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I have had the opportunity to travel to China several times and have been lucky to see various parts of the country. I have come to appreciate Chinese culture and have marveled at the tremendous growth and modernization of the cities. Hong Kong, Beijing, and Chengdu are three of my favorite cities and each has its own "personality". I love the varied foods as well as the people and enjoy the times when I have spent meeting the people in the rural countryside across China.
While wandering on a dirt path along a river in Dayi County in the Szechuan province, I spotted this man peacefully fishing along the bank. He seemed to enjoy himself as he sat on the soft grass and occasionally cast his line into the slowly flowing river.
Old Chengdu along Jin Li Street
I was extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to do this. Only a few non-employees of the center were allowed to handle a baby and then, under very restricted conditions. I had befriended one of the vets and she allowed me "backstage" where I was allowed to see, hold, and feed a young Panda! Unless you work at the facility, holding a Panda is now impossible! So, I do consider this experience one of my luckiest and favorites.
Yes, this is a baby Panda! It is also the thrill of a lifetime. It is so rare that someone can hold and feed one. I was in the Panda Reserve near Chengdu when I was offered the opportunity to feed one of the thirteen babies they had there. This one, a little girl, was just a few months old.
After I had "scrubbed up", donned gloves, booties, and a scrub suit, the baby bounced out of a door toward me. I handed my cameras to the veterinarians and just asked them to keep taking photos. I bent over to pick the cub up and was amazed at how thick the fur was. She was very small but was a furball. I sat down on a bench in the room and began feeding the baby with a piece of bamboo that the staff had given me. I was surprised, holding this cub like a human infant, at how she fit just right and took the bamboo. She looked straight into my eyes as I began talking to her. Take a look at her claws, though, didn't want to get her too mad.
Like any baby, her attention span was quite short, and she began to lose interest in me and the bamboo. She later began to wiggle and get loose. I was able to hold her for quite a while until she began crawling over my shoulder to get something she had spotted behind me.
The vets next took me to where the newborn cubs were. Having to scrub up again, and change into a new full scrub suit, mask, fresh gloves, and surgical cap, I was then taken into the nursery where I was able to hold a tiny, wrinkled, pink-skinned cub just days old. Unfortunately, my cameras were not allowed in this nursery due to the highly restrictive sterile environment, but what a great opportunity!
An unexpected visit to the Great Wall yielded some interesting photos as well as some great stories.
I met my guides by accident in Beijing as I was walking down the street. I must have looked like I was a tourist or just lost when they asked me where I was from and what I had planned while in Beijing. I told them that the Great Wall would be nice but it was too far for me to travel to. They told me that they would drive me and show me a part of the wall that tourists generally don't see. I was skeptical at first but when I showed the hotel staff the card of the guide they assured me that they knew them and that I would be fine.
I spotted this old "communist" along the way and asked my guides if we could stop and meet him. They seemed a bit confused, but stopped the car, and as I exited the car, I handed my camera to them. The old man watched as I walked up to him and seemed to know that I wanted to get a photo with him. I kidded with him about his huge walking stick and finally sat down and posed for this photo. Glad I did.
Getting there was half the fun. My guides were two young history scholars/students who had just started a guide service. They were fun to be with and took great pains to make sure this tour was special. It turned out to be one of the best choices I made as they picked me up in a new car and took a road that took me through numerous villages along the way.
One way guides supplement their incomes is to have an agreement with shops along the way to bring "tourists" to them. My guides asked me if I would like to tour a Cloisonné factory. Cloisonnéis an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. I answered yes and was rewarded with a wonderful opportunity to see Chinese cloisonne made by hand from the initial molding, decorating, firing, and post-work. As I was walking through the small factory, I noticed a unique piece that was a reverse process. It was a beautiful egg-shaped glass and metal piece that I thought was stunning. I asked about it, and the factory guide told me that it was indeed a design that they were experimenting with. I asked if it was for sale. She said that she did not know but would ask. As I continued my tour, she returned and advised me that it was. I asked her how much it would cost and she told me what I thought was a great price! I offered to purchase it if the artist who worked on it was there and would sign the base that it was on. Sure enough, the lady in the photo, holding her work did sign the base, and I now own a treasure!
