Traveling in China - Guilin Part Three

Our Trip to Guilin was the most interesting and fun time I've ever had in China. I usually worked in the South of China, which is closer to the Hong Kong shipping ports and airports. Factories were built there because of ease of shipping and foreign travelers coming into the country to work on their projects. There are also factories in the North of China, but it does take time to reach them, and sometimes trucks on Chinese roads to get to ports can damage product. The roads in the South are pretty good now, because of the money brought there by foreign trade.

The cities in the South of China, are modern and well, pretty dirty because of the factories and no pollution control. They remind me very much of what the US was like back in the 60's, or at least where I grew up in Cleveland. Back in the 60's and early 70's you would get a face full of soot from the steel mills, just walking around downtown. It's very much like that now in the South of China. You can't ever even see the full sun, because of the pollution haze.

Guilin is different. The air is clear and the scenery is vibrant. Instead of tall modern buildings, there are pagodas and huts. There are a few modern hotels and restaurants, but mostly Guilin is full of history and a sense of what China really was in the past.

The Chinese treasure their past, so much more than we do. I think that may be, because their history is so much longer than ours is. Even their soap operas on TV are based in historic times, not the present. If' you've seen "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and thought it was kind of odd, that's the sort of show they have on TV every day. It's not unusual in China to see that period of costuming and magics. It might have seemed strange to us, but to the Chinese who see it every day, it's a beautiful part of their culture. I'm sure they think our westerns are quite odd too. 

One of the days on our trip to Guilin, we went to see the sights. We climbed mountains and saw the view of the city from up high, went into the vast caves, and saw an art exhibit at a local school. The mountains are tall and it's pretty tiring climbing, but the view was spectacular and the caves were amazing. One was natural with glittering minerals and rock formations. It was vast. I wish I had pictures, but the camera didn't really work well there. The other cave was a cave of Buddhas It was filled with all shapes and sizes of Buddha, carved in rock or other materials and placed there. It had, in the past, been a place of worship.

Modern Chinese don't openly worship, but because religion was so much a part of their history, it has been transformed to mean luck and prosperity. Many traditions are still held, but more as ceremony that faith.

This last picture is hard to see, because of the rock colors, but if you click on it, you can see many figures carved into the recesses of the rock.

This will be my last post on Guilin. I am going to have a hard time letting go of it. As I said in the first post, Guilin is where I fell in love with China. It's where I could see how the Chinese could love their country so much. There was so much more to my trip, and it was for only 3 days. I've never been so saturated with a culture in such a short time. I haven't been to Beijing, or the Great Wall, or the Stone Soldiers, which are famous tourist areas, but I don't think that I could have learned as much about China there, as I did in beautiful Guilin. 

There was a show on the river. It was at night. The show depicted the famous movie of the young lovers of the area and their life on the River Li. There were literally thousands of performers on the river, in boats and rafts and pontoons. All carrying lanterns, or with lit costumes. It was one of the most amazing things I had ever seen. I would recommend that you visit Guilin, if you ever find yourself in China.

Traveling in China - Guilin Part Two

Another day in Guilin and we were treated to a wonderful treat, seniors doing their morning exercises in the center of town. After breakfast we set out to find the local markets.

Buying from Chinese markets can be a challenge. At least for me. All prices are up for negotiation, everywhere, with maybe the exception of Walmart and McDonalds. And many brand name stores are fake, like the Apple store I read about recently. Fake store, fake product. If you find an incredible deal on name brand product, chances are, it's a fake.

I'm not great at the bargaining thing, especially where the sellers are so much poorer than I am, and I can afford their already reasonable prices.

I helped out my traveling companions by teaching them how to say too expensive in Chinese. One of the first Chinese expressions I learned. That and chicken without bones, although the Chinese still don't know what that means.

Sometime though, you will get bombarded with little children trying to sell you things like this one who was selling flutes. They are sure that "round eyes" have more money. And they are probably right. But you can't buy from everyone.

Of course it didn't help that we told the little girl that our friend in the picture had all the money. She followed him around the whole time we were there, whining at him to buy, until he finally broke down and bought one of her flutes. Then she chased after another in our group.

 My traveling companions had a blast. They spent the day seeing how much they could talk down the locals, and feeling like they got great bargains. I had a feeling they were still paying more that another local would.

I think this young man did the best actually. He was so proud of his skill. I'm not sure what the camel was for. It might have been for rides, but the whole time we were there, no one rode it. I'm sure the woman in the picture was explaining, but who knows what she was saying.

What Evah! - Chinese Factory - Not Possible!

I was commenting on a post about biodegradable sneakers, when I thought of how hard factories in China would try to make these possible. One thing about Chinese people, is that they are clever an industrious. Not that there aren't lazy or sneaky, cheating, deceitful people there, just in general, most are hard working.

I also made mention that, although you will get anything you want, not without being told that "It's Impossible".

I can't begin to tell you how many times I've been told by the workers or managers "that's impossible" or "no, we can't do that". Who taught those people that word anyhow? If you teach English to anyone Chinese, please do not teach them the word "impossible"

I've never even asked anyone at the factory anything that I couldn't do myself. So when I was told it was impossible, I would show them I could do it myself. If a carver said it was impossible, I would grab their tools, if a painter said they couldn't do it, I grabbed the paint and brushes.

