7/6/2008
My day started off at the crack of dawn. 6:30 am. But as usual I waited by the phone for my daily wake up call from Snyder. Only one more to go and then that will be the last. I will not lie to you, readers; the most exciting part of my morning was the American breakfast that was served at the Holiday Inn we are staying at. I have kind of gotten tired of having rice at every meal, and traded in my broccoli for an egg, sausage, and bacon.
The first thing we were shipped off to do in the morning was explore the Yu Garden, where instead of the classic red, blue, and green paint seen all across China, the walls were painted in red, black, and white. The Garden was pretty, but as Lauren and I noted there are only so many pictures of gardens you can have. There is no way I will know which is which, chronology will be the only way to tell.
Afterwards we shopped the local vendors with our bargaining caps on buying last minute Mao watches, t-shirts, and hats. There is a point when communist paraphernalia stops being ironic, but Zach doesn’t seem to have reached that point yet! Emperor Mo and Chiz bought stamps. The vendors are one of the things I will be happy to escape back home seeing as how the attention they give you is like the paparazzi, but instead of camera they wave products in your face until you have no choice but to avoid eye contact.
The silk factory was a must for us girls. Melanie picked up the perfect dress, Snyder found a dress for his daughter, Kevin bought boxers, and Dr. Moline actually walked out empty handed.
The Bund was the next stop on our fast pace tour of Shanghai. The Bund is China’s lookout where the skyscrapers can be seen. Shanghai is a bustling metropolis of neon signs and modern architecture that has been assembled in an attempt to repave history. To disassemble the temples of old, and make way for the glass structures that we found at the Urban Planning Center. We paused and took photos, almost got our stuff stolen by a creepy man, and had Sam take “The Sweat Series” a beautiful montage of photos that will be at a local exhibition upon arrival back in Royal Oak. Check the website for the date of the Picture Exhibit at the Photiades home where “The Sweat Series 1 &2” is most likely to be featured in a few short weeks.
The Urban Planning Center is where the Chinese and local Shanghai government get to show off the thought process that has gone into the building of a new global economic market. Within the mountains of jade that we visited on our way to Shanghai, beneath the pearl veneers of our tour guides, you can see how hard the men and women of China are working. Like a million worker bees the laborers of China are working into tandem towards a common goal, one 39 days away, another 664 days away. There was a model of the entire city of Shanghai that showed the development that should occur by the Expo in 2010 and it is astounding to think of the restructuring that has to occur to make the goals of the Chinese government come together.
Unlike in Beijing where silence stretched like a slinky, in Shanghai the hustle and bustle of city life can be heard in the music, horns, and chatter of the locals. Girls giggle behind dainty hands, and men roll up their shirts to mid-waist (a local custom that is now been acquired by our Future Sec Gen, Domenic).
The Shanghai Museum was an impressive sight of currency, vases, and furniture of the past, but to be entirely honest I think the whole group was just excited by the prospect of air conditioning. Mel, Lauren, and I walked through the museum viewing the ancient artifacts but quickly found our brains shutting down in need of sleep.
While our stomachs were still not entirely ready for dinner we sat down to eat at 5:30pm. As a senior, the dinner was a nostalgic last toast to everything the club has represented to me. It was casual, but I was just glad that all of us got to sit down and enjoy a terrific last meal that included pastries and ice cream, not to mention a bottle of water instead of just a shot glass. At the banquet I was allowed to tell myself that we had more time. Now that time has run out. Dinner was mostly spent recounting our job experiences, and informing Snyder of the inter workings of the Oberweis Ice Cream Shop.
The Acrobatics show was a spectacle of leaps, high wire feats, and gravity defying jumps.
Tonight, upon arriving back at the hotel, we gave Lucia her gift to which she said thank you’s and expressed her sadness upon seeing us leave tomorrow. The night time has been the time to explore, and we opted to forgo the Euchre Tournament for a little search for Tang. While we were unsuccessful, we did see Domenic walk around in his American Apparel Track Shorts that show off his long legs. Best quote of night was Dr. Moline saying, “Domenic, you look excited!”
The foothills of China are where dreams go to die, the panoramic the site of the remnants of old. But Shanghai holds the future within its grasp. Or at least the city hopes it does. Because they are banking on it.
