Changbaishan's Volcano

A few days only, if it wasn’t the day after next following my return from Hefei, Jessica from That’s China asked me for a second mission of the same kind. As I previously mentioned, that one was northward very near to the North Korean border. We landed in the city of Yanji which is the center of the Korean-Chinese culture. China is composed of some 56 different ethnic minorities and Korean is one of them. All the businesses’ signs were bilingual and even though I could easily tell the difference between the characters, they were all totally incomprehensible.

Our destination laid three driving hours away from Yanji in the town and National Park of Changbaishan. Once we reached destination, we were welcomed by another of those copious banquets followed by a high in colors staged opening ceremony of the Snow Festival, that festival being the main reason of our presence there.































The following held the outdoor version of the opening ceremony of that same festival. In fact, now that I think about it, those two openings were in fact the whole festival in its integrity, or at least what we were given witness. Maybe that was because it was the first edition of that festival and had only a promotional agenda. In any case it was quite pleasant to attend and the weather was ideal.







Changbaishan is not only the largest natural reserve in China but is also the site of a big volcano. We visited its summit later that same day. The view was splendid. I had not expected to see such massive mountains in China, outside of Tibet of course. During our 4 day stay, we were given to visit the surrounding forest boardwalks, gorges, waterfalls and thermal springs at the base of the mountain. We even had hopes to go ski but as it turned out we went tube sledding instead. It was still fun.















































During our evenings we were free to explore the local cuisine. Skewers on charcoal were apparently a must so we had some and they were pretty good and spicy. We also ate hotpots or what we maybe more used to call Chinese fondue although our version pales in comparison. Apparently the most typical Korean dish that we had was made of a mixture of vegetable on rice with an egg sunny side up on top of it all. They were served in sizzling hot ceramic bowls. We had to stir it all up and savour. Hum hummm!!!

Trip to Hefei

It was Friday and I was in my Mandarin class when my phone rang. It was the editor of an English Chinese Magazine called That’s China, who called to ask me to go take photographs of Hefei, a city west of Shanghai for a few days. Early the following Tuesday morning, my face split in two by a huge smile, I was embarking on a plane after having met with my two travel mates, Jessica, the editor in question, and Pete, an American writer.

We welcomed by the municipal comity of propaganda (I’m not kidding). I, of course, understood nothing but there our schedule and itinerary were planned and discussed. It didn’t bother me. I was visiting another city, all expenses paid plus salary so I was quite exited. Our driver / guide / “supervisor” lead us to our nice hotel where I found a huge king-size bed covered with a think quilt in the middle of my own room. It was a rather nice start.









After a delicious meal at the hotel’s restaurant, we went to visit a few historical sites and parks close by. I was taking photos relentlessly and loving every second of it. For dinner we were received by the director of that same comity. It was an excellent meal of the finest Chinese cuisine with its alcoholic counterpart in no shortage.

















































































On day two, we went to visit an important Chinese research center, more precisely a particle accelerator. Afterwards, we had the privilege of a somewhat long promotional seminar about a gigantic development project followed by a quick stroll amongst part of it which was still in its infancy. Finding foreign investors is presently their main goal for those to whom this might be of interest. China, being a developing country, has enormous projects and construction sites like few places on earth. Entire cities of skyscrapers are sprouting up out of nowhere.

The third day was by far my favourite. After another promotional seminar at a local speech recognition technology enterprise, we drove off for about 45 minutes to a small traditional looking neighbouring town. It was named三河 (Sān Hé) which is pronounced like Saann hreEA and literally means Three Rivers just like Quebec’s “Trois-Rivières” which happens to be where my parents and most of my family are from. It was a truly charming little town with its old traditional architecture. I would dare say that its inhabitants seemed to be much happier and welcoming than their Beijing counterparts although it’s not quite fair to compare a small 30 000 people town to a mega polis of at least 15 millions. There too, we were copiously welcomed at table covered of local dishes amongst which was a chicken ( or rooster) soup the head and legs were still in.





































Back in Hefei, for our last evening, we had the privilege of attending a Chinese opera in a small amphitheatre. It was my very first opera all categories confounded. There again I of course did not understand any of it beside that it was about a love story but it was still quite entertaining and enjoyable.

As every rose has its thorns, we had ours too. We were supposed to take off at 10h50 the next day but supposedly because of some technical problems, we ended up waiting for a few hours before we could get on another plane. After we boarded and moved a few meters, we were moved back to the airport like cattle so that we could wait a couple more hours. All and all, 11 hours passed before we could take off at 21h30. After such a nice trip, I did not have too much difficulty to keep my smile and to try to pass it on to my two travel mates despite it all.

Next destination! That time was north to 长白山, Chángbaíshān right beside the Korean border. I’m already back front that one too as I write these words but I have to keep some for next time.

The Hutongs

Things slowed down in early January. I took advantage of it to try to rest and to wander the streets looking for great images. The hutongs, which I once mentioned, particularly attract me with their very old authentic look. They are old neighbourhoods composed of densely packed small brick houses interlaced with narrow paths. They are a type of housing quite typical and distinctive of China however that is systematically destroyed to make ways for modernity. They are preserved or at least “renovated” (which here means destroyed and rebuilt) at a few ever rarer places. From what I can understand, Chinese people, being EXTREMELY proud, see this change in a good way since they are evidently rather poor places and thus shameful. I personally find that quite sad but it’s not for me to judge.


















































































I have not yet read much on their history but from what I’ve heard, such tendency fits the pattern. Emperors, apparently, had for habit to destroy the predecessor’s traces and historical literature in order to pass themselves as the best emperors ever. That is how that most of their heritage was forever lost and nowadays it still goes on but to build crystal towers. Talking of skyscrapers, the leaning towers of CCTV (refer to “Two Months Already”) have now firmly fused together. It’s a very impressive structure even if it is not yet completed. In time, when it will be all brightly lit, it will be without a doubt, a quite spectacular sight.

I also strolled back nearby another impressive structure, the National Stadium or commonly called The Bird’s Nest. Tourists have already started to flow towards it, either by taxi or even by bus. That’s where I met with a small group of teenagers playing yoyo with great skills.

I will leave it at that for now but much much more is on the way. I spent all week in another city on assignment for a Chinese magazine. Stay tuned!

What a Party!

My legs are dead. I must have lost at least 5 pounds in just a few hours, at least in water. It had been at least 2 years since I danced that much. I guess even at 30, we can still do it ;-)

There were approximately 3000 people dancing frenetically and without restrain to the DJ’s music. It was in a big room that could be described as a mix look of industrial and medieval. The ceiling was a series of big concrete arches. I was hoping but not really believing that I would find some party/raves of the sort here. There were people from all over. We could have been in New-York or any other big cosmopolitan city without knowing it.

Ouff! It largely compensated for my birthday and Christmas even that were on the quiet side of things. I wish you all, once again, a happy New Year! It is almost 6h30 AM and time for rest.

Some photos of the party are available at: http://www.o2culture.com/post_party_photo/index.html