World Expo

I went to the World Expo with a friend last week, finally getting a chance to see the US, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Netherlands, Italy, and a bevy of South American country pavilions. The scale and order of the whole affair certainly impressed me, but, to be honest, I was underwhelmed. With all the hype about the Expo (I guess it's only hype if you live in Shanghai), you expect to be blown away with the food, music, culture, and people of other countries. However, it's more like a museum; most countries have a building which they use to display artifacts, to show videos, to sell souvenirs, etc. without offering food samples and having bands play local music as I had expected (and they say I couldn't plan an Expo)

The immense China Pavilion. I've heard that the pavilion gives out tickets when it opens at 9 am with time slots for the rest of the day, but I'm sure people start lining up much earlier. Needless to say, I didn't see the inside. My friend and I arrived at the Expo around 2 pm and stayed until its close at 10:30 pm. I heavily doubted this strategy, but it ended up working for us. We only stood on one line over 15 minutes, which was Italy for 35 minutes (granted, a friend works for the US pavilion so she got us into the VIP entrance). However, other students have had stories of waiting in one line for an hour and a half, and newspapers have said that some lines have grown up to four to five hours.

Haibao, which means treasure of the sea, is the Expo's mascot (the picture is from Google). The meaning is an obvious reference to Shanghai, which is using this Expo to become a modern city on the world stage, much as Beijing used the Olympics. Shanghai's tourist destinations are overflowing with Haibaos in whatever form you can imagine them, but surprisingly the Expo had a muted Haibao presence. Its (his, her?) figure is based on the Chinese character 人, pronounced ren, which means people. However, most of my friends are still of the opinion that it's a drop of toothpaste or Gumby.

The ceiling of a room in the Brazil pavilion. Brazil had many interactive screens to learn about the country and to see videos of its land. However, your time at any screen was limited by the hordes of people peeping over your shoulders. For this reason, each pavilion is a mix of a museum and entertainment center. They want to educate you about their country but quickly enough so that they can cycle through the next group of visitors waiting in line. Brazil did a decent job due to its graffiti art and large four-sided video screen in another room.

A sign in the Chile pavilion. Chile was unique from the other pavilions, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. They had a wall depicting an apartment building with unique scenes of daily life in each window; their message seemed to be that we need to put more effort into understanding our neighbors and each other. Obviously, the message had a lot more to do with modernity than Chile itself, but we'll forgive that point. To make up for it, they had a well with a camera of someone in Chile since the country is exactly opposite Shanghai on the globe.

The Panama pavilion. Joining several Central and South American countries, Panama was housed in a building with several other pavilions. Unfortunately, this picture was the extent of the pavilion, which was the size of half of a basketball court. My first reaction was ridicule, but I soon stopped to think about the Expo's value for individual countries.

Unless you're a country like the US or Australia about which the Chinese people are curious, the Expo probably isn't worth it, not just in dollar terms but also in good will and international relations terms. The Expo is about exposing your country to the Chinese people, but at the end of the day, the Expo is about China, its ability to host a Expo and to build such an immense pavilion. Chinese people obviously formed the bulk of Expo-goers, and many seemed to be from outside Shanghai. They may look at the Peru or Mexico pavilions and get their Expo passbook stamped with the country's name, but what they're going to remember is the pride of walking into the China pavilion, the curiosity of walking into the US pavilion, the spectacle of the Saudi Arabia or Russia pavilions. I'm mixing up many storylines in this paragraph, but it is interesting to think about the Expo from each POV: the Chinese visitor, China itself, large countries like the US, small countries like Panama, the thousands of Chinese citizens whose houses were re-located to secure this space, the staff in each pavilion, the distant government of each country, etc. What does the Expo accomplish? What is its purpose? Different things for each actor. Is it worth it for each of them? No idea.

