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E. Anne Gates Applin Assistant Professor Dept. of Computer Science |
1212 Williams Center Ithaca College Ithaca, NY, 14850-7251 (607) 274-7306 Contact: |
Anne's China Adventure
About this SiteSince I took 18 rolls of film on this expedition it will take me quite some time to complete this project. All pictures are in jpg format. This site will be under construction until this notice disappears. Most historical facts presented herein have been taken from the text China: A New History by John King Fairbank (1994). It is a great book for anyone who wishes to know more about the history, policy, and current political climate in China. Some facts were taken from the tourist maps of the cities, and some from the Encyclopædia Britannica. Introduction In April 1995 invitations went out to professionals all over the United States. The invitation came from People To People, an organization founded by President Eisenhower in 1956 to promote world peace by bringing people with similar interests together to discuss common problems and strategies. People working together without the problems of politics or national policy. Those of us who answered the invitation took part in an adventure in a foreign country. For many of us it was the first sojourn that took us off of the North American continent. From October 6, 1995 until October 19, 1995, this group of computer science educators, software and media specialists toured schools and sights in China by invitation of the China Association of Science and Technology (CAST). It was an experience that none of us will ever forget. Index
Notes on the Chinese LanguageThere is a difference between written Chinese and spoken Chinese, just as the pronunciation of some words varies from area to area in the U.S., but the problem with a language like Chinese is much more profound. Chinese is a syllabic language. They have no 'alphabet'. They have characters that represent each phonetic syllable that is possible to pronounce. On top of that is that the spoken language is also tonal. That is, each syllable changes meaning depending on the tone used. For any single character in Chinese, there may be up to 4 different meanings depending on how you say it. The sound difference is very subtle, thankfully the Chinese are very understanding when the unsuspecting tourist attempts to form a sentence. I think they are pleased that we try. A student who learns English has only to learn the sound combinations made by the 26 letters that we use. By the third grade, a Chinese student will have mastered some 2500 characters of the over 6000 that make up their language. While the written Chinese stays constant all over the country, the spoken versions of the characters vary from area to area. There are over 300 dialects spoken in the country with Mandarin being the most wide spread. Another problem with translation is that there have been several Westernizations of Chinese over the years. By this I mean that several authorities have 'spelled' Chinese using different rules for the spelling. Peking is the Wade-Giles Romanization of the city name, the Pinyin spelling is Beijing. So when you see inconsistencies in the spelling of a place it is not necessarily that one of them is wrong - it just depends on who 'spelled' it. Pinyin is newer and is widely accepted as closer to the true Mandarin pronunciation.
Return to Page Index Chinese FoodIf you have had really good Chinese food here in the U.S. and have liked it you will not starve in China. Chinese meals come in several courses (up to 19) so you are bound to find plenty to eat at any restaurant. You must be adventurous and flexible and never ask what something is until after you have tasted it. Rice is part of every meal including some rather interesting 'rolls' that are served with breakfast. Lo Mein which is of course the original spaghetti noodle, taken back to Europe with Marco Polo, comes with various sauces and with a wide variety of vegetables and meats. Wheat is only grown in the north so the farther south you travel the less Lo Mein you will see. For meats you will see chicken, duck, pork, eggs, fish and in the south eels (which are very good!). I can truthfully say that I enjoyed everything that was served except for the squid and that is just a matter of personal taste, I will try anything once. I did not see a single egg roll anywhere but spring rolls were on the breakfast buffet in Hangzhou and were on the menu at the Hard Rock Cafe in Beijing stuffed with huge prawns - they were marvelous. Beer, Coke, Sprite and bottled water are easy to come by at lunch and dinner. Coffee and Tea are also available. Diet Coke is very hard to find. Our western addiction to the morning caffeine rush is difficult to please however. If you are prone to drinking vast quantities of coffee in the morning I suggest taking coffee singles and a powdered creamer with you - you can give in to your addiction in your room easier than getting a second cup at breakfast.
