Silent Tao » China Travel

Day 6: Journey to Wudang Shan

Shawn Cartwright — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:14:01 +0000

Chen Xili, Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong’s son, joined us at the hotel for an early morning class. Students reviewed the Eight Directions (Energies) of Tai Chi and he answered their questions. Afterwards, we loaded up our bus and headed to Wudang Shan. It is only about three hours from Xian to Wudang on the new highway, but our driver wanted to allow 5-6 hours in case something happened. He was right. En route, we had to stop at one of the major tunnel while they cleared a wreck. A large cargo truck was overloaded and the rear tires blew out, crunching the rims. The car behind him was traveling too close and rammed into it.

We had about an hour wait, so we filed off the bus and started doing Tai Chi and the Eight Brocades, creating much excitement among the local Chinese. They got out of their cars to watch and take pictures with the group Americans. Since highway-closing wrecks are not uncommon in the tunnel a few enterprising locals have developed an impromptu market. They showed up with baskets of fruit and vegetables for sale. A few even brought cigarettes and Bai Jiao for the stranded travelers! We hope the drivers of the other cars aren’t drinking the rocket fuel, but it probably helps the passengers. Once the road was open we headed to Wudang without incident.

Wudang Shan is a protected sanctuary. The natural beauty of the place is evident even at the base. Mountain peaks ascend into the mist like an ancient Chinese painting, while clear mountain streams cascade down the sides. The Feng Shui of the place is sublime; drawing many Taoist hermits over the centuries looking to complete their immortality training and ascend to the celestial realms. But first they had to get up the mountain. In the old days it was a long slow hike, almost a test of the sincerity of the aspirant. Modern roads and tourist associations have made the climb less physically challenging, but there is a test of a different sort!

A view from the edge of the mountain road in Wudang Shan

We had to leave our tour bus and transfer to the mountain’s small buses. They only allow their trained drivers on the roads since they are narrow and winding, clinging to the cliff with a small rail between you and a shear drop to oblivion. Of course, it doesn’t stop the driver from driving like a bat out of hell. Any mishap is likely to result in the entire bus plummeting thousands of feet down the side of the mountain. They zoom with many near misses but, thankfully, no real hits. They have some unbelievable bus driving Kung Fu! One interesting feature is that the front section of the bus has the seats facing each other. This means that as they whip around the curves, you will be thrown across the bus unless you grab the hand rail above your head for the duration of the 40 minute ride. You would be forgiven for thinking that this was part of the monks’ Eagle Claw training. That is, until you notice that the locals have better sense than to sit in those seats. They graciously leave them for the Lao Wei.

Our hotel is in the mountain, just a five minute walk from the Purple Cloud temple. You would have to be a Taoist priest to live closer than this! The teacher we selected for the group joined us for dinner after we checked into the hotel. Master Wang, a disciple of Master You Xuan De, learned both the Xuan Wu and Zhang Sang Feng school martial lineages. A very personable and open teacher, he has vast knowledge of Taoist cultivation practices as well. Already a master become becoming a Taoist priest, he is a lineage inheritor of the original form of Xing Yi, called Xin Yi, which was passed down to him directly from the Dai (Tai) Family. The Dai family is credited with combining martial arts with Taoist practices to create this awesome internal art.

Day 1: Our Adventurers Arrive!

Shawn Cartwright — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:40:06 +0000

We finalized the arrangements at the hotel for our group. They arrived in three sets throughout the evening, although somewhat delayed by thunderstorms. The storms were welcome as they helped cool off the city and wash the coal dust out of the air. One of the China’s biggest problems is pollution. They have industrialized very quickly, but not quickly enough. Although tourists see the most modern and impressive parts of China, of the 1.3 billion people, .9 billion do not live in the cities. There is not enough electricity or fuel to go around. The Chinese must burn a great deal of coal to fuel their power plants and warm the houses (although its summer, so the house warming thing was not an issues!) However, they still cook with the coal. In terms of development, the pollution is probably comparable to the west when it was just industrializing in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. It will get better, but it will also take a while.

Anyway, the rain was great. Everyone arrived safely and checked into their hotel. We’re staying in the News Plaza Hotel, which was recently built for the Olympics. Located on Chang An Avenue, it is very close to all the major attractions. It housed many of the foreign journalists during the games. It’s a very nice hotel.

The Beginning: DC to Beijing

Shawn Cartwright — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:25:10 +0000

Today we flew to Beijing from Washington DC. United Airlines has a direct flight from Dulles to the Beijing Capital Airport. It’s long. Damn, long, but not as long as it is if you have to change planes. I don’t think I’d go to China every year if I had to change planes every time. Even now the flight is the biggest obstacle to wanting to go. Then there’s the jet lag.

But when you arrive in China, you quickly forget about all of that stuff. Beijing is just such a cool city you can’t help but be excited when you arrive. I know I’ll be able to see my teachers, learn a lot of ancient culture and bring it back to the US for our students and clients.

We arrived a day ahead of the group to make certain everything was ready for them. Travelling on your own to a developing nation is challenging enough, even if you have experience and excellent local support. Taking a group of people adds another level of complexity. We wanted to get the final details of the hotel and ground transportation settled. Fortunately Sissia, the local guide we selected for our trip was on top of everything. After tending to business, a little pleasure was in order. Sissia treated us to dinner a local and very authentic Hunnan restraint. The restaurant was a short walk and bus ride from the hotel. Chinese buses are interesting, but not for the faint of heart. The concept of personal space is very different in China. When you take public transportation, especially the bus, you should be prepared to get cozy with couple dozen newly found friends.

In Beijing and other major cities, the Chinese are now used to seeing Westerners. However, what they are not used to seeing is a tall Lao Wei walking down the street with two lovely Chinese ladies on either arm. That scene creates more than a few very hostile stares. It’s all just part of mingling with the locals. The food was exceptionally good, being authentic Hunnan, the likes of which you cannot find in the US.

Journey to China 2011

Shawn Cartwright — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:43:38 +0000

This weekend TCCII and 20 of our closest friends will be heading to China for an unforgettable travel, learning and training experience. This is no ordinary tourist trip. Sure, we’ll see the Terra Cotta warriors and a few other famous sights. However, we get off the beaten path and enjoy the temples, markets and hangouts of the locals. Along the way, we’ll savor all types of tea, special regional Chinese cuisine, and the famous Peking Duck. Best of all, we’ll train in Qigong, Tai Chi and Yi Jing with some of China’s best teachers.

You’ve heard about the famous Wudang Mountain, now these adventurers will get to see it up close. The bravest might even try the stairs! We know they can do it because Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong and his son Master Chen Xili will toughened them up with Chen Tai Chi in Xian. But there will also be plenty of time to relax with gentle Qigong, meditation and body work.

For those who can’t join us, we invite you to experience it vicariously. You can read our itinerary. We’ll post our activities and, later, pictures and video of our Journey to China!

China Trip 2011

Shawn Cartwright — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 15:35:19 +0000

We’re headed to China and you’re invited! In August of this year we will take ourselves and few fortunate companions on an unforgettable trip to China. This won’t be an ordinary trip… no way, not with us! This will be a training immersion trip designed to experience traditional Chinese arts in the environment in which they were created.

A Taoist Monk practicing horsetail whip on Wudang Shan

Of course, you’ll get to do some of the usual tourist things, like see the terra cotta warriors in Xian and haggle with pesky Chinese merchants. But you’ll also have the rare opportunity to train the original style of Tai Chi Chuan with Grandmaster Chen Quanzhong. We’ll take you to Wudang Shan, one of the most revered Taoist mountains in China. There you will be able to learn Kung Fu or Qigong – your choice. You will also have the chance to visit the premier Taoist and Buddhist temples in Beijing – something often overlooked by even experienced China travelers.

Best of all, we’ve worked hard to get you a great value for this trip. With 40 credit hours of training includes, we are certain you won’t find a more comprehensive program at this price. Take a look at the trip itinerary and decide for yourself. Are you ready to “Journey to China” with us?

You can also read about last year’s Journey to China 2010 on this blog and in a journal written by one of the participants.

China 2010: Day 9: Wei Bao Shan

Jane Kiester — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 15:27:16 +0000

Day 9, Saturday, April 24 (Xizhou)

I went up to the terrace at 7:30 AM to practice my Yang Style 108 Form Tai Chi with the sight of people working in the fields and barren 13,000 ft. mountains rising in the background. It was absolutely beautiful and peaceful with clouds seeming to brush the tops of the mountains and the sun slanting through the clouds. Afterwards, at 8 AM, I joined the others in the courtyard where we practiced Qigong and Chen Style Tai Chi which gave me a full workout before breakfast.

