I have been blogging from China for half a year and never mentioned the Tibet question. How can this be? Actually, I have been pondering the question "to go or not to go" when thinking about my travel plans for this spring. It seems almost self-evident that as a caring liberal intellectual you just have to go to Tibet. But how come people in the west care so much about Tibet's independence and so little about, oh say, Quebec's? :)
Okay, joke aside, the Tibetans aren't the only ethnic group struggling to preserve their identity. For some reason that I could never quite pinpoint, the thought of traveling to Tibet and entering the statistics as one more caring foreigner always kind of bothered me. Thankfully, there are people out there who much more adequately express their feelings. Tibet is no Shangri-La tells us this article in Foreign Policy. First of all, the myth of Shangri-La was created by James Hilton in the novel "Lost Horizon," is located in Yunnan, not Tibet, and did not really exist until a few years ago when some industrious Yunnanese realized there is money to make from foreigners with a romantically transfigured image of everything Tibetan. I highly recommend this article, I think it finally voices a more rational view on Tibet. I originally came across it on this site, which supplies some insightful comments on the original article but also features many discussion posts, among others from exiled Tibetans. You'll need a bit of patience and have to ignore the odd idiot though :)
One discussion post mentions an excellent article published in 1999 in the Atlantic - I read it yesterday but now the link does not work anymore. You can find a reproduction here. "Tibet through Chinese eyes" provides some interesting historic facts about Tibet before and after the Chinese invasion/liberation. Maybe if we accept the fact the that the Dalai Lama is no holier than the pope (and has the same antiquated ideas about homosexuality) and that China is pumping more money into developing Tibet than it will ever receive in revenues exploiting its natural resources, we can start having a fair discussion about the question of preserving Tibet's cultural identity. Separation would be economic suicide... but then, that didn't stop the Quebecois from trying twice :)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Spring is here!
Believe it or not, but exactly one week after spring festival the temperature suddenly jumped from 5C to over 20C! Today we even reached 25 degrees. Nobody seems to believe this is going to last though, most people are still walking around in their winter coats. And of course, my neighbors now keep the hallway windows shut tight... wouldn't want to let any of that warm air in, would we now?
The German weekly DIE ZEIT is concerning itself a lot with China lately. And contributes a lot of different angles on Chinese society. Maybe the best proof that China is finally being perceived as a multi-faceted society, at least in Germany. They published an interview with the Chinese writer and intellectual Li Er. And because I had nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, I translated the most interesting parts, with apologies to the ZEIT (you guys should really take up learning German!)
"Li Er is one of the most famous Chinese writers and intellectuals. He achieved international recognition as a novelist with The pomegranate tree which bears cherries, which deals with the chaotic conditions in the countryside. His latest book, which deals with the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 to 1945, was published last fall in German under the title of Koloratur.
ZEIT: The mood in China is a nationalistic one, why?
Li Er: Nationalism has not increased. It continues to be just one of several schools of thought. But nationalism has been perceived more clearly in the last a few months, both in China and the West.
ZEIT: Why has it been more clearly perceived?
Li: The West has come to see China more as a competitor, and the Chinese are more sensitive to issues relating to their role, their recognition in the world.
ZEIT: But isn't this new nationalism fanned by the Chinese state media? A few days ago, for example, the popular Chinese television commentator Lang Xianping has asserted that the West would put pressure on China because China consumes too many minerals due to its economic success.
Li: The government is giving Lang more freedom to channel the mood. On the one hand, they believe self-confidence and pride in one's own country stabilizes the nation. On the other hand the government is trying to control the fermenting nationalistic sentiments in the country by contrasting them with more moderate nationalist stalwart figures like Lang. The Government is concerned that a proliferation of nationalism could destabilize the economic development of the country.
ZEIT: Doesn't that mean they are playing with fire?
Li: Nationalism is certainly "highly flammable" in China. This could be witnessed in 2008, when the Chinese suddenly began to protest against France (in response to French protests against China's policy on Tibet during the Olympic torch runs editor's note) by boycotting French supermarkets (Carrefour translator's note). The government had trouble getting the uproar under control. But as I said, nationalism is just one of many trends in China. And in the west one should not forget that there are powerful interest groups who do not want it to become rampant.
ZEIT: Who would that be?
