China # 6 // OLYMPICS -- An Asian-American-Norwegian (by adoption) in China

I just got back from China, and I haven't slept in over 30 hours. So excuse me if I sound incoherent. I have never felt so American as at the Olympics. There's something about being in a large group of the same screaming countrymen that draws intense patriotism out of you.

We saw the men's 100 M preliminary heats, the hammer throw, and the high jump.

It says USA!

I clamored, I cheered, I cried.

My Norwegian friend Stine, who is AWESOME, had two tickets to the handball finals (handball is not that game we played at recess; google it! it's an insanely intense sport, especially in European countries) and was kind enough to invite me. She had no idea when she got the tickets in Norway that her home country was going to make it to the finals. But they were able to beat (barely) Korea to advance against huge hulking Russians. Russians are intimidating.

To prepare, we painted our faces, with Heia (Go! in Norwegian) on the left cheek and the Norwegian flag on the right cheek.

(I don't know why, but the video plays only 5 seconds of the 16 seconds that it should.)

And Norway won! They crushed those Russians, 34-27.

China # 5 // Horseback Riding and Puling Temple

I have many, many pictures, but too little time and words to fully explain the context and circumstances of the following photographs. Plus, I'm getting lazy.  So I'm just going to post pictures accompanied by a few clarifying sentences; I'm done with my meanderings for now. 

We went on a trip to Inner Mongolia where we went ATV-ing, shot bow-and-arrows, mingled with locals, and went horseback riding (not all at the same time).  It was incredibly insanely fantastically gorgeous. 

While riding our horses, we stumbled upon a newly-wed couple taking advantage of Mongolia's stunning landscape.

Throughout the trip we stayed in these Mongolian homes called "yurts."  Sometimes filthy, sometimes adorable, these yurts kept us cool during the day and warm at night. 

The other half of the trip was spent in a place called Chengde in northern China's Hebei Province.  It was, in 1703, the summer residence of the Kangxi Emperor.  Today, it is home to Puling Temple, a Buddhist Temple that boasts the world's largest wooden statue of Buddha.  Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures of the Buddha, as doing so presents a great sign of disrespect.

 These scarves were handmade by the monastery's monks.  They are said to bring good luck to the traveler. 

Even though it's a tourist attraction, Puling Temple is still an official monastery, attracting many religious followers and pilgrims.

All this history and culture, no matter what your religious beliefs are, are an undeniably priceless part of China's historical development. 

China # 4 // the great wall

I apologize for the lack of entries.  This time, there is no overbearing government to blame, only myself. I just got back from a trip to Shanghai (shout-out to Katy!), and before that, I was horseback riding on the mountains of Inner Mongolia. But one at a time.  (As you can see, my blogs are extremely backed-up.  They'll be up eventually.) 

First, the Great Wall. A requisite trip for every traveler's itinerary, today's Great Wall of China spans 4,000 miles, making it one of the largest feats of mankind in the history of the world.  It was originally built around 200 BC by Shi Huangdi of the Chin Dynasty to keep out nomadic tribes.  200 BC -- that's 200 years before Christ. 

It's said that at the time of its construction, there were 1 million inhabitants of the nascent nation-state.  Estimates stipulate that 250,000 people, or, a quarter of the population worked on the Great Wall.  Now, according to my sketchy mathematics and questionable analysis, there is a 25% chance that your ancestor (if you're Chinese) worked on the Great Wall.  This notion of ancestry resonated within me throughout the trip.

I had been to the Great Wall once before in my life. It was eight years ago, and that time, vendors, children, tourists littered the wall. This time it was completely different.  Our program director described the visit as a 10k hike to a part of the wall that rarely had visitors. 10k is long, I thought, but it's the Great Wall -- lots of tourists, we'll go slow, it'll be flat, it'll  be OK! I was completely wrong. The hike was grueling, exhausting, punishing: at times regrettable but at times incredible. 10 k is fine, but the Wall kept going up and up and up. 

It was like climbing crumbling collapsing stairs for 10 kilometers.  

 

We were dropped off by bus, to the section of the wall tourists usually do not venture. The section of the Wall we hiked, known as Jinghanling, was prohibited to the general public because of the large number of accidents foreign tourists were receiving. (That day, in fact, a tourist fell and broke his leg and had to be carried away on a stretcher by hired peasants that farmed corn near the wall.) 

But thanks to a new law that prohibits people from suing for accidents originating in China's national historic landmarks, the dangerous portion of the Wall had reopened.  

The 2,000 year old wall was crumbling, broken, and awash in lost memories and forgone pasts.

 Some parts were stolen by peasants that needed to build homes and some parts were stolen by the passages of time. But the Great Wall is so much more than the sum of its parts.

There were other peasants that kept trying to offer to carry our bags or sell us water.

Suffice it to say, the 10k hike was extremely dangerous with absolutely no protection to protect an unassuming traveler from a 20 ft. drop and a swift break to the neck. 

But it was this pure, unadulterated, untainted, unforgiving quality of the wall that made this experience so incredible.  

