Two days of having Chinese friends who were familiar with the city, and able to speak the language, guide us around had helped us quickly tick off most of the things on our list (and of course made the experience much more enjoyable!). On our third day our first stop was the Shanghai Zoo. Although not as bad as some of the stories we'd heard, it was still a Mainland Chinese zoo, which is to say, not a place for the animal lover. We went primarily to see Pandas, which we did see, but it was also an interesting experience in terms of the way zoo goers treated the animals- kicking and stomping to get their attention, and at one point feeding coffee to the red pandas. Many of the animals had probably seen better days-especially the selection of house pets. For us, it was also interesting to be in a zoo accross the globe, where animals which are familiar to us (for me, these being raccoons and seagulls, both the bane of many a garbage-day in Canada) were an attraction.
When we left the zoo we headed for the China Pavilion, the only one remaining from the 2010 Expo. This was the first time since we'd arrived that I had to communicate anything more complex than "2 please" in Mandarin. It was then that I realized that the tricky bit isn't speaking, but rather understanding the answers to your questions. Thankfully, we met a subway employee nice enough to point out on a map how to get where we were going. Along the way, we stopped for food at one of the connecting stations, having skipped breakfast and arrived in the late lunch time of day. This was probably the cheapest food we had in the mainland-"Cantonese" Chow Mein (funny how even in China sometimes the food from other regions isn't authentic. Or I didn't understand the menu) for 11 Yuan (Less than 2 Dollars), and some very cheap sweets at the bakery next door.
The pavilion itself was fascinating. This was the first place, from what I can recall, where we learned the lesson that sometimes there IS a student discount, but it's only advertised in Chinese, even if the rest is also in English (look for学生）. We wondered briefly if we would have been granted that discount had our student cards not been from Hong Kong, which is technically China. Many people approaching the Pavilion were photographing their tickets with the building in the backdrop (since the building was on the ticket), and smiled happily at us. The whole process of getting in was quick, and we were quickly transported into a bizarre world of displays about the future of China.
Having finished the pavilion, we tried to go to the Shanghai Museum, which turned out to have already closed (we also ran into our friend who wanted to practice English again, and another who invited us to a "tea ceremony". Like I said before, this is a scam, and I had read about it in the travel reports from the Canadian government). We had gotten so much done so quickly in Shanghai that we actually took a break for a few hours before checking out Xintiandi (新天地）。 Meaning "New Earth and Sky", it's an upscale, up market newly constructed area. It was a bit too reminiscent of our own countries for us, and also too pricey. We quickly decided to go to McDonald's for a cheap reprieve from expensive food (this was probably the only time in my life I've ever suggested taking a taxi to McDonald's!).
Our last day in Shanghai was pretty subdued, having exhausted both our to-do list for the city, and ourselves. We spent the morning at the Shanghai Museum, which was both excellent (really, a must-see to get a taste of the history and culture of the country) and, inexplicably, free. This was followed by the Communist Party museum, and the purchase of a new memory card for my Camera, before heading to the airport.
Shanghai has two airports, and the one we flew out of, Hongqiao, is probably more used for domestic purposes. Within 15 minutes of arriving by cab, we had our bags checked, our tickets in hand, and were through security to KFC for dinner (where, unlike at home, the prices were the same in the airport as everywhere else), a sort of efficiency one doesn't find at many airports. The airport even provided free newspapers and internet, both of which usually cost money at home. Flying a Chinese airline was also interesting- many Hong Kong friends had told me to prepare for terrible service, and when the plane started boarding half an hour late, I felt they might be right. However, in comparison to what I'm used to in North America, they were actually quite wrong-we were given another free newspaper, served a meal, offered many drink re-fills, offered pillows and blankets (all of which a short flight like that wouldn't entail in Canada), and, despite our half hour delay taking off, arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule in Beijing.
Edit: I almost forgot to mention, one of these days in Shanghai was the first time I understood a pun in Chinese (I've read that they're pretty prevalent)! Since puns can't really be translated, I won't try, but for those who understand, I saw this ad, for a restaurant, written on the back of a cab: 57-57-5777 我吃我吃我吃吃吃。
Well, I thought it was good, anyway.
