Book - Home is a Roof over a Pig

An American family's experience living in rural China.  The title refers to the components that make up the Chinese character for 'home,

 

This is your starter for ten. What is the component for 'wood'?

Guangzhou Old Trolley Bus

Found in Yeuxiu park, what looks like a 1950’s articulated trolley bus!!

In need of a bit of TLC, but essentially complete
Guangzhou still has an extensive trolley bus net running through out the city

This circular plate that allows the body to articulate has four seats fixed to it. Must be a fun ride on those.

Guangzhou to Kunming

Stone Forest


We travelled by train from Kunming to Guangzhou. A journey taking exactly 24 hours. We left Kunming on the dot and arrived in Guangzhou on the dot. Impressive. The sleeping arrangements are 6 to an open cubic. Lights off 10pm, wake up music on at 7 am. The carriage attended clocked that I looked ancient and I was given a Chinese knot emblem over my cot to signify the fact!!! Well, she said I was to be recognised as a special customer and wrote my details up in a ledger. Smart.





Kunming at 2000 mtrs is 500 mtrs higher than Ulaanbaatar. The train journey east to Guangzhou on the coast passes through the stone forest, a huge area of weird upright limestone structures. Sorry, shots from the train were not easy. Missed a whole load to impressive deep cut valleys etc. Bummer. Oh well, next time.

Yeu Xiu park

Walking through the main entrance you are confronted with this mass of impossibly brightly coloured flowers.









After winter in Mongolia, a massive contrast.


Subtropical green from

artic white.

Guangzhou - Goat City

Guangzhou was given its prosperity by 5 fairies who arrived on 5 goats. The fairies gift of 5 corn plants to the people living here led to the boom times you can find here today. I am only repeating what it said in the museum!!!! Honest.

Guangzhou

Unfortunately our day in Guangzhou was very misty. The city straddles the Pearl River and has lots of water ways. But with only one day, we didn’t have time to do the place photographic justice. All the four Chinese cities we have visited are high rise metropolises. The taxis system in all four cities are best I have ever used. All metered and you get a receipt without having to ask. Some even have GPS navigation fitted!!! A new index of a countries stage of development could be the taxi discipline!!! My view of China has changed considerably. Urban China at least has arrived as a 21st century economic power. Some European countries need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Kunming Ethnic Village Park

Strange place. A collection of artificial looking minority ethnic Chinese villages built around a lake. Like a zoo but for humans instead of animals.

Gek with Mui Hua, our hostess in Kunming. She is letting us stay at her’s, a very nice condo in the west of the city.

What was this thing doing in a cultural theme park? I don’t know. Seemed to sum up my impression of China so far. Rapidly relegating it’s culture to museums in order to join the global village. Low culture is being promoted as high culture. We went to see what was billed as a ‘culture show’, Dynamic Yunnan, in Kunming city centre. The dance routines and stage craft bore only a passing reference to their cultural origins. More River Dance than Chinese Dance. Made me yearn for some throat singing and shoulder shaking!!!!!

Xian Park Sculptures

To the south east, outside the city wall is a park and recreation area with a little park with a series of lovely, larger than life bronze sculptures.


All of them show some sort of domestic scene and humour. You just have to smile at the charaters!!!

Xian Artist Area

By the south gate of the city is a redeveloped area which now houses artist studios and jade shops. The buildings are all grey. The same as the redeveloped Hu Tongs in Beijing. Looks smart but feels sterile. Perhaps time is needed to humanise the streets.


Court yards house the artists studios,



Almost entirely traditional Chinese art with very little oil painting.

Xian Warriors

The mandatory shot of the hall.

and the heads.

This kneeling archer, minus cross bow, is the only complete figure found so far.



Apparently, the emperor was not a very nice man, treating his subjects very cruelly. But they got their own back after he died, stealing all the 6000 pot warriors’ weapons and using them against the emperor’s successor. And, for good measure, they set fire to the warriors pits. Clearly the population at large did not share the same view of the after life as their illustrious leader!!! Magic.

I cannot tell you what I really think of what has happen on the site………suffice to say I was more impressed by Xi’an’s city wall.

Xian Hot Springs

When Xi’an was the capital of China, the emperor had a summer place built at hot springs about 20 km from the town. A different bathtub for every member of the imperial family.


This voluptuous lady was his favourite. Visitors were queuing up to have their pictures taken leaning on her thigh. Wonder what the emperor would have made of that? Not a lot me thinks. The place put me in mind of Roman baths complete with pictures of semi naked women taking a dip.

Xian Taoist Temple

The Taoist Temple gate.

leading to a very nicely refurbished temple complex,
with a holder for massive sticks to burn.


We consulted a Taoist Monk who confirmed our compatibility. Gek is a Gemini water snake and I am an Libra earth dog. So that’s ok then!!!!

From the Xian city Wall.

Gek doing the bin thing. And that snake and turtle are still chatting away.
You have to love her!!! We were a bit too ambitious. We never made it to the distant tower. Had to turn round and come back. I said we should have hired a tandem!!.

A tourist crocodile being harassed. Yousee lots of them. Not many free and easy travelers like ourselves.
On the other side, and elderly gentleman exercising with a child's toy.

and in the gate courts yard some serious rehearsals under way.

Xian City Wall

A massive wall surrounds the old city, over 13 kms of it

with only four gates.

Not as complicated as the wall around Luca but much higher and wider.

A very strange emblem comprising a snake apparently talking to a turtle. Go google!!!!

High Tea at Raffles, Beijing

The lobby lounge. Not Raffles Singapore but it will do!

First scrutinise the menu,
to find we are early for High Tea. Not to worry, order a lone pot of tea
Relax and read the China Post and wait for time to time.
And then hight tea. Smoked salmon nibbles, finger sandwiches and assorted scones and cakes. Very, very nice.