Li: All those involved with economic development. They do not want to unnecessarily upset the West, to whom they sell products and from whom they receive technology.
ZEIT: What bothers the nationalists about the west?
Li: That the west does not understand Chinese tradition. There is a consensus in Chinese society that economic prosperity has to come first and only then can civil liberties be expanded. China needs stability in order for more people to benefit from the economic prosperity. Many people in the West are simply too impatient with China.
ZEIT: Does that mean we have to accept that Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to eleven years in prison?
Li: No, you do not have to. But that does not mean that I necessarily agree with his views. He did not play an important role in China. In view of such incidents, many people in the West do not want to understand the position of the Chinese government: it is of the opinion that taking steps towards freedom too fast threatens the stability of the country. This puts the already achieved goals at stake, and we should not risk that."
And the defense speech of aforementioned Liu Xiaobo (who, note, "did not play an important role in China") can be found here (in excerpts, German only).
I won't bother translating, I am sure you can find it somewhere online. In short, he is not bitter, he thinks China has already come a long way and he hopes to be the last intellectual to be imprisoned for speaking his mind. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it is terrible that he was sentenced to ten (or eleven?) years in prison, but I find the interview with Li Er more interesting, because it describes the mood as I perceive it from people I talk to. I do not think they defend their government because they are afraid or brain-washed (my students tell me all the time that everyone knows how to access blocked internet sites - like the people in Iran do). It is partly because they think the overall situation is improving, so not everything the government does can be wrong (compare this to the German attitude to complain about a government even when it does a lot of things right - the downside of perfectionism), and partly because they see the western criticism of the Chinese government as a criticism of the Chinese people. So, it's also a matter of pride.
To round things up, here is another article about young Chinese - filmmakers in this case. It portraits the cellphone/ipod spoiled one-child generation who does not really care about politics but starts to care about their roots, i.e. their (grand)parent's generation (or so the conclusion of the article). [in German]
And just as I was wondering where you could find a similarly balanced coverage in the English media, B. pointed me to this blog by Beijing-based journalist Evan Osnos, working for the New Yorker. Being a journalist and having spent many years in China, he has of course much more insight and access to information than me. Slightly disheartened by this reality check, I am the first to admit that my little blog lacks in style and depth, but after all, it was never meant to be more than just "letters to friends."
The German weekly DIE ZEIT is concerning itself a lot with China lately. And contributes a lot of different angles on Chinese society. Maybe the best proof that China is finally being perceived as a multi-faceted society, at least in Germany. They published an interview with the Chinese writer and intellectual Li Er. And because I had nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon, I translated the most interesting parts, with apologies to the ZEIT (you guys should really take up learning German!)
"Li Er is one of the most famous Chinese writers and intellectuals. He achieved international recognition as a novelist with The pomegranate tree which bears cherries, which deals with the chaotic conditions in the countryside. His latest book, which deals with the Sino-Japanese War of 1937 to 1945, was published last fall in German under the title of Koloratur.
ZEIT: The mood in China is a nationalistic one, why?
Li Er: Nationalism has not increased. It continues to be just one of several schools of thought. But nationalism has been perceived more clearly in the last a few months, both in China and the West.
ZEIT: Why has it been more clearly perceived?
Li: The West has come to see China more as a competitor, and the Chinese are more sensitive to issues relating to their role, their recognition in the world.
ZEIT: But isn't this new nationalism fanned by the Chinese state media? A few days ago, for example, the popular Chinese television commentator Lang Xianping has asserted that the West would put pressure on China because China consumes too many minerals due to its economic success.
Li: The government is giving Lang more freedom to channel the mood. On the one hand, they believe self-confidence and pride in one's own country stabilizes the nation. On the other hand the government is trying to control the fermenting nationalistic sentiments in the country by contrasting them with more moderate nationalist stalwart figures like Lang. The Government is concerned that a proliferation of nationalism could destabilize the economic development of the country.
ZEIT: Doesn't that mean they are playing with fire?
Li: Nationalism is certainly "highly flammable" in China. This could be witnessed in 2008, when the Chinese suddenly began to protest against France (in response to French protests against China's policy on Tibet during the Olympic torch runs editor's note) by boycotting French supermarkets (Carrefour translator's note). The government had trouble getting the uproar under control. But as I said, nationalism is just one of many trends in China. And in the west one should not forget that there are powerful interest groups who do not want it to become rampant.