Saturday, 9 April 2011
China Pt.2: Shanghai Part 2
Having just left the train, we enjoyed the fact of sleeping in real beds. Enjoyed so much, in fact, that we both woke up much later than expected, and found ourselves rushing out the door. We met our two friends at people's square （人民广场）, from which we took a bus to Zhujiajiao (朱家角). While we were waiting for the bus, we grabbed some buns as breakfast from the small stand nearby (which were so good we went back for them the next day!). The bus itself was an experience. Instead of swiping your card (they have a system much like the octopus card) or paying when you got on the bus, once it started moving, and every time a passenger embarked, a lady would come by with a card reader and scan the card (make work job?). Aside from the usual seating arrangements, there were also fold-up seats located in the middles of the aisles (probably a safety hazard in the event of an evacuation), and so the bus was crammed. It's also worth noting that quite a few people were shocked to see foreigners on this bus, but a friendly wave or smile usually got the same result in return, especially with older people.
From the bus we had our first lengthy (about an hour) view of traffic and freeway driving in China. As amazed both of us foreigners, traffic was chaotic, yet we didn't witness any collisions (infact, in our whole time in the mainland, the only time we saw an accident was after the fact, as they were talking to the police). People were routinely passing on the inside, speeding, nudging into lanes, and even parking on the shoulder next to exit ramps (the shoulder on the rest of the highway was used as for yet more inside passing). As my friend pointed out "If I drove like this at home, I'd be arrested." Yet, it seemed as though everyone must have been paying a lot more attention driving than they do in our home countries. True, people would pass on congested streets, nudge into spaces much smaller than their cars, and honk their horns more often than I've ever heard in my life, but they also seemed to have little anger about it, and I never saw anyone run a red light (although I think I saw every other traffic law systematically broken).
When we arrived at the end of the busroute, our friends, who had never been to this village before, weren't certain as to how to get there. We were instantly surrounded by motorcycles offering rides and tours, but we opted for a cab instead. This was probably the easiest 12 Kuai (2 Dollars) the driver ever made ,since he took us across the street!
Zhujiajiao is an old village on the water. It's definitely looking to become touristy, but isn't too bad just yet. One of the first places we went was to eat: the food was easily some of the best I've ever had, and we tried what appeared to be bootleg Chinese wine (which tasted like Sprite). We were the only foreigners in the place, although I gather that all of the others were tourists from other parts of China (some, who probably don't see many foreigners, were taking pictures, although they probably didn't think we noticed).
Following the food, we ventured around the village. I really liked it; it was just at the right point where it was touristy enough to have some souvenir shops and guided boat rides, but not so touristy to make you not want to go. We did follow the village outside of the more touristy areas, where we saw ladies selling produce beside the road. We also saw what looked to be a playground, but was actually an outdoor exercise area for senior citizens (our friends tell us that these are funded through the lottery). These are appearantly found around China, and I have seen them in Hong Kong. We followed this up with a snack (candy glazed crab apples on a stick), and a boat ride through the waterways. Our Chinese friends and the man rowing the boat found it hilarious when, after the man told us that a bridge was around 450 years old, I replied that it was older than my country (by which I mean Canada in the form it is today).
As I said, the village had souvenir shops. The one souvenir we saw and instantly fell in love with was a hat made to look like the PLA (People's Liberation Army, China's armed forces), hat. Of course, showing that you love something is not good leverage when trying to bargain on the price, and the lady asked for some large amount of money for two. At this point, our two Chinese friends start having a shouting match with her in Mandarin, which ended in us leaving, as they felt we should only pay 50 yuan (7 dollars) for two. We looked through the whole village, and eventually came to the realization that that was the only place with the hats. We returned and resumed the shouting match (later, we were told she was saying to them "You're Chinese, you should be on my side!"), and eventually we paid 80 (11 Dollars) for two.
As we learned, one never goes hungry when spending time with Chinese friends, and upon return to the city centre we proceeded directly to a restaurant. Our friends were quite excited about this place, and for good reason: it was weird. Rather than a door, there are 9 holes, which must be pushed in the right combination (available by making a reservation) in order to open the door. The lighting is dim, the decor post-modern, and the bathroom doors are trick doors to open. The food was pretty good too, what we in Canada call "Fusion".
