Garage or gar..idge

My travels in China have ended. Anthony and I have parted ways. He is off to classes in Thailand and I have headed further south to meet up with some friends from Lhasa. I am currently comparing the accents of Canada, US and New Zealand. I am bummed my trip with Anthony is over but excited to spend time with some old friends I used to teach with. Well... this is quick end to the blog. There is a cat in the garage (pronunciation varying) that needs to be rescued....

Noah's Ark

Yesterday's big adventure took Anthony and I to Noah's Arc. No really, it's in Hong Kong. I am going to look up more info about it later when I have more time, but it is the only life size replica of Noah's Arc in the world. Pretty impressive. More to come later...

Shanghai to Xiamen to Shenzhen to Macau to Shenzhen to Hong Kong

Well I got a few more stamps in my passport. Even though Hong Kong and Macau are both technically part of China now, you need different kind of visas for each. Luckily the only one you have to pay money for (being an American citizen) is the mainland China visa which I already have.

First of, Anthony and I finished our time in Shanghai visiting with an old pal who taught with us in years prior. Shanghai is another city with a relatively short history (for China, long for the US) but action packed in the last 100 years.

After Shanghai we took off to Xiamen, another ocean port city. We flew a budget Chinese airline (imagine...) called Spring airlines. I can't imagine the seats being any closer together. Apparently the owner is famously quoted to have saying something to the effect of, "If we were allowed to sell standing tickets in an airplane I would." Now because of the increase in passengers you are only allowed to take 15 kilograms (about 33 lbs) of luggage... both your checked AND CARRY ON!!! So Anthony and I got creative and had to head to another terminal to ship some of our winter clothes to Beijing for our return visit to the north.

Xiamen is a great city that is rarely visited by Western foreigners. It was one of the port cities forced open by the Opium Wars, a rather grim period in British history. However the architecture in parts of Xiamen are beautiful. My favorite part was an island called Gulan Yu. This island is where all the embassies were located at the turn of the century. However my favorite part of Xiamen was seeing my old student and friend Brandon who has since been married and will have a child on the way soon. Such a blessing to be able to see him.

After Xiamen we went to the port city of mainland China of Shenzhen. From this hub we visited Macau, home to the first missionaries to ever come to China both protestant and catholic and Casinos. A rather strange mix. But I have been trying to see the ruins of St. Paul's Church for years. This is the same building that Matteo Ricci would have visited. Another of my favorite sights was the graveyard of protestant missionaries. This included the tomb of Robert Morrison the first protestant missionary to China. He also was famous for translating the Bible into Chinese and the first Chinese English dictionary. It was awe inspiring to be in the place where both of these men once stood.

After walking through of couple of the Casinos such as the MGM grand and the Wynn we headed back to ferry to the mainland. The next day we set out for Hong Kong...

On a personal note this trip has been a blessing. Being able to experience more of this tremendously large country's culture, food, people and life has really challenged the way I look at the China as a whole. Although there is much I haven't seen I feel blessed to experience what I have.

Travel with Anthony has also been a blast. We get up every morning find our breakfast and see what the day brings us. The Father has really blessed us this trip and we thank Him for He provides.

Suzhou to Shanghai

Today I find myself in the modern city of Shanghai. Arrived on the bullet train, started the morning watching the National Championship game at the Bamboo Sports Bar. (great game, heartbreaking end...) Then eating Burger King for lunch, shopping at the GAP, drinking Coffee Bean coffee and deciding which Art Museum to visit. Shanghai is a truly international city. I heard rumors there were more expats than nationals living here... could be just a rumor but it feels true.

The last two days Anthony and I spent in Suzhou, a city known as the Venice of China. There are supposedly more bridges than roads in Suzhou. We spent our days exploring the old city and viewing ancient gardens. We were also fortunate enough to meet up with the lovely Ms. Kelly whom I taught with before on the rooftop. She was with a couple teacher friends and treated us to a wonderful dinner.

