Terrifying Typhoon

[*The photos shown in this blog post are NOT my original pictures.  I normally only use original photos, but as I'm not insane, I didn't go out last night to shoot my own pictures.  These photos are of the HK typhoon Monday, but from various sources, as noted below each one. *]

Monday night was an important 'first' in our life here... our first proper typhoon.

Google Images - Karmadecay.com

I was excited when Mike got to come home early thanks to the T8 (typhoon level 8) warnings.  All buses and most businesses close for T8 warnings.  It honestly didn't occur to me to be frightened... yet.  When he got home he said that there were little Chinese people getting blown all around.  And the party hadn't even got going.

http://www.newsgd.com/news/picstories/200608040003.htm

I have learned here that typhoons are generally just rain storms, with extra wind (at least that was all we had experienced prior to Monday, which were always T1 and T3 storms).  A typhoon is the same thing as a hurricane, just in a different part of the world.

My friend Dustin Leitch snapped this of the line up for the metro to go home

Monday night's warnings went from T8, to T9, to T10 sometime after midnight.  That was pure insanity.  A T10 rating means that the storm has sustained winds above 120km/hr, with gusts up to 220 km/hr.  Every window in our apartment was rattling and most were leaking.  I was petrified.  Keep in mind, our building is very exposed, being on the side of a mountain and the fact that we are way up high.  If it helps to understand the force of the wind and rain, it was as if someone were outside our window with a fire hose directed right at each window.  Insanity.  I was literally shaking and unable to sleep while Foley snored soundly.

http://www.newsgd.com/news/picstories/200608040003.htm

It was only the second T10 in 28 years (the last one was in 1999).  These are rare and scary events.  However, HK residents showed their skill in living with typhoons when no buildings went down, no fatalities were reported, and in a city of over 7 million, only 128 people were hospitalized for injuries (due to flying debris).

Hong Kong markets remained closed until 1pm on Tuesday.  When Foley went in to work on Tuesday morning around 10am, the T8 warnings were still on.  He managed to get a cab, but only by paying the driver five times the normal rate ($100 HKD instead of $20 HKD).

Overall, Monday night to Tuesday morning was intense. I'm happy it's behind us.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news

 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news

Walking on the Great Wall

The Great Wall was an incredible site to see.  It is one of the seven wonders of the world, and deservedly so.  The Wall was started in 221 B.C., and not completed until 1450 A.D. (although it was not built continuously).  It took about 200 years and about 5 million people to build.  The Great Wall is known as the longest cemetery in the world because as many people were killed in the building of it, they were buried in the wall.  It was a dangerous and treacherous job, so apparently many people are resting below the stone... creepy.

The Great Wall was built as a barrier between China and Mongolia.  Seven kingdoms had seven original walls, but they were all joined in the Ming Dynasty.  The wall goes through 13 provinces, and runs for 6300 kms!  It can be seen from outer space with the naked eye.  All VERY impressive for an era well before modern machinery.

Mostly, the Great Wall was visually stunning... so I'll let the pictures speak for me.

Forbidden Fun

The inner courtyard, looking at the 'Building of Supreme Harmony'

Beijing has many gorgeous historical sites.  We hired an English guide and driver to get us around the city and to teach us all we could learn about ancient Chinese history.

The 'throne' where the emperor did his business

Excited girls dance inside the outer gates of the City

Chairman Mao's gate

The Forbidden City is on one end of Tiananmen Square, in downtown Beijing.  Tiananmen Square is simply a large traffic circle, which can accommodate a gathering of 500K people at one time.  It also has the mausoleum for Chairman Mao (who proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949).  Chairman Mao's body is in a glass case that is on an automatic elevator which rises each morning for people to give their 'respects', and lowers each night into a refrigerator. *gag*

Forbidden City's happy grounds staff

Through the Chairman Mao gate (off the square), we entered the Forbidden City.  The city is huge, with 980 buildings, 8304 rooms and over about 300 acres.  It was built from 1406-1420, requiring more than a million workers.  Since it's completion, it was the home for 24 emperors, generally housing about 5000 people at a time (with all staff).  It was called the Forbidden City because no one could enter or leave the City walls without the Emperor's permission.

These door knobs can be rubbed for good luck

Rubbing the door knobs for good luck

The Emperors were paranoid.  There were many security measures to the city that our guide pointed out to us.  First there was a large moat surrounding the outer wall.  There were three sets of gates to get inside with big solid doors and brass knobs.  As well, for extra security there are 15 layers of brick that go into the ground under the city, to ensure no one could 'tunnel' to gain access.  Finally, there are no trees on the inner courtyard, where the Emperor did most of this work, because he was afraid people would hide in them.  Nicely enough there were many trees in the area where over a hundred concubines lived.

There are certain symbolic elements to the City that we found interesting.  First, it is all built on a Meridian Line that runs through the center of the City.  Everything on either side of that line mirrors itself, for perfect feng shui (a perfect balance).  The most important buildings in the city have three levels of stairs leading up to them, symbolizing land/ocean, mountain, heaven.  Anything on the third level is 'in heaven', like the building of 'supreme harmony' where ceremonies (enthronements, weddings, etc.) took place.

