The Wilderness of Yunnan Province

By far the most beautiful part of China, Yunnan boasts of blue skies, great food and fascinating minority cultures. Most unique food: yak yogurt and yak meat. We rode bikes all day in Dali, spent too much money shopping in Lijiang, and lost ourselves in creation hiking through the Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the deepest in the world. A combination of riding mules and hiking, the gorge was an awesome outdoor adventure, though I got a wicked sunburn. Every turn, every corner brought a new beauty to behold. He has made a beautiful world, hasn't he?! Since we didn't have the time or money to make it all the way to Tibet, we visited a Tibetan town in Yunnan. At an elevation of 3200 meters, Shangri-la was as gorgeous as it claims but horridly cold. I have never been that cold in my life. When staying overnight in a hostel under a measly, little blanket, one begins to fully appreciate central heating. My last great adventure of my vacation was spent skiing on a small mountain for a super cheap price.

The Real China

On the bus from Xiamen to Chaozhou, I passed through foggy Old China: traditional rooftops, fields of produce, farmers in their rice paddies, wearing ponchos and triangle hats. I stayed a few days with my friend, Sabrina, who lives in a small village where most of the population bear the same family name, which means they all come from the same ancestor, a common occurrence in the rural areas. The first night of my arrival I met half of her family and the other half the following day. One of her cousins lives in a traditional home which, in the past, housed many members of one family. The left side is called the Tiger side and the right the Dragon side. Her aunt offered me to become her daughter-in-law; though tempting, I turned her down. Less than a kilometer from one end to the other, we walked 3 or 4 times around her village, looking at all the old buildings which haven't changed in the past 20 years or longer. One day, we rode (aka were jostled about) in the back of a 3-wheeled motorcycle-truck and then later on the back of a motorcycle (3 of us) to visit some of her friends who make the traditional sweets for Spring Festival. We watched them make, bag and weigh the snacks. Each batch makes about 8 kilos and they make 3 batches per hour, working 12 hours each day due to the high demand of the season. We watched them make a peanut brittle snack and tasted it while it was still hot. Everything they made was delicious, though their shop wouldn't pass a health department examination. Before lunch, I had an excellent cultural experience in the marketplace. There's nothing more appetizing than watching your lunch killed in front of you. That fish never saw it coming. He was bumping and shoving among all of his other homies in the pond until--swoosh--on the cold concrete--bam--knocked silly by a big stick--scrape--cleaned of its scales (ouch)--crack--off with his head. I learned that fish heads still breathe...creepy. On a brighter note, I considerably enhanced my fish-eating skills, improving my bone-spitting with every meal.

Museum of Medical Sciences

Opened in 1996, this unique institution charts the historical development of medical science in Hong Kong and is one of the first museums in the world to compare traditional Chinese and Western approaches to medicine. This was a real treat for me due to my fascination with alternative medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, is based on the historical Chinese philosophical views of the universe, encompassing theories of the opposing forces of Yin and Yang, and the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, earth. The human body, being a microcosm of the universe, shares the same universal principles, requiring balance and mutual control by opposing forces to achieve health. The five elements each have their counterparts in the five major organs. Besides these, there is the basic energy or life force: Qi, which is pronounced as "chee". When there is excess of Yin or Yang in the major organs, diseases develop and are classified as cold or hot, deficiencies or excesses, and internal or external. The objectives of treatment are to help the opposing forces of Yin and Yang as applied to the five elements to reach harmony. It emphasizes the whole person rather than a specific organ. Balance is achieved through herbal remedies, acupuncture, acupressure or external applications. Although the theoretical basis of TCM appears ancient and mystical, in practice, with thousands of years of accumulated experience in treating patients, sometimes quite remarkable results can be achieved, especially on selected chronic diseases or in restoring the total well-being of an individual. However for many acute, life-threatening and especially infective disorders, the effect may not be quick enough to relieve the symptoms or save the patient's life; whereas, western medicine is undoubtedly indispensable and can often be life-saving. Although the scientific basis of western medicine is better established leading to more specific treatments, it often suffers from looking at the disease without considering it in the context of the whole patient. Sometimes treating the disease whilst neglecting the needs of the patient as a whole may lead to treatment failures for one reason or another.

