Hong Kong

For some strange reason, I did not really expect to enjoy Hong Kong. In my mind it was a giant shopping mall built of skyscrapers. As our plane descended, my heart started beating faster at the sight of islands, ocean and busy boats crossing from one harbor to the next. I know Flekkefjord is no Hong Kong, and yet it reminded me of home. Boats docked at the harbor, containers waiting to be loaded, only the size was overwhelming. But ocean is ocean whether in Norway, Maine or Hong Kong, and thus a beautiful sight.

For us, memories of Hong Kong include:

-a trip to the Peak by cable-pulled tram
-a hike on the Peak seeing how narrow the strip of skyscrapers really are, and how beautiful the nature is
-a boat-trip to Kowloon on New Years eve
-a walk through Kowloon asking ourselves: Does anyone really buy these watches from numerous stores priced at $30.000 and more? Do they not know you can get a fake in Beijing that looks the same and cost less than $ 100?
-a boat trip to Lamma island
-a 2 hour coastal hike on rural Lamma island ending with a seafood dinner at a small restaurant on the pier
-a final trip to Kowloon to a busy (frantic) shopping district, realizing this is what most people do in Hong Kong
-a 12 hour wait for our return flight due to another storm dumping 1 feet of snow in Beijing. However, we were treated to lunch, dinner, a hotel room for the evening and then a call at 1 AM " we are leaving" We had great books, so no big deal.

As we left the islands behind, I realized that I would be very happy to I have a chance to return some day.

Harbin-January 2010

Minnesota has Fargo, but here we have Harbin. If winter talk turns to cold temperature, this is the town most mentioned. Beijing has had a good snow year, but to make sure we got a little extra touch of cold air, we signed up with China Culture Club to visit Harbin the last week-end of January. We went with our new friends, Pam and Stewart Hughes from Leeds, UK.

Harbin lies north of here, close to the Russian border and is heavily influenced by Russian architecture, churches, bread making and more. Typical winter temperature hovers around -22 and 40 F we are told but we were spared such serious numbers. Clever enough to make this it's draw, Harbin sponsors a Winter Festival every year. So decked in our own and our friends’ warmest clothing, we headed for Harbin, enjoying the sights of impressive snow carved figures (anything white in the photos), ice houses built of ice blocks chopped out of the river that runs through town, complete with electricity to create a stunning night-time ice city. Our visit also included a trip through the Siberian tiger- park where we were happy to be inside strong vehicles and thus escape the fate of the chickens being fed to the hungry beasts.

I think the photos will tell the story better:

Beijing Itinerary

The holiday season is over, a very special holiday for the first members of our immediate family finally made it to Beijing. Rebekka and Lee cleverly scheduled their trip between a crippling, flight-stopping snowstorm in Washington and another here in Beijing 2 days after they left. During their visit we had beautiful cold days, good for traversing this giant city of the East. With Rebekka and Lee , finally it was time for Philip to set foot in the Forbidden City. One of his Chinese co-workers spent a long time telling him he had to go to The Emperor's Palace Museum. Philip was very embarrassed to tell him that he had not even heard of this attraction which the senior surgeon claimed was very famous. Finally after zeroing in on a google map, it dawned on Philip that indeed they were talking about the same place!!.

By now we have a pretty good itinerary for Beijing. We climbed The Great Wall and perhaps because of the cold, the hiking was exceptionally good. After the climb we were lucky to meet Roberta and Ted for lunch at a local restaurant with a great regional cuisine. We then visited the vacation home that they are building near the Wall.

It may be winter, but we still visited the Summer Palace. It is a place that never ceases to surprise. I have now been there five times, each time entering from a different direction or walking different paths and discovering new sights. Late last fall a new subway line was opened that takes you all the way to this giant park-like palace. This time we entered from the North, climbing up to the top of the temples and stone formations before heading down the hill covered with buildings and arriving at the lake. A frozen body of water greeted us, posted everywhere with signs to stay off the ice as people ran, skated and slid over the slippery surface. Beijingers do know how to enjoy nature.

Nobody should come to Beijing without visiting the Hongqiao Pearl Market, and Rebekka did not. I have my own "pearl-lady" who I trust and who give me good prices, and as mother, so daughter, Rebekka did enjoy a little shopping there. Then we all did a little "back-alley shopping"as I led them through winding, narrow alleys to the place that seems to be a locked back door, but which magically opens to those who know. Inside you find great deals for prescription glasses, fake high quality brand watches, CD's (which probably can't be used at home) and bags. All this shopping made us hungry, but no problem: across the street "Lao (old) Beijing" beckons with home-made noodles and all kinds of Beijing treats- definitely a must when it comes to food.

