Memie write

2025年6月18日星期三

河南, 山西, 陜西 Henen, Shanxi, Shaanxi,May , 2025

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1. This trip crosses 3 provinces : Henan 河南, Shanxi 山西 and Shaanxi 陜西. 2 -5 We went by high speed rail first to Zhengzhou 鄭州 in Henan, and our hotel was Hualong Lido Boutique Hotel 華隆麗都精顳酒店 in Huixian 輝縣, a county-level city. 6. On the lobby table was a sign after my own heart that says" No smoking or face a fine of 500 yuen; and next to it a plaque with the words " Learn from Lei Feng 雷鋒 Voluntary Service Station". Lei Feng was a soldier in the People's Liberation Army who died in 1962 in the line of duty, aged 21. In 1963, he was held up as the personification of altruism and moral character in a nationwide political education campaign, after Mao Zedong instructed : "Learn from Comrade Lei Feng." The movement was on fire through the Cultural Revolution but seemingly waned after the opening up of China. " Do people still buy into the slogan 'Learn from Lei Feng'? Isn't it a bit old now?" I asked our guide. " Oh sure, many do" Personally I haven't come across the slogan in any big Chinese cities for a long time. 7. On the table opposite were free "flower fruit tea", cellphone charger free for 30 minutes, and most interestingly, a blood pressure cuff free for all to use! 8. On the wall was a poster advertising an old TV war movie " Crossing the Yalu River" 跨過鴨綠江. Yalu River's on the border between China and North Korea, and in 1950 the Chinese People's Volunteer Army entered the Korean War and pushed the US and South Korean forces out of North Korea within a month. It was a humiliating defeat for the US and came to be dubbed 'General MacArthur's Greatest Blunder' by war historians. I guess a replay of triumphant war movies is a boost in the face of economic war between the US and China. The other movie was about village reform, a pet subject of provincial governments all over the country. 9. The biggest Kindergarten I've come across yet. 10. Secondary School with a red banner proclaiming " Severe crackdown on bullying behavior both inside and outside school" 11. Slogan urging improving the business culture, and working together to make Huixian "drunkenly beautiful" 12. Yandun Village welcomes you, Middle East Theme Wedding Hotel. 13, Typical county residential blocks. 14. Funeral home.

1. Taihang Mountains 太行山 was formed during the Jurassic period, and divides 2 provinces. The area west of the mountain is called Shanxi 山西, the area east of the mountain is called Shandong 山東. 2. North-West to Huixian City in Henan, nestled within the Taihang Mountains is the Wanxian Mountain Scenic Area 萬仙山風景區, and high within this remote mountain at 2700M, is the ancient Guoliang Village郭亮村, a village seemingly hanging on the cliffs. The story of Guoliang began from the Eastern Han Dynasty 東漢 (25–220 AD). At the time, after years of famine, the people were in dire straits, but the corrupted government officials continue to exploit them. At last, Guo Liang, a farmer's son from Taihang Mountain, formed a civilian volunteer army to revolt against the government. At first the government troops got nowhere with the rebels because of the high treacherous mountain paths, until a commander under Guo Liang was bribed to reveal their position and the rebels were surrounded. At the critical moment of escape, Guo Liang had the brilliant idea of lowering his men by rope down the mountain cliffs to a safe place. Later a village was built at this spot, and the villagers named it Guoliang Village in honor of Guo Liang's bravery and wit. During the Ming Dynasty明朝 (1368 -1644), the whole clan of surname Shen 申氏家族, who had served the Yuan Dynasty 元朝 court (1271年—1368), were exiled by the new Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang 朱元璋 to Qinghai青海 for hard labor. Several hundred of the Shen family members escaped on the way to exile, and hid in the Guoliang Village. Their descendants have remained there ever since. For hundreds of years, the only way in and out of the village to the outside world was a precipitous twisting lane made up of piles of uneven rock; it's called the Heavenly Ladder天梯 because it's so steep, some sections are180 degrees vertical, on top the widest part of the lane is 120cm, and the narrowest only 40cm, so accidental falls resulting in death was not unheard of. Due to the inconvenient and dangerous route of transport, the villagers were perpetually troubled by 4 difficulties : " get supplies, see a doctor, go to school, and find a wife"『物資難、看病難、上學難、娶媳婦難』. Consequently the village was poor and losing people fast, those who could would leave for a better life elsewhere, so by the late 60s there were only 386 villagers, of which 70 were young man; the whole village is 15 sq kilometers, with less than 300 acre agricultural land, and the sum total of all assets of the whole village is less than 20 thousand dollars. Finally, in 1972, the villager Shen Mingxin申明信 had had enough, so he got together 12 fellow villagers, raised fund by selling off their goats, herbs, yams and other assets to buy steel hammers and steel files, and proceeded to dig a tunnel through the mountain manually. Without the use of electricity or any mechanical equipment, it took them 5 years to finish the 1250M long tunnel, in the process used up 4000 hammers and 10 tons of steel files. Unfortunately they lost one man, villager Wang Huaitang村民王懷堂, who fell to his death working on the cliff. Today, it's called "Precipitous Cliff Corridor" 絕壁長廊, or Hanging Cliff Road 掛壁公路, and is claimed to be The Nineth Wonder of the World. 3. The corridor can be seen encircling the mountain cliff as a thin dark line. 4. Rock bearing the CCP Membership Oath, just outside the corridor. 5. Writing on the rock reads "Precipitous Cliff Corridor" 絕壁長廊. 6. The corridor, which is used by both pedestrians and cars. 7. The windows at intervals were made to let light in. This one's fitted with a figure at work. The writing says "water drops can break through rock if persistent enough"水滴石穿. 8. Guoliang Village郭亮村1972, sign marks the start of the project. 9. persistent. 百折不撓 10. Collection of pictures of Mr Shen Mingxin申明信 and other villagers in the 70s, working on the project. 11.12. exhibition hall for the 13 heroes, 13.16. Entrance to the Guoliang Village. 14. picture of Shen Mingxin申明信 with a government official, 26 years ago. 15. Shen Mingxin申明信 in 2025, sitting with his granddaughter. He's in his 90s, don't do or speak much, but still able to eat OK. 17. Village Party Service Center. 18. Eight Route Army Office. 19. Stone houses of Guoliang Village.

1.-7 . Atmospheric Guoliang Village in the midst of limestone cliffs, almost everything in the village's made of stones harvested from the nearby mountains. 6. Ride the pig alley 騎猪巷. Because of its spectacular scenery, 60 TV movies were filmed in location here, and in 2010 it's named Guoliang TV and Movie Village. 8. Local old man enjoying a chat. 9. Candies on sticks. My favorite's hawthorn 山楂 candy. 10, 12. This wine shop's pulling all the stops for a sale, they say if you buy from them your life'll be changed for ever: you'll succeed in love, gain job promotion, contracts signed, and not only will you win a lottery, but it' be a jackpot bonus bonanza 本店消費影響很大 ~戀愛成功了，職位升高了，合同簽成了，彩票中獎了，獎金爆棚. They also have a unique take on wine drinking: one to two ounces is only just enough to rinse your mouth, three to four ounces cannot be called drinking, five to six ounces you need to lean on a wall to walk, seven to eight ounces will make you roar. 一兩二兩漱漱口，三兩四兩不算酒，五兩六兩扶墻走，七兩八兩還在吼. 11. Bee keeper in the mountain. 13. All along the cliff tunnel on every window there're plaques with messages, all written in the form of poetry. I randomely picked two: Each step is dangerous when walking on layer upon layer of stone steps, every step getting out of the mountains is difficult for generation upon generation 層層石砎級級險，輩輩出山步步難. 14. The long long years slip by year after year, the exhausted breaths are sighs of lament 悠悠歲月年年走，噓噓喘息聲聲嘆. 15. Uplifting postings are everywhere: "The effort you put in today will determine the future you" 現在的努力决定你未來的模樣. This one's in the ladies toilet! 16. Bus driver taking a nap in the luggage compartment. Long distance driving is exhausting.

