In the last 48 hours, our travels have included the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Hangzhou - China. I saw firsthand how pearls are extracted from oysters - and then bought a few items made of authentic, homegrown pearls (ring, necklaces, and a bracelet for good measure) from The Pearl Market. I witnessed up-close-and-personal how silk worms develop from eggs into cocoons, and how they're harvested into strands of silk and woven into beautiful garments or linens; then I purchased a silk robe from The Suzhou Silk Factory.
Finally I observed Chinese factory workers in the process of hand-stitching intricate patterns of embroidered tapestries; and went on to buy a silk, embroidered handbag from the National Embroidery Institute - and in addition, decided that the embroidered gold placemats and matching chopsticks were too good of a deal to pass up. In my own defense, I can't actually be expected to use my new jade chopsticks everyday, so a backup set seemed like a necessity. There's very little that isn't "Made in China" - and all of it is for sale. Don't let it be said that I didn't do my part to support commerce and economic development in the nation of China.
Our boat ride down the Grand Canal--sometimes referred to as the Oriental Venice--was enlightening. At first glance it looks like an American-style flea market along the banks of a river. Upon closer inspection, you see that it's a bustling "mixed use" area of residential and small business enterprises. The people we saw were going about their daily lives of cooking, cleaning, washing their clothes in the canal and selling their wares in the alleys alongside the canal. These people weren't a part of our tour, didn't speak or understand English, and couldn't care less that we were there. I almost got the sense that we were actually experiencing real Chinese living--unencumbered by the sales pitch--until our boat guide approached us to purchase postcards of our excursion and a set of playing cards featuring images from the Grand Canal. Indeed, it was back to business as usual.
Our guide in Beijing shared an old saying about the cuisine in China. It goes something like this: 'In China, we eat everything with two legs except the people; and everything with four legs except the table.' And based on some of the meals we've had this past week, I'm inclined to say that's true. From what I understand, there has been a crackdown on the consumption of wild animals and game - however, the memo obviously didn't get to everyone. Judging by the ubiquitous presence of unidentified "meat" in the Grand Canal region and beyond, that saying still holds true.
Usually, I'm the adventurous type... willing to try almost anything once - just to say I did it. Here in China... not so much. Every day, I've eaten a lot of rice and "chicken" - and washed down lunch and dinner with bottled Sprite or bottled water. Thus far, I've missed out on authentic Chinese sushi, squid and Peking duck. However, I've had the American version of them all before and did not feel so inclined to eat them here; no need to tempt fate while I'm 7,000 miles from home.
I'm excited about tomorrow because we're heading into Shanghai where we get to ride on the famous Maglev train that travels about 500 kilometers per hour. [Goodbye traffic jams on I-40] I'm told that it covers a route of 20 miles in 7 minutes and 20 seconds. I can't wait!