YMCA Christmas Luncheon - December 25th

The traditional YMCA-YWCA Christmas Staff Luncheon was held at the Y on Christmas Day -- a regular work day in China.

A small Christmas tree and many Christmas cards received by the Y which were displayed on the walls made for a festive holiday setting.
Santa boot candles served as center pieces on the dining table.

Attending the Christmas Luncheon were from left to right above, Zhou Yu Gao (Jim), Maintenance Director; Wu Qi Ming (Luke), Branch Director; Xie Yuan Chao (Anna), Cashier; Li You Quan (Paul), Branch Director; and Yu Guo Fen (Annie), Public Reading Room Director. Below from left to right are Wang Lan Zhi (Mary), Cook; Huang Hui (Susan), Public Relations Director; Wei Yuan (Bob), Property Rental and Driver; and Hua Yibao (Isabella), General Secretary.

The Christmas Luncheon menu included the following delicious foods.
Turnip Soup - Soup is traditionally served at the end of the meal in China.

Beef

Red pepper flakes and salt in which to dip the beef. If you chose, you could also put it on your baked potatoes which was very good.

Chicken

Baked white potatoes and yams.

Two Chinese green vegetables. There are said to be 330 vegetables available in Sichuan so I will never remember which are which.

Steamed corn-based and rice-based buns.

Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon.

For dessert, fresh sweet delicious oranges, served by Bob.

Several YMCAs gave me T-shirts to bring for the staff of the Chengdu YMCA. The Christmas Luncheon provided an opportunity for staff to pick the preferred size, color and design. Some then modeled their choice for the rest of us.

The luncheon's fellowship was enhanced by a series of jokes shared by members of the staff. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve in Chengdu

The government and police appear to have eliminated this year the recent tradition in Chengdu of going to the central business district on Christmas Eve and beating on each other with air-filled bats. On Christmas Eve, I'm told, the central business district saw a significant increase in police on the streets, the sale of air-filled bats was made unlawful, all businesses were asked to close by early evening and all of the lights were turned off in the central business district, making it essentially dark. This effectively discouraged people from coming to the central business district for the traditional celebration on Christmas Eve.

Preparations for Christmas Eve

On the way home this evening from the Russian Royal Ballet, we walked through the central business district where "preparations" were underway for Christmas Eve. And interesting phenomena has developed in Chengdu over the past few years. Massive numbers of people go to the central business district and beat on each other with air inflated bats. While the bats come in a variety of shapes and colors, the predominate ones are like baseball bats with red-white-and-blue stars and stripes. Below some young people are buying their bats for tomorrow evening.

No one seems to know why this tradition started or what it means. Someone asked if we did it in America. Some think the bats are red-white-and-blue because they think the idea started in America. Anyway, the massive crowds are a concern of the government and the police. The tell me there will be large numbers of police on the streets tomorrow night along with 150,000+ people. You can see pictures from a previous year on ImageEvent. I'll report more after the event.

YMCA Yellow House Orphanage in Jintang

The YMCA Yellow House Orphanage in Jintang is co-sponsored by the Chengdu YMCA and the Yellow House Organization based in Hong Kong and operated by contributions from the two organizations. One parent of each child in the orphanage is deceased and the living parent is unable to care for the child. Children 6 to 16 years of age (through middle school age) are eligible. Currently all of the children are in primary school and attend the YMCA Hong Kong Primary School in Jintang. The sixteen boys and girls currently living in the orphanage are looking forward to a Merry Christmas. The 16 wonderful children, identified by their English names, are:

Andrew

Ben

Benson

Bonnie

Cara

Cathy

Edmond

Eva

Helen

Kristy

Niki

Oli

Sonia

Stella

Tracy

Vincent

By the way, Ben & Benson and Oli & Niki are twins.

MORE ... Street Scenes in Chengdu

Yesterday, December 9th, I walked from home to Qintai Road in western Chengdu with a stop downtown for lunch of a fresh garden salad and bacon and vegetable pizza at Amy's. The walk took me from the Fu River in the East to the Nan River in the West -- the full East-West distance in central Chengdu. Along the way several Street Scenes caught my eye which I thought I'd share with you. The above dolls were in a store window watching all of us pass by.

Often as I walk, I see new store openings, always with many flowers in front. This was a small new clothing store along one of the main streets.

The above chestnut stand is typical Chengdu. I don't think I had ever tried roasted chestnuts until I came to Chengdu. Can't say they've become a favorite food of mine.

You can buy all kinds of food on the street. The above bike stand is selling yuzi or youzi, a grapefruit like fruit but not as sweet, that is a favorite of many in Chengdu.

Every where in Chengdu there are Liao's Bon-Bon Chicken take-out stands. They don't appear to do as well as a regular McDonald's.

A Chengdu parking lot for bikes located on the sidewalk. For a small fee an attendant with lock and protect your bike while you shop, eat or work.

Like every large city in the world, there are news stands or shops in every block -- often more than one.

If you don't want to buy, or can't afford to buy, the newspaper, there are public copies posted on special stands in various locations.

The Monument in People's Park to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement (1911) as seen from across the street.

The statue of Chairman Mao as you walk into Tianfu Square.

The new Sichuan Science and Technology Museum, located beyind Chairman Mao, on Tianfu Square. It is on my list for winter when indoor activity may be welcomed.