Precious Sunshine

Wednesday December 3, 2008

JOURNEY TO SOUTHWEST CHINA

Today we flew from Beijing to Guiyang in the Guizhou province. It was a fascinating experience. We flew on Air China. The airplane was labeled with Chinese characters inside and out. The flight attendants spoke in Chinese to give their safety precautions speech to passengers. The in-flight meal service was Chinese food: pork with stir fried rice, cantaloupe, roll, dried beef, and a packed of spice paste. It was an interesting experience to be the “foreigner” on an airplane.

The view from the plane as we were landing was breathtaking. It was just like I’d pictured ancient China to look like as I read Wild Swans. Lots of small mountains with clusters of small homes in pockets at the base of the different mountains.

The airport in Guizhou province was drastically different from the one I’d experienced in Beijing. While Beijing’s airport was sleek, modern, and vast; Guizhou’s airport was small and much less advanced. We deplaned outdoors, and waited on shuttles to commute back to the airport. Upon entering the main building, baggage claim was right near us. They had an enormous banner greeting us as we entered the building.  The bathrooms were Chinese style and not as clean as the other’s I’d experienced in Beijing.

GUIYANG

Guiyang translates to Precious Sunshine. It is considered a small town, although it boasts a population of several million. It was a 30-minute drive from the airport to downtown Guiyang. The landscape is made up of 87% mountains and hills. In fact, 11 mountains and hills were removed to make space for the airport.  Like many cities in China, Guiyang is experiencing a recent surge in growth. The first expressway was built in 1991, and now there are highways everywhere. 15 years ago, the highest building was 5 stories high. Now the skyline is filled with skyscrapers. More tall buildings are being built all the time. 15 years ago, the finest hotel was only a 3 stars. Now Guiyang has 5 star hotels, including the Howard Johnsons where we are staying. Next year a Hilton will be built in Guiyang. There are many changes in all the cities of the country, including this small city in southwest China.

China’s provinces are the equivalent to our states. There are 31 provinces in China as compared to 50 United States. Guizhou is considered a small province. It is very rich in natural and mineral resources.

It is a very convenient city filled with 4,000 green taxi cars. Guiyang has many small cars, taxis, buses, minibuses, and motorcycles. It is inexpensive to get around. A cab fare around the city is $1.30 American dollars. It is very inexpensive to purchase a car, too. A Cherry car can be purchased for $4,500. Every day in this town, 15 new vehicles are purchased. While it is becoming inexpensive to purchase cars, it is still costly to run them. Gas here is the equivalent of $7 American dollars a gallon. The average income in Guiyang is $2500 per year. Fewer people speak English in Guiyang because they have had less exposure to westerners than those in Beijing.

THE PEOPLE’S SQUARE

We drove straight to the People’s Square from the airport. In the center of the People’s Square was an enormous statue of Chairman Mao.  The People’s Square was just that --  place in the city where people can spend time together and play. It was a delightful example of “adult recess;” a special glimpse into real life in China. It was much different from what we experienced in Beijing. The Chinese people at People’s Square were as fascinated by us as we were by them. News crews and crowds followed us around. Chinese people surrounded our bus when we arrived, and many Chinese followed us as we followed them around the square. The citizens were playing cards, checkers, singing, dancing, and mingling. One particularly touching moment for me was the sight of two elderly women holding hands. I’ve read about lotong’s before – life long female relationships that represent a special life bond between women. I also experienced a festive group watching a performance by two elderly women. They were dressed in costumes; one woman donned a hat and mustache, and her companion had two handkerchiefs that she used in her dance. The women used what I would describe as a karaoke machine to put on a playful musical performance for us and the other people at the square. It turned in to a “middle school dance,” however for me, in that the Americans gathered on one side of the circle while the Chinese stood on the other.  All of the spectators laughed and delighted in the performance. I also found that it was a special honor for them to have their babies photographed by us at the square. A few people even handed their babies to us to take pictures. Leaving the square, the people again lined the outside of our bus and waved goodbye as we drove away.

 We went to dinner at the Dongja Restaurant, and again enjoyed a variety of cultural foods served on turntables. After dinner, we visited the Jiaxiu Pavilion. The Jiaxiu Pavilion was a beautiful architectural display over a small waterway. The beautiful site was a moving way to end the day.

Expanding Vocabulary:

Nee Hao – Hello