Back to China... again

[tsap seui]

Good luck to you both; I hope I have the pleasure of meeting up with you sometime; my lady is a Liaoyang girl, and lives in Yingkou; I'll be over there from 5/23 to 6/3. It's not too far to Fushun. We're going to Qingdao first for 4 days then to her place to visit family (her Mom's not doing well).

 

Last summer we went to the Benxi water caves and to Qianshan; loved them both, especially Qianshan. I could spend days wandering from temple to temple in the mountains there. I'll be lobbying for a return visit this time. She just got her driver's license, I suppose we could rent a car...

 

 

 

It would be great to meet up with both of you guys and have some laughs. I don't eat any....ah....er...."exotic food" and you can drink me under the table very easily but I do know how to laugh and raise hell.

 

I am forced to wait on the NVC timing with their e-mail confirming they have everything and forwarding our case to GUZ before I can hop on a plane.

 

Mebbe this week I'll get the e-mail...then again, I may miss both of you. Hell, I've missed out on 4 1/2 years of living with my wife with this waiting crap, I'll probably miss both of you by mere days, just have to pick up where you two leave off.

[david_dawei]

just made a two day trip to the northeast to Chengchun and visited a village there. I think I am back in Fushun until June 7. Anyone can try to catch me during that time. I'll post a flurry of stories of my tour coming up soon.

[david_dawei]

We went for Sichuan province for more days than I can know right now. Climbed two mountains and ate enough spicy food for a year. Gained a little weight and learned a few local words and drank way too much jiu.

 

We first went to Chongqing: I immediate impressions were with the cleanliness of the streets and thinness of the people; this is definitely not Northeast China

 

They ability to turn simple noodles into great spicy dishes may be what most impressed me. I asked about their liking of duck (which surprised me) but was only given that it was cheaper in the area. We visited a few sites including the "Liberation" area and saw "Da Zu" the famous buddhist cliffs. We also went downtown and I got to walk along the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River). I collected a few stones and was scolded for putting wet stones in my pocket; Stoopid man I am. Take whatever you want but try to be clean about it as you just walked down a steep path to the water and then treat over rock, sand, and dirt... I still can't learn too much.

 

Chongqing was a very nice place to visit but I would not want to live there. It is technically not a part of Sichuan as it is one of four centrally controlled municipalities with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. But while our host owned a hotel, he paid for our stay at a 5 star spelled as "Carl Ton" (too close to Carlton as in Carlton Ritz; most documents showed it as "Carlton"). We had one very festive night of eating and drinking with about 10 people. The liquor kept coming all night and we went through almost 4 bottles between 5 men and then beer was brought out (forget that saying of liquor before beer never fear). As far as the jiu goes, it was Mou Tai and Lang Jiu; both are very, very expensive alcohols which I am often given in the northeast. I was happen to be reunited. Another night we went to outdoor eating which is always the best way to make me happy; nothing makes me feel china more than eating outside among the clamor of the street and drunkards (which I learned a new word as "Jiu Tu". For those who know my past post stories, I was conferred as "Da Jiu Gui" which is hard to translate but maybe a 'great drinking ghost' since most cannot believe how much I can drink. Anyways, we did 'gan bei' all night with every glass and I lost count after 7 bottles of beer. The bill for the small company of us came to almost 1000 RMB. Exit Chongqing.

Edited May 29, 2011 by david_dawei (see edit history)

[david_dawei]

Jiuzhaigou mountains:

This is a diamond in the rough... and I mean a very rough place but so full of amazing sights and culture. I can't figure how all my interest in chinese history has never revealed this place to me. This is in mountainous north Sichuan area and home to "East Tibetans"; that alone should cause anyone with curiousity to go there. They are said to be indigenous and tied by cultural customs but not by language. I could not get anyone to explain to me why they share such commonality yet have this divide (to what is called Western Tibet). Most all of us know of Western Tibet customs and I had just read two books on it prior to traveling. I could not get enough answers to all my questions.

