Wen wen shui

Some things are not supposed to be complicated. But here, simple things might be. And you might never expect what the next "new complication" will be.
I have been living in Beijing for over 2 years now (exactly 2 years and 2 weeks, actually). Since our arrival there are a few things that I got accustomed to. (food to some extend, language still working at it, traffic maybe, pollution not sure, spitting really not). Well, I am sure there are a few things I got accustomed to, right?
Actually, one simple thing as slowly grown on me: the Chinese have the habit of drinking hot water rather than cold water. Here, in restaurants, hot water is brought to you when you wait. In meetings. At the doctor's office, while waiting. In various situations where you wait, hot water is brought to you. There is even at times a genuine confusion between "water" and "tea water" (but more on that on another post).
In fact, there is a traditional chinese medicine belief behind this. There is the shared understanding that a cold drink will harm your body. Ice drinks will bring down the temperature and slow down the energy and blood circulation inside the body, essentially it will be like pouring ice onto the fire of your internal body. In fact, it is believed that ice-cold drinks may cause several health problems, such as over weight, cough, headache, stomach problems, weak immunity and even infertility.
So, over the last 2 years, I have slowly moved away from drinking cold drinks to more warm drinks. It does feel better, in some ways. And it makes sense too.
However, it is not always that simple to get the kids to drink hot water... So for them, I often request "wen shui", which can be translated as room-temperature water. And as much as it would seems simple for the occidental mind, this is nothing simple. At times, despite my request, I only get hot water. Other times, the order is just forgotten. Last time we were out, they just told me they did not have "wen shui". So I asked them if they had hot water. Yes? And if they had cold water. Yes? So, I told them, put a bit of both in a glass to make "wen shui", right!? 
So what do you get??  2 bowls of water, one hot, one cold. and two empty cups, to make our own "wen shui"...
sigh...

Great Wallk

Sunday night, it rained a little. And Monday, we woke up to a wonderful, clear, blue, crisp air. With such beautiful sky, Sunday's ordeal was quickly forgotten. Truly schizophrenic changes in weather. Tuesday was as marvelous as Monday.  So I headed out with a group of French women to walk on the Great Wall, on the JinShanLing portion.

I recently joined the group Pékin Acceuil, a group of French and francophones who get together. What is really interesting is that they do not only meet for coffee or wine tasting (isn't that what would most people expect from a French expatriate, no?). In fact, they organize visits to art galleries, do aquafitness or hiking together, play bridge or mahjong, discuss chinese culture or paint, and countless other interesting activities. Myself, already busy here and there, happened to discover them late in my Beijing stay. With them, I am finding a source for new friendships (to possibly replace lost repatriated ones), and another way to jam thigh fill my schedule with taitai time. 

So, JinShanLing, we went. And for you readers, a few pictures in lieu of words. It is just easier for all of us (you and I included), as we were busy chatting away. 

Lost placenta

Here I just wanted to share with you one message and its thread found this week on a forum I am a member of (Beijing Mamas).

In Beijing, we, expats, are having no shortage of information. Not only do we have several free entertainment magazines  (Beijing Kids, City Weekend, the Beijinger, Agenda, City Weekend Parents, and more), we are also blessed with several forums. Beijing Mamas is only one of many; Beijing café for all sorts of practical things, Boca for green living, Beijing_homeschoolers, Beijing gluten-free group, Beijing Mamas for mom/kids related issues of course, and many others more specific ones. They are, for expats who share similar concerns and values, a way to connect, share and exchange. In a city of 16 million, where the language makes us all illiterates, where we are stuck because of the endemic traffic, where the stores landscape changes faster than FedEx can delivered to you, where new complexes are sprouting like mushrooms and entire areas are erased without much warning, where danger roams in the form of baby powder milk or detergent, these are our tools to stay afloat, to survive and thrive... Without Beijing café, simple questions are answered: where to buy pair of kids shoes? which pediatrician to choose from? why is it impossible to retrieve cash from my Chinese ATM today? what is the standard regarding nanny salaries? where is the best sushi in town? where to do painting classes? Trivial and not so trivial issues are shared, discussed, explained, detailed...

So here is the thread in question, an hilarious example of what cultural brassage can bring you in your inbox, or in our case, in our garden... 

----- Forwarded Message ----

                                       (BeijingCafe) Lost Placenta in Central Park??

From: ratomme

To: Beijingcafe@...com

Sent: Fri, 15 October, 2010 8:27:56

Subject: (BeijingCafe) Lost Placenta in Central Park??

