FRED

So everyone says to me, " How come you are always talking about your dog, Fred?". What's the big deal?  I do say what a great dog he is and how smart he is and I wish I could bring him to China. Well, our son, Reed, is taking care of Fred back in Vermont. The other day Reed was going to take Fred on his daily walk and said to himself out loud " It's bright out, I better get my sunglasses". So he ran upstairs to his bedroom and when he returned to the kitchen, this is what he saw. Smart or what!

Silk Road Trip 2-- Seeing Red--Hot Chilies

 Our trip on the Silk Road was in the far  western China province of Xinjiang. This is known as the Xinjiang Uygar ( said like wee-gar) Autonomous Region. It is the largest region in China but with the smallest population. The Gobi desert resides here as well as the Tien Shan Mountains which lead toward Tibet. The vast basins of this region are rich in deposits of oil, gas and minerals as well as agricultural fields. In recent years the area has seen an invasion of tomatoes, chili pepper, safflower, Chinese Wolfberries (gouqi), and Chinese red dates. This area is particularly suited to these "red crops" due their location 40 degrees north  of the equator. This climate has less precipitation, a hot summer and substantial temperature differences between night and day.
   The tomato spread from the forests of South America and came to China by sea in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was first grown as an ornamental plant. It was not until the early 20th century that the Chinese used it as food. Today, one in every four tomatoes is produced in China and half from here in the Xinjiang province.
  Another large crop are the Red Chili Peppers. I took the pictures below while traveling on a bus from Urumqi to Kuytun. What you see are beds of peppers drying out. Just incredible. These beds are each about the size of a football field and some are bigger. The basins are a natural drying yard because of the relative humidity of less than 30%, surface temperatures of  70 degrees C and strong searing winds. You can faintly see the Tien Shan Mtns. in the background which creates this basin. Chilies are a mainstay in regional cooking. Locals prefer dried chilies to fresh ones-- they crush pods, add salt and fry the mixture in vegetable oil to make a condiment eaten with dumplings, buns and noodles. A favorite dish here is fiery chicken, potatoes and chili. Delicious!

A Uygar Serenade.

Happy trails to you...  Riding off into the sunset on camels at the Gobi Desert.

The Economics-- China vs. USA

Everything goes in cycles. Good times, Bad times.Love and War.Daily life, and, of course, Economies.China is growing and growing with no end in sight. The US seems to be stuck in a recession with no end in sight. Today in the Shanghai Daily there was  the story of the  unemployment news in theUS. Jobs are not being created and the rate went up to 9.8%. In that same paper the following articles appeared about China. 1). China set to invest US$1.5 trillion in 7 sectors ( alternative energy, biotechnology, new-generation info. tech, high-end equip. manf., advanced materials, alternative-fuel cars, and energy saving and environmentally friendly tech.) China is trying to be the " Green" country going forward and is seeking alternatives to dwindling commodities. They also want to get away from being just known as a low end manufacturer. 2). Symantec expects to triple it's revenue here in China within 5 years-- typical of many tech. firms. 3) Starbucks plans to triple it's presence in China in 5 years. It wants to run 1,500 stores in China by 2015. 4) General Motors sold a record 196,990 units in November up 11.2% from a year earlier. Shanghai's GM sales rose 33.4% annually in November--- which leads me to buy some recently IPO'd GM shares on The NYSE at $34. Just a suggestion. 5) China to invest $500B more in next 3 years on Hi-Speed trains.
This growth mirrors the US back in The Industrial age of the late 19th -early 20th century when these headlines would have begun with the US and not China. But things go in cycles and China will have it's hiccups and the US will bounce back. But that's why Jane is working in China now.

And a few random pictures for your entertainment pleasure.

These are the spider men of Shanghai. They swing back and forth
on their ropes in perfect unison as they wash the windows. I
applied for a job but they don't accept anyone over 60. Darn!

