Bill's Chengdu Journal 2006-2007

Old Photos 1910-1913 by Luther Knight

2007-04-17T05:40:00.006+08:00

From the China Daily, January 6, 2003:
Photos Remember Times Past

Li Mengqiu, a 78-year-old retired government employee, often feels a little nostalgic for her home city of Chengdu.

The capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, known for its rich history and culture, has changed beyond recognition in the past 50 years.

"The city is like a never-ending construction site," she complained to China Daily.

"Almost all the buildings conform to the design dictates of modern steel-and-cement structures, as in any other Chinese city. Very often, I cannot help thinking that my city doesn't really live up to its reputation as a historically and culturally famous city."

To Li's great delight, however, she recently received a picture album from an old friend that reminded her of the city's "good old days."

Published by the Beijing-based Travel and Tourism Press, the album -- Looking Back at Chengdu through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century -- is bilingual, in both Chinese and English. It has a collection of 106 pictures taken by Luther Knight, a United States scholar who taught in Chengdu from 1910 to 1913.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Resources about Luther Knight's Photos of 1910-1913:
Old Pictures--An American's Memory of China - a two-part video of China Central Television.
Old Photos 1910-1913 - a 2002 documentary by Bibo Liang for China Central Television.
Looking Back at Chengdu through the Lens of an American Photographer in the Early 20th Century published by Travel and Tourism Press in Beijing (2002).
West China Impression: An American 1910-1913 in Western China published by the Sichuan People's Publishing Agency in Chengdu (2003).
Pictures by Luther Knight (1879-6-8--1913-4-19)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Born in 1879 in the state of Iowa, the United States, Knight obtained his Master of Science degree from JohnsHopkins University in Maryland.

At the invitation of the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), he left Seattle in July 1910, traveling for nearly one month by boat to reach Shanghai in August. Two months later, he arrived in Chengdu and began teaching mathematics, chemistry and geology at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Education. The institute, which is today's Sichuan University, was founded in 1902 and was Sichuan's first modern institution of higher education.

In his spare time, Knight took many pictures of Chengdu, recording the area's scenery, historic and cultural sites, local customs and social events. "They are the oldest pictures of Chengdu," said Zhou Mengqi, director of the Chengdu municipal government's Information Office and mastermind of the album's publication.

For local residents such as Li Mengqiu, these pictures remind them of many familiar and old things that no longer exist in the city. These include old buildings, streets, marketplaces, courtyards and houses typical of Chengdu, as well as recreational activities and traditional customs.

"Everybody in Chengdu knows that the city had a 'royal city' for more than 500 years," said Yang Shirong, a 59-year-old chef. "But no one below 35 years of age has ever seen it. Now they can."

Built in the early Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the so-called "Royal City" was the residential palace of Zhu Chun, the 11th son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first Ming emperor. Known for its majestic buildings, the Royal City -- which was regarded as the symbol of Chengdu -- was demolished in 1968 during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). Knight's pictures of the Royal City are the oldest yet discovered, according to Zhou Mengqi, who is also a photographer.

Chengdu has been regarded as a "land of abundance" as it has been a leading farming area in

China

since ancient times. Its grain, rapeseed, pigs, lacquer, bamboo, wood and medicinal herbs are famous throughout the country.

The photo album displays the lives of farmers in the "land of abundance" with pictures of them working the fields, raising cattle and ducks.

During religious festivals in old Chengdu, people burned incense, kowtowed and offered sacrifices in Buddhist and Taoist temples.

In the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), visiting the flower fair became a local folk custom. Later, the temple fair and the flower fair were combined. In the late Qing Dynasty, the government took advantage of the fairs to exhibit and sell goods from different parts of Sichuan Province. Prizes were given to the best products.

"Chengdu people still visit the flower fair annually," said Yang. "So it is amusing to find a picture of Qing Dynasty officials with long pigtails commending prizewinning products in the flower fair held in the spring of 1911."

For historians such as Tan Jihe, a researcher with the Institute of History at the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Knight's pictures are exciting because they also capture the profound transformation in Sichuan's social fabric that occurred in the early 20th century.

At the beginning of the 1900s, farmers and landlords in Sichuan Province raised funds to build the Sichuan-Wuhan railway. But the Qing government sacrificed their interests when it decided to sell the railway's construction and management rights to foreign companies. The infuriated people of Sichuan launched a six-year railway-protection movement in 1905. This movement became one of the triggers of the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty.

The movement led to the founding of the Dahan military government in Chengdu on November 27, 1911, which ended the rule of the Qing Dynasty in the province. Thousands of residents of Chengdu stormed into the Royal City to participate in celebrations.

Luther Knight zoomed in on the event, and his photos in the album are the only pictures documenting the establishment of the military government, said Tan, who did extensive research for the album's publication.

During Knight's two years and 10 months in China, he traveled extensively along the Yangtze River. His photos of cities, towns, wharves, navigation lights and boats along the river are also included in the album.

His panorama of Diexi town -- which was taken in the summer of 1911 -- is priceless, Tan said.

It was the only one taken of the ancient town, which has long since disappeared.

With a history of more than 2,000 years, Diexi was located in Sichuan's Maoxian County. It lay on the eastern bank of the Minjiang, a tributary of the Yangtze River in its upper reaches.

The town was flooded under a lake 80 meters deep and 10 kilometers long after an earthquake registering 7.5 on the Richter scale struck at 3:50 pm on August 25, 1933. More than 3,000 civilians and soldiers died. There were only five survivors.

Diexi Lake is located along the road running from Chengdu to Jiuzhaigou, a scenic spot on the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The lake impresses every tourist with its clear blue water but few know that the ancient town lies beneath the surface.

The Chinese Government is planning to turn the lake into a national geological park. Knight's pictures can be valuable references for the planning.

Critics speak highly of Knight's pictures not only in terms of their historical value but also in terms of photographic art. "Knight used an old xeroradiography camera. It was very difficult for users of this camera to focus properly. But his composition is first-class, and his handling of light is superb," said Wang Yulong, a photographer from the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Knight's love for photography started at the age of 15 when his father gave him a camera as a birthday gift. That was only a short time after the modern camera had been invented. With this camera, Knight shot the first photo of his father.

He showed his dedication to photography in his pictures. Many of his pictures along the Yangtze River were taken from the mountains, which he climbed while carrying his heavy photographic gear, said John E. Knight, a descendant of the photographer.

Luther Knight had planned to leave China at the end of the school year in 1913, travel through the Middle East, Egypt, Paris and London on his way back to the United States, and introduce

China

to the rest of the world through photo exhibitions.

Sadly, these plans never came to fruition. He contracted typhus in early April 1913 while taking some of his students on a study trip to a copper-ore refinery in a suburban county of Chengdu. In the same month, he died at the age of 34 in the Canadian Mission Hospital, now known as Chengdu No 2 People's Hospital, and was buried in the suburbs of Chengdu.

"Unlike many foreigners who have come to and gone from China, Luther died and was buried in Chinese soil," said John Knight, a US philanthropist and educator living in Hong Kong.

"From the information contained in Luther's writings (sent to his sister Uintah), we sense that he had a deep respect and admiration for the Chinese people, culture, language and land.

"The industriousness of the common folk, the diligence and intellectual curiosity of his students, and the beauty of the terrain are just a few of the things that seemed to constantly amaze and enthrall him," he said.

Luther Knight kept detailed records of all the photographs he had taken. But, after his death, this information was lost, including all of his diaries and a number of important photos. Wang Yulong, who is a friend of John Knight, spent two years traveling and verifying the locations and backgrounds of 90 per cent of the pictures.

Sealed away for nearly a century, Luther Knight's existing pictures were not open to public view until a photo exhibition was held in Chengdu in the autumn of last year. All the pictures in the photo album are being published for the first time.

The Chengdu Zoo - A Family Place

2007-03-12T21:14:00.001+08:00

The Chengdu Zoo is in the northern suburbs of the city, surrounded by gardens. It covers 18 hectares, with 250 or more varieties of animals living in the halls, houses, ponds and fenced-up mounds, which are scattered among green trees and colorful flowers.

One unique and most popular feature of the zoo is the panda houses, spacious and ingeniously designed, shaded among bamboo and surrounded by ditches. They are really good homes for the giant and lesser pandas. The Chengdu Zoo is the world's most successful breeder of pandas by artificial insemination. In recent years, tourists from different continents have arrived in a continuous flow to see pandas in their hometown and pandas of the Chengdu Zoo have traveled abroad to charm poeple of different countries. From TibetTours.net.

During the spring, the fruit blossoms make the Zoo an extra special place to spend an afternoon.

The Red Panda, or Lesser Panda, is not as well known as the Giant Panda. Red Pandas are 20-24 inches long with 12-20 inch tails and weight 6.5-11 pounds. They are reddish with well furred and banded tails, large round ears with white fringe and two black stripes from the eyes down the cheeks.

A "Mushroom Garden" in the Zoo

The Monkey Mountain reminded me of the Monkey Island in a public park in Davenport, Iowa, where my father particularly enjoyed watching these wonderfully playful animals.

Chengdu Zoo ... More ... The Birds

2007-03-12T20:56:00.000+08:00

Especially for the birds, the Chengdu Zoo had interesting large signs painted on ceramic tile. Here are some examples and the birds they identify.

The Zoo had many birds in cages and in the open pond area ... the pond and a sampling of birds.

Chengdu Zoo ... More ... Large Animals

2007-03-12T20:48:00.000+08:00

Chengdu Zoo ... More ... The Deer Family

2007-03-12T20:41:00.000+08:00

Chengdu Zoo ... More ... Horned Animals

2007-03-12T20:30:00.000+08:00

WuHou Shrine - The Peach Garden

2007-03-11T10:27:00.000+08:00

The story of the sworn botherhood of Liú Bèi, Guān Yǔ and Zhāng Fēi in the Peach Garden during the Three Kingdoms Period has been passed down through the ages and commemorated in the Peach Garden at Wuhou Shrine. In the Peach Garden are erected the statues of Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, which are carved from white, red and black granite respectively, keeping the shape and interest of the natural stone and depicting the spirit and charm of the three righteous men at the same time. In spring when all the peach trees are in full bloom one seems to see again the scene of the three heroes meeting together. -- From the WuHou Guide Book.

The peach blossoms yesterday were very beautiful in the Peach Garden at WuHou Shrine!

YMCA Staff English Class

2007-03-07T17:03:00.000+08:00

This morning our staff English class had our picture taken for the upcoming YMCA magazine. From left to right are Isabella Hua, General Secretary of the Chengdu YMCA; myself; Huang Hui (Susan), Public Relations Director; and Li You Quan (Paul), Xinercun Branch Director. I've also used this picture to up date my photo in my profile on the right. My new red pull-over, I think, has a message for those who can read Dongba!

Chengdu Botanical Garden Chinese Flowering Crabapple Garden

2007-03-04T04:48:00.000+08:00

On Saturday, March 3, I visited the Chengdu Botanical Garden to see the spring blossoms. The Garden has sections which are labeled [Chinese Flowering Crabapple Garden, Cherry Blossom Garden, Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Garden], but hardly any of the individual plants and trees have specific labels. Most visitors were picnicking in the Chinese Flowering Crabapple Garden which was the only garden in bloom. I believe the sign in this section [pictured above] was meant to read: "Chinese Flowering Crabapple Garden - The garden collects Hall Crabapple [Malus Halliana], Huph Crabapple [Malus hupehensis], Midget Crabapple [Malus micromalus], Quince [Chaenomeles] and Japanese Quince [Chaenomeles speciosa]. The former three species belong to Crabapple Genus, Rose Family; the latter two species belong to Flowering Quin Genus. Chinese Flowering Crabapple is the famous decorative flower at courtyard." [I've added what I think are the scientific names of the intended plants.] Since I am not very knowledgeable about these plants, I've posted pictures below in hopes that others might help to identify them. I've posted a picture of the tree or shrub followed by picture(s) of its blossoms. If you recognize any of them, please let me know; otherwise just enjoy the beautiful blossoms. Since the sign identifies five plants and I've posted eleven examples, some of my examples are obviously duplicates. Let me know what you think they are? Thanks.

Exhibit #1

Exhibit #2

Exhibit #3

Exhibit #4

Exhibit #5

Exhibit #6

Exhibit #7

Exhibit #8

Exhibit #9

Exhibit #10

Exhibit #11

Lantern Festival - March 4th

2007-03-03T07:55:00.000+08:00

This year's Lantern Festival falls on March 4 and it's one of the three major traditional festivals in Chinese folk (the other two are Spring Festival and Mid-autumn Festival). With a history of more than 2000 years, Lantern Festival is celebrated grandly. Its celebrative activities mainly consist of three parts: the daytime Huahui (lively and jolly celebrations), the nighttime Denghui (display of various lanterns) and eating Yuanxiao (sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour)....MORE from the China Daily on this year's Lantern Festival.

Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Jinsha River

2007-02-27T23:51:00.000+08:00

Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Jinsha River is north of Lijiang. It is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. In my book it is #1! All I can do is share a few pictures which do not do justice to the real beauty of Tiger Leaping Gorge.

The Old Town of Lijiang in Yunnan Province

2007-02-27T23:41:00.000+08:00

The past few days of the Spring Festival holiday period were spent in Lijiang in Yunnan Province about a 90-minute flight from Chengdu. The classic view of Lijiang is above. Taken in Black Dragon Pool Park, the source for the water that runs through the Old Town of Lijiang, it features the Deyue Pavilion (originally erected in the 17th century, restored and rebuilt in 1963) and the marble, five-arched bridge with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background and reflected in the pool. I'll make several posts about different places in and around Lijiang.

Huan Hua Xi Park - The Everglade

2007-02-21T20:15:00.000+08:00

A sign in the park says: Everglade means wetland, marsh or swamp land with immobile or flowing fresh water, brackish water or salt, including the area with a depth lower than six meters at the ebb. It does not matter if the wetland is natural or artificial, permanent or short-time. Below are some scenes from the Everglade section of Huan Hua Xi Park.

Huan Hua Xi Park

2007-02-21T17:58:00.000+08:00

Huan Hua Xi Park is relatively new and is located in western Chengdu next to The Du Fu Thatched Cottage. Huan Hua Xi means Flower Washing Stream and it runs through the park. The map below appears on sign boards in the park. In the northeast corner of the park is the new Sichuan Province Museum which should open shortly. West of the museum is an area of wetlands known as the Everglade. In the section of the park directly south of The Du Fu Thatched Cottage is Cang Lang Lake and a walkway that leads to Poem Avenue. The southeast section of the park includes Poem Avenue, a reforested hilly area, a children's playground, an outdoor cafe and an underground parking garage.

Dr. Theodore Johnson, in his Sichuan English Guide [2005], tells the folk story related to the origin of Huan Hua Xi Park's name: "A long time ago, a pretty young lady lived near the stream. It is said that she had a kind heart and often did something good for her friends and local people. One day a monk arrived when a group of ladies were washing their clothes by the stream. The monk had serious ski disease. He scratched his skin as he walked towards the ladies. At the first sight of the monk, all the ladies ran away as quickly as possible. However, the pretty young lady stayed and continued her washing. The monk had some clothes in his hand. Those clothes looked very dirty. It seemed that they had not been washed for several months. The monk keep scratching. He said to the lady, 'Would you like to wash my clothes?' 'Yes, I will,' said the lady. She took the dirty clothes from the monk and put them into the stream. The young lady dipped the clothes into the water, and immediately lotus flowers appeared and blossomed. Lotus flowers were everywhere in the stream. 'It's amazing,' said the lady to herself. She turned to the monk, but there was no sign of the man. Upon hearing the wonder, local people came and saw the flowers. Since then, they have called the stream huanhuaxi or the Flower Washing Stream."

Separate posts on each section will give you a better view and understanding of Huan Hua Xi Park.

New! Sichuan Travel Guide Chronicles of the Shu Kingdom

2007-02-20T17:13:00.000+08:00

The Sichuan Travel Guide is Chengdu's and Sichuan's newest English-language publication brought to you by iHotPot.com, Middle Kingdom Studios and the Sichuan Publishing Group. A fun and entertaining guide to Sichuan in a light-reading format (48 pages). It can be purchased (only 12 元) at several restaurants and the Foreign Language Bookstore.

Common Flowering Quince Chaenomeles Speciosa

2007-02-20T16:36:00.001+08:00

With the Chinese New Year (February 18) and the Spring Festival, the trees and shrubs are beginning to blossom in Chengdu. The temperature now reaches the low 60s F most days. Among the first to blossom are the "Winter Red Flower," the plum trees and the common flowering quince. Today, I went to Tazishan Park to see the lantern display and found a grove of beautiful Common Flowering Quince (Chaenomeles Speciosa) with a label to confirm their identify. I hope my family and friends in Pennsylvania who are clearing snow can enjoy a touch of Chengdu's spring.

A Busy Time in Chengdu Chinese New Year & Spring Festival

2007-02-20T16:22:00.000+08:00

Sorry I have not posted any new material for the past week. With the Chinese New Year & Spring Festival comes many special activities, a ten-day holiday for most people and travel for many during the holiday period. Prior to the Chinese New Year, I enjoyed the Chengdu YMCA's New Year's Dinner for staff and volunteers and the family New Year's Luncheon with my General Secretary and her family. Family, organizational and business luncheons and dinners are major events of the New Year's season. The Chengdu YMCA is closed for ten days (February 15-24). The YMCA arranged for me to go to Xishuangbanna in Yunnan Province for four days including the Chinese New Year and to go to Lijiang in Yunnan Province for five days at the end of this week. During the three days between the trips, I have been visiting several parks in Chengdu which have special flower and/or lantern displays. Also, at the end of January, I spent five days in Guilin. A major event last week was the opening of the reconstructed Tianfu Square in the center of Chengdu. All of this activity has produced many, many photos, but I am not sure when I'll get time to post them to my blog. I think after I get home I will be adding to my blog for several months to complete the story of my stay in China.

China's Life Expectancy to Jump

2007-02-12T15:57:00.000+08:00

From Reuters, February 12, 2007:

BEIJING (Reuters) - Average life expectancy in China will jump 13 years to 85 years and all households will be lifted out of poverty by the middle of the century, Chinese academics forecast in a report issued in state media on Monday.

The number of years a Chinese child spends in school will almost double to 14 years and an increasingly affluent population will spend a far smaller proportion of their income on food, the official China Daily said, citing a 20-volume report called an Outline for China's Sustainable Development.

But the weighty report, put together by 184 academics and policy makers mainly from the influential Chinese Academy of Sciences, warned a growing population and environmental problems posed risks to China's sustainable development, the Chinese News Service said.

Poor use of energy, social inequality, the country's rural woes and a lack of creativity and innovation were also risks, it added.

"The United Nations says current life expectancy in China is around 72 years, compared with around 82 years in Japan. About 200 million people in China live below the poverty line while a child spends, on average, just over eight years in school.

Large swathes of China are affected by chronic air pollution from factories, vehicles and coal-burning power plants. Water and land pollution have poisoned many other parts of the country.

Last month the China Modernization Report 2007 said that China had failed to make any progress in protecting the environment in the past three years, despite government pledges to put the issue at the top of its agenda.

China ranked 100 out of 118 countries in terms of environmental protection -- the same level as in 2004, the modernization report said.

But it said that by 2015, China's social and economic indicators should be on par with developed countries in the 1960s, by which stage China would have moved from an agrarian economy to an industrial one.

Chengdu - Rated Best Tourism City in China

2007-02-11T22:21:00.000+08:00

Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan, was rated as the Best Tourism City in China (BTCC) by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA).

The BTCC project aims to develop the tourism capacities of Chinese cities by meeting a number of standards and guidelines and to set a benchmark for other cities to follow. There are only three cities rated as BTCCs in 2006. Besides Chengdu, the other two cities are Dalian, a coastal city in Northeast China and Hangzhou, the capital city of Zhejiang province. Chengdu is the only BTCC from central and western China.

With the nation’s rising standard of living, and as the Chinese government is making efforts to turn its economy to a more consumption driven one, tourism has become a fast growing industry. In 2006, Chengdu raked in RMB 34 billion from its tourism industry, 18.7% higher than in 2005. -- From CHENGDUONLINE, February 11, 2007.

The Little Birch Tree Dance Troupe from Russia -- Beriozka

2007-02-11T19:22:00.000+08:00

Last night I saw The Little Birch Tree Dance Troupe from Russia (Beriozka) at the Jinsha International Theater of the Chengdu Art Center.

The troupe, recently named as the Traditional Cultural Heritage of Russia, presented a colorful display of Russian folk songs and dances. The program included a girls' round dance "Beriozka" (a birch tree) to the music of the folk song, Vo Pole Beriozonka Stoyala (There was a birch tree in the field.).

The round dance Beriozka, now acclaimed as a national treasure in Russia, marked the birth of a new style of performance in the Russian stage choreography, featuring the wonderful "floating" steps, which has delighted spectators all over the world.

Being the representaives of Russian folk dances, the troupe has become the symbol of Russian folk arts. In the past 59 years, the LIttle Birch has visited more than 60 countries in the world. Their visit to Chengdu was part of the troupe's tour to eight cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Suzhou and Shenzhen. -- From the Chengdu Weekly, February 4, 2007. Below are a series of scenes from their performance last evening.

BatesApex - First Foreign-Funded Advertising Agency in Chengdu

2007-02-11T18:01:00.000+08:00

The top advertising agency Apex recently established a partnership with the world's leading communications service group WPP. Both companies announced their marriage Thursday in Chengdu and the inauguration of the BatesApex Integrated Marketing Co., Ltd. which is viewed by WPP as a significant investment in entering the western China market. Insiders believe BatesApex is a good example for other domestic and international communications companies seeking cooperation in expanding the Chinese market. WPP is made up of leading companies in advertising, media, information and insight consultancy, public relations and public affairs, branding and identity, direct mail, promotions, relationship marketing, and many other disciplines. Its clients include 300 of the Fortune 500 and over half of the NASDAQ top 100. -- From the Chengdu Weekly, February 11, 2007. [Note: The husband of the Chengdu YMCA's public relations director is CFO of ApexBates.]

Chengdu Population Rises to 11.03 Million

2007-02-11T17:55:00.000+08:00

By midnight of December 31 last year, Chengdu recorded a total population of 11.03 million, a figure based on the number of permanent residence registrations. That is a population increase of over 210,000 compared to the beginning of 2006. According to the Chengdu Population and Family Planning Commission, there were about 73,000 newborn babies last year, which continued to demonstrate a low birth rate level. It is predicted that the city will face the fourth baby boom as children from the third baby boom period (1985-1990) reach the marriage age. From the Chengdu Weekly, February 11, 2007.

The Beautiful Roof Lines of the Historic Chengdu YMCA Building

2007-02-10T14:25:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, while looking out from the Fitness Center on the fourth floor of the New YMCA Building, I again realized how beautiful the roof lines are on the historic Chengdu YMCA Building.

Valentine's Day

2007-02-10T09:57:00.000+08:00

I've been told that Valentine's Day has become a major event with the young people in Chengdu. While I have not seen lots of signs promoting Valentine's Day, I've seen several and more seem to have appeared this week. I got a Valentine today -- from China Airlines!

Feeling at Home in Chengdu

2007-02-10T09:26:00.000+08:00

Yesterday morning I had really strong feelings of "being at home" in Chengdu. Each morning I've been eating two sliced bananas with milk and several fresh Mandarin oranges (they are delicious!) before I leave my apartment. Then I stop at the McDonald's near the Y for coffee and a Sausage and Egg with Cheese Burger. Yesterday, as I walked through the front door of McDonald's, the counter supervisor smiled, placed my order, range up my charges and laughed before I even got to the counter. It felt good to be predictable and known -- like being at home. By the way, at McDonald's I get the coffee with free refills and the Sausage and Egg with Cheese Burger for 10 Yuan (US $1.25).

Then, as I approached the YMCA, two separate children with their mothers on their way to the YMCA Vacation Arts School greeted me with "Good Morning!" At the YMCA entrance gate was the large poster promoting next term's English classes with my picture spread over it.

Once inside the gate, there were the normal "Nín hǎo!" or "Good Morning!" from Y staff. It all just made me feel a strong part of Chengdu and the Chengdu YMCA -- at home in Chengdu.

Shopping Festival of Chengdu - Jan 27 to Feb 11

2007-02-08T20:10:00.000+08:00

The Shopping Festival of Chengdu is being held January 27th to February 11th. The downtown is covered with signs like the one above proclaiming this major shopping period. In the Chunxi square they have constructed a large Pepsi Stage for special presentations and entertainment.

The local government has constructed booths on Chunxi Lu and Hongxing Square and the connecting pedestrian streets which they rent to merchants for the Shopping Festival. At least three of the booths were taken by "wedding shops" and were packed each time I walked along the street. Weddings are really a big business in Chengdu. There must be hundreds of weddings every weekend.

Real estate sales also played a major role. With the massive construction of new apartments going on in Chengdu, there are many, many apartments to sell. Folks tell me that they are almost always sold out before the new buildings open. The demand for new and better housing must be very large.

Besides the booths, of course, all the merchants had special sales in their stores. The booths covered a wide range of products, including jeans .......

... and shoes ....

... and Coca-Cola had a special booth at the entrance to Hongxing Square on Chunxi East ....