After a great dinner, we headed to the riverfront. We had wanted to take a ferry accross, and found one, for the price of half a yuan (7 cents), which I think is the cheapest thing I've ever paid for in my entire life. Turns out that it was cheap because it wasn't really meant for walk-on passengers, but rather motorcycles. It was fine though, and on the other end we followed a nice walkway up to the tall buildings of PuDong, reported to have some of the world's tallest buildings. We went up one of the Hyatt hotels, but couldn't really get a good view, since the weather was quite foggy. We also went to go see the crazy looking Pearl TV tower, but didn't bother going up for the same reason. Finally, we returned to "the Bund", an area of early 1900's colonial architecture. Being made up of architecture from British and American colonists, it was perhaps less exciting for us, a Brit and a Canadian. For me, it reminded me alot of Wellington Street in Ottawa, but perhaps longer and nicer. After this, we waved goodbye to our friends, who had classes to attend the next day, and headed in.
From the bus we had our first lengthy (about an hour) view of traffic and freeway driving in China. As amazed both of us foreigners, traffic was chaotic, yet we didn't witness any collisions (infact, in our whole time in the mainland, the only time we saw an accident was after the fact, as they were talking to the police). People were routinely passing on the inside, speeding, nudging into lanes, and even parking on the shoulder next to exit ramps (the shoulder on the rest of the highway was used as for yet more inside passing). As my friend pointed out "If I drove like this at home, I'd be arrested." Yet, it seemed as though everyone must have been paying a lot more attention driving than they do in our home countries. True, people would pass on congested streets, nudge into spaces much smaller than their cars, and honk their horns more often than I've ever heard in my life, but they also seemed to have little anger about it, and I never saw anyone run a red light (although I think I saw every other traffic law systematically broken).
When we arrived at the end of the busroute, our friends, who had never been to this village before, weren't certain as to how to get there. We were instantly surrounded by motorcycles offering rides and tours, but we opted for a cab instead. This was probably the easiest 12 Kuai (2 Dollars) the driver ever made ,since he took us across the street!
Zhujiajiao is an old village on the water. It's definitely looking to become touristy, but isn't too bad just yet. One of the first places we went was to eat: the food was easily some of the best I've ever had, and we tried what appeared to be bootleg Chinese wine (which tasted like Sprite). We were the only foreigners in the place, although I gather that all of the others were tourists from other parts of China (some, who probably don't see many foreigners, were taking pictures, although they probably didn't think we noticed).
Following the food, we ventured around the village. I really liked it; it was just at the right point where it was touristy enough to have some souvenir shops and guided boat rides, but not so touristy to make you not want to go. We did follow the village outside of the more touristy areas, where we saw ladies selling produce beside the road. We also saw what looked to be a playground, but was actually an outdoor exercise area for senior citizens (our friends tell us that these are funded through the lottery). These are appearantly found around China, and I have seen them in Hong Kong. We followed this up with a snack (candy glazed crab apples on a stick), and a boat ride through the waterways. Our Chinese friends and the man rowing the boat found it hilarious when, after the man told us that a bridge was around 450 years old, I replied that it was older than my country (by which I mean Canada in the form it is today).
As I said, the village had souvenir shops. The one souvenir we saw and instantly fell in love with was a hat made to look like the PLA (People's Liberation Army, China's armed forces), hat. Of course, showing that you love something is not good leverage when trying to bargain on the price, and the lady asked for some large amount of money for two. At this point, our two Chinese friends start having a shouting match with her in Mandarin, which ended in us leaving, as they felt we should only pay 50 yuan (7 dollars) for two. We looked through the whole village, and eventually came to the realization that that was the only place with the hats. We returned and resumed the shouting match (later, we were told she was saying to them "You're Chinese, you should be on my side!"), and eventually we paid 80 (11 Dollars) for two.
As we learned, one never goes hungry when spending time with Chinese friends, and upon return to the city centre we proceeded directly to a restaurant. Our friends were quite excited about this place, and for good reason: it was weird. Rather than a door, there are 9 holes, which must be pushed in the right combination (available by making a reservation) in order to open the door. The lighting is dim, the decor post-modern, and the bathroom doors are trick doors to open. The food was pretty good too, what we in Canada call "Fusion".