Jane and I at Expo in Shanghai this spring to attend a
performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra. The China pavilion
is lit in the background.

My favorite local Xiao long bao ( steamed dumpling with soup inside)
place. A short walk from our apartment.

Inside Ling serves up the best that you can order from the
menu behind her. No, I cannot read Mandarin so lunch is often
a surprise but usually not moving.

The electrical panel in our basement. Kidding. This is the panel
in an older building that was going to be torn down as soon
as the final tenents left.

Jane on her way to work.

John signing up for what he thought was Mandarin lessons.
Dig this guy's hat.

Turns out it was a special blessing for long life ( hey, I'm
still alive). I had to blow on this box for some reason. That
and 15RMB ($2) and I was good to go.

Hi-Tech, Baby

I have added two new features to the blog. They are both located near the bottom. The first is a news feed about everything China, Shanghai, or Asia. Just click on one of the stories and you will be forwarded to that feed and also given the option of related articles. The second add-on is a Google search bar located just below the last posting on each page. This allows you to search this blog as well as the web. So, for example, if you see  a reference in this blog to a place in China and your interest is piqued , just do a search and learn all about it.

Quick Update

OK-- The kid's name is Jude Harper Dykstra. Our second grandchild. Now one girl and one boy. No pictures yet, but you have seen it before. No hair , pale skin, scrungy face, etc, etc. I know there is a segment of the viewing community who wants to see pictures so I will have some up here eventually. I predict great things for this kid , as well as Clementine, and that is not due to the fact that they are my grandchildren. Really. No, really, I'm not kidding. Well, maybe a little.

Catching Up-Travel-- Guilin and Yangshuo

Guilin is located in Guangxi region in southeast China. Jane and I and our fellow ex-pat friends Marc and Jeanne traveled to this area in May, 2010. It is located on the west bank of the Li river and it's name means " forest of sweet Osmanthus" due to the large number of fragrant Sweet Osmanthus trees in the city.This area has some very unique scenery as I will photo document. In addition to Guilin we also visited Yangshuo county in Guilin which is famous for the karst peaks along the Li River. Karst is a landscape formed by the dissolution of layers of soluble bedrock such as limestone. Karst topography is common throughout the world but usually in the form of sinkholes. This region of China has unique hills with this topography. Enjoy the pictures and I will be back soon with more.

Hill with karst landscape.

Rice paddies.

Working the fields

You get to work anyway you can.

Machinery helps. preparing the soil for planting.

But then you have to maintain it.

Old reliable is still at it. It's the fellow who is
stopping for a smoke.

Showing our friends how to properly pick-up your date.
Her father was very impressed.

I sat in the road to get this picture and they gently walked
around  me.

Arriving at the rice terraces. These were lodging options but
we did not stay here.

At the top.

The "Pros" had more elaborate vehicles. This women was
being carried to the top of the hill. We walked.

Flash Announcement

We are now the proud grandparents of our second grandchild-- a boy! 10 lbs. 2 oz.-- 22 3/4" to Anne and James. Born 11/14/10 at 11:55am and as yet unnamed. All name suggestions will be warmly appreciated but probably discarded. He will be little brother to Clementine.

China Silk Road Tour

We went on a terrific trip the fist week of October to the extreme western region of China to retrace the Silk Road. The road is an interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South and Western Asia with the Mediterranean as well as North and Northeast Africa and Europe. It gets it's name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade. It extended for 4000 miles and was an important path for cultural, commercial and technological exchange among traders, merchants, missionaries, nomads, soldiers and others. This trade began during the Han Dynasty ( 206- 220 BC)  and it a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, India, Egypt, Persia, Arabia and Rome. Our trip focused on the northern route thru China and we visited the cities of Kasghar, Dunshang, Turpan and Urumqi. The one picture I have provided on this posting is of me and Jane at an oasis in the Gobi desert. And who says they only exist in your mind. I have also included below a shutterfly link graciously provided by Chandle Lee, one of our co-travellers. Chan is a NYC architect currently working in Shanghai and has a real touch with the camera. His pictures provide a great slideshow of many of the interesting and beautiful people and places we experienced. I know you will enjoy them. I will provide more photos and commentary in future posts.  