... miscellaneous food stuffs ....

... the normal range of meats and fowl ...

... including special sauages ...chickens, ducks, tongue, etc. ....

and, on one of the stages, the ever present art auction.

The Shopping Festival leads up to Valentine's Day, the Spring Festival and the celebration of the Chinese New Year on February 18th.

The Unusual Bus Stop Mystery Solved

2007-02-06T20:52:00.000+08:00

I had noticed this bus stop, just off Hongxing Square, for Bus #20 where people lined up to wait for the bus -- unlike any other bus stop in Chengdu. Until today, no one could tell me why only at this bus stop did people line up in an orderly single-line. Turns out the answer is simple: This bus stop is only for Bus #20, so everyone is waiting for the same bus; unlike other stops where several buses may stop and the folks don't know who is getting on which bus. Also, this is the beginning of the route for Bus #20, so many people get on at this prime location in downtown Chengdu, so there is always a line. Mystery solved!

Soul Partners and Mofile

2007-02-06T20:25:00.000+08:00

The Shanghaiist reported in a post by Peijin Chenon on January 24, 2007, that the hit U.S. 90s sitcome Friends now has a Shanghai version. "The show is called Soul Partners in English, the translation of 《灵魂排挡》in Chinese. But you won't be seeing it on TV, but on an even smaller screen — your computer screen (unless you have a really fancy computer). The series is being shot, episode by episode, on digital video and then uploaded" onto the video sharing site Mofile --China's version of YouTube.

"Here's the premise: Six young people, three guys and three gals, buy the same apartment after getting swindled by some unscrupulous real estate agent. Now they all have to find some way of living together.

"The idea came to Xun Xiang, a female 'employee,' who is a fan of the original show and thought that the stories and jokes that she shared with friends and colleagues provided enough fodder for their own show. So they collaborated with video-sharing site Mofile and a Songjiang real estate developer, which provided them the apartment they use as their set, in exchange for some advertising time.

"How popular is it? The second episode already has 338,014 hits. On their home page, you can find information about the creators and the cast and crew. Three of the characters are from Shanghai, although only one (a girl) ever speaks in Shanghainese."

China to Surpass USA on Internet Users

2007-01-24T21:27:00.000+08:00

China is on pace to surpass the United States within two years as the nation with the most Internet users, the government and news reports said Wednesday.

China's online population grew by 23.4 percent last year to 137 million people, about 10 percent of its 1.3 billion population, the China Internet Network Information Center reported on its Web site.

"We believe it will take two years at most for China to overtake the United States," the official China Daily newspaper quoted an official of the agency, Wang Enhai, as saying.

About 210 million of the United States' 300 million people are online, according to the U.S. government. China would reach 210 million users in two years if it keeps up a 24 percent annual growth rate.

China's communist government encourages Internet use for education and business but tries to block its public from seeing material authorities consider subversive or obscene. Dozens of people have been jailed for posting political essays online.

The country had 111 million Internet users in January 2006, according to the Internet agency, also known as CNNIC.

China also saw strong growth in wireless Internet use, with about 17 million people online from mobile phones, the agency said.

YMCA Movement in North America

2007-01-24T20:20:00.000+08:00

The Chengdu YMCA asked me to prepare an article on the North American YMCA Movement for the current issue of their YMCA Magazine. Using materials from the web site of the YMCA of the USA, I submitted the following article which is also translated into Chinese.

YMCAs Build Strong Kids,
Strong Families, Strong Communities

America’s 2,617 YMCAs make it the largest not-for-profit community service organization in America, working to meet the health and human service needs of 20.2 million men, women and children who are members in 10,000 communities in the United States. YMCAs are at the heart of community life across the United States: 42 million families and 72 million households live within three miles of a YMCA.

YMCA stands for Young Men's Christian Association, but that does not mean that YMCAs are only for "young, Christian men." From its start more than 150 years ago, when George Williams founded the YMCA in London with Bible study and prayer meetings as a substitute for life on the streets, the YMCA was unusual because it included men from all the different churches and social classes in England. This openness was a trait that would lead YMCAs to recognize their strength is in the people they bring together -- Ys are for all people of all faiths, races, nationalities, ages, abilities and incomes. American YMCAs' financial assistance policies ensure that no one is turned away for reasons of inability to pay.

Volunteers lead YMCAs and are central to their mission, ensuring each Y meets the unique needs of its community. Over 561,000 people serve as YMCA volunteers in America.

Collaboration is critical to American YMCAs' efforts to develop effective community-based programs. Many YMCAs collaborate with schools, hospitals, churches and juvenile courts to provide human services.

Because YMCAs are driven by the communities they serve, each American YMCA is different. Child care, teenage leadership training, and sports clubs for older adults may be offered in one community, while another YMCA provides swim lessons, fitness classes, and after-school programming in local schools. Every Y decides what programs to offer and how to operate. From child care to older adult fitness, camping and aquatics, YMCAs offer opportunities for individuals and families to grow in spirit, mind and body at every stage of life.

YMCAs are the largest providers of child care in the United States, operating nearly 10,000 child care sites across the country, providing high-quality and affordable care to more than 500,000 children. YMCAs also serve nearly 10 million children under the age of 18 through activities such as camping, sports and after-school programs. YMCAs are the largest employers of teenagers in the country.

The YMCA movement stretches far beyond the United States. YMCAs are at work in more than 120 countries around the world, serving more than 45 million people. About 230 U.S. YMCAs maintain partnerships with YMCAs in other countries. Building strong kids, strong families and strong communities is what the YMCA stands for -- worldwide.

基督教青年会让儿童更健康、
让家庭更和睦、让社区更和谐

遍布美国的2617个基督教青年会使得基督教青年会成为美国最大的非盈利性社区服务组织。它致力于满足美国10000个社区的2020万男女老少的健康及人性化需求。基督教青年会占据了全美社区生活的中心：4200万个家庭和7200万住户居住在离基督教青年会三英里内的地方。

YMCA虽然是基督教青年会的缩写，但这并不意味着它只针对基督徒青年。从150多年前乔治.威廉姆斯在伦敦创立基督教青年会时起（那时只是通过学习圣经和做礼拜来代替社区生活），基督教青年会就非比寻常。因为它拥有着来自英格兰所有不同教会和社会各阶层的人员。这种公开性使得聚集在基督教青年会的所有人意识到他们的强烈力量：基督教青年会是针对各种信仰、人种、民族、年龄、能力和收入的人群。美国基督教青年会的财政援助政策确保了没有一个人会因为无能力支付而被拒之门外。

在基督教青年会里，义工（志愿者）起核心作用以确保每一个基督教青年会分会都能满足（其区域内）社区的特殊要求。在美国超过56.1万人是基督教青年会的义工。

合作对于基督教青年会开发有效的以社区为对象的项目至关重要。许多基督教青年会都同学校、医院、教会和少年法庭合作提供人性化服务。

由于每个基督教青年会都是针对他们所服务的社区，所以每个基督教青年会都不尽相同。有可能这个基督教青年会提供照料儿童、培养青少年领导能力和组建成人健身俱乐部，而另一个基督教青年会则在当地的学校开设游泳、健身课程和课后活动项目。每个基督教青年会都可以自行决定提供什么和怎样开展。从照料儿童到成年人健身、露营和水上运动，基督教青年会为个人和家庭提供机会使得他们在人生的各个阶段均衡发展。

基督教青年会是美国最大的照料儿童的机构。它为全美近1万个托儿所和超过50万名儿童提供高质量的服务。基督教青年会还为近1000万18岁以下青少年提供露营、体育和其他课外活动。此外，基督教青年会也是美国最大的青少年雇佣机构。

基督教青年会开展的活动远非只在本国，它为全世界的120多个国家和超过4500万人提供服务。大约230个美国本土的基督教青年会与其他国家的基督教青年会保持合作关系，让儿童更健康、让家庭更和睦、让社区更和谐是基督教青年会的真正目的所在――它是全世界性的。

Songxianqiao Art Center on Dongdajie & Exhibition of Contemporary Young Artists

2007-01-22T22:05:00.000+08:00

All of the guide books about Chengdu tell you about Songxinqiao Art City on Qinghua Jie, near Du Fu's Thatched Cottage, which is a large partially covered market of stalls that sell art and antiques. Recently, I discovered there is a second Songxinqiao Art City on Dongda Jie in downtown Chengdu a couple of blocks east of Hongxing Lu.

On the ground level there are several pedestrian walkways lined with shops like the ones above and below. On the second and third floor there are many more shops, each featuring a particular artist or group of artists or art product. The shop also serves as a studio for many of the artists. The shops sell ancient art, artware, calligraphy, ceramics, classic furniture, jade, jewelry, paintings and Tibetan cultural items -- the full range of art works.
Currently through February 10th, the Art Center is hosting an exhibition called Prospect -- Exhibition of Invited Contemporary Young Artists, Chengdu 2007 which includes works from over 40 young artists from Chengdu and other cities in China. Most of the display are by artists under the age of 35 and are unveiled to the public for the first time. Most of the artists have a background of academic training in the major fine art institutions of China. Unfortunately for me, the labels on the paintings and biographical material on the artists are all in Chinese. The Chengdu Weekly of 21 January 2007 has an article of the exhibition from which this material was taken.

While I enjoyed the exhibition, I am always disappointed when I go to a contemporary art exhibition. Guess I just don't appreciate contemporary art as much as some of the works of the older masters. My favorite painting in the exhibit is below.

Patriotic Christian Association & Three-Self Patriotic Movement

2007-01-22T19:54:00.000+08:00

Last week I came across this church picture and caption on the Chengdu Time web site. The church is only a few blocks from my apartment. In December we attended the Christmas Musical Program presented by the Sichuan Theological Seminary in this church. The Seminary is on the same grounds as the church.

"This photo depicts the outside view of the Patriotic Christian Association of Sichuan Province building. It is one of the few places of worship for Christians in Chengdu. The name of this church sounds a bit strange, but this church is definitely the kind of "state church", as named by Hope Church Singapore. You can tell this by simply looking at the name of this church. Nevertheless, if you are a Christian, you can still go to this church to worship when you come to Chengdu." From Chengdu Time.

I asked about the name: Patriotic Christian Association in our YMCA English class. They explained to me that the name came from the Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Wikipedia offers the following article on the Three-Self Patriotic Movement in China.

"The Three-Self Patriotic Movement (officially 中国基督教三自爱国运动委员会, China Christian Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee; colloquially 三自教会, the Three-Self Church) and the China Christian Council (中国基督教协会) are two pro-government ("patriotic") Christian organizations in the People's Republic of China. These together form the only government-sanctioned ("registered") Protestant church in mainland China. They are usually referred to as the 'two associations' (两会). There are large numbers of house churchesin China which are outside of the registered organizations.

History

In 1951, a Cantonese Christian named Y. T. Wu (吴耀宗, 1893-1979) initiated the Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which promoted a strategy of 'self-governance, self-support, and self-propagation' in order to remove foreign influences from the Chinese churches. This was to assure the communist government that the churches would be patriotic to the newly-established People's Republic of China. The strange-sounding name 'Three-Self' is a characteristically Chinese way of abbreviating 'self-governance, self-support, self-propagation' (自治、自养、自传). The movement began formally in 1954.

From 1966 to 1976 the Cultural Revolution stopped the expression of religious life for Christians in China. In 1979 the church was restored, and in 1980 the China Christian Council was formed. Through the council, the registered Protestant church participates in the World Council of Churches.

The two associations claim that Christianity in China is 'post-denominational': Protestant denominations prevalent in other parts of the world have no place in China. Christians are said to congregate on Sunday each week in service, implementing the principle of mutual respect. The public representation of the two associations is usually carried out by Bishop K. H. Ting (丁光訓, 1915-), an Anglican (or post-Anglican) bishop.

Origin of the Three-Self Principles

The three principles of self-governance, self-support (i.e., financial support) and self-propagation (i.e., indigenous missionary work) were first put forward by the Henry Venn the younger, General Secretary of the English Church Missionary Society in 1841.

References

Introduction to the TSPM by OMF International, formerly the China Inland Mission.
Surveys/analyses of religious freedom in China by Forum 18 News Service

External link

Chinese Protestant Church

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer).

Copyrights:

Wikipedia information about Three-Self Patriotic Movement
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Three-Self Patriotic Movement". More from

Street Scene: Plucking a Chicken

2007-01-21T22:41:00.000+08:00

Coming home the back way today from the YMCA, I came across a woman plucking a chicken on the steet outside her home or business (or both). Reminded me of my childhood when my mother killed and plucked the chickens we ate.

