A Sea of Bamboos

Planning these little weekends out of Nanjing require quite of bit of research. I'm normally rather fond of research, but the lack of a consistent internet connection and the inability to Google things on most days mean you usually get your information from less than favorable online sources. The circumstances also make you never want to complain about with Wifi available back home. However faulty the maps may be or the tortoise-like speed of the internet in China, you can always count on a fantastic English translation of your destination. A favorite quotation from a travel site was about Yixing, a neighboring city to Wuxi. We knew we wanted to go the minute we read the following: Yixing abounds with bamboos and has been called the sea of bamboos since ancient times. There is a sea of bamboos there, forming a sea of bamboos." A sea of bamboos? Since ancient times? Forming a sea of bamboos? Yes, please. We weren't sure exactly how to get there, but were confident we would be drawn to such a fantastic place. After meandering around the dubbed film district of Wuxi and watching a woman do her tai chi routine with the largest red fan I've ever seen, we were ready to embark on our adventure to see this so called sea of bamboos that abounds in Yixing.

Rope bridges in seas of bamboos

A city bus took us to the station where we were able to puzzle out that yes, indeed, a coach could take us from Wuxi to Yixing. However, you needed to purchase those tickets at a kiosk downstairs. That particular kiosk had zero English, which meant we played a game of "identify the Chinese Characters for Wuxi, Yixing & Bus in less than 45 seconds before we have to start all over again". It's become a favorite pastime since. After a few tries, we won the game! Tickets in hand, we were on our way. The bus ride there was uneventful; the most exciting aspect was trying to block out the blaring horn of our over eager driver and deciding that the people in front of us brought the loudest snacks possible to eat on the bus (sunflower seeds and pop rocks, in case you wanted to share my pain). A tourist bus then took us another couple of hours further away from commercial buildings and restaurants, where two lane highways replaces multilane ones, and the advertisements melted into countryside, pocked with strawberry fields and vendors camped out selling bowls of the ruby fruit on these side of the road. The strawberry fields soon began to fold into bamboos. Not quite a sea, but certain small puddles of the tall greens.

Yixing abounds with bamboos and has been called a sea of bamboos since ancient times

Suddenly, that sea of bamboos became very much apparent – we had arrived. It's hard to exactly describe how magical it is to wander around a forest of bamboos. The leafy tops tower over you, each sturdy bamboo trunk creates an optical illusion as you walk on rope bridges through miles of the stuff. There were multiple bridges to cross, several pagodas to picture with and a gondola ride that took the cake as the best part of the day. We had packed a lunch of local fruit, some crackers and other snacks to eat as we rode the gondola. The entire ride was captivating; the same mist that swirled around the Giant Buddha spilled into Yixing's sea of bamboos, shrouding rolling hills slathered in bamboos as far as the eye can see. Each misty mountain just folded into the neighboring mountain, forming a scene that was difficult to really comprehend or truly appreciate.

Not pictured: juicy Asian pears and crackers that taste exactly like tomato soup

The end of the gondola took you up to the highest peak we could see in lieu of the mist, dropping us off at an incredibly tall pagoda that you could climb to get even higher. Really, for as far as you could see, it was just an ocean of dark leafy bamboo tops, seamlessly melting into the gray sky. The whole day was eerie and magical, and totally worth suffering through slow internet for.

The mist makes every bit that much cooler

Buddha Toes

A three day weekend is always something to celebrate, but when in China, it means a weekend getaway of exploring giant Buddhist statues, seas of bamboos and kite flying in a park exploding with plum blossoms. Though I adore my kids, it was nice to not teach on Friday and take a train down to Wuxi, a city a couple hours outside of Nanjing. The “K” train there was an experience; the cutest family next to us provided lots of entertainment, though I could have done without the smoking corridors. It is a good thing these kids are incredibly darling, or the crying would have been a bummer. However, this boy sitting across from us was just too cute to be bothersome, even when he did fuss and squirm…and those split crotch pants crack me up everytime I see them. We certainly hit the ground running on Friday, snagging the city bus for a mere $0.45. We hadn’t quite mastered the city buses in Nanjing, so Wuxi seemed the perfect time to test out that form of transportation. The loud shaking was a nice addition to almost hitting motorists. But we got there safe and sound.