Daybreak over Yunnan: Sun shines through the clouds as a lone farmer begins his work

We left on the bus at 9:30 for Weibao Mountain which is a sacred mountain about 1 ½ hours’ often perilous drive from Xizhou. This driver just loved his horn and used it constantly. Like people who cannot talk without arm gestures, I would bet he could not drive without his horn.

As we drove through the Yunnan countryside, I noticed cedars of Lebanon—shades of Italy—and more browns than ever before. We drove past fields and fields with farmers working them. Brian, who with Frank and Neil had accompanied us that day, explained that the government was putting in pathways and irrigation to make the farmers’ lives a little easier.

We passed a big, modern building that was at least seven stories tall. It was a new middle school! The Chinese government in the wake of the earthquake in Sichuan Province has been building all new schools, replacing the poorly constructed ones like those which were destroyed in 2008.

The mountains always stood in the background. The fields made a huge patchwork quilt of browns, tans, greens stitched together with thin rows of green grass (?). We drove out of Bai country and into the land of the Yi people. What a contrast! Instead of the white walls with black and white tile paintings on them, the homes of the Yi people were covered in what looked like brown mud. I even saw someone plastering the mud (?) on the side of a house. It was put on in an artistic way, but it still looked like mud.

Weishan

We visited a textile factory in Weishan. Some woman were tying elaborate knots in a white cloth. Outside stood huge vats used for dying and fixing the dyes. It seemed like a pretty big production, but there weren’t many workers that day, and it seemed almost closed down. They opened the warehouse for us, and I looked for a jacket but found a pretty scarf for my 90-year-old mother instead. The warehouse was very small, more like a large closet really, but the quality of the merchandise was unmistakable.

A few (not me) went upstairs where people were sewing and found a clean, Western toilet—a total luxury this trip as we have not seen many when out and about in the countryside of Yunnan Province where not that many tourists venture. The report was misleading. A kind worker had unlocked their secret treasure for a desperate tourist and then locked it up again. It was marked only in Chinese characters, so, when a few of us went in search of this gift, we found nothing. I asked people in Mandarin. One said “upstairs” (lou shang). Another said “below” (lou xia). We never found it. I guess the workers’ largess only extended so far…

Upstairs at street level, we found a store. The prices were less than those of the warehouse! I bought a glasses holder for my mother. A mannequin displayed the traditional Bai outfit we had seen so much of — red and white with a little blue headdress, a pink or red vest, white shirt, and pants with roses on them, plus a white apron with a rose. I didn’t expect this as this was Yi People country.

Weishan is a pretty town with the Yi mud-sided houses and fluted gray roofs. We went to a restaurant. By that time, those of us who hadn’t found the WC in the factory were beyond asking about bathroom qualities. Good thing we were desperate. This restaurant offered us a slit in concrete that sloped down to the outside. We literally had to hold our breath as we squatted, but nonetheless it was a very welcome hole in the ground.

The restaurant, despite its rather odoriferous facilities, was lovely but simple inside. A huge obviously hand-painted Bai-type mural decorated one of the walls “inside.” I put “inside” in quotes because, although we weren’t exposed to the sky and elements, one side lacked a wall. Luckily, it wasn’t too cold.

Lunch consisted of the usual veggies, veggies with a little meat, veggies and tofu, and fava beans. Once again, these were the type of beans that people pick up from the road after the cars and motorbikes and motorcycle cars run over the stalks so as to separate out the beans from the chaff. In this area they grow corn and garlic as well as the beans. All are plentiful at every meal, and the lots of garlic permeated the food we had been eating.

The restaurant kitchen was smaller than a ½ bathroom or about the size of a head in the cheapest cabin on a no frills cruise ship. Someone had cooked at least a dozen dishes in that kitchen for us, not to mention the dishes for other patrons. Incredible!

Outside the restaurant, I finally snapped a good picture of one of those ubiquitous motorcycle cars—a motorcycle with an attachment that makes it look something like a car. This was one of the better ones.

In the town square about 15 dancers and musicians performed for the locals. They were from the Yi ethnic group. They wore colorful outfits with white tunics, bright green pants, a black apron (women) or vest (men). The dancers invited us to join them. Weishan is not a tourist town. Westerners are still a curiosity of sorts. Donna so entranced one man that he asked her to marry him. (Yinong translated for him.) We danced a little, Donna being the star.

We walked up a side street off the square where Brian wanted to show us a funeral shop. The shop sold paper goods of EVERYTHING of the earthly world so that people can buy them and burn them to help send their loved ones over to the other side with all the luxuries he or she probably didn’t have in this life. Brian told us that families are sure to include the deceased one’s favorite things as well as the luxuries including lots of money. The shop sold paper cars, radios, dishwashers, fridges, clothes, money (one was a fake $100 bill with a picture of Confucius on it!), toiletries, radios, TV’s, everything imaginable. It was quite fascinating.

The Bai architecture also is prevalent even in this town of mostly Yi people. Yinong told us that the Yi people tend to be more outgoing and that the Bai People tend to be more somber and serious than other ethnic groups. 25 of the 56 ethnic groups in China live in the Yunnan Province. Perhaps that’s because it is the crossroads between South China and North China, Mainland China and Tibet.

Up the same street as the funeral shop, through a small arched door, we found a courtyard complex that Brian hopes to get from the government to start another Linden Centre in Weishan. Brian told us that the Chinese government is pleased with their work in Xizhou and might give them the historic complex for free for 10 years and then charge about $2500/year rent from then on. This comes with the deal that the government would develop the infrastructure of the town to support the tourists who would come.

At the present time, in a large room off the courtyard was a dance studio. Little girls, who left their little shoes outside, skipped into the room to dance. They listened intently to their teacher and tried each step very hard. Their little foreheads screwed up with concentration. A few parents stared anxiously into the room from the courtyard. It was quite a picture into modern China. The little girls couldn’t have been more than six-years old. Some of the parents carefully balanced their daughters on their knees to take off their shoes.

Weibao Mountain

We walked back through the streets of Weishan and boarded our bus to continue our journey to Weibao Mountain, honking all the way. We passed through Xiaguan, a town with a million people in it, so much larger than the towns we had been visiting. Xiaguan is a transportation hub for the region. A large Muslim population lives there. The rest of the trip, the bus wove up and around a new, steep, winding, narrow road to climb the mountain to Weibao Mountain Park. We could see cell-phone towers and new electric lines atop one of the mountains. China now leads the world in wind turbine-produced electricity!

Sacred Weibao Mountain rises to a height of 9000 feet. The altitude did not prove to be a problem as we had been living at over 7000 feet for almost a week. Of course, before hiking up a steep mountain path, we just had to empty our bladders of all that tea we had drunk. A modern, two-story building that housed the facilities stood just outside the park. We climbed some steep stairs to the second floor bathrooms. They were absolutely luxurious–Asian toilets complete with ample TP and artfully decorated with black tile all around and a lovely black and white wave-like border at about chest height. Unfortunately, spotless and beautiful as it was, the bathroom still smelled faintly of previous users because of the necessity of putting TP in wastepaper baskets. The national parks do better than many restaurants!

Relieved once again, we walked over a huge Yin/Yang design made of stone or tiles, under an elaborately-carved entrance with its delicate, flowing fluted roof, and into the park. There were a total of four temples in the park, but the time was a little late, and Temples #3 and #4 would be a four-hour hike up the mountain and back. We opted to visit only the first two. We walked up at least 200 steps, probably many more than that, slowly climbing up the mountain. The altitude didn’t seem to bother anybody, but I noticed that we did move very slowly. The steps and wide paths were new, having been constructed only a few years previously.

Periodically along the path we stepped under a stone gate with colorful little flags flying from the sides on strings going diagonally into the ground as they did at the front entrance to the park. What looked like pine trees lined the path.

Resting places for the bodies of Daoist priests

Like grim sloping sentinels, covered in algae, moss, and leaves occasional graves stood on one side of the path. We had seen many of these oddly-sloping graves on the way to Weibao Mountain. They look like body-sized sloping cylinders with writing on them. Yinong read the characters on one of the graves and told us it was that of a special soul, a Taoist priest or monk who was well on his way to being a Celestial Immortal.

Temple #1

The first temple, a Taoist/Buddhist Temple that still was in use, displayed a female Buddha. Round cushions with crocheted covers that resembled some my grandmother had made dotted the floor in front of her waiting for followers to kneel. Incense burned and perfumed the building with its pungent aroma. Food offerings lay on the table. Beautiful wooden panels with colored inlays stood near the entrance. We all took pictures.

Outside the temple we encountered a man who wore the very same black and white jacket I had bought in Dali. It looked worn and well used.

Down from the temple on a lower level, we found a long, very long, pinkish (almost orange) wall that looked brand new which it was. Yinong told us that it had been modeled on a Japanese wall and told a story. Yinong related it—life, battles, love, peace, harmony. The wall looked out of place in front of an old-style temple.