For miles around, we were the only people to be seen. No obnoxious tour groups, no loud guides, it was complete silence except for the sounds of nature and our tiresome pants. To know that my view may have been the same view of my ancestors, that these mountains were the same ones that occupied this landscape thousands of years ago, that the very brick my feet stood on was laid by my ancestors ... It was surreal. 

China # 3 // lions, tigers, and (panda) bears. oh my!

This entry is specifically geared towards those who are less inclined at reading passages of text, ahem, jiyeh aka jane.

So one of the things that is so great about Beijing is that it is incredibly cheap. That being said, one ticket to the zoo cost 20 kuai, or, about $3. As a point of comparison, the standard ticket price at the Bronx Zoo is $15 -- and that they don't even have pandas.

There's about 30 people in the program here in Beijing. We're all really close, but here's a picture of the group I hang out with most. From L to R, it's a picture of us in the zoo: tommy, bryan, stine, me, esther, mackenzie. It goes without saying that Beijing is gorgeous.


But entering the zoo, we started to see why exactly the ticket was so cheap. Economically speaking, a cheap admission ticket translates to low overhead costs, which translates into not-so-great environments for the animals.

The lions, especially, had it rough. They were kept in these small cages, only a few feet across, resulting in these huge felines pacing the cage, around and around and around.


The tigers had it better, being in a semi-natural environment surrounded by a huge moat.


There were also leopards.

Elephants too!

The best part of the zoo though, were the PANDAS. I've never seen pandas in my life. They are often described as looking like people in panda suits. They are incredibly incredibly cute, but more incredibly lazy. When we were at the panda reserve, all the pandas were laying around, in a semi-conscious state of stupor. Once in a while, one would lift an arm and arouse great attention and excitement from on-lookers.

They like to sleep.

I especially enjoy the above picture. I like to think that the panda started to roll over, then got tired, and was like, "screw it. i'm sleepy," and fell asleep.

There's an unfortunate reason for their lethargic nature. For the past 50 years, the panda population has been rapidly declining. Because of their obscenely small number, their present population is the result of years of in-breeding: cousins with cousins, sisters with brothers. Ergo, they are presently some of the dumbest animals on Earth. Mother pandas have lost all instinctual knowledge on giving birth. When she gives birth, there must be handlers present to whisk the baby away, lest the unknowing, semi-retarded mother sees the object coming out of her as some sort of threat and injures it.

Nevertheless, they are THE cutest animals on earth. And though they may be lazy, they respond, like all animals on the face of this planet, to food. I was taking pictures of the sleeping pandas when a metal door opened. Out came a woman with a bucket, and like Pavlov's dogs, the pandas perked up and slowly charged towards the food.

They sat in a line, like they were in class, waiting for their handler to feed them.

They like to eat bamboo.

Note: some people asked for pictures of the party/clubbing scene here. I assure you, it goes well, and I have many stories. They'll be up later; if you really want them now, ask me online. I think I'm going to just make one entry dedicated solely to that.

Also on its way, stories/pictures of the Great Wall!

Also, I want to give an update on the censorship here. Youtube has stopped working entirely, but google images is now open. Uploading videos is still impossible. But I want to highlight Shawn's comment on China #2.

"china, like every country in the world, has more than its share of problems and too many things it wants to simply sweep under the rug. but at the same time, look at where this country was even just 20 years ago, it has come a long way. it has grown from a legit 3rd world country to one that will be hosting the olympics and one of the superpowers of the world. perhaps i'm being naive, or that i'm biased because of my ties to my motherland, but i believe that things will keep getting better in the future. as a nation becomes a greater power, it becomes more visible on the world stage, and things such as political repression and other unfortunate things that would gone unnoticed years ago will not anymore."

And he's totally right. While China does have many problems, it has come an incredibly long way. Running a country of 1.3 billion people is not an easy feat. Each great empire has its fair share of mistakes, miscalculations, and misplaced judgment. China is no different; America is no different. It's part of the evolutionary process that so defines society: we learn from mistakes and move on; and we are better for it. I am proud of how far China has come, and I hope, I sincerely hope that they continue to progress in the right direction economically and politically.

Though I was born in America, hold an American passport, and by all means am extremely proud of my country and what it stands for, I am Chinese by blood. China, this magnanimous, mysterious, brooding country is the land of my ancestors. The Chinese culture and its history is incredibly beautiful and complex and awe-inspiring. But that topic deserves a blog all for itself.

dancing.

There's something about uninhibited, unabashed dancing that is so universal and appealing to the human soul. A friend introduced me to this video and it's one of my very favorites right now.

China isn't letting me upload videos, so please follow this link, and watch it, from the beginning to the end. There's a new blog on its way, but before that I wanted to show you this.

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/videos.shtml?fbid=TaI5S

China # 2 (Or, On the Importance of Being Free)

I apologize in advance for two things: (1) the length of time between this blog and the last, and (2) the overly academic nature that this entry is about to take.