Prayers and quotes and such.

In Hannah’s words, “This place is like Disneyland for Buddha”. Imagine a park of Brahma palaces, pagodas, bronze carvings depicting Buddha reaching Nirvana, a Xingfu Temple and a Buddha statue to rival the Statue of Liberty.  I went to Wuxi with 2 other girls on the program, and we felt writing a prayer and lighting candles and incense was how we should start our day in the park. Each of us lit and candle, a stick of incense, and wrote a quote or idiom that seemed fitting. We hung our prayer among the crowded rows of others, written in Chinese, leaving a little piece of us all there. The day was misty and humid, creating a mist that floated below the classic city haze, but also made a great backdrop to the swirling smoke of incense (and produced fabulously puffy hair).  

Winner.

I had a good omen about the day when I threw a coin into Buddha’s hand in the wall carving, and it’s hard to pick favorites but a definite highlight was hanging out at Buddha’s toes. The incense was right in front of the largest hand I have ever seen. A friend of Hannah’s said they to Wuxi on their China trip and it was completely swarmed with people, meaning their pictures weren’t nearly as cool as these. Each of use had our own minute gazing up at the top of the fingers, trying to take it all in. By take it all in, I mean realizing we were cavorting around China and will be for the next few months. 

I'm not one for high fives, but I made an exception.

The giant statue is the obvious main attraction, so it’s where we headed to first. I mean, it's pretty difficult to miss. Even in the misty atmosphere, you can see a gigantic statue of Buddha towering over various Buddhist temples, leafy tree tops, and other structures. You climb an infinity of stairs, and are stopped to pose with various people for photos. One man holding a darling baby asked us to take a picture with his kid...well actually, he said "I think my son wants a picture with you". I'm very impressed his 6 month old child spoke such impressive English. Once you reach the top and your limit of being in a million creepy candid photos, you've made it. A small museum sits atop the mountain just below the Buddha but it’s the elevator ride up that makes you feel like you are in a hotel lobby…that and the wifi. Of course, there is wifi at the top of this massive statue of Buddha. Why not? I got in a pretty good neck crane when I was giving Buddha a high five, but that was nothing compared to looking up when standing at his feet. It made me feel so tiny, being at the feet at such an incredible huge statue. 

The statue is enormous and gives a stunning view of all the sites below, shrouded in a mist of humidity and pollution. People left little snacks on top of an alter between the right and left feet, and several people came up to the Buddha to offer a prayer which was neat to see. Really though, I think my favorite part of today was hanging out by Buddha’s toes. Us three were up there chilling between the toes for a solid 30 minutes, just snapping pictures and walking around the whole thing, looking at the valley below. It would be cool to see how far you could see if there wasn't a thick wall of cloudy gray to block your view. The only reason we came down was because we saw the huge lotus flower fountain sculpture start to open up and music blasting through the park. A mad dash brought us down the stairs but we missed the show due to a photoshoot. This lady was the cutest and wanted a photo and every form of communication possible. Though we missed the presentation because it took a while to exchange WeChat codes and Facebook information, she did insist we take a box of crackers, a bag of peanuts and a few sesame cakes. Picnicking near a still-under-constriction pagoda tucked away in a neighborhood that hugs the side of the park is highly recommended. 

Buddha. Toes. 

We weren’t sure this attraction was part of the park, but it was the ideal place to nosh on our snacks and have our own little photo session because an abandoned pagoda and courtyard demands such behavior. It also provided a place to rest a bit - climbing all around the place can be exhausting. Recharged after snacks, it was time to explore the gardens and make our way over to the Buddhist temples, complete with incredible reflecting pools that housed brightly colored fish that shimmered near the surface if the limited sunlight hit them just right. Timing was on our side because the minute we finished with the temples, the Lotus Flower Fountain show started up again. The music was oddly reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up”, and helped make the whole show mesmerizing. A statue of Buddha slowly is revealed as the giant lotus flower unfolds, showered with fountains that burst from 9 dragons that surround the structure. The whole park creepily emptied out at an alarming rate, leaving us the only people in the park for a solid 10 minutes as we tried to find the exit, trying not to panic that we were going to be trapped in Buddha’s park for the evening. Turns out, everyone dashes to the gift shops before closing, and we shortly met up with the hordes in the trinket section. A bus ride, a trip on the metro, a hilarious instance of getting our hotel address wrong from their website and getting the metro staff to give us the correct one, failed and successfully attempts to catch a cab and a mixup about our hotel check in ended the evening. The concierge seemed confused we all wanted to share a king bed, but we got that sorted out in time to absolutely collapse into bed to get enough sleep for our adventures tomorrow.

