Hong Kong

                                 

I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to take my kids to my favorite city in the world, Hong Kong. Our trip started off a little rocky, the flight was delayed seven hours due to bad weather in Hong Kong. I was impressed with our air carrier service, Dragonair, they provided tuna fish sandwiches and drinks for all of the passengers waiting.
Once we got to Hong Kong we went to bed and the next morning we went to OceanPark, a theme park with some animals. Due to rain in the morning it was not crowded so we could walk onto most rides and got to see jellyfish, pandas and other animals.
We went to the Night Market and Jade Market, which was fun and stopped by to visit the outside of the LDS Hong Kong temple.  We went to an hour of church and ran into some old friends. It is always good catching up with friends.The kids really liked visiting Monkey Hill, a natural reservoir that is overrun with monkeys.
Hong Kong has changed a lot in the ten years since we lived there. A lot of the small, mom and pop restaurants we loved have closed and it seemed like it was not as affluent as before.

Panda exhibit at OceanPark

LDS Hong Kong Temple

Jinkang Tea Cultural Street

Tea in China is as old as the country itself. The Chinese pride themselves in their blends of tea for medicinal use as well as for consumption. According to legend, tea was discovered by Emperor Shennong who lived in 2737 BC. He liked to drink boiled water because it was clean, so one day while on a trip a leaf fell into his cup of boiled water. He liked the taste so much that tea came into being.
Historical records such as the Eyra which was written in the third century BC dates tea being used int the  Zhou Dynasty which was about 1046-256 BC.
The tea market in Xi'an had various types of teas, flowers and herbs in baskets that you can choose and have bagged. Some tea was wrapped in gold foil, I think it's use was for a gift.
My favorite part of this market were the umbrellas strung up between the buildings on either side of the street.

Shengtang Peony Gadens

The Shentang Peony Gardens are 10 km south of Xi'an at the foot of the Qingling Mountains. The garden boasts of 400 different types of peonies, although by the time I made it out there, many had already wilted.  In the gardens is a temple built by a Taiwanese movie star named Li Jialin, in honor of a famous character from Chinese folklore Zhong Kui. The temple was dilapidated, but it had some carvings of deer in the windows. I had never seen deer in temple decor before.
I really liked this garden because there were only two groundskeepers and my youngest daughter and I there. It was a quiet piece of heaven.

The Peopny Fairy

Temple

Daming Palace Historical Museum

Xi'an, known anciently as Chang'an was the ancient capital of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). Daming Palace was the main royal palace. Today, most of it is in ruins, but it is open to the public for tours.
The site was discovered in 1957, and archaeological work was done from 1957-60. More work was done in the mid 1990s and a lot of renovation and excavation was done in 2010.
The name Daming Palace means Palace of Great Brilliance. Even the ruins showed why this would have been a fitting name.
As you walk through the gates, you come to the outer court, where all of the emperors official business was attended to. Here were three big halls, the Hanyuan Hall, Xuanzheng Hall, and Zichen Hall. These halls were known together as the Three Great Halls. Today, you can see ruins of the halls and the Hanyuan Hall has been rebuilt.
Next was the middle court where more business was conducted, and finally, the inner court which were the imperial residences.

Aqueduct 

Tomb unearthed in 2010

Hanyuan Hall

Replica of the Daming Palace complex

I love this picture. It is the original 1400 year old 

Hanyuan Hall wall with newly built buildings

in the background.

Old wall

My Two Cents: Volunteering in China

Don't let your kids come to China to "volunteer" unless you directly have evidence that it truly is volunteering. This doesn't mean going through companies like China Horizons, ILP, Travellers Worldwide, etc. (Please note, I am just trying to point out that even established companies such as these have issues, I am not trying to call out any specific company). Many of these companies are looking for cheap labor, and "volunteering" is the easiest route to that. What we have seen here is that many of these companies are hooked up to the "middlemen" that find foreign teachers for schools. Many of these schools are not for poor children in remote areas of the countryside, that could really benefit from volunteers. Many volunteers end up teaching very well off students in cities. Some of these middlemen, such as one that we know, are quite dishonest. This specific one has been kicked out of nearly every job-hunting group in Xi'An for lying, cheating, stealing money, vulgarity, and threatening violence. Once a friend of mine contacted him about a job (not knowing it was him until later) and requested the going rate for foreign teachers, he replied "are you kidding? I get native speakers who teach for free." By "volunteering" in this way, you are placing yourself in a vulnerable and potentially dangerous situation. You are making the rich here richer, not helping the poor. You are also disturbing the marketplace, becoming slave labor that says no English teacher must be treated with respect and fairness. If you want to come to China as a "volunteer" very careful think through what you are doing. Work directly with a school, as these companies are generally set up to profit off of you. After paying for your plane ticket, visa, and housing, the middleman will earn AT LEAST $16,000 USD a semester per teacher. It is better to work for a semester earning that $16,000 for yourself and pay the money for your plane ticket and visa, rather than putting yourself in this situation.
Many of these companies bring teachers here on a tourist visa rather than a working visa. This creates a lot of legal problems if the authorities catch you. A big question to ask the companies is what legal help if any is available to you. Not getting teachers a working visa is a red flag.
 If you know anyone who really wants to come to China to volunteer, and can't find a legit school we are more than willing to help while we are here.  My recommendation is don't volunteer. Accept the money they are willing and able to pay. There are plenty of places in China that can't get foreign teachers due to the low salary they are able to provide. If you want, you can donate that money you earn to an orphanage before you leave (but be careful about which orphanage there is a lot corruption, but that is a whole different blog post).