Temple #2

Itenerat Daoist Priest at the Sacred Dragon Well

The second temple, although not actively used, housed an itinerant Taoist priest. This temple was much more interesting and looked really old and well used. We spent quite a bit of time there in the courtyard. This temple is very special as it guards a Sacred Dragon Well. A clear small lake in the middle of the large courtyard reflected the walls of the temple. A stone fence surrounded the lake and willow trees dipped their branches into the water. A bridge, draped with plants and what looked like small weeping willows crossed the lake in the middle. In the center of the bridge there was a small covered pavilion with a fluted roof. Chinese characters decorated all the posts.

Group Photo at Dragon Well Temple

In the main part of the courtyard by the pavilion, we held a healing circle led by Yinong. The chi coming from the Sacred Weibao Mountain and the temple was very strong. We all felt it. I tingled and buzzed all the way down to my toes. The feeling lasted until we left the temple area. We also sent a chant into the Universe to heal the Earth.

The priest came out from the inner sanctum to stand with us and talked to Yinong. Then, moved by our healing circle and perhaps with permission of the priest, the caretaker brought out bottles and allowed Frank to fill them with water from the Sacred Dragon Well. He used a long ladle to scoop up the water into a bucket and then pour the water into the bottles. The well was just a hole in the stone of the courtyard with a fern growing out of it. The water is supposed to promote long life and good health. Everyone received a bottle. Brian told us that never before had the caretaker let non-Taoists drink from the well.

Jan and I took our bottle of Dragon Water back to the Linden Centre where we put it into the water boiler provided in every hotel room in China (for tea) and boiled it for the requisite amount of time for purification. Then we put some tea into it and drank it. Sacred water or not, we didn’t want to take any chance of getting sick.

The caretaker, who lacked half her teeth and seemed taken with us, urged us to go back to the front of the Temple to take a group photo. We insisted that she be in the photo as well. She stood, all four feet of her, between Jan and I, looking tiny and bent. She seemed quite pleased with us and with herself.

Then, for a photo-op, Shawn stood in front of each of two Bai style murals that flanked the front entrance to the temple. One of the murals depicted a tiger, the other a dragon. Shawn went through some of his Kung Fu moves in front of each as we snapped pictures of him in action. His tall, lanky figure dressed in black and the graceful poses he practiced in front of the huge dragon and tiger paintings in black and white painted an unusual living picture that should be immortalized somewhere. I just found out that a UTUBE video of him practicing in front of the tiger has been posted on the TCCII website.

On the honking bus ride back to the Linden Centre, we passed the biggest Wal Mart any of us had ever seen. I would have loved to peek inside. The building was so many stories that I couldn’t get the entirety into a picture. We also enjoyed seeing the usual fields, lakes, as well as more of the oddly-shaped graves out the window, but the Wal Mart really caught our attention. The motorcycle/car body combination and people in traditional dress standing out front contrasted with the ultimate symbol of modern life. China continues to be a picture in contrasts.

Plato and Gigi greeted us at the door. Plato always turns his head when I want to take a picture of him. Gigi ducks all pictures. Dinner at the Linden Centre was excellent and varied as usual. I think Pam and Jerlene and others had another massage. Tired, we all went to bed early.

China 2010: Xizhou Chinese Medicine

Jane Kiester — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:53:28 +0000

Day 8, Friday, April 23 (Xizhou)

Today, before breakfast, Shawn continued teaching us the old Chen Style Tai Chi. He does the original form, the one that dates back several hundred years. He told us that we will notice a difference in the form when we watch videos of other Masters as most of them offer only the newer version. The original style contains stomps and more angular movements than the Yang Style we’re so used to practicing.

This was a slower paced day. I hadn’t yet heard from my friend Xiao Yu who was to meet us in Kunming on the 26^th, but a kind guest from Beijing used her new cell phone to leave a message on Xiao Yu’s phone. It turns out that since Xiao Yu’s battery was out, she didn’t know it was ringing. I didn’t hear from her until the next day when the guest left me a message that Xiao Yu had called and would be at the airport at the new time. (The plane time and airline had been changed.)

A tasty lecture on herbs and teas and flowers

We were directed into the breakfast room where Lei Lei had set out various teas, flowers (hua), and herbs on the tables. She explained the uses of each one. Then she instructed us to mix the herbs indicated for our constitution and blood weaknesses. She then urged us to take some in a plastic bag that she handed us. I took all but the licorice root. Lei Lei gave us glasses and hot water to make a tea out of our mix to drink when we moved into the conference room for Yinong’s lecture on Traditional Chinese Medicine. My tea tasted healthy, but it wasn’t my favorite brew. It needs a few different combinations which I’ve been trying since I got home with much more success.

I bought all but the licorice and rock sugar in China and found that I can get all including my favored Osmanthus flower on the internet or at the Asian Depot at home. I mix the Jasmine flowers (Moli hua) with Osmanthus flower (Gui hua) for a heavenly tea which I have been drinking daily.

Herbs and teas and indications:

Jasmine flower (Moli hua) helps:

Gastrointestinal upset

Expectorate phlegm and anti-bronchitis

Flush liver of toxins

Menstrual disorders

Constipation and diarrhea (regulates system)

Reduce blood pressure

Aging (an anti-aging agent)

Moisten skin

Digestion

Sooth nerves

Boost immune system

Prevent cancer

Bloating

Strengthen kidneys

Detoxification

Cooling

And, if you want to lose weight, mix it with pink rose petals!

Chrysanthemum Flower (Ju Hua) helps: Increase blood flow

Keep liver and eyes healthy

Headache, sore throat and phlegm but not a runny nose

Slow down diarrhea

Lower blood pressure

It comes in a powder or flower form. We had the flower.

Licorice (gan cao) helps:

Cooling

Coughing

Expectorate phlegm

Palpitations

Stomach ache

San qi (3/7)

You can find in flower and root ground into awful tasting powder. The roots only are the best. The Chinese make an IV to put San qi directly into the blood.

Stops bleeding

Lowers blood pressure

Boosts qi (root only) and energy

Helps cold sores

Increases red blood cell growth

Helps get rid of stomach ulcers

Aids with constipation

Wolfberry (gouji)

You eat goji berries like a nut or put in tea or soup. I soak in water for a few minutes and put in vegetable dishes or just throw in food. They are tangy and delicious.

Good for eyes and blood (Add to steamed egg)

Good anti-oxidant (the best); Vitamin A

Good for kidneys

Good for night blindness (Boy, do I need this one!)

Helps liver function

Warming

Rock sugar

Good for cooling

Moisturizes lungs

Yinong’s Lecture

Tea in hand, we listened to another of Yinong’s fascinating and informative lectures. She has a gift of explaining the extremely complicated in terms that make sense. This time she concentrated on Traditional Chinese Medicine, including the Five Elements as we were to be visited that morning by a TCM doctor and acupuncturist.

Five Elements:

Each element is associated with a direction, a color, and an organ system in the body. TCM is based on the principle of balance of the five elements. When one organ is too strong or weak, it affects other organs. Organs, Qi, Yin and Yang, and Blood should all be in balance and harmony with each other. This can be determined from reading the pulse, looking at the face, hearing the patient speak, and examining the tongue.

Fire (red) Heart, Heat, Summer

Earth (yellow) Spleen, Center, Late summer

Metal (white) Lungs, West, Fall

Water (blue) Kidneys, North, Winter

Wood (green) Liver, East, Spring

Yinong’s lecture went into much more depth. It gave me a strong desire to practice Tai Chi and Qigong daily for the rest of my life. The movements of Yin and Yang and the deep breathing that accompany the moves reduce the drain on our Qi or life force and energy. I certainly feel healthier since I have been practicing Tai Chi and now Qigong. Certainly the balancing of our systems makes sense. The practice of TCM is thousands and thousands of years old.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor visit

The TCM doctor (who also has a degree in acupuncture) accompanied by an acupuncturist came to explain TCM further and to give each one of us a diagnosis. The doctor was beautiful in a gorgeous red dress with a poufy skirt and high black high heels. She told us (via Yinong) that she was two years from the retirement age for women which is 55. (Men retire at 65). I bet all those old women in the fields didn’t get to retire!

The doctor asked all of us to go wash our faces of makeup. She set up a few chairs at a small table on the long, building-length balcony outside the lecture room so that she could examine us in the light of day. We each decided to take notes for everyone and compare those notes later.

Then, for each one of us, she and her colleague examined our faces, our tongues, read our pulse, and heard us speak even if she didn’t understand what we said. I don’t want to write the diagnosis for anyone else as that is private, but she found all kinds of things and was right on the mark with all of us. All of us from Marco suffered from damp heat and mucus probably, as she said, due to the violent change in climate and altitude (from damp heat to dry cold and sea level to 7500 ft).