Across a another street lies 'The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)" the architectural, circular wonder of a building held together without any nails. The emperor used to come here annually to offer sacrifices to ensure rain and thus a good harvest. It is surrounded by a large and much used park. As always, the park was teeming with people , some playing cards, some dancing and several groups singing to their hearts delight. I am always struck by the joyful exuberance of Beijingers utilizing the local parks to join with friends and strangers doing what they love to do. Perhaps this is happening because people live in small apartments and the parks are where they can enjoy the great out-doors. But I always wish we westerners could be less inhibited, and just DO IT. Nobody here seems to care if you behave in a manner that if done other places, might make you a suspect of being in need of prozac. (Like walking backwards long distances, swinging your arms in circles and beating your chest, thighs etc)

There are very few churches or synagogues in Beijing. Most congregations meet in hotels or other public buildings. By co-incidence the Jewish congregation we attend, and the Protestant congregation I visit use the same space, just at different times. Rebekka accompanied me to a beautiful musical and light-filled Christmas service to ring in the holiday. Then home to a meal of Norwegian shrimp bought at the Norwegian Embassy followed by risenkrem.

Beijing duck was of course on the menu during the week, as were dumplings and vegetarian Buddhist fare. The dishes look and taste like meat and fish, but it is all tofu (or dofu as it is called here). Part of the China experience is definitely the food.

For the body there is massage. This week we went twice, once to a full body massage, and once to the famous foot massage, which is a misnomer, they actually massage your back and legs in addition to cleansing and massaging your feet. And as the saying goes "No pain, no gain." It hurts a little, but feels awfully good afterward. So thank you, no. 61 and 72. The attendants do not tell us their names, only numbers.

We also managed to get in an evening at the National Center for Performing Arts, affectionately called "The Egg" It is a beautiful building across the street from "Tiananmen Square" The egg shaped glass building rises from the moat that surrounds it, reflecting it's beautiful shape in the water. To enter the building you have to go downstairs into a large lobby and cross under the water. Apparently some locals are not happy with the feng shui of the building as it is situated slightly off the meridian that bissects the city and which all other important buildings are built on, but the acoustics are good, and we thoroughly enjoyed our percussion concert, for me the six giant xylophone orchestra was a real hit, and the gongs were fun as well.

We have been very lucky to meet a young tailor couple who do a great job as they come to your apartment to measure you for clothes, then return for a fitting before finally delivering the finished suit, shirt or qipao (Chinese dress) Lee now looks very suave in his gray suit, while Rebekka beautiful in her qipao. She also commissioned a professional-looking suit for the job-interview season she is now in. We really enjoy June and Ding.

The week went fast, what a treat to explore Beijing with Rebekka and Lee. Come April, Gabe and Jess will be here, while Max remains undecided of when he will visit. The itinerary is ready!!!

Yang Lao's Funeral

Epilogue:
After our last post, on Sunday, November 29, 2009 we had the distinct privilege to be invited by Yang Xianyi's daughter to attend his funeral. We were driven there by Weili Fan and husband, Jerry Zhang along with their daughter, Mollie. Weili had originally introduced me to Yang Lao. The funeral was open to the public and held at a site where many Chinese dignitaries receive their final farewell, however it can now be rented by the public. The funeral was arranged by the International Writers's Association. Family and friends met in a small room and had a private viewing of the body. The viewing hall was filled with flowers. As the public filed in to view, one could hear "Danny Boy", "On The Bonny Banks of Loch Lomond", and "Auld Lang Syne", Xianyi's favorite songs, playing in the background. The body was then removed and presumably cremated and friends and family were encouraged to carry the flowers to the crematorium for burning. The press and TV were present and there were individual messages from every politburo member with the exception of Premier, Hu Jintao.

This appears to be the passing of a unique era in Chinese history and it was interesting to get a glimpse of it and an honor to have met this important and brave man.

Now we will try to read his translation of "A Dream of Red Mansions".
Philip and Astri

Yang Xianyi

An email popped up from a Fan Weili. She mentioned that she had read a story about me in a magazine, Villa Life and asked if I would consider meeting a man she had befriended. This man was Yang Xianyi who was a renowned Chinese literary scholar and who along with his wife, Gladys, had translated many of the Chinese classics into English and many English classics into Chinese.

Villa Life is a glossy magazine distributed to those who live in upscale villas mostly in the part of Beijing called Shunyi near the airport. Despite the fact that I have yet to accomplish much they interviewed me about my work in Beijing. We really hit it off and the editor, his journalist and photographer spent about 2 hours with me.