CHENGDU TIME...www.028.com...LAUNCHED

2007-01-21T09:05:00.000+08:00

Last December, when CHENGDU TIME launched their web site, they produced a music video, All You Need to Know About Chengdu, China, to promote their site to English-speaking friends around the world. The music video is a joint production of CHENGDU TIME and a group of comedians known as the Steel Tube Brothers who sing the Mandarin lyrics with English subtitles by Samuel Ma Huaqing, administrator of CHENGDU TIME. It is fun to watch on either TuDou.com or YouTube, or you can download it from CHENGDU TIME.

Main Construction of Sichuan Museum Completed

2007-01-21T08:52:00.000+08:00

From CHENGDU TIME 2007-1-13
So far, the Sichuan Museum's main construction works are completed. The museum will be open to the public at the end of this year. More that 160,000 artifacts can thus live in their cosy home.

The new museum is located in the Chengdu Huanhua Nature Reserve. With a total investment of 300 million yuan, the museum occupies a land aread of 87.9 mu in total, while the building itself occupies an area of about 32000 square metres. This area is already 4 times larger than the old building. The construction of the new museum building started in April 2005.

3rd International Foods & Tour Festival of China

2007-01-21T06:24:00.000+08:00

The 3rd International Foods & Tour Festival of China will be held from January 27 to February 4 in Chengdu with its main venue being the main conference hall on the new 1369-meter long Yipintianxia Gourmet & Travel Business Street. Major activities will include (1) four exhibitions: (a) International Delicacy Exhibition, (b) Famous Chinese Snacks Exhibition, (c) Pan-delicacy Culture Exhibition including Traditional Herb Cuisine & Tonic Food Culture, Tea Culture and Sichuan Liquor Culture, and (d) Sichuan Specialties Exhibition regarding food and Spring Festival commodities with Sichuan characteristics; (2) three delicacy contests: (a) Innovated Sichuan Dishes Contest and Jinsha Shu Banquet, (b) Pepper King Contest, and (c) the 1st 'Gao Fu Ji' Cup Community Family Cooking Contest; (3) promotion activities: including issuing the new book Chengdu Taste which analyzes the city from the perspective of the gourmet culture; (4) cultural and recreational performances: (a) Street Dance Contest, (b) Cosplay Contest, (c) Extreme Sports Performance, and (d) Martial Arts Arena. Lots of detail about the Festival can be found on its website.

YMCA's New American Neighbor

2007-01-20T22:30:00.000+08:00

About a year ago, Chengdu's municipal government rebuilt the predestrian Jinhuaguan Street which runs along side the YMCA, including new buildings in a historical style to house several shops. Already some shops have opened and closed. This month the two larger shop spaces have been renovated and equipped for new shops. The women's clothing store Ein opened last week.

The other new shop put up their signs this week -- it will be a Swensens - the American Ice Cream Restaurant! Met the manager today. The first floor will open next week and offer ice cream, coffee and soft drinks. In April, the second and third floors will open with a more complete food service. Guess I'll have to try some American coffee and ice cream this week.

Arts School's New English Class Poster

2007-01-20T22:22:00.000+08:00

Last week for the first time, I assisted Lu Haitao (Henry), the teacher of the YMCA Arts School's English class and assisted again today for the last class of this term. The new term will begin in March. Last week, Zhou Yun Hai, Director of the Arts School, took a lot of pictures of Henry and me teaching. Today, several of these pictures appeared on the new poster at the entrance to the YMCA promoting next term's English enrollment.

Administrative Divisions of Mainland China

2007-01-14T09:55:00.000+08:00

When reading about different places in China, they are often described in terms of the administrative or political divisions in or near which they are located. At times I have found this confusing; so we briefing discussed it in the Y staff English class on Friday. Then, I did a search on the Internet and found a good (hopefully up-to-date) explanation on Answers.com from material published on Wikipedia. [Note: Wikipedia cannot be directly accessed from China.]

The constitution of the People's Republic of China provides for three levels of government; however, currently there are five practical (de facto) levels of local government in mainland China: the province, prefecture, county, township and village. Their is a sixth level, the district public office, under counties, but it is being abolished.

The People's Republic of China administers 33 province-level (省级 shengji) divisions, including 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two special administrative regions. Chengdu is in Sichuan Province. Wikipedia provides the following provincial-level map of the People's Republic of China. Sichuan is in southwestern China.

Sichuan is made up of the following administrative divisions: 21 prefecture-level divisions (18 prefecture-level cities and 3 autonomous prefectures), 181 county-level divisions (14 county-level cities, 120 counties, 4 autonomous counties and 43 districts), and 4782 township-level divisions (1865 towns, 2586 townships, 93 ethnic townships and 238 sub-districts).

Chengdu city is one of the 21 prefecture-level divisions of Sichuan. Below, from Answers.com/Wikipedia, is a list of the county-level administrative divisions in Chengdu city.

Prefecture level	County Level
Prefecture level	Name	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin
Chengdu City 成都市 Chéngdū Shì	Qingyang District	青羊区	Qīngyáng Qū
	Jinjiang District	锦江区	Jǐnjiāng Qū
	Jinniu District	金牛区	Jīnniú Qū
	Wuhou District	武侯区	Wǔhóu Qū
	Chenghua District	成华区	Chénghuá Qū
	Longquanyi District	龙泉驿区	Lóngquányì Qū
	Qingbaijiang District	青白江区	Qīngbáijiāng Qū
	Xindu District	新都区	Xīndū Qū
	Wenjiang District	温江区	Wēnjiāng Qū
	Dujiangyan City	都江堰市	Dūjiāngyàn Shì
	Pengzhou City	彭州市	Péngzhōu Shì
	Qionglai City	邛崃市	Qiónglái Shì
	Chongzhou City	崇州市	Chóngzhōu Shì
	Jintang County	金堂县	Jīntáng Xiàn
	Shuangliu County	双流县	Shuāngliú Xiàn
	Pi County	郫县	Pí Xiàn
	Dayi County	大邑县	Dàyì Xiàn
	Pujiang County	蒲江县	Pújiāng Xiàn
	Xinjin County	新津县	Xīnjīn Xiàn

Dance of the World 2006 China Tour

2007-01-13T23:12:00.000+08:00

On December 28th, I went to the performance of Dance of the World which was finishing its 2006 China Tour at the Sichuan Jincheng Art Palace on Tianfu Square. The program consisted of 18 acts representing various dance styles from around the world: Austria, Quickstep, France, Retro, Turkish Dance, Men's Tango, Adagio, Dance Party, Russia, Shalom Aleihem, Waltz of Dogy, Modern, Sex Bomb, Spain, Cats, Staffage, Happy Birthday, and Mamba.

New Year's Eve - New Zealand Symphony

2007-01-13T22:11:00.000+08:00

On New Year's Eve, I attended the concert of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in the Jiaozi Concert Hall at the Chengdu Art Center which is only a few blocks from my apartment.

The Orchestra is conducted by Iamish McKeigh (above). The program included D. Lilburn's Aotearoa Overture, Huanzhi Li's Spring Festival Overture, Brahms' Four Hungarian Dances, Tieshan Liu's & Yuan Mao's Yao Dance, and J. Strauss, Jr.'s Rosen aus dem Suden, Fledermaus Overture, Kaiser Waltz, Vergnugungszug Polka, Blue Danube Waltz, Trisch Trash Polka and Radetsky March.

Also on the program, soloist Madeleine Pierard, Mezzo-Soprano, sang Mozart's Come Scoglio & Laudeamus te from Mass No. 18 in C Minor and Rossini's Une Voce Poco Fa.

YMCA Art School's English Class

2007-01-13T20:59:00.000+08:00

Zhou Yun Hai, Director of the YMCA's Art School, asked if I would be willing to help with the English class offered by the Art School on Saturday afternoons. Today, I met with Lu Haitao (Henry), the teacher of the class, and then assisted him with the class which included two 40 minute sessions with a ten minute rest between them. Henry is an English teacher in another school.

The class has six students -- one pre-schooler, one fourth grader and the rest in between. Today's class focused on learning the English words for selected animals -- cow, bird, dog, cat, tiger, lion, peacock, panda and frog and on learning to write the letters k through p. Below are Henry and I with the six students.

Henry asked if we assigned home work in the English classes at the YMCA School in Jintang. He said, if you don't assign home work, parents will think you are not a very good teacher.

Thanks to Zhou Yun Hai for the pictures included in this post.

HK YMCA Jintang School Play Competition

2007-01-11T14:19:00.000+08:00

Since before the New Year's holiday, preparations have been underway for yesterday's inter-school English play competition in Jintang. Eleven schools competed yesterday for four slots in the final competition. Our students ranked in the top four teams and will proceed to the finals next week.

Above are Kenna, Lisa, David, Ann and Peter. They preformed the Hong Kong YMCA Primary School's Birthday Party play in the competition.

Ye Yu (Suzanne), Headmaster of the Hong Kong YMCA Primary School, helps Kenna with his play costume.

"Sandwich," a volunteer from Hong Kong with the YMCA Yellow House Orphanage, took a very active part in training and practicing the students for the play competition. Idol Pong, of Yellow House, wrote the original script for the play. Several YMCA, orphanage and school staff assisted with training the children to perform the play.

Yao Hong Mei, first and fourth grade English teacher at the Jintang school, helps a student get dressed prior to the competition.

Our students were the fourth team to perform. Two of the teams prior to us had elaborate costumes and scenery; but the competition was about speaking English and our children did very, very well. Two of earlier teams, below, performed a play about animals and a Cinderella type play.

Young Pioneers - Investiture Ceremony

2007-01-10T18:04:00.000+08:00

Today at the Hong Kong YMCA Jintang Primary School's opening exercises, the Investiture Ceremony was conducted bringing the first grade students into the Young Pioneers of China. The Young Pioneers of China is a mass youth organization for children in the People's Republic of China. The YP of China is run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China. The YP of China is similar to Pioneer Movements that exist or existed in many Communist countries around the world.

YP members consist of children between the ages of six and fourteen; upon reaching the age of fourteen, YP members automatically exit the YP and may go on to join the Communist Youth League. In 2003, there were an estimated 130 million YP members in China.

The YP Salute consists of bending the right arm and raising the right hand directly above the head, the palm flat and facing downward, and the fingers together. It symbolizes that the interests of the People supersede all. The YP Promise is: I am a member of the Young Pioneers of China. Under the Pioneers Flag I promise that: I love the Communist Party of China, I love the motherland, I love the people; I will study well and keep myself fit, to prepare for: contributing my effort to the cause of communism.

The red scarf is the only uniform item. Young Pioneers are often referred to simply as "Red Scarves"; the Investiture Ceremony consists of new members having their scarves tied for them by existing members. The red scarf is generally worn around the neck and tied, with no woggle. The YP Constitution explains that the scarf corresponds to the missing triangle on the medium detachment flag and the red of the scarf comes from the blood sacrificed by martyrs of the Revolution, and that the members should therefore wear the scarf with reverence.

Two new members of the Young Pioneers of China.

The group of first graders who were made members
of the Young Pioneers of China.

NOTE: The above information was taken from the entry Young Pioneers of China in Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors. I accessed the article through Answers.com since Wikipedia cannot be accessed from China.

Two Days of Sunshine!!!!!

2007-01-09T21:34:00.000+08:00

This morning I could see the sun (above) when it rose above the horizon which has not been the case for over two weeks because of the clouds and fog! Yesterday afternoon we had sun for the whole afternoon and I walked in Tazishan Park taking pictures which I hope to post later this week. This afternoon the sun was bright and Ｉ took a short walk to take some pictures. It sure is wonderful to be able to walk in the sun -- although it is still cold. The forecast for today was 2 to 6 degrees Celsius ... cold, but not as cold as Lords Valley PA! Let's hope that Wednesday will make three days of sunshine in a row!

Hot Pot - Sichuan's Most Famous Dish

2007-01-09T15:26:00.000+08:00

Last night, Paul (one of our YMCA Branch Directors) invited me to join his family and the family of one of his daughter's classmates who are from America to have Sichuan Hotpot. We ate at a Chongqing Kongliang Restaurant in Chengdu which Paul said was one of the best places to have Hotpot. Since I didn't take pictures last night, the Hotpot picture above is from the Chongqing Kongliang web site and looks like what we had last evening. Among the ingredients we had were beef tail, duck tongue, beef, mushrooms, bean spouts, fish, lotus, winter squash, meat balls, dates, and other meats and vegetables. Surprisingly, it was not as spicy hot as I expected. The double wok shown above makes it possible for folks to put their meats and/or vegetables into boiling oil with lots or little spices. I enjoyed both the Hotpot and the conversation with Paul's family and their guests who are here for one year while the father does research in Chinese History on a Fulbright. The had previously lived in Chengdu for two years while teaching English at a language institute connected with Sichuan University.