-- Ashley Hull 7/5/2008
Today, July 5th, we woke up very early, and ate our breakfast at the Express by Holiday Inn. July 5th not only marks the 3rd to last day here, but also the Chairman’s birthday! (Mr. Chiz, if you didn’t know, looks strikingly like Mao, so google it)
After breakfast we visited the Yellow River. The vast majority of the group went on a hovercraft! Ashley, Kevin, and I, however, saved our Yuan and climbed a steep hill with two large statues on top, kind of like Mount Rushmore but less exciting.
On our way to Shanghai we experienced some Chinese fast food from Dico’s. It was an experience. After a brief plane ride we endured sweltering heat on a shopping street in downtown Shanghai.
Dinner was quite possibly the best of the whole trip, and was topped off by a cake with a neato candle singing thingamajig. The Chairman got a lot of icing put on his face by Lucia. I’m sure it was an unforgettable cultural experience. After Din we came back and finally found the Magnum bars that Mel has been raving about the whole trip, but honestly I don’t get the hype. And by the way, the word of the day is MAGNUM for those of you Pee Wee’s Playhouse fans out there.
- Captain Smith 7/4/2008
I’m going to be straightforward with you all; I’m not the best person to be writing a blog entry, it is not my forte. The day started off waking up, as usual, heading down to breakfast, which I thought wasn’t as delectable as the other breakfasts we had in the other hotels (no banana bread?!).
We headed off to the Geological Museum, which seemed to be a cross between Miners Den and a crystal rock display, nothing what I was expecting. We quickly toured the museum part, Lisa quickly describing the rocks and crystals that were on display, and then we moved to the shop, which is always the best part no matter where you are. The high prices made it discouraging for anyone to buy anything but still, taking a gander at what the Chinese had crafted is a spectacular sight.
After the Museum, we took a drawn out bus ride to the Shaolin Temple which was, to me, a highlight of the trip. The Kung fu that the monks had used to protect themselves against both the wildlife and enemies was astonishing. It is too hard to describe to you what I saw, but I’ll tell you what. Go check out Dr. Moline’s video on the Kung fu show, it is a must. After the show, we went to lunch, which was absolutely delicious, but nothing compared to Kam’s Express Chicken and Shrimp Low Mein. After the scrumptious lunch we headed out to the actual temple part of Shaolin. THAT was a sight to see. It is an active temple and monks are still praying, honoring the God’s of Buddhism. I had a chance to light an incense stick that was given to me by a monk, and place it in the incense pit. That was an experience I was glad to have had. We also went to a graveyard where we saw the tombs of monks that had passed away and been cremated. After what I saw today and what Chisnell told me about Buddhism, I realized that Buddhism wasn’t a religion, it was a way of life.
After the temple we took another long bus ride to Zhangzhou, the city we are currently located in. We went off to dinner at a local restaurant that has had a history, 100 years being active and counting. After the dinner, we went to what seemed to be alike a 7-11, but it turned out to be a “4” and bought some snacks to hold us down tonight (Oreos and Ice Cream).
I must be heading out now, I have a Euchre game to be attending (it i for the championship, I’m sure you understand). Domenic Smith and I versus Sean Barry and Sam Doyle. Quite a match up, trust me.
--Kevin Caverly
Well, the day began with the ever-so-delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel in Luoyaug and a slow booking of our tour bus. On the ride towards The Longmen Grotto and The White Horse Temple, our tour guide tells us that we get the opportunity to go to the geology museum that day. We all cheered with joy. After all, what’s more exciting than rocks?! Unfortunately, our glee went for a glum turn once we were told we had to wait for tomorrow.
The Longmen Grotto is home to early practices of Buddhism with fantastic sculptures and gorgeous scenery. The heat was sweltering hot and actually taking in the interesting history wasn’t quite so easy. Walking up the carved steps turned into a crawl as the sun had its way with our tourist interests. We managed to do it luckily, and were rewarded with stunning craftsmanship our humans’ past. Much to our surprise, we got the opportunity to eat at another hotel for lunch with a bit too much of an authentic taste. We Americans have a difficult time with eating shrimp with eyes intact.