ZEIT: Who would that be?
Li: All those involved with economic development. They do not want to unnecessarily upset the West, to whom they sell products and from whom they receive technology.
ZEIT: What bothers the nationalists about the west?
Li: That the west does not understand Chinese tradition. There is a consensus in Chinese society that economic prosperity has to come first and only then can civil liberties be expanded. China needs stability in order for more people to benefit from the economic prosperity. Many people in the West are simply too impatient with China.
ZEIT: Does that mean we have to accept that Liu Xiaobo was sentenced to eleven years in prison?
Li: No, you do not have to. But that does not mean that I necessarily agree with his views. He did not play an important role in China. In view of such incidents, many people in the West do not want to understand the position of the Chinese government: it is of the opinion that taking steps towards freedom too fast threatens the stability of the country. This puts the already achieved goals at stake, and we should not risk that."
And the defense speech of aforementioned Liu Xiaobo (who, note, "did not play an important role in China") can be found here (in excerpts, German only).
I won't bother translating, I am sure you can find it somewhere online. In short, he is not bitter, he thinks China has already come a long way and he hopes to be the last intellectual to be imprisoned for speaking his mind. Now, don't get me wrong, I think it is terrible that he was sentenced to ten (or eleven?) years in prison, but I find the interview with Li Er more interesting, because it describes the mood as I perceive it from people I talk to. I do not think they defend their government because they are afraid or brain-washed (my students tell me all the time that everyone knows how to access blocked internet sites - like the people in Iran do). It is partly because they think the overall situation is improving, so not everything the government does can be wrong (compare this to the German attitude to complain about a government even when it does a lot of things right - the downside of perfectionism), and partly because they see the western criticism of the Chinese government as a criticism of the Chinese people. So, it's also a matter of pride.
To round things up, here is another article about young Chinese - filmmakers in this case. It portraits the cellphone/ipod spoiled one-child generation who does not really care about politics but starts to care about their roots, i.e. their (grand)parent's generation (or so the conclusion of the article). [in German]
And just as I was wondering where you could find a similarly balanced coverage in the English media, B. pointed me to this blog by Beijing-based journalist Evan Osnos, working for the New Yorker. Being a journalist and having spent many years in China, he has of course much more insight and access to information than me. Slightly disheartened by this reality check, I am the first to admit that my little blog lacks in style and depth, but after all, it was never meant to be more than just "letters to friends."
Monday, February 15, 2010
Internet Culture
I came across a really eye-opening and hilariously funny WoW video protesting the Chinese government's control of the internet. See the article about it here .
If you don't want to watch all 7 parts on youtube (with English subtitles), I highly recommend at least watching part 6 . It clearly shows how the Chinese youth that is dissatisfied with their freedom of expression nevertheless has no intention of merely copying the west or conforming to western standards. They are very much proud of being Chinese. I think it's about time that democratization movements in the west wake up to this reality and stop trying to tell China how it has to change to be a democracy.
Brilliant :)
If you don't want to watch all 7 parts on youtube (with English subtitles), I highly recommend at least watching part 6 . It clearly shows how the Chinese youth that is dissatisfied with their freedom of expression nevertheless has no intention of merely copying the west or conforming to western standards. They are very much proud of being Chinese. I think it's about time that democratization movements in the west wake up to this reality and stop trying to tell China how it has to change to be a democracy.
Brilliant :)
Culture Shock
I knew what to expect, but it was a shock nevertheless. Dadonghai beach (according to Lonely Planet the est beach in Sanya... I'm starting to wonder who they wrote that giude book for; it only describes spots that are truly non-Chinese. I very much not recommend it if you plan to travel to China) reminds me quite a bit of Mallorca, only that the second language here is not German but Russian. Some signs are only in Chinese and cyrillic, not even in English. The beach is not the cleanest and crowded with overpriced bars, but at least some of them have decent drinks - not so hard with freshly squeezed juice available everywhere.
The hostel I moved to is reasonably clean, just very messy. There's laundry everywhere that looks like it was forgotten by last year's guests and the hallways are cluttered with mattresses, bed frames and stuff. Actually, I have to revise that statement about reasonably clean since I saw the kitchen... this place was renovated just a couple of years ago and you can still see the effort, but 20-something backpackers are apparently not the crowd to keep a place in good shape. They also hiked up their prices quite a bit, if it wasn't for New Year's I might as well be staying in a real hotel. So, stay away from the Blue Sky International Youth hostel.