 

We were actually on a tour which is one of the few times I highly recommend a tour since this is too remote and they take you some places you'll never find alone. We went to a high mountain top to walk among the mountain and left to "find a waterfall stream" if we can. We found it. There was a lot of history about this stream as a medicinal site. The water was quite cold. That's how it goes down on my report B)

 

The East Tibetans have a custom that a family of boys all take ONE wife; I could not get an answer as to who chooses but I assume "Da Ge" gets to choose (oldest brother). The custom seems to seek to keep the family together as they will stay that way. A single girl harem; well, I guess 'sloppy seconds' is all I could think (sorry, my only X-rated innuendo). If you are interested in Tibet at all, this seems an unexplored area of knowledge which I would of loved to learn more about.

 

But as adverse as I am to gift shops, even my wife later said (once back in the normal cities), that we should of probably bought them out on anything of interesting since they don't seem to know how cheap they are selling things; particularly rocks. We stayed in a otherwise "ok" hotel but for some reason we ended up with the only room which had a balcony adjoined to the adjacent room; LUlu's brother and his wife. So we drank and smoked out there to the sight of the rising mountains and sunset.

 

There are two parts to this mountain which most tours take you on: Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong. After 2 days on Jiuzhaigou my legs were shot to hell and I said I was not going on Huanglong; also another group with us said they heard it was a let-down to see Huanglong so they also decided not to go. I did get to see pictures from those who go. All I can offer is that Jiuzhaigou is without question worth seeing; the latter seems more streams but you get that in the former. We spent that last day just walking the "tourist trap" but as I said, it was a gold mine if your careful. Lulu has that natural chinese ability to make someone think they deserve a lower price. She talked down in convincing terms; and when they did not go low enough she would end with: "I am buying so much for you, at least give me something free along with this". In every case, this argument seems to work. Back to Chongqing for that outdoor eating bing!

[david_dawei]

Chengdu:

Chengdu is crowned the capital of Sichuan although Chongqing may be bigger; this is purely for historical reasons. This is the ancient site of 'Jinsha' also known as 'Shu' or anicent Shu. They combine this with 'Ba' {for Chongqing) as Bashu to imply Sichuan (or ancient Sichuan). What is lesser known is that the discovery of Sanxingdui civilization appears to be the precursor to the Jinsha. I made as one my "must see" the Sanxingdui museusms in the northeast of Chengdu. There is also the Jinsha museum in Chengdu city but I went to both and clearly those who stay in the city don't know what they are missing by taking this 1 hour drive to see the earlier culture.

 

Sanxingdui was discovered in 1987 and was a complete mystery since it's existence was never previously known; there is a mountain range which separates it from the main evolving group of early settlements but once they compared the pottery and implements it became clear one was earlier. I heard that Liu Bai, a famous poet mentioned it as a kind of Atlantis but admitted himself, nobody knows of it. Yet, Chengdu has so many things to see, this is almost a forgotten one.

 

We also went to Du Fu Cottage (another famous poet and worth seeing if you know this movement of poetry), as well as the Wuhou (Monarch of Wu, the three kingdoms period which is a must if your into history). We had planned to go to eMei and Leshan which is quite famous but since that was late in our plans, we never made it there... I hope to go another time.

 

High on my list, and therefore early than just mentioned mountains was Qingcheng Shan; a very famous Daoist mountain which was probably the highlight of my trip. For others, they will find it a stressful climb which will wreak your legs in the six hour journey. Yes, my legs hurt for 3 days after but worth it's historical value to me. For this trip to be meaningful, you should have some understanding of it's historical importance in daoism; otherwise, go to the more popular eMei and Le Shan.

 

Chengdu was, like Chongqing, clean and full of thin people. I have a theory on the "bitter tea" they seem to serve as opposed to the green and flower tea I usually get in the north east. I was told it helps people to acclimate to the area as a migrant. If one knows chinese medicine, "bitter" is use to suppress "fire"; so it makes sense that their climate (hot) and their food (spicy) are good reasons to drink plenty of it.