For those not familiar with Hot Pot, the following description is from Theodore Johnson's Sichuan English Guide (Tourism Education Press, 2003), pages 167-168:

"Hotpot is the most famous and favorite dish in Sichuan. It is noted for its peppery and hot taste. Customers gather around a small pot heated with charcoal, electricity, or gas. Each pot is filled with a nutritious soup base. Around the wok are placed a dozen plates of paper-thin slices of raw meat and other ingredients. The customers pick up the raw ingredients and boil them in the soup base. Then they take them out of the wok, dip them in a little bowl of special sauce and eat them.
"Hotpot supposedly originated in Chongqing city. In the 1920s, there were several oxen slaughterhouses located on the northern side of the Yangzhi River in Chongqing. The slaughterhouses often sold oxen entrails at a cheap price to vendors who owned stalls near the river ferry. The vendors cleaned the entrails and cut them into small pieces before putting them into pots of stew with hot pepper and other sauces. The vendors usually sold the stewed entrails soup to boatmen, laborers and peddlers. It was cheap and tasty.
"However, the sliced oxen entrails in soup could only be eaten while it was hot. As weather changed and wind blew from the river, the soup soon became cool, and the cool entrails didn't taste good. So some boatmen set up a big wok full of hot, spiced oil. They skewed sliced entrails and at them hot. This new way of hotpot eating gradually spread far and wide in Sichuan province. Now it is very popular and can be found at every corner of the city. Many sidewalk hotpot operations and exquisite hotpot restaurants have been set up to meet the demand from the local people.
"There are a great variety of hotpots. They include Yuanyang Hotpot, Four Tastes Hotpot, Yachang Hotpot and Fish Head Hotpot. Restaurant owners offer spicy hotpot at different levels based on customers' tastes so that friends and family with different tastes can huddle around the hotpot. One of the most popular hotpots is the Yuan yang Hotpot in Sichuan. The Yuanyang hotpot refers to the wok, which has been partitioned into two parts by a thin metal plate. One part is filled with traditional hot-spicy soup and the other with non-hot-spicy broth. This typical hotpot suits many customers at home and abroad. Whatever your tastes are and wherever you travel in Sichuan, you will find something you like to eat."

NOTE: Theodore Johnson's Sichuan English Guide [Tourism Education Press, 2003; ISBN 7563711619] was written as a resource for Chinese tour guides to provide descriptions in English; but it is an excellent tour guide for anyone traveling in Sichuan.

Cultural China & Chinese Religous Series

2007-01-07T19:03:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks ago I purchased Chinese Literature by Yao Dan. It is one of nine books in the second series (volume) of the Cultural China Series published by the China International Press. The other books in the second series are: China Tea, Chinese Festivals, Chinese Ceramics, Ancient Chinese Inventions, The Art of Chinese Painting, Chinese Architecture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Chinese Arts & Crafts.

The first series (volume) of the Cultural China Series also includes nine books: Chinese Calligraphy, Chinese Gardens, Peking Opera, Chinese Vernacular Dwelling, Chinese Clothing, Chinese Foods, China's Cultural Relics, China's Museums, and Chinese Folk Arts. The nine books in the first series can be downloaded as e-books free of charge from the ShowChina.com web site. While the display (above) is in Chinese, the books are in English.

The People's Republic of China officially recognizes five religions: Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Protestant Christianity and Catholic Christianity. The Chinese Religions Series contains five books - one on each of the recognized religions in China. They may also be downloaded as e-books free of charge from the ShowChina.com web site. These two sets of free e-books offer a rich background of information on China's cultural and religious life.

Sugar Painting in Chengdu

2007-01-07T18:00:00.000+08:00

Hongfei Zhang, in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, gives a wonderful description of Chengdu Sugar Painting. It describes exactly what I've seen on the streets and in the parks. These artisans produce some amazing results -- like the bicycle shown above. Hongfei Zhang writes (page 89): "Sugar Painting in Chengdu was most popular in the years of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty. At that time, many people made a living by sugar painting, shouldering a carrying pole and setting up stalls in crowded streets, in front of theatres and busy public places. There used to be an old handicraftsman with many prentices, who led prentices to place the stall in Erxian Temple of the Green Goat Palace [Qingyang Temple] for the temple fair. Many sugar painters gathered and competed against each other, with a lot of people surrounding to watch.

On the right of the sugar paining stall is a small wooden table, on which is placed a smooth marble slab. Beside the table is a small stove used to boil thick syrup which is made and sold. Using a small spoon to scoop the syrup which looks like silk and thread, the handicraftsman concentrates his strength on the wrist and takes the spoon as a brush pen, rising and pausing strokes, up and down, left and right. Soon a vivid sugar painting is finished, which in then stuck to a bamboo slice and scooped up with a small shovel, shining in the sunlight, sparkling and crystal-clear, nice and lovely in look.

On the left of the stall is placed a turntable, on which are drawn many grids marked with cock, dragon, flower, plant, human figure and so on. The indicative hand is also made of bamboo sheet. Run it slightly and you will get whatever it points at. On the stall, there is also a bundle tied to a bamboo stick and made of straw, on which are plugged comleted sugar paintings as a signboard to solicit customers.

"Sugar painting is especially popular among kids. They cry for it yet are reluctant to eat it, licking it gently and then looking at it for a long time. Some young boys and girls also want to try their luck and shout and jump for joy if they get a dragon. Actually, they just do it for a joyful mood instead of really wanting something."
Note: Chengdu Sichuan China [The Printing House of UESTC, 2006] was written in Chinese by Zhang Hongfei, a Chengdu-based management consultant, translated into English by several translators, and proofread and de-Chinglified by expatriate writer Warren Rodwell who teaches postgraduates at The University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. The book is sold at several outlets in Chengdu. For specific information email Warren Rodwell at woccamedia@gmail.com for current sale locations.

Roller Blading in the Park

2007-01-07T17:49:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, while walking through Culture Park, I saw two enterprising young people who were renting roller blades and giving lessons. They appeared to be doing a brisk business.

RVs for Rent

2007-01-07T17:44:00.000+08:00

Francia says I never miss an RV. Well, I must have walked by these a half dozen times before seeing them -- RVs for rent in Chengdu! There were five parked in the parking lot on Qintai Road at the entrance to Culture Park. I wonder what kind of campgrounds there are for them in Sichuan.

Mike of Lonely Planet's China

2007-01-07T17:08:00.000+08:00

One of the guide books I read and brought with me to Chengdu is Lonely Planet's China (2005) which suggests on page 720 that in Chengdu if you want to see "a local Sichuan opera, your best bet may be to contact Mike, a friendly, English-speaking local." This afternoon, while walking around Wenshu Monastery, I met Mike who introduced himself as the Mike of Lonely Planet and gave me a flier about his tour services.

Plum Blossom Garden & Poet Lu You

2007-01-06T20:41:00.001+08:00

Plum Blossom Garden is located along the Nan River near Baihuatan Park, Qintai Road and Qingyang Temple in western Chengdu. The Garden includes "a statue of Lu You (1125-1210), a famous and great patriotic poet in the South Song Dynasty" (from park sign).

"Lu You came from a family in which there were some government officials. At that time the southern Song dynasty was frequently invaded by the Jin Dynasty (金國). When he was one, Kaifeng (汴京 or 開封), the capital of Northern Song dynesty had been captured by the troops of Jin Dynasty. Lu You, who was still an infane, fled with his family. Because of the family influence and social turbulence in childhood, Lu You was committed to save the nation by ousting the Jurchens (女真人). He passed the civil service examination, but was unsuccessful in his official career: he adopted a patriotic stance, advocating the expulsion of the Jurchen (女真) from northern China, but this position was out of tune with the times. He retired to Shaoxing (紹興) in frustration. His wife died in 1197.

Lu You wrote over ten thousand poems, in both the shi (詩) and ci (詞) forms, plus a number of prose works. In his poetry he continues to articulate the beliefs which cost him his official career, calling for reconquest of the north. Watson identifies these works as part of the legacy of Du Fu (杜甫). Watson compares a second body of work, poems on country life and growing old, to those of Bai Juyi (白居易) and Tao Qian (陶潛). Lu You had written a lot of poem in his whole life, more than 10000, still having 9300 after erasing some of them by Lu You himself." --From Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia.

The Plum Blossom Park seems an appropriate location to recognize Lu You since he wrote:

"Plum Flowers" To the Tune of "Fortune Teller"

By a broken bridge outside the horse relay station
plum flowers bloom for no one.
Already it is evening and sad and lonely
and they are beaten by rainy wind.

They don't wish to compete for spring,
though other flowers envy their early blossoming.
When petals drop to the mud and are ground to dust
the fragrance remains the same.

Translated by Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping

From The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry Web Companion
hosted by Whittier College.

I want to return to Plum Blossom Garden in the early spring when the trees are in full bloom.

Saturday - January 6, 2007 - Happy New Year!

2007-01-06T18:56:00.000+08:00

***Have not posted to my blog since Christmas Eve! The earthquake off Taiwan's coast on December 26th broke a major under-the-ocean communications cable connecting China to the rest of the world and Internet communications from China have had serious problems ever since. One prediction is that it will be fixed by January 15th; another that it will take much longer. Francia and I have missed our trouble-free Skype calls, but we've been able to keep in touch and talk fairly regularly, but not always with the best of connections. The holidays have also been a busy time for me; I will try to get some posts done about the past couple of weeks. Also, I have a lot of material from the first half of my stay (yes, I've been here three months with three months to go) which I hope to get posted in the coming weeks. My New Year's Resolution is to keep up with my blogging of current activities in 2007, plus catch up on 2006!
***Have not seen much of the sun recently. The forecast for today was sun! But it didn't show up! :-(
***Left home about 11:30 AM; took the bus across Chengdu to Qintai Road where I wanted to get a few pictures for my Qintai Road post and have a light lunch (noodles or dumplings) at a tea house in Qingyang Temple. When I got to the tea house, I found it under renovation; they were only serving tea at a few tables they had moved out in front of the tea house; so I had tea and reworked my plan for the day. I think the tea house is getting ready to expand their Gongfu Program; maybe they are enclosing the tea house. I decided to see if the Vegetarian Restaurant in Qingyang Temple had an English menu. They did; so I had a large wonderful, delicious lunch of vegetarian beef, broccoli, rice and tea for 22 Yuan (about US $3.00). It was so good I think tomorrow I may try the Vegetarian Restaurant in the Wenshu Monastary; I know they have an English menu. After this huge lunch, I decided later to have supper at home -- yogurt, "strong & bitey" Australian Bega Cheese on black sesame wheat crackers, an apple, unknown nuts (thought I was buying shelled peanuts on the way home) and a Tsingtao beer. Life is tough in Chengdu!
***Took the pictures I wanted on Qintai Road; took a few more shots in Qingyang Temple; a few more in a section of Culture Park which I had previously missed; came across a small park along the river called Plum Blossom Garden and imagined how it would be in the spring; spent most of the afternoon in Baihautan Park where lots of folks were spending their Saturday afternoon; then took the bus back home. Hope to blog in more detail about several aspects of my great day!

YMCA Christmas Luncheon - December 25th

2006-12-24T10:39:00.003+08:00

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

2006-12-24T10:39:00.001+08:00

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

2006-12-23T23:12:00.000+08:00

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

2006-12-19T20:32:00.000+08:00

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

2006-12-10T10:41:00.000+08:00

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.

Chengdu's Intangible Cultural Heritage

2006-11-29T06:40:00.000+08:00

The November 26th Chengdu Weekly's lead article highlighted the Chengdu Municipal Culture Bureau's announcement of a new Chengdu Intangible Cultural Heritage List with 41 items in nine areas involving literature, music, dance and quyi (Chinese folk art forms). Mr. Chen Lizhi, Municipal Culture Bureau Chief, said "With distinctive local characteristics, all of the items are important representatives of the local folk art culture and tradition, or of great value and significance to the research and development of local history, art, ethnology, folklore, sociology, anthropology and literature." Many of the items are on the verge of extinction and effective measures need to be taken to preserve and protect them.

The nine areas and 41 specific items are:

Folklore: (a) Xinjin Riddles Written on Lanterns.
Folk Music: (a) Tuojiang Haozi*, (b) Zhuma Haozi*, (c) Spring Festival Gong and Drum Dance, (d) Qingcheng Dongjing Ancient Music, and (e) Chengdu Taoist Music. [*Haozi is a work song sung by boat trackers to synchronize movements with one person leading.]
Folk Dance: (a) Fire Dragon Dance.
Traditional Drama: (a) Chengdu Puppet Show and (b) Chengdu Shadow Play.
Quyi: (a) Daoqing - chanting folk tales to the accompament of simple percussion instruments, (b) Heyi - a Sichuan folk art form, (c) Sichuan Qingyin - arias sung without makeup or musical accompaniment, (d) Jinqianban - ballad-singing to the accompaniment of three-inch bamboo pieces which make a metallic sound when beaten together, (e) Yangqin - dulcimer, (f) Lianxiao - a Sichuan folk art form, (g) Feidao Drum Dance, and (h) Yaomei Huadeng Opera.
Acrobatics and Athletics: (a) Gaotai Lion Dance.
Traditional Handicrafts: (a) Caramel Painting, (b) Shuijingfang Wine-brewing Technique, (c) Processing Skills of Pixian Broad-bean Sauce, (d) Sichuan-style Bonsai Making Skill, (e) Coil-binding Skill of Sichuan Bonsai, (f) Making Skill of Kongming Lantern - an early type of hot air balloon used for military signaling, (g) Woven Bamboo Ware with Porcelain Body, (h) Qionglai Porcelain, (i) Guihua Pottery, (j) Straw-woven Ware, (k) Chengdu Silve Filigree Skill, (l) Handicraft with Palm Fibre, (m) Rattan-woven Ware, (n) Daoming Bamboo-woven Ware, (o) Skills for Producing Costumes and Accessories for Sichuan Opera, (p) Chengdu Lacquer Art, (q) Weaving Skills of Sichuan Brocade, and (r) Skills of Sichuan Embroidery.
Traditional Chinese Medicine: (a) Chengdu's Local Processing Skills of TCM and (b) Local Processing Skills of Traditional Herbs.
Folk Customs: (a) Dujiangyan Water Releasing Festival, (b) Wangcong Folk Song Competition, and (c) Xinjin Huoniuzhen.

YWCA Kindergarten Program

2006-11-25T16:40:00.000+08:00

成都市宝宝家幼儿园

The Chengdu YWCA Kindergarten Program was started in 1985 with five children by the YWCA President. It is now located in a rented facility about two blocks from the Chengdu YMCA building. It serves approximately 160 children with a head person (yuán zhǎng) and a staff of 15.

The Kindergarten offers three major programs: (1) a regular child care type program Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, (2) special enrichment classes Monday through Thursday from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM, and (3) a week-long child care service from Monday morning through Friday afternoon for parents who cannot care for their children during the week.The teachers have completed special training at a vocational school which is at the high school level. The program is licensed by the Department of Education which inspects the program and determines its category of service and the fees which the parents pay for the children's programs.

There are three categories of kindergartens in Chengdu. Category A Kindergartens have the highest level of facilities and are most often privately run by a company; Category B Kindergartens are mostly owned and operated by the government for children of government employees; and Category C Kindergartens have minimal facilities and are the most affordable for parents. The YWCA Kindergarten is a Category C kindergarten.

The program is divided into five classes by age: (1) 1.5 to 3 year olds; (2) 3-4 year olds; (3) 4-5 year olds; (4) 5-6 year olds; and (5) 6-7 year olds. The monthly fee for the youngest age group is 270 RMB Yuan (about US $34); the monthly fee for the other age groups is 245 RMB Yuan (about US $31). The fee includes lunch and dinner each day; breakfast can be secured as an option. The 20 children in the full-week program are charged 400 RMB Yuan (about US $50) each month; their program includes breakfast, lunch and dinner each day. In addition to the monthly fee, parents are charged a "special fee" yearly, or every three or four years, to improve the facility.

Classroom activities include story telling, drawing, crafts, physical activities, games, singing, Chinese and math. Children have a nap time after lunch.

Five Pictures of the Youngest Age Group - Under Three Years Old

Enrichment Programs

Parents pay extra for the special after care enrichment programs. Five programs are offered which meet twice a week from 5:15 PM to 6:15 PM. The programs are: (1) Drawing (Měishù), (2) Count with the Heart and Abacus (Xhūxīnsuàn), (3) Dance (Wǔdǎo), (4) English (Yīngyǔ), and (5) Chinese (Zhōngwén).

One of the Special Classes is Count with the Heart and Abacus or Xhūxīnsuàn

One of the Special Classes is Drawing or Měishù

Four Students' Pictures Currently On Display at the Kindergarten

Annual Fashion Show and Special Events

The Kindergarten also holds an Annual Fashion Show with clothes the teachers make from old newspapers and magazines provided by the parents and the YMCA Public Reading Room.
Sometimes the Kindergarten is invited to participate in a company's anniversary celebration party; the company often gives the children a small gift, like a T-shirt, at the party.

Chinese-English Food Dictionary ... MORE

2006-11-25T14:45:00.000+08:00

I've added the Chinese words for the following food items to my Chinese-English Food Dictionary: tea, black tea, green tea, Jasmine tea, frujit, jan, baked wheat cake, vegetable, rice (cooked and raw), cake, cauliflower, champagne, cherry, chicken, prickly ash, snacks, lotus root, chocolate, cider, cookie, curry and custard.

My Home in Zongfu Garden in Chengdu

2006-11-25T11:15:00.000+08:00

Earlier I posted pictures of my 30-floor apartment building which has become home for six months while I serve as the NAFYRE volunteer in Chengdu. The Chengdu YMCA provides an apartment for the NAFYRE volunteer while in Chengdu. The apartment is about a twenty minute walk from the YMCA and the center of Chengdu. It is one block from the Fu River.
The entrance to Zongfu Garden is on the garden side of the building away from the street. The ground floor on the street side is occupied by a bank and a car wash/detail center.

The garden is nicely landscaped and includes a bird cage with birds, a wonderful bridge over the small stream that runs through the garden, flowers and fruits, a fish pond and a swimming pool for the hot summer days.

My Chengdu home includes a sitting/dining room, study, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom with shower and balcony. Below are four shots of my sitting/dining room which includes a sofa and two matching chairs, a small dining table with two chairs, a cable TV with DVD player, a small refrigerator/freezer, a water cooler/heater, and a cabinet at the door for outside and house shoes.

The study includes a desk and chair, a rocker with foot rest, closet, book shelves and drawers. I brought my laptop with me and purchased a printer in Chengdu.

The kitchen includes a double sink (above it is the instant hot water heater for the kitchen and bathroom which works great), a two-burner cooktop with hood, a microwave, clothes washer and cabinets. The two-burner cooktop seems normal in Chengdu. Combined with a rice cooker and a crock pot (or slow cooker) for soup, it makes for a compete cooking area.

The bedroom includes a large, very comfortable bed with good reading lights, two bedside tables, a large double closet and a drying rack for clothes.

The well lit lavatory is in the small hall that connects the sitting room, bathroom and kitchen.

My balcony is out sliding doors from the bedroom or viewed from the windows in the study. It came with beautiful red flowers and green plants which I water regularly.

The balcony also includes a drying rack with many clothes pins which are great for hanging socks and other clothes. Now I've brought it inside to the drying rack since it has been raining the past few days.

The balcony provides a view to the east over the Fu RIver into the normal foggy sky of Chengdu. The apartment makes a wonderful home for the six months of volunteer service with the Chengdu YMCA.

New Metro - Chengdu's First Subway

2006-11-25T11:02:00.000+08:00

In several locations throughout Chengdu, you come upon construction sites and signs related to the new Metro Subway System being built in Chengdu. Another large construction project is the reconstruction of Tianfu Square in the center of Chengdu. The final design for Tianfu Square was recently approved and should be completed in 2007. These two projects in the center of Chengdu, provide lots advertising opportunities.

Sichuan Art Museum

2006-11-25T10:44:00.000+08:00

On Friday afternoon, I visited the Sichuan Art Museum on West Renmin Road in Chengdu, near The People's Park.

The Museum is hosting a special exhibit of the works of Tahir Salakhov and Andrei Milnikov, contemporary Russian masters. The museum has two very large galleries on the first two floors; each gallery featured one of the artists with nearly fifty paintings from each. The museum apparently only presents special exhibits as there was no display of a permanent collection. In front of the museum are a series of modern sculptures, below are two of them with a detail from each.

Christmas Sales Kick-off on Friday

2006-11-25T10:36:00.000+08:00

While Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated in China (except for American guests like me), the Friday after Thanksgiving Day kicks-off the seasonal Christmas sales. On Friday, the stores were newly decorated and Merry Christmas signs greeted you every where. This sign is over the main entrance to Ito Yokado - the large Japanese owned department store near the YMCA.

Thanksgiving at YMCA HK Jintang School

2006-11-25T10:06:00.000+08:00

On Thanksgiving Day when I went to the YMCA Hong Kong Jintang Primary School to teach, at the entrance to the school yard was this wonderful "Happy Thanksgiving - Welcome Bill" poster prepared by some of the teachers at the school.

To personally greet me were Ye Yu (Suzanne), Headmaster of the School, and Yao Ji Chuan (Mike) who manages the YMCA school and orphanage in Jintang.

The normal morning assembly, led by Headmaster Ye Yu, was devoted to extending "Thanks" to me on this special day in America.

The sixteen students from the YMCA Yellow House Orphanage who attend the Jintang Primary School sang a special song for me on the program. One of the students sang the solo part of the song.

All of the students, including these from one of my English classes, seemed to enjoy the special program. In the classrooms, I was again greeted with special "Thanks" from the students. It was certainly a wonderful way to celebrate Thanksgiving -- as I am the one most thankful for the opportunity to share these months with the students of Jintang and the YMCA staff at the Chengdu YMCA.

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Chengdu YMCA

2006-11-22T16:39:00.000+08:00

The YMCA staff surprised me today with a wonderful and very special Thanksgiving Dinner at lunch time at the Y.Around the table starting on the left are Jim, Luke, Paul, Anna, Annie, Mary, Bob, Susan, Isabella and Mike. Idle, from the Yellow House in Hong Kong, joined us later.

The staff had prepared or purchased a wonderful, delicious
Thanksgiving Dinner with lots of variety.

Above: Chicken, pork and wōsǔn or gīngsǔn with red peppers.

Above: Small baked yams, uncooked broccoli with red peppers,
cooked celery with red peppers, bananas, tangerines and yòuzi.

Above: Pizza from Pizza Hut.
Not shown: Steamed buns, rice, shredded beef with sesame seeds,
fresh dates, a sesame brittle, a wheat flour based sweet, wine and tea.
My deep felt "Thanks" to the YMCA staff for a memorable Thanksgiving!!!!!

YMCA -YWCA Volunteer Service Base

2006-11-20T17:03:00.000+08:00

In 2002,the Chengdu YMCA-YWCA set up a Service Base for Volunteers from local colleges and other adults at the Jiangjun Primary School (Grades 1-4) in Jintang County. On regular intervals, the volunteers go to Jiangjun Primary School to organize extracurricular activities and interest groups and to improve the school's environment, playground and sports facilities. Activities include winter sports, games, a Summer Day Camp, a Children's Day Program, and Special Classes on Saturdays or Sundays. The Amity Foundation，a non-governmental social development organization organized by Christian church leaders in China, has donated money to buy chairs, desks, library equipment and gym equipment for the Jiangjun Primary School in support of the activities of the Y's Service Base.

A second Service Base was established at the YMCA Hong Kong Jintang Primary School, also in Jintang County. Every two weeks on Saturdays, about ten volunteers (mostly college students plus the school's computer teacher) would travel to Jintang in a car or rented church bus and conduct half-day Special Classes at the school. [In the afternoons they would go to the Jiangjun Primary School to conduct some of the same classes.] Special Classes included: drawing, dancing, ping pong, volleyball, English, computer, Chinese Gongfu, chess, calligraphy and Chinese brush painting. These classes were free to the students. Unfortunately, the Education Department stopped these classes at Jintang and other schools because some of the schools were charging students extra money for these Special Classes. The Education Department said the students must rest on Saturdays and Sundays.

A third Service Base at another school provides a special program on Chinese Children's Day, June 1, each year.

Chengdu's Urban Environmental Renovation

2006-11-19T18:17:00.000+08:00

The Fu and Nan Rivers which encircle the central urban district of Chengdu have been central to the history of Chengdu for over two thousand years. By the late 1970's as a result of rapid industrial- ization, accelerated urbanization, population explosion, sharp increases in water usage and environmental deterioration, the Fu River seasonally dried up and the Nan River dried up completely. There were more than 650 wastewater outlets along the rivers that discharged a large amount of wastewater into the rivers and turned the Fu and Nan Rivers into a dirty and smelly ditch. About 30,000 families with some 100,000 members had settled along the banks in damp, low-lying shelters with few sanitation facilities. Since most of the shanty residents were very poor, the area became a breeding ground for disease and crime. The state of the rivers not only restrained the social and economic development of Chengdu and the western area of Sichuan, but heavily polluted the basins of the Min River and the upper branches of the Yangtze River.
In 1985, the students in Long Jiang Lu Primary School, which is situated on the banks of the Nan River, wrote a petition letter to the Mayor appealing for recuing the Fu and Nan Rivers and bringing back clear water. This letter evoked strong repercussions in the city and drew great attention from the municipal government. The government gook immediate actions and organized experts to draw up a plan. As a result, the Program for the Comprehensive Renovation of the Fu and Nan RIvers was created as the Number One Project of the municipality, which aimed at the overall revitalization foused on the control of water and the improvement of urban infrastructure and environment. The project was initiated in 1993.
The 2001 report Comprehensive Urban Environmental Renovation - The Fu & Nan Rivers Project by Mr. Shaoxiong Wang, Vice Mayor of Chengdu Municipality, tells an amazing story of how this plan [through flood prevention, pollution control, greening, housing, cultural and road/underground pipeline projects] has transformed the city and of the recognition it has received from national leaders and the international community. Chengdu, as a developing city in a developing country, has taken major steps to protect the environment and encourage sustainable development.

Children's Art at Jintang HK YMCA School

2006-11-16T18:19:00.000+08:00

Today, the Honk Kong YMCA Jintang Primary School was expecting a visit from the Educational Leader of Jintang. In preparation, the students and teachers developed a series of exhibit boards like the one below. Many of them contained art work from the students. I, also, provide several samples of the student's art work below. The picture above was done by a teacher at Jintang.

Key Spots in Chengdu on Google Earth

2006-11-13T16:54:00.000+08:00

I have located many of the key spots in Chengdu on Google Earth and have given them Placemarks (tm).

If you have Google Earth installed, you can click on this Placemark and it will fly you to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China. If you do not see the various locations that I've marked in Chengdu, you may have to find the Placemark ~GEE3.hmz in your Temporary Places file at the bottom of Places file on the left hand side of your screen and place a check mark in the box in front of this Placemark. Then, all of my location markers should appear.

If you do not have Google Earth installed, you will need to install the Google Earth first. It is free and lots of fun!

Google Earth streams the world over wired and wireless networks enabling users to virtually go anywhere on the planet and see places in photographic detail. This is not like any map you have ever seen.

This is a 3D model of the real world, based on real satellite images combined with maps, guides to restaurants, hotels, entertainment, businesses and more. You can zoom from space to street level instantly and then pan or jump from place to place, city to city, even country to country.

Get Google Earth. Put the world in perspective!

History of the Fu and Nan Rivers

2006-11-12T21:25:00.000+08:00

In my desk I found an old set of postcards with the following interesting history note written by Chen Wei on its back cover.

The Fu and Nan River have a history as long as that of the City Chengdu itself. In 316 BC the Chin Empire destroyed Kaiming Dynasty in Sichuan, established the Shu Prefecture and began to appoint governors. The third governor Li Bing built the world-famous Dujiangyan Irrigation Works. However, few know that the Fu and Nan rivers running under the city walls of Chengdu for more than 2200 years are also works of this outstanding governor.
The opening of these two canals is a great event in the history of the City of Chengdu. Since then junks loaded with rich products and resplendent Shu brocades of the Land of Abundance could sail from Chengdu, through the Fu River to the Min River, then along the Changjiang River, and finally arrived at the East Sea. The navigation connection together with the political unity helped Chengdu, a remote city in the southwest corner of the country, join in the great formation of the Chinese history and establish its historical position as a metropolis in southwest China.
Originally the two rivers cut by Libing ran separately. The one near the City was called the Inner River, while the other at the south was named the Outer River. In the extension project of the City carried out by Gaopian the Governor of West Sichuan in Tang Dynasty, the Inner River took a new course along the northern city wall and then to the east, and finally joined the Outer river in the south suburb of the City. From then on the pattern of a city safeguarded by two surrounding rivers has never changed. What is now called the Fu River is just the Inner River in the changed course, and the Nan River is the original Outer River. Today, when this thousand-year-old city has entered the twentieth century in the bosoms of these two rivers, the wharves once bustling in bygone days become quiet and even the aged citizens can hardly remember the silhouette of the last junk sailing off-shore. By the end of 1995 the old Fu and Nan Rivers finally took off their timeworn historical garments and stepped into the modern era.

Rules Pertaining to Civilized Tour

2006-11-12T21:02:00.000+08:00

At one of the entrances to the new restored commercial area near the Wenshu Temple is this sign outlining the Chengdu Municipal Rules Pertaining to Civilized Tour:In order to build a civilized and harmonious tour environment and to improve the moral standards of both tourists and our citizens, please abide the following rules.

Please keep the environment clean. Don't spit. Don't spit the chewing gum. No littering. No smoking except in the designated area.
Please follow the public order. Keep silent. Don't jump the queue. Please keep gateways clear. Please do not talk loudly in public places.
Please protect the ecological environment. Don't step on the grassland. Don't pick flowers or fruits. Don't chase or beat animal. Don't give animal any food without permit when you are in the zoo.
Protect the historical relics and sites. Don't paint or carve on the historical relics. Don't climb up the historical relics. No photos without permit.
Value the public facilities. Don't dirty or destroy any installment in the hotel. Don't destroy the public facilities. Do not be out for small advantages. Save water and electricity. Don't waste food.
Respect other people's rights. Don't force foreign tourists to take photos. Don't force other people to buy or sell something. Do not occupy public facilities for a long time. Respect people in the service sector. Respect religious customs of different nationalities.
To be polite. Wear clean and proper clothes. Do not wear clothes exposing the neck or shoulders in public places. Take care of the elderly, children, the sick and the handicapped. Do not utter dirty words.
Advocate a happy and healthy way of life. Resist superstition. Avoid pornography, gambling and drug.

A Shopping Visit to Trust-Mart

2006-11-12T20:31:00.000+08:00

Today I continued my exploration of the northeastern section of central (i.e. within the boundaries of the Fu and Nan Rivers) Chengdu. On my way to locate the Wenshu Temple and the surrounding restored commercial area, I came across a Trust-Mart hypermarket.

Trust-Mart is the 100-hypermarket chain in China that last month was reported sold by its owner Winston Wong of Taiwan to Wal-Mart for about one billion dollars. Hypermarkets are large department stores that sell everything from food to electronics. Forbes.com reported that "the acquisition would give Wal-Mart the critical mass needed to challenge Carrefour in a fast-expanding market where it is lagging both in the number of stores and in profitability. It also marks the second-most-important strategic move taken this year by Wal-Mart in China, after it broke with its anti-union tradition to allow China's officials and sole labor organization to set up branches in all its 66 Chinese outlets earlier this month. Chinese union officials lauded the company, not known for its love of organized labor, as 'a model for the promotion of a harmonial society.' ... "By purchasing an entire chain rather than opening new stores, Wal-Mart will be able to bypass cumbersome Chinese red tape: each city has its own requirements for new stores. As well, by purchasing existing stores, Wal-Mart avoids the complexities of land acquisition." Wal-Mart did open a new store near Southwest Traffic University in Chengdu last month, but I have not had an opportunity to visit it.

Chinese-English Food Dictionary

2006-11-11T16:30:00.000+08:00

Over the past few weeks, I've been interested in the Chinese words for various fruits, vegetables, meats, grains and other food related items. I'll add to the list as time goes on. Please give me any corrections or additions. Thanks.

báicái -- Chinese cabbage
bǎnlì -- Chinese chestnut
bo -- turnip
càihuā -- cauliflower ...........chá -- tea
Chengdu xiǎochī -- Chengdu snacks
dàmǐ -- raw rice
dàngāo -- cake
dōngguā -- wax (or white) melon (or goard)
dòufu -- tofu/bean curd
dòuyá -- bean sprouts
dòuzi -- bean/pea
gālí -- curry
gīngdòu -- green beans
guā -- melon/claw/gourd/squash
guōjiǔ -- cider
guōkui -- large round baked wheat cake
guǒjiàng -- jam
hēiméi -- blackberry
hóngchá -- black tea
huāchá -- Jasmine tea
huājiāo -- Chinese prickly ash
huángguā -- cucumber
huángyóu -- butter
húluóbo -- carrot
jī -- chicken (the bird)
jiāng -- ginger ......................jīdàn -- egg
jīròu -- chicken (the meat)
juǎnxīncài -- cabbage
júzi -- orange/tangerine
kāfēi -- coffee
lí -- pear
lǜchá -- green tea
mántou -- steamed bun/steamed roll/steamed bread
miànbāo -- bread
mǐfàn -- cooked rice
muěr -- edible tree fungus
nǎilào -- cheese
nǎiyóu -- cream
nánquā -- pumpkin
niǔnǎi dànhú -- custard
niúròu -- beef
ǒu -- lotus root
piělán -- kohlrabi - the plant and its edible bulb like stem
píngguǒ -- apple
qiǎokèli -- chocolate
qín -- Chinese celery
qíncài -- celery
shāguǒ -- crabapple
shūcài -- vegetable
shuǐguǒ -- fruit
shūguǒ -- vegetables & fruits
tāng -- soup
táo -- peach
tiándiǎn -- dessert
tùzi -- rabbit
wōsǔn or qīngsǔn -- asparagus lettuce
xiāngbīnjiǔ -- champagne
xiāngguā -- muskmelon/different varieties of sweet melon
xiāngjiāo -- banana
xiǎochī -- snack
xīguā -- watermelon
xùnròu -- bacon
yāzi -- duck
yēzi -- coconut
yíkuài bǐnggān -- a cookie
yīngtáo -- cherry
yìzhī -- chicken
yòuzi -- large citrus fruit related to the grapefruit but sweeter and more fragrant
zhūròu -- pork

Lunch at YMCA or Jintang School

2006-11-08T16:40:00.000+08:00

Monday through Friday lunch is provided for me and other staff members at the Chengdu YMCA and the Jintang Primary School.In the picture above is a typical lunch -- with a meat and vegetable dish and a vegetable dish served on the plate, a bowl of hot soup, and a bowl of rice with a pickled vegetable option. The meals are delicious and substantial and regularly contain vegetables which are new to me. There are apparently about 330 Chinese vegetables -- a much larger variety than I have experienced at home. Some are familiar to me; some are new to me. I have not found any I did not like!
The YMCA has a staff dining room, shown above, with kitchen. Up to nine YMCA staff members join each day at noon for lunch and fellowship. Each month the staff members pay an amount to cover the costs of the food served.

Music In the Parks

2006-11-07T18:18:00.000+08:00

One of the things I've really enjoyed is coming across folks informally making music in the parks of Chengdu.
The two men above were playing in Living Water Garden when I visited in on Saturday with friends, Robert and Julia.When I visited the River Viewing Park I came across the above woman walking through the park singing. In the same park, I saw a man in an isolated area playing a Chinese violin or erhu -- a wonderful sound to hear in the natural setting of a park. And, on Sunday I heard another man playing the Chinese violin while at The People's Park. I hope I come across more of these wonderful folks sharing their music as I walk through the beautiful parks of Chengdu.

News from the Chengdu Weekly - Nov 5

2006-11-06T20:10:00.000+08:00

Chengdu Becomes an LHC Member
Chengdu was unanimously approved as the 66th member city of the League of Historical Cities (LHC) at the 10th World Conference of Historical Cities held in Ballarat, Australia, last week. The award will let more people in the world know about Chengdu's history, culture and civilization, and expand its international partnership in preservation and protection of its cultural heritage. Chengdu is the fourth city in China to get the LHC membership, after Xi'an, Nanjing and Zhengzhou.

Chengdu Gears Up for EU-China PartenariatChengdu is going full steam ahead for the EU-China Partenariat 2006 which is being held November 9-10. Over 400 companies from European countries and 500 from China, as well as delegates from governmental and business groups are expected to attend. Negotiations and discussions will be conducted mainly in relation to industries of farm produce processing, tourism, medical treatment, environmental protection, machinery, construction equipment, construction subordinates processing, information and electronics.

Sichuan Science and Technology Museum Opens
The Sichuan Science and Technology Museum, which opened on Thursday, provides a venue to feel the pulse of the scientific and technological progress in the process of interaction and communication, rather than a place of deadpan pictures and inaccessible models. Located on the Tianfu Square, the museum visualizes abstruse science and technology by adding interactive functions to every exhibit to give visitors a real-life experience. The museum emerges from the former Sichuan Exhibition Hall with more than ten exhibition halls on four floors.

Children's HeartLink in Sichuan
The Children's HeartLink, an international medical non-profit organization dedicated to the treatment and prevention of heart disease in needy children, came to Sichuan this week to perform a project in cooperation with the province. To stay here for one week, the doctors from Toronto Sick Children's Hospital in Canada will offer medical treatment to poor children suffering from cardiovascular disease, together with their Chinese counterparts of the hospital affiliated with the Huaxi Medical University. Founded in 1969 in Minnesota USA, the Children's HeartLink works in partnership with medical centers in developing countries to promote sustainable cardiovascular programs for indigent children.

