East Eats West

Chinese temple offerings

Picture: From paper money on the right to houses on top and suits with a mobile phones on the bottom: everything can be used in the afterlife.

One pillar of the Chinese civilization is their respect for their departed ancestors. For example on the Day of the Dead deceased ancestors are worshipped and their graves are cleaned (a custom also practised in Japan). In China people believe that one has to provide goods for the deceased in order to keep them happy. Emperor Qin for example buried in Xian a whole Terracotta army with him as he hoped they will follow him into his afterlife. The custom of worshipping ancestors has remained a cornerstone of the Chinese culture. If one visits a Chinese temple today one can still see people burning fake money, paper suits and toy mobile phones so that the deceased can use them in the afterlife.

Picture: Preparations for a Buddhist festival in Chengdu.

Indian fashion in China

I was surprised to find a clothes shop that sells Indian sarees and other traditional Indian fashion items. I saw even a calendar with Chinese models in sarees, decked-out with heavy golden jewelry. I wondered when the Chinese could wear a saree but no occasion came to mind!

Bonsai trees

In the Wuhou Ci shrine in Chengdu I came across magnificent Bonsais.

Traditional Chinese architecture

Picture: A typical Chinese courtyard in the Wuhou Ci Shrine in Chengdu.

A common feature of the Chinese construction is its standardized architecture. Regardless of being in Hong Kong, Chengdu or Georgetown (Penang), the traditional house structure is the same. Houses are built on stone platforms on which a wooden frame is placed. The walls that are a few feet behind the pillars act as a supportive structure, but essentially the walls by themselves are not supportive. The roofs are covered with tiles and upward-sloping at the end topped by gargoyles. Traditonal houses are built around one or many courtyards that feature a well.The proportion and alignment of the house is determined by Feng Shui principles. One can still find traditional shophouses in China where the groundfloor houses a shop and the living quarters are upstairs.

English in Chengdu

Picture: I feel like buying an ice-cream from this lovely young lady (read her t-shirt)!

As non-German speaking tourists quickly discover, English is not the lingua france in Switzerland. China is also not renown for the widespread use of English and some translations from Chinese into English are just hilarious. Nevertheless all street names in Chengdu and even outside town are spelt in English, most tourist sites have an English translation and even the public buses in Chengdu has automated greetings and announcements in English . Switzerland is severely lacking in this regard.

Picture: I did!

New fast food in China

McDonald’s rules fastfood all over the world except China. In China the fast food of choice is Kentucky Fried Chicken. Normally the most popular meat in China is pork but the wealtyh urban middle-class is quickly substituting pork with chicken. This structural shift in eating-habits revebrates around the world as more corn has to be produced in order to feed chicken. But for pure exclusivity KFC is topped by Pizza Hut that is the ultimate dining-out experience for urban Chinese. We went to one and were surprised by the hip-crowd. Nevermind that a meal at Pizza Hut can easily consume a family’s weekly income. China has been growing tea for hundreds of years and tea has been a major export product. So it is no wonder that Chinese carry most of the time a bottle of tea with them. The urban youth is now developing a new taste: coffee. Starbucks has been conquering the Chinese market as young Chinese find it trendy to sip a latte at Starbucks. It is, like everywhere else around the world, the place to meet friends and take a break from shopping. PS: Most Chinese restaurants are some kind of fastfood restaurants: one comes in, sits down and orders. And only a few minutes later the food appears.

Bitter Chinese tea

Picture: Green tea before roasting in a shop in Chengdu.

Chengdu is famous for its many tea houses. They are either located in the parks, temples or in tourist spots. Often a tea house is only a random assembly of chairs. Tea houses often feature a group of elderly Chinese playing Mahjong or cards. One can choose among dozens of teas and the traditional way of serving tea is leaves in a cup. The downside of this way of serving tea, called steeped tea, is that the leaves make the tea bitter after a while. This does not seem to disturb the Chinese and in fact many Chinese can be seen carrying thermos bottles with tea leaves in them. Upon ordering tea one gets a thermos bottle as well in order to pour more tea over the leaves. In order to avoid drinking the leaves the cups come with a lid and the skilled Chinese can drink single-handedly.

Picture: Preparing green tea according to the ancient Gongfu technique.

J

Giant buddha Dafu

Picture: The 71m high Dafu Buddha in Le Shan, Sichuan.

About two hours south from Chengdu in the town of Leshan one can find a 71m high stone buddha, called Dafu, which is carved from the rocks and overlooks the Qingyi river. The UNESCO heritage site features also several temples, a monastery, the Mahao cave tombs and the scenic Haoshang bridge. We roamed for three hours around this huge templex complex and climbed down the stairs to the Buddha's feet. For more pictures of the Buddha click here: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/sichuan_china/index.html

Things to see in Chengdu

Picture: A tourist village near the Wenshu Yuan Temple.

Besides being a big and booming town, Chengdu has lots to offer in terms of historical sites. For a good mix of traditonal but refurbished Chinese architecture, combined with shopping, go visit the Wenshu Yuan neighbourhood. It has a still active monastery and dozens of souvenir shops as well as restaurants as tea houses. For traditional teahouses and a nice park setting I recommend a visit to the Cultural Park next to another shopping street called Qintai road (where the Wen Jun Mansion Hotel and many hot pot restaurants are located). Du Fu's park, a memorial to China's most famous poet from the Tang Dynasty, offers traditional Chinese architecture in a lush park setting. Among our favorite temples is the  Qingyang Daoist temple and monastery situated in Cultural Park. The monastery is still active and one can see Daoist monks with their beards, long hair and hats. We feasted at a delightful vegetarian restaurant in the temple. And last but not least we visited Wuhou Ci, a shrine to a minister from the Three Kingdoms period. The vast complex of shrines, gardens and a mausoleum is particularly recommendable for its architecturally stunning courtyards, overflowing bonsai garden and traditional structures. Right next to Wuhou Ci is Jin Li street where Chinese traditional snacks and souvenirs could be had after a visit to the temple. If you want to try the "three bombs" and see and eat candy art, this is the place.

For more pictures of Chengdu click here: http://easteatswest.typepad.com/photos/sichuan_china/index.html

Picture: Du Fu's thatched cottage park in Chengdu.

Philippinos abroad

Picture: Philippino hotel band in Chengdu, China.

Two things have not changed since my last visit to China: every Sundays Philippinas, who are mostly employed as domestic workers in Hong Kong, congregate at the Statue Square on their day off in order to play cards and chat with each other. And Philippino bands still play the most recent pop tunes in hotel bars across China (we listenend to some in a hotel in Chengdu).

Picture: Domestic helpers from the Philippines in Hong Kong.