I have been busy sight-seeing in Xi’an. I visited the Shaanxi History Museum. - Xi’an is in the province of Shannxi. It is excellent with well-lit exhibits and lots of information in English. It starts with the early history of the province, which goes back to the fossil skull of an Ape-man 1,150,000 years ago and up until 1840; 15 dynasties established their capitals here. There is beautiful pottery from 4,7000 years ago when the “fast potter’s wheel” was invented. Under the Zhou dynasty, 770-256 BC the bronze culture was developed with chime bells as well as decorated cooking utensils. The Qin Dynasty, 221-206 BC is noted for iron wares, and mausoleums and palaces. This was the time of the Terracotta Warriors, and a time of prosperity.
The Han Dynasty 25-220 AD was one of the most powerful empires in the world; Chang’an, the former name of Xian was the capital. This is when the Silk Road formally opened. With the Song Dynasty, 960, Xian was no longer the capital.
One Sunday I was taken to a Buddhist Temple, Famen Temple, several hours from the city. Temples are always temple complexes so there are many buildings, with different Buddha images. This is a very famous place because there is a pagoda that has a 2000-year-old finger of Buddha. There were many Chinese there. After being there and at another temple in Xi’an, I would say that Buddhism is alive and well in China.
We also visited the tomb of the only empress in China, Empress Wu Zetian. She ruled, but not necessarily officially, for over fifty years. She got to the throne rather deviously since she started out as a low concubine and then moved up; she killed her own daughter, accused the empress, and then became empress herself. She became supreme empress in 690 and ruled until 705. Anyone who opposed her, she eliminated including her own sons. She was ruthless, but also accomplished good things, such as creating a civil service based on merit rather than birth, developing agriculture, and initiating social reforms. The actual tomb is on the top of a hill, but there is a splendid wide walkway “Imperial Way” up to the base of the hill with numerous statues along each side.
When I am in downtown Xi’an, I like to go to the Muslim Quarter to eat. My favorite is steamed vegetarian dumplings and I go to the same restaurant because they are so delicious. One can eat up and down the street and then take a side street for variety and keep on eating. There are many noodles, shish kabobs, and steamed dumplings, and various sweets being served. There are also shops with souvenirs, tea and dried nuts and fruit. I tasted some dried sweet potatoes the other day – quite good. This province is famous for walnuts and dates.
I am learning to take the buses, and I have a bus card, which I can keep putting on money, and then it electronically deducts the fare each time, which is either 8 or 15 cents. I have just taken a few buses, but I have a map with the routes on it so I can try to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. I do not always take the most direct route, but I have managed to get places and to get home again; a taxi is always an option, of course, and they are $1-2 a trip. At rush hour, the buses can be very crowded.
Chinglish is spoken here. I now have several students as my Chinese teachers, and they all say I need to practice! I was proud of myself at a fruit vendor’s the other day when he asked me if I were American and I understood, and then he told me the price of my tangerines and I understood that. He is very pleasant, and I will continue going to him for fruit and encouragement with my Chinese.
I have not mentioned that I shop at Wal Mart, now my favorite super store. I do not buy fresh fruit and vegetables there, but many other necessities. Signs are in English, which certainly makes shopping easier and like any super store, they have everything. There are lots of deli foods, which are quite good. The only thing I have not found is good whole wheat bread. There are some French bread loaves, but that is about it for Western bread. Butter and cheese hardly exist, and I have yet to find yogurt that does not contain sugar.
I find the constant crowds of people and noise exhausting, loud speakers, vendors shouting their wares, sales people trying to get your attention and get you to go into their shop, all make for a not very relaxed walk in the city, but still nothing like India. The biggest single item being sold, I think, is cell phones; there are numerous companies all claiming the latest and the best in features. There are many many huge shopping centers all over. Vendors sell everything imaginable, watches, baby booties, fruit, all kinds of food, these things are set out on the sidewalk, or sold from a cart or bike. There are a few beggars, but nothing like India.
All teachers get breakfast and lunch provided at the school. To celebrate Women’s Day, March 8th, the Chinese women teachers got 100 extra Yuan ($15) put on their cafeteria cards. We all get $30 a month for breakfasts and lunches. The cafeteria workers pile your rectangular partitioned metal plate high with food, rice and whatever vegetables or meat or fish you choose. I’m often not quite sure what I’m pointing at. As in every institution, so much food goes to waste, never mind the poor starving children in China. At the end of the month I can spend any extra money on my card in the grocery store on campus. (Crackers, cookies, dried fruit, herb tea). There is hot and cold mineral water in all offices. Dates grow in the north of this province, but they different, big, almost round, red and very pulpy. I saw dried dates floating in a girl’s water – good for beauty she told me; chrysanthemum tea is good for the blood. The students fetch boiled water in the boiler building in their big colorful thermos bottles and take it to their rooms so that they have a supply of warm drinking water; it’s the only source of warm water in their rooms. (In the picture the bottles were set outside the cafeteria on the steps while they ate.) Six girls or six boys share the dorm rooms, which has a toilet and a sink with cold water. (I have not been in a dorm room yet.) They have to bathe in a different building.
In my discussions with the students I find that they have had very few life experiences, partly because of the cross section of the population that they represent, but also because there are limited opportunities available to children, or at least there were. There is a great deal of pressure on middle and high school students to study all of the time so that they can pass difficult examinations to get into college. Few students know how to swim, but if they are from Xi’an I can understand that because public pools hardly exist. Few students have taken any music lessons; a couple can play the piano, and one girl plays a traditional Chinese string instrument. One student has taken dance lessons. On the other hand, they all play ping-pong and badminton. Most of the boys also play basketball and know all about the NBA (there’s a Chinese player for Houston) and many play soccer. Very few have worked, although several girls work as guides in museums. A couple of boys have worked in electronics shops. Most seem interested in getting good jobs that pay well after graduation, but they are all very much aware of the financial crisis and the lack of employment in China today.
It’s hard to get into university because of the competition. You need to have very high examination scores to get into the top universities, thus City College exists because students can get into this school without having top grades. The college is a 3rd tier school, but at the top of that category. Students say that college is so much easier than high school where they had to study all the time. They have about 30 hours of classes.
One isn’t too surprised that hairdressers and barbers at work can be seen from the street through the windows on the sidewalk, but there are also storefront dentist offices. One can watch a dentist do dental work by peeking in the big glass window right on the sidewalk.
Many people are employed to do clean up and garden work. In the park there are so many people gardening, pulling weeds, and cleaning up the garden areas. There are sidewalk and street sweepers all over, sweeping up trash and leaves and whatever is on the sidewalk. Of course many Chinese people litter even though there are many trash bins because people are there to sweep up the garbage. People spit constantly and blow their noses into bushes, the ground and on the sidewalk. Gross. At school custodians are constantly moping down the beautiful marble floors and cleaning the toilets.
For those of you who asked, the yellow stick food in the last set of pictures is pineapple. It’s sweet, juicy and very delicious. They have a great system and equipment for cutting it. More stick food to tell about next time. I hope spring is on its way where you are.
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