Post #100 14 May 2016

Gentlefolk

This is my 100th post - a milestone - the blog has recorded 10,325 'views' since the start, in February 2014.

This post describes our recent visit to Hunan Province, 29 April - 3 May 2016.

Our foreign teachers employment contracts include a university-organised trip every year.  We have been to Sanya (Hainan), Guilin, Chengdu, and Xian.   This time we went to Hunan Province.

Hunan is known for its spicy food, as the birthplace of Mao Ze Dong, and for the Zhang Jia Jie (ZJJ) National Park which was the inspiration for "Pandora" in the Avatar movie.

Our group comprised: Mr Jiang Da Sen, Deputy Director of the International Office (Leader); Michael Christensen (American); Karishma Prasad (Aussie); Vera & Alex Olah (Aussies); and a visiting scholar Mark Rood, Professor of Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois (Champagne - Urbana, Illinois).

Our itinerary is set out in the following table:

Friday, 29 April 2016	Fly from Qingdao to Changsha (8am / 10.30am). Met by guide Zeng Wen Jing (Sherry). Mini-bus to Shao Shan (130 km from Changsha), Mao’s home town. Lunch; check into hotel; sightseeing.
Saturday, 30 April	By mini-bus drive from Shao Shan to Zhang Jia Jie (5 hours). Lunch; hotel. Afternoon sightseeing in National Park (monorail). After dinner visited Tujia cultural/dining centre.
Sunday, 1 May	Sightseeing in National Park (cable car; He Long statue; lunch; crowds;  wonderful views; elevator down). After dinner, foot massage next door.
Monday, 2 May	In National Park, walked along Golden Whip Stream; cable car up to Huang Shi Cun (Yellow Stone Village); marvellous! After lunch drove to Changsha; heavy rain; much traffic, took 7 hours.  Late dinner, then crashed.
Tuesday, 3 May	Morning: visited Tangerine Island in Changsha. Afternoon: flight to Qingdao on Tibet Air (2.30 / 4.30pm). Back to our campus at 6pm; dinner; watched two episodes of Game of Thrones with Michael and Steven.

This year our annual UPC trip was to Hunan Province,

We flew from Qingdao to Changsha, the capital of Hunan, a flight of about 2.5 hours.

Our first destination was Shao Shan, 130 km south-west of Changsha, the home town of Mao Ze Dong.  The next morning we drove to Zhang Jia Jie National Park, north-west of Changsha.

Shao Shan (Mao country)

An aerial view of the substantial house where Mao was born and raised. This was known as a poor area (little arable land, many hills) but Mao's father was a "rich peasant" (landlord). Mao's father could afford to send him to the local (private) Primary School in this village, and then to High School and Teachers College in Changsha.  Today, 'red tourism' underpins the local economy. 

Our group with Mao's family home in the background. From left: Jiang Da Sen; Alex; Michael; Vera; Karishma; Mark. He was an adventurous kid and learnt to swim in this pond. 

A huge statue of Mao dominates "Mao Ze Dong Square" in Shao Shan. Many people bring flowers and offer respect.

They were planting new (mature) trees when we visited the Square. 

Many Chinese visit Mao Ze Dong Square and pay homage /pray to the founder of "New China".

Huge crowds visit Shao Shan every 26 December to commemorate Mao's birth (26 December 1893).

Adoring fans commemorate Mao's birthday every 26 December.

Fireworks at night every 26 December to celebrate Mao's birthday. 

100 couples got married in Shao Shan on the 120th anniversary of Mao's birth, 26 December 2013. 

There are several museums dedicated to Mao Ze Dong's life.

Lot's  of souvenir shops selling statues and pictures of The First Chairman.

We have Elvis impersonators, the Chinese have Mao impersonators.

Mao's favorite dish - braised pork belly.  Delicious.  It was served with every meal we had in Hunan!

Signature of Mao Ze Dong.  His calligraphy was on many street signs in Shao Shan.

Mao Ze Dong aged 19.  Who would have thought this unassuming teenager would rule the most populous country on earth? Undoubtedly Mao was one of the 'giants' of the 20th Century - his actions impacted on tens, even hundreds, of millions of people.  Which other revolutionaries would you put in his category: Lenin, Stalin, Gandhi, Sukarno, Ho Chi Min, Mandela, Hitler?
Mao was able to overcome incredible obstacles to finally triumph.  He must have been a brilliant tactician to succed; he was certainly ruthless, as millions found to their cost.