After a great dinner, we headed to the riverfront. We had wanted to take a ferry accross, and found one, for the price of half a yuan (7 cents), which I think is the cheapest thing I've ever paid for in my entire life. Turns out that it was cheap because it wasn't really meant for walk-on passengers, but rather motorcycles. It was fine though, and on the other end we followed a nice walkway up to the tall buildings of PuDong, reported to have some of the world's tallest buildings. We went up one of the Hyatt hotels, but couldn't really get a good view, since the weather was quite foggy. We also went to go see the crazy looking Pearl TV tower, but didn't bother going up for the same reason. Finally, we returned to "the Bund", an area of early 1900's colonial architecture. Being made up of architecture from British and American colonists, it was perhaps less exciting for us, a Brit and a Canadian. For me, it reminded me alot of Wellington Street in Ottawa, but perhaps longer and nicer. After this, we waved goodbye to our friends, who had classes to attend the next day, and headed in.
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
China Pt. 1: The Train and the first day in Shanghai
Hello out there!
As many of you already know, a few weeks ago I went on a 10-day trip across China during my University reading week. Little to no reading was actually done, but a great deal of learning and seeing was. Having read lots of travel blogs myself, I've decided to write a more-detailed-than-usual account of my trip, in case anyone searching the web for information about traveling in China should come across it (as doubtful as that may be).
Our adventure began on the last Saturday of February. We headed out from our hall early in the afternoon to Hung Hom railway station. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, changed some money, and bought a few snacks for the train before going through customs and in to the waiting area. When we got there, there were two trains waiting to go about 45 minutes after each other, ours and one to Guangzhou. The staff in the station had giant signs and megaphones to make sure that you don't board the wrong train (inspite of which we still weren't sure where to go).
The actual platform was located adjacent to the MTR trains, down an escalator, and it was that track which followed right up to the border with Shenzhen, where a guard stood dutifully watching the empty railway tracks (presumably to prevent anyone from illegally crossing the border?). The lead-up to the border heads through a rural area of Hong Kong, which makes the instant transition into futuristic-looking Shenzhen all the more striking. Some differences are immediately appearant: simplified Chinese characters, rather than the traditional ones used in HK; cars driving on the right side of the road, with large, uniformly-designed blue signs mapping every intersection; Mandarin being spoken rather than Cantonese; and and of course using Chinese Money and our cell phones roaming. This last bit actually turned out to be a bit of a nuisance, as we could receive texts and (poor-quality) phone calls, but could not send them. The further we got from the border, the more evident some minor changes became: more industry appeared, slogans in Chinese written on large red banners appeared (still not sure what they said), lots of trash along the tracksides, and many tiny little villages. The province immediately across the border, Guangdong, is one of China's richest, and even in the smallest little villages of crumbling houses one could see brand new shiny vehicles driving. After about two and a half hours the train came to a stop (for reasons still unknown to me) in the province's capital, Guangzhou.
The train itself was quite comfortable. This being my first time on an intercity train, I was quite content to sit on the little seat near the window and stare out at China. We had the compartment to ourselves at first, but were later joined by another traveller, who shared her life story with us while we waited at the station in Guangzhou (I was later told that this is common on Chinese trains.) The other passengers were mainly elderly, and we couldn't really speak to them due to the language barrier (although I wish we could have). They did occaisonally chuckle when they saw me hop out of bed in the middle of the night to look at where we were, and would tell me if they knew.
Overall, I really loved the experience of riding on the train (save for the food), and would do it again in a heartbeat. We weren't exactly well rested upon arrival in Shanghai, but we were eager to get going. Upon arrival, we decided to seek out a SIM card. Not knowing how to say SIM card, we took it out of one of our phone, and I pointed at it while asking in broken Mandarin "Where Buy??". The problem with this strategy wasn't so much being understood as understanding the answers, and although we eventually found a small little stall that sold it to us, it turned out that there had been a store right were we had started!
We checked out the planning museum (noteworthy for its staggering model of Shanghai) and then waited to meet up with a friend. He had studied on exchange at HKU last semester. While waiting, we grabbed some quick food-noodles in a pancake- and made the first of several observations: Chinese people only stare at us foreigners when we are eating Chinese food. My hypothesis is that they aren't used to seeing foreigners who aren't showing down on Starbucks or McDonalds. A second experience was also quickly had when a man came up asking to practice English. We'd both read that this happens, and that there are two possiblities: A, they really do want to practice English, or B, they'll try to scam you in some way. This man seemed rather innocuous (although we did see him again later in Shanghai, along with a man who was offering up a "tea ceremony". Anyone going to China take note, Tea Ceremonies and art scams are common, and it's best to just walk away).