A screen in the Canada pavilion. The theme of the Expo is "Better City, Better Life", which relates to urban sustainability and environmental consciousness. Most pavilions displayed a country's efforts towards sustainability, future plans, etc. at least in some form. These plans were heartening, but they seemed a bit overdone. What percentage of these plans are actually being implemented around the world? After all, we are in China where a carbon-neutral hotel can be built for foreign Expo visitors with a horribly polluting factory located, I'm sure, less than 50 km away. By no means am I saying that the emphasis was hypocritical (after all, China is attempting to address its environmental problems in much larger ways than Western media lets on), but it seemed as if the atmosphere was celebrating these so-called conquered challenges rather than acknowledging the immense work ahead.

I'll quickly mention a point a class speaker raised last week. Environmentalism is intricately tied into modernity, the image of progressiveness. The Shanghai Tower, which will be the second-tallest building in the world when completed, is billed as a sustainable building with wind turbines and rainwater collection. The speaker's point was that countries used to compete on the height of their buildings, the time required to put a man on the moon, etc. Now another element of that competition is sustainability, why else would they add those features to the world's second-tallest building? You could even say that sustainability is in vogue. Whether environmentalism for competition or modernity sake is a bad thing, you decide for yourself

Glasses I temporarily took from a vendor outside the US pavilion. Call it patriotism, call it unsophisticatedness, call it whatever, but I loved the US pavilion. Like Chile, it was unique in having a message, but unlike Chile, the message was intricately related to the US. The pavilion tried to humanize Americans, to say that we respect China as equals and that we can work together to achieve common goals like sustainability. It was over the top at times, but I still loved it for what it was trying to do.

The pavilion was a series of three videos in different rooms. In the first video, random Americans try to speak Chinese phrases and utterly fail. It could be seen as offensive, but I think people understood it was meant to be amusing. The second video was an amalgamation of Americans from Kobe Bryant to schoolchildren to businesswomen to Obama. They spoke on different themes, but the takeaway seemed to be our ability to collaborate with China and our respect for its culture. Obama's words made me cringe a little, but they were certainly on point about expanding relations, both diplomatic and personal, between two of the world's most powerful countries and richest cultures. The third video was silent and showed a girl's perseverance to build a garden in a vacant lot with the help of her neighbors. As you can tell, the creators didn't leave much room for misinterpretation, especially when they included a Chinese neighbor. The fourth room displayed the pavilion's corporate sponsors (it was entirely privately funded).

The Netherlands pavilion. Of the pavilions that were collections of artifacts without any message (all the countries I saw except Chile and the US), I liked the Netherlands the most. Why? Well, they had the most artifacts. There was a solar-powered car, Van Gogh paintings, clocks, plastic lamb, brief plaques on science inventions, etc. With its odd winding structure, this pavilion was quite an experience.

The Italy pavilion. Even though it was the longest line of the day, it was certainly worth it. From the architecture to the fashion to the Ferraris to the pasta, it's easy to forget how much Italy has going for it. The current economic and political situation may not be hopeful, but the pavilion certainly didn't reflect it. The pavilion was an airy, pleasant walk-through that advertised the 2015 World Expo in Milan on your way out.

On the whole, the Expo was one of those things-you-have-to-do-if-you're-in-town experiences. I didn't think it was amazing, but it was pleasant and memorable. The content of the pavilions raised many questions about sustainability, international relations, Chinese views, the impact on Shanghai, etc. Like everyone else, I conveniently ignored them as I raced to the next pavilion

Yangshuo

NYU gave us a week-long holiday the week of National Day, Oct 1, the day in 1949 when Mao officially founded the People's Republic in China through a ceremony in Tiananmen Square. Most people in China have holiday during the Golden Week of Oct 1 - Oct 7, but we were able to miss the crowds and expensive tickets by travelling earlier. 30 students went to Yangshuo, a scenic destination for Chinese tourists in the southern province of Guangxi.

Yangshuo was gorgeous. These hills were the background for the entire trip, you can't even call them hills because they were quite steep and seemed to have plopped down from the sky without any need for a slope connecting to the rest of the land.