Travel with friends who make you laugh and can take rad candids. 

Stinky Tofu Takes the Cake

As someone well versed in how to spend a Saturday morning and afternoon, the very best days always include peeking into alleyways, investigating closed doors and eating as much street food as possible. Our darling second grade Chinese teacher Lily took it upon herself to take a group loud American teachers to the nearby Confucius Temple district for a Saturday of doing just that.

We all got up pretty early to meet Lily at Qinhuai; from our school it was over an hour on the metro, but well worth it. The walk through the neighborhoods to get to the area near the Confucius Temple were just waking up, riddled with tiny steam-filled alleyways, bike mechanics and towering apartments, windows slung with laundry still drying from yesterday's wash. Where we met Lily was gorgeous – even though most buildings were little shops or eateries, they all subscribe to the same style of gorgeous architecture. A massive gate towers above the whole main street, casting a shadow over the still sleeping store fronts. The streets were quiet when we first arrived; old men played Chinese Chess on tables while a handful of "early birds" noshed on skewered foodstuffs.

Lily brought her husband and darling son along for the ride, and we started our day. Lily wanted us to taste the local food of Nanjing; we started out with sugar syrup covered fruit on sticks, then sesame seed covered pastries filled with a salty and oniony paste that flaked all over your shoes and onto the mossed covered cobbled streets. Both were big hits. We spent time in between courses wandering the alleyways that shot off from the main drag, poking into stores completely dedicated to pandas or tea ceremonies before stopping at another vendor to test out another goodie. Some were more successful than others; I'm into tasting the local culture, but stinky tofu is not my cup of tea. The wildly popular snack looks harmless enough, yet was able to pack quite the punch in the smell and texture department. I didn't mind the spicy vinegar atop the slightly crunchy exterior, but minded the uncomfortably chewy texture and aroma. As far as the strangest thing I think I've put in my mouth, I think stinky tofu takes the cake. 

A group of 13 loud Americans certainly drew a crowd, so it wasn't too long before a group of feathered-hack-sack-playing locals invited us to pay and get a picture, or a man stopped us to sing some Adele, complete with custom lyrics. We admired the Ming Wall for a spell before snagging an early lunch consisting of very traditional dishes. While the salted duck wasn't too dissimilar from cold Thanksgiving turkey, and I adore bao zi (steamed soup dumplings), the duck blood soup is one that I don't think I'll order again...but I tried it. Lily also ordered sweet taro root in a sticky saccharine sauce, and another similarily sweet dish that consisted of soft balls of rice swimming in a thick and cloyingly sweet sauce. As if that wasn't enough food, we snagged a stack of guotie (potstickers) and then had this strangely textured type of noodles I think were made out of beans. It was sort of like a cold slaw topped with fresh chopped garlic and some vinegary sauce that packed a punch. Lily knew right when to take us to the most popular restaurants; the little pastry bakery we began our morning with was quickly swarming with people, dozens and dozens of hungry breakfasters were waiting in a queue that was quickly snaking down the now busting alleyways, wrapping around the tiny stops. People were walking around with bags bursting full, slightly opaque with the steam of the warmed pastries. After tasting them warm, I don't blame them; I've made plans to bring a smallish wagon with me and cart the lot back to my apartment. 

While an afternoon of nibbling, it's difficult to pluck a specific moment to title as my favorite, however, there was a man pouring the most incredible sugar drawings of Chinese characters and Chinese zodiac signs is an obvious favorite. Due to the fact that I'm into any sort of sugared novelty item, and it being the year of the monkey and I am also a monkey and the fact that I'm in China in the zodiac year I was born made it irresistible. Sugared versions of your zodiac sign? Yes, please. 

Shortly after, we said our goodbyes to Lily, then took a bus adventure to the Confucius temple. By bus adventure, I mean we have no idea how the buses work (yet) so we boarded and found out you need exact change or you don't get your 10 yuan note back. We weren't sure what stop to get off of so we made a guess. There is an oddly liberating aspect of traveling in China and not being able to read a single character. 