Early one morning, my guides picked me up in their vehicle and gave me a private ride to the wall at Mutianyu. It was very cold that day, and the north side of the wall had snow and ice on it. I, of course, wanted to go all the way to the top rampart and tower where no one was. My guides feared the slippery footing and did not wish to go, so I asked them to wait, and I would return about an hour later. I was to climb on the ice to the top rampart, alone. Here I was to spend time taking some wonderful photos. I descended to meet my concerned but smiling guides and continued exploring this great icon.
When in Beijing, you have two options for visiting the wall. I was told by my guide that Mutianyu is the more authentic, with better architecture and numerous densely spaced watchtowers to visit. It is also the longest fully-restored Great Wall section open to the public and is surrounded by more beautiful scenery. I took their word, and as one of my guides was a Chinese architectural scholar, I chose to visit this part of the wall. I am glad I did, and as an added plus, it was not crowded with only a few others visiting during my time there!
After the experience at the Great Wall, my guides took me to a small village where we had lunch in a local restaurant. Just two tables and lots of homemade food with Chinese beer. The total cost for three people was about $4.50!
Driving back toward Beijing was a great experience. Small rural roads, small towns, and lots of interesting sights.
Donkey cart carrying a load of wood on the main road.
Four men are enjoying their cigarettes and card games along the road back to Beijing.
Visiting the countryside and meeting the people of China was probably one of the most rewarding experiences for me. Crossing a river by foot in Dayi County I came upon a small village where I was welcomed. A family invited me into their home where I helped cook a meal of meat and vegetables. I took my turn cooking the freshly harvested mushrooms in a wok on a wood-fired stove in the kitchen of the home. We dined outside in the rain under a walkway that surrounded the inside of the house. Walking through the mountainside and witnessing the terrace farming was another wonderful experience.
Szechuan province is known for its culinary delights, and both the rural cuisine as well as the restaurants in Chengdu are some of the best foods in the world. Be warned, though, the chili paste, and chili oils used in most of the cooking are some of the hottest I have ever encountered.
I was to experience one meal where the host played a "joke" and offered me a small red tomato-looking vegetable. As I ate it the host and everyone around the table began to laugh as my eyes teared up and I almost fainted due to the intense heat of the famous Szechuan chili. To add insult to injury, they offered me a clear drink of clear Chinese whiskey that just added to the pain. It was all in jest, though, a lesson learned and a good time had, I would do it again! All the food seemed hot, and they liked it hotter! This part of China eats everything too, from the brains to the arteries... beware!
As always, the children of the village seemed interested in me but very shy at first. It took a while to get this little fellow to warm to me, but eventually, he allowed me to take his photo. Not long after I had visited this village in the western part of Sichuan province, a devastating earthquake destroyed most of the area, killing tens of thousands of people. I have wondered about the fate of the shy little boy.
While in Chengdu, I was invited to attend the famous Szechuan Opera. I was treated to a great and very colorful show that included everything from music and dancing to comedy.
Although it was performed in Mandarin Chinese, I found that I could easily follow the storyline and even the jokes, a true testament to the actor's abilities.
After the show, I was unexpectedly invited to come on stage and meet the actors as well as sit for some photos with the cast.
This actor is world-famous for his disappearing mask act.
He can slip off his multiple masks within a fraction of a second and has been deemed the fastest face-changing artist in the country by state-run China Central Television.
The art is considered one of China’s national treasures, and in the past, the techniques were closely guarded secrets that were only passed on within families. There are only around an estimated 200 people in China who still practice the art. Watch my short YouTube clip below and try to see if you can explain it!
Pouring hot tea into cups and not spilling a drop! You will find this skill throughout the Szechuan province. Chengdu and most of the province's cities and villages are known for their many tea houses.
One afternoon I was taken to the Forbidden City. One of my guides was an expert in Chinese history and her guided tour proved both informative and fascinating. The Forbidden City is an incredible experience that I wish I had spent more time in. Perhaps next visit?
Sunset at the Forbidden City, Beijing
Small bridge in a park next to the Forbidden City.
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