 

We stayed at a Jinjiang hotel which seems a chain and clearly worth the money. While we got many cheap hotels along the way (some talked down to 80 rmb), all were very acceptable places. Here is there hotel website and the only thing I will plug here; one can get a membership and therefore get even lower prices (down to about 150 rmb): http://www.jinjianginns.com/index.html

 

I think our 5 days in Chengdu was clearly not enough. We did NOT do any tour but had a car (chongqing friend loaned us) and went our own way each day. I think this is actually a good thing. We also went to the Sichuan Museum which was a little bit disappointing. Although it was free so I cannot complain too much.

 

Both Chongqing and Chengdu had very spicy food. My tastes are quite spicy and I was pleasantly surprised to find what may be the spicy city of Sichuan... next.

[david_dawei]

Yibin:

A must see of the Bamboo Sea. We did NOT go on a tour so roughed it alone but got a very cheap hotel and saw the sights as we wanted. Everything bamboo under the sun is on sale here and many worth buying. It makes one realize the legacy of bamboo to their history. You will also see streams and waterfalls within the natural climate. I heard that the "House of the Flying Daggers" movie had a scene shoot in here as well as Jiuzhaigou, so I was very interested to see both places natural setting. If you have not seen this Hong Kong movie, you need to.

 

Bamboo seems not just a culture but a cult. You can build with it, eat it, make furniture or houses with it, turn it into cups, make guardrails or patio fence. Make slippers or stalks. It seems endless what this one strong, yet flexible uproot is used for throughout history.

 

Zigong:

I had demanded that we visit this city despite it's relative unknown to many. It is close to Yibin so rather 'stoopid man' to not see it. There are two main attractions for tourist: A salt mine and one of the worlds largest dinosaur museums. I was not quite sure what to expect but knew I wanted to go. I will say that it was the city itself which really captiviated me. It seemed much more full of youthful energy and cleaniness and happiness than I expected. The prices were quite cheap (taxis start at 4rmb) and the food was the spiciest of Sichuan so far. I had a first ever: Spicy Rabbit head which rivals spicy duck head. I was just enthralled at their spicy food and even the locals joked it is more spicy than all Sichuan; of course. But honestly, I believe it. I told Lulu; if i had to choose a place to live in china, it would be Zigong.

 

The Salt Mine was a major insight into the history of mining salt. I never knew of it's importance but one sees the science and technology put to common, practical use. They have mined salt since prior to the Han Dynasty and were the first in the world to reach 1000 km. The techniques they used were impressive. We got to walk into a working salt mine and video them at work. As well, we peppered one worker with questions, who was sweating like a man sitting in a sauna for half a year, but he explained all the process to us. Most people walk through but when a 'stoopid lao wei' comes into the scene, there will be many questions regardless of custom. Let's just say that one can see 'salt for the world' getting mined here.

 

The Dinosaur museum was definitely worth it. Not sure what I can share other than I saw bones! But it seemed that there were many specimens given chinese names instead of latin which seemed to mean that China has a group of findings which are unique to it's area.

[tsap seui]

Way cool stuff David. Glad to see you enjoying yourself over yonder in Chinertucky. Love the reports. Good luck with everything you have coming up in the future.

 

tsap seui

Gonna miss ya my friend. Arriving in dear ol' Fushun on the evening of June 17th. Looks like an interview in July (had to reschedule the one the NVC gave us for June 21st). Probably come back stateside in August sometime....either with my family, or by myself to close out my American dealings, say goodbye to my family here and head back to live with my wife, son and family.

[bullmastiff]

did you take photos ? would love to see the Jiuzhaigou mountains and grasslands .