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8UYuWbVo2b4I

Shanghai Street Scenes

On a recent Saturday morning, I decided to take my camera and stroll around some of the neighborhoods near us. The area I have highlighted in this posting is the Dong Tai Lu ( lu meaning street) area comprised of the before mentioned street as well as other smaller ones . It is called the "Antique Market" although some of the antiques are still warm. Occasionally you find something of value and something you really, really needed but the objective of a morning here is to have fun and soak up some local culture. If a vendor asks 300 RMB for an item you should get it for 40 or 50 or you walk away. There is another one right down the Lu!

Market near Dong Tai Lu

Washing facilities still used in some old lane houses. Many
families might use this facility to wash hands, clothes. Outside
 sinks were used for washing food for dinner.

Aunt Tilly never thought she would be so famous!

Are we disturbing you?

One of the lanes of Dong Tai Lu.

Anything Chinese for you?

Great juxtaposition. Would Mao ever had thought. After I
downloaded this picture, I noticed what was under the Playboy
cards. Hey, at least we are still on top.

One of the many vendors.

Does anyone play the Guqin, Se or the Erhu?

Any thing Mao sells or family paintings.

I think he has had his picture taken before.

Many of the vendors live above their stores.

I came upon this man giving his bird a shower. 

Turns out he has other birds and does pottery.

Slim pickins.

You've come a long way.... China

 Today I read in the local newspaper that the government was going to raise auto fuel prices by 3%. In most countries, these prices would be set by market conditions, although those market conditions may be heavily influenced by government policies ( taxes, EPP standards, reserves,etc). The Chinese government still controls many policies which affect everyday life in China. But the grip is loosening all the time. Private enterprise is flourishing here, particularly in Shanghai, Beijing and other major cities. The government does control all aspects of the flow of commerce but the rapid development of the coastal cities has forced a reappraisal of the standards. However, a recent study by the Heritage Foundation put China at# 140 out of #183 for economic freedom. ( refer here http://www.heritage.org/index/Ranking.aspx )Ironically,this study does have Hong Kong as the #1 country for business freedom so now that China has taken it back it may learn a few things. I believe China will rise in this category over the next few years.  We travel around anywhere in China without a problem and with the same level of security checks we find in the US. We have access to 98 % of the internet but blog sites, Facebook and Youtube and many videos are censored.

Fuxing Park--one of our favorites and just a 5 minute walk
from our apartment.

The park is the center for community singing ( here someone
has set up a speaker and microphone and anyone can step up
and sing). They did not like my version of  " I want to hold your
hand". No Beatles in China.Popular during the Cultural
Revolution.

What year was Fuxing Park established? Boy, would I love to
take one of these manhole covers home with me. Maybe.

Card players and dancers enjoying the day. Early mornings here are many
Tai-Chi  and general exercise groups out on the esplanade.

Fuxing Park has a heavy French influence. It is located on the edge
of The ( Former ) French Concession and sections of the park were given
to french architects in the early 20th century to incorporate their designs.

Marx and Lenin statue in the park. They highly influenced
Chinese thought before the establishment of the Chinese
Communist Party ( CCP ) in 1921.

Cleaning carts used by the municipal street cleaners.

Mostly men get together to tell stories. generally there is one speaker
and he tells about where he came from and his experiences in life. And
maybe about last night, too!

Random picture. Our son-in-law and Clementine going down
the water/aquarium encased escalator at the Shanghai/Pudong
Aquarium.

Another great topiary.

During the late fall and into winter the meat and fish are dried for
consumption during Chinese New Years ( late Jan. early Feb.) We
live one street from here.

Street scene-Shanghai.