Hong Kong in a nutshell

A welcome change from previously explained train ride from hades, Hong Kong was absolutely beautiful, a breath of fresh air from the pollution and frigid temperatures of Beijing. The mountains rise into the sky near the ocean's edge. Never lost due to the assistance of English street signs and maps on every street corner, I walked through the city, gulping the ocean air and ridding myself of the thick, stale air of the capital. No spitting or littering on the metro. No smoking indoors or in parks. I was in heaven! I walked the Avenue of the Stars, viewed the concrete hand prints of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, and admired a statue of Bruce Lee posed for action. Ate a magnum bar for lunch, hopped aboard the Star Ferry to Hong Kong island, rode the Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak, strolled through Hong Kong park, took a shopping detour at H&M, rode the World's largest escalator, window-shopped in SoHo and, the highlight of my day, ate some long-wished-for Mexican food, which never fully settled in my stomach. At nightfall, I sat by the water's edge on the Kowloon side, eating gelato and watching the World's largest light show. Phenomenal! The lights and lasers of large buildings danced in sync with music.

From Beijing to Shenzhen

Key question to ask before buying a train ticket: How long will it take to reach my destination? Failure to do so resulted in my spending 29 hours on a train, not soft sleeper, not hard sleeper, but in a seat. The West station was true to its name. I felt like I'd left the nice section of the city and entered the projects. The waiting "lounge" for the train was a massive blob of bodies overflowing into the bathrooms. Refusing to allow myself to float around the ocean of body odor and cigarette smoke, I sliced my way through the populace and out into the walkway of fresh air. As I relaxed on the marble floor, I decided to write in my journal, during which an ancient-looking lady scooted toward me with the help of her cane. I looked up into a toothless grin enveloped in wrinkles within wrinkles. I greeted her with a "good evening" and from the depths of her wrinkles, her blackened eyes sparkled. For a few moments she watched my pen fly across the page, then shuffled to an open section of floor to rest her weary legs.
The "line" into the train compartment was worse than an Elementary school lunch line, complete with pushing and more pushing. We were no longer individuals but a squirming blob of movement, though more squirming than actual movement. Shouting. Shoving. Anger. Upon realizing my situation, I didn't get upset but chuckled to myself about my predicament and watched the passengers fight. After losing three pounds from the squish of the crowds, I found my seat across from three very interested Chinese males and beside one nonchalant male who kept exhaling heavily in my direction. I witnessed a shouting match 7 inches from my face. Two grown men fighting about the location of a suitcase...petty. A man with glasses sitting diagonally from me studied my face to see my reaction. What would the foreigner think of these two? I found it humorous, smiled, but stifled laughter. 29 hours later and stretched across 3 seats, I finally reached Shenzhen, unsure exactly what day it was and extremely hungry.

Top 10 Reasons to Vacation in Hong Kong

This list is for all Westerners living in Mainland China.

1. You are no longer illiterate.
2. You blend into the crowd instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.
3. People know what cheese is...and they even eat it.
4. It's the perfect chance to quit second-hand smoking.
5. The salty sea air disinfects your polluted lungs.
6. There's no need to look out for spit when walking.
7. They know what it means to Reduse, Reuse, Recycle.
8. The expiration date on products is in the future, not the past.
9. "Hello" is not a question and is actually directed to you not at you.
10. Ordering at a restaurant is no longer a game of Russian Roulette.

Chinese Proverb

Purchasing a round-trip ticket does not guarantee a flight home.

Shake, Rattle and Roll

"boom, Boom, BooM, BOOM!" sounded the door in the middle of class. Shake, shake, shake went the windows; wobble, wobble, wobble went my knees. I can finally say I have felt an earthquake, a slightly dizzying experience. "Go, Keesee, GO! Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!" shouted my students. "It's okay," I calmly replied, "I'm going to wait for all of you to exit the classroom. I am, after all, responsible for you people." After descending stairs and crossing the road, we watched our foreign language building dance, secretly wishing it to fall. Security sent everyone to the main square, safely away from all questionable structures. I gave my class their homework and left with Jessica in search of her husband, passing thousands of students, teachers and residents. Meeting up with Nathan outside our apartment, we watched the apocalyptic sky transform from bright sunshine to dooming grey, prompting us to return indoors. I am thankful to be distanced from the epicenter and am sending many upward thoughts on behalf of those who were not as lucky as I.
On a brighter note, I would like to relay the most terrifying event of the week, which took place in my kitchen. I was folding laundry while Nathan was on my computer calling America and trying to work out flight details, which is never as easy as it should be, when we heard Jessica screaming and running from my kitchen. I assumed it was a cockroach or giant spider bent on scaring humans and Nathan arose to protect his fair lady. Now, before I disclose which loathed creature was lurking in my kitchen, I must explain what brought Jessica to the said locale. From my kitchen, or rather from any corner in my apartment, one may hear the distinct cry of hungry baby birds, which is surprisingly similar to a broken squeaky toy. Jessica, the Sherlock Holmes that she is, decided to investigate for the nest of birds. Was it on the ledge below or further up on the roof? Behind my gas stove are two vent hoods, which naturally are out of order, one housing a fan and the other opening into the wild blue, or so we presumed. She opened the one without the fan to peer onto the ledge and out fell the mama bird and pieces of nest, causing the previously described response. One thing you should know about me is that I have few fears. I would call myself a rather brave individual. However, out of the few fears which I possess one is an irrational fear of birds. So, obviously, I could never enter my kitchen or bathroom ever again. Following the advice of Nathan and Jessica, I left my apartment while they attempted to scare the horrid fiend out the window. After swooping from one end to the other, it hid behind my washing machine. Since Nate and Jes didn't want to hurt it and vice versa, they shut it in the kitchen expecting the dumb thing to come to the conclusion of exiting the premises through the wide, open window. Upon returning, they searched high and low finding no trace of it and reported the happy results to me. If only my story ended here. Well, I returned, believing to be in the safety of my home, to complete my domestic tasks and took a break to relieve myself in the bathroom. I lifted the toilet seat and down hopped the winged beast towards me, most likely with thoughts of pecking out my eyes. I ran for my life, screaming and slamming all doors between my bathroom and my neighbor's. Nathan called through the door, asking me what happened. "Bird...Bathroom", was my reply. My hands were shaking and my knees were wobbly. "What's the best way to catch a bird?" asked Nate. "I don't know. I saw a FRIENDS episode when Rachel caught a pigeon in a pot." "Not a bad idea." And so the bird was disposed of out the window to return home to its chirping children.

