Chengdu Trip

(I forgot to bring a camera on my Chengdu trip, a week after the Xi'an trip. I will just to have to use more words.)

Irrigation System

There is an irrigation system called Dujiangyan (都江堰) not far from Chengdu. It was built in 256 B.C. (or 2,265 years ago), and it is still in use today. With an engineering background, I naturally had a desire to check it out.

This was basically how the system worked: Many, many years ago, the Min River in this area flooded every year. Then a governor of the region named Li Bing (李冰) decided to tackle the problem. He designed a system to divide the river into two, instead of using the old way of dam building. 60% of the river was turned into an "outer river" and continued with the river's old route, while 40% was turned into an "inner river" and became the water source of the farming land surrounding today's Chengdu. In a way, not only the irrigation system solved the flooding problem (the river never flooded again), it prompted the growth of agriculture that made Chengdu a large and rich city.

Later that night we returned to Chengdu city and had hot pot for dinner. Since not all of us could take spicy Sichuan food, we used a "yuan yang wok" for our hot pot. (Yuan yang 鸳鸯 is a type of bird, usually seen in pairs, one male and one female.) There was a divider across the middle of the wok so that one side could be used for spicy flavor, while the other side for non-spicy flavor. I pointed at the wok and said, "Now let me explain to you the irrigation system..."

Earthquake-hit Area

A funny episode when we arrived Dujiangyan on a bus: A few local drivers offered us a price of RMB 1 yuan per person to take us to the front gate of the site, which was about 3.5 km away from where we got off the bus. Sounded like a good deal. So the 4 of us got in a car. After he drove away about 100 meters, the driver stopped the car and began to explain the tourist site. It turned out that the site would charge us RMB 90 yuan per person for the entry (this I knew in advance). After that, we would spend another 90 yuan to get on cable cars to various locations. We could do that, said the driver, or we could take his car and go through a different route outside the gate, seeing the same sites yet paying much less than the 180 yuan per. At the end, we agreed on a deal of 85 yuan per, with him as our tour guide.

In other words, the RMB 1 yuan fare was just a bait. :-) At the end, however, we weren't complaining.

In fact, because of this "customized route" that we took, we were able to see some of the earthquake-hit areas more closely. Dujiangyan was one of the hardest hit cities from the 5.12 earthquake last year. (Yet the irrigation system remained intact; that was another reason that I wanted to see it.) About 12,000 people lost their lives, and 6,000 were missing. (After one full year, i.e. in less than 2 months, the missing would be declared dead as well.)

If at the beginning we were simply curious seeing the damaged houses and even cracked a few harmless jokes, after a while we all became kind of quiet. This was 10 months after the earthquake, and there were still rows of houses or apartments in unlivable shapes. As I was wondering where the people who used to live there went - how many of them were still alive? - my heart became heavier and heavier.

Wu Hou Shrine & Jin Li

Wu Hou Shrine is one of the most famous places in Chengdu. Wu Hou (武侯) was Zhuge Liang's title after he passed away. (Did I mention already that I am a big fan of the Three Kingdoms (三国) and in particular Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮)?) At the time, Chengdu was the capital city of Shu (蜀), one of the three kingdoms, and Zhuge Liang was the prime minister of the country. He earned the highest respect among people, and his fame exceeded that of the emperor. Indeed, Wu Hou Shrine, which was built in memory of him, became a symbol of Chengdu, not a tomb or a temple for an emperor.

The entrance fee was RMB 60 yuan, and I decided not to spend it. After all, didn't I know about Zhuge Liang enough? :-) Instead, two friends and I walked through a commercial street called Jin Li (锦里), which was right next to Wu Hou Shrine.

Jin Li became famous in the country 2,000 years ago. It was really fun to walk through it, especially if one was familiar with the history and culture of Chengdu (needless to say, mostly related to the Three Kingdoms). While it was free to enter the street, I couldn't help but to spend on a few cute items in the scores of shops. I also had the joy of telling a few Three Kingdoms stories to my friends, both grew up in North America. They walked a lot faster than I did, saving me from spending too much.

Xi'an Trip

Xi'an is no doubt a most interesting city, especially if you are a history buff like me. My friends and I ran into almost perfect weather when we went sightseeing on that day (two weeks ago), and we went straight to see the Terracotta Army.

The first time I saw it was about 10 years ago, and it was a rushed trip. This time we were able to enjoy the site thoroughly. It was also a Friday, with much less visitors than weekends.

