Beijing – Global City

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The kids with Nadia and Cathy in front of Kunming Lake (Summer Palace)

We spent a day visiting the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Beijing. I always wanted to go to the infamous Tiananmen Square, site of the 1989 protests where government soldiers killed several thousand (numbers vary) citizens, and the Forbidden City. I didn’t know former dynasties also made a huge Summer Palace and a Temple of Heaven. Those four sites plus the old city of Beijing took up an entire day. My big take-away from the experience was the emperors were very narcissistic. The amount of manpower that it must have taken complete these massive palaces is amazing.

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The family at Tiananmen Square

Security getting to the square and inside the Forbidden City was tight. We had to go through a couple different checkpoints. There were huge number of tourists (averages 16 million visitors per year), mostly Chinese visiting the palace, so it took us about 30 minutes to get to the front gate of the palace. There was a Communist party meeting taking place, this being just after President Xi Jinping was named to another term, and some of the square was blocked off. As with everything in China, the square is huge, covering 109 acres.

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One of the many Chinese tour groups passing through a gate in the Forbidden City.

The name Forbidden City makes it sound more exotic than what is really is. Forbidden is a translation that refers to the fact that people could only enter and leave with the emperor’s permission. Once again, the place is just massive. There are thirteen enormous decorative gates that separate vast plazas. There are 980 buildings on the 180-acre site.

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These warmers on motorcycles are a good idea!

The summer palace is basically a man-made reservoir (Kunming Lake) which workers built a large hill (Longevity Hill) from the earth and rock where the lake was excavated. We walked along most of the lake and I was most impressed with the 786 meter “Long Corridor” that featured exquisite art work on every beam and panel.

The Temple of Heaven was the place of worship for the emperors. Today there are beautiful gardens and temples. It was funny when Oliver stood on the spot where the emperor talked to the gods. It was a round, stone platform. The color schemes of dark red, blue, gold and green continued throughout all of the palaces.

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Oliver’s blonde hair and vivacious nature made him a hit with the locals.

We also took a rickshaw ride through the narrow streets of the old city. The distinctive grey bricks of the buildings combined with the red lantern decorations and Chinese flags, gave it a cool look. The alleyways (hutongs) are protected but with the growing economy, some areas are being gentrified and it is feared the entire area will be redeveloped. Below is a video I shot with Oliver in the rickshaw.

We also visited the Beijing Zoo. Most of the animals are in small, depressing cages and cells. The exception are the headlining Chinese Pandas. They are in a beautifully done living areas. It was fascinating to watch them strip bamboo. They would run it through their teeth and collect the leaves in the side of their mouth. They then put the leaves in their paw and chew them.

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Breakfast at the Beijing Zoo

Finally, we went to eat several nights at the APM mall, one of the many shopping districts of the “new” China. They made a nice European style walking street. Most of the places were typical Western luxury stores.

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New Beijing – the APM Mall 

 

Beijing & the Great Wall of China

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Chinese Flag Soaring over the Tianshou Mountains and the Great Wall

I am catching up with my blog posts during our trip to China last week. The internet connection at the hotels was not very good.

I was very excited to see China. Because it is so large (3 times the population of the USA) and growing economically so fast (estimated that it will pass the USA as the world’s largest economy in 2028) the influence China has and will have on the earth is huge. All of us should understand the country.

We stayed inside the second ring in the center of Beijing at the Prime Hotel, located near the APM mall and walking street shopping district. It was a 4-star hotel and with Chinese management,  was very Chinese and is still learning how to cater to foreign tourists. It was nice to walk to the mall and see all the expensive store fronts and electronic billboards. Our first night we took the kids to Pizza Hut after an almost 4 hour-flight from Osaka.

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Reunited with Uncle Jack at Pizza Hut Beijing! 

My uncle arranged a tour guide to show us around the city for three days. We first visited the National Stone Palace and watched the craftsmen cut jade into jewelry and large and small statues. The ancient Chinese valued jade, believing it brought fortune and health. There was a patio set (table and chairs) for $45,000 and statues for sale over $65,000. We bought a bracelet for Ocean and a series of carved spheres within spheres which represents good fortune through the generations.

We then visited the Ming Dynasty Tombs (1368-1644), a huge cemetery complex covering 80 square kilometers, one of the many UNESCO world heritage sites near the city. After visiting the tombs, the Forbidden City and Summer Palace during our stay, the power, wealth and egos of the rulers is truly awe-inspiring. The tombs are at the foot of Tianshou Mountains and we drove through them after leaving to visit the Great Wall of China.

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Ocean and Nadia Climb the Great Wall of China

China has a very long history and the country grew and shrank, depending on the strength and unity of its rulers. At times, warlords were fighting each other and chaos followed. Other times, a family was able to seize control of the country and make it strong. At the time the wall was built (approximately 700-200 BC), the Mongolians, who ruled China for a long time were driven out and the wall was built to keep them out. We walked a long section of the wall called Mutianyu. It is about 70 kilometers outside of the city in a rugged mountainous area.  It was a beautiful, sunny and cool day and perfect for walking up and down the wall. It is one of the great iconic sites of the world and being there was unbelievable.

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The amount of work that went into the fortifications is amazing. Much 8,000 kilometer wall is in ruins. It would be an interesting hike to walk the entire wall, which I am sure someone has done. There are some shorter hikes (2-4 hours) people can do and if I ever get back, I will try to do some of them. Every 500 meters or kilometer there were fortification towers to house soldiers. I wonder if the wall was effective in keeping out the invaders from the northwest. Modern times and tourism infrastructure have come and there was a sort of bobsled run you could take on the way down to the entrance to complex which was quite fun for the kids.

We finished the day by seeing the 2008 Olympic village, stadium (bird’s nest) and torch. China is an immense nation and the Olympic architecture matched it.

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Latest Reading: Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown

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This is the third book I’ve read by Salman Rushdie, the British-Indian novelist. He is most well known for his 1988 book, Satanic Verses, which depicts some irreverent aspects of the historical life of  Islam prophet Muhammad. The leader of Iran at the time, Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa, or execution order. He became a free speech advocate and is still alive today.

Shalimar the Clown, published in 2005, is the story of a murder in Los Angeles in the late 1990s. He goes back through the lives of the people involved leading up to the event. Most of the book takes place in the disputed northern Indian region of Kashmir where the murderer is from, but also sections of the book are set in World War II France, Delhi and Los Angeles.

As an older, well-traveled person, I now understand most of Rushdie’s references to places and events. That was not the case when I read his books twenty years ago. I really enjoy the details and the breadth of cultures covered in this book. I do not like his tendency to include elements of magical realism in the story, similar to Latin American writers. I prefer my fiction to be plausible.

Reading novels is becoming less common with the advent of the internet. However, I like to unwind from screens and it calms my brain to reflect on the details of the story. It helps me fall back to sleep when my mind is racing with the many tasks I have to worry about as a head of school and a father of three children. Because of the complex plot and interweaving events and characters, it was the perfect book to make me sleepy.

Some parts of the book were a little tedious, specifically the mythology of Kashmir, the there was plenty of action and plot twists to keep me reading. I wonder why none of Rushdie’s books have been made into movies. This would make a good one, especially since it deals with some themes that resonate today, including terrorism, ethnic conflict and migration.

 

 

Oliver’s Soccer Season Coming to an End

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Oliver’s middle school soccer team is preparing for this weekend’s Western Japan Athletics Association tournament taking place on Rokko Island over in Kobe. Oliver is in sixth grade and a starting member of the “B” squad. They will be playing in the “B” tournament.

A couple of weeks ago our school hosted a futsal, which is played with smaller goals on a smaller field with less players, tournament. The semifinal game against Canadian Academy of Kobe finished in penalty kicks. As you can see in the video, Oliver had an opportunity to take a shot in the penalty kicks.

I hope to make it the second day of the tournament on Saturday.

Oliver’s team wins!

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Last Saturday Oliver’s team, the Osaka International School Sabers defeated Canadian Academy of Kobe, 4-3 in an exciting comeback win. They were down 1-3 at half, and fought hard to score 3 goals in the second half to win.

Oliver played midfield this game. He was playing center back on defense. I like him better as a midfielder because he is more active and gets some shots on goal. He is a really solid player and it was so fun to watch. As you can see in the videos in this post, he had a lot of touches.

They are free this weekend due to a national holiday. The Sabers return to action in a futsal (5-aside) tournament.

Skiing Over Lake Biwa

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Ocean (blue) Owen (black and white checkered jacket) on the slopes

It was an exhilarating day of skiing today at the Biwako Valley Ski Resort. Lake Biwa is a large freshwater lake north of Kyoto. The Hira Mountains abut against the lake. It makes for a breathtaking backdrop as you can see from the photos. It only took 1 hour and 15 minutes to arrive at the parking lot of the resort, which makes it an easy day trip.

I love spending a day outdoors with my children. I wish Nadia liked skiing, but she stayed in the lodge for the afternoon. It took a couple of runs for me and Oliver to get comfortable, but we did have fun going down the main run at the top of the mountain.

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The resort is small but picturesque. A gondola takes groups up the steep cliff to the start of the ski area. You cannot see the ski runs from the parking lots. There are only six different trails that are fun to ski. There were a lot of people, but the majority were beginners on the bunny run. Once away from them, there were really no wait times. There are two longer runs which were our favorites. It is not a resort to spend a week, but for a day of skiing, and being so close to our home, it is perfect.

