Beauty of China

I was in one of the most picturesque places in China this past week. Maybe it's just that I live in a big city I often forget how many other places there are in China that are worth going to. China is a vast country with amazing landscape scenes. Here are a few I have had the chance to enjoy....

Number 8 at Yan Ji Golf Club (North East China)
Tianjin Great Wall
Three Gorges on the Yangtze River
Unrestored Great Wall North of Beijing
XinJiang Autonomous Region
Anhui Province Countryside
Beijing Summer Palace
Countryside in Anhui Province
Tea Plants on top of a mountain near a bamboo forest

Haircut

I love my haircuts in China... 10 kuai. For those in the States, that is a whopping $1.43. You can't beat it. Complete with a wash. Not only a wash but a host of other stories. I go to the same place each time. There is a little barbershop in my neighborhood. The people there are always so talkative.

Today, while I was getting my haircut, I remembered they are from North East China. I will be traveling there next week. So, I asked them what I should do and what I should eat. I will be on the border of North Korea, so they mentioned I need to go to the border. (I am looking forward to that as I hope someday I can do some golf training in NK. For those that think it is crazy, they are building courses there now). What I thought was interesting was they said I HAVE to eat the dog meat there. They say it is so delicious and fresh. And, for some reason, when you eat dog meat in the winter it keeps you warm. As I was sitting there listening to them talking about this, it was as if they said I should have an Iowa steak or crab in Charleston (there was nothing trivial or interesting about it). So... guess I better try. Check back for an update when I get back :)

Another day as I was getting my haircut a Korean Ayi came in. (Ayi stands for Aunt). She lives in my little neighborhood and son is learning Chinese at a local university. My haircut 师傅 "master" tells me she comes in each day and dances. At first I thought he was joking. Then, all of a sudden, she turned on the TV to the wonderful Chinese programming and started up. It was a sight to be held as this 60 year old Korean danced. Not only did she dance but she had made some amazing Korean food that she continued to feed us each by hand. After my haircut, i tried speaking to her in my Chinese and her broken English... it was pretty funny.

Just a few stories of the crazy things that make me laugh everyday I live here...

"Little Emperors"

This term is something I deal with on a daily basis at work. Here in China they are known as "小皇帝“。 This a term many are using for China's youth. They use the connotation "Emperor" because families in China only have one child and have a lot of hope for that child. In order for that hope to come true, parents these days are doing almost anything they can to give their kids the best opportunity to succeed. Children these days in China are very busy. Several kids I teach will have a schedule like the following... 7am: go to class 4pm: out of class after school: cram class and extra-curricular activities including: English, Piano, Dance, Violin, and yes.... now Golf. After extra-curricular activities... homework. If you play golf in China, you are known as someone with money. I believe parents believe that golf gives the children a good opportunity in the future to make more friends and maybe play good enough to be a Tiger Woods. It is interesting to meet so many parents and their children and see how they interact. This is a small part of my world in the Middle Kingdom.

China Daily Article
NY Times Article on China's Little Emperors
CNN Money Article