I apologize beforehand to those who are fainthearted:

For the happy lady who just had a baby and lives in Central Park and

had burried fresh placenta with imbilical cord in clear plastic bag under a

tree on the hill-your placenta is lying around next to shallow hole, looks

like dogs dug it out (at least I hope it was dogs!)

I think it mist befrom an expat -Chinese would not throw it away.

Re: Fw: (BeijingCafe) Lost Placenta in Central Park??

Posted by: "Diane" dandan622@...   

Mon Oct 18, 2010 1:35 am (PDT)

IMO, if I were the lady, I could only thank the person who posted the

original msg, as I am now acknowledged of the fact and can make my choice

what to do with it(whether to go back to rebury it or not) as it's a

PLACENTA we're talking about...

Anyways, when I had my baby at BJU, my placenta was given to my family since

my husband's mom who's a Chinese, asked for it and then when I asked what

they did with it, my MIL said she's given it to ayi and buried in the

backyard but wouldn't tell me exactly where. I thought that was weird.

Diane

--- In Beijing_Mamas@...groups.com, Roberta 

wrote:

When I lived in Sanya a friend of mine from Canada gave birth in a local

hospital. She was not asked whether she wanted to keep the placenta or not

but to her dismay the same evening a nurse brought a soup to her made with

her placenta! She was told that it is a typical Chinese thing to do since it

is said that for a mom to eat her own placenta after giving birth gives her

strength and keeps her healthy. I find it quite gruesome to say the least.

Anyways, I gave birth the first time in Shanghai and the second time in

Kuala Lumpur. Never was I asked if I wanted to take the placentas home with

me. I mean... what is the point of bringing it home? And I really don't

understand why the 1st message was posted on Beijing Cafe'... if someone did

in fact bury her placenta in Central Park, well that's her business I guess.

Did someone think that this lady would go back to the park and look for it

to then throw it in a garbage can?

I don't see the point in all this...

To: Beijing_Mamas@...groups.com

From: chinees_spookstje@...

Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:49:31 +0000

Subject: Re: [BJMamas] Fw: (BeijingCafe) Lost Placenta in Central Park??

When I gave birth at Amcare earlier this year, the medical staff asked us

if we wanted to take the placenta home with us or not. Actually, they asked

both of us seperately: they asked me while they were prepping me for the

(emergency) c-section and my husband while he was scrubbing in. After we

both declined, they showed the placenta to my husband after birth and showed

him how they would dispose of it.

Later on, I inquired about this question in the hospital and the nurses

told me that many Chinese take the placenta home with them. Didn't ask what

they do with it though... I just thought it was a bit odd...

Ciska

--- In Beijing_Mamas@...groups.com, "lioracc" wrote:

i do not know local or expat hospital policy but I would think it most

unusual for them to release a placenta from a hospital.

Among home birthers in the U.S., and perhaps some Birthing Centers there

is a portion (just a few percent) who choose to do a "lotus birth", that is,

keep the placenta connected for several days till the cord falls off

naturally. They keep the placenta connected to the baby, place the placenta

and most of the cord inside plastic, and in a nice velvet bag or something,

until the end of the cord separates naturally from the belly.

The thinking is that there is a spiritual connection with the baby, and

that after 9 months together it is gentler to take the time to separate.

Liora

Schizophenic air

While my sister-in-law and her son were here visiting us, we had the most wonderful weather: 10 days of sunny, clear, blue sky; the stuff most people take for granted in Canada, in Israel or in most places. 10 amazing Beijing Blue Sky Days! So unusual indeed it was deemed a "Golden Week"!
However, the minute Nurit and Liam boarded that plane to go back home, the pollution fog slowly started to cover Beijing again. For the last 4 or 5 days, in the evening, I could only see a floating and blinking light in front of our building, across the avenue. The view of the building itself, onto which the sign sits atop, was swallowed by the thick layer of pollution. During the day, looking out from our windows would be as if looking out of an airplane window into a white cloud, except unconsciously, it does not quite feel (or smell) as glamorous.
Saturday, upon waking up, Noam asked us "where is the sun?". Later in the day, he excitingly told us, pointing at the sun (dimly glowing through the fog): "Look, the moon is up!"
Sunday morning, it was really bad.

