Bill Stroube

Our stay in Xian has been brief. This city of 8 million has a different feel then Hangzhou and Beijing. It’s still hot, but the terrain is more arid. As we drove out to the Terra Cotta Warrior site we saw plots of corn and pomegranate groves. The Terra Cotta Warrior site left you in a state of awe. The mystery of how or why this exists is not clear to me – need to do some additional reading. A group of us went to the night market along the North Wall. It is the Chinese Moslem community so the fruit, nuts, spices and meats being sold are different from what we have been seeing. Booths lined the center as well as the walls of the lanes. We worked hard at bartering for the best price for our treasures to bring home. To get home five of us hired two guys with three-wheeled motorize carriages. They artfully weaved in and out of the traffic – no carnival ride could compare to the thrill (nor danger).

After a walk along the city wall, we leave this morning for Shanghai. Tomorrow we have a 8:35 AM flight back to the states. It’s been on wonderful journey - Kathy

When we arrived in Beijing it was raining, but the show has to go on. Our guide picked us up and we headed to the Great Wall. Despite the rain, the wall was crowded with people. There was a ribbon of umbrellas moving up and down the long path of stairs. The rain did let up by the time we climbed up to one of the towers and the view was amazing. We covered a lot of ground in our short time in Beijing: the Ming Tomb, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Beijing Zoo, and Temple of Heaven. More to come for I am writing this in Xian - Kathy

These last couple of days has been packed. Tuesday, we visited two different CDC (Center for Disease Control) facilities where Bill and Janet gave a presentation on the US Heath Care System at both locations. Our friend Yosef, came along and worked as the interpreter with the presentations and the round table discussions that followed.

Our hosts treated us to both lunch and dinner. Let me try to describe the meal and setting. First we are seated at a BIG round table (there were us eight and six or so officials) with a large “lazy-susan” in the middle. The meal started with eight or more appetizer dishes that included bamboo shoots, boiled peanuts, fish tails, and roasted duck tongue to name a few. This was followed with an endless parade of dishes that represented the Hangzhou style of cooking. I cannot begin to describe it all, but there was not one thing I did not try and all was good. Note - we had two meals of this quantity in the same day!

Wednesday we went to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital. Hospitals in China operate as clinics as well as acute care facilities. So upon entering the lobby, there is a mass of people. The procedure is you pay first for the service you need (long wall of cashiers) then you move on to the floor or hall and wait for your examination. The pharmacy is also there, both Chinese traditional and Western style. China’s health care system, like the US is also looking at reform.

Today, Thursday, we leave for Beijing. We will pack this morning and then we have a farewell luncheon. We will head for the train station this afternoon where we will take the overnight Z-train. Assuming I’ll have Internet connects I’ll keep posting – Kathy.

Sunday evening we went to an outdoor performance on West Lake. The stage was the lake it self and the performers literately appear to walk on the water (the platforms were below the water level). If you saw any of the Olympic Performances, this was of equal awesomeness. The lighting, costumes, props, and music brought a beautiful Chinese love store to life in a very picturesque setting. If you have a chance check out the link to Impression West Lake.

We have seen lots of new sites, eaten new foods, learned a few Chinese phrases, but the best part for me is the people we meet. There are 6-million residents in Hangzhou, but striking up a conversation is not possible if you cannot speak Chinese or they English. The university assigned a young man to help us out, who will be starting this fall as an English language major. His name is Laurie. He and his friend Charles have gone with us to various site, eaten a few meals with us and taken the students out to enjoy the city from a college student’s point of view. From conversations with them I have decided that people have the same basic desires and goals.

We have also had a chance to meet the new Chinese language professor who will be at UE this fall. She and another professor took several of us out last Friday evening for dinner and a boat ride on West Lake. It is these relationships that we are building that make this experience so worthwhile. - Kathy

There is one thing I know about the day when I get up - it will be hot. Not just warm, not 80’s hot, not low 90 something hot, but upper 90’s HOT!

Oh, did I mention, it’s hot and humid? I mean the sticky, clammy, muggy, sweat a river, kind of humidly. And HOT.