When our friend arrived we took a cab to a neighbourhood called "Yu Yuan", a tourist sort of area, where we ate a famous Shanghai food called "Xiaolongbao", or little basket buns, which have soup inside them! We then took the subway to another area, where a friend of our friend joined us for some Szechuan food. Szechuan food is known for being spicy (and I did occasionally wipe the spices off onto the plate), but it was quite good. We then went to a shopping area before heading in for the night. a final observation for this post: I'm pretty sure we took more cabs in the Mainland (Shanghai in particular) than I had cumulatively for the rest of my life. Starting at 12 Yuan in Shanghai or 10 in Beijing, most didn't go over 30, or about 4 dollars, meaning it's usually cheaper than taking a bus back home!
As many of you already know, a few weeks ago I went on a 10-day trip across China during my University reading week. Little to no reading was actually done, but a great deal of learning and seeing was. Having read lots of travel blogs myself, I've decided to write a more-detailed-than-usual account of my trip, in case anyone searching the web for information about traveling in China should come across it (as doubtful as that may be).
Our adventure began on the last Saturday of February. We headed out from our hall early in the afternoon to Hung Hom railway station. We grabbed a quick bite to eat, changed some money, and bought a few snacks for the train before going through customs and in to the waiting area. When we got there, there were two trains waiting to go about 45 minutes after each other, ours and one to Guangzhou. The staff in the station had giant signs and megaphones to make sure that you don't board the wrong train (inspite of which we still weren't sure where to go).
The actual platform was located adjacent to the MTR trains, down an escalator, and it was that track which followed right up to the border with Shenzhen, where a guard stood dutifully watching the empty railway tracks (presumably to prevent anyone from illegally crossing the border?). The lead-up to the border heads through a rural area of Hong Kong, which makes the instant transition into futuristic-looking Shenzhen all the more striking. Some differences are immediately appearant: simplified Chinese characters, rather than the traditional ones used in HK; cars driving on the right side of the road, with large, uniformly-designed blue signs mapping every intersection; Mandarin being spoken rather than Cantonese; and and of course using Chinese Money and our cell phones roaming. This last bit actually turned out to be a bit of a nuisance, as we could receive texts and (poor-quality) phone calls, but could not send them. The further we got from the border, the more evident some minor changes became: more industry appeared, slogans in Chinese written on large red banners appeared (still not sure what they said), lots of trash along the tracksides, and many tiny little villages. The province immediately across the border, Guangdong, is one of China's richest, and even in the smallest little villages of crumbling houses one could see brand new shiny vehicles driving. After about two and a half hours the train came to a stop (for reasons still unknown to me) in the province's capital, Guangzhou.
The train itself was quite comfortable. This being my first time on an intercity train, I was quite content to sit on the little seat near the window and stare out at China. We had the compartment to ourselves at first, but were later joined by another traveller, who shared her life story with us while we waited at the station in Guangzhou (I was later told that this is common on Chinese trains.) The other passengers were mainly elderly, and we couldn't really speak to them due to the language barrier (although I wish we could have). They did occaisonally chuckle when they saw me hop out of bed in the middle of the night to look at where we were, and would tell me if they knew.
Overall, I really loved the experience of riding on the train (save for the food), and would do it again in a heartbeat. We weren't exactly well rested upon arrival in Shanghai, but we were eager to get going. Upon arrival, we decided to seek out a SIM card. Not knowing how to say SIM card, we took it out of one of our phone, and I pointed at it while asking in broken Mandarin "Where Buy??". The problem with this strategy wasn't so much being understood as understanding the answers, and although we eventually found a small little stall that sold it to us, it turned out that there had been a store right were we had started!
We checked out the planning museum (noteworthy for its staggering model of Shanghai) and then waited to meet up with a friend. He had studied on exchange at HKU last semester. While waiting, we grabbed some quick food-noodles in a pancake- and made the first of several observations: Chinese people only stare at us foreigners when we are eating Chinese food. My hypothesis is that they aren't used to seeing foreigners who aren't showing down on Starbucks or McDonalds. A second experience was also quickly had when a man came up asking to practice English. We'd both read that this happens, and that there are two possiblities: A, they really do want to practice English, or B, they'll try to scam you in some way. This man seemed rather innocuous (although we did see him again later in Shanghai, along with a man who was offering up a "tea ceremony". Anyone going to China take note, Tea Ceremonies and art scams are common, and it's best to just walk away).
