Touring Xiamen

Linda on the left, and her friend Betty

Following the dumpling party, my new friend Linda offered to show me around Xiamen Island, and I gladly accepted. So many parts of Xiamen I would never have seen if I hadn't had this wonderful day tour. Linda invited one of her friends, and an added surprise was that we got to visit the city by car. The friend's brother-in-law was the driver, and he just drove us from place to place to place all day. First time I've been in a private car in China! I haven't written about my horrific bus experiences yet, but believe me, a day in a car here is beyond luxury!

I never imagined that I would be touring Xiamen with three Chinese people who speak basically no English. Sweet Linda had downloaded an app that does translation to her iPad the night before, and we actually managed quite well with that.

It was 9:30 in the morning when we got started, and Linda asked me if I'd had breakfast. I said yes, and she replied that we would start our tour with a special Xiamen snack. I was expecting  some of the special Xiamen cookies filled with red bean paste. But oh my, I was in for a major snack! We pulled up to a tiny what I guess you would call fast fish joint with a line out the door. Linda pointed to a row of seafood in the display case and asked me what I liked. I pointed to most of it -- large shrimp, oysters, calamari, squid -- but then didn't point to the few things I didn't recognize. We sat down in a row at a little bar-like table -- the only free seats in the house, and we each had steaming giant paper bowls of the most delicious fish stew or soup I've ever eaten. Wonderful flavor with just the right amount of spicy, tons of seafood, and Chinese noodles to round out the flavor. As you can see, I was a bit perplexed about how to eat this guy with chopsticks!

In what I have decided is typical Chinese touring fashion, we moved quickly from one spot to the next. I could have spent another half hour lingering over my soup, but left the last of it behind, as we were off to our next activity!

We had planned to visit Xiamen University, but visitors were not allowed in that day because the president of Xiamen was there (that's what I understood via very rough translation). So we were off to visit Nanputuo Temple located on the hill next to Xiamen University. Knowing I was a Christian, they politely asked if it was okay for me to visit a Buddhist temple, and I  replied that I was very interested in visiting it. The site of the temple was quite impressive and expansive. And there were hundreds of people who were there to worship.

Much of the architecture was very beautiful. We climbed way up the mountain, and there were worshipers and every level. 
Our next stop was Calligraphy Square, which is right along the beach. Chinese characters are so graceful, and there was lots of writing to admire here. Loved this inscription on the beach. It is the word for "longevity." And the stone blocks along the path all had inscriptions.

We quickly moved on to one of the beaches where Linda bravely waded into the water while we looked on. Winter has not come to Xiamen yet!

Next we were off to a little ancient village right in Xiamen with all kinds of fun stands and stores to look at. As always, I was fascinated by the food! I didn't try this treat, but it looks like egg shells filled with custard.




Aqua Resort was our next stop. It is a beautiful lake with ducks and birds of all sorts.



We saw numerous couples here taking wedding pictures. Couples go out several days before the wedding, and take pictures in a variety of beautiful dresses and suits. These are not the clothes they wear on their actual wedding day. If I understand correctly, often the dresses are provided by the photographer.

At one point the words on the translation iPad talked about more food, and I replied that I was still full from the morning "snack." But these sweet people didn't want to end the day without taking me to their favorite fish restaurant. I wasn't sure I could eat another meal, but it ended up being so delicious that I enjoyed every bite!

My favorites were the oyster stew and of course the crab! Oysters are a Xiamen specialty, and I think I would have gone home without tasting them if it wasn't for this outing. We had oysters in soup, in stew, and fried in little clumps that were molded into the shape of a seashell. And the crab... It was delicious. My hosts looked at the live crabs and chose the ones they wanted. They were boiled to perfection, and still piping hot when we ate them. The only challenge was that the crab wasn't cracked! When they put a claw on my plate, I motioned to show that I wasn't sure how to crack it, and they laughed and demonstrated using their back teeth to crack it. Yikes! I've put so much money into my teeth that I would rather go without crab than break a tooth. Feeling a bit trapped, I chomped down gently on it, and it cracked, teeth still intact. Delicious! I tried to use my hands to crack where I could, and tried to be gentle on my teeth. And made a note to myself to buy a nut cracker and keep it in my purse for any time I might encounter a crab.

So in one day, I had two of the best meals I've had in China. And I love that we had such a good time without really speaking to each other. Kindness and smiles go a long way. One of my favorite days!