1. Back in Shanxi we had an early dinner before heading to Pingyao Ancient City. 2. Pingyao Original beer. 3. As this year is Year of the Snake, the red auspicious sticker says : The Golden Snake brings wealth, as rich as it comes. 4, Map of Pingyao Ancient City. It is situated at the center of Shanxi Province and is over 2800 years old, with its origins dating back to the Zhou周Dynasty. The layout of Pingyao reflects traditional Han Chinese urban planning, with a grid pattern of streets and quadrangular courtyards. The city became a significant financial hub during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the 19th century, it was home to numerous banks and financial institutions, including the famous Rishengchang日升昌票号, which is considered the first bank in China. In 1986 Pingyao Ancient City was designated as a historical cultural city of China by the State Council of China, featuring topical Han cultural, economic, social and religious elements of the time. In 1997 it gained UNESCO status. 5. 6. De Chao Ge Tavern德朝閣 was our hotel. It's converted from the Baofenglong Exchange Ticket Banker"寶豐隆"票號, a sort of private bank, which was established in 1906 during the reign of the 11th emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Qing Dezong清光緒 (1875-1908). The whole establishment is made up of 4 courts, each individually dedicated to the themes of Heaven, Earth, People and Harmony."天,地,人,和". The 4 words represent the integrity and spirit of Qiao Shijie喬世杰, the former owner of the bank. The Heaven Court promotes combining compliance and enterprising, as the ancient saying goes: "the saints follow the laws of nature" 聖人順天理而法自然 , and "The Heaven moves vigorously, and a gentleman should constantly strive to improve himself" 天行健,君子當自強不息. Earth Court advocates following the nature of the soil, which is "Humble devotion, profound virtue" 恭順，厚德, this is the key to success in whatever one does, because "Magnanimous virtue sustains all things, strive ceaselessly, as the cosmos ceaselessly moves."厚德載物,自強不息. People Court explains: "Mankind stands as the pinnacle of creation, Vitalized by the cosmic essence of Heaven and Earth, For Heaven instills in us an innate nature of kindness and righteousness". 人足萬物之靈,人禀天地之正氣以生,天賦人以仁義之性. We're reminded to always value talent, desire wisdom 重才,思賢, and get on well with people. As the ancients say: Those who win people will prosper, those who lose people will perish.得人者昌，失人者亡. Harmony Court is based on compromise, moderation, being cordial and putting the common good above personal gains; all fundamental principles of Chinese culture. 7.One of the City Gates.The city is renowned for its well-preserved Ming and Qing architecture. The city walls, built during the Ming Dynasty, are a prime example of ancient Chinese military architecture. 8-20. Dressing up is in vogue. There were also night patrolmen in costum.

The ancient streets are lined with shops selling local specialties and traditional crafts.Shanxi people love vinegar and Shanxi soldiers would bring vinegar even to the battle field; there's a local joke that Shanxi soldiers would give up their guns before they'd give up their vinegar. 山西老鄉愛吃醋，繳槍不繳醋葫蘆. There're so many different types of vinegar : Old Vinegar老陳醋,Sour Date Vinegar酸棗醋,Wolfberry Vinegar拘杞醋,Apple Vinegar蘋果醋, Red Date Vinegar紅棗醋, Rose Vinegar玫瑰醋, Buckwheat Vinegar苦蕎醋, Sweet Vinegar甜醋. Pingyao is famous for silver, so there're many silver shops as well. I found a shop that sells pork jerky with a life piggy. Mao's back in fashion, and there're pictures of him in quite a few places. I find many people are talking more about the good things he's done over the bad, this forgiving attitude might be an indicator that people are generally happier with their present life and more optimistic about the future in China.

1. Slogan on the wall: Long Life Chairman Mao. 2. 3, 5. Our hotel in Qikou Ancient Town磧口石鎮, Xiangyuanlong Inn 祥元隆客棧. Like most of the buildings in this historical cultural town, is well preserved. This building situated by the Yellow River has always been an inn, as Qikou is the first town of the Yellow River, it has been an important water and land transportation hub and commercial town since the Ming dynasty, and taverns were in great demand by the travelling merchants. The port town which connects several provinces along the Yellow River became very wealthy, and many more buildings were added during the Qing Dynasty. Today Qikou is a living ancient town as ordinary citizens conduct their daily lives within the historical buildings. In 2006, Qikou ancient buildings were listed as the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit, and the town and surrounding villages were named "World's Top 200 largest Monuments". Qikou Ancient Town was also a key military port. During the Japanese and the Chinese Civil War, it was the main transport port connecting the North of China to Yan'an 延安, and provided a supply chain to the Eighth Route Army八路軍. On the 23rd March 1948, Mao stayed in Qikou overnight before going to Xibaipo西柏坡 in Hebei Province 河北省 to command the battle there. The place where Mao stayed is preserved and a monument has been erected. 4. Good grief, young guys are the same everywhere! 6. I noted red cloth covering some objects at the entrance of the bridge and asked the guide for an explanation.The guide said the they're Qilins 麒麟, a mythical creature in ancient Chinese folklore, and though they're generally considered benevolent, they could be mischievious and cause trouble as a joke, so if there's any celebrations in town, e.g. a wedding, they're covered so they won't know. 7-16. Lijiashan 李家山 The Lee Family Hill Village. It's 500 years old, and the shape of the village spreading over the Southern Hills南山 resembles a flying phoenix when seen from the top. The whole village was built on a 70 degree slope from the gullies to the ridge, the houses are piled one on top of the other, layer upon layer, so some people have compared it to Potawatomi Palace 布達拉宫 in Tibet. In Oct 1989, Mr Wu Guanzhong 吳冠中 (1919—2010), a celebrated painter in China, came to this village and did a painting of it , which later fetched 20 million dollars. This instantly put the village on the map! In 2007 the village was designated "landscape village of China', and in 2008 "historical and cultural village of China. The architecture of the houses are a mixture of wooden, brick and cave houses. 9. Before waterpipes were connected to the village, water had to be carried in and stored in clay pots, now they're redundant and serve as decorations. 10, Big red faichun揮春 that says: "Blessing" and "Get Rich!"11.Villagers now get about on motorbikes. The towel headgear is a cultural identity of northern Shanxi and Shaanxi peasants, and tied in a very specific way. It protects the head from the cold, the sun and wipes sweats.14. Elderly man making a buck inviting tourists to ride his donkey while he sings local folk songs. I was intriqued at the different colored faichun揮春, the paper sticker put on door frames during festivals, because in Southern China they're always in red. Apparently here if it's yellow it means there's a death in the family, blue if there're elderly people in the house. Pink and green have no special meaning, They rotate the color every year for variation.

1-7 Xiwan Village 西灣村 is the homestead of Chen Rugong陳儒公, an extremely wealthy merchant in Qikou, and was built during Emperor Jiajing 嘉靖帝of Ming Dynasty. Eleven generations have lived in the compound, which sits on the slope of a 30 degree ridge, and the whole design entirely follows the Taoist Feng Shui geomagnetic principle of carrying the yin at its back and the Yang in front, in accordance with 老子 Laozi's principle : 萬物負陰而抱陽，沖氣以為和, with the Azure Dragon to the left and the White Tiger to the right, 背山面水、左青龍右白虎, so as to reach cosmic harmony. The house complex has 5 vertical lanes, representing the 5 elements, gold, wood, water fire, soil 金,木,水,火,土 as well as the 5 branches of the family. There are 3 gates representing heaven, earth and man. All the lanes and courtyards are inter-connected, and the whole compound village is enclosed by high walls. So effectively the village is protected like a castle. The family rooms in each of the 5 compounds are arranged according to the Confucian teaching of respect of elders and filial piety, so the principle house in the north of the yard are reserved for seniors, while the children use the secondary wing houses. The outer gate of each coutyard is shabby, while the inner gate's elaborately decorated, this is also in line with the Confucian ideal of humility, not flaunting wealth or ability, while inwardly cultivate refinement 藏而不露，克己斂涵. Xiwan got on the list of historical and cultural villages in 2003. 8 -10. The Black Dragon Temple 黑龍廟 sits on Wuhu Mountain 虎山, actually a very small hill. The main building was built in Ming Dynasty by local merchants, with bits added on in the Qing Dynasty. The temple Gods are The Black Dragon King, the River and Wind Gods, for good weather and to protect shipping; and the last but not the least is General Guan Yu關聖帝(關羽), for money and good business. The temple was closed on our visit, so we couldn't see the open air theatre on the second floor, the acoustic is supposed to be so good, not only that the whole town can hear the performance, but the Shaanxi people on the other side of Yellow River can also enjoy the music! 山西唱戲陜西聽. 11-16. Shops in Qikou, half of them appear to sell vinegar. Shanxi Old Vinegar is one of four famed vinegar in China, and has a history of over 3000 years. There are 4 big sours in Shanxi: unripe apricot, hawthorn juice, jealous wife and Old Vinegar. 山西"四大酸":沒熟的杏,山楂露 ,娘們爭風,老陳醋. There are 4 reasons why vinegar is popular in Shanxi: 1) Shanxi is coal country, vinegar can lessen the harmful effect of carbon monoxide. 2) Shanxi water is alkaline,and vinegar can neutralise the alkalinity. 3) Shanxi diet is wheat based, vinegar can help stimulate appetite.4) Vinegar has anti-bacterial effect. 17, Sunset over the Yellow River