When our friend arrived we took a cab to a neighbourhood called "Yu Yuan", a tourist sort of area, where we ate a famous Shanghai food called "Xiaolongbao", or little basket buns, which have soup inside them! We then took the subway to another area, where a friend of our friend joined us for some Szechuan food. Szechuan food is known for being spicy (and I did occasionally wipe the spices off onto the plate), but it was quite good. We then went to a shopping area before heading in for the night. a final observation for this post: I'm pretty sure we took more cabs in the Mainland (Shanghai in particular) than I had cumulatively for the rest of my life. Starting at 12 Yuan in Shanghai or 10 in Beijing, most didn't go over 30, or about 4 dollars, meaning it's usually cheaper than taking a bus back home!
Monday, 7 February 2011
Pictures
For those without access to my Facebook, here are some pictures!
From Top: Decorations at Wong Tai Sin Temple (Left), Cathy Pacific's Float at the parade (Right), Clementine Trees at the New Year's Market (Left), Tai O Village (Right), and the New Year's Market Again.
Enjoy!
Macau, Tai O, Cheung Chow!
Like I said, I've been up to a lot.
Multiple blog posts worth!
The first weekend after I got back, I went again to Macau with a few friends. This trip was less exciting (Macau is really only interesting the first time), but one thing we did do was go wine tasting at the "Tourist Activities Centre," which I do reckon warrants to be mentioned here.
The next week, my friend Rosalind and I ventured out to Tai O. Tai O is a fishing village located on Lantau Island, a large island off the coast of Hong Kong Island that hosts the airport, Disney Land, The world's largest Buddha Statue, and many little villages-yup, that big. The village itself is beautiful due to it consisting mainly of stilt houses built on the water, and has been compared by some to Venice.
Lunar New Year's Eve, I headed to another of the islands near HK, Cheung Chow. This small little island was also gorgeous, and it still amazes me how you can walk through a little village, or be out in the forest, and still be in the massive global city of Hong Kong.
Multiple blog posts worth!
The first weekend after I got back, I went again to Macau with a few friends. This trip was less exciting (Macau is really only interesting the first time), but one thing we did do was go wine tasting at the "Tourist Activities Centre," which I do reckon warrants to be mentioned here.
The next week, my friend Rosalind and I ventured out to Tai O. Tai O is a fishing village located on Lantau Island, a large island off the coast of Hong Kong Island that hosts the airport, Disney Land, The world's largest Buddha Statue, and many little villages-yup, that big. The village itself is beautiful due to it consisting mainly of stilt houses built on the water, and has been compared by some to Venice.
Lunar New Year's Eve, I headed to another of the islands near HK, Cheung Chow. This small little island was also gorgeous, and it still amazes me how you can walk through a little village, or be out in the forest, and still be in the massive global city of Hong Kong.
Gong Hei Fat Choy!
Hello there world!
There's been quite alot going on lately that I've been doing rather than blogging about, so I feel it's time to catch-up.
First, let's talk about Chinese New Year.
For those who don't know, New Year's Eve was Wednesday, the 2nd of February. Now, Lunar New Year is a big holiday here, and in virtue of that A-We got a week off of school (which I'm still enjoying!) B-There were plenty of decorations about the city and C-I made every effort to get to know a bit about the celebrations. Quite a bit of what goes on for the holiday rests in lots of different superstitions. Decorations are around the city, many of which are 挥春 (Mandarin: Hui1 Chun1 Cantonese: Fai1 Ceon1), or lucky couplets, with wishes such as 出入平安 (Wishing Happy Comings and Goings) or the classic 恭喜发财(Gung1 Hei2 Faat3 Coi4,) which translates to something like "I wish you make a fortune." The character 福(Mandarin:Fu2 Cantonese: Fuk1), meaning Luck, is often placed upside down since, as my Cantonese professor explained, the word "upside down" sounds like the word "Arrived" in Cantonese, and thus if luck is upside down, it has arrived.
New year's eve, I headed out with a few new friends to Cheung Chau Island (More on that in another post later), after which my roommate, Andrew, our Friend Suren, and I joined a few of those friends for a proper Chinese New Year dinner at a restaurant in Kennedy Town. Another Superstitious tradition is to have Fish, which, in Chinese, sounds like "surplus", at New Year's eve.
On the first day of the New Year, I headed out to go observe another side of the celebrations-the temples. Wong Tai Sin temple, which I had previously visited with a local friend, was absolutely full of people. It was also very well organized, with police officers and staff keeping an orderly one-way flow of visitors from the subway all the way to the temple and back again. The temple itself was decorated, and filled with people carrying incense.
