenic way.

Quite a contrast.

We took a ferry across the river to Pudong district and went up Jinmao Tower, one of Shanghai's finest buildings.  Here’s a view from the 88^th floor.

Also on the 88^th floor they opened oysters and gave us free pearls.  The logic of this escapes me, but it was a nice gesture.

We wandered across town to see the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai’s signature building.  Truly epic architecture.

In the afternoon we strolled through Renmin Park, one of Shanghai’s many parks, an oasis of calm in the sea of the metropolis.

Note the massive building looming up from behind the trees.

Here are some men reading ‘the newspaper’ in the park.  Fountain of all knowledge, Dr. Tan informs me this is a typical Communist practice, and certainly it’s the best way of giving everyone the same information.

We then headed to the Old City, after wandering perplexedly around Renmin Square for about half an hour.  On the way to the Old City we passed a flea market where they were selling crickets in jars!  Mulan fans will appreciate my excitement here; I was quite tempted to add a cricket, just for luck…

In China, there is an ever-increasing divide between rich and poor and walking through Shanghai consolidates the fact.  Just a few streets away from skyscrapers and shopping complexes are streets like this.  It’s incredible.

Entering the Old City was like re-entering ancient China.  Except for the few, tiny modern adjustments.  Have a look at this street, lined with beautiful Chinese buildings.

And spot the McDonalds on the corner.

We walked around Yu Yuan, a garden surrounded by a busy bazaar.  Here I am by the central tea house, Huxin Ting, where the Queen has apparently dropped in for tea!

In the evening we headed out to Shanghai Centre Theatre to see some acrobats!  There were some amazing feats, mostly in the unnatural flexibility of the performers.  We weren’t supposed to take photos.

On Friday we went to the ex-Expo site, where, sadly, there was very little to see.  The Chinese pavilion, built especially for the Expo, was still there, and will remain there forever.  The Chinese are all very proud of it.  There were a lot of soldiers marching around.

Next we went to the Confucius temple, hidden away in the Old City.  Here’s Father looking thoughtful and wise, just outside the study.

And here he is again, on the steps of Zhou Enlai’s former residence, in the Former French Concession.

This area of town looked like it could be in Paris; there were big wide streets lined with trees, little cafes everywhere and designer shops all over the place.

All in all, Shanghai impressed me.  It was like visiting 4 or 5 different worlds, and we only encountered the central part of the city.  Perhaps it was no surprise, considering Shanghai is one of the world’s largest cities; what did surprise me was that we managed to see so much in 2 days.  On Friday evening we caught a train to Suzhou…