China Memories

Watching the coverage on yesterday's earthquake in Chengdu has been difficult, and a bit surreal, for me, as I have such good memories of my time there in 1991. It was right after my two-year stint in Japan, when I wasn't quite ready to head back to Canada yet.

My two closest friends there (who were also from Canada) and I spent a few days in Hong Kong together, then they headed off to their own adventure in Kenya. I made a quick trip to Macao and, from there, took an overnight ferry to Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton). I spent a few days there, then took a train north to Beijing, and worked my way down the western side of the country—including a few days in Chengdu—before returning to Hong Kong. All in all, I was in China for about a month.

It was one of the most difficult places I'd ever travelled, but also one of the most fascinating. Some of my favourite memories are visiting the Great Wall after the official hours, so I was one of only 8 people walking along it, marveling at its sheer grandeur; renting a bike in Beijing and riding it to the magnificent Forbidden City; having a discussion—in English—with three college students about the Tiananmen Squre protests, which had happened only two years earlier.

But the best souvenir I've ever brought home with me came from Chengdu. I was staying in a hostel and, one day, when I went out to do some sightseeing, there was a man painting fans outside. This was a very common occurrence in China, but his fans caught my eye because he had several images of stunning dragons. They would be painted in black on a red or white fan, but he also added some highlights in gold to the images, which really stood out.

I asked him if he would paint me a fan with the entire dragon in gold and he said no, because he thought that would be too much. I thanked him and went on my way. The next day when I went out, he stopped me and said he had decided to try it but I shouldn't feel obligated to buy it. Then he showed me the fan. It was GORGEOUS! He could tell right away how much I loved it and I could tell he was pleased with the work as well. So of course I bought it (I think it was around $15 Canadian), ecstatic that I had inspired him to try something new and that I now had a one-of-a-kind fan. (Of course, after my reaction, I'm sure he ended up painting more gold dragons on fans, but I know for a fact that mine was the first!)

As I continued my travels, I was so careful transporting the fan. I would have been so disappointed if anything had happened to it. Fortunately, it was still in perfect condition when I got back home, another month or so later.

I had the fan framed and, since then, it's always been placed in the most prominent spot of whatever living area I had at the time. A picture of the fan is below. (Unfortunately, I'm not a skilled enough photographer to be able to eliminate the reflection in the glass, so this doesn't do it justice at all, but it will give you a general idea of what it looks like.)

My thoughts go out to all the families in Chengdu and the surrounding areas who have lost someone in this terrible tragedy. I wish them all the best in getting through this difficult time.

Blog of the Day

I'm sure my biking experiences in China don't have a lot in common with Jackie Dishner's experiences biking around Arizona. Her blog, BIKE WITH JACKIE, offers insights about overcoming life's obstacles that Jackie learned on the seat of her bike. Her motto is, "BIKE—It's mental, not metal"