The drive for The White Horse Temple was on the longer end, but getting to see the first temple of China was worth it. Our brief stroll on our way for it, though, was a typical downside; being flogged by venders and beggars. After a ten minute survival, we got to a very beautiful and well kept up temple. It was a very pure and genuine place of prayer. Surprisingly enough, the monks seemed to have a slightly cold behavior in the presence of tourists. We’re just taking pictures and mildly exploiting their sacred land, personally, I was expecting them to be bringing us cookies with a warm smile. Never-the-less, the group appeared to enjoy the temple and a few got goods from the merchants on the way back towards the bus.
We had a simpler evening that began dinner at, what? A hotel! Yes, who knew we’d be so blessed with Western-style food of Orange Chicken and French Fries? Well, it’s become obvious ACIS just loves us and rewards with their candied planning. The rest of the night was tired and pleasant as we went to bed earlier to wake up and pack our bags for our transfer to Zhengzhou in the morning.
-Sean Barry 7/2/2008Check out some of our new video from Tom Moline! More to follow! (Follow the link to the left or click here.)
As we exited our comfy air conditioned hotel we felt the beams of the sun lick our skin. Arguably the hottest day we have experienced, the sun was high in the sky and the anticipated China heat was upon us. Our tour guides agenda for today was to wear down the tourists so they would be ready for a stupendous six hour road trip to our next city, Longhyou.
Robin, our wonderful local tour guide, brought us to the wall of Xi’an. The wall was surrounded by a deep ominous moat, which protected the city inside from mortal enemies. The only entrance into the city was a massive drawbridge (or at least that we saw). As the drawbridge opened out came guards with plastic armor and fluffy red feathers upon their helmets. They were scary looking! Actually, they danced around, did a ceremonial welcoming and seemed not in character with fumbling moves and snickers from the soldiers. Really though, who can blame them; young guys dressed in Halloween costumes being gawked at by American tourists.
After that event we climbed up a fleet of long gray colored bricks to receive our rickety bikes. We were on top of the wall, able to see the bustling city and see the mountains far in the distance. Personally, I am an avid bike rider and being able to ride around a giant wall on old “cruiser” bikes seemed rad! We put down a deposit and a little cash and were issued our bikes; off we went on our adventure. The wall was in the shape of a square with watch towers at each corner. The wall was wide and flat except for the watch towers where you could zip up on top then speedily coast down with the cooling breeze brushing your face.
After the nine mile bike ride, we were sweaty, a little tired and ready to travel to our next destination. It was a museum that had a plethora of old relics of the ancient Chinese people. A highlight of the museum was a water bowl that had four slaves holding it up. Robin told us about the slaves, saying that many had their feet chopped off so they couldn’t run away. A little gruesome, but then he added a side note that, “it makes the human rights now seem like nothing.” Uhh China, human rights violations…
Then, after a hearty Western buffet, we began our six hour trip. For the first couple of hours we slept like babies. Then after a pit stop we began Movie Time! With the great movies Eraser starring the always amazing Arnold Schwarzenegger and another with Jackie Chan; we were in movie heaven bliss. We arrived at the hotel and began our stay in a new city and anticipating another busy day.
Sam Doyle
As we drove through the hills of Henan on our way to Luoyang, we passed a steady stream of trucks moving east and west; the eastward trucks were moving in our direction, spreading goods to the major and middle cities, and the westward trucks, heavily laden, were taking supplies to earthquake victims in the center of China. We are drowsy from our large lunch at the Xi'an Cultural Theater and long bike ride atop the city’s wall; the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Eraser plays on our coach screen, with the gubernator occasionally slipping into Mandarin. Around us tremendous concrete pillars thrust into terrace-farmed hillsides, preparing for new highways and rail lines; tunnels and trenches smooth our journey through the hills.
I can't help feeling I'm witnessing a drama, one of a nation in transformation, a nation growing. And growing often involves pain. After Dr. Zha of Peking University pragmatically suggested that higher oil prices compel change, Lu Xia, our guide, told me that she didn't like his ideas, that she wanted to keep prices down.
The dilemma is complicated. China's economy itself is flux. A bottle of water it one yuan at a supermarket, three yuan for most hotels and coaches, and five yuan at the city wall of Xi'an. Markets respond in price and product to the consumer’s buying habits. Growth for China means change of product. Robin, our Xi’an guide, tells of his new home theater system with a 50” LCD flat screen TV and subwoofer speakers.
Several blocks away, a group of neighbors collect bricks from an abandoned demolition project.
Why shouldn’t Lu Xia wish for low prices? And why shouldn’t Robin want his LCD TV? Yet these consumptive desires too clearly build from the modern, the Western, even the American ideology.