This picture was taken at 8AM. I did not use any filters, it was taken by my little powershot Canon. 
In fact, the 10-10-10 was one of the most horrible day we ever had. It was so bad that at 3PM, car needed to use the fog lights to go around the city.  It was so thick and dark and heavy that there were no escape. In vain, with our new-to-us car, we drove out of the city in hope of some fresher air. 60 km out of the city center, the air was still opaque and thick. 500 m up on the hills, and we were not sure if the fog we were walking in was cleaner or not... (although it felt as if the air was getting a little yellower in color as we were driving down the hills).
The whole trip was not really "picturesque", we could not see anything. We drove past Tiananmen square - this is not my photo, but it did look almost like this.

Photograph by Oded Balilty/AP Photo - December 27, 2007 
That same day was also the last of 4 days of talks in Tianjin, of the UN Climate Change Summit. I am a little dubious of the validity of such summit held here in China, as China is always opposed to make concessions on its CO2 emissions levels. However, Sunday's air quality maybe has helped the international counterparts understand better the meaning of "bad air quality"...
On Sunday, the air quality was so bad that the China Daily (our expat' local propaganda) even labelled it as "worst" and listed the city as most polluted of 47 cities monitored nationwide. Indeed, levels of pollution are monitored daily by the Chinese government. They are also measured by the American Embassy and distributed on Twitter here. This certainly to ensure the distribution of "real data" (read non-altered). The device used by the Americans is only able to measure up to 500 ppm of particles in the air, and in several past occasions, the levels to be measured were beyond the machine's capacity.  For clarifications, in most countries, at levels of 150 or 200ppm, there are some warnings for at-risks citizens, and most people would stay home.
The interesting thing about such measures of pollution is the lack of uniform labeling, from one country to another. In other words, when the China National Environmental Monitoring Center rated Sunday's air quality as "poor" (one level away from "Hazardous"), most other countries would have simply rated it as "hazardous". A local magazine even hinted that "hazardous" air quality would apparently requires something akin to nuclear fallout!
Already in 2005, Beijing was qualified as the air pollution capital of the world... You can check here at this photo essay prepared by the Time Magazine, just before the Olympics. It give a broad overview of some of the issues related to the problem of air pollution in Beijing. (Plus the pictures are beautiful.)
Of course we can discuss here on the sources and the improvements seen since the Olympics (and there has been), but as a mom of two young kids, I am concerned on the impacts this kind of environment can have on their health.

Black out

Today CNN, BBC and TV5 were partially blacked out today. Initially I thought it was again the receiver who was acting up. Or Emmanuel who played with the remote again, messing up the system...
In fact, today is a big day for Chinese human rights activists: Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident, has won the 2010 Nobel Peace Price. He was a leader in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, and has also co-authored the Charter 08, calling for multi-party democratic system and human rights respect in China. The later has ended him up in jail for a sentence of 11 years, which he started on December 2009.

From our perspective, here from our Beijing expatriate's cushy couch, it is just a black out on our screens. But in some other Chinese's humble dwellings, it might eventually cast some light to the current darkness.
Years of unrestrained propaganda and the Cultural Revolution's ordeal have left the Chinese society with deep scars, and the leaders with rather harsh reflexes. The late 80's, culminating with the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, have left somewhat murkier waters for anybody attempting to demand democracy,  human right respect, or simple change. Of course we were entertained by the more recent, flashy but composed, facade presented for the Olympics; fascinating and exalting it was! Everybody wants to believe in a better China, a more humane one.
How appropriate! I just finished the reading of Beijing Coma, from Ma Jian. It relates the memories of a medicine student who participated in the Tiananmen events. Dai Wei, the protagonist, got wounded by a bullet in the head, and remains in coma since.  It took 10 years for Ma Jian to write, and through the Dai Wei recollection of his own life, it recreates a pretty accurate tableau of the changes undergone by the Chinese society over the last 40 years, from a youth in the cultural revolution until today's economic race for success of his fellow students. Of course, the moments leading to the 89's events are vividly described.  Evidently, the book is banned in China, and its author, exiled for over 20 years now. If you are interested, this NY Times review gives you a more detailed overview of the story line.