1. Roadside billboard : Don't be greedy for wine when you drive, and you'd be safe and happy forever. 駕車莫貪杯中酒，平安幸福到永久. 2, Funeral home. Where you'd end up if you ignore advice 1. 3. Statue of the "Great Yu Controls the Waters" 大禹治水 , he's the legendary king in ancient China who was credited with "the first successful state efforts at flood control " Remember we'd still in the vicinity of the Yellow River, the second longest river in China, which killed millions in floods over the centuries. 4. Bridge joining the highway. Love the pattern on the road. After crossing the bridge, we;re now in Shaanxi 陜西. 5, Carwash station. Sign says: free carwash for soldiers, police and fireman. Socialism is so unfair!! Oh, OK, these guys have jobs that might have them killed everytime they're called out. 6. Shaanxi dance troupe at the restaurant. 7. Slogan on the wall of a school : "Happily soaking up the sun, growing up with independence as my companion" 快樂沐浴陽光, 自主伴我成長. if education in China is as indoctrinating and stifling as the West makes out, where you do you think they get the human capital for their technological innovation and advancement? 8. I love Wave Valley. 9. Glass bridge which takes you into the Valley. 10. Plank roads棧道 (with thousands of steps, a Chinese specialty in all scenic areas) takes you over all the scenic spots. 11. 13. The Wave Valley is Danxia landforms located at the junction of the Loess Plateau and the desert, and was formed in the Cretaceous period 96 million years ago. The line valleys, lane valleys, red cliffs and other peculiar Danxia landscapes were formed by a combination of running water and wind erosion, as well as movement of the earth crust working on the sand dunes, and over the years, condensed them into layers of sands stone.The Wave Valley was officially oped in 2019, and in 2024 was listed as a national 4A-level tourist attraction. 12. Figure of astronaut in an area they claim to resemble Mars. Hmmm.... not buying it! 14. Piano staircase, painted with black and white piano keys. When you walk on it, music starts playing somewhere over your head. 15.-18. A thread of Sky一綫天. Narrow valley, average width less than 1 m. The oblique valley wall is formed by water and wind erosion. 19. Small sandstone hills with dug out niches which used to hold Buddha statues, surrounded by a shallow pond.

Yan'an West 延安西Service Station with all the paraphernalia associated with the Red Revolution. Yan'an beer has nothing to do with any revolution.

1-3. Our hotel at Ganquan County 甘泉縣 Shimen Tofu Town石門豆腐小鎮. Ganquan County is located in the middle of Yan'an City 延安市, it's named after a beautiful water spring in the south-west of the county. According to historical records, Emperor Yang of Sui隋煬帝 passed by the spring during his northern tour, he tasted the water and was so pleased he named it "Beautiful Water Spring"美水泉. From then on the water became tribute water for the imperial palaces of the Sui and Tang dynasties, and is ranked one of the 4 famous springs of Shaanxi. The hotel is modeled on the cave dwellings ( yaodong窰洞) of Northern Shaanxi. 4-7. Next to our hotel was a restaurant "Xi Shi Tofu Feast"西施豆腐宴. It's converted from a granary built in the 1960s in answer to the call of storing grains to prepare for famine, but fell out of use later. 8-10 Nice eating places inside the granary. 11. In the middle of the Town Square stands a red tall column with the words "Hometown of Chinese Green Tofu"中国绿豆腐之乡. Shimen is the original production site of Ganquan Tofu because of its fine water, but instead of soybean, the best double green bean from North Shaanxi is used. Ganquan Green Tofu is listed as one of the 8 best Tofu in China. 12. A small watch tower. 13. 14. painting showing Tofu making, which is really hard work. There's an old saying ~ The 3 hardest works in the world are hammering iron, rowing a boat, and grinding tofu 打鐵划艇磨豆腐. The ancient technic used in making Ganquan Green Tofu can be traced to Sui 隋and Tang唐Dynasties, and is more than 1,400 years old. It's been listed as an intangible cultural heritage in Shaanxi Province in 2023. 15. Activity Center in Stone Mill Square. Shimen Tofu Town has developed quite a few new scenic sites and various activities to attract tourists, this is in response to the call from the Central Government to Chinese city dwellers to "Visit Villages" 村游, as part of the Rural Revitalization Initiative 鄉村振興, 轉型發展.I'm happy to say their effort has earned them the honor of being the National 3A Small Town Tourist Scenic Area. 16. Ancient Well 美水古井. Throughout history, more than 30 wells have been dug in the town, most of them have dried up. Only this well, which is connected to the underground springs, has maintained good water output for centuries. The well water is clear and transparent, rich in trace elements, and has a sweet and pleasant taste. The tofu made from this well water has a fragrant aroma and is of superior quality. 17. Ancient Locust Tree 石門古槐 is more than 500 years old. It's believed to have spiritual powers capable of granting wishes for love, prosperity, and happiness. Local folks believe when there's a Locust tree in front of your door, there is wealth and fortune for its owner.门前一棵槐，不是招宝就进财。

1. Shimen Tofu Small Town Tofu-making demonstartion. Liu An刘安, the King of Huainan淮南王 of Han Dynasty汉朝, was credited with the invention of Tofu, he was refining medicine and elixir at the Bagong Mountain八公山, when he inadvertently added gypsum to soybean juice, and voila, out came one of my favorite foods! 2. Even the roadside decoration is related to Tofu-making. 3. Yan'an rice wine延安米酒 is another local specialty. Made from Ganquan spring water 甘泉泉水and northern Shaanxi millet 陜北糜子, it's brewed with traditional craftsmanship aided with modern science and technology. The product is golden in color, rich in aroma, sweet and refreshing, and rich in protein, vitamins, amino acids, etc. It is warm and mild in nature, and has the effects of warming the stomach, body, and heart. It is known as "liquid cake" and is supposed to be good for health. Long-term and moderate drinking can strengthen the spleen and stomach, relax muscles and activate blood circulation, nourish the skin, increase appetite, strengthen the body, and prolong life. In 2017, the "Ganquan Yellow Wine" series products were awarded the "Geographical Indication Protection Product of the People's Republic of China", and in 2018, the "Yan'an Intangible Cultural Heritage-Ganquan Yellow Wine Production Technique". In 2022, it was awarded the honorary title of "Shaanxi Province Intangible Cultural Heritage-Ganquan Yellow Wine Production Technique". 4. I never knew until I got here that Shaanxi was the first place oil was found in China (1903). Yanchang Petroleum Group 延長石油集團 was established in 1905, and in 1907, the first oil well on land in China was drilled, and China's first oil refinery was built, ending the history of Chinese mainland not producing oil. In 1935, after the Central Red Army reached northern Shaanxi, Yanchang Petroleum was a strong support to CCP's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Second Kuomintang-Communist Civil War. Yanchang Petroleum Group is today one of the four major oil groups in China, headquartered in Xi'an, Shaanxi, it also has oversea ventures in Madagascar and Thailand. 5. Ganquan County Market Supervision and Administration Bureau have issued a "Public Chopstick Action" initiative: Since ancient times, eating together around the table and picking food for each other using own chopsticks is the dining culture of the Yan and Huang descendants炎黃子孫, and an longstanding expression of care and closeness among relatives and friends. However, this practice has also created the opportunities for the spread of bacteria and viruses. For this reason, we advocate public chopsticks and spoons during civilized dining. There you are, the authorities have spoken! 6.7. Ganquan Canyon, Xiasiwan Town of Ganquan County 甘泉縣下寺灣鎮甘泉大峽谷景區. Ganquan Grand Canyon is located in the hilly and gully area of the Loess Plateau, which is a typical canyon and Danxia landform. The formation of the Ganquan Grand Canyon is preliminarily believed to be the result of a strong earthquake100 million years ago, which caused the loess mountains to break into multiple cracks of various sizes, and after years of rain and flash floods erosion,the loose surface soil was cut and washed away and slowly a unique canyon landform came into being.The Canyon was discovered by chance by a geological photography enthusiast from Beijing in 2017, and 6 months later, the Ganquan Grand Canyon Scenic Area was officially put into operation. In 2022, Ganquan Grand Canyon was rated as a national AAAA-level tourist attraction. 8-19. Ganquan Grand Canyon is composed of more than 120 canyons of all sizes, but only 8 are opened to the public. Each tourist group are only allowed to visit 2 canyons on any particular visit, which 2 is decided by the authourities. We were picked to visit Huashugou (Birch Gully) Valley 樺樹汋 and Yueyagu (Crescent Moon) Canyon月牙谷. Ganquan Grand Canyon is also called "China's Antelope Canyon" because of its geological and geomorphological similarity with the Antelope Grand Canyon of the United States.