Some of the suggestions were interesting. She told one person not to eat too many cumquats! She told another to cut the wine. She told another who had just been diagnosed with high cholesterol but wasn’t yet on medication that she suffered from high cholesterol—with no other test! The doctor had no way of knowing beforehand.

I was diagnosed with a Qi deficiency due to Qi and blood don’t flow together in harmony. They are hindered by structural (auto accident, arthritis) and by stress (absolutely). The doctor also said that my organs themselves were OK. I have a Ying deficiency. And, what was really interesting, she told me that I needed much more Omega 3 oils, just what my chiropractor had told me before I left to go to China!!!! She suggested that I take Yu Ping Feng San, San Qi, and Moli Hua. I couldn’t find the first one, but now take the second two. I think they are helping although I find the taste of the San Qi a little hard to swallow. Moli Hua is Jasmine flower.

Massage and various other things

After our diagnoses, we practiced Qigong in the courtyard, caught up on a few things, ate, and had a massage. I did a hand laundry then went downstairs to give a few things like my jeans to the office to send out to the “Chinese laundry.” (They came back really clean and neatly pressed and folded, but it wasn’t cheap.) I also called Mother and Chuck from the office later in the day.

There were some French and some Dutch visitors at the Linden Centre, so I used four languages that day, having a nice conversation with two Dutch ladies who did not speak much English and with a French couple and their teenaged son. Sometimes a talent for languages is useful, but I’d rather be able to paint.

Lunch and dinner were excellent as usual. It has taken me a while and two trips to China to be able to define Mainland China’s food from that which we get served in Chinese restaurants in the States. No sauces! Fresh, fresh vegetables! Yinong told me that the dishes are made with the main ingredient in a fresh, home-made chicken broth that is cooked with ginger, kale, garlic, and celery. The cook adds this broth to the veggies and meat or tofu in the wok after they cook a little in the oil (usually sesame).

I tried it. It worked. Yinong also told me I could throw in some peanuts, cilantro, and wine vinegar. I noticed that we were served peanuts often and that many of the dishes we ate were flavored with cilantro and garlic. No wonder a Chinese diet is so healthy. With a broth made of mushrooms, celery, and kale in it, along with really fresh vegetables, they eat a perfect mix. Kale is so good for you, yet we eat very little of it in America.

The masseurs were all deaf! Apparently a deaf school had taught all its students the art of massage. Lei Lei had to translate via writing and hand gestures what each of us needed or wanted. I asked her to tell the masseuse (I got a lady) to stay away from my neck. Since Lei Lei wasn’t in the room with us, I reminded the masseuse again by body language and hand gestures. The massage was really rough, and I was afraid that I’d be bruised and sore for a few days, but my back did feel better after she got through with it. She still knocked out C7/T1. It settled quickly, though.

Jan and I slept the sleep of the dead after a restful afternoon and the massage even though her masseuse had left her a little bruised and hurting. I think mine had been more gentle.

China 2010: Day 7: Xizhou

Jane Kiester — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:54:40 +0000

Day 7, Thursday, April 22 (Xizhou)

Today began at 8:00 AM in the courtyard where we started to learn Chen style Tai Chi, the original, style of Tai Chi. We also practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade and our exercises. Behind us in the courtyard was a large backdrop of a wall with a fluted top and lovely, painted scenes and a peaceful circle in the middle. While we were practicing, a man with a scarf around his throat came into the Linden Center. We later found out that he was a star of the Beijing Opera. Governors, famous singers, who next?

Yinong’s Lecture on Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism

After breakfast Yinong gave us a power point lecture on Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. I’ll never forget her beautiful analogy to explain the philosophy of the three. Confucianism is like the grocery store. We take only what we need from it. Buddhism goes straight to the heart and can be represented by psychologists who delve inside our minds to find the truth of us. Buddhism also is the philosopher who delves inward to improve and grow and find the Buddha nature in himself. Taoism, on the other hand is the pharmacy. We go to it when needed. It goes through the inner and outer body and is the relationship between the Universe and us.

Buddhists search to find enlightenment through self perfection. Of the three, Buddhism is most like a religion. It has very much the same philosophy as Taoism which is perhaps why often we saw both Taoism and Buddhism practiced in the same temple. Enlightenment can be achieved through much meditation and inward seeking. Buddhist monks often can disregard physical existence. All goes through nature. And, once the heart settles, all falls in place. Buddhists believe that the Dali Lama is the reincarnated Buddha.

Taoism is about one connecting to the Universe through Tao. There is no separation between us and the Universe. Everything comes from the ONE (the Tao). Source, law, way, nature. It is a complete system in establishing harmony between human beings and nature. Adherents strive to reach Celestial Immortality. Taoism is the path, the sun and the moon, a path with humans walking underneath them. It is monks walking up a mountain and down again—the divine connected to the earthy. It is constant work to maintain and cultivate the balance by going through the inner and outer body. Taoism trains both mind and body. From Tao comes Yin and Yang, the two major forces in the universe

None of the three religions/philosophies have a supreme God. Buddha, Lao Tse, and Confucius began as human beings but got to the point where they accepted the Supreme Truth. They were teachers and sages who taught their wisdom. Followers of the three “religions” believe that supreme beings are humans who, through their own self-cultivation and study, have reached Enlightenment or Celestial Immortality.

Once a human makes the connection, that person has supreme healing powers (like Jesus). There are many gods because there are many human beings who do extraordinary things and cultivate themselves to reach the highest level of human existence. They become like super human beings. Those who do so, like Da Hei, get statues of themselves put on a pedestal in the temples. And, once one reaches Enlightenment or Celestial Immortality, one can decide the path they will follow in the next life (animals or anything). Or, they can come back as a teacher.

Qigong and Yin and Yang:

The Taoist concept of human and nature united as one is the foundation of Qigong practice such as the 8 Brocades we have been learning. The Ying is the mother–quiet, fluid night. The Yang is the father—sun, strong day Qigong (and Tai Chi as well) is the relationship of the two opposite forces as they mix and unite. Yin and Yang are the source of all creation, what the Taoists call the 10,000 things which makes sense to me. We must follow the laws of nature in stillness and wisdom to discover our true nature. We must cultivate our bodies, our minds, and our spirits through the practice of Qigong. Qi = breath, air, vital energy, the power for all life functions. Gong = work and achievements. In other words Qigong is breath and energy work. To practice Qigong daily is a path to return to health and Nature.

Of course, this is only the bare bones of what she talked about, but it should serve to whet the appetite of those of you who have not experienced her lectures or meditations and act as a reminder for those of us who have.

Visit to a home across the street

After our lecture, we walked across the street to visit the home of the Zhang family. The Linden Centre has hired most of the family. The dog, Plato and three-year-old Gigi wander over to the Centre to visit Gigi’s mother, Ling Ling. The Zhang’s home was an example of what was becoming to us, a typical Chinese family courtyard home in a small town. I say this with the knowledge that family courtyard homes are dwindling in number as the years go by and times change. Most Chinese live in apartments in the cities.

The difference in the Zhang’s home was that a huge, 300 + pound Da Hei with trident, mirror, six arms, and a bell lay under one of the roofs in the courtyard. Someone had covered Da Hei’s eyes with a red cloth so he wouldn’t see that he wasn’t in his temple. Brian and Jeanee had “rescued” the statue from a temple that was being destroyed.

Da Hei temple statue saved in Xi Zhou, China

The Elder of the Zhang family isn’t too pleased to have Da Hei there, but Brian hopes to have a museum in Xizhou with this statue of Da Hei as a main feature. A museum would attract tourists and bring more business to Xizhou. Thus Brian convinced the elder to keep the statue there. Brian would need to restore the statue, though, since his bottom half was broken. Poor Mr. Zhang might have a blue visitor in his courtyard for a while.

Another walk through Xizhou

We walked on again into Xizhou, past the fertile green fields, past a cart with huge bales of some kind of grass stalks with beans, and past the Zhang’s home. The bales were probably from the fava bean plants they spread on the streets for the carts, cars, bikes, motorbikes, and people to crush. We passed the red, horse-drawn cart (a local taxi?) with locals in it.

As we continued our walk through the narrow streets into the center of the town, we also passed homes with the red banners hanging on the doors. The street we traversed needed paving, and the homes looked poor. We came to the square where Jeanee and Brian bought two more Chinese pizzas for us to share. This time I tried the salty one.

There weren’t many merchants on the square, mostly food vendors. Working people, some dressed in Bai traditional dress, were catching a bit of lunch. Some bought true “Chinese take out.” Others stood in the square, Eating their lunches and talking with friends.

