Hua Shan

A few months ago when I was hiking along the stunning Tiger Leaping Gorge, I was surprised and unbelieving when one of the girls I was with said it wasn't even the most beautiful place she had been in China.  I personally though the Tiger Leaping Gorge was the most breathtaking place I had ever been in my life, so I wanted to check out this place that could possibly trump it.  So this past week I headed to Hua Shan to see if it lived up to the hype. 

At the start of my hike, still full of energy.

Hua Shan (Mount Hua) is just a quick 5-hour train ride from Baoding on the new high speed railway, so it was the perfect trip to make in my last week here.  I took the train on Wednesday afternoon, got complemented on my Chinese by a taxi driver, spent the night in a hotel at the base of the mountain, and started walking on Thursday morning.  The day was impossibly hot, and the price of water went up exponentially the higher I climbed, but the scenery made up for everything.  Hua Shan is known as the most dangerous mountain in China. I mean, it's still a Chinese mountain, so there are stairs and handrails all the way up, but they don't necessarily make it safe.  There were several sections that were so steep it was little more than a ladder carved into the rock itself, and paths that curved along the edge of a cliff with only a thin iron chain as a barrier.

It took about four hours to reach the first peak, and then I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the other four peaks.  By the time I reached West Peak, my legs were shaking and the sun was setting, so I settled in to watch.

The locks along the fence are for good luck and happiness, and they were locked all along the mountain.

I spent the night in a hotel on West Peak, got up early and hiked back to North Peak where I caught a cable car and bus back to the train station. Hua Shan was spectacular, but I don't know if I"m quite ready to declare anyplace the most beautiful in China.  From Hua Shan to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, to the rice terraces in Guilin, to the smoggy delights of my hometown Baoding, I can't pick a favorite place in China. 

Roundup

I have had a busy few weeks as my tenure here in China comes to an end.  I thought I would do a quick roundup for everyone, although I will soon be able to tell these stories in person.

Over the past two weeks, I've had several goodbye dinners with my expat friends.  We revisited our favorite places in Baoding, spent every waking hour in our favorite coffee shop, and spent one last evening at KTV singing "My Heart Will Go On" and every Taylor Swift song. 

Spending the afternoon at QLH coffee shop.

Our favorite dumpling restaurant.  The owner is our friend, Chinese teacher and "aunt."

I'm going to miss the girls who work at QLH.

KTV!

I should mention we used this opportunity to wear our favorite Chinese fashions...

One of the teachers, Sandy or Miss Liu, at school asked me to spend the weekend at her hometown.  I was a little nervous because she doesn't speak English as well as some of the other teachers, and honestly I didn't know what to expect from a visit to a small Chinese town.  Sandy lives in a small town that is part of Baoding county.  Her repeated warnings about the size of her town had me picturing Iola but less developed, but actually her hometown made Iola look like a tiny tiny hamlet.  People in China simply cannot comprehend someplace with so few people.  Probably in the same way that people from Iola might have difficulty imagining a city of 11 million people.   Sandy's family was very kind and welcoming even though they didn't speak any English.  Her mother would not stop feeding me all weekend long.  Even when I repeated "Chi Bao Le" (I'm full) over and over, Sandy and her mother kept giving me more dumplings and potatoes and fruit.  

Sandy's mom found out I like dumplings, so she made dumplings for me and then offered to make some for me to bring home to my family.  I thanked her profusely but had to decline.

 Sandy's 12-year-old sister followed us like a shadow all weekend long, and although she studies English in school, she wouldn't talk to me. 

We spent most of the time just walking or biking around her hometown and eating.  Sandy, her sister and I went to a weird 5-D movie where the seats moved and water and air was squirted in our faces.  We spent a morning at a museum near her hometown built around the tunnels that the Chinese used to fight against the Japanese during WWII or as some people call it, the Anti-Japanese War.  Many Chinese people are actually still very angry about the war, and very prejudiced against Japanese people.  Recent events between the two countries haven't helped matters.  While I found the tunnels themselves interesting, the amount of anti-Japanese and other nationalist propaganda was a little disturbing. 

On Tuesday this week, I made an impromptu trip to Beijing to visit my Carleton friend Marios before leaving China.  As always, he found a great restaurant and we spent a few hours talking about China, Carleton friends and everything in between.  I spent the rest of the week in Hua Shan, but I'll write a separate post about that tomorrow so I can do it justice.  Now I just have a few days left in Baoding to pack and say goodbye to all my favorite places and people before starting my epic journey home.  In case anyone's interested, my total travel time adds up to (Train to Beijing West 1 hour+ Subway to Beijing South 1 hour+ Train to Shanghai 5 hours + Flight to Toronto 14 hours + Flight to Chicago 2 hours +  Drive to Iola 4 hours) 27 hours not including layovers. 