Does the end-game of modernization always look like the US, consuming 25% of the world’s resources with 5% of the population? If China’s 20% of the world population reached this point . . . .
But of course it cannot. The simple math is that if China alone on the planet lived the ostentatious lives of Americans, it would consume 120% of the global markets. And this, I think, is where China’s opportunities are greater than those of the US, if it’s careful.
If China, as Dr. Zha implies, fails top define a values system which identifies itself culturally, subjectively, it must along with India and the other emerging markets collapse the global supply system. But if China can show the US and the West how to live with modern sustainability, we might all endure.
It’s a hard road, filled with automobile fantasies, feng shui gardens, and thwarted city planning. It’s a larger unemployed population that the US has workers, and it’s a system which creates any job it can for any wage it can support (witness the distributor of paper towels at the airport restroom or the endless army of moppers and cleaners throughout Beijing). But make no mistake: China is building everywhere and everything.
It’s a country four times as populous as the US which is building IMAX theaters and LCDS TVs eight times as fast. Beijing alone adds 400 automobiles onto its roads each day (1200 per month or over 140,000 per year). Is this what Oprah meant when she simple-mindedly declared, “Everybody gets a car!” Such a gift.
Fortunately for China—and I hope for us if we take note—I believe Dr. Zha is wrong to suggest China has no self-identity, or that the absence of one will last.
The youth of China (under 30) are not unaware—they see what the want, but I trust that they are not so simple as to trade a corrupt system for an imperial one. Old-school politics is not for them.
Lu Xia looks across the aisle of our coach and mocks my Chinese zodiac sign with rabbit ears. We laugh and share bits of language trivia with each other, and then an old Jackie Chan movie comes on and we all watch together.
Emerging with China's markets and roads, pragmatism and coal plants, Mao lighters and “KF Cats” will be something new. And we won't have to wait long to see what it is.
--Steve Chisnell 7/1/2008
While at Beijing University the students asked Dr. Zha if he thought the upcoming U.S. presidential election would have any effect on our country’s relations. I’m not sure the professor even took the time to blink his eyes before he uttered “no.” Dr. Zha then took a long pause and gave greater explanation for his quick response.
First and foremost, according to the professor, it is more corporate/business control that is directing our two nations current relationship than politics. But even more important, the Americans and the Chinese seem to be getting along very well for two nations with such disparate political ideologies. Indeed, much to the chagrin of the Europeans that feel they have been boxed out by the affair and who exclaimed recently in a Stockholm international conference (attended by Dr. Zha) that the Chinese now appear to utilize their excellent English with acquired American accents (y’all come back now, here?!).
Dr. Zha came to a very simple conclusion about where the strength of the current cooperative venture between America and China can be located. It can be found in the tens of thousands of respectful and caring relationships that have blossomed in recent years. It started with business, but now it expands to the academics, the arts and beyond. He professed that there is no undoing of all of that. Granted, American business initially expedited the build-up in the rush to cheap foreign labor. But now (according to Zha) we move on, knowing each other much better, speaking much the same language, and staying connected in a manner that is swayed little by either of our nation’s political ideologies. Both America and especially China have many challenges now and ahead, according to Dr. Zha. He offered that there is strength and hope for both in the new ultra-connected world community.
I look around the bus and upon students who are gradually becoming more like sons and daughters. The adult chaperones have become a well-organized team. We know each other’s strengths. Our Chinese guides are now good friends. We all started with the simple understanding that there may be something to be gained by coming together. We started with offering respect and the intention to care for each other. In these few short days we have become our own little community. That can happen between nations, also. I understand what Dr. Zha was talking about. Life is about relationships . . . and little else.
Mo Tang Mu
(Dr. Tom Moline)
It was 7:30 (or 0730 Chinesses/military time) and the baritone voice on the other end cracked “good morning.” It was another anti-climatic start to another interesting day in the People’s Republic of China. After being startled by a half-made statute that vaguely resembled rapper Eminem, we woofed down bacon, eggs, french toast, watermelon and meatloaf. It was game-time. We had a full schedule ahead of us. First we entered the Wild Goose temple and pagoda- a Buddhist temple that incorporated multiple smaller temples into a compound resembling the Branch-Davidians’s fortress at Waco Texas, minus the assault rifles, grenades and raiding U.S. federal authorities.