1. The Yellow River originated from the Kunlun Mountains, collects water from glaciers and lakes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, thunders through canyons, turns around nine times, then did a 90-degree turn to cut the Loess Plateau into two parts, dividing Shaanxi and Shanxi. Sediment from the Loess Plateau turns the clear water to yellow, and this is where the Yellow River got its name.The Yellow River Basin is the birthplace of the Chinese nation, and the valleys of the Loess Plateau in northern Shaanxi are the cradle of the Chinese civilization. It is in this canyon that Dayu大禹 started the greatest water control project in human history. When the Yellow River flows through the Suliu Canyon秦晉峽谷in Yanchuan County延川縣 for 68 kilometers, it winds and twists to form five S-shaped bends. In 2005, the Ministry of Land and Resources established this section as the "Yellow River Snake National Geopark" 黃河蛇曲國家地質公園. The Qiankun Bay Scenic Area that we visited is the core scenic area of the Geopark, and rated a national 4A-level tourist attraction. It's here that the best and most dense snake-like bends formed by the river can be seen. Qiankun Bay 乾坤湾 itself is a S-shaped bend of 320 degrees formed by the Yellow River. It was here that Fuxi 伏羲氏, the first mythical emperor of Chinese, created the Eight Diagrams ( bagua八卦). He "looked up at the sky to observe the patterns of the stars, looked down at the earth to observe the pattern of the birds and beasts, and the pattern of the land. The S-shaped river resembles the "yin and yang fish" and inspired him to creat the Eight Diagrams to understand the virtues and sentiments of the gods and the universe "「仰則觀象於天，俯則觀法於地，觀鳥獸之文與地之宜，近取諸身，遠取諸物，於是始作八卦，以通神明之德，以類萬物之情」The bagua is essentially the eight fundamental building blocks in nature ( heaven, earth, water, fire, thunder, wind, mountain, and lake) arranged in different combinations of yin and yang 2. Cave houses. There're 3 different types, sadly I didn't have to chance to see them properly. 3. painting of boat rowers laboring in the Yellow River in bygone days.4.5. Huifeng Village 会峰寨. Huifeng was built in the 25th year of Jiajing嘉靖帝in the Ming Dynasty. It is perched on top of a hill, surrounded by water on three sides, with only a narrow pass in the northwest that connects to the hinderland.It is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and is one of the most representative ancient fortifications in northern Shaanxi. After several repairs, it collapsed and was abandoned for the past hundred years. The plank road leading to it was built in 2013. 6. Qiankun Bay sign. 7 .Dadaoqiankun Blessing Windmill大道乾坤祈福风车. Windmill is also named auspicious wheel, Eight wheel, Eight Diagrams Wind Wheel, and Four Seasons Peace Symbol. The first windmill was invented in Zhou Dynasty, representing jubilance and auspiciousness by Jiang Ziya 齊太公to suppress monsters and subdue demons. Windmill is therefore a also a spintual symbol and a totem. Rotating windmill symbolizes vitality of life and eternal circulation. For tourists passing through the windmill tunnel: Students will succeed in examinations, officers will became eminent and powerful, businessmen will roll in dough, and suitors will be deeply attached to the loved. 8. Landform of "Nine Dragons Chasing a Bead"“九龙戏珠”地貌 Erosion caused a hump in the middle of the meandering landform resembling "Nine Dragons Chasing a Bead". 9. 10. View of the curving Yellow River. 11,12. Qiankun Pavilic 乾坤亭 In the shape of the Eight Diagrams, the words "Heaven and Earth Create Qiankun Bay, Imperial Fuxi deduces Bagua Diagram" 天地造化乾坤湾,羲皇推演太极图 are inscribed on the pavilion columns. On the floor of the pavilion is the Yin-Yang diagram, which echoes the Qiankun Bay bagua at the the foot of the mountain, so as to "balance the Qiankun"镇定乾坤. Qiankun Pavilion is the best place to view the scenery of Qiankun Bay.13. Dragon Hole, also known as the Waterfall Viewing Cave. Legend has it that it was dug by Taiyu when he was controlling the floods. There's a spiral staircase to the bottom of Hukou, where one can view the majestic Hukou Waterfall and appreciate the saying: "The Yellow River comes from the sky, rushing to the sea and never returning"黄河之水天上来,奔流到海不复回 . Premier Zhu Rongji 朱镕基 remarked when he visited Longdong: "The scenery of Longdong is very good!" 14.15. Yellow River Hukou Waterfall Tourism Area黄河壶口瀑布. As the Yellow River flows through here, the water surface abruptly narrows down from 300 meters wide to about 50 meters, and rushes into a stone trough with a drop of more than 30 meters. It is shaped like a huge water pot, hence the name "hukou" (mouth of a jug). The Hukou Scenic Spot, a national scenic and historic area and a national 5A scenic spot, has been rated as one of the top 40 tourist attractions in China and one of the 35 best scenic spots promoted by China to the world, it has been included in the National Natural Heritage.16. Shaanxi peasants offering donkey ride and photo opportunities.

This is not a very good pictire, but you might just be able to make out the S curve of the river.

1. Good lunch at Hukou. 2.Hukou beer. 3. This is the actual motorcycle Ke Shouliang (Blackie Ko 柯受良), a Taiwanese and "Asia's No. Flying Man", used to fly over the Great Wall in 1992. On June 1, 1997, to celebrate Hong Kong's handover to China, he drove a car over the Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River, becoming the first person to fly over the Yellow River. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rx_W0okeBDU Sadly, in 2003, Ke Shouliang died in Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital due to alcohol-induced asthma at the age of 50. 4.-6 Now we're back to Shanxi. Yunqiu Mountain Hotel 雲丘山景區酒店, most notable for the mosquitoes. 7. Mount Yun (Cloud hill) Scenic Area 雲丘山風景區 is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction. It's located in southern Jinnan晉南, one of the birthplaces of Chinese farming civilization, and for thousands of years has been a special spiritual place for Taoism. This is evident the moment one enters the Zhonghe Square中和廣場. Standing in Zhonghe Square is a group of giant stone carvings, the main stone carving is the head of Fuxi伏羲and Nuwa女媧,the bodies are in the form of snake, entwined in copulation. Fuxi is in the east, and Nuwa in the west, the position of yin and yang, in their hand they hold a rectangular ruler and compass respectively, one indicates the heaven completes the earth, the other the social order. The total weight of this main stone sculpture is more than 80 tons, and the height is 9.95 meters from the edge of the stone seat, Ninety-Five is a number that signifies supremacy and pious worship of the ancestors. The stone carvings on both sides are the heads of the human body and beast of the zodiac, representing the twelve hours of a day and night, which are placed clockwise, but the mouse statue is positioned according to the bagua diagram. There is a saying: one day in heaven equals one year on earth. Taoism believes that there is a god on duty in the sky every day, and the god on duty that we meet in the year of our birth is our guardian god. This becomes our individual physiognomy.屬相/面相学 8. Fairy Valley 神仙峪 It is said that Emperor Zhenwu 真武大帝(Gun, the father of Dayu,大禹的父亲,鲧) was demoted to commoner by King Yao尧王 because of his failure in water control. He stayed here when he was looking for the place to practice his skills. When Laozi went to stay in Talpo, he also had a rest here. Qiu Chuji長春真人, a Taoist master of Quanzhen Religion全真教长, also passed by here. In order to commemorate these three saints, people named this place Fairy Valley 9. A lot of persimmon trees around this area. 10. Entrance to Ancient village of Talpo 塔爾坡古村. 11. pick the flower basket挑花藍. A local couting practice. Every spring, single girls would sit beside baskets of flower in the square, young single men would walk around with a pole, if he likes a girl he'd try to carry away the basket with his pole, if the girl likes him she'd let him, not if she doesn't. 12-16. Ancient village of Talpo is over 2,500 years old. It used to be called Taerpo榻耳坡, after Laozi Li Er stayed in the village. Taoism took root and expanded in the village over the years. In 1932, in order to help the financial hardship of the local school Yunqiu College 雲丘書院, the Toaist masters sold all their land, so in respect to the 3 Holy Pagodas nearby, the villagers change the name to Talpo. In 2014, the ancient village of Talpo was rated as a "National Traditional Village" by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. After the development of Yunqiu Mountain Scenic Area, in order to improve the living condition of local villagers, they were relocated to live in a new immigrant village specifically built for them at the foot of the mountain with convenient transportation. The Yunqiu Mountain Scenic Area then devised a win-win plan, they repaired the Ancient Talpo Village to protect the thousands year old buildings, then rehired the original villagers to bring their traditional crafts back to the ancient village, so that the traditional folk culture can be preserved and promoted, and the villagers can have a stable income. 17. School outing. 18, Local delicacies.