That evening was the New Year's parade, sponsored by Cathay Pacific airways.
The fantastic New Year's fireworks were held on the second day of the year.
Other than that, I've mostly been using the new year to catch up on studies (only three weeks in and already so much catching up to do!) and eat sweets-another superstition that I read is that if you eat lots of sweets during the new year, you'll have a sweet year ahead.
I don't need to be told twice!
There's been quite alot going on lately that I've been doing rather than blogging about, so I feel it's time to catch-up.
First, let's talk about Chinese New Year.
For those who don't know, New Year's Eve was Wednesday, the 2nd of February. Now, Lunar New Year is a big holiday here, and in virtue of that A-We got a week off of school (which I'm still enjoying!) B-There were plenty of decorations about the city and C-I made every effort to get to know a bit about the celebrations. Quite a bit of what goes on for the holiday rests in lots of different superstitions. Decorations are around the city, many of which are 挥春 (Mandarin: Hui1 Chun1 Cantonese: Fai1 Ceon1), or lucky couplets, with wishes such as 出入平安 (Wishing Happy Comings and Goings) or the classic 恭喜发财(Gung1 Hei2 Faat3 Coi4,) which translates to something like "I wish you make a fortune." The character 福(Mandarin:Fu2 Cantonese: Fuk1), meaning Luck, is often placed upside down since, as my Cantonese professor explained, the word "upside down" sounds like the word "Arrived" in Cantonese, and thus if luck is upside down, it has arrived.
New year's eve, I headed out with a few new friends to Cheung Chau Island (More on that in another post later), after which my roommate, Andrew, our Friend Suren, and I joined a few of those friends for a proper Chinese New Year dinner at a restaurant in Kennedy Town. Another Superstitious tradition is to have Fish, which, in Chinese, sounds like "surplus", at New Year's eve.
On the first day of the New Year, I headed out to go observe another side of the celebrations-the temples. Wong Tai Sin temple, which I had previously visited with a local friend, was absolutely full of people. It was also very well organized, with police officers and staff keeping an orderly one-way flow of visitors from the subway all the way to the temple and back again. The temple itself was decorated, and filled with people carrying incense.
That evening was the New Year's parade, sponsored by Cathay Pacific airways.
The fantastic New Year's fireworks were held on the second day of the year.
Other than that, I've mostly been using the new year to catch up on studies (only three weeks in and already so much catching up to do!) and eat sweets-another superstition that I read is that if you eat lots of sweets during the new year, you'll have a sweet year ahead.
I don't need to be told twice!
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Happy New Year-Number 1!
Happy Christmas and Merry New Year! ......Er.......
I hope everyone had a good Christmas/New Year/Winter break. Christmas in Canada went well, relatively little snow (although when it did came, boy, did it snow!), and even my connection in New York, 8 and a half hours, went well, since I got to bum around Manhattan for a while (and saw the UN!)
It's weird to think of being back in HK as being the end of the holidays, and certainly the fun hasn't stopped. Since I've been back, it's been go go go, meeting new exchange students, catching up with friends, even an unexpected trip to Macau.
Now, as you might have noticed, I titled this Happy New Year 1. That's because Chinese New Year is coming up soon, and I hope to have lots of stories for that.
Also in the works, I've booked a trip to China in March with a friend. Shanghai, Beijing, and Xi'an, in 9 days, should be an adventure, and we'll probably need a vacation when we're done, but I'm excited!
I hope everyone had a good Christmas/New Year/Winter break. Christmas in Canada went well, relatively little snow (although when it did came, boy, did it snow!), and even my connection in New York, 8 and a half hours, went well, since I got to bum around Manhattan for a while (and saw the UN!)
It's weird to think of being back in HK as being the end of the holidays, and certainly the fun hasn't stopped. Since I've been back, it's been go go go, meeting new exchange students, catching up with friends, even an unexpected trip to Macau.
Now, as you might have noticed, I titled this Happy New Year 1. That's because Chinese New Year is coming up soon, and I hope to have lots of stories for that.
Also in the works, I've booked a trip to China in March with a friend. Shanghai, Beijing, and Xi'an, in 9 days, should be an adventure, and we'll probably need a vacation when we're done, but I'm excited!
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