Male Lion, controlling the world 

Female Lion, controlling the family

My favourite elements of symbolism were the animals used.  For example, in front of every major doorway were a pair of lions.  One male (with a paw on a sphere, controlling the world) and one female (with a paw on a baby, controlling the family)... yes, the male ego has some serious history behind it.  These two lions must appear together, to balance each other, otherwise it's poor feng shui.  The dragons on buildings were symbols of the Emperor, the Phoenix were symbols for the Empress.  Statues of cranes were for prosperity, and turtles were for longevity... the symbolism goes on and on.

Double Happiness Symbol 

Prior to our vacation, we watched "The Last Emperor", thanks to a recommendation from some friends (thanks Tom & Wolfi).  It was a great suggestion, as it largely takes place in the Forbidden City and gave us some history of the final Emperor of China, "Puyi" who was the last ruler of the Qing dynasty.  He became emperor when he was less than 3 years old.  There were many references to this final emperor in the City, and we even met his nephew, who is one of only two living descendants in the lineage (the other lives in Vancouver).  Having just watched the movie, we were a little 'star struck' meeting this descendent of the last Emperor.  As if on cue, the man working the shop explained to us, "it's his nephew, but he has no title or power, so you don't have to pay any attention to him."

Puyi's nephew signing our names on our artwork

All emperors and families are taught proper historical chinese calligraphy.  It's a culturally important art form, so we bought one personalized piece from the nephew... seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up.  We got a traditional Chinese saying in taoism, which is "do nothing".  It doesn't mean to be lazy, simply not to be aggressive in business, to do well and allow opportunities to come according to fate.  [Perhaps I love it because it makes me feel less 'guilty' about my lifestyle in Hong Kong?  Keeping with the philosophy, it has yet to be hung in our apartment, as it does nothing in a box.]

Beijing Full of Surprises...

 Last week Foley had a conference in Beijing on Wednesday and Thursday, so we extended the stay, and I tagged along for my first venture into mainland China.  Following Foley's lead in the last blog post, yet unable to keep as concise as him (despite his sincere attempts to train me accordingly), I have a list of five 'surprises' from being in China-proper.

No Naked Flames sign

1 - Mandarin

Welcome you too.

For expats living in Beijing, learning Mandarin is pretty much compulsory.  There is minimal English around and it can be very difficult to shop, order food, or get around without some basic Mandarin (of which we know how to say 'hi' and 'thank you').  Even our classy 'Park Hyatt' hotel had some interesting signs ['Welcome You'] and some staff completely unable to communicate in English (though they always knew which staff member could talk with you, and the RAN to retrieve said person).  Apparently there are essentially zero taxi drivers who speak English, which made the one that we found a rare treat.  It was also a treat to hear his singing talents (though it seemed to be at the expense of watching the road.)  [See the video here.]




2 - Dirty

The smog and pollution in Beijing is pretty gross.  The air quality is very poor, and often it would be difficult to see more than a couple of blocks from our stunning 66-story hotel, thanks to the smog.  Beyond the environmental issues, there are 'human issues' too.  For one, public urination is generally acceptable... gag.  Although I embrace the environmental impact of saving millions of diapers from the landfills, the babies are not put in diapers and instead have a slit between their legs on all pants, for doing their 'business' (number one, or number two) wherever they are.  Even snow suits are made with a slit for their business.

3 - Acrobatics

We went out one night to an excellent Acrobatics show, showcasing various insane human tricks and feats.  The talent was incredible, and yet there were just enough mistakes to make you know that it was all believable and there were no illusions or tricks.  Highlights of the show included a guy who stacked ten chairs on top of a platform and then did handstands on top, SEVEN motorcycles in a ball of death, twelve chinese girls on one bicycle, plate spinning, fan jugging with their feet, and a ballerina who did point on her partner's head!  We were in awe.



4 - Shoppers Welcome

Pearls in the pearl market

From high-end Cartier and Gucci stores to bargaining in street markets, Beijing provides shopping experiences for anyone willing to spend a dollar (or yuan).  I went with a couple of friends to the Pearl Market, which housed an insane amount of jewellery at hundreds of booths.  We also went into a 'back alley shop', when you walk up to the metal door, it magically opens to a small market of knock-off shopping (sport clothing, including Canada Goose jackets, purses, shoes, watches, glasses, etc).  Ironically, this door had a police car parked in front... clearly warranting a photo.

Sword routine

5 - Crowded much?

As a city with ~30 million people, Beijing is huge, by population and by area. The city centre is densely populated, with small living spaces.  Most people don't have houses with yards, so instead they truly use their city parks.  On a stroll through Jingshan Park (across from the Forbidden City) we saw everyday life activities underway.  People were gathered doing everything from line dancing, ballroom dancing, playing electronic harmonicas, tai chi, juggling of sorts, and playing chinese checkers.  It was a wonderful glimpse into the community life.

Walking through hutongs

Gorgeous river through hutong area

In the heart of the city, we visited 'hutongs' which literally mean narrow alleys.  Hutongs are the traditional homes in this area of China.  They are small walled compounds with a courtyard in the middle, and rooms around the courtyard for the family members.  These family abodes are becoming increasingly rare in a city where most hutongs have been torn down for wider streets and high-rises, but I'm happy we got this glimpse into historic living while it's still here.  Driving back to the hotel after seeing the hutongs was a 7km drive, which took over an hour... yes, it's crowded, and traffic here is a bit@&.

The Forbidden City, view from Jingshan Park.

Because they deserve their own entry... stay tuned for photos and stories of our incredible days in the Forbidden City and on the Great Wall.