However, the insistence of Ma Jian to tell Tiananmen story in details, and to recount the further oppression of its former participants, can be paralleled by Liu Xiaobo's own insistence on demanding human rights respect and democracy in the country. Despite the jail sentences following 1989, warnings and continuous repression, Liu continued incessantly to call for democratic reforms. The Charter 08 he co-authored, following the model of the anti-Soviet Charter 77 prepared by Czechoslovakia dissidents, has left the Parti leaders concerned enough to justify another jail sentence of 11 years, under the charges of "inciting subversion to the state power". I am somewhat surprised by the amplitude of their reaction, as only 350 intellectuals and human activists signed the petition. (What percentage of the Chinese population is this??)  At least 70 of the original 303 signatories have been summoned or interrogated at some point. Censorship runs fast and high when the word democracy is repeated a few times on a single piece of paper... 
Like Liu Xiaobo, Ma Jian believes in the power of analogies and dates. Ma Jian published his novel  right before the Olympics, and one year before the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre. The Charter 08 was published on December 10 2008, the day of the 60th anniversary of the UN resolution adopting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
However, Ma Jian, unlike Liu, does not believes in change so much. Ma Jian, in the preface to the Chinese edition of his book, argues that not only Dai Wei is comatose, but it is the Chinese people who truly are. "Only memory can help people regain the brightness of freedom" he argues. Let's hope that the nomination of Liu Xiaobo will help send an electroshock of light and energy to the Chinese youth, calling them to remember the values fought for by some of their fellows citizens. And encourage them to also request democracy and change.

Today, Liu Xiaobo probably does not know he won the prize; the Chinese government is trying hard to censor and discredit the information.  Despite censorship of the news, and of the control of the use of Liu's characters on emails and cell phones, the Chinese youth is still able to share and spread the information.  Internationally, China also reacted by saying it is wrong to give the prize to a convicted criminal, and warns Norway of possible damages to their political relations. (We have heard this threat before). Despite all this Chinese unease, this Nobel prize appears like a warning by the Western world to China, a statement telling them that despite their smoking mirrors and noisy rhetoric, someone is watching, aware of the violations taking place. And that China's attempt at joining the big leaders of the world also means responsibilities, along some of the West's rules...

But of course, from my couch, the screen is black...

A view from the top

Pauli's office is in the China World Trade Centre, phase two. More commonly known as Guo Mao (国贸), the CWTC is also two hotels, a large high-end (read too expensive) shopping mall, and now three tower. The new phase, the third tower,  has just recently been completed, and it also house a luxurious hotel. It is now the highest point in Beijing, with its 90 floors.
On a wonderful weather like today, we just headed up, reaching for the 88th floor of the hotel, in hope to catch a glimpse of Beijing while enjoying a fancy drink. With kids, and their (im)possible tantrums, we were sure that our attempt to a high life would be bound to some limitations. However the experienced proved itself to be quite pleasant, and their washrooms quite useful (and cosy as far as bathroom goes) to calm our initially screaming 3 year old. Of course a little bowl of peanuts also goes a long way too...


North view: Looking at the left bottom of the picture, arranged around a "central park", our compound, with its green and white buildings (our tower is the second from the left, hiding behind the third one). A bit further, the Workers' Stadium and in the background, the mountains (where the Great Wall portions are - can't see them, can't you?!).


A West view (with glare, sorry) over the first diplomatic area and Ritan Park, towards the Forbiden City and Tiananmen square, and the large Jiangomenwai/Changan avenue. In the distance we can also see the Egg (National Theater).


Looking South West, over Pauli's office (Guo Mao 2), over Jian Wai Soho and the Hyatt (who until now had the highest restaurant in town), with a sea of housing towers in the background.


And full South, more buildings buildings buildings... It takes a few to house everyone here...


And a little more East, towards the other portion of the CBD (Central Business District). Walt Mart is under one of the three grey towers on the right side, a bit behind the orange ones...


Looking North-East, where we saying there is lots of buildings around here? You can see the suburb somewhere in the distance.


And there you go, just over the "pants" of Mr Koolhaus!


A great ambiance...


My mothley crew and I enjoying the setting.

sometimes I wonder...

this could be the first of a series...

I still haven't figured what is the real use of such post...

My Son is an Alien...