We then went to another tourist site nearby, called Hua Qing Pond. It was famous for an Tang emperor and one of his concubines who often came here to take bath.  (That concubine, surnamed Yang, was later ranked as one of the Four Beauties in Chinese history.) The emperor and the beauty were long gone, but the hot spring still flows today.

People would stand around the fountain and wash their faces and hands. It felt really good.

Fast forward to the end of the trip. Our hosts thanked our visit with one final meal before we headed out to the airport. We each enjoyed a bowl of beef paomo. Each person was given a steamed bread or two, then we were to break the bread into pieces. The pieces of bread were put in a bowl, and the restaurent would also pour in beef or lamb soup.

It was said that the smaller pieces you broke the bread into, the better taste the soup. It would take a lot of patience, obviously. We joked that it was the restaurant's way to make us hungry and at the same time clean our hands. They said that I did it almost like a local, making tiny and even pieces. Well, I just had traveled to the northwest enough to see how the locals did it.

This was my bowl of beef paomo, with the bread pieces that I broke. It was delicious.

Bus No. 39

I take bus to work. Oftentimes I have to transfer once. A couple of year ago a new route surfaced, No. 39, and it goes directly from my living place to work. There are a couple of other bus routes that go almost door-to-door, but they circle around in the city quite a bit. No. 39 is the best route. Except, one hardly sees it. We refer it as "No. 39 according to the legend."

Finally, about a year ago, I figured it out its schedule. It runs 4 times a day, two in the morning, and two in the afternoon. It's just one bus going back and forth, with an idle time during the bulk of the day.

In the morning, it leaves my living place at about 7:40, arriving at company at 8:00. Then another one is scheduled after 9:00. I have to take the earlier one to avoid being late, and leaving the apartment at 7:30 isn't too early for me. I in fact enjoy the quiteness of the early morning. Almost everyday I am the first to arrive at the office, at least half an hour before anyone else shows up.

In the afternoon, there is one scheduled before 5:00, and I cannot catch that one. Then the final bus gets to company at 6:15, which means I want to leave office shortly after 6:00. Well, I really want to do that. Last year when I was a project manager, I almost never left office before 7:00 (8:00 or 9:00 was routine), let alone 6:00.

Today I did it. I caught the 7:40 bus in the morning, and on the way back, I caught the 6:15 bus. This was a good working day. :-)

Lost & Found

Last night I went downstairs from my apartment for dinner. I went pretty late, like 9:00ish. I was reading a magazine while eating. Then I finished, and I went upstairs. When bedtime came, I was looking for my watch, and I couldn't find it. That was when I realized that I had left my jacket in the restaurant - with the watch in the pocket.

Now, it wasn't a fancy watch or anything. In fact, the watchband was broken, and I was thinking to replace the watch. As for the jacket...

I lost my cellphone and my passport while wearing that same jacket! (Some asked, well, do you have more than one jackets? :-) The jacket had pretty shallow pockets, and things could easily slip out. You thought I had learned the lesson, yet I kept wearing it. (Well, one reason I kept wearing it was that the red-black color matched my favorite backpack. :-) Finally, the jacket itself was lost!

(I certainly am not blaming a jacket for all the losses, you know.)

Thankfully the restaurant owner kept the jacket for me, and I picked it up after work. Needless to say, another dinner there. The watch was still in the pocket.

Noah's Ark

That's right. Believe what you see. That is Noah's Ark!

Initially I was going to post an entry on my Xi'an trip, but something rather extraordinary happened yesterday (Wednesday). It nearly didn't happen.

I started my work in the office pretty early and by 10:00 AM, I felt like there was nothing major left to do. Then my cell phone rang.

"Hello, Teacher Yu, how are you?" a lady called me. I recognized the voice: A good friend, but she never referred me as "teacher." She went on to ask me if I would be interested to join her to attend the completion ceremony of the Noah's Ark, a new theme park in Hong Kong. (It will open to public in April.)

Let's see. Noah's Ark, or pretending to work in the office? Someone had to make a tough choice.

Half an hour later, after sending out an "emergency leave" notice to my coworkers, I was waiting for her and her husband to pick me up. I had to go back to my apartment to fetch my passport; didn't plan to go across the border on this day!

As soon as I entered their vehicle, the wife sheepishly confessed that she had not planned to invite me! She sent out 30-40 text messages to invite people in two separate hours, yet she skipped my name both times. (She didn't think that I was in town.) Finally, she was calling a "Teacher Yu" (same last name as mine), and somehow the call went to my cell phone.