1936 Mao Ze Dong aged 42 with his 3rd wife He Zi Zhen.  Mao had become the leader of the Chinese Communist Party the previous year.  They were in remote and desolate Yan'an at the end of the Long March.  Fewer than 10,000 survived that ordeal - Mao and his wife look 'skin & bones' in this photo, don't they?.  
But remarkably  within 13 years the CPC rose like a phoenix, was able to defeat the ruling Kuomintang Party and control Mainland China.

1946 Mao (aged 52) with his 4th wife Jiang Qing. She was the leader of the notorious "Gang of Four" during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76).  After Mao's death she was arrested and executed. 

With the remnants of the Kuomintang fleeing to Taiwan, on 1 October 1949, Mao (aged 55) proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China.  Against all odds, the CPC had won!

Mao (78) met Richard Nixon in Beijing on 29 February 1972. His health was already failing; he died on 9 September 1976.

A huge portrait of Mao Ze Dong hangs over the main gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing. There is no doubt Mao was a great revolutionary but having won the Civil War, what was his vision of the brave new world and did he attain it?  In 1955 he collectivised agriculture, and then in 1958 the Great Leap Forward; both were economic failures which led to great hardship and widespread starvation.  In 1966 he launched the Cultural Revolution which turned the country upside-down and led to much misery, persecution and death.
Personally, I think Deng Xiao Ping was the greater: he was a successful revolutionary but retained a flexibility of mind which enabled him to see and accept different development models.   

Our last morning was in Changsha and we visited Tangerine Island in the Xiang River.  At one end of the Island there is a huge bust of Mao, distinctive for his long. flowing Byron-esque locks. His images seem to get younger and more handsome with time - the victors re-writing history?
Mao: Hunan's favorite son.

Zhang Jia Jie (ZJJ) National Park ('Avatar country')

I never thought the landscape of Gulin/Yangshuo could be surpassed, but ZJJ comes close.  But it's different.  In Guilin you are normally looking up at the karst mountains, while here at ZJJ you are usually looking down at these spectacular shapes.

It is difficult to do justice in describing this amazing landscape.  We were blessed with fine, cool weather.

You go around another corner and more amazing scenery.

On our last morning there was low mist or clouds when the rain cleared. Very beautiful effect.

Fortunately we didn't have to climb up these mountains. There were two long cable-cars, the first from France and the second from Austria.  Engineering marvels!

There was a mono-rail train on one section.

The cliff-hugging Bailong Elevator, 335 metres, brought us down from the plateau in 2 minutes.  All these modern comforts make sightseeing so easy and enjoyable. 

Professor Mark Rood with girls from the Tujia minority in a silver shop.

Alex with some Tujia minority girls. They are college students and wear traditional dress at night as part-time jobs. But under the traditional gowns they wear jeans and sneakers! 

A modern statue of General He Long, one of the ten Marshals of the Chinese Revolution (actually, his torso is modern but his horse is very traditional).  He came from a poor family in this area, and rose to become a General and finally Vice Premier of  PRC.  But in 1966 Mao turned against his old comrade, as he did with so many former friends. He was placed under house arrest, given minimal food and medical care, and died in miserable circumstances two years later.

There was a huge Maccas in the middle of ZJJ - is nothing sacred???

Huge crowds in the National Park, especially on 1 May. But the Chinese know how to handle big numbers, and everything worked pretty smoothly.

Left: our guide Zeng Wan Jing (Sherry). She is a Senior student (English major) at a local univeristy and does guiding as a part-time job.  She told us that after graduating next month she will go to Thailand to teach Chinese in a Confucius Institute for a year.  She was a lovely girl, and we wish her well.

The Land of Pandora in the Avatar movie was based on ZJJ.  We watched the movie when we returned to campus, and were able to recognise some of the landscape.  The special effects in this movie are spectacular. 

Michael with some new-found friends.

Michael and Mark on a viewing platform.  I didn't join them - looked too scary!

Crowded trail near the "No. 1 Natural Bridge" scenic spot.

Our group at the Forest Park entrance on Monday morning.  It was raining heavily at breakfast and we told Sherry that we'd prefer to go back to Changsha early.  But she insisted we see this part of the Park.  Incredibly, the rain  eased as we got to the entrance and we had a wonderful walk along Golden Whip Stream and then up at Yellow Stone Village.

Vera and Alex in a "love-lock" on Golden Whip Stream.

Some of the beautiful rain-forest along Golden Whip Stream. It started raining again, but not for long.

Proof that we made it up to Yellow Stone Village.  We were glad we took Sherry's advice - this was probably the most beautiful part of the Park, at least for us.

...

And so ended another memorable trip in China.

Notable events in the last week:

Leicester City (The Foxes) won the Premier League.  The bookies rated them a 5,000 / 1 chance at the beginning of the season; a fairy-tale.
Leicester-born Mark Selby beat Ding Jun Hui to win the World Snooker Championship. Selby raced out to a 6 / 0 lead, then Ding fought back, but finally Selby won 17 / 14. On Chinese TV, computers and smartphones, 100 million watched the drama unfold.
Londoners elected Labour's Sadiq Khan as their new mayor, a Muslim.
Stephen Curry voted as the NBA - MVP for the second year running; for the first time ever, all 130 selectors had Curry as their #1 choice - unanimous!
With Ted Cruz dropping out Donald Trump is 'last man standing' in the Republican Party primaries; he will be the Republican candidate come November.  Six months ago no one took him seriously.  I think he could be the next US President. We live in interesting times!

...

Only eight weeks until we finish teaching and depart these shores for good.  We'll miss this place,  but it's time to head for home.

...

Best wishes, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
www.upc.edu.cn
Saturday, 14 May 2016

Post #99 7 May 2016

Gentlefolk

This post contains the News Summary for April 2016.

I compile a monthly summary of news items, with a focus on news on China.  

There is so much competition for space in Western media outlets that usually only the unusual, sensational, or bizarre gets a mention. Hopefully this summary will give you a better idea of some of the things happening in China.

The events/items included are not necessarily the headlines, but rather things which caught my eye.

The second list shows international events reported in China.  There are so many things happening around the world (information overload!), that I find it useful to have such a list to look back at. 

These news items were all sourced from the China Daily newspaper 1 – 30 April 2016. 

Actual events usually occurred a day or two before they appeared in the China Daily newspaper. 

Currency shown is US$, and the exchange rate used this month is US$1 = Yuan 6.5.

Remember: the China Daily is a government newspaper whose main purpose in life is to make the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese Government look good.  But if you strip away the propaganda, there is still quite a lot of interesting stuff in the paper. 

Events which made the news in China in April 2016

(a) Domestic (in China) events and news

5 April	Govt announced that ‘foreign & exotic’ names for places, buildings, complexes must be changed to Chinese names by 1 June 2017; to preserve Chinese culture.
	Many thousands (including visitors from Taiwan) paid tribute to the Emperor Huangdi (aka The Yellow Emperor) who is credited with founding China.  Main ceremonies were held at his birthplace Xinzheng near Zhengzhou, Henan and his mausoleum at Qian Shan 200km north of Xian, Shaanxi.
	China embraced South Korean soap drama (16 episodes) “Descendents of the Sun”, watched more than 2 billion times on video streaming site iQiYi.
7	Chinese-built lighthouse on the contested Zhubi Reef in South China Sea started operating; 55m high, beam is visible for 22 nautical miles.
	A 27 year old tourist from Hangzhou, Wan Wan (not her real name), was assaulted in a 4-star hotel corridor in Beijing on Sunday night. Police and hotel showed little interest until she put details of the assault, and security video, on Weibo where it went viral. The video showed several passers-by who did not intervene. It transpired that the man was a pimp who thought she was from a rival gang.
	China now has 19,000 km of high-speed Gao Tie train tracks (250+ k/h).
	VAT tax has been trialled since 2012 and will be extended to other areas from 1 May 2016. It replaces existing business tax. Revenue will be shared with local govt.
	A survey of Chinese who studied overseas found that 50% thought the experience worthwhile, 20% said not worthwhile, 22% were undecided, and 7% no comment.
8	New Kung Fu movie Ip Man 3 (about Bruce Lee’s teacher) featuring Donnie Yen and Mike Tyson was accused of box office fraud.  In the opening week many tickets were bought by the producers to generate hype.
	In 2015 137,198 people were sentenced for drug-related offences; possession of Ketamine (K Powder) was the most common; 15 years jail for 500 grams or more.
	Pork represents 60% of meat consumed in China; 2015 China produced 55 million tonnes of pork; consternation that price has risen 32% this year to $4 per kg; one reason could be the closing down of highly-polluting farms with an estimated 20 million hogs.
	In 2015 China had 2,900 colleges and universities with enrolment of about 37 million students (20% of world total). In 1949 China had 117,000 college students or 0.3% of 18 to 22 year olds; 1978 the figure was 1.6%; and 2015 40%. In 2015 females represented 52% of Masters students and 37% of PhDs. In mid-2016 7.65 million college students will graduate.  70% are seeking jobs in the private sector; 21% will do further study in China; 5% will study overseas; 3% hope to work in the public service; and 1% will start own business.
	According to the WHO an estimated 110 million Chinese have diabetes.
	Shanghai has introduced regulations to force children to regularly visit elderly parents. Offenders will be put on a “credit blacklist” with various penalties.
9	$50 million will be spent on restoration / upgrading of the Confucius Temple and Mansion in Qu Fu, Shandong.
11	A gang has been arrested in Shanghai for producing and selling fake baby formula under famous brands; 20,000 empty cans and 65,000 false labels seized.
12	The Govt announced long-term plans to enhance China’s soccer – stated aim is to become Asian Champions by 2030 and challenge for World leadership by 2050.
	Shanghai will restrict the use of cars with external license plates within the city.  Only 8,000 new plates are issued per month (4% of bids); recent auction prices exceed $13,000 so many residents have bought plates from other Provinces.
	In 2015 sales of Passenger Motor Vehicles (PMV) totalled 24.6 million units (up 4.7% over 2014). In Q1 2016 PMV sales totalled 5.6 million units, up 7% on same period last year. Toyota showed biggest increase with 28%.
13	Govt report that 80% of China’s ground water is polluted.
14	A scandal relating to the sale of expired Category 2 vaccines netted 202 arrests; 357 govt officials were penalised. The Govt will impose much stricter conditions on Category 2 vaccines in future.
	Stephen Hawking opened an account on Sina Weibo which attracted 2 million followers in 24 hours.
	A judge in Changsha rejected the application to marry of Sun Wen Lin (26) and his partner Hu Ming Liang (36) on the basis that marriage must be between a man and a woman.
15	China commemorated its first “National Security Education Day”; media stories warning Chinese to be wary of prying foreigners, and to protect State secrets.
	The Forbidden City (aka The Palace Museum) in Beijing attracted 15 million visitors in 2015.  It was home to 24 Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644 – 1911) emperors.
16	Actress Zhang Zi Yi and husband singer Wang Feng held a 100-days celebration for their daughter Xing Xing; big hotel; cost estimated $125,000.
18	Govt announced that reality TV shows featuring stars and their children will no longer be permitted; popular program “Dad, where are we going?” cancelled.
19	The capsule of China’s first micro-gravity satellite returned safely after 12 days in space.
20	The 6th of 24 Solar Periods of the Lunar Calendar (Gu Yu) started yesterday. Signals the end of cold weather and a rapid rise in temperatures.
	As of December 2015 China had 688 million netizens (195m in rural areas); 620 million mobile phone users; 4.23 million websites.
	With global warming, merchant ships can now use the Arctic Passage; 30% shorter from China’s East Coast to America’s East Coast than via Panama Canal.
	2015 spending by Central Govt on 3 areas (san gong = overseas visits, car purchases, and receptions & entertainment) totalled $830 million, well below the budgeted figure of $1 billion.
	2015 Chinese Patent Office: 2.8 million patent applications filed (including 1.1 million for inventions); 2.9 million brand name applications; 1.6 million copyright applications.
	Shanghai announced much stricter controls over online food providers. All vendors must be properly licensed; platforms must verify their status.
	The Changzhou Foreign Languages High School in Jiangsu opened in September 2015.  Since December 2015 many students reported health problems.  The school was  built on the former site of a number of chemical factories, and remedial treatment of the land was not completed.
	The Govt blocked the video sites of new cyberstar Papi Jiang, ordering her to delete “swear words and insulting language”. Her Weibo has 11 million followers and her videos have been watched 98 million times. She complied, and was back online on Monday. The first auction for advertising on her website got a top bid of $3.3 million from a Shanghai-based cosmetics company.
23	China’s wheat harvest is expected to be 130 million tonnes, the first fall since 2004.
	Beijing announced that tour groups will no longer be permitted to visit the popular Nan Luo Gu Xiang ancient alleys because of overcrowding.  Weekends often see visitor numbers over 50,000 per day.
26	Intellectual property disputes involving foreign companies increased from 2,840 in 2013 to 5,675 in 2015.
27	Sina Weibo (China’s Twitter) opened its “Microblog University” to facilitate interest-oriented learning.
28	The public got its first inside view of the Shanghai Tower, at 632 meters the tallest building in China; 121 floors; cost $2.3 billion.
29	New law governing overseas NGOs operating in China; they must register with the Public Security Bureau and strictly follow Chinese laws and regulations.
	The number of Migrant Workers (spend more than half-the-year away from their village) rose from 253 million in 2011 to 276 million in 2015. Average age is 39 years; 34% are females; average monthly income has increased from Y2,049 in 2011 to Y3,072 in 2015.

