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Monthly Archives: February 2010
Back to the States
I must admit that I am now back in New York with my parents and Chris. I will continue to post occasionally, as I still have many places, foods, and cultural oddities to share. Above are impaled sparrows being sold more »
Posted in Cuisine
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Shanghai Violin – Recital Piece
AUDIO Recital Replay During the Spring Festival, only one music store near the Shanghai Music Conservatory was open. It had the floorspace of a typical shop window display with about 20 violins crammed inside. A teacher clapped expressionlessly to a more »
Posted in Music & Art, Shanghai Adventure 2010
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Beijing – Forbidden City – Museum
The Imperial bedroom was the most popular scene in the Forbidden City. Crowds of tourists pressed their lenses up to the glass and peered in to see where the Emperor slept. The symbol on the far wall is “double happiness,” more »
Posted in Beijing, Places of Significance
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Beijing – Forbidden City (Gu Gong)
The Forbidden City served as the Emperor’s Palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1644, 1644-1911). It’s the most impressive place I’ve seen in China and happens to be the world’s largest palace complex. To enter the Forbidden City, you more »
Posted in Beijing, Places of Significance
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Beijing – Days 2 & 3
Pictures & videos coming soon. I’ve spent the past two days at The Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, Zhongshan Park, Silk Street Market, and a family music shop.
Posted in Beijing, Places of Significance
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Beijing – Day 1
In addition to the traveling, hostel life is very interesting. I room with a Frenchman who was originally here to study calligraphy, an Englishman in the video game industry, an American w0man who volunteers for the Peace Core as an more »
Posted in Beijing, Places of Significance
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Beijing – Landing
I just arrived in Beijing and will be here until Feb 21. The only trouble I had was at security. The airport staff unloaded my backpack while asking me if I had an “organ.” Wondering if they really thought I more »
Posted in Beijing, Places of Significance
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Chinese New Year's Eve, Shanghai – Fireworks
VIDEO Fireworks From the Street Fireworks From Apartment In the first video, note the proximity of the fireworks to us, to the apartment complex, and to the car with the alarm. In the second video, note what’s happening next door. more »
Posted in On the Streets, Spring Festival
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Shanghai Eyewear
Ms. Jocelyn Gibbons, the marketing director of Just Eyewear, found me through this blog and requested data on the cost of prescription eyeglasses in Shanghai. I asked around for prescription prices and determined that the most economic option would be to more »
Posted in On the Streets
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HSSI Company Dinner, South Beauty
To celebrate Spring Festival, our company, Herbert Software Systems Inc, went out to South Beauty, a Sichuan restaurant. We were seated in a private room around a large round table which felt more festive than the formal long rectangular tables more »
Posted in Cuisine, HSSI, Spring Festival
2 Comments
Valentine’s Day in Shanghai
This post is for Chris Hooper in Seattle. Happy Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day in Shanghai is a copy of the American holiday with a few added quirks. While flowers and chocolate dominate the event, bouquets of little animal heads are more »
Posted in Human Interaction, On the Streets, Western Influence
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Chinese New Year – Tonight!
I am writing from an apartment overlooking the Huangpu River. My ballet dancer friend, Xu Yuchen, and his family just lit a box of fireworks outside the apartment for the Chinese New Year. It is now 12:40 AM and the more »
Posted in On the Streets, Spring Festival
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Shanghai Violin – Chinese Film
AUDIO In the Mood For Love While my erhu was being touched up in the shop, I practiced on the Shanghai violins hanging on the wall. Most are copies of Stradivari or other famous violins and have extremely unique tones more »
Posted in Music & Art, Shanghai Adventure 2010
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Purchasing an Erhu – Part VI
I returned to Jinling Lu with Mei’s mother’s surgeon’s son, a ballet dancer with street smarts who had his informed friends from a music academy on the phone while we browsed and haggled for erhus. His friends claimed that erhus more »
Posted in Cuisine, Erhu Blog, Music & Art
2 Comments
Mandarin Chinese's Four Tones
Every conversation is a lesson and my most interesting ones have been on taxi rides. I try to start conversations with the friendly drivers who correct my pronunciation or teach me new phrases. When I first came here, I was more »
Posted in Human Interaction
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Hangzhou – Hefang Old Street – The Glass Blower
Hefang Jie feels like an extraordinarily realistic live museum. While strolling down the old street, you can see artisans showing off their skills to the curious tourists. A glass blower works at a table covered with his creations in the more »
Posted in Hangzhou, Music & Art, On the Streets, Places of Significance
Tagged Glass, Hangzhou, Hefang, Song Dynasty
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Hangzhou – Hefang Old Street – Intro
Hefang Jie, a famous pedestrian street off the southeast shore of Xi Hu, is the heart of old Hangzhou. Also known as the South Song Dynasty Imperial Street, it is lined with a variety of artistic souvenirs and snacks from more »
Posted in Hangzhou, On the Streets, Places of Significance
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Hangzhou – The Bike System
Biking is by far the best way to explore Hangzhou. In fact, a bike is needed to see everything in the tourist town. There is a trail around the perimeter of Xi Hu (West Lake) as well as on both more »
Posted in Hangzhou, Places of Significance, Transportation
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Chinese Tea Performance
I met two tourists in People’s Square, Shanghai who were attending a “tea performance.” Curious about this cultural event, I joined them and was led into a tiny room in a mall just big enough for a table and a more »
Milk, Cream, or Yogurt?
Shanghainese milk is so creamy that expats have questioned whether it’s from a cow or something closer to a yak. I find the taste deliciously addicting. As one expat wrote, “I actually prefer the “milk” taste of Shanghai milk to more »
Posted in Cuisine
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CargoMax Installation
The first time I encountered CargoMax software was in 2008 when I was a cadet aboard Stolt Topaz, a chemical tanker. CargoMax is a ship stability and load management program used onboard tankers, container ships, RO-RO’s, passenger and research vessels, barges, FPSO’s, and military craft. My classmate more »
Posted in HSSI
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Goojje.com
Upon hearing that Google may pull out of China, a group of Chinese students created a knockoff of Google, www.goojje.com, to pay homage to the search engine. It’s worth visiting. The caption supposedly translates to, “Brother’s stay is for sister, more »
Posted in Human Interaction, Western Influence
1 Comment
Purchasing an Erhu – Part V
Erhus are made from a variety of wood types, red sandalwood being the most prized. The erhus that are now being mass produced in factories with impressive quality seem to be of African ebony, but redwoods are still considered to produce more »
Posted in Erhu Blog, Music & Art
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Hangzhou – Boating on Xi Hu
From the moment I laid eyes on Xi Hu (Xi = West, Hu = Lake), I yearned to take a boat ride on it. While Suzhou is called the Venice of China, Hangzhou’s Xi Hu has a more palpable Venetian more »
Posted in Hangzhou, Places of Significance, Transportation
4 Comments