The funny thing was, I ended up being the only person who made himself available. "I deeply apologize," she said, "but it's quite obvious that Someone wanted you to go." :-)

Her husband couldn't make it because he didn't have a travel pass to Hong Kong. The lady and I went across the border at about noon. We ran into a few hiccups the rest of the way, and we were 30 minutes late getting to the meeting point; a van that was supposed to pick us up had left. According to a few local people, the place was "very far." My friend, disappointed, almost decided to return to Shenzhen.

I said to her, "Now you see why I came along. We are going to make it."

By asking the locals (my "northern accent" Cantonese was put in good use), convincing a couple of them to make phone calls for us, and managing our own expectations - "We just want to see the boat!" - the rest of the journey turned out quite enjoyable.

An hour later, we saw "it" (see photo at the top).

It was said to be built with 1:1 ratio based on the figures given in the Bible. (Of course, since no one is sure of the exact measurement units of the ancient days, let's say it's approximately 1:1.) It was a sight to marvel.

(Here are a couple of shots of the entrances.)

A brother came out to get us in (it was by invitation only), and we caught the bulk of a sharing. Apparently, a Hong Kong team had taken on a few trips to look for the real Ark, and some members of them actually witnessed a wooden structure buried in snow, 4,000 meters above the sea level, on a mountain in Turkey. Their experiences, including their struggles in the process, were both inspirational and fitting for the occasion.

Then all attendees, mostly from local Hong Kong churches, were divided into groups, and we were given a guided tour of the Ark. The cafeteria was very nice, with a great view of the bay. (We had afternoon tea there.) I also checked out the bathroom. :-) The auditorium where we heard the sharing was easily a grand movie theater. We also explored a floor that was almost a science museum. The tour guides, all volunteers, were great.

The Ark was 5 floors tall, and our particular tour didn't cover all 5 floors, but who could complain with a free admission? I heard that there was a floor showing how animals were put into their separate rooms on the Ark. I imagine there would also be a room for Noah's family of 8. Not everything was completed yet, (for example, a multimedia film was to help the audience to experience the Flood, but we were only shown two minutes of it,) and it would be even better when it opens to the public.

We were then led to a garden outside. While we were restricted from taking any photos inside, we now finally could pull out our camera.

(Yes, animals. By pairs.)

(Ah, the grand exit. Giraffes led the way.)

(Where are they going? We were brought back to the present time.)

(How big was the Ark? You get an idea here - but it still doesn't compare to being actually there!)

There you have it, a most memorable trip. It nearly didn't happen. :-) I hope that we will visit the park when it officially opens. It will be fun, but it will not be just fun.

"Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man." (Luke 17:26)

Hiring Zhuge...Almost

A few project teams in our company were losing their jobs due to the end of their project releases; they had been doing outsourcing work for Yahoo Asia, who decided not to continue with our company in an effort to cut cost.

To me, that was an opportunity to grab some talented people. Somehow very few managers felt the same way; their focus was only on the projects at hand. In any case, I began to visit those project teams and interview with people that I thought would fit the team that I managed.

One of the guys I ran into play the role Zhuge Liang at company's Chinese New Year banquet. Other than eating good food, many coworkers participated in various performances. He played Zhuge Liang in one of the skits, drawing good laughs. I had to smile when I interviewed him, thinking, should I be like Liu Bei and visit him three times? :-) (Sorry if you don't understand the reference; it's from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Or you can look up my profile picture; that's the historical Zhuge Liang. :-)

Anyway, I liked him, although he didn't seem totally fit. He himself hesitated because he wasn't confident enough (not quite a Zhuge Liang in real life). Fine. But before he disappeared, he recommended a gal. I quickly interviewed her, and she was indeed a great fit. I started to move along, faster than my supervisor seemed to have liked. I really thought that we shouldn't let talented people go easily.

Soon she began to help the team, although she was still not officially transferred to our department. I honestly didn't understand it. Her own project team already disappeared! Where else could she go? I understood that there were financial concerns, like the source of her salary. But she would be still with the same company - why so complicated?

Interestingly, soon another manager had a particular need, and this gal could step right in since she had the right skillset. He heard of her and contacted her. Guess how she replied? "Jim is my boss now. Please check with him." Haha! She was indeed a good find. :-) (Eventually I "lent" her to that manager. I was glad to demonstrate that we should value people above all other assets.)

Travel Bug

The travel bug hit again! Almost as soon as I decided on the "big trip" coming up in May (see previous entry), guess what, my calendar filled up rather quickly for March and April as well.