BeijingIt is worth noting that it is proper to refer to the famous Roast Duck as Peking Roast Duck because the recipe predates the use of the newer pronunciation. Historical PerspectiveThe construction of the city of Ji began in 771 B.C. It served as a capital or regional administrative center and a center for cultural exchange for the next one thousand years. In 938 the name was changed to Yanjing and it served as a secondary capital of the Liao Dynasty. From 1115 to 1911 it served as capital to the Kin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. The Yuan (or First) dynasty was that of Khubilai Khan who became emperor of China in 1271 after the Mongol conquest. The Mongolian rule of China lasted until Zhu Yuanzhang and other Chinese patriots overthrew the foreign government in 1368 and founded the Ming Dynasty. Modern BeijingBeijing is a city of 11 million people. The major mode of transportation is evidenced by the fact that there are 8 million registered bicycles in the city. All bikes must be registered and no one under 12 years of age can ride a bicycle. During the day the city streets are crowded. The wide bicycle lanes full of bikes with the traffic lanes full of buses and taxis sandwiched between them is an awe inspiring sight. Some streets have barriers between the bike lane and the vehicle lanes but not all of them. The Forbidden City that once housed the emperors of China is at the heart of the city. Touring the Forbidden City is great fun. There is an audio cassette guided tour narrated by 'The Saint' himself, Roger Moore. What a treat to have that wonderful voice as a personal tour guide surrounded by such magnificence. Tiananmen Square is the area between the first and second gates to the old city, which now begins at the Meridian or third gate. Tiananmen Square is the largest public assembly area of its kind. The area will hold 500,000 people, a group comparable to those who gathered at Yasger's Farm in 1969. Points of Interest
HangzhouAbove there is heaven, below there are Hangzhou and Suzhou Hangzhou (pronounced Hung Joe) is the capital of Zhehiang Provence. It is a small city of 5.3 million. The "home of silk and satin", the city proper hugs the contours of Xi (West) Hu (Lake). Xihu is without a doubt one of the most tranquil places I have ever visited. The lake is quite large (5.6 sq. Km) and has parks liberally scattered all the way around it and hills on 3 sides. The are 5 bridges or causeways that divide the lake into sections and there are islands in the lake. Historical NotesThe city was first built in 221 B.C. and took its present name in 589. Marco Polo visited here in 1280 and described it as the most magnificent city paradise in the world. In addition to being one of the largest producers of silk in the world, Hangzhou has enjoyed the patronage of artists, calligraphers, poets, and philosophers. Because of her beauty the city has been a center for the arts for centuries. Points of Interest
ShanghaiShanghai is situated on the mouth of the Yangzi River in the same latitude as New Orleans and Suez over 40 miles from the sea. It is a city of 13 million people, the largest city in China and one of the largest in the world. It was the first Chinese port opened to western trade (Treaty of Nanking, 1842) and at one time it was the industrial center for all of China. Today, Shanghai is China's leading center of higher education and research. There are 44 institutions of higher education located in the city and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is headquartered here as well. Historical NotesShanghai emerged from the fishing village of Shen or Hu Tu during the Sung Dynasty (960-1126). The city's main industry was cotton and silk. Following the Treaty of Nanking, an area of the city known as the Bund was developed on the banks of the Huang-p'u River. There you can see the trade center buildings of each of the western nations who exported from Shanghai. The mix of architectural styles; British, French, Russian, American - the grandeur of the buildings themselves - is quite striking. Points of Interest
Staying Healthy in ChinaIf you have done any traveling, you know that the further you get from your 'normal' environment the less likely you are to be immune to the microbial flora and fauna in the area you are visiting. There is nothing worse than traveling far away and then being sick for days. I will offer only one tip for travel to China. Ask your physician to call the AMA and ask for a travel advisory for China or check the travel advisories at the web site for the CDC. At the time we were traveling, the AMA had 2 recommendations: taking broad spectrum antibiotics daily as a preventative measure; and inoculation against Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A is spread through casual contact - something as harmless as eating a piece of fruit handled by an infected person. The vaccine is relatively new and in this age of information you only learn about the things you need, so your doctor may very well be unfamiliar with it. The antibiotics are a must. To say, "Don't drink the water in China", tells only part of the problem. The Chinese don't drink the water in China. Bottled water is available everywhere and your hotel will probably have thermal carafes of hot and cold water available in your room. The hardest thing to remember is that if you can't drink that lovely tap water, you also can't brush your teeth with it or lick your lips while you shower. The easiest way to remember not to use it when you brush your teeth is to put a glass full of good water in the sink when you brush. As for the shower, keep a dry cloth handy so that you can dry your face immediately after washing it. I bet I forgot and rinsed my toothbrush 3 or 4 times during those 16 days, but the daily dose of antibiotics kept that from sending me to bed.
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