Here in China, our status of foreigner puts us in a special situation. In practical terms, apart from some inconveniences, it is not really a problem. Of course, we sometimes feel as if we are circus animals, with so many people watching us doing mundane things. Other times we feel just a bit different, as they do things with such obscure logic.  And then, we know we are being monitored (to various degrees probably depending on our profession and background). (Today's post is not so much about monitoring or censorship, but you can refer to these earlier posts here or there...)  We need to report to the police when we come in the country (I blogged about this here), and our elevator is plastered with indications on what each Alien must do upon landing in the country, to report. This is where we learn that we are officially labeled as such (rather than the more friendly term of "foreigner").
I really just can't get used to the word Alien. It really tells about our place here, as if we are always going to be looked at with some distance, with curiosity, interest or bewilderment. In some ways, the terms also evokes some possible risks. Looking back at China's history, not so long ago foreigners were limited to live in a few official hotels and apartments during their stays. And Chinese were officially encouraged to limit their contacts with Aliens (read here about early eighties' general state of mind towards Aliens ). And in a not so much more distant past, China was completely closed to the exterior world. Of course a huge amount of things have changed since the beginning of the Economic Reform, but it should not be a great surprise if some terminology in usage today still transpire the historical past of the country.
I could maybe start some kind of chinese archeological linguistic research here... 
And then when Emmanuel was born, we of course also had to register to him, and get him an official Chinese Diplomat ID (yes he is starting his career a bit young). And then I understood that despite all good intentions, their perception of us might be, well, hum, different...

Poor Emmanuel, he is fine now.

While I was gone...

Dear friends and readers,
I have to admit of a great guilt towards you. I had promised I would write. And then I left you in the dark, busy with teachings and other projects. And even when the semester was over, I still did not come back towards you. You have certainly felt abandoned, with reasons... And despite good times, holidays, travels and other memorable moments since my last post, I did not write. Despite the guilt. Or maybe because of it.
A blog feels sometimes as easy to maintain as a potted flower. Just a bit of attention, a bit of water, and it will grow. But once you stop feeding the flower, it dries up and looses its petals, and then even if the plant is still alive, it takes time to burgeon again....
In other words, I guess I have been suffering from some writer's block.
While feeling blocked in front of the page means no single word written, it does not mean no thoughts... While I was "away", I collected ideas, pictures and words, and I will try my best now to catch up with you and share them...

I am still around, just busy

Family, Friends, Readers from all over...


I am still around and I have not forgotten you. But I am currently lecturing at the Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture （北京建筑工程学院）and all my free time is now devoted to preparing my weekly conferences. I will be back online shortly, the semester will be over sometime in June.  I will be back soon...

Kids Love

With their "one kid only" allowance, the Chinese can't help longing for more and more "baby time". They completely go gaga for kids, specially the 外国的 "wayguo" ones, the forginer kids.  Their features, complexion, hair and eyes colors mesmerizing them, when it is not their "tricks". 

Since we are here, I have witness first hand how much they love kids. Of course, it has certainly something due to the one child policy.  But I think it goes beyond that. In general, Asia is a culture fascinated with kids stuff, and China is no different on the matter.

Since our arrival in Beijing, Noam was picked up countless amount of times by pure strangers. He was even extricated of his high chair in a restaurant, without any attempt to check if OK with the parents (us). In numerous places we have seen him being entertained by a group of staff, everyone leaving their tasks to play with him, to free our hands while we eat, for exemple. Strangers would follow us to take his picture, or ask us to pose with him. Other would give him candies, cookies or balloons. People would turn around and comment on him, on his hair or his smile. And they still do today. Here is a shot taken in Chengdu, where Noam is definitely the center of attention!

But the arrival of Emmanuel has shifted the center of attention away from Noam. It even shocked me when we just returned from Washington after the birth. "Hey, Ho! Look at the big kid too, you can see his big blue eyes too! He still needs your attention!"
If I stay standing still in a public place for a few minutes, with Emmanuel in my arms, it is a matter of a couple minutes for someone to approach us. Then, there is this very gentle clapping of the hands done while smiling and cooing at him, followed by a soft opening of the hands, palms open towards the sky. These hands are saying: "Come in my arms, baby!" Everyone does it, everyone loves doing it! Waiters at restaurants, clerks in stores, grandmas around the parks, young men in computer stores, even grumpy taxi drivers. It is funny. And Emmanuel enjoys jumping in new arms, he smiles and grins happily. I guess his enthusiasm might eventually wear off, as Noam's did, after countless strangers saying exactly the same things, touching and grabbing endlessly.
Indeed, Noam now is not only not interested, he hides behind my legs when strangers comes too close, and he resist most conversations people would want to start with him, mostly by doing some kind of high pitch squeal. I also have been over time dealing with it differently. At first, I was extremely reluctant to let Noam being picked up by a stranger. Dirty hands? Maybe. But not only. Certainly the frustration at times that I was not addressed by the stranger, or that my child was taken out of my sight (maybe not far but still)... At others, maybe the sense that we have just become a live walking show or zoo animals... Then one day I gave a yoga class to a couple of Beijing moms. One came with her mother, and each with her child. I gave my lessons, and midway, one child cried a bit and grandma picked him up. A few minutes later the other one started fussing and not his mom, but the other one bend down to take care of him. This little baby exchange enlightened me a bit on how flexible and sincere their care and love of the children are. (Of course we are not talking here about issues related to sex selection for their unique child...)  Since my arrival in Beijing, I have learned to relax and encourage Noam's interaction with the crowd. And with time, I came to appreciate the help and the good intentions, and even the attention (unless in Chinese tourists hangout).

