Hong Kong

Hong Kong reminds me of busy New York Manhattan. It’s in limbo; part of China, not part of China. The water supply is owned by the government. The banks are owned by private companies and they banks issue the money. There’s a Susie Wong area, a mafia area, and a Hong Kong suit area. Unlike China, but like New York, people are allowed to own guns. Relatively speaking, few people are born here. With a population of 7 million, there are less than 2 million who were born here. Many are high-spirited people who escaped from the Chinese cultural revolution. They came here with nothing. The British government sent the parents to school so they’d want to send their daughters to school. Some older women still think they’re dirty if they read.

This is the 20th anniversary of the Tianamen Square incident. Hong Kong wants China to admit that it killed people. China says that nobody died in Tianamen square. July 1 will be the anniversary of China’s takeover of Hong Kong, so there might be some demonstrations. Hong Kong believes that the government should work for them instead of people working for the government.

Rosita was our Hong Kong guide. When she had to pick an American name, Rose was taken, so they offered her Rosita. She told us that it’s the local law that passengers can not be in the front seat of the bus. It’s only reserved for guides.

Hong Kong is a capitalistic, competitive society. It is expensive like South Korea, Singapore, and Tokyo. The average income is $4000 U.S. dollars a month now, but was $200 a month in the 1980’s. Hong Kong was a British colony for 150 years until 1997. It was turned over to China who promised that nothing will be changed for 50 years. Their freedom rights are still protected. They do not have the one-child policy that you see in China. It’s a more British-type government. However, in 2047, when China takes over, the British common laws and freedom of speech and religion may disappear.

Hong Kong couldn’t survive without both China and Great Britain. It gets water from China (undrinkable). As recently as two years ago, China wouldn’t let Hong Kong elect its own government.

View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak:

They drive on the opposite side of the road, as in Great Britain. There are 370,000 ships in and out of the harbor each month. The average condo is again 500 sq ft, with an average cost of $200,000, with an average of 6 people occupying it However, only 300 sq ft is livable. The other 200 sq ft is shared with neighbors. Homes of 2000 sq ft cost $10 million. Housing costs can be 60% of a person’s salary. The Hong Kong dollar has had a fixed rate with the American dollar since 1984. About 16% of the Hong Kongese go to a University, which costs about $5000 a year.

Hong Kong is made up of several areas. There’s the New Territories, which is egg-shaped with mountains in the middle. It’s composed of about 600 villages, mostly residential, with 30-60 family units on each floor of the high-rise building. They can own up to 6 fish, 2 birds, 3 turtles, etc. If a neighbor looks in your window and spots 7 fish, they report you to the inspector. So, you’d hide the fish in a bowl under the bed until the inspector leaves. The New Territories is known as “the land between.” It’s a peninsula across Victoria Harbor consisting of rocky coastline and lush, hilly farmland-a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the big city.



Then there’s the Kowloon peninsula which is triangular shaped. The little, or South Island is next to China. They have a wired chain-link fence that you can’t pass after 10 pm.

While getting ready for dinner, we watched “Monk” on the TV with Chinese subtitles. We caught some American TV, too: “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader” and a current “American Idol” show. We saw commercials for “30 Rock” and “Howie Do It.”

The average age of marriage in Hong Kong is 36 for men and 32 for women. The men want to marry women from the mainland. I assume it’s because they are subservient, less educated, and less worldly. Domestic workers are hired from the Philippines, paid about $500 U.S. dollars a month.

There are few burials because the cemeteries are full. A cemetery site costs $80,000 in US dollars. The public cemeteries keep a body for only 7 years and then it’s returned to the family. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, so you can’t cremate a body for 7 years. The wife has no right to inherit. Daughters can’t inherit either. If there is no son, then the nephew inherits. We saw an AIG building and the International Finance Center Building which is 89 stories high. I asked about earthquakes and the reply was that there are no earthquakes or tsunamis here.

The Aberdeen area of Hong Kong is made up of small islands with people who live on boats. There are 20 boat women who have never set foot on land. There are both sampan boats and high rise living areas. The Repulse Bay area is a beautiful beach area.
Aberdeen:
Repulse Bay


Repulse Bay-hole in building to let out evil spirtits:



We walked past several bridal shops which were actually photography studios. Brides rent dresses for their pictures. We also went into one of the largest jewelry factories in Southeast Asia.

We know a young woman who had been a high school exchange student in the U.S. She’s from Hong Kong so she met us for dinner and a walk along Victoria Harbor.

Business signs at night:

We had dinner with her at the San Francisco Steak House, overlooking the harbor. The high-rise buildings light up for a light show every night, which was spectacular. On the way home, we wandered through the underground shopping malls.

From inside restaurant, looking at lighted buildings:

Hong Kong harbor:

Signs on Nathan Street, near our hotel:


Hong Kong can be tropical and humid, but we had lovely weather. We visited a bird market and a flower market. At the bird market, bird owners show, trade, and walk their birds and let the birds socialize with each other.