After consuming our snack, we continued our walk through the streets of Xizhou. We stopped to look at a basket of mulberry leaves with hundreds of white silkworms crawling through them. The tiny worms sold for about 30 cents each, not cheap in China. I remember the silkworm factory we visited in 2008, how the guide told us that one tiny silkworm cocoon produced hundreds of feet of silk thread, a truly remarkable white, slimy creature.

Again, we remarked on the unusual style in which the Bai people paint their homes. Up close, the paintings were even more interesting and full of detail. The black on white paintings and designs were different on different homes.

A visit to Mr. Dong, Village Elder

The purpose of this was a trip to see the village elder, an 85-year-old man who had worked with the Flying Tigers during World War II. Mr. Dong plays several instruments (traditional ones), paints, and has written several books. In his heyday, Mr. Dong had five factories and came from a wealthy family. During the Cultural Revolution, the government took over the factories, and Mr. Dong and his family were moved to this small house. The home was constructed in the family courtyard style with all generations living together around the common courtyard.

With his pointed beard, Mr. Dong looked like an old Confucius with a devilish grin. He wore a French cap like my father used to wear, and a white Chinese jacket. He also wore an impish smile and obviously had an eye for the ladies. He had quite a lively personality with a good sense of humor, and exuded a lively spirit, full of life. His wife, on the other hand, had the look of a long-suffering woman.

In the panels of the Dong’s inside doors were lovely, stylized paintings in black and white. He told us (via Brian as translator) that originally there had been carved marble in the panels, but during the Cultural Revolution, they were destroyed. Mr. Dong had repainted the same designs onto cardboard and placed them in the doors. Brian gave him some pictures that he had taken on a previous visit. Mr. Dong was very pleased.

We wandered up a really narrow staircase to Mr. Dong’s “library” where, we were told, he likes to sit under a picture of Confucius that he painted a few years back. He was quite proud of that painting.

The study was dark with one opaque window. Boxes of books sat on the floor. On the walls, we found pictures, pictures of Mr. Dong when he was young. Tools, painting materials, and lots of books in bookcases and lying around completed the room.

This was the first home in which I had seen any more than one or two books. There also was a TV in there. On the wall behind the TV was a large red hanging with the usual blessings written on it. In Mr. Dong’s study, papers covered the top of his desk and every available surface. Again, pictures of him and of drawings he had made decorated the walls. Both rooms were not closed off to the elements.

The kitchen, as we had experienced before on this and the previous trip, was outside. It looked poor and almost primitive. There apparently was no indoor plumbing for toilets and no heat that I could see except sacks of coal and wood in the corner of a storeroom.

Mr. Dong posed with each one of us and with the group. He hugged each one of the ladies and held our hands very firmly in a very strong grasp. He really liked Yinong and Jerlene.

From Mr. Dong’s home, we went to try to see a Muslim Temple. There are many Chinese Muslims, enough that even in a tiny town of 2,500 people, there is a temple (mosque). There was gold writing on black on a large plaque on top of a red door. Unfortunately, it was closed, and we couldn’t get in. I remember the Muslim street from the last trip.

On our way back to the Linden Centre, we passed a house under construction. The door had been designed with beautiful, intricate woodwork above the fluted door. I include a picture here because it was so lovely and unusual. It had yet to be painted, so you can see the intricacy more clearly.

Tea Plantation and Qigong

After another yummy lunch at the Linden Centre, I watched a starling dart here and there in the courtyard. Around on of the spotlights on the roof of a walkway, a swallow had built a nest. I could see at least six chicks’ heads peeking out. I guess they didn’t feel threatened by the people at the Centre.

Our group met up in front of the Linden Centre, walked down the street, and boarded our bus to go to a tea plantation located 8,000 feet up a mountain. Tea grows best in high altitudes. On the way, we passed a pigeon house—a white rounded cone shaped with pictures painted on the sides. How whimsical!

Picking Organic Tea in Dali, China

This tea farm kept the tea trees low for easy harvesting. Some really ancient tea trees towered in the background. The leaves from the ancient tea trees make the best and most expensive Pu’er tea. The Chinese believe that the tea carries the powerful energy of the old tree. Someone gave us baskets that fit like a front pack on our chests. They gave us instructions to pick only the bright-green, new top leaves. He showed us how to twist the leaves just right so as not to harm the plant. We picked for at least 45 minutes. Further up in the field of low trees, women with umbrellas to protect their skin from the sun, picked leaves as well.

Frank from the Linden Centre, Pam, and I pooled our harvested leaves into one basket that we took turns carrying on our chests. It was tough to fill the basket even ½ full as the leaves are so tiny, even with three of us picking.

As it started to rain, we went to a building where, in the courtyard, a young man explained how different teas are made. I was very surprised to learn that all teas come from the same tea tree. I still find this hard to understand as teas taste so different. It is the process that turns it into one of the four types of tea:

Green — drink immediately

White

Red—black tea to us

Pu’er—native to Yunnan Province; best from ancient trees; fermented

Oolong –black

Jasmine tea, my favorite, is a green tea with jasmine flowers mixed in.

From the tea farm, we could see the higher mountains. Lovely! We who live in flat Florida especially appreciate mountains. After picking the tea, we walked to a building built in traditional fluted-style architecture. We drew up chairs, trying to get out of the rain. The young man, our meager pickings in our baskets in front of him, explained how tea is brewed. He insisted that, among the six categories of Teas, Pu’er is the best.

Someone tipped over one of our five baskets and quickly scooped up the spilled leaves. These were high quality leaves, now seasoned with courtyard stones. A tiny tiger cat knocked another by rubbing against it, but we rescued the contents before all had spilled to the ground.

Green Tea (Liu Cha) and Jasmine Tea (Moli Hua Cha) which is green tea

Meditate

Heat water to 80 degrees Celsius

Pour water in first and then put in tea

Nod three times

When put water in, raise container three times as you put it in

Pu’er Cha

Heat water to boiling

Use glass and ceramics

Qigong and Energy Work

After our lecture, we climbed some stairs to a terrace which overlooked the lake and distant mountains on one side and tea trees and near mountains on the other. There, with a spectacular view on both sides, we practiced Qigong. It was the perfect place, high up on a concrete terrace in the mountains with the gentle perfume of tea trees wafting to our noses. Yinong demonstrated gathering energy from the four directions. She shared, and we all tried to imitate her. My hands and feet tingled so much, I had to dump some energy after the exercise.

In the distance, we could see Dali. Shawn gave a Kung Fu lesson to a young man from the Linden Centre, Frank, I think. It seemed a bit ironic to have the American Master teach a Chinese young man in China.

Shopping in Dali and Tea Ceremony

Afterwards, we boarded our bus and descended the mountain to Dali. They parked the bus, and we walked down a street that was a shopper’s paradise. Gigi and Donna were thrilled! We were rushed through although some snuck in a little shopping along the way. We were to eat lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. On the way back from the restaurant, I bought a jacket for 20 RMB ($3) that would go OK with the red outfit I had bought at the tye dye factory. I also bought a cheap 10 RMB bracelet for my granddaughter, Isabelle. We would return to Dali and that shopping street on Sunday to spend more time and money.

At the vegetarian restaurant, there was a lovely courtyard/garden ringed with tables. The building was painted red. A very old man with the smoothest skin I have ever seen was sorting tea leaves. Apparently, he was the owner of the restaurant. With his long white beard and bald head, he looked like a kind sage. I found out later that he takes herbs and eats only vegan and practices TCM to stay in shape. It must work as he is supposed to be near 90 years old and looked 30-40 years younger.

Inside the restaurant, the same young man who had given us the lecture at the plantation, the Tea Master, held a tea ceremony for us and told us even more about teas. During the demonstration, he always poured water through the tea and threw out the first run. Everything he used was either glass or porcelain. Of course we all tried the several teas he made for us. The young Pu’er tea was excellent

Interesting Tea facts from lectures

Tea helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol as well as blood sugar levels

Tea is best drunk early in the morning with meditation and calm

In the old days they said “eating tea;” now it is “drinking tea” although they do

eat tea leaves. We gave over the tea we had picked and someone

cooked it in a dish for our lunch!

Sugar in tea is not good for old people

Dark teas are best for winter when it is cold

Each tea has a season in China:

Summer = White Tea

Fall = Green Tea

Winter = Black Teas

Spring = Flower Teas like Jasmine

Drink tea ½ hour after a meal

During the Tang Dynasty, the tea ceremony was passed to Japan

 Originally, Pu’er tea came from Pu’er through Dali to Tibet and along the way,

It became fermented

Some use tea to wash hands or water flowers

I bought some fermented Pu’er tea from an ancient tree for son Jesse who is a tea buff who mixes his own blends and thoroughly enjoys and appreciates a good tea. It was a round brick of tea picked in 2004 from an old tree and fermented until now. It wasn’t cheap. 100 RMB (about $15) for a relatively small amount. I hope he likes it. I questioned the fact that there was French on the box. The young man informed me that the French love Pu’er Tea, so they ship it there. It is the only country that buys Pu’er Tea. But, when I went into the Asian Depot in Naples, Florida, I found Pu’er Tea. He apologized that it wasn’t in brick form. When I finish the teas I brought back from China, I’ll go buy some.