Our first adventure was to take a mud bath and sit in the hot springs of a cave located in one of these hills. The experience was far from authentic, the mud bath was a 20 sq foot vat of 3-foot deep "mud" and the hot springs seemed like they could be artificially heated. Nonetheless, the experience was noteworthy for the bus trip to the cave. Our bus was one of the most run-down vehicles I've ever ridden in. The bus stalled several times in the road, the suspension seemed defunct, and the windows rattled as we drove over the dirt paths. Everyone walked off smarting from the bumps but relieved to have made it safely to the cave.

The next day we rode on bamboo rafts for at least an hour down one of the rivers in Yangshuo. The raft ride was incredibly relaxing. The experience reminded me of Venice's gondolas, with Chinese characteristics (though the price of Venice's gondolas dissuaded me from trying one). In this picture, the stall in the foreground is a lady selling refrigerated drinks and snacks to passersby. The drivers stopped at nearly all the stalls since they got a cut of the profits.

Slight falls had been created in the river where locals took pictures and tried to sell them to you. The locals had set up computers, photo printers, and all kinds of electrical equipment in the middle of the river on bamboo stalls. I didn't buy any pictures, but I was certainly impressed by the efficiency of the operation.

After the bamboo raft ride and lunch, we went hiking. This picture doesn't do justice to the magnificent view of a village and nearby hills that we had. Steps had been cut into the hill so it wasn't a real hike as much as it was real-life Stairmaster. This made it easier going up, but the steps were slippery so it made it harder going down. Quite a few people tumbled, and I came pretty close, but I managed to claw onto my friends and trees to keep my balance.

After the hike, we took a 12-mile bike ride through the fields of Yangshuo back to the hotel. Living in NYC, London, and Shanghai, I'd forgotten the beauty of biking.

That night, we went to a light show on the lake. It was colorful and spectacular, but unfortunately, none of us could follow the plot in Chinese. An interesting note here is the amount of people in the production. Literally hundreds of performers acted as peasants in the production, not to mention the back-stage lighting and costume crews. Everyone knows that labor is cheap in China, but the show brought to light (pun intended) the "Throw people at the problem" mentality instead of the "Throw machines and technology at the problem" mentality of America. Broadway shows can have large casts too, but they rely on a few performers' voices and acting to bring the show to life. The light show seemed to rely on the immensity of the cast.

The next day, we went to a food market in case we wanted to buy any food for our afternoon cooking class. I should've expected the horrible treatment of the animals, but it still shocked me. Thinking about the way the merchant tore a chicken out of the cage by the neck and slammed it down to kill it still makes me cringe. Apparently, there was a dog section that I thankfully didn't see where dogs were hanging by their hind legs and being skinned. Granted Americans don't eat as much dog meat, but I'm sure much of the same brutality occurs in our country, in marginally better conditions for the animals. Anyway, let's move on

Our cooking class was a lot of fun. We used a wok and large quantities of oil (the Chinese instructor kept telling us we weren't using enough oil) to make ourselves lunch. I made steamed stuffed vegetables (not shown), lotus roots with cashews, stir-fried green beans, and beer-fried tofu, shown from left to right. We added several vegetables with the lotus roots and the tofu to liven up the dishes. It was one of the most satisfying meals I've had in China.

Afterwards, we went rock climbing on an actual hill. I had never rock-climbed outdoors before. More so than indoor rock-climbing, the experience really tested your forearms. The instructor told us we should rely on our legs to push off and shouldn't be using our upper bodies. Maybe that's why I couldn't make it to the top

The next day, we visited an elementary school. The Chinese students were extremely nervous when talking to us, mainly because they spoke little English and we spoke little Chinese. However, they did easily recognize New York and Lady Gaga. With the help of the teachers, we tried to teach them some US geography, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Heads Shoulders Knees and Toes. Usually a couple brave students would start the conversation with you, a group would assemble out of curiosity, and a picture would be taken. When a picture was taken, the Chinese students had a field day crowding around and putting up their peace signs.