We saw grasshoppers for sale, too.



I loved the flower market!


So much lucky bamboo!



We went to the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple where people lit incense for the saints who live in another world. The smell of incense will bribe the saints to make their wishes come true and make them feel better.




The Nanlian Garden in the middle of the city was beautiful. This was the first time that we saw a blue sky on the entire trip. Signs in the park were in traditional Chinese characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and also in the newer, less complicated characters, used by mainland China.

No lawn mower for this gardener:







We had a fish lunch in the Sai Kung Fishing Village, in the eastern part of the New Territories peninsula. We watched the fishing boats bring in their loads.




After our farewell dinner, we finished packing and spent our last night in China. The flights home had to be changed at the last minute, but it worked out great. We sat in the bulkhead section with lots of legroom on the leg to Tokyo. On the final leg home, the plane was 1/3 full so we had plenty of room to stretch out. First I saw the end of “Paul Blart, Mall Cop,” then the middle, and finally the beginning of the movie. We saw the sunrise from the plane, which was a beautiful ending to a fabulous vacation.

Guilin, China

GUILIN

Guilin is a beautiful, peaceful city of only 4.8 million people, with 28 different ethnic groups. Here’s the view from our hotel room. Notice the nice hotel robes on the bed.

The city of Guilin allows the various ethnic groups to keep their own customs. For example, one ethnic group has a festival for boys and girls to meet each other. They give each other a ball of yarn with 12 parts to signify the 12 months of the year. If a girl likes a boy, she steps on his toe. If she likes him a lot, she steps on his heel. One ethnic group likes men with glasses, signifying a learned, smart man. Another ethnic group likes silver jewelry. They pile 22 pounds of jewelry on the bride. Yet another ethnic group likes long hair. The girls only cut their hair once, at 18 years of age, and then they save the hair. If a boy sees a girl’s hair, he must marry her. Another custom is to wear a bun and always wrap your hair before having a baby. Once you’re a mother, you keep the hair down and long.

The Chinese have a 20% divorce rate. They have a superstition for everything. For example, our guide had a natural childbirth and gave birth in 3 hours. So people say her baby likes her, not wanting her to suffer. They do not have religious marriage ceremonies. They have a civil ceremony at a government office and then have a party on the same or another date. The Chinese people usually keep a mirror and a scissors at the front doorway to keep out the evil spirits. The banners made of red strips found at front doors are changed every Chinese New Year.

Here are various workers making deliveries:







Here's more pictures of open baby pants:

I've seen many uses for rice. Yet another use is fermented rice water. Cook the rice in the water, let it ferment and then wash your hair in it. Your hair won’t turn gray. It’ll stay shiny.

The name “tea” is interesting. In Northern China, it is pronounced “cha” and Russia, in the North calls it “chai.” In Southern China, it is pronounced “tie,” and in England, it is called “tea.”

We visited the Yao Shan Tea Garden, which is a tea farm. Not only did we don our coolie hats and pick tea, but we also learned from a tea master how the delicate leaves are picked from the tea trees and then harvested, dried, and processed. After the tea is dried out, it is cooked in a huge 480 degree pot! We learned about brewing, pouring, and drinking tea. We learned how to hold a tea cup and how to knock on the table, depending on marital status and availability. The lowest quality tea is used for tea bags. After a few years of use, a tea pot can be used for tea without the tea leaves. Just put water in this much-used pot and tea will come out.

fields of tea

how to pour tea
processing tea
We had a contest to see who could pick the most tea in 10 minutes.


We went for a lovely relaxing walk along the beautiful Li River.








We saw swimming, laundry, bathing, and other bathroom activities all in the same river (pictures of the laundry, bathing and other bathroom activities upon request).





We also boarded a river boat for a cruise on the Li River, passing humped limestone peaks, fishermen on their bamboo rafts, and water buffalo coming in for a dip. We saw captive duck-like cormorants with their leashed necks, perched on rafts waiting for orders to go fishing. We ate lunch on the boat and saw snake wine. I don’t think anyone drank the snake wine.



They also had rat tea. No takers. Lunch was cooked in the back of the boat.






Here's a guy using a cell phone on the water taxi.



Beautiful limestone peak:




Here's the sun and moon pagodas that were shown on The Amazing Race:



As we drove along the highway, we saw rice paddies and vacationers for the long May Day/Buddha's birthday weekend.





We saw a motor scooter which had the dad driving and the mom sitting on the back, holding twins on her lap! One of our final Guilan moments was a wonderful authentic massage/reflexolgy appointment. It was beautiful city that we will never forget.

On to Hong Kong...

Xian

Xian and the Terra Cotta Army

We arrived in Xian, the ancient capital city of China, which is the size of a village, only 8 million people! The root of Chinese civilization is in Xian. It is the oldest complete city in the world. Twenty-eight KFC’s and 43 McDonald’s are also here. We were presented with glasses of water and damp towels upon check-in at the hotel. Most of our hotel rooms have come with slippers, robes, and nightlights. We had a delicious buffet breakfast at each hotel.

The Qin Mausoleum is China’s greatest archaeological attraction. It is the 8th wonder of the world. More than 2000 years ago, the Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried in an earth mound, along with 6400 life-sized terra cotta warriors, archers, and infantrymen, together with their horses and chariots-individually sculpted from live models. They’re carved in incredible detail, with each man and each horse made to look like the real soldier or horse. In fact, this first emperor of China is the creator of two miracles-the Great Wall and the terra cotta warriors. He unified China and his concubines were killed and buried with him.

In the early 1970’s, farmers digging a well accidentally uncovered some of these soldiers. Since then, three large pits have been uncovered, and are now on view to the public. It’s an awesome sight-an entire army carved in battle formation, set in the ground to guard and protect the emperor’s tomb. One-fifth of China’s population at the time built his tomb in a perfect feng shui location between the mountains and the river.





This is the farmer who discovered the terra cotta warriors about 35 years ago. He is at the site daily, signing books.


We spent a couple of hours wandering around the three pits, seeing the warriors in various stages of being cleaned, reassembled, and labeled. Afterwards, we went to a farmer’s house for lunch. This particular family housed the parents and baby downstairs, with the grandparents’ room and main room upstairs. The stove and outhouse were outside. Sometimes the farmer’s son works in the city, but when the farmer retires, the son comes back to work on the farm.

Our lunch at the farmer's house.

Their outdoor stove.
Our guide checking out one of the community's outhouses. They also have public baths. He says that everyone looks like dumplings.



The relocated farmers become construction workers. The new condos that are being built all over China are basically bare to the walls. There are no toilets, no flooring, no windows, no doors, and no appliances. All of these luxuries are added later by the owner, who only owns the condo, not the property. If people are unemployed, they get 3 months unemployment benefits, with a lifetime total of 2 years unemployment. Their minimum wage is $1 an hour. The monumental number of recent college graduates faces no jobs so the government is hiring them at street sweepers at $500 a month plus medical benefits.

We then visited a local school which is supported by the tour company. The children took us by the hand and led us into their classroom. Here's a common sight; a tush hanging out, in grandma's arms. The Chinese children's pants are open in the crotch area.

The school.

The teacher and blackboard with math problems.

We went to a spectacular dinner show featuring beautifully-costumed performers in a traditional Tang Dynasty show. The enchanting dances and ancient music reflected a period of peace and creativity from about 1200 years ago. It truly reflected the glory and richness of the Tang Dynasty. Not to be dismissed was the 7-star toilet which had a teapot for hand soap.

The orchestra pit:

The best bathroom on the trip!


The following morning we visited the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, built 1300 years ago. It is one of the oldest pagodas in China. It was built with sticky rice, water and dirt. After a giant earthquake in 1372, its cracks magically healed.

Hitching posts from 1300 years ago.


The Small Goose Pagoda


In the gardens with the Wild Goose Pagoda, we saw a small carnival, bonsai plantings for sale, and beautiful flowers. A couple of the carnival booths were a basketball booth featuring Yao Ming who now plays in the U.S., and real live birds and bunnies as prizes. People throw a hoop around the little cage and can win a live animal. Horrible for those little guys.

Some of these prizes are real birds and bunnies!




Here's my favorite picture from Xian:



We went to a lacquer factory. About 90% of Chinese furniture is produced here. The lacquer comes from tree sap. Damp glasses do not cause glass rings on real lacquer-only on chemical based lacquer. Here's a lacquer dining room set.



Xian was the capital city for 4 Dynasties. The first Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty was 3500 years ago. The second was the Qin Dynasty. The third was the Han Dynasty. The majority of Chinese are the Han People. The rest are among 53 nationalities. The Tang Dynasty was the most recent, richest, and renaissance-like dynasty. We learned all about eunuchs and concubines.

Lunch was at a famous dumpling restaurant. We had so many varieties of boiled and steamed dumplings with various sauces. After visiting the 2-star bathroom, I passed by the kitchen, seeing the stacks of dumplings serving pieces.




Downtown Xian has a Muslim and Jewish area. We walked along the Islam marketplace. The Muslims are assigned a certain area for burial. They don’t have to be cremated which is the current policy for the Chinese. However, they’re all buried together in a pit, with no coffin. Then we went to the top of the 14th century city wall, which was made from glutinous sticky rice. The upturned eaves look like fish tails. In feng shui, fish equals water which equals good luck.

Roasting walnuts.
Dried kiwi and other dried fruits.
Downtown Xian.

The anncient city walls.


While waiting in the airport for our flight to Guilin, my hubby and his friend both dropped some of their Magnum ice cream bars on their pants. One at a time, they went into the men’s room and came out with wet spots on their pants. My girlfriend and I were laughing hysterically. Soon we departed the dry northwestern plateau of Xian to arrive in the moist, semi-tropical mountainous region of Guilin in the south. Guilin is the land of rivers and misty limestone mountains…