Lunch, Dinner, Plato, and Bed

After the lecture and tea ceremony, we went into lunch. It was totally vegetarian, vegan actually as most Chinese tend to be lactose intolerant. The table and chairs were almost modern in wood. They looked more Japanese than Chinese. A waitress served us a huge bucket of rice accompanied by a dish of lotus root (ah, one of my favorites) and a host of other dishes that contained tofu. Pam, who normally dislikes tofu back home, decided that she really likes Chinese tofu. There is a definite difference, and the texture is better. Don’t know how they prep it beforehand, but I’d love to know.

Lots of the dishes contained mushrooms. Some looked as if they really contained meat. One dish looked like Morningstar Farm’s veggie sausage links. They sure didn’t taste like Morning Star Farms, though! Since there were a plethora of tofu dishes, we were felt stuffed for quite a while afterwards.

Of course, at our age, we daren’t ever pass up a bathroom, so we made use of the one in the restaurant, figuring that, after all, the restaurant was quite fancy… The facilities were in the backyard and had a corrugated roof. Befitting the fancy restaurant, the toilets were the flush variety and clean, but Asian, of course. Unfortunately, the aroma was rather pungent. They lacked TP, and the wastepaper basket you put the TP in was full. We washed our hands at an outside sink.

Still, none of us were particularly perturbed. Any port in a storm! It would be nice, however, if the government could fix the plumbing system so that one could flush the toilet paper.

After lunch, we had more time to wander the streets and go shopping in Dali. I’m still kicking myself about not buying this great jacket for $6 because I thought it wouldn’t go with anything. I bought granddaughter Isabelle a bracelet.

As we drove back from Dali to the Linden Centre and Xizhou, we rode bumpily, honking every few minutes (or more), riding past green fields, rotating crops, farmers working their fields, all with tall, misty mountains in the background.

Upon our return to the Linden Centre, we were enthusiastically greeted by Plato, the Chinese Chow that belonged to the family across the street. Plato was a typical Chow with his black tongue, fluffy tail, thick, soft fur and compact size. His fur was filthy as he probably had been rolling in the street helping to separate the fava beans from the chaff, but we all petted him anyway. Accompanying him as always was his three-year-old master, Gigi, son of Ling Ling who works at the Centre. The two have free reign of the Linden Centre.

Dinner at the Linden Centre was upstairs and excellent as usual. Jan and I ate with the Lindens which included their two sons, ages 11 and 14—Bryce and Shane. Having kids and dogs around at the center gives it a nice homey flavor so that it doesn’t feel like a hotel at all, but a large home.

After dinner most of us went to a beautiful glassed-in garden with cushions inside, a meditation room. Yinong led us in going through the Healing Sounds. The room reverberated with our voices. The sounds swirled around us and made our bodies vibrate, really vibrate and resonate with the combined voices. Some were the identical s the Six Healing Sounds I am learning from Master Jesse Tsao’s CD, but with each sound Yinong also explained the organ, element, energy and system it addressed. We also moved our hands to follow the sound. The result of the Healing Sound meditation was that we all slept extremely well. I felt terrific! I think it really worked to detoxify and replenish our systems.

The sounds are in the Pinyin spelling. It is an incredibly powerful and grounding meditation.

Xu (shoo) to brighten eyes and support liver with spring, wood energy

He (her) to calm the heart with summer fire energy

Si (Ssssss)to moisture the lungs with autumn metal energy

Chui (choo we)for kidneys with winter water energy

Xi (shee) to balance the triple burners

Hu (whoo)to strengthen the spleen and digestion

China 2010: Day 6: Xizhou

Jane Kiester — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:24:40 +0000

Day 6, Wednesday, April 21 (Xizhou)

We began the day before breakfast by practicing the Eight Pieces of Brocade in the courtyard at 8 AM. A bunch of government officials including, so we were told, the Governor of Yunnan Province, came to watch the Westerners who practiced Qigong and Tai Chi with an American Master and were studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. We were on Chinese TV, but none of us saw the broadcast.

Breakfast was in an airy room with rough tile floors, wooden tables, and a small, built-in kidney-shaped pond in the middle lined with stones and decorated with swimming koi and a few ferns. The effect was simple and striking, and the room very calming. We ate between two Qigong sessions. Breakfast was not as spectacular as those in the hotels, but as long as they served oatmeal, steamed buns (man tou), fruit, and pickled vegetables, I was Ok with it.

A Walk through Xizhou

We walked through the narrow streets of Xizhou for an orientation to the town. We crunched over the fava bean stalks as we walked into the center of town. Xizhou is quaint and rustic with a mix of ethnic groups. Mostly Bai People live there. And some of the older folks wore their traditional dress. Since there were no Westerners in Xizhou except the few of us at the Linden Centre, they dress this way for everyday attire and not for the tourists with sequined hats and brightly-colored vests. I also saw a few Yi people in their green pants and tops.

The Bai People tend to be shorter and rounder and a bit darker than the Han People. They speak their own dialect, but everyone I encountered also spoke Mandarin. Mandarin is the language taught in the schools and on the TV.

Buying and selling handmade shoes in Xizhou, China

We visited an older woman who turned out to be one of the few people who sold to tourists, and Brian Linden had to call her first so she would come out to greet us with her wares. She had Made these lovely red balls with golden thread that said “Good luck and health” and “May you get what you want” in Chinese characters (ji xiang ru yi). She also sold hand-made baby shoes. Many of us bought either the balls or the shoes. The balls were 10 Yuan each, about $1.50 US. I know the Lindens are trying to turn Xizhou into a destination for discerning tourists and an attraction for small tour companies to bring their clients, I hope it does not turn into anther Lijiang which once was a sleepy town like Xizhou and now reeks of tourist trade. Lijiang is lovely but has lost its original charm and become like a sort of tourist Disneyland.

We passed shops that bordered the tiny, narrow cobblestone and dirt street. We dodged old bicycles and motorbikes. Most of the houses looked plain and simple with red blessings around the front doors. One home had yellow banners around the door. Another had green banners. Both of these colors meant that there had been a recent death in the family. The color reflects the age of the deceased.

Market in Xizhou, China

We passed through the town square to the outdoor market where long, large tables held all kinds of meat, vegetables, tofu, fruits, eggs, and herbs. Some burlap bags of spices sat on the ground next to the tables, perfuming the air with exotic smells. I did ask before taking pictures, but no one minded. A pile of cumquats, among other colorful small fruits lay on what looked like sheets on the side of the road, luring in customers. One vendor sold many varieties of mushrooms. Some were huge! I stopped at a pharmacy and bought Banlangen Keli (gan mao ling), a dynamite cold remedy. It cost 2.5 Yuan for a package of 10—less than 50 cents! I bought five as my family swears by it.

We watched a 94-year-old lady hobble by, her face wrinkled from years in the fields, and her teeth gone. The younger people in the street treated her with great respect.

Bai Entrance

We passed a newly-painted home with a gorgeous entrance way with traditional Chinese fluted roof decoration and gray and white panels with characters painted on them. It was in the Bai style but fancier than the other homes. I include the picture because it is a beautiful example of Bai work.

In another square, the gray-tiled roofed houses were plainer. A vendor made Bai pizzas with fermented cheese. He made two varieties. One was made with sweet red bean paste. The other was salty with onions. He cooked the pizzas in a huge iron pan that he put over a round brazier which sat on some bricks. He put a lid full of ashes on the pot to evenly heat both sides of the pizzas.

Jeanee Linden bought two pizzas for us to taste. I tried the sweet one. It was delicious, only resembling an Italian pizza in shape. On another day I tried the salty one. I preferred the sweet, but then I’m a real sucker for that bean paste…

Zouchen –Tie-dye factory

After lunch, we boarded the bus and drove by fields and fields of rice, wheat, beans, tobacco, and garlic to the village of Zouchen which was a little larger than Xizhou. There we visited a tie-dye factory and several temples. As we walked through the village, we saw many Bai people, old and young, dressed in headdresses of blue and red, vests of blue or red, and elaborately decorated pants and tops. Kids ran all around us. School must have been out!

The doors to homes had the usual red blessings on them. The buildings were old and mostly gray. As in Xizhou, we were the only Westerners in town. Being out of the usual tourist areas and seeing the “real” China was an incredibly exciting experience. How lucky we were!