Peking Entertainment

I found myself seated in an ornate yet quaint little theater sporting waitresses in their traditional garb, a red silk with flowers. The table was set with teacups, a teapot full of green tea, slices of oranges, roasted peanuts and prunes, a typical Chinese array of snacks. Across the room I saw another solo woman traveler, much older, more poised. She's of the class of women whose beauty only grows with age. How I wish I could be so lucky. Though poetic, traveling by one's self can be a lonesome venture. I enjoyed the times of peace and solitude, of reflection, but certain things are much better when shared. During the opera I was concerned for future hearing loss, a fear which often comes to mind in this country. You know it's not good when the hostess plugs her ears. What was fascinating about this particular Peking Opera was the subtitles; a marquee flashed the words of the singers in both Chinese and Chinglish. The make-up, costumes and choreography were superb. The music, however, I won't be humming later, but it was an excellent cultural experience.
If ever you travel to China, visit an acrobatics show. These athletes can contort their bodies in ways I did not think was humanly possible. Throughout the show, exclamations of "Impossible" and "No way" drifted through the crowd. Kevin got a few incredible pictures out of it and we both walked away in stunned silence. This was one of those "you just had to be there" experiences.

All Hail First Emperor

The first to unify China, Qin Shi Huang, in 36 years of rule, created an efficient, centralized government that became the model for later dynasties, build over 6400km of new roads and canals, conquered 6 major kingdoms, and standardized measurements, currency and writing. East of Xi'an is the army of Terracotta Warriors, life-size statues in battle formation guarding the soul of Emperor Qin. One interesting fact: no two soldier's faces are alike.

Beijing, pt. two

The most intriguing scenic spot for me was the Temple of Heaven, which originally served as a stage for solemn rites performed by the emperor acting as high priest, who prayed for good harvests and sought atonement for the sins of the people. Before the age of Confucius, Lao-tze and Gautama, the primitive religion of China was monotheistic with worship of a heavenly Creator and living God, ShangTi. The Shu Ching, the Book of History compiled by Confucius, proves the Chinese to have been monotheists in an ancient world of polytheistic worship. However, with the introduction of Taoist and Buddhist concepts, all original meaning of their rituals was lost and religious designations were falsely applied to expanding mystical ideas of spiritual deities. Ethel Nelson and C.H. Kang expound on this historical fact with a revealing analysis of the Chinese written language in their book, The Discovery of Genesis. By dissecting the pictographs and ideographs, they present the world with a record of the Genesis story 700 to 1,000 years before Moses.
Another place worth visiting in Beijing is the Summer Palace, where royalty took refuge from the insufferable summer heat. It lies beside Kunming lake, which freezes over in winter months to the delight of children and avid ice skaters.
Chairman Mao once said, "He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man." Upon reading these words, I immediately dropped everything to climb this wall of all walls. The myth that the Great Wall is visible with the naked eye from the moon was finally buried in 2003, when China's first astronaut Yan Liwei failed to spot the barrier from space. Although the myth has been edited from Chinese textbooks, many students still believe this to be true. It is quite a climb, even in the most commercialized section, Badaling. Though the 2,000 year old wall did not serve its purpose in being an impenetrable line of defense, it brings in a large cash flow for China.