The crowd here is a funny mixture... of course there's the typical backpacker crowd (I feel really old here, my, but then there are also the odd 60 year olds, no idea what they're doing in a hostel) and pretty much every country is represented... Germany (of course), Switzerland, Belgium, Lithuania, Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia, US, Canada... and those are just the people I talked to. I also heard Spanish, Italian and French. I always have a hard time answering the question "where are you from?" I like to say "Canada" for one, because it shuts people up (all they know about Canada is that it's cold. If I say Germany they tell me all about beer, BMW and Autobahn - no thanks) but also because that's where I feel my home is. But when I then admit that I have a German passport, people want to know what that means and when I say I lived there for more than 20 years, they tell me "So, you're really German, not Canadian" Am I? The only exception - Canadians! The real Canadians, I mean, not like me :) One once "defended" me saying "we really are a nation of immigrants" And now ask me again why I'd rather say I'm from Canada than from Germany. (btw, I never say I "am" Canadian, but it is true that I am "from" Canada... so, shortcoming of the English language if everybody uses the phrase "where are you from" instead of distinguishing like the Chinese. They also often ask 你是哪国人？ "ni shi na guo ren?" - you are which country's person? :)) Pretty much 90% of the people here are in China to study Chinese or teach their own language. That's pleasant in the sense that they are not ignorant about China but also annoying, because they have been here long enough to crave western food and bars. (or maybe they never cared for the "real Chinese experience," maybe I'm a bit crazy, maybe I'm chasing something that doesn't exist)
So, I overcame my snobbish solitary attitude and went out with a bunch - first to a bar, then to a club, but I didn't stay there for long. Somehow, having overpriced, lousy drinks in a dark, smoke-filled room and not being able to have a conversation because of the noise never held much appeal for me. But now I can say I have also seen this side of China. New Year's eve I stayed in the hostel. they organized a BBQ, which was pretty neat, there was lots of fresh seafood (oysters are actually pretty good grilled) and homemade ice cream for dessert. They have an inverse griddle, which is a cooking plate that is freezing cold (my guess is, it sits on a block of dry ice). Then you pour blended fruit on it and stir until it turns into sorbet. Looks like making scrambled eggs :) Around midnight we went to the beach and watched the fireworks. I was very much reminded of German New Year. Chinese also love their home-made fireworks. They had already been going at it the whole day, but at midnight it was really amazing.
Sorry I'm not taking very representative pictures of this place (or China in general). I never really manage to capture the little street scenes and by now I am so used to them, I don't see them through a tourist's eyes anymore. Little makeshift stove on a bicycle selling roast skewers? Seen that a million times. Life fish in tanks outside a restaurant? Everywhere. So, I tried...
I have been asked what Chinese are like at the beach... Mh, I'm not sure why they would be different from any other people. So, I've been pondering the question what kind of Chinese goes on vacation to Sanya. I noticed a few types... there are the typical 3-head families, relatively young parents with a small child. More than once have I seen those dressed in the same Hawaii-print "pyjamas" and the children all carry the same orange plastic bucket with beach toys. They look a bit like it's the first vacation in their life and they're not sure what to do. So, they wear the flamboyant shirts and shorts, put on (whitening!) sunscreen and walk around with a somewhat insecure look. Then there are the families with old people. The old men seem to have a lot of fun splashing in the water, but they all wear these ill-fitting swimsuits (better than the Russians, who are typically 1,80m and 150kg and wear tiny, tiny speedos). The old women are a bit more afraid of the sea and often sit fully dressed in their beach chairs - including socks! They get together for noisy, fun-filled dinners on the beach promenade or just sit there in the shade playing cards and mahjong. Then there are of course the wanna-be fashionable young girls with their boyfriends or without, recognizable from afar by their parasols. What's missing compared to Florida or Mallorca is the binge-drinking spring break crowd and sexual excesses, but the foreigners try to make up for that. One other thing I noticed - the Chinese in my hotel pool would typically wear swimcap and goggles :) And I had the feeling a lot of them can't actually swim.