Last Week of School

I spent my last week of classes playing "English Olympics" and taking pictures.  After I told the students that I would be leaving soon, and clarified that I won't be back next year, they were sad, but once I got my camera out they cheered up pretty quickly.  Here are some of my favorite pictures:

The boy in the front is one of my favorite students.  He's a new student who can't speak any English, but he always raises his hand to answer a question, and then when I call on him he turns to a friend to ask the answer.  He's really funny and the whole class loves him, so they don't mind helping him out.

The boy in the front, Eli, is my favorite student in the whole school.

She named herself Kate, after me!

We had a photo shoot with some students and teachers.

My Chinese best friend, Ada.

How to draw a giraffe and other life lessons

As I enter my last week of teaching, I thought I would make a list of the things I've taught my students, and the things they've taught me.

I've taught my students:

       How to make a Thanksgiving hand turkey.

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  The words angry, sad, happy and sleepy, along with hand motions.  I actually feel a little guilty about this one, because my students remembered this lesson best of all, and I'm worried that the new foreign teacher next year will be greeted by a room full of second graders stomping their feet and yelling "angry!" 
  
  
  An ardent adoration of Tom Pease music, especially the song "Branching Out."
  
  
  That it's okay to be wrong sometimes, and to make mistakes.  
  
  
  That I think our school's "Children should be seen and not heard" policy is arcane and an impediment to learning English and that they should ignore this rule with as much laughter and "jia you" and song as possible.
  
  
  About superheroes, and how important it is to be creative.  
  
  
  
  
  
  My students have taught me:
  
  
  How to make an origami heart.
  
  
  How to draw a giraffe and a rabbit.
  
  
  The best charades for monkey, fish and cat.
  
  
  How to not be nervous when I'm speaking or singing in front of a room full of people.
  
  
  An awesome new high five.
  
  
  A weird game that involves slapping and counting and I still don't know how to win this game.  
  
  
  How to say rice in Chinese (mi fan).
  
  
  That it's okay to be wrong sometimes, and to make mistakes.
  
  
  How to fly a kite.
  
  
   

Say Yes

Before coming to China I got a lot of good advice from many different people.  I asked lots of questions and got many helpful ideas, but what has stuck with me the most is a comment from one of the experienced teachers at my orientation in Shanghai.  When asked how he was so successful and happy in China, he replied, "I said yes to everything."  I have taken that as the unofficial motto of my time in China.  Whether it's a last minute trip with a friend, an event at school, or my own impulse, I have tried to say yes, to jump in and see what happens.  Some of my best memories from China have been times when I said yes even when the easy and reasonable answer was no. 

So a few weeks ago when a teacher asked me if I would sing "My Heart Will Go On" with some of my students, I said yes without really thinking about it.  My plan was to sing very quietly and let the ten students carry the song.  Little did I guess that my first agreement would escalate until I was standing on the stage with only my friend and co-teacher Miss Liu.

I usually never know much about what goes on at my school.  I just go where I'm told, and things often change without my knowledge and with little warning.  So I shouldn't have been surprised when I was informed that I would be singing with Miss Liu and not the students.  But I was surprised, and as those of you who know me might assume, I was terrified at the thought.  Miss Liu and I agreed to alternate verses and sing the chorus together.  

Our hosts for the concert.  These are all my students, but they were wearing so much make-up that it was actually difficult for me to recognize some of them. 

The concert, in honor of Children's Day which is June 1, was recorded live with the sixth grade as the audience, and it was played to the rest of the school on Wednesday.  The preparations for the concert began right after lunch, as all of the children in all of the acts needed full make-up, even the boys.  The art teachers also helped Miss Liu and me with our make-up.

Make-up time

Miss Liu

Miss Liu and some of our students.

After we were all made-up and costumed, we trooped upstairs to the auditorium.  Our performance was towards the end of the program, so we sat in the back and watched the other performances.  My students are seriously talented.  Every Tuesday and Thursday they take dance, music, and art lessons, and they've been preparing these performances all semester.  Even though I knew that all of my students were more talented than me, watching their performances made me less nervous and I even started to enjoy myself.