1. 9. 10,12, 13, Home of Talpo Village Head 村长家, the compound includes the Village Head Home, the office of the village head, Talpo Historical and Cultural Introduction Room, and Folk Art Demonstration Room.15. The layout of the Village Head Home is typical of the indigenous home of Talpo Ancient Village.2. This old building is now a shop.3. The water in the rivers in the village came from the Yunqiu Holy Spring「神泉」,it's clear and sweet and full of minerals. 4.5. beautiful bird. 6. Laundry place for the village women. 7. armillary sphere渾天儀instrument for the observation of movement of celestial bodies in ancient China, similar to the modern celestial globe. 8. Sun dial. 11. One less cigarette, double the safety 少點一支煙，多一伴平安 . 14. 17. Opera Face Mask making workshop. 16. Linfen City临汾市 achieved "Face Mask World Record" on 26.Nov 2014. A total of 3,581 opera face masks of various shapes and specifications were hung on a bridge, in a bide to promote Linfen opera culture, making it the bridge with the most opera masks in China. 18. Yunqiu College 雲丘書院 19. Dye cloth factory.

1. 12. Yunqiu College 雲丘書院, full of advice on learning. 2. 讀書不覺已春深, 一寸光陰一寸金, 不是道人來引笑, 周情孔思正追尋 I study so hard I'm not aware spring has come. Time is money. I am not here to make people laugh. I am pursuing Zhou’s sentiments and Confucius’ thoughts 3. 勸君莫惜金縷衣, 勸君惜取少年時, 有花堪折只須折, 莫等無花空折枝 I advise you not to cherish your golden clothes. I advise you to cherish your youth. If there are flowers to be plucked, just pluck them now. Don’t wait until the flowers are gone,leaving only branches to break. 4. Ink pot.5.舊書不厭百回讀, 熟讀深思子自知, 他年名官恐歹免, 今日栖遲那可追. You will never tire of reading an old book. You will know after reading it carefully and thinking deeply. You may be dismissed from a famous official post in the future. You can’t catch up with it if you are late. 6. 三更燈火五更鷄, 正是男兒讀書時, 黑發不知勤學早, 白首方悔讀書遲 The lights are on at midnight and the roosters are on at dawn. It is the time for men to study. If you don’t study hard when you are young, you will regret it when you are old. 7. Yunqiu mountain and the snake has an indissoluble bond, Yunqiu mountain is the spiritual home of Toaism, and Toaists believe snake is a spiritual being, that can make everything go well and brings good luck. 8.9. Carpenter's Shop木匠铺 The craftsmanship of carpenters has a history of more than two thousand years in China. 10.11.Typical stone village houses 13. More teaching from Confucius : 忠孝廉潔。知人者智。自知者名。知者不博。博者不知。家國天下。學達性天。欲文明其精神。15. 萬世師表.溫良恭儉讓. 仁義禮智信 14. 17. The landlord Tian's house with a courtyard. Tian made his fortune grinding tofu. At the back of the mainhall is a small room conneted by a secret stairway to another house on a upper level. Sneaky escape route should the bandits come.16. Interior of a typical house.

The Yunqiu Mountain Ice Cave Group 萬年冰洞 is one of three major ice cave wonders in the world.There are 14 ice cave groups discovered in Yunqiu Mountain, and is currently the largest natural ice cave group in the world. They were first opened to the public in February 2019. Now 5 caves in the No. 1 Ice Cave Group are open to the public. Scientists believe they were formed during the fourth glacial period, more than 3 million years ago, and the age of the surrounding rock strata of the ice cave group is about 400 million years old. Temperature inside the cave is below zero even in summer when the outside temperature is above 30 degrees.Researchers think this magical power is all down to the shape of the cave, which creates a trap that lets cool air sink down a narrow passageway without allowing any significant heating to take place.

1-6 Nonotel Linfen Mount Yun云丘山诺富特酒店. 7. Helicopter landing pad at the hotel. 8. Cement factory urges the public to use low chromium cement because it's better for the environment. 9. China dream. 10.-13. The Ming and Qing Commercial Culture Street in Yangcheng County阳城县 was opened in 1998. On both sides of the street, you'd find a diverse array of specialty shops, local delicacies, handicrafts, and souvenirs. 14-16. Best shop for Hatta Noodles 哈塔面. This is a wheat based noodle made by pressing the dough with a pole. According to the advice on the wall the correct way toeat Hatta is to drink the hot noodle soup first before eating the noodle,吃哈塔面之前先喝一碗熱面汤，正所谓:饭前先喝汤，勝过药方。The noodle's easy to prepare, just cook the noodles then dump everything in! 将煮好的哈路面盛入碗中，倒入各种剃好的菜肴即可

1. The Imperial City Prime Minister's Mansion 皇城相府. It's located in Shanxi Province, Jincheng City 晋城市 Beiliu Town北留镇 Yangcheng 阳城县County. 2. Chen Tingjing 陈廷敬 (1638 – 1712) was the owner. He was a politician and scholar who served as tutor to the Kangxi Emperor 康熙皇帝and was chief editor of the Kangxi Dictionary 康熙字典. 3. Honor arch 4. 中道莊 5. Heshan Tower河山楼 was built in1632 AD to defend against bandits. At 30 meters high it is the tallest as well as the landmark building in the Imperial City. It has 7 floors and can accommodate more than a thousand people at the same time. Such a height and scale are extremely rare in Ming and Qing Dynasty buildings. There are windows only on the third floor and above of Heshan Tower. The stone gate to enter the fortress is higher than the second floor and connected to the ground through a suspension bridge. There are battlements on the roof of Heshan Tower, which are convenient for observing the enemy. The bottom floor is deep underground, and a secret tunnel is present to facilitate transfer and escape. Heshan Tower is also equipped with living facilities such as wells, mills, and grinders, and a large amount of food can be stored to cope with possible long-term sieges. 6. Castle wall. 7. Manservants Caves 蔵兵洞 are kilns where the male servants of the Chen family are stationed.There are 125 rooms in total in three floors or five floors. The kilns are connected by hidden passages that lead directly to the gate of the House of the Huangcheng Chancellor for easy access. The caves were set up with defensive facilities which varied according to the terrain, making the House of the Huangcheng both offensive and defensive. 8. West Garden where the unmarried daughters took their exercise. 9. Bedroom of the daughters.10.大學士第，樬憲府。11.-13.16. the daughters of the house were kept busy with studies, write poetry, do painting, learn musisc, do embroidary, play chess etc, and were not allowed to idle. 14. Library. 15.Kangxi Dictionary 康熙字典. is a Chinese dictionary published in 1716 during the High Qing 康雍乾盛世(1683 and 1799), considered from the time of its publishing until the early 20th century to be the most authoritative reference for written Chinese characters. Wanting an improvement upon earlier dictionaries, as well as to show his concern for Confucian culture and to foster standardization of the Chinese writing system, its compilation was ordered by the Kangxi Emperor in 1710, from whom the compendium gets its name. The dictionary was the largest of its kind, containing 47,043 character entries. Around 40% of them were graphical variants, while others were dead, archaic, or found only once in the Classical Chinese corpus. In today's vernacular written Chinese, fewer than a quarter of the dictionary's characters are commonly used. 17. Siheyuan 四合院 within the compound.18. Outside of the Mansion is the Museum. 19-20. school outings to learn some history.

1. Dalyang ancient town 大阳古镇景区景观 is another historical and cultural town. It has a history of more than 2,600 years. In 2011, it was awarded the "Hometown of Chinese Folk Culture and Art" by the Ministry of Culture, and in 2016, it was recognized as the "International Cultural Exchange Base for Overseas Chinese in China" by the China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. 2. 3. City gate. 4. Portrait of crimunals were posted on city gates for bounty hunters. 5. Many old buildings are converted to restaurants. 6. Small fountain in the street, decorated with sculpted heads of Chinese Zodiac animals. 7. 24 hour self service banking, they're so eager to win your trust, they posted the pictures and contact numbers of their bank staff so you can contact them for any problem. 8. Beautiful pond just outside the town. 9. Town history Museum, reasonably good. 10.12. Comtemporary art decoration in shops. 11. This is the hometown of Zhao Feiyan 趙飛燕, known for her peerless beauty and dancing skills, she's so light in weight that she's said to be able to dance on a man's palm. She became the second empress of Emperor Cheng漢成帝 of the Western Han 西漢Dynasty, and the empress dowager皇太后 of the Han 漢哀帝Dynasty, but eventually fell under Palace intrigues, and died by suicide. 13. The cartoon figure is the Iron Police 鐵捕頭 of bygone days, today's police are far more gentle, everywhere I see "reconciliation officers", dealing with conflict by compromise is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture., unfortunately the West sees this as a weakness. 14. The main street, also called Five Mile Street. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Dayang became insanely rich, because of 4 trades,1) Steel needles.2) Iron goods.3) Grains.4) Coal and daily groceries. Many great houses and shops were built along this street, and all the roads were paved with bluestone slabs; "93 pavilions, 72 alleys, 9 cities and 8 alleys, and 5 miles of old streets" 九十三个阁，七十二条巷，九市八圪垱，老街五里长 fully reflect the bustling Dayang town. With the decline of the handmade needle industry, the prosperity of the ancient town is no more, but it has left behind a large-scale and well-preserved ancient buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties, so Dayang Town is also called "the living fossil of China's ancient towns" 15. Workers' Life Insurance Pavilion 打工人保命閣 16. Yogurt shop with a life-sized cow decoration. 17. Noverty Upside Down house.18. Children playing in the street. China is safe almost everywhere. 19. Maybe except perhaps for scams! 整治導游亂象，強制消費, 自費項目, 強迫購物 Government warning against scams in tourism, like forced spending.

1. Heart warming advice from the police: Treasure your life, stay away from cults. 珍惜生命，反對邪教。2. Poster teaching the locals how to use electricity properly and avoid electrocution.3. 飯可一日不吃, 覺可一日不睡, 書不可一日不读。~毛澤東. can go a day without food, can go a day without sleep, but cannot go a day without reading ~Mao Zedong. Amen to that! 4. 虛心使人進步, 驕傲使人落後 Humbleness helps you progress forward, Pride makes you fall backwards.5. Volunteers Association.同心同行。6. Museum of ancient Iron smelting technique. Dayang produces coal and iron ore, and iron smelting industry went back as early as the Warring States period, Dayang soon became an important source of pig iron for the northern vassal states to manufacture weapons. Sword of Yang'A ( old name of Dayang) 阳阿之剑 was famous at the time. This is an intersting museum and well worth a visit. Shanxi is coal country, even today coal is still an important part of econmy, and the section on mining development was fascinating. Mining is also behind a unique local custom of "Getting the rats a wife" 给老鼠娶媳妇. On the night of the tenth day of the tenth month of the lunar calendar, everybody would put some steamed cake noodles into a cylindrical lamp, and lit it with cooking oil on a bit of string, then leave it at a corner of the street for the rats to eat. Rats have very sensitive senses, and in the mines they often alert the miners to pending danger, so getting them a wife is a show of gratitude for their service. The Chinese never forgets a favor rendered. 7.During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the handmade needle industry in Dayang appeared, and Dayang quickly became the center of the national needle industry, and earned the title: "needle capital of Kyushu" 九州针都. Because of the fine workmanship and high quality, Dayang needles not only supplied the Chinese market, but were exported to Central Asian countries and the Middle East, as far as Iran and Iraq. In his book "China", Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833—1905) of Germany recorded as such. This was the economic Golden Age for Dayang 8. 只要功夫深，鐵杵磨成針 If you've deep skills, you can turn an iron rod into a needle. There're 72 processes in Dayang's handmade needle-making , but this guy claims he can make a needle in 20 minutes from an iron rod. I'd love to see that but unfortunately I didn't have 20 minutes! 9. Many side lanes branching out from the main street, and all are wonderful. 10 Open courtyard for leisure activities for locals, with a mock Tiananmen Square facade in front. Tiananmen Square is Makkah for a lot of rural people in China, a place you must go at least once in your lifetime.11. There's a restaurant inside the courtyard. 12. 發展經濟，保障供給。大陽供銷社綜合門市部。Develop economy, ensure supplies. Dayang Comprehensive Supply and Marketing Cooperative Store. There are cooperatives like this one in every town, China is a socialist country afterall. 12-19. 都堂府。This is a grand mansion of a family where both father and son obtained Government official posts. This explains all the weird and wonderful headgears .

1.詐騙手段花樣多,不聽不信不轉賬。Caution from the police; Scams come in all forms, don't listen, don't believe, don't tansfer your money. What would we do without the police? 2. What is interesting's not the temple but the red banner in front telling people ~ 汗水滴入希望，公糧獻給祖国. Sweat drips into hpoe, public food should be offered to the motherland. 3. 百花齊放，百家爭嗚。Let a hundred flowers bloom, a hundred schools of thought contend. A classic socialist rhetoric, but at this point, looks far better than Trump's fascism. 4. Sorry, a repeat. 5. Motorbikes make sense in narrow streets. 6. Old woman clearing cardboard boxes and plastic bottles for a pittance. 7.讓唱酒的人先富起來 Let alcohol drinkers get rich first ! Amen to that too! 8.鼓足幹勁，力爭上游，work hard and strive to be the best. 9. 農村是個廣闊的天地，在那里于以大有作為 The countryside is a vast world, where you can do a lot. 10. Our elegant restaurant for dinner. 11. 公社是棵常青藤, 社员都是藤上瓜, 公社是个红太阳, 社员都是向阳花 The commune is an ivy tree, and the members are all melons on the vine; the commune is a red sun, and the members are all sunflowers. My parents met in a comune, though they came from completely different worlds, so commune can't be all bad.12.最高指示~ 我們的教育方針，應該使受教育者在德育智, 覺悟的有文化的勞動者 The highest instruction ~ Our educational policy should make the educated people morally and intellectually wise and civilized workers. 13. another section of the high street. 14. "One Heart"《万众一心》, sculpture outside our restaursnt which was created by sculptor Cui Yu 崔宇, it encourages everyone to keep true to their mission, and move as a whole continuous body in an upward flow to a better future. 15. 16. Then we're back to 河南鄭州 Henan for our last meal before the high speed train back to HK. 17. The last treat the evening before was the "beat the Iron flower" 打铁花 show, which has been an entertainment item since the Warring States Period. The molten iron is scooped up and thrown out with a spoon, and then the molten iron is hit with a pan, to form thousands of stars and rain sparks, spectacular when seen in the dark.