Ok, now that I’ve mentioned the weather, on with our activities. Morning lectures, this week, have been on the Chinese economy. In the afternoons (when it is the HOTTEST) we have ventured out to see the sites. We have been to the silk museum, the tea museum, the Six-Harmony Pagoda, and walks along West Lake. We have ventured out to shop and eat at local venues that range for the old historic district to the silk market (again). Just when you think, “I can’t take the heat one more minute”, you catch a breeze, find a stand that has cool drinks (ice is not the norm here), or step into a shop that has air-conditioning. When I get back, I going to have a BIG glass of iced tea! Oh, did I mention it was hot and humid? - Kathy

Saturday, Bill organized an outing about Hangzhou. We went to the historic district, the Chinese Traditional Medical Museum, a Buddhist Pagoda, and walked along more of West Lake shoreline.

Sunday was to be a day of rest. The students were on their own to explore, sleep in, shop, etc. I suggested, for those who wanted to, that we take a morning walk through the bamboo gardens not far from campus. As we gathered that AM, plans changed. Instead five of us decided to take the mountain walk that started near our dorm.

First you have to understand the topography of Hangzhou (see Google Earth). Zhejiang – Yuquan campus sets at the foot of a very pronounced hill (best estimate I found on Wikipedia is 0.8 km or around 2,600 ft). The path started behind the library with over 700 continuous steps! I wasn’t counting; every one-hundredth step was marked! At the top there was a trail along the ridge of the mountain that we knew lead to a temple at North Peak. What we didn’t know was how far. So we continued down the trail, ascending and descending for well over two hours. It was hot, we had no map, we had taken little water with us, and those we met on the trail could not converse with us to let us know what was ahead (or how far). Finally, at one point we could see our destination – a Buddhist temple and to our delight a cable car to the foot of the mountain!

The temple itself was inspiring. There were many “pilgrims” at the temple and I don’t think most of them came to that point by the trail we did, there was a main bus stop at the base of the cable car station. Despite our exhaustion and uncertainty of our judgment, we were all very pleased with ourselves for enduring the journey and the experience of the temple. - Kathy

It’s Friday and we have now completed our first week of classes. Professor Zhuang Huaping did a great job presenting a survey of Chinese history. We will see her again next Friday when she will lecture on Chinese philosophy and religion. Thursday afternoon we were on our own to explore Hangzhou, so we took the city bus to the silk market and strolled through the many shops.

Today we were invited to visit the Medical College of Zhejiang University on the north side of town. There we meet with Professor Yang and staff who Bill had meet with last year. They shared with us the work they are doing on smoking and public health. Professor Wang described the Chinese health care system and answered our many questions. It was a very informative afternoon and ended with having our evening meal together.

Technical Note: I have a max limit warning in Wordpress announcing that I can not load additional pictures. I am also having difficulty with Bill’s Flicker account. After I check in with Sam ( my IT guy) I’ll see if I can get pictures up later.

Monday, we packed and loaded the bus but had one more stop before leaving Shanghai. Bryan arranged for us to visit ZS Consulting, Shanghai office. This firm works with companies, specifically pharmaceutical companies, to understand the Chinese health care and marketing system. Our host, Patrick, gave a wonderful overview of how the PRC (People’s Republic of China) doctors and hospitals work and what the proposed reform of this system might look like. Thanks, Bryan, for setting this up. Your friends at ZS said to tell you “Nî hao”.

We arrived in Hangzhou late afternoon Monday. We were greeted by George, the coordinator of International Studies, and were assigned our rooms in the international dorm. We also learned that we had a “special dining room” for the next three days. It’s China’s way of “quarantining” us until we have been in the country for seven days. After supper we took a walk to Trust Mart – that’s Walmart to us – and stocked up on soaps, toilet paper, bottled water, and other supplies.

Our routine for the next two weeks will be classes in the morning taught by various professors form Zhejiang University. The afternoons will vary between educational tours or exploring on our own. Wednesday several of us took the city bus to West Lake. This is the focal point of Hangzhou, which refers to itself as the most beautiful city in China. I have to agree at this time. For a city of 6 million, it is at the foot of the hill country and has a tropical feel with much more green space they what we saw in Shanghai. - Kathy

We just got access to the web - so I will get the next post up in just a little bit.