The Dumpling Party!

Ting Shian (the cooker) and her daughter are on the far left

One day  a few weeks back I was talking to Sunni, one of the girls at Christine's work who is often the go-between between me and the cooker who doesn't speak a word of English. She told me the cooker thought I would like to learn to make dumplings and was offering to come to my house some Saturday to teach me. I said I thought that would be great. And then Sunni explained that actually, the cooker thought it would be good to come with her sister-in-law (who is also our landlord!), who is really good at making dumplings. And the cooker (whose name, by the way, is Ting Shian) also thought it would be fun if all the women in the office came too. Turns out Sunni had already asked around, and everyone could make it the Saturday after next.  This is definitely the easiest way to throw a party -- someone else organizes the guest list, sets the date, gets all the RSVPs, takes care of the entertainment (dumpling making), and the food (dumpling eating), and then tells you you're having a party. I need someone like this when I go back to California!

Chinese meal for 15 in less than two hours

One day last week I was observing the cooker make lunch, and decided I should document how she manages to start at about 10:15, and by 12:00 she has a beautiful Chinese dinner for 15 on the table. Every day she presents us with rice, soup, and four Chinese dishes -- usually some kind of pork, some kind of fish, some kind of greens, and something else like duck, beef, or eggs. Today, that something else was chicken curry, by special request from Christine.

The cooker works quickly and efficiently, and doesn't miss a beat. And here's my effort to follow her! It's a very detailed rundown of what happens, probably way too detailed for most of you. Sorry about that, but it's such an integral part of my months in China that I wanted to remember all the detail.

Adventures on Jinmen Island

My bravery skills got tested last week when I ventured off to Jinmen, a little Taiwanese island off the coast of Xiamen, all by myself. My Chinese visa stipulates that I can only stay in China for 60 days, then I must exit and re-enter, and so on day 55, off I went to Taiwan!

Journey to Big Golden Lake

Christine's co-workers opted to take a weekend trip to the Big Golden Lake Geopark near the city of Tai Ning for their yearly outing, and they were sweet enough to invite me to tag along. I am so amazed by all the kindness shown to me! Nobody gets a trip to China like the one I am experiencing. Just a little disclaimer on this post... There are so many things I might not have understood correctly! My apologies ahead of time for all mistakes. 

The trip started with a three hour train ride... My first time on a Chinese train.  I got a good lesson in how to navigate to the train, and then the right car and the right seat without reading Chinese. Was a modern, fast train, complete with a woman  who cleans as you ride. As she passed, she stopped, took the trash bag out of my seat pocket, and opened it for me. Wonder if she does that for all foreigners who might trash the train.

Xiamen Is Under Construction!

 I think the hardest thing for me to adjust to in Xiamen is the constant noise of drills, sand blasters, gravel trucks, jig saws or hack saws, jack hammers, and many, many other unidentified but very noisy demolition tools! It seems  everything is being torn down or being rebuilt. This demolition job  spilling into the sidewalk just a block from our apartment is a  new project that wasn't there yesterday!

Our apartment building is just a couple years old, and some of the apartments are being occupied for the first time. Apparently, when you buy a new apartment you just buy the shell, and it's up to you to build the inside the way you want it. So, that's is what's been happening for the last month in the apartment below us. And then there's the apartment above us. We're not sure what they are redoing, but there has been constant drilling and blasting up there for weeks, even though the apartment is occupied.

Whirlwind Days in Shanghai

Shanghai -- by population, the largest city in the world with 23.5 million people for us to rub shoulders with!  We spent Saturday and Sunday exploring, and were were amazingly successful at finding our way and not getting lost in  the crowd.  The center of  Shanghai is everything modern, with exquisite stores and breath taking skyscrapers.The subway seems decades ahead of the Paris metro. Beautiful, fast, clean, and easy for non-Chinese speakers to get around. It's very different than Xiamen, where we still haven't even begun to master the bus system!

We debated whether to go the five-star route for a pricey hotel or risk something a bit more "Chinese." After consulting Trip Advisor and China Tours, we settled on "New Harbor Service Apartments" right in the center of downtown Shanghai, and we were not disappointed. Not five star, but we were pleasantly surprised by the roominess, the cleanliness, the delightful staff, and the fun (but smoggy) view from the 18th floor. But oh how the Chinese LOVE their hard beds! It's pretty much like sleeping on the floor or sleeping on a rock. The majority of tourists in China are Chinese, and that's who hotels cater to, except 5-star hotels that tend to cater to westerners and have soft beds. My solution: I'm want to buy a little air mattress to tuck it in my suitcase!

