Shenzhen

I just got back from a business trip to Shenzhen in Guangdong Province. It is an amazing city that was created with policy changes by the mainland Chinese leaders. It was the first of three Special Economic Zones created by the Chinese leadership back in 1980. The National People's Congress passed "Regulations for The Special Economy Zone of Guangdong Province" and officially designated the Shenzhen Special Economy Zone. The new policy allowed what was a small fishing village to grow to a city of around 14 millions people in such a short time.
Before coming to China I had never even heard of this city and yet it has 14 million people living in it. The city is still building and expanding like most cities in China. It is relatively new and more upscale than other cities. Another benefit is it is next door to Hong Kong. Many residents of Hong Kong have bought property in Shenzhen. There is still a tremendous amount of building construction activity.

Dragon Boat Festival

Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It was June 19th this year. It is an official Holiday in Hong Kong but not on the mainland (because of the 3 Golden weeks policy currently in place). I think it is also the only holiday in the world that is celebrated for a poet (well that is what was published by news sources in China. I should have researched this claim given the source. TOB pointed out Robbie Burns Day in Scotland where they celebrate their national poet by eating haggis).

The patriotic scholar-statesman Chu Yuan who drowned himself to protest against the emperor. Chu Yuan worked very hard to offer good counsel to the emperor but the emperor would not listen. People respected Chu Yuan. When they heard that he was drowned, they jumped on boats to search for him. This is a part of what the Dragon Boat Festival commemorates every year. Failing to find Chu Yuan, people hit drums and making loud noised hoping to scare the fish and won't touch Chu Yuan's body. People lived along the river also put cooked rice in the river as a sacrifice. But then they found that the fish got the rice so people wrapped the cooked rice in bamboo leaves. This evolved to present day's rice dumplings which is called zong zi.

A work colleague was gracious to make some zong zi for us. They were very tasty and sweet. Zong zi is a glutinous rice ball with a filling wrapped in corn leaves. The filling is usually red bean or meat.

"Empty-Nesters"

Today BF and I officially became empty-nesters. AF and EF left Beijing today to go back to the US. They are getting ready for their Outdoor Leadership month-long adventure in the Pacific NW. It was a very sad day.

Tibet "A Place Like No Other"

The four of us and friends (a couple from apartment building) visited Lhasa Tibet over a long weekend. We went during one of the best times of the year, the other being September. The girls were going to take the train but no tickets were available. Train tickets are only available 4 days in advance. You have to have a travel permit to Tibet and a guide on the other end to go there.

EF and AF in Barkhor Square

Tibet is a really a foreign place. I thought Beijing and China (ex-Tibet) was pretty foreign to us westerners. The first thing you experience is the beautiful mountainous scenery. We went by plane from Beijing to Chendgu, Sichuan then to Gongkar County, Tibet . It is a 100km ride to Lhasa (.4 million people) which is the capital of Tibet. Our guide Nyima from Lhasa and his driver met us at the airport to take us to the hotel. The area is on a huge high plateau at 11,975 feet. The mountains are completely barren of vegetation but the plateau has plenty of water and trees. The stone building architecture is unique and interesting.

We were a little concerned about the altitude adjustment. Most of us faired pretty well but it did take some serious adjustment. Breathing was labored and it was easy to get a headache and a queasy stomach. Sleeping at night was a little tough.

We stayed at the Dhood Gu Hotel which was very much a Tibetan building from the inside decoration. It was certainly not a luxury hotel but it did the trick. The rooms were a little small and worn but they were very clean. The location was great as it was in the old Tibetan section near the Jokhang Temple. The breakfast tasted so-so but the staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful. Everything tasted a little strange including the bread toast. I made the mistake of asking for two eggs over hard (I got two boiled eggs). I learned to ask for sunny eggs which were fried with sometimes the yoke soft and other times hard. The girls usually had scrambled eggs which is hard to go wrong.

The hotel also had a rooftop bar (how funny it was actually a roof top enclosure that did in deed have tables and a bar to put alcohol but was being used to hang all the hotel linens for drying. We used it anyway to play some mahjong.

From our room we could see a glimpse of the Potala Palace (ex-home of the 14th Dalai Lama) but more importantly the roof top of a local resident family across the alley that had a huge incense burner. We left a small window open to our room while sightseeing. We came back and the entire room was filled with juniper incense from the apartment across the alley. Yuck I hate the smell of the incense it gave me a headache.

We visited the Potala Palace, Sera and Ganden Monasteries, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street, and a nunnery:

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/potala.htm

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/sera.htm www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/ganden.htm www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/jokhang.htm

www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/tibet/lhasa/barkhor.htm

The buddhist religion is very mystical and interesting from the pilgrims who walk around the Jokhang Temple on Barkhor Street either by foot or full body prostration in a clock-wise route with prayer wheels and adorned in crimson/purple robes. To the smell of yak butter and juniper incense (I will never get those smells out of my system). Then the mandelas, the protectors, the stupas, the monks, abbots, and huge number of Buddhas.

The people on the street were interesting. I think the pilgrims from the countryside had never seen westerners before. We received an unusual amount of attention, especially with open palms asking for money. The kids were the most relentless beggars.
The food was pretty good but I have had my fill of yak meat and yak milk tea. Some of us even tried yak butter tea that the monks drink (yuk, they can keep it). Yak butter is everywhere as people buy it to bring and add to the large tubs of butter that are used to burn candles in the temples and monasteries.

For my fellow bikers at Chase in DE who are getting ready for the Ride for Andrew. I am sorry that I won't be there with all of you. I am with you in spirit B+. I know the weather will be great for everyone. Dave C. you are an animal, your next adventure is to take two wheels and go from Xinjiang to Lhasa (2500km and 56 days from Gobi desert to the Himalayas).

Another HS Graduate

AF graduated from International School of Beijing Saturday night in a very nice outdoor ceremony. She is so excited to have this behind her and very much looking forward to her Scotland experience. AF has had an interesting road through her pre-college education and she will have lots of memories (her Mom and Dad hope mostly good).

It was also nice to have her sister here to celebrate the graduation with.

A New Visitor

EF flew with her Mother visit to Beijing to visit us after her first year of college. They just attended a family wedding in Milwaukee. She will be with us until the middle of June. Then she will fly to AF to the US for a month-long outdoor leadership adventure in the Great Pacific.