Full of Pride

Apologies for the lack of posts as of late; October hasn’t slowed down for a second with work and the Smith boys were in Shanghai off and on the last two weeks. Family time is great, but coupled with 9-10 hour workdays (and leaving even though there’s more work to do), but it’s nice to have some me time again.

For those of you who aren’t facebook friends with me and didn’t see my shameless self-promotion, I’m going to post my article here, too. It’s really exciting to see your byline in the newspaper (and I realize this gives up my attempts of anonymity on the site so know “big brother” has figured me out).

I was really, really excited to cover this year’s ShanghaiPRIDE festival for the paper. It’s only the second time that a LGBT event has been hosted in China and acceptance of this community has a long way to go, but the reasons are much, much different in the US.

I don’t think I’m going to go out on a limb when I say this, but much of the “debate” over gay marriage and DADT in the US stems from religious reasons. There really is no religion here influencing the attitudes of the Chinese. I think the main issue here is that parents have narrow ideas of what their children are supposed to do in life. Children are supposed to get married (preferably before 25), get good jobs, make babies and then support the parents. Being gay doesn’t fit so well in this picture.

It was really neat talking to some of the people in the gay community, and it’s really exciting seeing an event (rather series of events) in a country that lacks a bit with human rights. And it was even more exciting to be able to cover it for the country’s largest English language newspaper. They’re not covering it in the Chinese media (or so far they haven’t), but as one person I talked to said “as the younger generations who would want to cover this gain positions that can make decisions there will probably be more coverage.”

Whatever your opinions on gay rights/marriage/military service may be, there’s no denying that ShanghaiPRIDE is a step in the right direction for China.

Noble Nobel

Just want to give a shout out to Liu Xiaobo, an important human rights figure in China for being awarded this year’s Nobel Peace prize. I’ll let you know if they run anything in the Chinese media - it’s doubtful.

My new love: Moganshan

Views from Moganshan Mountain. I was in love!

So yesterday I talked all about Hangzhou, so I’m going to devote today’s post to Moganshan, arguably one of my new favorite places in China. Typically, I have fallen in love places here that evoke a sense of culture, history and untarnished, authentic “Chinese-ness” (however, those places are fewer and farer in between). I can’t really say that Moganshan screams “China”, but it is definitely historical and for about 72 hours I forgot I was in China.

Moganshan used to the destination of choice for foreigners living in Shanghai and surrounding areas back in the early 1900s, before the commies came to power. Most of the architecture isn’t your typical Chinese temples or pagodas – it’s actually a lot of Western-style mountain homes. I guess Mao like this area too much to completely rid it of its capitalists influences so the houses stayed intact.

I think the area kind of dropped off the radar for foreigners (but stayed popular for some Chinese tourists) until a few years ago, when the influx of “laowei” really got going. Even with the increasing popularity, it’s still got a small-town, mountain village feel with the restored stone houses that have been converted to guest houses and the few hotels dotted along the one paved road going up the mountain.

We stayed in a bread-and-breakfast type house a little ways up the mountain. It’s run by the wife of a former “mini-media mogul” in Shanghai, Mark Kitto, who started the first series of expat mags in the city - only to have them taken away by the CCP (that’s another interesting story which should make a good blog post later). While his wife is busy with their mini-hotel, he runs “The Lodge”, a restaurant/coffee shop that has AMAZING food. We ate there the first night and loved it so much we were squeezed in for a meal the next night too. The staff (and Mark and his wife) were super hospitable, a nice change of pace from the usual Chinese sub-par service. It was fun talking to Mark and getting his opinion on writing and media, particularly in Shanghai. In a way it inadvertently helped me distinguish which path to continue to strive for.

Being surrounded by blue skies and ever greens on the mountain was just what mom and I needed to escape from Shanghai. At night we could see every star in the sky – most nights in Shanghai or any other major Chinese city you’re lucky to spot 5 (and even then, they could just be satellites). We went hiking (more like walking along paths and up some stairs) for most of the day on Monday and even stopped off at a “tea plantation” for lunch. All the food on the mountain is locally grown and our lunch of farm-fresh veggies and pork was one of the tastiest meals I’ve had in a while. Just to give you an idea of how fresh the meat is we saw a chicken go from walking around with its head on, then with its head off, then with its feathers plucked and then on someone’s plate. Mom was worried about the sanitation, but as I told her, if people aren’t getting sick and its recommended by the house then I’m sure we’ll be ok.

