Thanksgiving in Guangzhou

Who would have thought we would be in Guangzhou in 2015 for Thanksgiving! Life seems to be full of interesting twists and turns.  We have been blessed with the opportunity to broaden our horizons and enjoy unusual experiences.  Thanksgiving in Guangzhou this year was one of those remarkable experiences. 

This semester we have had Thursday off with no classes all semester, so Thanksgiving was a day that fell into that schedule nicely.  On the Trip Advisor’s “Top Ten Things To Do In Guangzhou” number three is Cycle Canton.  Since bicycles are part of the culture and a way of life in Guangzhou, we decided to see what that was all about.  Our BYU supervisors, Jamie and Genial Ballentine, happened to be visiting in Guangzhou for this week so they decide to join us as well.  We became a group of seven plus two guides. 

We took #3 line metro one stop, #6 five stops downtown to the Garden Hotel area to meet our guides and bicycles to start the trek! Ben and Natalie were our guides, two young entrepreneurs, both of Chinese decent. Ben’s parents were both born in Guangzhou but moved to San Francisco where Ben was born and grew up.  He has returned to Guangzhou first to teach English and now to start a business.  Natalie is native Guangzhou.  Both speak very good English and both know the inside story of Guangzhou.  Craig and I have been in Guangzhou now for 16 months and we were amazed that this bike tour only visited one place we had already seen. They shared very insightful historical information, back alleys, green spaces, as we biked 17 kilometers in four hours through the city of Guangzhou.  We actually ended our tour in Zhujiang New town, the metropolitan area next to the Pearl River. Best Thanksgiving bike ride ever!

The expat community of the Guangzhou Consulate are always very generous, they live in posh accommodations with all the living comforts we are used to enjoying.  The Allen, Barron and Ashton families invited all of us to join them for a legitimate Thanksgiving dinner, turkey, stuffing, potatoes and gravy, cream corn, yams, cranberries, pumpkin pie and a chocolate cake thrown in for good measure.  I am not sure if the food was extra delicious of if we just hadn’t eaten American food for a while but Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous!

Vegetable and Fruit Bleaching

Part of the daily routine in Guangzhou is a trip to the vegetable and fruit market.  Thank goodness they are both in the same location! So off we go to purchase whatever is for dinner.  We have a very small refrigerator and our capacity to carry much back isn’t overwhelming either so it all works out.

All produce must be scrubbed in bleach water.  The irrigation system here leaves a lot to be desired and requires that everything must be scrubbed with bleach before it can be consumed.  I will leave the rest of that piece to your imagination!  Two drops of Chinese bleach in a bowl of water pretty much takes care of  the issues and has managed to keep us healthy while we are here! 

Lotus Mountain

On the far south of Guangzhou is a treasure indeed!  We took the metro to the most southern tip where the metro that serves 20 million people runs out.  Then we took bus 93 for a few more miles and ended up at a park called Lotus Mountain.  The lotus is significant in China, every Buddha that I have seen, and I have seen a few dozen, either stands or sits on a lotus then projects to many different heights and width.  We have seen the sleeping Buddha, the jade Buddha, the tallest Buddha, Buddhas in Thailand, VietNam, Cambodia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and across China all with their accompanying Lotus bed. 

Lotus Mountain has its own Buddha and lotus but there is much more to that park.  Part of it was once called “The Quarry.”  There are great tall rock slabs with greenery growing out of the granite rocks.  It is really a sight to behold. 

This late November day was 100% humidity with intermittent rain and constant fog and mist at 86 degrees.  Hot rain is a concept that my brain must adjust to; I always associate rain with cold temperatures. This was a rainforest day that provided cover and drizzle perfect for this park.  An umbrella was a must during parts of the visit, when it rains it is a water deluge that cannot be avoided. That may have contributed to so few people at the park.  We literally enjoyed the park without the massive crowds that usually are ever-present on a weekend in Guangzhou.

Shenzhen

For some reason that we ware unable to determine, our Visa to China this trip is a F- Visa with only two entries.  Neither BYU or SCUT seem to want to take responsibility for how this happened. What it really means to me is that we are not able to leave China during this semester.  So given those circumstances we have focused our weekends on interesting places to visit inside China.  We ventured down to Shenzhen right after our classes ended on Friday.  We have really never spent time in Shenzhen before.  My first trip to Shenzhen was in 2000 with Garrett and his friend Archer.  We crossed the border to find we were about the only people there.  At that time Shenzhen was a created city, newly built and sparkling clean, already for occupancy, just a few street sweepers keeping debris off the streets. 

We had a few opportunities in 2013-2014 to pass through Shenzhen on our way to Hong Kong but never stopped to spend any time in this city.  This weekend we changed all of that.   I must say Shenzhen has really grown into itself and then some. 

We spent time in the art district.  Most of the bulk art, we see in the U.S., we are told, originates in the art district of Shenzhen.  They are absolute masters at coping and mass producing art pieces.  Hotel size and numbers, business building size and numbers line the streets of this area.  Artist at work in the streets and on the corners; pretty amazing but not to surprising. 

Next stop was Splendid China, a park that is dedicated to the history and culture of the ethnic groups all over China.  Each area was represented in native costume, dance and typical skills from that area.  It was an interesting synopsis and representation of China’s culture.  The shows ranged from small and entertaining to a regular Las Vegas show, costuming and glitz included.

 

TED Style Talks at SCUT

Craig and I were asked to prepare a TED-Style talk in English to present to students in an evening lecture.  We were allowed to select our own topic but it needed to be approved before we could speak.   We must have made good choices because our topics were approved!  I selected “American Education” and Craig selected “The Changing American Family.” Needless to say we were a little surprised to see the introductory  slide when we arrived! We weren't told  that the group of students were the International Office "Communist Youth League Committee"  at their meetings on November 12 and November 19. 

The first presentation only had one glitch; the power went off about midway through the first presentation. We had about ten minutes of down time waiting to IT to arrive and get things up and running again.  The students had a five-minute Q&A after our presentations that didn’t seem to be adequate.  Many students were still standing and wanted to ask questions but the moderator was working very hard to keep things on track. 

There never seems to be a dull moment both the expected and the unexpected keeps us focused!

Foshan

A day trip out of town seemed to be in order after reading papers for days!  Sixty-eight minutes on the Metro puts us in Foshan to see the sights and take in the culture just outside of Guangzhou.  Zumiao Temple, Shunde Qinghui Park, NanFeng Ancient Kiln and Qiandeng Lake kept us busy.  Most of the Chinese porcelain is made in Foshan and it is an exquisite rival to Lladro. Very fine detail but the colors are all vibrant unlike Llardo. 

The Dragon Dance at the Zumiao Temple is exercise for a week, all performed by young Chinese men.  The drums, the costumes and the audience were all part of the morning entertainment.

A boat ride on the Qiandeng Lake at the end of the day was the perfect ending to a change of pace for us.

Wisdom from Confucius!