Not really sure I could make eco friendly sneakers though. But even though the workers would like to complain, in the end they would always find a way to do what you wanted. I swear they just say it's impossible to make themselves look better when they finally complete the task.

I just can't begin to tell you though, how much clever and inventive ways my Chinese friends would come up with to make my wildest imaginings come true.



Images via http://www.chinaenvironmentallaw.com/2009/08/14/recyling-in-china/ and http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/06/08/beer-sunshine-hot-water/

What Evah! - Chinese Factory - Lost in Translation

restaurant near factory

I didn't much like the movie Lost in Translation, even though I'm a Huge Bill Murray fan. Maybe it was just the state of mind I was in when I watched it, but it just seemed so, pedantic and slow. Not so funny and not so touching. I did, however really relate to the sentiment as I was on a 17 hour trip to Southern China to work in for a few weeks in a factory there. Actually you take a jet or 2 to New York and board a jet to Hang Kong and either take the ferry, a bus, or a car into China to your final destination.

To get into China you have to have a passport and a visa which you get by having a letter of invitation from the factory you are visiting and then have it approved by the Chinese Government. You also have to get a quickie health inspection to pass the border, most of the time now since SARS. Basically they shoot a temperature scanner your way, so if your temperature is above normal, no crossing the border either way. You get sick in China, you stay in China. 

So what's it like to work in China? Well imagine a bathroom with a stall that has a shelf about 6" taller than your toilet seat. And imagine crawling up on the shelf with toilet paper in hand, without touching the walls or platform because you have no idea what has touched those walls or platform. Now imagine pulling down your pants, but holding them up so they don't touch anything with the tissue in your hand. Now squat over the hole that you are balancing over on the platform 2 feet above the ground, and aim for the hole. Don't dare miss. Now try to clean yourself without dropping your pants on the platform and DON'T toss the tissue in, because that will ruin the septic. It has to be thrown in the wastebasket outside the stall with all the other soiled tissues.

no closets - no dryer - hand wash laundry hangs on balcony

Now are you ready to go to work in China? Don't laugh, I spent one solid month doing that every day. No days off. 14 hour day, but with long lunch and dinner breaks. At least for the workers. Some days they actually worked longer, and I'd leave for the day, but I'd stayed the full 14. For lunch I walked to a local restaurant with one of the factory managers. The food at the factory was not deemed "safe" for me. Not that the restaurant down the street was much better. We had the same food every day, because the other food was too scary. I tried something different and was sorry I did.

Workers were wonderful though. I just loved the people, and amazingly enough, was even able to communicate with some, with a VERY limited Chinese vocabulary. I could tell them when something was good, very good, bad, very bad and beautiful. Usually I had to just show them what finishes I wanted on what pieces by putting the finish next to a sample of the product. It took a while, but I could communicate without an interpreter eventually. I really miss those wonderful people. I did spend a lot of time with them.

. 

Some of the bad things were, no EPA, toxic fumes everywhere. Lighting was horrible. Heat and humidity was unbearable for me and even the AC in the office was bad. I had to work practically naked, tank top and light weight skirt or pants, and a rag for the pouring perspiration. Electricity in China is subject to the whim of the government and often off. Puts a big dent in production. I was working in R and D or research and development. Not actual production, but I did often visit other factories and see their production. 

I actually worked in many factories on China, some actually had flush toilets for visitors. But often, even restaurants had squats. Flush squats, but squats. And those are flush and run, because the whole floor flushes. Hard to describe, unless you've seen them. 

Food can be scary too, depending on the kindness of your host. Some factory owners like to screw with Americans, and it's rude to refuse anything offered. I think I've eaten everything offered to me. I even ate something from the sea that looked kind of like a trilobite or giant bug. There was no meat and it had no taste so I know the host was just screwing with us. I, being a woman often had to keep up with the men to be taken seriously. 

Picking up 3 peanuts at a time with your chopsticks and eating them is a boastful and brave feat for an American Woman. I did not, however keep up with the drinking. I did drink, but you can't out-drink the Chinese, so why try.

There are so much to tell that this is only a tiny touch on what working in China was like. 

It's kind of like these batteries that were made in China. Lost in Translation.

What's Cooking? - Ramen Cole Slaw

I haven't had this in years. I absolutely love it, but so much sodium. I might just make it some day and eat a little bit and leave the rest for the family scavengers.

It was fun looking through my moms old recipe books. Three - Three ring binders full. She typed or copied all of the recipes and put them in plastic sleeves. Some recipes were mine. Made me proud that she liked a few of mine too.

The fun part was that Mom was dyslexic. Even more than I am. Recipes included ingredients like motzerella, jalpeona, and crotons and there were several recipes that called for port as the main meat. Guess she had a problem typing pork.

This is how we made the Chinese Ramen Cole slaw that was popular in the early 90's

Salad

1 large bag Cole Slaw mix
2 individual packages Beef Ramen Soup
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
2 bunches scallions chopped

Dressing

1/3 cup sunflower or safflower oil
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
The 2 seasoning packages from the Ramen Soup

Mix all salad ingredients, leaving noodles till last. Mix all dressing ingredients well and pour over salad. Mix salad and dressing well. Break up noodle block and place over salad. Refrigerate. Toss noodles with salad about on hour before serving so they don't get too soggy, but have time to soften.

Trust me if you haven't had this yet, and you like Chinese food and cabbage, you'll be thanking me.