News update: Back in Nanjing at frigging -1C and snow!!! WTF?! Why didn't I stay in Sanya for two weeks? I really don't know. I guess I was afraid of being lonely there. But the truth is, I am much lonelier here. Everything is closed, apart from my favourite cafe and the supermarket. But all the little restaurants and shops - barricaded, deserted.
 |
| dadonghai_beach |
The hostel I moved to is reasonably clean, just very messy. There's laundry everywhere that looks like it was forgotten by last year's guests and the hallways are cluttered with mattresses, bed frames and stuff. Actually, I have to revise that statement about reasonably clean since I saw the kitchen... this place was renovated just a couple of years ago and you can still see the effort, but 20-something backpackers are apparently not the crowd to keep a place in good shape. They also hiked up their prices quite a bit, if it wasn't for New Year's I might as well be staying in a real hotel. So, stay away from the Blue Sky International Youth hostel.
 |
| sanya_hostel |
The crowd here is a funny mixture... of course there's the typical backpacker crowd (I feel really old here, my, but then there are also the odd 60 year olds, no idea what they're doing in a hostel) and pretty much every country is represented... Germany (of course), Switzerland, Belgium, Lithuania, Sweden, Czech Republic, Russia, US, Canada... and those are just the people I talked to. I also heard Spanish, Italian and French. I always have a hard time answering the question "where are you from?" I like to say "Canada" for one, because it shuts people up (all they know about Canada is that it's cold. If I say Germany they tell me all about beer, BMW and Autobahn - no thanks) but also because that's where I feel my home is. But when I then admit that I have a German passport, people want to know what that means and when I say I lived there for more than 20 years, they tell me "So, you're really German, not Canadian" Am I? The only exception - Canadians! The real Canadians, I mean, not like me :) One once "defended" me saying "we really are a nation of immigrants" And now ask me again why I'd rather say I'm from Canada than from Germany. (btw, I never say I "am" Canadian, but it is true that I am "from" Canada... so, shortcoming of the English language if everybody uses the phrase "where are you from" instead of distinguishing like the Chinese. They also often ask 你是哪国人？ "ni shi na guo ren?" - you are which country's person? :)) Pretty much 90% of the people here are in China to study Chinese or teach their own language. That's pleasant in the sense that they are not ignorant about China but also annoying, because they have been here long enough to crave western food and bars. (or maybe they never cared for the "real Chinese experience," maybe I'm a bit crazy, maybe I'm chasing something that doesn't exist)
So, I overcame my snobbish solitary attitude and went out with a bunch - first to a bar, then to a club, but I didn't stay there for long. Somehow, having overpriced, lousy drinks in a dark, smoke-filled room and not being able to have a conversation because of the noise never held much appeal for me. But now I can say I have also seen this side of China. New Year's eve I stayed in the hostel. they organized a BBQ, which was pretty neat, there was lots of fresh seafood (oysters are actually pretty good grilled) and homemade ice cream for dessert. They have an inverse griddle, which is a cooking plate that is freezing cold (my guess is, it sits on a block of dry ice). Then you pour blended fruit on it and stir until it turns into sorbet. Looks like making scrambled eggs :) Around midnight we went to the beach and watched the fireworks. I was very much reminded of German New Year. Chinese also love their home-made fireworks. They had already been going at it the whole day, but at midnight it was really amazing.
 |
| fireworks |
Sorry I'm not taking very representative pictures of this place (or China in general). I never really manage to capture the little street scenes and by now I am so used to them, I don't see them through a tourist's eyes anymore. Little makeshift stove on a bicycle selling roast skewers? Seen that a million times. Life fish in tanks outside a restaurant? Everywhere. So, I tried...