Waiting for the performances to start

First graders' dance

When it was finally our turn, I felt ready.  I walked out to the center of the stage.  My legs and hands were shaking, but my voice was steady.  The audience was full of strange and hostile sixth graders (or so it seemed to me, since I don't teach them and wasn't expecting the same kind of adoration I'd get from my own students), but when I finished singing the first verse I got a rousing round of applause.  Miss Liu joined me on stage and the rest of the song went smoothly.  Even though I had spent the whole morning feeling anxious and even angry about having to sing, during the actual performance it was really fun.  I'm really glad I said yes because my Children's Day performance is one of my best memories in China.

Fine Dining

Many foreign travelers to China make the mistake of skipping Hebei Province in favor of the more glamorous Beijing and Shanghai.  This is a mistake.  Hebei, and Baoding in particular, is one of China's hidden gems.  It is home to stunning natural scenery, top-notch international cuisine, and authentic Chinese cultural experiences.  It would be a mistake not to consider visiting Baoding on your next trip to China.  This post is the first in a three part series about Baoding's charms.  I'll focus on food and restaurants today, and in the future I'll introduce you to the other wonderful things that Baoding has to offer.  There are many many wonderful restaurants in Baoding, but I'll just list my top eight favorites here.

8. Dumpling place.  This hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant is great for a quick lunch.  The dumplings are simple and delicious and cheap.  For 8-20 kuai you get a plate of 25 dumplings.  The owner and staff are friendly and spent several minutes comparing my friends to various movie stars.  The owner also gave my friend a free haircut right there in the restaurant, that you can read about here  If this restaurant has a name, I don't know it.  It's down an alley near Hebei University Old campus. 

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7. Jin Jiaozi.  Jin Jiaozi, or Golden Dumplings, is home to a wide variety of dumplings, including my personal favorite tomato and egg.  The picture menu includes many other typical northern Chinese dishes, but the dumplings are the real star here.  It's located on the eastern side of Military Square.

6. Polaris Garden.  Despite the fact that I saw a rat running along the ceiling last time I went to Polaris Garden, it still makes my top 8 list.  The owner of this cafe is friendly and speaks perfect English. The food is a good approximation of real Western food, and cheaper than Pizza Hut or similar options.  Foreigners often get a discount, especially if they go here often.  The pizza and coffee are good, but the atmosphere is the real draw.  It's located on Heng Xing North St, near a bus stop for 17 and 37. 

5. Muslim Noodle Restaurant.  Across from the dumpling place I mentioned earlier, this restaurant serves freshly made Muslim noodles with various toppings.  I usually order off the large picture menu on the wall. They make the noodles fresh all day long. 

4. Tree Corner House.

For the best pizza in Baoding (and in my personal opinion, all of China), go to Tree Corner House.  The owner used to be the cook at Polaris, but now he's opened his own restaurant.  He's passionate about pizza and other western food.  The pizza here approximates what you might find at home in the US.  For now, the menu is only in Chinese, but the owner speaks some English and will help you order if you ask.  You can get here by bus 22, 33, 305 or 306, it's on Hengxiang St, between Wusi St and Dongfeng St, and it's easy to spot. 

3. QLH.  This is a cafe, not a restaurant.  They serve coffee and ice cream.  There are two branches in town, one near the Agricultural University, the other off of Military Square.  Both are gathering places for expats and Chinese students practicing English.  The coffee and ice cream is very cheap and solidly mediocre, but the atmosphere is great and the internet is free and fast.  It's a great place to spend an afternoon and to meet people.

2. The Korean Restaurant. As with many restaurants on this list, our favorite Korean restaurant is very cheap.  I actually never had Korean food before I came to China, and I've never been to Korea, so I can't say for sure how authentic it is,  but a friend of mine lived in Korea last summer, and she loves this restaurant.  It's just down the street from Tree Corner House, and it has a compact but delicious picture menu.

1. The Old Cook.  I won't lie to you, this restaurant tops the list for sentimental reasons.  It has been home base for generations of Hebei University teachers, which is how I found out about it.  It is the basis for my taste in Chinese food, and while there are probably better versions of Gong Bao Ji Ding, Wan Cai and Tu Dou Pian, I always compare them to the Old Cook.  Much like I will always prefer my mother's cooking to any imitators, The Old Cook will always be my standard for Chinese food.  There is an extensive picture menu.  The Old Cook is on WuSi Lu, across from Globe Square.  Buses 17 and 22 stop here.