 

I'm surprise you love those spicy Sichuan " la jiao " . When I first visited Chengdu 4 -5 yrs ago, it's so hard to find any restaurant who doesn't have this spice in their foods . Now, Chengdu has become much more metropolis , there are many Cantonese and other cuisines , so , not a problem.

[david_dawei]

yes, there were three of us clicking constantly. We went on tour with her brother and brother's wife. I could post some of the site pictures but I generally don't like to post personal photos, particularly till my process is over.

 

Not just 'la jiao' but 'ma la jiao'. From the first time I ever tried ma jiao (the prickly ash balls which leave a tingling sensation in the mouth), I can't get enough of that. I always bring some back to the US as well. When we went to Jiuzhaigou, we stopped at a medicine store which had a famous brand of ma jiao and I took one and bit into it and said it wasn't bad. Walked around for another minute and then my whole mouth went numb. I could see this was stronger than what I have had before.

 

I would say that Chongqing seems to use a lot more oil in their noodle soup and I liked it very much but I could not eat that often due to the oil content. Chengdu noodle dishes seemed more appropriate for the weight line Having gone to Sichuan, I can see that those northeast restaurants (where I am more accustomed to spending my time) saying they are "Sichuan" cuisine just don't come as close.

[david_dawei]

I was asked upon my arrival what I wanted to eat (which is usually code for, 'where would you like to go eat'). I said I wanted to go back to eat Turtle soup (ate that in previous trip). If you have never had Turtle soup, I highly recommend it. And I mean like fish, the turtle is alive prior to the cooking and the size of a catcher's mit. The head and feet are particularly good but Lulu likes the skin, which seems similar to liking to eat pig skin. I suspected in pig, this was the collagen but not sure if that's the same for turtle.

 

They also served us Turtle blood (red) and bile (green) in two small jars which you add alcohol to and then drink. That was a first.

[Mike62356]

Hi Dave and Tsap, I'll be in Shenyang from July 2, until July20, then off to Shenzhen for a week or so and back to Shenyang until Aug.2 would like to meet up if we can. Have fun guys, I know I will

Edited May 31, 2011 by Mike62356 (see edit history)

[tsap seui]

Hi Dave and Tsap, I'll be in Shenyang from July 2, until July20, then off to Shenzhen for a week or so and back to Shenyang until Aug.2 would like to meet up if we can. Have fun guys, I know I will

 

 

Hey Mike. Looks like we'll both miss David's exotic food and drink show this time around but I'm gonna be in Fushun from June 17th through sometime in August. My wife is kinda close to the vest about Chinese folks knowing about us, only a couple of her friends even know she has me, but she says after her interview she will be happy to meet you guys. Looks like our interview will be in July sometime, I'll let ya know buddy and we'll get together for some hog balls and donkey Johnson's in tribute to ol' David.

 

 

tsap seui

[Beachey]

If any of you make it down to Dalian from Shenyang, let me know.

[tsap seui]

If any of you make it down to Dalian from Shenyang, let me know.

 

 

If we get denied in July we may well take a vacation to Dalian. I bought my wife a nice home in Fushun and I'll be moving there... again, if denied.

 

Good luck with your interview.

 

tsap seui

[david_dawei]

Jiu... what else

 

I recall mentioning the Tibet Horse milk jiu to someone in the past. I found it was difficult to get again so I had forgotten about it. Traveling around China is a study in Jiu itself though, but I was glad to see that what the northeast considers the 'best' jiu was what I found agreement with in Sichuan.

 

When I went to Jiuzhaigou and visited the Eastern Tibetans, I found they have a very unique Jiu made from "Qing Ke", based on wheat instead of rice. It was not so much to my liking but being so different I wanted to try it several times B)

 

Once I got back to Fushun, I thought my "Tibetan Jiu" days were over. We had a day visit to see someone's store and there waiting for me was the Horse Milk Jiu, two bottles; Words gets around about this Da Jiu Gui (drinking ghost). So I was reunited with the western Tibet jiu (and whatever horse) for a lunch.