It means you get to stumble on unintended adventures because you have no idea what you are ordering or buying tickets for. Hannah and myself thought this garden place looked neat, thinking it was an entrance to the Confucius Temple and ended up being serendipitously incorrect. 

We happened to find a delightfully beautiful garden behind the entrance gates. Everything is starting to bloom which meant gorgeous white and pink blooms framed pagodas which framed waterfalls and various ponds. I can't wait until the blossoms are in full swing on campus and all over Nanjing. We happily joined the small kids climbing over rocks to find hidden alcoves and hopped over rocks to check out the other side of the jade green pond while vividly orange  orange fish bobbed to the surface for crumbs.  It also felt nice to be out in nature after spending so much in the city, taking the metro, and gazing up at the skyscrapers at Xinjiekou.Additionally, it was lovely place to be bombarded by an entire tour group of middle aged Asian men who each wanted an individual photo of Hannah and myself. What happens to those photos, I haven't the slightest, but it didn't get uncomfortable until we were still being photographed after a solid 5-7 minutes. It was a quiet park, nestled in a bustling city and a delightful finish to an afternoon of noshing.

Nanjing: Things I Love

I don't take the word "love" lightly. Yes, it's tossed around when people talk movies or music, but this list of Nanjinian things are not just frivolous statements of love. I'm coming up on three weeks in this sprawling city, and I love the normalcy I've felt. Isn't it odd how somewhere you've never been, somewhere seemingly so different from your life at home can feel so normal? Of course, there are aspects of China I've yet to embrace....the fact that people everywhere just hock loogies is something I will never appreciate. I have taken to look upwards when I walk for two reasons. One reason being the skyline is almost always more interesting than the ground, and the second being I just don't like seeing the wads of spit I inevitable step in. Yum.

Nanjing Museum- shortly before I was bombarded by college students who filmed me and asked for my signature. 

In all seriousness though, there are some things I do love about Nanjing and about China. For one, I'm enamored with the fruit stands and speckle every street corner. Bins piled high with vibrant oranges, artfully peeled pineapples with their green spiny tops peeking out from behind boxes of lychees, dragon fruit, apples, and pomelos. Breakfast used to be a trip to the school cafeteria, but I've taken to snitching from my fruit bowl and taking a swig of red date milk for that meal instead. The Asian pears here are especially good, and make for a great walking around snack. I'm especially partial to these oranges that I bought purely because they were so beautiful. Turns out, they are my absolute favorite....and are really pretty. Seriously, if you walk for more than 7 minutes in one direction you will hit a fruit stand. I've taken to keeping my little recyclable back in my camera bag just in case. It's delightful.

I can't be the only one who squeals at the site of a bin of tiny oranges. 

I love Muslim noodles. In every sense of the word, I love Muslim noodles. There are restaurants dotted around everywhere here, but you have to find the best ones. Luckily, one favorite haunt is just a stop over on the metro which is very convenient. There's also one rather smashing place right around church, and just a few restaurants down from this cute old man who sells the best cream puffs. Needless to say, every Sunday I stumble through ordering in my terrible Chinese, pointing to what other people have ordered, and then repeat everything in English and sit down to a bowl of delicious noodles, then a walk down to get cream puffs. Some weeks it's been pulled noodles in a salty broth, or pulled noodles with potatoes, peppers, and onions. I cannot tell you how delicious it is. As for the cream puffs, the first week I bought 2. The second week, it was 5. I don't want to say what last week's total was.

This is everything to me. 

And, of course, I completely love my kids I teach, but that will be another post entirely...probably more like 47 more posts, but yes. I do love my kids.

There will be more to come of course, but lastly I love Nanjing. I sorta love being stuffed in the metro while the man siting next to me screams into his phone in Mandarin, or when someone comes in holding the largest (and loudest) chirping black cricket I've ever seen. I really do love getting off at a random stop to discover the tiny old woman who makes these teeny fat pancakes that are stuffed with a thick custard. I love the random English words scrawled on sweaters and shoes. I am not sure I will grow to love the chicken feet and I know I won't ever love the loogies, but there are definitely things about China I do love.