2023年7月24日星期一

My cousin Winnie

My cousin Winnie Lai Fai was the most good natured and even tempered person I've ever met. We lived in the same house for several years when we were children, and a distinct memory I had of that period of time was the frequent banging of the bathroom door, and people shouting " LaiFai, is that you in the bathroom ?? What are you doing in there?" And Lai Fai would emerge a little while later to explain sheepishly " I was washing a handkerchief" " What handkerchief takes an hour to wash ?!" The single bathroom served the whole extended family, (there's a squat toilet at the end of the yard but you can't wash in there) and whenever Lai Fai entered it people would quip, " She's doing embroidery in there again!". Winnie Lai Fai the Slow Coach was the butt of jokes of everybody, even the maid. "Slow" became her trademark, and she got a lot of criticisms and disparaging remarks ( mind you, all from the grown-ups) because of it, but she never got mad, in fact, I've never seen her lose her temper ever. So I was bowled over when we were in a hotel while travelling in China a few years back , and she took less than 20 minutes in the bathroom to finish her ablution! I nearly fell out of my bed. " Winnie, that was quick! What happened? Did you wash?" " Yes, I am different now" She flashed her classic toothy grin proudly. But during the tour she still walked slow, or maybe it's just I walked fast, and I noticed that she was always looking for a bench to sit on. In hindsight that could be about the time her anaemia disease started, though she looked healthy enough. Maybe she herself didn't know at that time either. *********************************************************************** We saw a lot less of each other after my immediate family moved out of the family home, then no contact at all for the next 15 years while we pursued our separate studies abroad. We met up again in San Francisco after my parents' immigration to the US in the 1990s. For 2 people of completely different temperament, we got on surprisingly well. I put it down to 2 factors: 1) we both love food; 2) she never preached Christianity to me. Plus I was extremely grateful that she was so good to my whole family: she'd always have time to have dinner with my parents whenever I visited them, and she was the sole representative on the groom's side at my brother Keith's wedding. To be fair, I was not notified or otherwise I probably would have attended too. Winnie was also the one to take my nephews around San Francisco when they visited from England. There you have it, Winnie's always been the lubricant between people, a reassuring presence even to relative strangers, making them feel comfortable and welcomed, and that's a wonderful gift. *********************************************************************** Of all my cousins, apart from Emily Tai Mui, Winnie was the one I spent the most time with. Whenever I visited my parents in the US, we'd meet up a few times; she'd buy dinner then I'd buy dinner, (so we're square, but actually it's just an excuse for more eating), and of course there's the mini tours around San Francisco. I remember the first year she got her car, I was the unwitting idiot who agreed to accompany her while she practised her driving. She was being adventurous and took me on a long drive to a small island connected to the mainland by a bridge, because of some nice little gift shops there that she wanted to visit. The weather was foul, cold and rainy, even worse, at times foggy, so much so it was a miracle we got there safely. Then we had to watch the time to get back because Winnie didn't want to drive after dark. When we were ready to go, Winnie reversed the car instead of moving forward and hit a curb ( not the first time that day!), she was about to get out to check the tires when I spotted a small gang of teenage boys on roller skates coming our way, and they didn't look friendly." Don't get out of the car!" I screamed." Go! Go! Go!" Winnie responded with unbelievable alacrity and we sped off. The Slow Coach was High Speed Rail that day! *********************************************************************** Winnie loved little gift shops, because she was the Queen of Small Gifts. Each time I was in San Francisco and each time she was in HK, she'd always have a small gift for me. A small ornament, some souvenirs she's picked up during a museum tour, a bar of soap, a tube of hand cream........ there's always something, even though I've told her a million times not to. That day she bought some bookmarks, greeting cards and some knick-knacks from the nice little shops. " I always keep a stash of small gifts at my place" she said " there're newcomers to the church all the time, and I like to give them a welcoming gift" That's why she's the Queen of Small Gifts! *********************************************************************** Another gift Winnie was happy to give was driving the elderly parishioners to and fro from home and church, and that's the main reason she's kept her car. With age, Winnie's become more timid in her driving, and for a long time she's been very uncomfortable going on the highway. Luckily most church goers lived within the district. *********************************************************************** Winnie loved to try new restaurants, and I was most happy to accompany her, with the result we had some delightful meals together in various elegant eating places about town. She seemed to have a particular liking for the Cheesecake Factory, where we were repeat customers several times over. However she's also loyal to the neighborhood restaurants dotted about where she lived, and where she had most of her meals. The little Thai restaurant was one of her favorites, and I concur, it's good! Winnie's also a good travelling companion, she didn't complain much and didn't have strong opinions. The longest road trip we did was probably the one to visit Big Aunt in Michigan, but we also did many short trips visiting cousins in adjoining counties in the US, and much later, trips to see her mum. Winnie loved her mum dearly; Auntie was a truly remarkable lady ~ the last time I saw her she was already 90 years old, but had just started taking classes in both Japanese and Spanish at the Aged Home at the same time! *********************************************************************** In the last dozen years Winnie had been to Asia every year or every other year, to do voluntary work for a few weeks each time, so that she could make enough merit points to keep her job. She's made repeated visits to Vietnam and Shanghai, and usually when she's over this way she'd make a stopover in Hong Kong. " What do you actually do in Shanghai?" I was curious. " I teach the students English" " You're kidding me!" I was incredulous." Students in Shanghai speak better English than students in Hong Kong!" Talking about schools, Winnie was very proud of her secondary school - Good Hope, 德望學校, and rightly so, it's ranked 3rd in the Top 100 secondary schools in Hong Kong. But I don't think Winnie cared about that, she was just chuffed to have been to a good school in Hong Kong at a time when such places were harder to get than the lottery. *********************************************************************** On the surface Winnie appeared to be worry free, she was always smiling, calm and collected, so it was a shock when she told me there was a time when she was terribly unhappy at work. Some years back she was appointed a new boss, a Filipino woman who was insecure about her job because she didn't have her US citizenship yet. She took a real dislike to Winnie whom she perceived to be a threat, and proceeded to pick faults with her, and the bullying was intense. This went on for over a year, but Winnie took it in her stride with her usual meek compliance. It never occurred to her that she should stand up for herself and fight back. Then one day Winnie found her boss crying in the office and asked if she could help." My mum's had a stroke back home in the Philippines" her boss said bitterly " you must be so happy because now I've to go back to see her and might not come back!" Winnie comforted her and spent much time showing her concern. Her boss never did come back but they parted cordially. The boss even apologized for her previous bad behavior. Winnie was most happy not because the bully's gone, but because her endurance and goodwill had triumphed over hate and prejudice. *********************************************************************** It's obvious Winnie had her unique way of being, and her singular brand of life philosophy ~ "the meek shall inherit the earth" ~prevails. Because of her constancy and unfailing affection and support towards all, it could just be too easy for people to take her for granted. I count myself blessed to have her in my life for so many years. I learnt a lot from her: her patience, humility, sincerity, simplicity, generosity, and not least, her love for her friends and family. My cousin Winnie was an exceptional human being. ********************************************************************** On the 10th June, 2023, 3AM San Francisco time, the cosmic plates shifted. Now there's one less place at our table, but one more star in the sky.

In memorial of Second Aunt

So sorry to hear the news of Second Aunt, deepest condolences!! I'm glad I managed to see your mum for the last time during my layover in LA in May, she was just as I always remembered her, for even in her sick bed she was in total control of how she wanted to live and die, and that's admirable, not to mention a brilliant show of power so rarely found in the elderlies, as most are stripped of all autonomy in their advanced years. This is of course also a tribute to you all, her children, for respecting and honoring her wishes. As a child I was always awed by Second Aunt's sharp wit, but her dry sense of humor did always make me smile, and I loved that she was a straight talker, forthright and fearless. During the lean years of the 1960s, Second Aunt was the quintessential matriarch presiding over a retail shop in Kowloon City, but what impressed me most was that she had no qualms to stoop to be a street hawker as well, as I came upon her one day, spreading a blanket on the roadside in Lion Rock Road (獅子石道), and loaded it with a pile of clothes, to boost more sales. Whatever it took to feed a large family! Her pragmatism, ingenuity and entrepreneur spirit stayed with me to this day. I count myself lucky to have come from a family of strong women, all my aunts (and my mum too) were fighters, down to earth , hardworking, ready "to eat bitter", smart, resourceful, yet also warm hearted, and all had a strong sense of family; they're the archetypal Chaozhou (潮州) women, the best role model any girl growing up could ever hope to find. Take care ! We've got some pretty big shoes to fill!