The women work just as hard as the men in China

Several old women carried huge sacks of something they had picked in the fields. They held their picking baskets in their hands and were doubled over with the weight of the sacks. As usual, they wore the traditional Bai headdress and vest. We saw ordinary townspeople, not professional builders, building a house. One of the men was dressed in a suit!! A young man with his two children proudly walked down the cobbled street. Some men were hauling what looked like stones in a wheelbarrow and piling them up outside a house. Women also were on the job. It was a slice of Chinese life.

Chinese construction worker in suit

We visited a Tie Dye factory in town. The employees showed us the elaborate knots they tied in the fabric to make the designs. The one they held up for us to see looked like a huge twisted white mop or a really warped white octopus. This family owned and run factory mostly made indigo patterns. We saw a garden of indigo growing that they use to make their dyes.

The tied frabric is dyed by hand in large vats

We walked through the outdoor (though under roof) factory. There we saw huge vats of dye, vats for washing the fabric, a vat of this yellow liquid used to seal the dye, vats filled with indigo, women making the knots in white fabric, and women sewing. Newly dyed and sewn clothes hung drying in the courtyard. The older women wore the red headdresses and Bai traditional dress. Others wore the vests and bottoms but tie-dyed hats. The young people wore jeans.

After touring the small factory, we hit the tie-dye store with a vengeance and bought a lot. I don’t know who won the “biggest buyer prize,” but Jiji’s, Linda’s, and Donna’s bags of purchases were the largest. I bought a beautiful indigo-dyed tablecloth with beading around the design that is large enough to fit our table as well as a table runner. Then I fell in love with a tie-dye pattern and bought this gorgeous red pants outfit that fit perfectly. (This is being said by a woman who wasn’t going to spend a penny this trip!!) I haven’t washed anything yet, but I hope that vat of dye sealer works or my washing machine is going to be blue for a while. The tablecloth, by the way, looks stunning.

In the store hung traditional Bai outfits as well as a huge variety of clothing, all uniquely tie dyed. This is why we succumbed and bought. An old woman in a blue shirt and a multi-colored Bai hat helped show us around. We all bargained, but they wouldn’t come down much. Jiji and I pounced on this one tablecloth, but she had seen it first, so I looked around for another. I thought the one I found was even prettier! I got the tablecloth down to 150 RMB ($22) from considerably higher first asking price, but paid full price for the red outfit. The young lady in a red sweater and headband just wouldn’t budge. As had occurred every time we shopped in a factory on the first trip, they served us tea.

A few of the salespeople, obviously pleased with our purchases, stood a while and talked to us outside with Frank translated (last picture below). Frank is a delightful young man who works at the Linden Centre and who accompanied us on many of our adventures. His English is superb. When we boarded the bus, we all showed each other our purchases. Everything was very beautiful. It had been hard to resist buying more.

China offers endless opportunities for shopping

A few of the salespeople, obviously pleased with our purchases, stood a while and talked to us outside with Frank translated. Frank is a delightful young man who works at the Linden Centre and who accompanied us on many of our adventures. His English is superb. When we boarded the bus, we all showed each other our purchases. Everything was very beautiful. It had been hard to resist buying more.

Zouchen – Two Temples

Next, we visited an Ancestor’s Buddhist Temple. There were at least five large statues, all colorfully dressed, standing behind a glass window. Red was the predominant color of the clothing. Da Hei’s skin was, of course, black. Da Hei was the center one. People were on their knees on cushions in front of the glass, praying and chanting. Someone had placed plates of food in front of the statues. Some men even took a live chicken outside (beyond our vision, thank heavens) and sacrificed it in the street. It seems a family had just bought a car and wanted good blessings. We were assured that the chicken was put to good use and eaten afterwards for dinner. The Chinese are a pragmatic and practical people who waste nothing.

Finally, we visited a temple built in a more traditional style. A huge golden bowl stood in the main courtyard. Down a stairway, dressed in gold, were three figures, Da Hei, Confucius, and Buddha with Da Hei in the place of honor in the middle. This temple served both Buddhists and Taoists.

Because the people sensed us as having good, peaceful spiritual energy, they actually let us into the inner sanctum upstairs—a place no one gets to see. Jeanne and Brian were very surprised that they invited us upstairs. They had never allowed this before, even for the Lindens. A huge gold Buddha and two other statues in gold sat on a dais with a red background. The energy emanating from these figures was palpable; the peace penetrating. I wanted to stay and meditate on one of the cushions, but time wouldn’t permit.

Inside the Zhouchen Temple, dedicated to all three traditions; Taoist, Buddhist, and Confucian

The doors to the temple were gold-trimmed panels. A large drum hung to the left of the main door. I guess they used it to call in the people for prayer. It looked used. In the background of the temple we could see a lake and the lovely mountains.

The Story of Da Hei

Da Hei, or Big Black, parton saint of Dali

All the gods liked to spend time in Dali in the Yunnan Province as it was so beautiful. This made the Supreme God angry. So, he put a poison pill in the waters of the lake to prevent the gods from returning to Dali, killing all the mortals in the process.

Meanwhile, one of the lesser gods, who was spending time in Dali, met this old woman who was carrying a ten-year-old child with her two-year-old walking beside her. He asked her why she was carrying a child who could walk himself and letting a little one walk. The old woman replied that this was her granddaughter’s child whose mother had just died. Keeping her close to her heart was the only way she knew to comfort the child and let her know that she was loved.

The god was moved and took the pill himself rather than risk harming such a sensitive, good person. He turned black or blue (depending on the story) and became supremely ugly forever, but he saved the Dali people and therefore is their special god in all their temples. He is called Da Hei or “Big Black.”

Zouchen — A visit to a time-weaver

Leaving the temple, we walked through Zouchen to visit the home of a weaver. An old woman whom, we were told was 75 but looked much older, sat in a room that was open to the elements, weaving beautifully colored cloth. Donna bought the most gorgeous scarf—indigo blue for 80 RMB. A lot of work had gone into it. It looked beautiful around her shoulders.

Piles of wood and coal filled the lofts of the woman’s home. An old man (her husband??) didn’t want us there and glowered at us from another doorway that opened onto the courtyard. In the courtyard, a young woman washed clothes in a pan. Chickens wandered about. It was definitely not a performance staged for tourists.

Donna with her new Bai scarf

When we left, the old woman came out to pose with Donna and her scarf, so we all snapped pictures as well. She wore the traditional headdress with top and skirt. Her smile was genuine.

Outside her home, chickens and dogs wandered the narrow cobble-stone street as kids ran by, laughing and playing. Bikes and motorbikes sped by. On an old wall, we saw a list of voters in the town. The sheets held all kinds of personal information. Apparently there was a local election for City Council going on at the time. Jeanee and Frank, of course, told us all this.

Then, because Zouchen is larger than Xizhou, we all shopped a little in the local stores. Apparently, we had not yet shopped out from the tie-dye factory. Some of us bought some herbs. Others bought little things from a small grocery store. Alice, who usually bought nothing, bought a pair of black shoes that she wore for the rest of the trip. In the square, a woman in traditional Bai dress with a multi-colored headdress made the fermented Bai cheese—not my favorite treat in the world as it is so greasy, but the taste is good.

We returned via bus to the Linden Centre to eat a full, fantastic dinner. Their chef is an artist. There was this dish of chopped pork with veggies and lots of garlic that had an unusual flavor I can’t describe, but it did contain cilantro and garlic. Jan and I sat with the Lindens and their two boys and discussed politics and the role of China in the world.

Besides being in a small village in the heart of the Yunnan Province, the Linden Centre is unusual in that the center is not like an ordinary hotel. It has only 16 rooms (someone please correct me if I’m wrong) and is run family style. The Lindens have two young boys, ages around 10 and 14, who are very present, playing games at the computer, playing in the courtyard, studying with their tutor, and eating with us. We are in their home. To add to the atmosphere, the housekeeper Ling Ling’s son, Gigi, who is three-years old, comes over to find his mother, sometimes with his Chinese Chow (complete with black tongue), Plato. Ling Ling lives across the street. The Lindens have tried to boost the local economy by employing as many of the local people as they can. The entire atmosphere is relaxed and charming.

After dinner, we practiced Qigong and all had a massage. The masseuses were deaf and from Dali. The massages were incredibly hard and hurt, but some of us think they helped. Jerlene and Pam wanted another one. They got one a few days later. Jan and I were still sore the next day, so we opted out of another treatment. After the massages, in the cold, mountain air, we all slept well and deeply.