 |
| sanya |
I have been asked what Chinese are like at the beach... Mh, I'm not sure why they would be different from any other people. So, I've been pondering the question what kind of Chinese goes on vacation to Sanya. I noticed a few types... there are the typical 3-head families, relatively young parents with a small child. More than once have I seen those dressed in the same Hawaii-print "pyjamas" and the children all carry the same orange plastic bucket with beach toys. They look a bit like it's the first vacation in their life and they're not sure what to do. So, they wear the flamboyant shirts and shorts, put on (whitening!) sunscreen and walk around with a somewhat insecure look. Then there are the families with old people. The old men seem to have a lot of fun splashing in the water, but they all wear these ill-fitting swimsuits (better than the Russians, who are typically 1,80m and 150kg and wear tiny, tiny speedos). The old women are a bit more afraid of the sea and often sit fully dressed in their beach chairs - including socks! They get together for noisy, fun-filled dinners on the beach promenade or just sit there in the shade playing cards and mahjong. Then there are of course the wanna-be fashionable young girls with their boyfriends or without, recognizable from afar by their parasols. What's missing compared to Florida or Mallorca is the binge-drinking spring break crowd and sexual excesses, but the foreigners try to make up for that. One other thing I noticed - the Chinese in my hotel pool would typically wear swimcap and goggles :) And I had the feeling a lot of them can't actually swim.
News update: Back in Nanjing at frigging -1C and snow!!! WTF?! Why didn't I stay in Sanya for two weeks? I really don't know. I guess I was afraid of being lonely there. But the truth is, I am much lonelier here. Everything is closed, apart from my favourite cafe and the supermarket. But all the little restaurants and shops - barricaded, deserted.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Bike trip
On my last day in my fancy hotel I rented a bike and ventured out into the countryside. I didn't make it all the way to Nanshan temple, but considering that I was riding a squeaky mono-gear bike I was rather proud of myself that I made it about 2/3 of the way, i.e. 10km over hills. Once I stopped to drink some water and some soldiers chatted me up, asking where I was going. They offered to take my bike on their car and drive me to Nanshan and I was hard-pressed explaining to them that the road was the goal :) Anyways, I'm glad I did it, but it was slightly disappointing.
Hainan is much more densely populated than google-maps makes you believe. I had to go for about 7km before there were no more people at the road side shouting their "hello, hello" to me. And I have to tell you - Chinese country side is not exactly romantic. I mean, ok, I saw my first rice paddies close up and there were chicken, cows, goats and dogs running around, but when you see that the rice paddies are between two pretty heavily frequented (mostly by stinky motorbikes and busses) roads and the roadside is full of garbage, it kills the idyll a bit. And when the garbage starts to pile up too high, someone starts a little fire. I also passed this place with loud disco music and 可爱女孩 "ke ai nu hai" (lovely girls) written on the wall. Mh, don't think that was a chicken farm. But well, I did catch some nice glimpses of Hainan mountains...
That rural China is extremely poor is a well-publicized fact, but at least in Hainan it's only half true. I saw a mixture of houses from basically sheds (looking like a garage with one side open), over simple one-storey homes (add another room to the garage with some windows) to almost fancy 2-storey homes. In many cases it looked like people had started out with the simple sheds and had just recently finished building their new homes (it's also possible that the construction workers lived in the sheds, but that was not the impression I got). I don't know where this newfound wealth is coming from (probably tourism), it seemed to be a pretty recent development and the houses all had the same design. I got back just in time for sunset (this is the beach out at my hotel)
And as promised - some pictures of my nice hotel that I have already left for the hostel closer to downtown... quite a downgrade, but at least it won't be so hard now to leave this tropical island for cold and wet Nanjing.
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| sanya_biketrip |
Hainan is much more densely populated than google-maps makes you believe. I had to go for about 7km before there were no more people at the road side shouting their "hello, hello" to me. And I have to tell you - Chinese country side is not exactly romantic. I mean, ok, I saw my first rice paddies close up and there were chicken, cows, goats and dogs running around, but when you see that the rice paddies are between two pretty heavily frequented (mostly by stinky motorbikes and busses) roads and the roadside is full of garbage, it kills the idyll a bit. And when the garbage starts to pile up too high, someone starts a little fire. I also passed this place with loud disco music and 可爱女孩 "ke ai nu hai" (lovely girls) written on the wall. Mh, don't think that was a chicken farm. But well, I did catch some nice glimpses of Hainan mountains...
That rural China is extremely poor is a well-publicized fact, but at least in Hainan it's only half true. I saw a mixture of houses from basically sheds (looking like a garage with one side open), over simple one-storey homes (add another room to the garage with some windows) to almost fancy 2-storey homes. In many cases it looked like people had started out with the simple sheds and had just recently finished building their new homes (it's also possible that the construction workers lived in the sheds, but that was not the impression I got). I don't know where this newfound wealth is coming from (probably tourism), it seemed to be a pretty recent development and the houses all had the same design. I got back just in time for sunset (this is the beach out at my hotel)
 |
| sanya_beach |
And as promised - some pictures of my nice hotel that I have already left for the hostel closer to downtown... quite a downgrade, but at least it won't be so hard now to leave this tropical island for cold and wet Nanjing.