Suzhou was a beautiful city but the weather was been cold. Not the dry cold that I am used to in northeast China and Oregon, but a wet cold. You just never seem to get warm. So although we loved Suzhou, we were not sad to head off to warmer cities.

Tomorrow we will head to Xiamen to visit an old student as our slow trip down south continues.

Nanjing pt. 2 Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion

I am currently finishing up God's Chinese Son by Jonathan Spense. It is a fascinating book about the largest uprising in History. This book chronicles the rise of the Heavenly Kingdom where Hong Xiuquan started a following saying he was the younger brother of Jesus. The tale is fascinating and unbelievable. While the US had its own internal struggle between the North and the South. China's last dynasty was struggling to keep power against Hong and his "heavenly forces." Hong's armies were so successful that they captured the former Capital city Nanjing (South Capital) which he renamed Tianjing (Heavenly capital). I was curious what this looked like in the historic city of Nanjing so Ant and I went explored

This included two sites. The first site was the actual museum of the rebellion. This included lots of maps, weapons, drawings, coins and various documents from the movement. It was a little run down and hard but still very fascinating. I was left wanting more but it still was a very interesting museum.

The next stop was the Presidential Palace. This was the former capitol of the KMT and the Ming Dynasty. The Presidential Palace was the house of so many different ruling parties of China.

What fascinated me more was how both museums showed the Taiping Rebellion in a favorable light. It was the beginning of the movement that changed China from dynastic rule to a republic. Yet as more wise people than I also noted, it gave China proof of why they should be careful of religious influence on their citizens. It is not that the original intention of the religious teachings was revolutionary, but that the revolutionaries could use those teachings as a revolutionary tool.

History is still alive today. Sometimes it hinders...yet, other times hopefully we can learn from it and be enabled.

Nanjing

Museums. History. Culture.

Nanjing

I have been to 4 museums in the last 2 days. 3 today.

Yesterday was the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum. It was packed with information and pain of past atrocities. I read the Rape of Nanking a few years ago and was reminded of all the pain. I was especially interested in the angle and message of the museum.

The theme seemed to be: The more injustices are exposed and brought to light can bring a sense of justice from an unjust incident. The story that seemed to come full circle was the two Japanese leaders who had a "Kill Contest." These exploits were highlighted earlier in the museum and the trail and execution of these two leaders were presented towards the end as a kind of finale.

The next museum was the John Rabe house. It is in the midst of skyscrapers and busy metropolitan life. A small courtyard surrounds the early 19th century house. As you enter the courtyard you are no longer on a crowded Chinese street but instead you are whisked back to a different time and world. The house is wonderfully preserved and tells the story of the "International Safety Committee of Nanjing." A group of brave and selfless expats who risked their lives to save Chinese lives and dignity during one of the middle kingdom's darkest hours.

The message of this museum seemed to be one of the goodness of the people involved and as you walked up to the higher floors of Rabe's former resident turned into something of a memorial to the good relationship China has formed with Germany.

Although I was a little put off by the top floors, I felt honored to be at the spot where such brave individuals took a stand against such evil and injustice happening around them. To put life in perspective of what really matters...

May their braveness inspire numerous others in generations to come.

May we remember John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin and the all the others who stayed behind to stand up against injustice during those awful times.

For those who are interested more in this topic please read:
Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang
The Good Man of Nanking
There is also a documentary that is well done which reads many of the diaries of those involved in the Nanjing Safety Committee simply called "Nanking" released in 2007.

A season coming to an end.

As I finish cleaning out my stuff from my apartment I realize... it's over. The semester is over. I don't really know how to feel.

Another season of my life quickly passes me by. I am not too sad to say goodbye to this season, but it has taught me a lot more about NE China and more about myself.

As I face another semester before heading back to Monmouth for a year I realize all that I have to be thankful for. The Father has always provided for me in so many ways. If it takes a hard season to remind of His goodness than I am grateful.

I am preparing for my winter travels down south to meet up with old friends and spend some R and R time.

I hope everyone had a great holiday season. I miss you all and am always looking forward to the next time we get together.