By the time we left on Tuesday afternoon, we were both exhausted. Four days of walking, biking and hiking had done us in. Now, I’m not out of shape (I don’t think) but muscles were hurting in my legs that I hadn’t used in quite a while. Perhaps it was all the hills on the mountain.

Anyway. I’m kind of sad to be back at work and not on holiday, but if there was a time to need a break and a place to go, Moganshan in October was just what I needed!

Weekend away!

Just a glimpse of the crowds in Hangzhou....

But totally worth it for views like this!

It’s amazing what a little time away from work and the craziness of Shanghai will do to the spirit! My mom and I got home yesterday from a great four-night trip to Hangzhou and Moganshan. Despite it being a national holiday, it was the perfect time to go - the weather was, for the most part, great and we spent the holiday walking, biking, hiking, reading, drinking wine and eating. So today’s post will be about Hangzhou because I have too much to say about both places to keep it to one post!

I was borderline paranoid that our days in Hangzhou were going to be disastrous. Hangzhou is probably the most popular place to for the October National Holiday because the fall is probably the best time to go. But for the two of us, we almost enjoyed the hoards of people. As my mom said, “it added another dimension to the experience.”

The most famous attraction in Hangzhou is the West Lake, which is in the heart of the city. Luckily for my mom and me, we were staying at a hotel practically on the West Lake. Despite the fact that it took more than an hour to get from the train station to the hotel, once we were there we could walk (or bike) almost anywhere. Friday night when we arrived we just took a little stroll along a path along the lake, but on Saturday morning we decided to join the, literally, thousands of visitors and try to see it all.

We rented bikes that morning and set off on our journey around the lake. It started out alright with dodging the masses, but by noon the lake and sidewalks were so packed with people we could barely ride our bikes. And then there were all the “country bumpkins” who had most likely never seen foreigners before (at least a blond foreigner). There were countless “hello’s”, stares and people wanting to take a picture with the foreigners. It’s really funny the stark difference between Chinese people who do this kind of stuff who mean it in a polite way, those who can be rude about it and those where you can’t really tell. I think my mom finally gets why most of us foreigners get so annoyed with the shouts and stares.

I tried to mentally prepare for this leg of our trip, but I was worried the plethora of “China days” I’ve been having would get the best of me. I was also worried it would be too much for Mom to handle. Despite the massive amounts of people, we really had a fun time exploring the lake and a little bit of the city. Mom was such a good sport, too. She just kept laughing about all the people. If it was any other person I would have just given up and gone back to the hotel to take a nap - but she kept wanting to go out and see stuff.

And the lake was really spectacular and beautiful. Even with crowds of people, it was calming and relaxing to be surrounded by water a greenery.

After a long morning and afternoon of bike riding and exploring, we went to an outdoor show on the lake called “Impression of West Lake” directed by China’s Stephen Spielberg, Zhang Yimou, that night. We had seen another outdoor waterfront show that was directed by this guy in Yangshou last December, but the one in Hangzhou is much better. For anyone reading this blog in China who is debating whether or not to see the show - go. It was a neat story and the lighting, effects and backdrop were all beautiful! The only downside was that it rained the whole time, but, clad the poncho they gave us, we sat in the rain and enjoyed the show, once again laughing at our uber-Chinese experience.

After an eventful day and half in Hangzhou, the next morning we had a little time to go exploring another part of the lake that we hadn’t seen the previous two days (it’s a big lake) before heading off to Moganshan! We finished off our Chinese holiday with even more people than the day before arriving to the mountain were we would find the isolation and quiet we were ready for!

How to win a Chinese girl

The other day I went to lunch with two guys from the paper. One is the only other foreign reporter in the office and the other is a Chinese guy who is a long-time editor with the paper. During lunch the foreign guy was talking about how Chinese girls aren’t into him. It was kind of surprising because this guy is tall, buff and not unfortunate looking. I would think Chinese girls would probably throw themselves at him. He said this is not the case.

His reason was that he wasn’t rich – ok fair enough. Shanghainese women are notoriously known for being gold diggers of sorts, but there are plenty of non-Shanghainese women in the city looking for a nice foreign guy. Well the Chinese editor pipes in with some advice for our foreign friend about how to woo the ladies next time he’s at the club. Of course, all the advice was for material possessions.

First is a nice watch. He said that a nice watch – even if its just a fake Rolex – will help make that first impression a memorable one.