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| sanya_myhotel |
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Today was luxury day
I accompanied my boss to her new resort at the other end of the bay (because the Kempinski where they had been staying was apparently booked out for the next days). The Place is called Mandarin Oriental Sanya, if you want to bother and google their website. It's impressive - not only the website - but the actual place. We were greeted with flower garlands aloha-style and then had to take an elevator down to the lobby. The hole thing is built into a hill side. While they were checking in, we were served fresh juice and the kid got a balloon to play with. In their room was a personally addressed welcome card from the Manager (named Gerd Knaust :P), a welcome tea set and fruit. The room itself of course luxury but with a slight notch of understatement. Very functional but cozy with lots of wood, not overloaded with kitschy decoration. As usual in Chinese upper-class hotels: open bathroom. Not even a glass window. There is a blind you can lower, but really the bathtub is just free standing in the room. Oh, the Kempinski has one cool thing - bathtubs on your balcony :) Ok, the Kempinski has more than that one cool thing, also the food there is pretty good, the freshly squeezed juice unbeatable and they have nice pools and a private beach. I have to cross a little street to get to my beach, but there are people selling fresh coconut on the street, in which they drill a hole and put a straw in it for you to drink the juice.Coming back to this really fancy place - the most amazing service ever I got when I was having a little drink (Pina Colada to complete the cliche with the beach and palm trees) at one of their countless seaside bars (you just sit down in a beach chair, which are all stocked with towels, and a waiter will come take your drink order). With sunset the mosquitoes came out and I apparently started scratching myself and fending them off, because a second later the water brought me a little mosquito repellent spray - compliments of the house. He also started carrying out candles for me when it got too dark to read. And that place is so huge, we constantly got lost, but there is always someone who does not only point you in your direction, but rather accompanies you all the way. And they all speak flawless English. And of course you can always call a buggy to drive you were you want to go.
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| sanya_mandarin |
I have to say though, I am quite happy in my hotel, which is about a third the price of theirs and I'd still say it's not cheap, but I have an awesome big room with sea view. And I find my hotel cozier than the Kempinski and Mandarin Oriental which are very geometrical and have the same orange-stone-wood color scheme. Mine is white and round (the lobby is round and open up to the roof 4 floors above and the rooms are laid out in three wings, sort of star-shaped. From the lobby you get into a bar/cafe half a floor down and another half floor down is a little pool connecting the two outdoor pools, it feels like the water is flowing through the lobby. But the best thing - I think - is that it's full of Chinese and not Russians (the biggest foreign community here) or other westerners. Why? Because the Chinese are not beach and pool people, so I have these places almost all to myself :) And of course I get to practise my Chinese! Frankly, I don't know where all the people that I see at breakfast vanish to later in the day. When I went for a swim I had the pool all to myself and there were only three kids in the other pool. The food seems rather mediocre, but Kempinski is just down the road and I can always go there to eat - apart from a Chinese restaurant they also have a "Paulaner Brauhaus" and a restaurant called "Kranzler's". Thank Goodness they resisted the urge to decorate the whole hotel in Bavarian blue-white and the waiters are wearing Chinese style clothes, not Dirndl and Lederhosen. Phew, close call!
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| sanya_kempisnki |
We tried to get out of our resorts a little today and wanted to go to the "Nanshan Buddhist Cultural Tourist Zone," but after we had already gotten in a cab we learned that it costs 150RMB to get in there, so we turned around. I still find it weird that one has to pay just to look at their 181m tall Buddha Statue (which is out at sea) and I will make another attempt to get there when I rent a bike tomorrow. It's quite a hilly track over 15km though, I'm not sure I will make it all the way.