The skyline, the gardens, the ancient town of Qi Bao right within Shanghai, the Bund. So many favorite moments that I don't want to forget.

We started Saturday morning with a long subway ride to the ancient water town of Qi Bao, which is right on the subway line. This little part of Shanghai is a stark contrast to the very upscale shopping in the center of town. We were delighted to find the same rounded bridges that we'd seen in Zhouzhuang.We loved exploring the streets and waterways.

Zhouzhuang, the Ancient Water Town

For our first venture outside of Xiamen, we flew to Shanghai for a long weekend.  So much to see, so little time to see it! 

We started on Friday with a day in Zhouzhuang, an ancient town an hour and a half outside of Shanghai where rivers and lakes abound. We saved ourselves a few hundred dollars by taking a tour bus from Shanghai with a Chinese guide rather than an English-speaking guide. It made for a fun bus ride with all Chinese tourists. The very enthusiastic guide had a loud microphone that kept us awake for the whole bus ride, although we understood nothing! We had read up on the city before we left home, and there were some signs in English, so once we got to town we could find our way around.

We got off the bus and took this boat across the lake to get to the town. How cute is that? The boat is set up with tables to sit around, and everybody else pulled out their food and had quite a meal. We may have been foodless, but we drank in lots of beauty and enjoyed sights we had never even imagined.
The winding rivers, stone bridges, and willowy trees have a very relaxing beauty. 













Zhouzhuang's history goes back more than 900 years, and many of the houses built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties are still standing with their courtyards and carved stone gateways. The roofing is fascinating! Loved the carving on the walls.

The stone bridges that link the houses on either side of the stream date back to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties too. Bridge after bridge,  the reflection in the water forms a lovely circle.










Loved these narrow passageways.
Zhouzhuang  is very commercialized, and we had fun at the little shops. We came home with posters, purses, and pillows! The food was very fun to look at, but we passed on these eggs and  few other unidentified items. We did buy some very nice jasmine tea. And Christine and I ate a street food version of the specialty -- "glutinous rice balls." Love how they cook their own meal in the street in front of their store. Every wok has a five-quart bottle of oil beside it, and an extra one in stock!

To round out our day, we treated ourselves to a ride on one of the traditional boats. The charming captain broke out into song as he winged us down the waterway. Our day was over way to quickly -- we could have strolled the streets for hours more! Wondering if I will ever be back to Zhouzhuang!  

Food Trucks, Chinese Style

Street food is extremely popular in Xiamen, and most of it is sold from bikes or scooters. I keep discovering new one-wheel food carts  ingeniously attached to bikes. This smattering of images doesn't even scratch the surface of what's available. I took all the pictures within a mile of our apartment. Vendors who sell snacks for school children park right on my street corner every day. Next to the big shopping mall, there are around 40 food vendors with their bikes and carts smashed one against the other. Some of their dishes look super tasty, but there are also peculiar smells that I haven't yet warmed up to. When walking past one or two of the carts, I have to remember to hold my breath, but I have no idea what the offending smell is! Some agree to have their picture taken and some don't, but all are very smiling and friendly to non-Chinese speaking me!

This is probably the simplest setup  I've seen: a very basic bicycle with a block of styrofoam holding sticks of glazed meat. All this balanced on the handlebars! Bikes like this are very, very common, and they do a great business.

Children beg moms to buy them this treat! It looks like a stack of mini candied apples on a stick, but I'm pretty sure it's little meat balls covered in some kind of red glaze. True confessions: I haven't tasted it yet, and it may never happen.

Jimei University

Such a fun evening yesterday having a guided tour of Jimei University! Jimei (the distict of Xiamen that I live in) is known for its university, and so I wanted to visit the campus. Mandy, one of the girls I met at the English Corner, offered to give me a tour. We met up last night, and she brought three of her classmates with her. All four were so sweet to me, so eager to speak English, and so much fun!