2022年8月20日星期六

In memoriam : Yared of Ethiopia Keep Moving

In Memoriam : Alain Rezelman

I first met Alain in the Health Clinic shortly after I started working there, just over 30 years ago, but not in a professional capacity. One afternoon a nurse popped her head round the door and told me a French Professor was just outside wanting to talk to me about a non-medical issue. "OK" I said hesitantly, undeniably a trifle apprehensive. In the next second Alain had already rushed into the room, a big smile on his face and brandishing a video camera. " I'm doing a promotional video for the university to attract overseas students, it features various departments and facilities, and you're to introduce the clinic " "NO!" I was appalled, being somewhat camera shy. " You see, I'm new here, there must be other doctors who'd do a much better job " But I was no match for the tenacity, persuasiveness and charm Alain had in his disposal to get people to do his biddings, besides which, his boundless enthusiasm was infectious, and before I realized it I was in the video. I never saw the completed video and I pray to God that my part was edited out ! *********************************************************************** Alain was not a regular patient of mine so over the years we did not see much of each other. There were a few consultations involving the children, but every time I saw him, he was seemingly in good health and good cheers. Then one day out of the blue there was a commotion in the clinic, and he was the cause. It transpired Alain was brought in by his wife in an acute state of confusion, he staggered about, totally unaware of his surroundings and spewed gibberish non-stop. ( Turned out he was actually speaking French, having lost all his English in his fugue state, but to non-French speakers it might just as well be gibberish) He was rushed to the regional hospital and a CT scan showed he had suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), a serious bleeding in the brain. " Will he survive ?" the Clinic nurses asked me with concern, they were all quite fond of Alain. "We can only hope," I replied gravely. Mortality from SAH is 40-50%, and over 60% of survivors will have some long term neurological sequelae . Alan surprised us all by not only surviving but bounced back to his energetic old self, with no apparent neurological deficit. All that we could conclude was that his zest for life was far stronger than the grip of the Grim Reaper for a time. ********************************************************************** More years slipped by, then one day Alain came to the clinic with devastating news. He's been diagnosed with the genetic eye disease Retinitis Pigmentosa. He was determined to continue teaching for as long as possible, and coped with his gradually failing eyesight by gradually enlarging the letters on the computer screen. "It's OK, I can do it, just takes more time " he was calm and matter-of -fact, fully ready to adapt to a continuously changing lifestyle. His brother had become completely blind in his 40s so maybe he's had time to process the inevitable, but I was still awed by his seeming lack of self-pity, rage or despair, the sort of reaction anyone presented with this horrifying prospect must surely experience and give vent to, especially in a doctor's office. Amazingly Alain was already planning his future in darkness with his typical undefeatable positive attitude. He was a grounded, practical, remarkable man. *********************************************************************** A few more years on I was told Alain had taken early retirement and had already left for France. We'd lost touch completely . I had no idea he'd returned to Hong Kong after his wife passed, and was living in Mong Kok until much later. In spite of the lapse of many years I found little change in him when we met up again, as he sat, beaming with happiness in the university canteen, eagerly engaged and interested in everything that's going on around him. This was a man who clearly enjoyed life and loved the company of friends, and it was easy to forget his disability. Alain had to be the quintessential poster boy for "how to live with adult onset blindness" : I was totally blown away when he told me he not only shopped on his own at the wet market but went hiking regularly ! How did he do it ? An incident at a dinner gathering provided a clue. We were talking about our favorite food and I gushed "I just love cheesecake !" Alain threw his arms up in the air in disgust and pronounced authoritatively " In this world there's cheese and there's cake, but there's no such thing as cheesecake !" Presumably because he's a Frenchman he's decided he's the definitive food connoisseur, and that's that. His confidence in the belief that he's always right was overpowering, and it struck me then that this was exactly the kind of fiery invincible self-assurance , coupled with a deep sense of pride and dignity, that was needed to generate the driving force that would carry him through the waves of trials and tribulations in his life, and leave him still standing after the tides recede. *********************************************************************** Oh, by the way, the connoisseur's favorite food was deep fried stuffed pig's large intestine, who'd have guessed ! ************************************************************************ Alain's passing is a great loss to everyone who knew him. He was a rare soul and his life had been an inspiration to many. Personally I'd never forget his enthusiasm and optimism, his resourcefulness, his willingness to soldier on and adapt to whatever life throws at him, however hard and unfair. His was the ultimate chameleon of indomitable human spirit, at ease in both good times and bad. With his passing we've lost a good teacher not only in the French language, but also in how to live life on one's own terms, to refuse to bow down to fate and to finally emerge a victor. *********************************************************************** Dear Alain,merci et au revoir, rest in peace !

2022年2月25日星期五

Problem with Hong Kong

Problem in HK has always been its small and weak government, coupled with a large unruly population who intend to topple the HK government, setting up hindrances every step of the way in the government effort to deal with the pandemic , the irony is many of them are actually on government pay ! The present dire situation is a direct consequence of the total disregard of the government advice to get vaccinated, to keep social distance, to avoid crowds, to observe quarantine. Nearly half of the HK people are anti- government and out of control, the government knows it but lacks the authority to do anything ! The HK government gets a beating whatever they do or don't do, they're derided by a powerful press not only when they do wrong but also when they do right. The resolution to put forward the summer holiday for students is after due consideration that pandemic control might still be unsatisfactory by summer, which is highly possible with the current amount of sabotage that's going on against pandemic control measures , but even such legitimate decisions are ridiculed by cartoonists and satirists far and wide. This would have been funny haha in an educated and intelligent society, alas in HK it only stirs up further hate for the government ! *********************************************************************** The HK government has to be the most bullied government in the world due to the vicious anti-government and anti-China section of the population. HK does not have Singapore's “POFMA” ~(Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act ), and false anti-vaccine rhetoric is rampant, misleading a large dim-witted public. Paradoxically HK is less successful than Singapore and far more difficult to govern because HK is too free, and now everyone in HK is paying for the misuse of freedom of the oafish 50% ! *********************************************************************** While the rest of the world is happy the elderlies and the disadvantaged poor die off to relieve welfare spending, HK is not willing to do that. It's money versus human life, and that's Chinese Human Rights in action. Remember the days in America when not only patients queue in long lines to enter hospitals but corpses had to queue to enter the morgues ? Eventually the morgues were so full the corpses had to be stored in cold meat trucks ! HK doesn't want to repeat that here. This reflects a different set of values between capitalist and socialist systems. Capitalist system is built on money, socialist system is built on people. This is why the death toll in the US is almost a million, 160,000 in the UK and only just over 5000 in China. *************************************************************** Singapore vaccination rate was far far above that of HK when it opened up, even then the Singapore Medical Department warned its citizens about the predicted rise in death toll and beseeched their acceptance of possible loss of dear ones. We as individuals choose different courses of living, as does each individual society, but none is perfect and all carry pros and cons, at this time HK chooses to follow the CCP model, which is the humane model. In this model every life is considered precious regardless of age, status, illnesses or disabilities, and all must be protected from infection by way of zero transmission rate, through strict pandemic control measures.. This model is effective but comes with an economic price. The chaos in HK right now in fact confirms the wisdom of tightening pandemic restrictions, because without them the chaos would be ten times worse ! It's a measure of the true moral value of a society by how much sacrifice it's willing to endure in order to care for its most vulnerable. *********************************************************************** When our vaccination rate is satisfactory and more cures are found for the infection, when we're confident that we can cope with the consequences of opening up, who knows, maybe we'd steer to another course of management. That's why we're very interested in following the happenings in all the countries that opted for opening up now, and observe how they fare for the next 6 months. Life is dynamic and we're always willing to learn. *************************************************************

2021年8月31日星期二

Who are Hans ?

I'm sick of ignorante who know nothing about China who persist in spreading lies about genocides of minority tribes in China by Han Chinese. So exactly who are the Hans ? People who lived in areas ruled by the Han Emperor identified themselves as Han people (漢人) , but because the kingdom didn't include southern China, so southern people were not Han people , they were Southern Barbarians. But Tang Dynasty took over southern China as well , that's why southern people traditionally identified themselves as Tang people (唐人). Most of the Chinese immigrants to the West in the early days were from southern China, so that's the Chinese the West knew, even as late as 2 generations back most such immigrants would still insist on calling themselves 唐人 (Tang) and not 漢人(Han) ; this is why Chinatown is always 唐人街 (Tang Street) and not 漢人街(Han Street), Chinese restaurants are 唐人餐館(Tang restaurant), never 漢人餐館(Han restaurant), 唐餐(Tang cuisine) is nothing more than westernized Cantonese cooking, and Bruce Lee (from the south) is 唐山大兄 ( Big Brother Tang) and not 漢山大兄(Big brother Han). Nowadays the terms 唐人 (Tang) and漢人 (Han) are accepted by most Chinese, but the West today for whatever reason have decided to call all Chinese who doesn't belong to a "minority tribe" in China, "Han'' . However the population of Han Chinese is not monolithic like the Japanese, DNA analysis shows distinct differences between the northern and southern Chinese, so much so their disease profile is fairly different ! I'm sure studies comparing all the 25 Han sub-groups would show interesting differences too. Oh, did you not know there are 25 different types of Hans and 5 sub-groups of Mongolians ? The 25 Han subgroups are not arbitrary divisions, not only is their general appearance slightly differ, they also have different languages, different foods and customs. None of each subgroup can understand the dialect of the other, that's why it's important for EVERYBODY in China to learn the national language Mandarin just so we can communicate ! How is that cultural genocide ? Is making Japanese or Korean Americans speak American in America cultural genocide ? It could turn out China is a country of 86 minority tribes, and Guangdong (in the south ) being the most populous is the dominant tribe ! Southern Barbarians no more ! 😆The West should start calling the Chinese Tangs and not Hans ! Isn't it fascinating to be Chinese ?!😂 That'd also automatically make nonsense of the West's assertion of a humongous Han Chinese persecuting minorities when in fact they're minorities themselves ! 🤣 Unlike the US, Canada and Australia, China never needed to kill off its indigenous people to grab their land. The descendants of all the indigenous tribes who lived in China thousands of years ago are still living there today, many still follow their ancient customs and wear their traditional clothing to this day.And proud of it ! All the diverse indigenous cultures are respected,valued and encouraged in China, they're not just as tourist attractions but a way of life. We're a true reflection of the state of humans in the world, we're fluid but all related, depending on the political climate we're different entities at different times yet the same at the end, we're all Chinese, all 86 minority tribes of us ! As the Chinese saying goes " Within the four seas , we're all brothers", and according to ancient Chinese tradition whichever brother controls the family fortune has the obligation to care for the whole family. China has shown the world how it's done : you care for your poorer brother with heart and lift him up however you can with soul . Heart and soul. Your brother is not too heavy. Let that be a reminder to all humans everywhere. We all live within the four seas after all .

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2025年6月18日 星期三