One of the most stunning moments - apart from roast Wenchang chicken, which is raised on a diet of rice and peanuts and is really succulent - was to see stars. I don't know how long it's been. There is never a clear sky in Nanjing. That alone could be a reason to stay here. The pleasant 27 degrees everyday don't hurt either. Next time pictures of my hotel. And btw, I did not photoshop the people out of the picture at the very top. It is really that empty at the beach. And not always so cloudy. Don't let anyone tell you there is no blue sky in China! I have proof to the contrary!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
I'm outta here
Surely you are all sick of my whining about the cold and being alone for New Year's. So am I. And really, what am I doing here? I mean, it's not like anything really important is keeping me here. When I signed up for this I expected sub-tropical weather, not this misery we've had the last couple of months. So, sorry if I'm being a wuss, but I've decided to pack my things and go... someplace really tropical! :) I'm going to Hainan Island (the "Hawaii of the Orient," China's southernmost province, an island in the South China Sea), and just to be absolutely sure I have picked the southernmost point - Sanya. A small town with tons of beaches. Actually, I'll be staying in a beach resort (hopefully) far away from the main tourist crowds for 4 nights and then move to a hostel closer to downtown and the more popular beach for the last three nights. Hotel prices just go up too much (more than a factor of 2) the closer we get to New Year's - which is on Valentine's day this year. So, I'll be spending Chinese New Year in a hostel with a bunch of drunk backpackers... I guess that's the best case scenario :) Well, it should be fun, certainly not lonely.
The funniest part of the story is how I got to make this decision. My boss asked me on Sunday if I wouldn't want to join them for a weeks vacation in Sanya. Being all cold and sad at the prospect of being completely deserted, it didn't need much convincing. Add to that that the university just decided to basically double the salary for foreign postdocs and I can even afford it! So, later that night I book my flight. The next day she tells me they changed their plans and are not going, and she was afraid I'd be upset. But frankly, I'm grateful for the kick in the butt (actually, more a gentle nudge) to go somewhere. And on top of that I won't have to babysit (with my latest experience being their 3-year old peeing on my carpet I've really had my share of kids for a while). Well, in the end it seems like half their family is going eventually, but I won't be staying in the same place. Instead, I hope to rent a bike and explore the island (there is a Buddhist reserve only 15km away) and of course spend long hours at the beach or pool bar, reading a good book (which I still have to find, I'm really longing for a good read - anyone who wants to send English or German books to me is more than welcome!) and tanning in my brand new bikini... ehm, yes... if you ever go to China and there's the slightest chance you might go swimming, pack your own stuff! Thankfully I fit into a Chinese L (=American S), but the colors! What horror! I had the choice between a zillion shades of pink. No, I'm not telling what color I went for eventually, it's only slightly less offensive...
So, stay posted for pictures of beach and coconut trees and keep your fingers crossed I don't get into a mad New Year's travel rush (I'm leaving on the 7th, back on the 14th), although that's typically only bad for trains (I've been told). And indeed, I noticed the lines at the train ticket office just outside campus getting longer and longer by the day.
The funniest part of the story is how I got to make this decision. My boss asked me on Sunday if I wouldn't want to join them for a weeks vacation in Sanya. Being all cold and sad at the prospect of being completely deserted, it didn't need much convincing. Add to that that the university just decided to basically double the salary for foreign postdocs and I can even afford it! So, later that night I book my flight. The next day she tells me they changed their plans and are not going, and she was afraid I'd be upset. But frankly, I'm grateful for the kick in the butt (actually, more a gentle nudge) to go somewhere. And on top of that I won't have to babysit (with my latest experience being their 3-year old peeing on my carpet I've really had my share of kids for a while). Well, in the end it seems like half their family is going eventually, but I won't be staying in the same place. Instead, I hope to rent a bike and explore the island (there is a Buddhist reserve only 15km away) and of course spend long hours at the beach or pool bar, reading a good book (which I still have to find, I'm really longing for a good read - anyone who wants to send English or German books to me is more than welcome!) and tanning in my brand new bikini... ehm, yes... if you ever go to China and there's the slightest chance you might go swimming, pack your own stuff! Thankfully I fit into a Chinese L (=American S), but the colors! What horror! I had the choice between a zillion shades of pink. No, I'm not telling what color I went for eventually, it's only slightly less offensive...
So, stay posted for pictures of beach and coconut trees and keep your fingers crossed I don't get into a mad New Year's travel rush (I'm leaving on the 7th, back on the 14th), although that's typically only bad for trains (I've been told). And indeed, I noticed the lines at the train ticket office just outside campus getting longer and longer by the day.
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