 

 

Family Journal: January 27, 2018

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Oliver clears the ball in defense against Marist Brothers International School

I am catching up on my family journal while on the shinkansen back from Hiroshima.

Last weekend was great because we had snow! Oliver’s soccer game against Marist Brothers International School was played on a snowy field. As the sun hit more of the field, most of the field was clear, but it was still slippery conditions. Oliver played sweeper (gunta in Japanese) which is a position that suits his body type. I had to laugh when the star of the opposing team tried to dribble past him. He leaned into Ollie and got knocked flat to the ground. Oliver is a stocky boy and to afraid of physical contact. I love watching him play. He also has an eye for the goal, and has a strong leg and is very accurate. His left heel is bothering him when he plays too much and we should get that checked out after the season.

Ocean has been begging for a puppy. I really want to get one, but they are expensive and a lot of work so we are not sure if we are going to get one. Especially with our lifestyle of travel, it is difficult to travel with or find care for the dog when we are away. She read a lot about hamsters so we did get her a Dzungarian Dwarf Hamster named “Eduardo”. It is very cute and we are enjoying watching him and taking care of the little guy. He has a habit of biting so we are training him not too. He is a big eater and it is fun to hand him cheese, blueberries or standard hamster food chips. Eduardo grabs it in his front feet and nibbles like crazy.

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Ollie holds Eduardo

It was Nadia’s birthday on Friday. We surprised her with flowers and strawberries in the morning. Owen baked her a small cake and Ocean made a nice card. We went to dinner at her favorite restaurant on Saturday, the Lei Can Tin. They have many delicious Asian dishes.

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Nadia, Amy and Mariah

Owen and I like to throw the football around. We usually go to park #4 in our neighborhood. Having snow on the ground reminded me of playing football with my brother and the neighborhood friends on the first snowfall. We loved slipping and sliding around and diving into the snow.

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Oliver Begins Soccer Season

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Nadia and I watched Oliver’s first game of the middle school season. He is such a character with his big smile and red cheeks! He is so funny to watch. As you can see he enjoys the sport and we are happy that he is making friends, exercising and experiencing winning and losing in pressure situations.

They played a small school, the Sons of the Light International School. The format of the day was futsal or 5-on-5 soccer with small goals and a smaller field. The idea is to get players to help with skills.

I will be posting more updates this season.

My Beautiful Ocean

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Winner Again in the Bookmark Contest

Ocean won the bookmark contest again this year. She designed a Minecraft-themed book mark. The annual competition is sponsored by our library and Ocean won the prize for grade 4.

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Ocean has a natural inclination for design and color and is a promising young artist. She loves making things with her hands. We nickname her little miss busybody and when she puts her mind to something, she just powers on until it is finished, whether making a basket out of paper, mosaic of glass tiles, a DIY folder organizer, etc. She just loves working with her hands.

Above is her flower arrangement from a recent ikebana workshop. Ikebana is a traditional Japanese art of flower arranging, dating back to 600 AD. One of the school parents is an ikebana master and led about 40 students and parents in a beginning session.

 

 

Book Review: Falling Leaves – The True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter

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courtesy of Amazon.com

 

(contains spoiler alerts)

I am reading a lot about China lately, in preparation for my trip to Beijing in March. Adeline Yen Mah’s memoir tells the story of her growing up in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Her mother died in giving birth to her, the fifth child. Adeline’s father remarried to a stereotypical wicked, petty and domineering stepmother. Her stepmother had two more children that were favored. Adeline was neglected and barely tolerated, spending years in a Catholic boarding school, before being sent to England. She made a successful life for herself and finished medical school there and eventually having a successful practice in California. The stories of the relationships with her four siblings, parents, aunts, nephews, etc. over the years was engrossing. Now that I have reached an age that I can look back on the choices I have made, I see consequences of choices. The members of her family are very cruel and cold-hearted to each other often. She suffered a lot of abuse and you can see the effects on her as she goes through her life. Having a safe and happy start in life is so important for children.

The setting of the book is pre-World War II in China. The slow takeover of the country by the communists was devastating for millions of people. Many escaped to Hong Kong, like her family, but other stayed, thinking that things would be OK. How wrong they were! The book ends in the 1990s, so it is truly an epic tale of a family. Adeline overcame a lot in her life. Besides a tough childhood, she went experienced racism, sexism and a tough divorce. Through it all, she remained dignified and true to herself. I also was touched by her relationship with her aunt and the strong nostalgia of childhood. I get that feeling when I return my home village of Caspian, Michigan. She felt the same in the streets of Shanghai. A childhood that seems so far away from where I am today. Mine was so much happier than hers of course, but she had good moments too.

If you want to get a better sense of China and a good family generational story, I highly recommend this book.