Tianjin & Beijing

These have been a super busy few days for me. In New York, I spent the day with friends going to lunch at Cafe Zaiya and dinner at Yakinuki (a Korean/Japanese barbeque) as well as visiting Central Park, MOMA, and a Karaoke joint.I flew from New York to Beijing--about a 13 hour flight. The cool thing was that I sat next to Chinese-language students from Bard College. They were studying in a summer program in Qinghai. Then I looked around my flight, and I realized many of the students were young Americans. I guess Chinese language study just keeps getting more and more popular. I got to Beijing and basically passed out in my hotel room for the night.

The next morning, we took a bullet train to Tianjin. The drive between Tianjin and Beijing takes about 2 hours. The train got us there in less than 30 minutes. It was a surprisingly comfortable ride for a train going over 320 km (approx 200 miles) an hour. We spent the afternoon in Tianjin visiting various important houses. During the early republic, warlords often set up their home or vacation home in Tianjin, so the area around Tianjin has beautiful architecture. We also visited Puyi's house in Tianjin (after he abdicated emperor-ship to the Republic of China/KMT). This house is also featured in the film, The Last Emperor. The other major thing about Tianjin was their food culture （丰富的食物文化）. We actually visited this shopping mall that sold only food specialties. We tried these fried twisty dough things that are Tianjin's specialty (特产). In addition, we also tried cold noodles, sweetened plum drink, sweet sesame soup, fried red bean paste-filled mochi, and this green-bean flavored pancake with egg and sauces on top. I personally was not the biggest fan of Tianjin style food because I'm used to southern Chinese food, but it was an interesting experience.

In Beijing, we visited the Forbidden Palace, Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, Bird's Nest, Great Wall, and others. They were super touristy places, so I don't have much to say about it. In the evening, we went to a pretty cool acrobat show with spinning plates, people contorting in strange directions, and Monkey King's fighting each other. We also tried the world-famous Peking Duck of course along with other Beijing specialties such as their rice wine. (I say rice wine but it had a 56% alcohol content!!)

Tomorrow we fly to Shanghai then drive to Suzhou.

First Entry: Light Fellowship Reporting

I will be traveling for NYC tomorrow. Meeting up with friends for a day in the city Saturday before leaving for China on Monday. To give you a quick summary, I am doing an east coast tour of China before my program begins. I am traveling through Beijing, Tianjing, Suzhou, Hanzhou, a few other random cities, and then to Shanghai for the Shanghai 2010 Expo. After spending 3 days at the Expo, I am traveling to my 老家 (hometown of my family) in Fuzhou, Fujian for a week. Then I will return to Beijing to meet up with the CET-Harbin group on June 16th to begin my language program. It'll be a busy few weeks, but I'll try to keep you updated as much as possible.

For anyone that might be reading this blog because they are interested in CET-Harbin or traveling to China on Light or traveling to China in general. I have been packing, and here's some helpful tips on what to pack for a trip through China. I was just in China over Spring Break too.

-Do NOT overpack on clothing. For most people, Chinese clothing will fit you rather well. Most stores in China sell pants at a long length, and you get it custom-tailored to fit your height. Clothes are also incredibly cheap and come in many styles. Personally, I usually bring around 5-6 outfits to China, and buy everything else there. Because I am going on a tour this time, I am packing a bit more.
-Pack personal toiletries--especially if you use certain brands. China does sell most US brands for toiletries such as Head & Shoulders, Olay, Vaseline, Pantene ProV, etc. However, you will notice that companies often change the formula when they sell the same product in a different country. Olay in China usually sells skin-whitening care. Pack your own toiletries if you are picky about them.
-Hand Sanitizer. If you are into street food, which I love, carry hand sanitizer around. I haven't seen it sold in those nifty travel size bottles yet in Chinese grocery stores, so it's helpful to bring your own. Also, many people in China can adulterate or dilute products to sell. I remember a street vendor selling Vaseline once, but the petroleum jelly was milky and creamy.
-Camera and laptop. Chinese electronics are super fancy and high-tech most of the time. But if your camera and laptop have international AC adapters, bring them. I've noticed Chinese cameras and laptops can't compete with the American brands--even if many of the American ones are made in China!
-Athletic shoes. If you are a runner, bring your own running shoes. Chinese shoes, like their clothing, come in many different styles. I highly recommend buying Chinese shoes for their variety (stores are limited in sizes they carry though). However, the quality of many shoes I have bought aren't the best. Bows and rhinestones will fall off, heels need to be secured sometimes by a shoe repair-man, etc. But they cost anywhere from $3-30 a pair. It's super cheap. But once again, for athletes, bring your own. Athletic shoes in China rarely have the insoles needed for a runner.
-Gifts for your hosts and friends in China. Always remember to be courteous! It's getting harder these days to buy gifts because anything you can get in the US, they can usually get in China. But my relatives really enjoy name-brand perfumes and colognes (which does get expensive). I also have a habit of giving away Yale gear to people.