Next was the shirt. He told the foreign guy he needed to get some nice shirts made. Oh, and a pair of nice-looking cuff links would also be worth the (maybe as cheap as 50 kuai) investment.

Third on the list were nice shoes. He said that women always look at guys’ shoes, adding that they also need to be well polished.

Last on the list was a nice car, which is obviously a little out of price range for someone earning a comparable salary to an entry-level reporter in the US and who is living in a country where taxes on imported luxury cars can make them at least twice as much as they cost at home.

The foreign guy just started laughing at the funny (and superficial) advice our Chinese coworker was offering. He jokingly asked “Can I just get a car key so she thinks I have a car and then I’ll just tell her it was stolen later in the night?” Ha. Problem solved.

All this talk from my Chinese coworker of fake watches and fake appearance of money made me glad I’m not a foreign guy trying to impress a Chinese girl.

Fall is on the way! Yay!

It’s started! The weather is cooling down and there’s a slight crisp in the air. Fall is one of my favorite seasons in China... It’s really one of about two good times of the year for weather in China. Summer is blisteringly hot and the winter is damp and cold. There’s about four weeks in fall and in spring (although we missed out on spring this year) when the skies are blue and the temperature is just cool enough to really enjoy the outdoors.

While I love this weather, some people think its too cool. I got a message from a Chinese friend just the other day saying “The weather is starting to change and get cold so take care!” Take care? This is the best weather we’ve had in a while! I told her that this was my favorite time of year to which she responded, “Really? When I was riding my bike I was cold!” Chilly? Maybe, but cold? Come on!

She’s not the only one. One my Thursday/Friday weekend, I took advantage of the cooler weather and rode my bike around some of my favorite parts of Shanghai. As I rode I saw some outdoor vendors were already selling scarfs! Keep in mind it’s like in the mid 60’s. Where I come from 60 degree weather doesn’t warrant a scarf! I was especially shocked to see some of these vendors wearing semi-heavy coats (not quite “winter coats” but they seemed a little too warm for the weather). To put it in perspective I was in shorts, T-shirt and a little light weight jacket.

I thought it was a Chinese thing, but then this afternoon I went to a little coffee shop to spend a little time studying Chinese and there was a group of foreigners some of whom were wearing fleece jackets and scarfs! In 60-degree weather! Again, I was in shorts and had brought along a long-sleeve shirt because it was a little windy! Maybe it’s just me wanting to get one last use of my warm weather clothes, but I thought fleece jackets and scarfs were a little unnecessary.

One a side note, it’s amazing what a little two-day break from any work (no editing, no freelancing and no teaching) and some fantastic weather will do! I’ve been having a some frequent “China Days” but this weather and this break where I actually had time to do things I wanted to do, like bike ride, get a pedicure, go running and spend some time studying Chinese, have put in me in such a better mood! Yay for fall and for not overworking!

The holiday that wasn't

It’s that time of year when the weather starts to get a bit cooler and the government changes up the work week for a few holidays. They do this a few times throughout the year and, in a word, it’s so annoying. These next few weeks seem to be even worse.

There’s the Mid-autumn Festival which was on Wednesday (yesterday) and changes every year because the holiday changes according to the lunar calendar. Then there’s the National Day (think Independence Day in China) which is always on Oct 1st. It’s pretty problematic to follow a calendar that changes every year for holidays and combine it with the Western calendar (you know, the one the whole world follows), but I try not to ask why much these days in China.

So the government gives people three days off for Mid-autumn and 7 days for National Day, but then people have to work on the weekends to make up for it - so basically its like having one day off for Mid-autumn and about 5 days for National Day. Last year, luckily the two holidays fell on the same week, but this year, the whole system is really screwed up. Here’s a look at the year’s worth of Chinese holidays and readjustments. Even the Chinese people think its an unnecessary inconvenience.

Luckily (or even more confusing) for me since I work for a newspaper we are able to follow our own schedule. However, this also got screwed up because of lack of planning. I was supposed to have off from Tuesday to Saturday, but of course that was changed (because some people decided to not turn in stories on time). And my weekend turned out to be Thursday and Friday and then I have to work on Saturday through Wednesday. So stupid.

I just try to go with things and not ask why, because asking “why” in China will just make you even more angrier than having to work on a weekend. At least for me, what was supposed to be 5-days off will be three extra days of annual leave I can take at my leisure.