The reason that I have failed to regularly blog is only partially my fault. Yes, I have been exceedingly busy with various things, but much of the lag can be blamed on another culprit, one that is entirely out of my control and yet I am entirely liable to: the iron-clenched-hand of the Chinese government.

The entry that I had been working on, which includes pictures of a visit to Tiananmen Square, a video of my friends eating fried scorpion and starfish, and pictures of semi-illegal fake shoes and watches, has so far been unable to pass the muster of the Chinese government censorship. I had spent a cumulative amount of 2.5 hours trying to upload various videos and pictures, resulting in myself being somewhat peeved. So I have forsaken that entry in lieu of this entry which will discuss the said government control and censorship. But don’t despair dear readers, the entry with all the pictures and stuff will be up (hopefully) in a few days.

The government’s control can be seen everywhere. Most overtly, it takes form in a censored Internet. Google news doesn’t work, political blogs like huffingtonpost.com don’t work, NBC and ABC’s websites don’t work, nor does hulu.com. Youtube sometimes works, depending on the time of the day. Blogspot only started working in the past 3 months. Search engines work, but they are a bit nuanced. For example, if I google-image search “Tiananmen Square Massacre” in America, pictures of bloodied students, tanks, guns, and rioters will appear. In China however, I get nothing but a blank page that reads, “error in loading this page.”

I wonder if this blog counts as “political.” David Sch said it best: “I was wondering if your internet would be censored or not. I guess if I start getting really positive messages about China from you written with poor syntax I'll assume something is afoot.”

Government control can also be seen on television. The Ministry of Propaganda (yes, that is a real government organization) makes sure that there is one channel solely dedicated to showing overly positive images of Chinese soldiers and citizens responding to the earthquake. Handsome young men and women, in crisp red and green uniforms, valiantly march through rubble, while inspiring classical music swells in the background. While it is true that China’s response to the Sichuan disaster has been remarkably impressive in letting in foreign press and foreign aid, they have unfairly exploited this disaster for controlling public opinion. Also, whereas there are no American news shows, there are 3 channels dedicated to showing Cuban news; this is unsurprising as Cuba and China share the same economic and political values of Communism.

The text in Chinese reads: "We'll destroy old world and build new." It was made in 1966 and shows a Chinese soldier destring the Crucifix, Buddha, and various Chinese text

Government control doesn’t stop with mass media. It turns out there is an explanation for this ridiculously thick air (see last entry). The Chinese government is doing something called cloud seeding. It’s a process where the government shoots rockets into the air filled with silver iodine. This silver iodine breaks up in the atmosphere, and it combines with dry-ice placed there by planes. By a process with details that are beyond my general-knowledge, the chemicals create pollution-capturing clouds. These newly created clouds create not only rain, but literally suck the pollution out of the air. This has been going on for the past seven days. Thus, every day of the past week has been filled with dirt, smog, and pollution-laced acid rain. Nice.

Most dangerously however, the government controls the minds of young Chinese citizens. I was talking with my speaking partner (the University pairs us up with a native Chinese to practice our newly acquired language skills) about the United States and the rights of its citizens enumerated by the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights, a document that protects a nation’s citizens from its government, was a foreign concept to this 24-year old woman born and bred on this Chinese soil. I told her about freedom of speech, the freedom from illegal search and seizure, the freedom of religion, and the freedom of the press. This was the first time she had heard of such things and seemed exceedingly amused. When I emphasized the importance of a free press, separated from the control of the government, she gave me a quizzical look. I explained to her that the press represents the voice of the people, and that with government control of the press, it loses its power to act as a check and balance on our government officials. She then said, “But our Chinese government would never lie to us; it always does the right thing.” She reminded me of myself in high school, when I unquestionably believed every single thing that my teachers, counselors, and pastor told me.

Don’t get me wrong – the United States can be just as bad when it comes to spinning propaganda.

This shows Bush in 2003 giving up a thumbs-up sign on an air-craft carrier under a massive "Mission Accomplished" sign. This was taken during the Iraq War.

But the difference is that when the photo aired, the press had a field day, with MSNBC and CNN deriding the cheap photo-op for what it really was (conservative FOX news was conspicuously silent about it): the insistence of an insecure regime that tried to get an American public to believe that they were “winning the war on terror.” 90,000 dead Iraqi civilians later, 4,114 dead Americans later later, zero weapons of mass destruction later, we know that in reality, the mission was and is nowhere near accomplished. I can't say for sure that the Chinese public would see through its own government with an equally keen eye. And for those that do have the ability to think critically and question the government, they have no vehicle to voice their opinion and are unjustly, albeit legally, thrown into jail.

In other news, Jesse Helms, ultra-conservative senator from North Carolina died today. Reading about him and his political life begs the question of the day: is the government supposed to be a vehicle of the people, a pure representation of their values and belief system, or is it supposed to be a steadfast, guiding moral beacon of light in this ever-changing society? The latter is what Jesse Helms believed in, fighting for anti-abortion, pro-religious values. But I think the majority of the United States believes in the former. The government should belong to the people, it should be held accountable to the people; it is the people.

But I think China believes in the second one.