Traveling advice in China

Bring Tums - The change in diet can be a shock for most travelers to China

Jet Lag - If you keep your US sleeping schedule on the plane ride over, your body will take longer to adjust. I'd recommend following China time in the plane ride over. If it is nighttime here, force yourself to take a long nap. I've found that a sleep aid helps.

Smells - China is a buffet of smells. Some are pleasant and good. Others are putrid and wish you didn't have a nose.

                                                                                                                                       

Voltage - China runs on 220 volts. Most chargers for cell phones and computers can handle a range from 110-220 volts, but I'd be careful not to plug your curling iron directly into the voltage here. 

Currency - China is a cash society. It is extremely hard to find places that accept Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, etc.  There are money exchangers in the Beijing and Xi'an airports. They hide their fees by giving you a poor exchange rate. Your best bet is to use an ATM over here. Look on the outside of the ATM, it will show you if it does accept the same card you have. You'll be charged a modest transaction fee by your US bank, but it should be the best way to convert your money over here. Another idea is to exchange your money with your bank back in the US if they have the ability. Since you are a member, they shouldn't charge very much.  

Pick Pocketing - It can be a problem. To be safe, keep your wallet and passports safely guarded. 

Queuing - One thing that catches most foreigners off guard in China is the lack of lines. You'll be standing in line to board a bus and all the Chinese will then rush to the front. The government has tried to campaign in the past about the importance of not butting, but people ignore the advice. No one will look down on you if you follow the locals. It is their system, not ours. If they don't queue, you shouldn't either. It will be chaotic, but enjoy the experience. 

Lack of Personal Space - There are 1.5 billion people here. They live on top of each other with all the apartments around here.  They cram into buses and subways and elevators together. It is common for them to constantly brush against you. If they are trying to get in line, they might even push against you.

Lack of Common Sense - People do things here that have no rhyme or reason. One can go crazy or what I call changry, or  channoyed trying to make sense of all the nonsense. For example, people sometimes park their car in the middle of an intersection and go shopping. Enough cars park using the same method and then you have a horrendous traffic jam on your hands. Another example that makes Mr. Kungfuyankee go bonkers is at work. There is a convenience store located in our building. The workers always turn off the refrigerators making all the drinks warm.  When asked why they do it, they say it is winter time and cold outside thinking the drinks will stay cold. 

Water - Drink water that comes from a bottle, not from a tap.  You'll live longer. 

Religion - Can't proselyte in China. If locals ask you about being Christian (and they will if you engage in conversations with them), you can talk about religion in general. You just can't promote your own views by sharing your testimony or giving out literature. 

Traffic - Crossing the road is dangerous business here. Don't do it if you can avoid it. Follow the locals lead if you must. Also, when in a car believe in the driver that he won't get you killed. The traffic patterns make us Westerner's very nervous, but there is a method to their madness. They have a system and it works for the most part. 

Bathrooms - The public toilets will probably leave a lasting memory. Traditional hole-in-the-ground squatter toilets are still in abundance, but traditional Western-style porcelain thrones are becoming more and more common. Carry a small bag of tissues with you as an insurance policy, most toilets don't have TP inside. I have noticed recently that some places will hang one roll of TP on the outside wall. If they do, grab some before going to do your business.  They don't like you flushing the TP so a garbage can is usually provided next to the toilet. Many Western travelers have found out the hard way once they need TP that there is none to be found and have recycled TP from the garbage. Don't put yourself in this position, you have been warned! Those aren't the type of stories you want to tell people.

I can't prepare you for every surprise, but this should be a good start...

Ginyugou Scenic Spot

We spent a Saturday at the Ginyugou, which is a few miles outside of Xi'an. The area is a gorge with a small river running through it. Large cemeteries lined the hilltops. We took a boat ride down the river and ended up at a bamboo forest that we walked through. The towns people make money through farming and providing snacks and boat rides to the small groups of tourists who find their way to Ginyugou.

cemetery 

These boats were all welded by hand.

We drove down the dirt road to get to the 

bottom of the gorge. The yellow flowers in the 

distance are pressed to make a cooking oil called

fragrant flower oil.

Through the haze aka pollution you can see

Xi'an in the distance.