The experience was probably more useful for us than for the students. The school was located in a rural village outside Yangshuo, but it was the cleanest building that we passed in the town. Tuition and boarding was provided by the state so students only paid for food. They often came from 5 - 10 miles away from the school so they lived there during the week and went home on weekends. Most classes, even in third grade, were learning English though I don't think I saw any computers. The whole experience revealed the value of education both for the state who paid for the school and for the families who would send their children there during the week.

All halt, water buffalo crossing. After the school, we went to the home of our tour guide's parents to have lunch. On our way there, a herd of water buffalo were coming in the other direction on our path. We had to duck down on the side of the road to avoid being hit. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the herd as it moved past us.

Rural China from the home of our tour guide's parents

The last day, we went to rice terraces a couple hours outside of Yangshuo. The terraces are harvested right after the National Day Golden Week so we came at the perfect time to see their yellow ripeness. The entire hillside and the surrounding hillsides had the same pattern of terraces cut into them. There was a stone path to walk around the terraces which provided great views of the surrounding landscapes.

The Yao minority that lives by the rice terraces. Yao women never cut their hair during their lives since long hair symbolizes longevity. They carry their hair in an intricate bun and are not allowed to expose it until they get married. The interaction with them reminded me of the Savage Reservation from A Brave New World. Though the Yao and other minorities retain aspects of their culture and their language, the superficial aspects are accentuated for tourists like me while they are increasingly forced by economics to assimilate into Han Chinese lifestyles.

China recognizes 55 ethnic minorities, though there are hundreds of other ones. Minorities collectively account for less than 10% of China's populations. Official education and policy says that these minorities have been a part of China for hundreds of years, but there is much uncertainty about their actual involvement in the Chinese state, the level of central government involvement in their lives vs. self-government, their assimilation in the future, etc. Unlike America's minorities, a significant portion of older minorities cannot even read or speak Mandarin Chinese well, they have effectively retained their own languages.

Overall, Yangshuo was an excellent trip, much more activity-centered than history-centered. It is a bit out of the way for foreign tourists, but many Chinese tourists visit, which added authenticity to some aspects of the trip. For example, the city shut down power for 12 hours one day. Our hotel's generator kept lights and hot water running, but they had to shut off A/C and TV, which I doubt would ever happen in Shanghai or Beijing. I'm glad NYU organized this trip out of the city with all its local activities, I certainly couldn't have planned it on my own

Mid-Autumn Festival

China's Mid-Autumn Festival is based on the lunar calendar, but this year it fell on Sept 22, last Wednesday. According to my Chinese teacher, the legend is built around Houyi, a famous archer, and Chang'e, his faithful wife. 10 suns used to exist, though each day only one sun would encircle the Earth. One day, all 10 encircled the Earth, making it too hot. Upon the Emperor's command, Houyi shot down nine suns, earning a pill that granted him eternal life in the process. He didn't want to take the pill since he wanted to stay united with his wife Chang'e. One day, Peng, one of Houyi's apprentice archers, tried to steal the pill. Chang'e, knowing that she couldn't defend the pill against Peng, swallowed it. She floated up to the moon and lives there for eternity. Houyi came home to find his wife and the pill gone so he always looks up at the moon to be close to Chang'e. The Mid-Autumn Festival is closely aligned to the equinox when the moon is the fullest and when Chang'e is supposedly most visible.