Our tour guide, Robin, told us that visiting monks had to pay their respects at the smaller temples before they could enter the main temple, which resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa because of the recent earthquakes. At the bookstore, vendors hawked zodiac sign books that, in 102 pages or less, promised to explain your success, love life and ultimate downfall. I gave into the urge and bought the sign book, the snake (year 1989), for 80 yuan. (15 ish dollars).
After learning that I will be a jealous lover, plagued by lawsuits and die at age 80, we went to the jade factory. The factory, which was run by the government, which guaranteed quality, processed raw jade into polished gems. The jade is found in either the mountains or in rivers and comes in lavender and “apple-green.” We watched the technicians, who are educated for two years in jade cutting, cut the jade before our eyes into intricate patterns. After pitching a 40% discount for us, the factory spokesperson racked up a large amount of sales as each member of the team bought two or three jade pieces.
Next were the Terracotta warriors. Situated in the hills around Xi’an, the burial sight, for a Chinese emperor, contained thousands of clay soldiers, horses and weapons. The sight consisted of four large open pits that were covered by a large overhead dome and went 20 feet into the ground. Each clay soldier was unique because it was designed after a specific person and stood in formation, as he guarded the emperor into the after-life.
After lunch, and Kevin breaking a record –setting ten bowls of soup, we went to an art gallery. Now this wasn’t an ordinary gallery. It was a “farmer-painter” gallery. This particularly genera of art originally start off as a mouthpiece for pro- communist- Mao propaganda, but since the 1980s, has evolved into a place for modern art. The art glorified the farming class and encouraged workers to produce enough food for all Chinese.
Along the way, as we drove through a neighborhood the resembled a scene from Black Hawk Down the Bakara market in Mogadishu Somalia, I saw something. It was a Direct T.V. satellite dish that was mounted on house that appeared to have been hit by a Hell-fire anti-tank missile. I guess when you don’t have running water, you can always watch MTV’s The OC or the Home Shopping Network.
Now dinner. After being told we were eating at a “western restaurant,” we were in high spirits. Next to the fried cod, an apparent Chinese specialty, was the spaghetti. Yes spaghetti, like Pasqaule’s. American, I mean Italian, cuisine never tasted so good.
After deciding to go “clubbin”, aka walking around Xi’an, we found ourselves in the Chinese equivalent of Nordstrom’s cross-bred with Meijers. We busied ourselves with Chinese moon-pies, Tang juice and the fact that the store security made us put our backpacks into locked bags so we couldn’t steal. L
-Chris Photiades
6/30/2008
Today started startlingly early, with a 6.30 wake up call. Not fun. We collectively showered, ate and put on a varying degree of western business attire. Me, Dom and the Big Boss (Moline) were clearly the sharpest dressed. Soon we were off to Peking University.
Traffic was interesting, to say the least. At some points, the highway had no lanes, although that didn’t really change most driver’s habits. Sooner or later (an hour and a half later) we arrived at the University, and waited for our liaison. Kevin waved like a silly American at every bus that passed by, occasionally even jumping in the air. Our guide, Leo Guang Chen, soon appeared, and we were ushered into the campus. Not exactly what I was expecting, to be frank. It was not much like Beijing, with lush greenery and buildings scattered haphazardly across the landscape.
Once we arrived at the point of our meeting, we all were not quite sure what to expect from the presentation. We knew the professor worked with the government, so we expected the party line on almost any sensitive issue. We were sort of wrong. He was very frank, but in a way that preserved the bottom line of the party line, disagreeing with the government in the details, but not the structure or principal. Still, it was a very interesting meeting, and our understanding of the underlying Chinese attitude towards the world emerged much enlightened. As we left, we presented gifts to our hosts ranging from genuine to the Mao lighter.
We also saw the sun for the first time in China, but it quickly faded. We’ll keep you updated.
Quickly, the serious nature of Chinese TSA became evident. I was searched twice at the checkpoint, and I’m fairly certain my baggage was rummaged through. Oh well. The flight was long on the ground, short in the air and shorter on space. We soon arrived in Xian, and all received our luggage. We met our new tour guide, he called me a nerd, and we heard some good redneck jokes. We soon entered the city, and lodged at a great hotel, from which I am typing this now.
-Zach "Harry Potter" Holden |
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