(b) International events

1 April	President Xi Jin Ping attended the 4th Nuclear Security Summit in Washington DC.
2	Standard & Poors cut China’s credit rating from “stable” to “negative”.
	The West Indies beat England to win the Twenty20 World Cup.  They needed 19 off the last over; Carlos Braithwaite hit four consecutive 6s to win.
5	First ‘migrants’ sent back from Greece to Turkey under the new agreement between EU and Turkey.
	Taiwan’s Foxconn (Terry Gou) took over Japanese company Sharp (appliances, solar, etc) for $3.5 billion.
6	Yao Ming elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, together with Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson.  Yao Ming joined the Houston Rockets in 2002 and played for them for 9 years; average 19ppg, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks.
7	China will release more water from the Jinghong Hydro Dam into the Mekong River to help Vietnam through drought.
	China will host the G20 meeting in September, in Hangzhou.
	Huawei launched its new P9 smart phone in London. Q4 2015 worldwide market shares: Samsung 21%; Apple 19%; Huawei 8%
12	COSCO bought 67% of Piraeus Port for $420 million. It is one of Europe’s Top 10 container ports.
	Englishman Danny Willett won the US Golf Masters. Jordan Spieth was leading by 5 strokes but he bogied 10 and 11 and then shot a seven on the par-3 12th.  Shades of Greg Norman’s collapse in 1996 when Nick Faldo won. In the first round of this Masters, Ernie Els 6-putted the first hole for a 9!!!
13	Alibaba paid $1 billion for a controlling share of Singapore-based online shopping platform Lazada.
15	Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull led  trade delegation of 1,000 companies to visit China; “Aust Week” in 12 cities; he met with Chinese leaders. The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement came into operation in December 2015; 86% of Australian exports are now duty-free, rising to 94% in 2019. Malcolm’s son, Alex Turnbull (34), works in Singapore. He married Yvonne Wang Yi Wen, originally from Shanghai. Their daughter Isla was born May 2015.
	Fans celebrated Kobe Bryant’s final game with the Lakers; beat Utah Jazz 101-96 to finish season 17-65; Kobe scored 60 points, the highest NBA score in the 2015-6 regular season! Kobe had 20 years with the Lakers; 5 NBA Championships; 18 All Stars; 2 Olympic Gold medals; 33,643 points in regular season (3rd highest) . The KB20 site on Weibo got 410 million hits yesterday; he has many fans in China! San Francisco’s Golden State Warriors ended the regular NBA season with 73 wins and 9 losses, surpassing the Bull’s record of 72-10 set in 1995-6. Stephen Curry smashed his own record with 402 3-pointers (previous record 286). He averaged an amazing 30ppg in the regular season.
	China published annual report “The Human Rights record of the USA in 2015”. The US publishes an annual report on China, so China reciprocates.
	South Korea’s ruling party, Saenuri, won only 122/300 seats in the Parliament.
18	In 2015 Americans adopted 2,354 Chinese children; average cost $16,000; average time 249 days.
	Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) won the China F1 race in Shanghai; Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) came second.
19	Brazilian House of Representatives voted to commence impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff.
21	UK celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 90th birthday.
22	Famous singer Prince died in Minneapolis aged 57; suspected overdose of prescription drugs.
	Following a review, the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) suspended China’s Anti-doping Agency (CHINADA) until its processes have been upgraded.
24	Celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death.
25	Solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse flew from Hawaii to California; 62 hours non-stop; 17,000 solar cells on wings. Part of round-the-world flight.
	Pyongyang announced the successful firing of a ballistic missile from a submarine.
27	30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine; 31 died, more later.
28	2014 Imports / Exports as % of GDP: China 19% / 23%; Australia 21%/21%; Canada 33%/32%; Germany 39%/46%; UK 30%/28%; USA 17%/13%.

…

Best wishes to you all, keep well and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Saturday 7 May 2016