The China Checklist

I compiled a comprehensive list of destinations which I explored in my two years in China. It is the second longest thing I have ever seen, yet it only covers around 60% of the places of interest in the Middle Kingdom that I would like to visit.

• Anyang
• Baotou
• Bayan Hot
• Beichuan
• Beijing
• Changchun
• Chengde
• Chengdu
• Chongqing
• Cuandixia
• Dali
• Dalian
• Dandong
• Datong
• Guangzhou
• Guilin
• Guoliangcun
• Haerbin
• Hangzhou
• Hong Kong
• Hotan
• Huixian
• Hukou Falls
• Jian'ou
• Jilin
• Jimingyi
• Jinan
• Kaifeng
• Kaiping
• Kashgar
• Kunming
• Langfang
• Lanzhou
• Leshan
• Lijiang
• Luotiancun
• Luoyang
• Macau
• Nanchang
• Nanjing
• Ningbo
• Ordos
• Pingyao
• Putuoshan
• Qingdao
• Qinhuangdao
• Qufu
• Shanghai
• Shangri La
• Shaoxing
• Shenyang
• Shijiazhuang
• Shilin
• Songshan
• Suzhou
• Taishan
• Taiyuan
• Tashkurgan
• Tianjin
• Tiger Leaping Gorge
• Three Gorges
• Turpan
• Urumqi
• Weihai
• Wuhan
• Wutaishan
• Wuxi
• Xiamen
• Xi'an
• Xingcheng
• Xinxiang
• Yan'an
• Yangshou
• Yangzhou
• Yantai
• Yarkand
• Yinchuan
• Yongding
• Yujiacun
• Zhengzhou
• Zhujiayo

*****

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list." - Susan Sontag

Dumb Girls

One of the guys I supervised at work used to make the same mistake repeatedly. I inquired as to why.

Coworker: You know I am dumb.
Me: I only like dumb people who are pretty girls.
Coworker: Pretty girls are dumb if they like you.

In Elite Company

I tried in vain to convince a smart Chinese girl that the wonderfulness of a girl is independent of her intelligence level. She commented disdainfully on my weakness for air headed beauties: "What a shame if an elite were to marry a stupid woman".

A Time For Change

After two years at Interone, I decided to ride off into the sunset and return to Vancouver. Before I left Beijing, I cleaned my room for the first time. In China, retailers and other persons involved in commercial activities never seem to have any change for the 100 RMB notes that are dispersed by the ATM's. Any occasion to break up a large bill into smaller notes and coins must be seized. This solves the problem of not having any change, but the issue of having too much soon rises as I stockpile smaller denominations. A continuous struggle exists to maintain an equilibrium between an empty pocket and a healthy collection of loose change to meet the daily needs of an individual.

When I returned home at night, I would empty my pockets of any remaining currency. The bills would float gracefully to the floor, awaiting the tender touch of my fingertips the next morning. Before leaving for work, I would pick out the crispest of the notes and stuff them into my pocket for a new day. Over the years, a surplus of small change congregated on my apartment room floor. I collected all the money I could find into a plastic bag. I used this lump sum to pay for my farewell lunch for around 20 colleagues. The waiter gave up on counting the cash, so my coworkers divied up the bills and did the accounting work for him. Once the bill was paid, I still had a lot left over.

*****

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." - Barack Obama

The City In The Center Of China

Wuhan is located smack dab in the middle of China. The capital of Hubei province is an amalgamation of three cities - Wuchang, Hankou, and Hanyang - divided by two rivers - the Yangtze and the Han. It's nine million strong population makes Wuhan the largest city in central China. The Wuchang Uprising in Wuhan triggered the end of imperial rule and ushered in the age of the Republic of China. The city was briefly the capital of the country during Kuomintang rule in the 1920's.

East Lake is the largest lake within a Chinese city. I have yet to discover what is the largest Chinese city within a lake. Although nowhere as picturesque as Hangzhou's West Lake, it does make for an enjoyable stroll along its tree lined perimeter. The Hubei Provincial Musuem was closed, so I visited the Hubei Musuem of Art right beside it. The Yellow Crane Tower, one of China's "Three Great Towers", stands tall on a hill overlooking the city. Its principal claim to fame is that it is immortalized in several touching poems.

After visiting Comrade Mao's former residences, I caught a taxi to get a glimpse of the hulking Number One Yangtze River Bridge, which has a dual layer design to accomodate both cars and trains at once. In the middle of a busy intersection, the driver stopped to pick up his wife, girlfriend, or a female filling a similar role in his life. While I sat uncomfortably in the front, she applied makeup in the back seat. He then dropped her off in the opposite direction before continuing to my specified destination.

I crossed the mighty Yangtze in a crowded ferry, the murky waters blending together with the grey skies and concrete cityscape. I disembarked on the Hankou side, and sauntered past 19th century colonial buildings. Like the rest of the nation, there is a construction boom in Wuhan. I took the new subway line to Wuhan Tiandi, a swanky shopping and dining district modelled after Shanghai's Xintiandi where I had dinner to cap off my two days in town. Seasoned with soy sauce, sesame paste, and diced vegetables, the local favourite re gan mian makes this city a noodle lover's delight.

*****

My old friend bids a westerly farewell to Yellow Crane Tower, 

In the misty blossoms of April as he goes down to Yangzhou. 

His lone sail is a distant shadow disappearing in the azure void, 

All I see is a long river flowing to the edge of heaven. 

~ Li Bai ~