Tianfu Square & Statue of Mao Zedong

2006-11-05T19:23:00.000+08:00

Tianfu Square, in the center of Chengdu, is currently being rebuilt. Looking over the Square is a large statue of Chairman Mao Zedong.

Renmin Gongyuan - The People's Park

2006-11-05T18:36:00.000+08:00

Renmin Gongyuan, or People's Park, is just west of Tianfu Square in the center of Chengdu. This 100,000 square meter park offers many flowers and landscapes, a large lake, a bonsai rockery, waterfalls, a playground and a tea house. The Monument to the Martyrs of the Railway Protection Movement (1911) commemorates an uprising of the people against officers who pocketed cash raised for the construction of the Chengdu to Chongqing line. Since, at the time, People's Park was a private officer's garden, it was a fitting place to erect the monument.

Scenes from The People's Park in Chengdu

Photos taken 5 November 2006

History of the Chengdu YMCA

2006-11-05T09:33:00.000+08:00

Introduction

In 2002, Bill Hua, former General Secretary and current Board President of the Chengdu YMCA, wrote a small pamphlet "Some Facts about the Chengdu YMCA." With permission of the current General Secretary, I share this interesting history of the Chengdu YMCA with you.

The Early Days

1910 was the year when our Chengdu YMCA was started, the sponsors being a group of missionaries and Chinese lay-leaders. From them, the first board of directors was formed and an executive chosen.

The next year, a piece of land was allocated to the Y by the then provincial council, and the first YMCA was built thereon with the money from the first membership campaign. R. R. Service, a Springfield University graduate, was appointed the first general secretary (1911-1919). Three others joined the staff. They were Mr. A. J. Brace from Canada, Mr. Richardson from the States, and Mr. Yang Guoping from Chengdu.

The program during the early stage was aimed at attracting people to contact the Y. So, such experiments as the making of ice from water, the movie, and athletic sports were the first time introduced to the public in Chengdu. Now Chengdu YMCA is often cited as the pioneer in these areas.

In 1925 a new two-story brick YMCA building (above) was erected on the old Y site with a donation from the North American Y. Everything was ready for the Chengdu Y to come out as a standard social organization.

Chengdu Y as a Mature Social Organization

From 1931, when Japan occupied our NorthEast, to 1950, Chengdu Y gradually merged with the local community and adjusted our program to suit our national struggle against the Japanese invaders for a united, peaceful, and democratic China. Besides our traditional programs, we ran mass meetings to raise money and to rally people to help in the war, we organized nurse-training classes and frontline first-aid teams. We were very active in our student work and our student relief helped many students from Japanese-occupied areas in various ways. When we had done what we should and could, more people came to know the Y better and eventually turned to be our supporters and volunteers. Our good work and our friendly attitude toward the student movement won for us our due position in the People's Republic.

In the Days of the People's Republic (1950-1966)

The Chengdu Y could carry on our regular programs as before and became one of the four founders of the general youth movement, excepting that we must devote part of our time and staff to help in the church 3-self movement. In that period the Y and the church were working closely together for the Lord until the Red-guards occupied the Y and made it their head-quarters at the onset of the so-called Cultural Revolution in 1966. The ten years after was a period of national disaster and chaos for Christians as well as for other people.

Chengdu YMCA (1988-1993)

In 1988 we recovered the whole Y compound and restarted our Y. Then we had 2 new hands trained in Shanghai by the National Committee, a new board of directors organized, and the former general secretary rehabilitated.

As for our program and finance, I would say our resources were quite limited, but everyone worked hard.

From 1988 to 1993, we could only put forth indoor cultural and recreational programs besides a kindergarten. We ran a spare-time art and music school, a Chinese painting class, a chorus society for adults and a glee club for children, English classes, a photo group, and a chess-bridge club. Young people in the different clubs and classes would join in our month social gatherings, picnics and outings, Christmas parties, lectures and discussions, exchanges with foreign Ys, and concerts organized by our chorus society, glee club, and music school. In 1989 we presented a Christmas Concert on Handel's Messiah at the Chengdu Church and in 1991 we had a vocal and instrument concert in Shanghai for the 101 annivesary of the Chinese YWCA and another at the Moen Church.

Chengdu YMCA Moves on with Time

We know that in a fast-changing society the Y must be keen enough to feel its pulse in order to more on with time.

In the early nineteen nineties, new blood was infused into the Y and new ideas changed the whole arena of the Chengdu Y. Chengdu Y quickly adapted itself to the new market economy. The new 6-story YMCA building is symbolic of this change. It came as the result of a deal between the Y and a businessman with the latter providing the building fund and the Y the site, agreeing on each side getting half of the building.

With more income, the Y could serve the community better. Besides the programs in the old brick building, we now ran a brand-new up-dated fitness center, a tea-house, a public reading room, Chinese and western painting classes, calligraphy and cartoon courses, and a multifunction hall for meetings, parties, social gatherings, and recreation in the new building. The kindergarten is enlarged to take more kids. Our chorus society has been invited every year by the TV station to sing Christian songs at the New Year Chorus Concert.

As outreaches, we now run 2 YMCA community centers in the city and a rural service station. For these we just supply the facilities and running expenses while the local community will provide the rooms.

Exchanges also go on smoothly with the Ys in Japan, Canada and the U.S. as well as the Ys in Hong Kong and Taiwan province. The Chengdu Y also runs joint programs with the Hong Kong Chinese YMCA in rural areas in Sichuan. All sides concerned seem to welcome such activities.

Now the Chengdu YMCA has a staff of 3 woman and 5 men and a new board of directors, besides volunteers in the program department and the different clubs.

Our weak point lies in membership work, in-office training for our staff. We also have difficulty in recruiting new secretaries.

All in all, our Chengdu YMCA is marching forward with time and growing. And the YMCA will continue to be a part of the witness of Christ in China.

March 7, 2002

MORE ... on Eggs & Tomatoes

2006-11-05T08:51:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I had lunch with friends which included a variation of Eggs & Tomatoes. The seasoning used was salt and garlic (no sugar). This suggests to me that you could season the Eggs & Tomatoes anyway you wanted. One might be able to create lots of excellent variations of this dish. Let me know how you do it!

MORE ... Scenes in River Viewing Park

2006-11-03T17:56:00.000+08:00

Xue Tao - Poetess of the Tang Dynasty

Well of Xue Tao

"Originally called the Yunu Well (The Well of a Jade-like Girl), the Xue Tao Well is a main relic in memory of the poetess Xue Tao of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). The local monarchs of the Early and Mid-Ming Dynasty (1368-1664 A.D.) took the water from the well to make writing paper called Xue Tao paper. From then on, it has been called Xue Tao Well. In 1664 A.D. Ji Yingxiong, the mayor of Chengdu in the period of the Emperor Kang Xi of the Qing Dynasty wrote the three big characters "Xue Tao Jing" in beautiful Chinese calligraphy. Hence it has become a famous relic in memory of the Tang Poetess." - Wangjiang Park Sign

Detail on the River Viewing Tower

A Gazebo in the Park

A Bridge and Pond in the Park

Xue Tao & the River Viewing Park

2006-11-03T16:07:00.000+08:00

Xue Tao (781? - 832 AD) is a famous poet of the Tang dynasty of China. It is said that she wrote over 500 poems, but only 92 have survived until today. Her poetry has been held in high esteem since the time in which it was written. She also created a small, delicate and scarlet poem-tablet which is famous in Chinese paper-making history. And, her calligraphy works were collected by the imperial court of North Song dynasty as an art treasurer. She led a frustrated life and the Chinese people have shown much sympathy for her.

Wangjiang Park, or River Viewing Park, is one of the famous scenic spots of Chengdu. The park with its buildings and bamboo gardens commemorates Xue Tao. Bamboo was her favorite plant. People have planted ove 140 varieties of bamboo in the park which are labeled for the convenience of visitors. Although the park area was not her home, the buildings in the park commemorate her life.

After the death of her father who was a lower officer of the western Sichuan government, at fifteen she had to become a poem-singer of the local government to earn a living for her family. She was well known for her poetic talent. Having been exiled by the governor of the local governement, she was forgiven by presenting some touching poems. After some 11-12 years of service as a poet-singer, she again became a common person and an independent poet.

Officers of the local government and some famous poets paid attention to her poetic talents. They wrote poems to her; and she wrote responses. It is said that she was recommended to the king, as a Collator, but he did not approve it because this post was never conferred on a woman in the Tang dynasty. Hence, people have called her Collatrix since then. A year after her death, the supreme governor of the Western Sichuan Region wrote an epitaph especially for her tomb. It was a great honor that few poets enjoyed and represented the respect of the people for this talented poetess. One of her poems:

Moon

White and full, she is as a round fan of silk;
Slim and slender, she is like a hook of silver.
Which is better, the full or the slim?
I really wonder, who on earth can tell?

PICTURES ABOVE: Statue of Xue Tao, Example of the Bamboo in Wangjiang Park,
Tower of Magnificence or River-Viewing Tower, and View of the River from the Tower.

[NOTE: Above based on material in Poetess Xue Tao and Park of River Viewing Tower by Zhang Zhengze and Ji Guoping, 1995]

For more information on Xue Tao and Wangjiang Park see: Xue Tao on Other Women’s Voices – Translations of Women’s Writing Before 1700; The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry Web Companion hosted by Whittier College; ColorQ World – Xue Tao – celebrated poet and inventor; Wangjiang Tower Park on TravelChinaGuide.com; The Mountain Songs； and Access My Library – Brocade River Poems: Selected Works of the Tang Dynasty Courtesan Xue Tao .

First Chinese Cooking Lesson - Eggs & Tomatoes

2006-11-02T07:36:00.000+08:00

One evening I had commented that the Eggs & Tomatoes dish for dinner was one of the best things I had ever eaten. So earlier this week, my hosts said we would have it again and their cook would show me how to make it. My directions below are general (the cook was like my mother, a little of this and a little of that) so you may have to experiment to get it right; but, you should try it, it is wonderful!

Pre-heat your wok. Break two eggs into a bowl, add about a teaspoon of salt and stir with your chop sticks. Peel and slice three or four tomatoes. When the wok is hot, add enough oil to cook the eggs. Add eggs to oil and cook until done. They become like a pancake; flip them over to complete cooking; then, pull the eggs apart with your chop sticks into smaller pieces. Add tomatoes and about two tablespoons of sugar, stir and cook until done. You may need to experiment with the salt and sugar to get the dish to your taste.

Anyone familiar with this dish and can add specifics, please comment below.

Marvelous Beijing Opera Performance

2006-10-30T18:05:00.000+08:00

Jingju, literally "drama of the capital" or the Beijing Opera as it is known in English, gave two performances in Chengdu on October 20-21. Charles, husband of the YMCA General Secretary, invited me to attend the second performance with him. It was a fantastic experience!! The Jingju performed The Story of Judge Bao & the Case of Qin Xianglian -- one of the all-time favorite plays of the Chinese. The opera is "about the legendary Judge Bao, a stern but fair dispenser of justice and upholder of the common man -- or in this case, common woman."

"In it, the scholar Chen Shimei leaves his wife, Qin Xianglian, in the care of his parents and goes to the capital to take the national examinations. He places first and charms the Empress Dowager, who arranges for him to marry her daughter, the Emperor's younger sister -- to secure his position, Chen tells everyone that he has never been married before. While Chen is in the capital, his parents die in a widespread famine, and his original, commoner wife and children come to the capital in search of his protection.

Although Qin tries her best to win his recognition, Chen refuses to acknowledge them and orders a palace guard to kill them. The assassin, however, is moved by Qin Xianglian's story, lets them go, and then kills himself rather than complete his mission.

With the assistance of a kindly innkeeper and a sympathetic government minister, Qin then goes to Judge Bao and accuses Chen of attempting to murder her and his original heir and of causing Han Qi's death.

Boa calls Chen before him, and Chen does everything in his power to use his status as the Emperor's brother-in-law against Qin Xianglian--his imperial wife and mother-in-law even come to court to threaten Judge Bao.

In the end, however, Judge Bao holds firm--and Chen is beheaded."

The poster and story are taken from "A Guide to Jingju" published by the Department of Theatre and Dance, College of Arts and Humanities, University of Hawaii at Manoa for the Kennedy Theatre 2001-2002 season. For more on the Beijing Opera, see the Chinese Opera Links Page.

Jintang Students Maintain School

2006-10-30T17:16:00.000+08:00

The Jintang students, with teacher assistance and supervision, maintain the cleanliness of the classrooms, halls and stairs, toilets, playground and signage. Students are assigned to specific days and after the work is completed a team of students and a teacher inspect and grade each area of the school.