So for Chinese New Year, Paul's office gathered all the staff, spouses and children. And within ten minutes, my hands were freed from Emmanuel, as he was carried away by a bunch of Paul's giggling and ecstatic co-workers. At some point I attempted to recuperate him before his nap, to feed him, unsuccessfully. He was a star, and as the perfect little baby, only smiled and cooed. 

A Quick Smile

Those Pretty Mountains - Part Two : Yangshuo

January 1st, to start the year, we left Guilin by car to Yangshuo, a little locality upstream of the Li. It is set in a little piece of flat land nested between numerous karst peaks. This image found on Wikipedia really shows it best how Yangshuo is  physical setting.

So far Yanshuo is probably the smallest locality I have been since in China - only 300,000 inhabitants! It is mainly a backpacker town, with tourists coming to bike, hike or climb the karsts, or to drift on the small bamboo rafts.
Of course going in the middle of the winter is not the best. The temperature, even if about 15 degrees warmer than Beijing, remains cold and the humidity (and lack of heating in most buildings) makes it a bit uncomfortable. And the rain is intermittent, not preventing us from going around, but certainly a deterrent to any kind of physical activity, specially with the kids.
We checked in our little inn, basic comfort but cool. After discovered the Wii in the lounge, we headed down on the river for a little ride on a bamboo raft.
Despite the cold and the drizzling rain, there was something very peaceful about riding on the water, with the scenery changing fluidly between small peaks, as they appeared out of the mist in front of us, reflected in the moving waters.

An inspired 20 Yuan note...
We landed on the city dock, and started the exploration of Yangshuo.


an old man and his cormoran trained for fishing















In the evening, we went to see a show called "Impression on Sanjie Liu". It is an huge event taking place near Yangshuo, in natural stage with the river as stage and several peeks as backdrop. Directed by Zhang Yimou (who did Hero, Raise the red lantern, Olympics 2008), about 600 actors play on and along the Li river. Despite the rain and the cold, the show really was magic, the beautiful music, dresses and lightshow gave us the feeling of being in the middle of a fairytale.

Those Pretty Mountains - Part One : Guilin

Since we talked about moving in Beijing, there has been a place in China that I really wanted to see.  It is one of those places that are part of this unconscious vague image of China: a few steep but small mountains, with their tops obstructed by the clouds, their still image reflecting in the water of a calm river, cut by the passage of a old man fishing on a bamboo raft.

Guangxi-Guilin-Yanshou

And so for Christmas Paul offered me a trip to go see these places.  What a wonderful wonderful surprise!

So family-style we pack everyone and went onto our plane (Without the diaper bag, forgotten at home. But I am digressing, this is a totally different story).

Here is a glance at my first sight of the Guangxi region, from the plane:

First destination: 桂林 Guilin.

Known for its scenery, the city is sparkled by these steep rock formation, the karst peaks. These little pointy mountains are covering the whole region. In fact its landscape is so special that the city was used as a setting for decor of the planet Kashyyk in Star Wars Episode III.  Here is the view from our hotel room:

The next day, we took the morning to find the zoo, and say hi to the pandas. As usual, their sight that makes Noam quite happy. But with their stained yellowed fur, I really can't help finding the poor guys a bit dirty. And lazy, as they eat bamboo shoots and scratch themselves snail-paced. The little red pandas look much more playful, like furry little bears with long tails.

The Li River serpentine through the city. Its scenery is also found on the back of the 20 Yuan bills. Its  urban shores have been landscaped in a lovely way. At night boats take passengers around the city for a lovely tour, leaving from Fir Lake. It was a real surprise for me to see such beautiful manmade scenery in  an urban setting. Too many times, the Chinese way landscaping and decorating verges on the kitsch. But there, with the meandering of the river, the pretty white bridges, the carved pagodas, with the karst mountains as a background,

Back to the hotel, once the boys in bed, we celebrated the beginning of the new year with the soft sound of the champagne bubbles for only popping noises, since fireworks here are kept for the "real" new year in a couple months.

Welcome 2010!