Weili is a Chinese-American who was a member of the first class to enter University after the Cultural Revolution, the class of 1977. Plucked from working in the fields to enter school and study English literature. There she became familiar with Yang and Gladys Xianyi. Only years later after studying in Montana along with her husband and then becoming quite successful in Chicago, did they move back to China with their two teen-age children. Back in Beijing she developed a wonderful friendship with Yang Xianyi who she refers endearingly as Yang Lao ("Old Yang), visiting and spending time with him weekly.

Astri and I were invited to meet Yang Lao at his hutang home where he lived with his daughter. It was a rare privilege to meet such a man who had accomplished so much, had been so brave and to meet him in his own home. He remained fluent in English with no accent, witty, and content. When I mentioned that it was a great honor to meet him and that I heard so much about him, he said, "then you must have heard some lies". We also had the honor of getting a copy of "The Dream of the Red Chamber" Yang and his wife had translated, with his autograph.

Unfortunately, Yang Xianyi passed away on Monday, November 23 at the age of 94.

We look forward to reading his classic translation and to our continued friendship with Weili and Jerry.

I think you might be interested in reading Yang Xianyi's obituary in the Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/23/yang-xianyi-obituary

Carpets Galore

Beijing has all kinds of stores. Markets where floor upon floor consist of small stalls filled with "dongxi", a catchword for "things" you may want to buy. Dong meaning east...-xi meaning west. And these markets literally sell anything under the sky from east to west. Then there are really upscale malls where prices far surpass even what you would pay at a mall in the US. In between you find hole-in-the wall places: small stores often specializing in one item and with good prices.
With winter approaching, suddenly our wooden floors looked awfully bare. So as I walked by a hole-in the-wall carpet store one day, I decided to go in to have a look. The owner, Aileen, a young woman around 30 was very pleasant and pulled down carpet after carpet for me to look at. She also volunteered to bring half the store to our apartment should I so desire. As I was only hoping to buy one, I declined that offer, thanked her for the chat and left.

A week later Philip and I had another day of biking, and suddenly found ourselves in front of the same store. We needed a little break, and decided that he may want a look as well. Since we bought a silk carpet in India some years ago, we have both been very partial to silk rugs. China is a prime location for silk, so it did not take long before the offer of bringing some rugs to the house was accepted. But we are only planning to buy one, we said over and over, and this presented no problems.

Two days later I went down to help guide the truck to our basement. Our address is easy to find, but for deliveries it s easier if cars drive directly to our underground parking garage where they can take an elevator right to the apartment. Looking over the carpets with Aileen, suddenly we were surrounded by 11 possibilities. "No problem"- nothing here ever is!!. Her delivery truck was in for repairs, so we stepped out on the street, hailed a taxi, threw the carpets in the trunk and were on our way. What a difference it made, suddenly 9 silk carpets and 2 wool woven carpets were making our abode very cozy indeed. Aileen and her helper left, telling me to call when we had made a decision.

Now we were in the negotiation phase. Philip has become very adept at bargaining, but these are really nice rugs. Taking just one suddenly seemed out of the question as our eyes feasted on the luscious colors and designs. We asked for a 30% discount and ended up with 15% off and Ailleen telling us she had no more room to bargain and still make a profit. Her initial price, in fact, did appear to be 20% less than what we had seen in another carpet store. The final price was agreeable to both as long as we tell all our friends to go to Aileen”s shop. Meanwhile, our floors look inviting and the entire apartment suddenly feels several degrees warmer. As you probably guess, even though the majority of rugs went back with Aileen, we could not stop at one.
Astri

November Snow in Beijing

Having previously lived in places with ample rainfall, the sunny nature of Beijing has been a surprise. Well, include an occasional smoggy day, but certainly not as bad as we had anticipated. Visible smog is more the exception than the rule, and we have yet to see it thick and yellow so you need a knife to slice it. Plus Beijing has offered plenty of days with bright, blue skies. Rain is the one kind of weather that is rare. So sometimes the government just has to step in. However, it appeared that the night of Oct. 31 somebody did not do their homework. Yes, the air had moisture but what was missed was the incoming cold front. During the night the clouds were seeded to bring down moisture to drought-ridden fields. However, as we woke up the morning of November 1, a white world waited outside, and thousands of white flakes filled the air. The many trees still clothed in leaves did not enjoy the heavy burden as exhibited by many broken branches, but as a rule both children and adults alike poured out to enjoy the early snow that cloaked the earth, and many a snowman was born, see photos.

Strangely enough, since then we have had 2 more snowfalls, and it is not even Thanksgiving. It appears we may have moved east, but not south!!!.