Here we are outside a building that has a gym for teachers on the first floor, and dorms and classrooms on t the second floor. Mandy is to the left of me, and Lee and Annie are on the right. For the history lesson, Jimei has what's called a "study village" where kindergarten, primary, middle, high school, and university are all grouped in one location. This study village was founded by Tan Kah Kee in 1913. He is a very important figure in the history of Xiamen, and his work demonstrates the importance of education to the Chinese.

Another Fish Story

Remember the guy in the video removing scales from the live fish? Well, Tuesday night we had a fantastic time dining on one of those fish at his restaurant!

I mentioned that I thought it would be fun to eat there since I greet the owners every day as I walk by. Within days, the gals in Christine's office set up a little dinner party there. So thoughtful! It was of course like no meal I've ever eaten before, and  my pictures don't do it justice.

The big surprise was how the fish was presented. Twas a large fish that had definitely already been through the scaling and cleaning routine, and then split in two from the mouth between the eyes, and all the way down to the tail. It was no doubt seared in a very hot giant wok. Then look how it came to our table in three layers of pans!

The fish of course is in the top, with a generous amount of broth and gorgeous fresh vegetables. The bottom pan is empty and sits directly on the table, and the middle pan has braised coals that stayed red hot during the whole meal. Keeps the fish and the broth boiling hot.

They have this large metal pot on the sidewalk where they heat the coals, and you can see the trays they use for the fish next to them.

We told our Chinese friends to order whatever they I thought we would like, and they did a great job. They thought we would like chicken with peanuts, and they were spot on! Our first chicken that wasn't laced with bones, and Christine, Kynza and I loved it. I think this may become our new go-to chicken dish. Kynza and I have decided we want to order it take-out so we can have chicken at home, although we still need to learn how to say the name of the dish, and we especially need to learn how to say not spicy, since this is a Szechuan restaurant.
 As beautiful as the fish was, the question remains, how do you attack this with chop sticks? There's a ladle for the broth, but where's the knife and fork?? The fish was delicious, but I still haven't mastered deboning and eating fish with chopsticks. Our Chinese hosts delicately use their chopsticks to lift off a morsel. But even if i try to pay attention to what I'm doing, my technique always results in way too many bones in my mouth. My mind wanders back to the demonstrations I've seen of best methods for fileting a fish on a plate using a knife and fork, but this skill is irrelevant in China. The Chinese have no use for a knife, a fork, or even a plate. Chopsticks and a little bowl work just fine. Still have a little over two months to try and master this!

Sights and Sounds of Sunday Morning

On Sunday we left home early enough to take in some of the local color on the walk to church. The rapid transit bus stop is about a 10-minute walk from the church - and the walk is like no walk I've ever walked before. There is a picture begging to be taken at least every two yards. Many of them pass before I get my camera pointed in the right direction, but here is a smattering of the sights and sounds I managed to capture. 


Ladies often use poles to balance heavy loads they are carrying... These women will set up their baskets of fruit and vegetables on the sidewalk. There is an incredible amount of food sold from this type of basket just set out on the sidewalk!

And here is the Xiamen version of a sidewalk cafe... I think they're mostly eating noodles, but the ambiance seems cafe.

These are raw peanuts  put out to dry in the sun on this ledge between the sidewalk and the street.

This guy is selling noodles that look like spaghetti, and the biker is stopping to buy. Not sure if they sell them by the pound or what.

This lady's sidewalk space has  eeked out into the street.

These mushrooms and seaweed and such are for sale right on the edge of the curb, just short of the car. And I don't really see the person selling them anywhere. Maybe they are just drying??

This guy is a cobbler, and his shoe repair business, machine and all, is right out on the sidewalk. He seems to have quite a few customers, with women on either side watching him work.

Why is it I always end up gravitating to the meat market? Some kind of fascination with these unknown cuts of meat!
Just noticed that the cleanliness of the scale is a bit dubious! The pig's foot is pretty classy, but  look at the piece next to it that looks like it has a long tail.  The picture is revealing, but the video is better!

In the first part of the video, the woman is shaving a piece of meat skin with a razor. If you know what the girl in the video is buying, please comment!

Finally we get to the apartments just across from the church. Even though they are a bit run down, almost every window has an air conditioner -- an absolute necessity in the hot, humid, sticky weather!







And then we're inside the church! Sorry, no picture this week. The cultural mix is a real treat, and a clear affirmation that even on the other side of the globe, God's love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me! We sing that with gusto, and quite a lot of African rhythm.