China 2010: Day 5: Kunming to Xizhou

Jane Kiester — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:15:28 +0000

Day 5, Tuesday, April 20 (Kunming to Xizhou)

After our deep, long sleep, we ate breakfast at the buffet which offered the usual Chinese cabbage, fruit (tomatoes included), Chinese summer sausage (turkey? Tofu?), steamed buns filled with bean paste (I ate three), rice porridge with red rice mixed with white (congee). Sated, we boarded a bus for a 4 ½ hour ride through the lower mountain range below the tree line.

The road was bumpy. I tried to write in my Diary to make good use of the time. But I can barely read what I wrote! We passed by terraced fields in all colors. Traffic was heavy at times and scary. Driving in China is an art—an art of dodging, being assertive, overusing the brake, blasting the horn every few minutes (no exaggeration), and predicting the moves of other drivers. I found out that many middle-class Chinese do not drive and instead, hire professionals. Smart!

We now were in Yi People country, a very agricultural area of China. While the trees and fields were green and lush, the towns and buildings, like those of the Hutong District in Beijing, seemed drab and gray to me. Jan tells me that her impression of the area was one of color–green. To her all of Beijing was gray while I saw lots of red outside of the Hutong District. It always amazes and delights me how everyone sees things differently.

We passed small villages, gray with gray fluted roofs. I remember from the last trip to China someone telling us that these roofs are good for ventilation and rain deflecting. They also are beautiful. We zipped by farmers wearing traditional hats of stylized Chinese paintings who were working in the fields of what looked like hay.

Farming outside Dali, China.

Always in the background mountains rose to touch the sky, getting higher as we climbed to Dali, a city at an altitude of 7,000 feet. We passed through tunnels from mountain group to mountain group. We admired the varied colors of terraced farming on the steep hills and flat farming in the valleys, all being intensely cultivated. It was difficult to take pictures as the road was so winding and bumpy.

As we drove into the part of the Yunnan Province where people of the Bai ethnic group lived, the houses in the small villages changed from dull gray to gray roofs with white walls decorated with black and white paintings of mountains and scenes of nature. At the eaves and around the sides of each wall were elaborately drawn black and white designs.

During the long ride, we meditated with another CD made by Yinong. This one was the Sun and Moon meditation. I did not fall asleep this time. While I bought the DVD and the Five Elements Meditation, I haven’t purchased this one yet. I plan to as the Sun and Moon was wonderful and different from any other guided meditation I own.

When not meditating or watching China go by outside the bus, I read and listened to my MP3 player. What a fantastic invention! 12 books on a device as big as my thumb!

We stopped and ate lunch in Dali. The restaurant was lovely on the outside with an unusual stone fountain constructed with relatively flat stones piled on top of each other. Inside the restaurant was a gorgeous, elaborately carved screen, Bai-style. The food was Bai and rather greasy, but the taste was generally delicious. Lei Lei chose the dishes this time.

The waitresses looked as if they were 13 and may well have been that age. They were small with round faces, slightly darker than Han People. They wore Bai-ethnic group traditional red and white outfits (pictures later). The pants were white with red roses on them. The headdresses looked almost Indian and were red and white with blue running through.

The dishes, 18 of them were varied including a greasy duck reminiscent of Beijing Duck, pork fat with plums under Japanese tofu, tofu with some kind of grass that didn’t look appetizing but tasted really good, a chicken complete with head, lake grass that was so different. There were lots of tofu dishes but no mushroom dishes at all. They also served us some totally new dishes including pancakes and cheese rolls. The cheese rolls were made with Bai cheese with some kind of sauce. Bai cheese is fermented and very greasy, has a different and sweeter taste from most cheeses, and is OK for lactose-intolerant people to eat. Since many Chinese people are lactose intolerant, this is a good thing.

The bathroom was a three-holer with no doors, but clean. Once again, we bonded our friendship cheek to cheek. None of us was particularly bothered.

Dali

Dali, a town with one million inhabitants, is located in the mountains. There is more color in Dali than in Kunming. There even was a high-rise apartment with a bright orange top part. Dali, the cradle of the Bai People, is located on the second highest lake in China. The architecture in Dali is interesting and slightly different from the norm although I am hard pressed to put it into words. The roofs are more sharply arched, and the richly decorated tile work set it apart from anything else I have ever encountered.

The houses are white with gray traditional roofs and stylized pictures and borders on the sides and front. From every angle, we could see mountains in the background. The mountains are low, only 13,000 feet high. Dali has become a city with numerous second homes of the new wealthier upper middle class. Dali also is known for its weather. The temperature varies only 20 degrees all year round. The altitude is around 7,000 feet so we were steadily moving up to Xizhou’s, Lijiang’s, and Tibet’s higher altitudes. Trees are sparse since Dali is above the tree line. Fields of corn, rice, and rape seed surround the city.

Xizhou (pronounced shee joe)

Bai horsecart used for hauling luggage in the village of Xizhou

From Dali, we drove another hour to Xizhou which means “Happy Town.” Xizhou is a tiny, farming village of only 2,500 inhabitants located, like Dali, in a valley surrounded by the Himalayan foothills. The altitude is around 7,500 ft. Xizhou has a long and impressive history. The town for centuries was a stop on the Silk Route, has been an enclave for prosperous merchants, officials, and scholars. During World War II, China’s top universities formed a “Yale in Exile” by moving their campus to remote Yunnan. It was also a base for radio operators for the Flying Tigers during World War II, and now the home of the Linden Centre, a guest inn and study center.

Despite its rich and varied history, Xizhou is still a small farming community with unbelievably rich soil in the fields, a somewhat mild (comparatively) climate, and enough rain year-round to support a thriving agricultural economy. It is a charming, small town with unique Bai architecture in a beautiful setting, a scene out of a movie.

As far as I know none of us had any problem with the altitude and none of us were taking Diamox. Perhaps this is because we ascended slowly—Beijing, Kunming, Dali, then Xizhou. Even though the bus was a small one, it was too big for some of Xizhou’s alleys. The driver parked it near the main section of town, unloaded our bags into a horse-drawn cart with seats and a canopy in red brocade. We walked the rest of the way to the Linden Centre.

As we walked the narrow streets, we had a hay-green, aromatic welcome carpet of chaff (stalks) and fava beans. The farmers had discovered that, if they spread the chaff on the roads with the rock-hard beans inside, cars, trucks, people, motorbikes, bikes, and horse-carts ran over it which loosened the hard-to-pick beans, separating them from the stalks. Periodically, someone would run out to the road (not much traffic in Xizhou) and pick up the beans. When they felt that all the beans had been culled, they picked up the chaff and fed it to the cattle. All along the sides of the road chaff sat either waiting to be carted off or waiting to be spread in the road. Apparently, the beans don’t crush under the weight of the tires and feet. When soaked and cooked, the beans are delicious.

The ancient machine that previously had performed the task of separating the beans from the chaff apparently was laborious and slow, so some clever person thought of using modern vehicles to do the work in half the time. Ingenuity knows no bounds.

Xizhou (pronounced shee joe)

The Linden Centre (Xi Lin Yuan)

After meeting with the American-born Lindens and settling in our rooms, we unpacked a little and went to one of the courtyards to practice the Eight Brocades. Imagine practicing an 800-year-old Qigong form in a courtyard of a silk merchant’s house in a tiny town in China, facing a statue of Buddha! After that first time, we used another courtyard that didn’t have a statue of Buddha, but I always imagined it was there. After the long bus ride, the exercise felt really good.

Historic Linden Center in Xizhou China

Brian and Jeanee Linden leased the Linden Centre, a “Class A” historic relic from the Chinese government in hopes that they could build a tourist industry for the region. The home had survived the 1960’s Cultural Revolution because a People’s Liberation Army detachment had made it their camp, keeping out the Red Guards who would have demolished it. Brian and Jeanee have thrown their life savings into restoring the home. The result is lovely and charming with the tiling, the fluted roofs, the wooden arches, the painted murals, the two stories with courtyards.

View of the Mountains from our hotel

Then we explored the Linden Centre. Some of us went up to the top of the house to a kind of terrace to look out over the fields at the mountains that surround the Linden Centre on all sides. With the upper terrace, glassed-in meditation garden/room, three large

Chinese antique chair in our fully renovated, historically preserved hotel

courtyards, antique “objects d’art” around every corner, a library, and two stories in traditional Chinese architecture, the Linden Centre is a place of tranquility and beauty. The modern world seemed far away despite the computers in the library and office and modern amenities.

Dinner was light—a noodle soup, some fried pork, peanuts, and the Bai fermented cheese. Surprisingly, there were no veggies except in the soup. After dinner, I finally managed to get to the computer to sift through 48 letters and send a few of my own to family and publisher. I actually got Google. When I finally got to bed, Jan was already fast asleep. The altitude and clean, clear, cold air are definite sleep inducers.