However, according to Wikipedia, many versions of this legend abound with many contradictions. Anyway, in real life, the government gives all workers a day off for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Since it also coincides with the end of the summer harvest, most people, resting from the harvest or returning home from the cities, spend time with their families enjoying the spectacular moon and eating moon cakes, which are synonymous with the Festival. In some sense, the Mid-Autumn Festival seems similar to Thanksgiving with the moon cakes being the turkey. To be fair, there is no "Thanks", football, or Black Friday involved (actually, without those three things, I'm not sure how much of Thanksgiving is left)

Personally, I didn't like the taste of moon cakes, they were bland and dry. However, don't say that to an Asian person (The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in different forms in Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, etc). The grocery stores have immense and elaborate boxes of moon cakes that are probably exchanged as gifts. Even NYU plied us with piles of mooncakes, but I'm sure Chinese families are worse. My Taiwanese roommate went to see a family friend and came back with a large box of mooncakes, which he's been attempting to eat for the past week.

Mooncakes come in a variety of flavors, including red bean, taro, pineapple, dried fruits, etc. You can even get them in sweetened contemporary flavors like chocolate. I'm not sure what the inscriptions on the top mean, but you usually cut mooncakes into four pieces and eat them with tea. If you've never tried one, good luck finding one in the States, ask an Asian friend.

Pride and Respect

I'm behind on my posts, I have break this week for National Day (Oct 1) so we visited Yangshuo, a scenic area in southern China, for five days and spent a day at the World Expo. However, I'll have to put those posts on hold; instead, I want to share a passage from a book that I'm reading.

I'm reading China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power by Rob Gifford. I'm a little over halfway done with it, but I would already recommend it. Rob Gifford, the author, is an English-born NPR journalist who has spent six years reporting in China. In the book, he travels along Route 312, somewhat analogous to Route 66, which runs for nearly 3,000 miles and cuts through China from the east in Shanghai to the northwest by the Kazakhstan border. The book describes his travels, his talks with locals along Route 312, and his observations over the past six years.

Nearing the Gobi Desert, Gifford asks a local what he wants most from the West. Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, translates all the conversations in the book. The local's response is what jolted me and inspired this post. From the book, "He (the local) doesn't hesitate. 'What we want most is respect', he blurts out, as though he has waited all his life for a foreigner on a bus to ask him this question. 'Yes we want respect more than anything. I want to go abroad, like you people when you come here. You come to China, and we respect you because you are wealthy and civilized. That's what I want too. I want to go to your country, and be respected, and get a good job there and not be looked down on'".

I'm not saying this is the best passage in the book, but it hit home for me. I went to a lecture about a month ago where a speaker from the British Council was talking to local Chinese students about the need to study abroad. When he said that the aim is not to eliminate differences or to bring Western culture to the East, but to understand cultures that we haven't grown up in, to celebrate differences and to enjoy them all, the students assertively nodded.

One of the most effective, and easiest and cheapest, things America can provide China in order to improve bilateral relations is respect. Of course, this applies to nearly all countries and all forms of international relations. However, from my perspective, it applies more acutely to China. China has seen unprecedented growth in the last two decades, which is all the more impressive when you consider that China's economy was shred to pieces under Mao and was only restarted in the late 1970s under Deng Xiaoping. It has progressed so far and so quickly within that timespan. However, it seems like very little recognition or respect is bestowed on China by much of America. We focus on their maltreatment of minorities like the Uighurs and Falun Gong without talking about the economic benefits for those minorities, we focus on their censorship without talking about the access to the Internet and the road out of poverty laid out for millions, we focus on the Communist Party without talking about how many of its recent actions are market-oriented. I don't mean to excuse all the things that the government is doing wrong, but I want to point out that there are things that it is doing right and that deserve respect.

By respect, I mean that government officials, including Obama, need to acknowledge publicly China's progress. The USA Pavilion at the World Expo was a huge step in the right direction in my opinion, but again, later blog post. By respect, I also mean that American tourists need to engage in Chinese culture and do more than visit Shanghai, eat at KFC, speak English, etc. while in China. Hopefully you agree with me, I'll stop ranting and get off my high horse (after all, I ate dinner at Papa John's last night). However, I think the point about rising Chinese pride/nationalism and the inherent need for respect, most notably from America, is hard to over-emphasize.