Here are a few trips coming up:

Weekend of 3/12~15: Xi'an

Weekend of 3/21~23: Chengdu

Weekend of 4/3~6: Lanzhou & Xining

That leaves the weekend of 3/28~29 the only "free" weekend. Am I on a budget? Yes, sort of. Here were the deals that I got:

Trip to Xi'an (80% discount on airfare)

Trip to Chengdu (60% discount)

Trip to Lanzhou & Xining (65% discount to LZ; then bus to XN)

(Total cost at RMB 3400 for three trips.)

Have you noticed a pattern? Yes, all these trips are heading toward a certain direction. Then, right after the last trip (which happens to be the "Tomb Sweeping Day" long weekend), I will head back to the U.S. for a two-week home visit, going the "opposite" direction. I bought the round-trip tickets at RMB 5100 (Singapore Airlines). I thought that was a good deal too.

Of course, what really matters is not the cost; it's the value. :-)

Travel Books vs. The Man

I bought a few travel books lately. Two of them contain the phrase "Silk Road" in their titles, and all the rest are for provinces in the Northwest. Am I up for something? You bet. :-)

Mark your calender for the month of May; you probably won't hear much from me during that month, as I will be traveling along the Silk Road. A longtime dream is about to be realized!

That's why I bought all those travel books. But all those books cannot match a real person who has actually been there many times. I happened to have such a friend. Some 20 years ago he was the main photographer for the Gansu Province TV station, and he did that for at least a dozen years. Many of the travel videos of that region, which happened to be the "golden portion" of the Silk Road, were credited to him. Today he and his wife are independent filmmakers in Shenzhen. The Gansu TV station still remembered him, and last year they invited him back to re-shoot many of the scenes.

I once taught his son (and a few other kids) English in my spare time, and that was how I got to know them. Actually, I didn't get to know other kids' parents, but they were special because I was always keen to anyone or anything related to the Northwest. :-) We became good friends. But I hadn't seen them for a while - because of each other's busy traveling - until they invited me to their home for dinner a couple of days ago.

The highlight of the dinner was not the food, but his tips on traveling along the Silk Road. I completely soaked in. After the dinner, he showed me two films (original version) that he made in the Northwest; they were part of a TV series he and his wife's filmmaking company was producing for CCTV. I thoroughly enjoyed them. Then he said, these were not the best parts of the Silk Road, but he wouldn't show me more because he didn't want to take away the fun of my traveling in person.

Boy, can I hardly wait! :-)

Rats!

Believe it or not, there have been rats running around in the office! Not during day time, when "mice" are the ones connected to our computers, but at night, they would come out searching for food. There have been numerous reports on snack food being eaten or stolen, especially if they were left on the table overnight.

Finally some of my coworkers began to put in mouse traps, mainly cage traps. Last night, they caught two! Here is one of them (photo taken with a cell phone), causing quite a commotion:

This was not the first time. Once they caught one prior to the Chinese New Year, and the security guard took it away and released it! The reason? It was still the Year of Rat! But now we have entered the Year of Ox. So? Today it was the cleaning lady who took care of the two mice. I asked her later, and she said that she had killed them.

The question is, how did they get up here to the 10th floor?

Cabin BBQ & Obama's Brother

Sunday night I went out to have dinner with a Chinese coworker. He recommended this Cabin BBQ place. It turned out to be a really neat restaurant. Service was above average, and the wooden structure really stood out. Then came the food, and it was good! The BBQ lamb chop was especially delicious, which was a delight for both of us. We were afraid that they wouldn't make good lamb, being in the south. (He was from the NW, and I traveled often to the NW, and we thought that the NW had the best lamb.)

Then my friend mentioned that this Cabin BBQ might have been opened by President Obama's younger brother! Well, we had heard - and it was confirmed - that Obama did have a brother in Shenzhen, but could we be dining in the restaurant that he opened?

Soon we got an affirmative answer through Internet search. This man, Mark, was indeed Obama's half brother (same father). He was not the only person who opened the restaurant, but he was regarded as a boss. A very nice boss, in fact. (He himself is a vegetarian, though.) He has been involved in other activities, mostly charity work, and has tried to stay low-key until you-know-when.

The Cabin BBQ is actually a chain restaurant, with 8-9 branches in Shenzhen. The first branch outside Shenzhen was opened recently in Yinchuan, Ningxia - yes, in the NW - where I do have plan to visit in the near future.