June 15, 2011

We Are All Canucks


With Vancouver in the Stanley Cup Final, the whole city has been in high spirits since my return. Fans, old and new alike, have donned Canucks jerseys as they gather in public spaces to watch the games on large screens. The streets of downtown Vancouver near the main branch of the public library have four sets of screens in one square block, which are closed off to vehicular trafic several hours in advance. Most of the revelers gather here, with faces painted and flags in hand. They are ready to burst into raucous celebrations immediately following a Vancouver victory.


For those who want a more relaxed environment, comfortable seats, and unobstructed views, Rogers Arena telecasts games taking place in Boston on its giant screens. 20,000 fans wave Canucks towels and stand for the national anthem in unison. During the intermissions the ice girls skate out with Fin, the mascot, and launch prizes into the stands. A team of toddlers plays an action packed game of exhibition hockey during intermissions. It almost feels like being at the actual game.


The best celebrations happen in the most unexpected of places. In the Indo-Canadian suburb of Surrey, cars start honking their horns as soon as the final whistle blows after a Canuck win. Whole families, from preschoolers to grannies, come out to celebrate on the streets. Scantilly clad girls dance in the middle of a boulevard, vehicles tooting their horns in appreciation from both sides of the street as they pass by. The icing on the cake are the pickup trucks carrying dhols, large Indian drums, which are beat as rhytmically as the Canucks' opponents. Win or lose, the way that this city comes together in times like this is truly amazing.



*****

"Even when you've played the game of your life, it's the feeling of teamwork that you'll remember. You'll forget the plays, the shots, and the scores, but you'll never forget your teammates." ~ Deborah Miller Palmore

June 12, 2011

Pyramids of the Orient


Before I returned to Vancouver, my last expedition in China was to Yinchuan. I was accompanied by a Finn. The capital of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was previously the capital of the Western Xia empire, before it was wiped off the face of the Earth by Genghis Khan and his troops. Little is known about this dynasty which ruled the area for two hundred years. All that remains of the Western Xia empire are 250 imperial tombs scattered about the outskirts of Yinchuan.


We were among a handful of visitors to the lightly trafficked mausoleums. We walked past the watchtowers, around a sacrificial altar, and towards the tombs. The land was quite barren near the two large mounds in front of us. Birds had made their residences in the royal tombs, which were in various states of decay. Chinese archaeologists had sprayed the tombs with a special chemical to minimize the damage caused to the mud and bricks structures by wind and rain. A large air base is located near the remains, so military aircraft of the People's Liberation Army Air Force continually whizzed by overhead as we explored the tumuli.

All photos: Jani Ruupanen

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On the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings.
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
— Percy Bysshe Shelley

June 11, 2011

Flame On


The most popular sports franchise in the city, the Vancouver Canucks, stood atop the National Hockey League's standings at the end of the regular season. It entered the Stanley Cup playoffs as the top ranked seed and one of the favourites to win the coveted trophy. After battling through three best-of-7 series, Vancouver claimed the Western Conference crown. In the finals they would face the Boston Bruins, winners of the East.


My return to Vancouver after 15 months away coincided with the return of the Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals after 17 years. The city was in a jubilant mood at this pleasant turn of events. Once the hockey team had secured a 2-0 series lead, provincial politicians felt it was an appropriate time to to relight the Olympic Flame. It was fenced off during the Winter Games, so audiences could not get too close to it. The barricades had long since been removed, so this time around there was a clear view of the torch being lit.


*****

 "If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire." — Charles Bukowski

June 09, 2011

The Parable of the Arable

In China, around 120 males are born for every 100 females. A local man once warned me not to pursue beautiful Chinese maidens on humanitarian grounds:

"There is a lack of arable land in this country. You should not take land away from local farmers."

June 05, 2011

The Nanchang Uprising


As the calendar turned from 2009 to 2010, I took a three day trip to southeastern China with three of my good friends. We assembled in the early hours of January 1st at the Beijing Capital Airport, wolfing down a Burger King meal to usher in the new decade. We were flying to Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi province. Another mega-city in a country full of mega-cities, we bypassed the large scale infrastructure of Nanchang and headed to the nearby village of Luotiancun for the first day.


The second day was spent exploring Nanchang. After going to a few Buddhist temples and having lunch, we saw a large lineup in front of a building and joined it without hesitation. We ended up inside a museum chronicling the history of the Nanchang Uprising. On August 1, 1927 Communist forces battled the Kuomintang for control of Nanchang. This marked the birth of the People's Liberation Army. We then headed to the magnificent Pavilion of Prince Teng, another of the "Four Great Towers of China" memorialized in poems by men of letters who had passed through before I.


Nanchang was shrouded in fog when we left for the airport before dawn on our third day, our taxi driver barely able to navigate through the roads in the zero visibility conditions. Because of the weather conditions, our flight was delayed indefinitely. We passed the time sipping coffee and playing cards. A bored Polish girl also joined us. She enthusiastically discussed her love for the Canadian television series "North of 60", an apparently riveting show about life in the sub-Arctic that I had never watched despite my nationality. Our flight finally departed in the evening, and night had fallen by the time we arrived in Beijing. A lot of snow had also fallen, the most that the city had seen in decades.


Witnessing an incredibly long queue for taxis, we headed to the Airport Express train platform to see if that would be a better option. The metal gates were closed shut. A much larger crowd congregated outside, growing more and more restless. The security guards cautiously opened the gates and let a few passengers push their way inside when the train finally arrived. Most of the crowd remained on the outside looking in as the guards prepared to close the gates again. Some people tried to keep them open, letting a few more stream through the portal. They could not keep it up for long though, as their strength was fading. One of my friends pumped his fists in the air, yelling "Do it for your fellow Beijingers!". Individual desires were set aside, and the door blockers were joined by the masses in forcing open the gates. In the ensuing frenzy, we surged through the gates and onto the train home.


*****

"I am just a humble young man studying everything." - Weng Bo, from the Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng