"We interrupt our regularly scheduled Photo
Diary for the exchange program for this Special Announcement..."
Frankly, this first week was pretty interesting, in that "may you
have a interesting life" sort of way. Based on all previous
experiences with travelling in China, up to and including earlier
this year, we were confident about the process of setting up travel,
getting visas, etc. The "interesting" part of 2008 (of course) is
the Olympics.
Our first clue about possible 2008 challenges was when we made ...
or tried to make... the plane reservations. Our desired travel date
was Thursday, May 22 for a Friday night arrival and a full weekend
to get oriented. You leave Detroit about 3 PM and get to where you
are staying in Beijing about 10-11 PM the next evening. Literally
overnight, the planes out of Detroit to Beijing filled for that Thursday,
but Wednesday and Friday were open. OK, we'll take Wednesday and
get out a day early. A few hours later, our agent called and "poof"
Wednesday was now gone and Friday was 2/3 full, so he snagged the
seats that he could for Friday so even though we would not be sitting
together, at least we had reservations.
The next challenge turned out to be housing. Again, thanks to the
Olympics, the rate of building new places to stay was slightly behind
the rate of rentals. After some give and take, we ended up at a newly
opened apartment complex owned by Peking U.
Then, the real nail-biter: visas. In mid-March, restrictions started
to tighten up and what was formerly an easy process was a moving
target of changing rules and policies. On top of it, I was in China
for the month of April, and then for a week in May prior to the scheduled
arrival of the students to Ann Arbor (on May 18) I was in London,
so I was coordinating this long distance... sending out regular updates
to the students. As I left for London, the word was that only 4 of
the 12 visas had been issued and then only for 30 days... and with
a week to go before the students arrived.
We needed to produce a couple of rounds of paperwork, stamped the
right way, and pulled in as many contacts as we had at Peking U and
U of Michigan. When I got back to the US on May 17, the first round
of paperwork had been accepted (that is, the request was no summarily
denied), which was a good sign. The material for the second set of
paper, which had been requested on Friday, was being assembled for
the opening of the workday on Monday.
The students arrived for their US Orientation program on Sunday,
May 18. On Monday morning... I found out that the 4 visas had been
extended to 80-90 days. Good news, and another good sign. The paperwork
went in on Tuesday, and the visa agency and/or the Chinese Consulate
in Chicago decided that the processing needed to be done in Washington
DC, because the homes for the students were all over the US (instead
of the states usually processed in Chicago). On Tuesday afternoon,
we got word that things looked good for approval. On Wednesday afternoon,
with two days to go before the planned travel day, we got word that
all of the visas were approved and passports were on their way to
the travel agent in Ann Arbor. On Thursday morning, we got the call
that "the Eagle had landed" in Ann Arbor, and at about 3 PM on Thursday,
about 24 hours before departure, the passports and visas were in
hand.
You will note that Thursday at 3 PM is the time when we had originally
wanted to be departing, but because the agent had hesitated to make
the reservations until final approval from me, we had ended up boxed
out of Thursday... then Wednesday... then ended up with Friday. |
Typically, the space over at the left would have been
filled with the first pictures of the US students' orientation prior
to departing for China. And I suppose it could have been, but as you
can see (read on the left) I was somewhat distracted and taking pictures
was not on my mind.
Suffice it to say:
Sunday - May 18 : Students arrive in Ann Arbor
Monday - Thursday (May 19 - 22) : US Orientation
Friday - May 23 (3 PM) : Depart for China
Saturday - May 24 (10 PM) : Arrive in China
Sunday - May 25 : sleep in, walk around the apartment area, grab
breakfast in one of the little restaurants or cafeteria... pick up
at 11 AM.
"We now join our exchange program, already in progress..." |
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Sunday, May 25 - Wanliu Apartment complex (11 AM)
As you can see, the buildings are still being finished. The students
are staying in Building 2, which was the back-up to Building 4 (or
3, I forget), which is just now being completed. It may be ready
for occupancy in a week or so, at which time everyone will move over
a hundred meters or so from where they are now. |
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Wanliu Building 2 |
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Mission #1 - Lunch at Wanliu restaurant (plus a little impromptu
Chinese lesson on the names of dishes).
Here are (from the left, and then clockwise): Thomas (from U Rochester),
Marko (from UC Berkeley), Kelly (from Michigan State U), Zhaleh (from
Cornell U), Spencer (from Emory and Henry), Zach (from U Michigan),
Xu (from Macalester), and Melody (from U Michigan) |
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Continuing at the next table... from the lower left... Justin (from
U Michigan - UMPKU alum from 2007, here to assist for the first few
weeks), Donna (from U Idaho), Nian (language instructor), Alisa (U
Rochester), Allison (U Michigan), and Nicole (Cornell U). |
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Because it was Sunday, the internet connections in the rooms could
not be set up, so everyone's parents were probably freaked out because
no one could contact them. So (somehow) our program folks knew about
this little underground (and I do mean underground) internet place.
So we stopped there after lunch and everyone had a chance to send a
message home. |
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And then... we were off for the day! |
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On the day after travelling to Asia, my opinion is that taking people
out and exhausting them in 90-degree heat is the perfect way to try
and recalibrate their biological clocks. And what better and more iconic
way of doing that than by a visit to the Forbidden CIty and Imperial
Palace. When you are in China, start at the center and work your way
out! |
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Built from 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 surviving
buildings with almost 9000 bays of rooms and covers 720,000
square meters. It served to house the Imperial rulers for nearly 500
years (wikipedia). |
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This place set the standard for Chinese architecture, and the motifs
are much-copied. |
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Our tour guide (under the pink umbrella) gives some history to the
group. |
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UM/PKU Class of 2008
Zhaleh, Donna, Nian (language), Kelly, Xu, Zach, Tom, Spencer, Alisa,
Marko, Melody, Nicole, Allison, and Justin (assistant) |
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Boy or Girl Lion?
You check under the paw to find out! |
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The next few shots will give you a sense of the place. |
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This central building complex was still undergoing its pre-Olympics
face-lift (a process that hase been going on for a couple of years). |
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Far in the distance, you can see these pavillions that overlook the
Forbidden City. |
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Readers of my other photo diaries will know that I am somewhere between
fascinated and obsessed by the little creatures who ornament the roof
edges in the Imperial Chinese architecture.
It all begins with the mighty, majestic and magnificent dragon,
who bestows the magical energy of a celestial creature, bringing
courage, creativity and capabilities that spell success.
The Imperial Dragon of the Chinese Emperors had 5 claws, and (because
9 is the ancient lucky number) 9 sons. Each of the sons has different
attributes and manifestations and their presence bring as much auspicious
energy as the father dragon.
CHIWEN the 2nd son whose short body is often seen guarding rooftops.
He is usually depicted with his large mouth grasping the edges of
the roof. He enjoys looking at the scenery and his expertise lies
in the control of water. With him guarding both ends of the ridges
of rooftops, there will never be any danger of fire. You can see Chiwen
on the right. Out in front of Chiwen are the various creatures that
also have attributes that help guard and protect. The more of these
animals there are, the more important the buiding. |
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These roof ornaments represented mythical beings, and included
an immortal deity riding a mythical bird, who was often placed at
the head of a troupe of beasts consisting of an evil-dispelling bull,
a courageous goat-bull, a wind- and storm-summoning fish, a mythical
lion, an auspicious seahorse, a heavenly horse, a lion and a chiwen
(son of a dragon), according to Wikipedia.
The function of this group of mythical beings was to defend the
residents of the building against evil spirits. Their number was
also indicative of the number of tasks performed in the building,
with the maximum possible number of beasts being nine. In addition,
the last creature in the succession of mythic creatures is almost
invariably a dragon. On the roof of the the Hall of Supreme Harmony
in the Forbidden City is displayed the maximum number of eleven beasts,
with the exceptional addition of an immortal guardian, placed in
front of the dragon.
It's the guy up front (I call him the chicken man) who really gets
me. Who gets to be up front? There
is a lot of speculation about this... but one way or another,
I mean to turn you into an acolyte in the cult of the Chicken Man.
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Inside one of the Imperial Buildings. |
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This scene cracked me up.
It reminded me of that Georges Seurat impressionist
painting...
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So I photoshopped the picture a little to make it look impressionistic.
Hee.
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This great ceramic mural depicts the 9 sons of the dragon. |
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Pop quiz: boy or girl? |
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Pop quiz... oh, sorry... got carried away for a moment.
Allison decided
she wanted to become part of the living display in the Forbidden
City. |
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The Palace Museum is filled with rare artifacts from various Imperial
Eras. Bells are meant to be one of the sons of the dragon... makes
the sound that all can hear. |
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A lovely piece of lapis. The Palace Museum closes at 3:30... |
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An incense burner (with an attitude). |
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A typical view involving traditional Chinese architecture. |
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Again: inside. |
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The Forbidden City closes at 5 PM.
Well, by the end of the day, you
can see what happens. |
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From one end to the other... time to nap.
No time for that!
It was time for dinner! |
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After dinner, we headed back to that same area to cruise around Tiananmen
Square. Every morning at sunrise, and every day at sunset, there is
the raising and lowering ceremony for the national flag.
Tonight's performance: 7:31 PM |
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Tiananmen Square is located just exactly south of the Forbidden City,
which you can see in the background. |
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The South Gate is overseen by the most famous portrait of Mao Zedong. |
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Most of the group decided that this spot was just fine for watching
the ceremony. |
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Guards and crowds along Tiananmen Square. |
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I was not too sure why a fire extinguisher might be necessary at
a flag lowering ceremony. |
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Perhaps - neither did he. |
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.........................................................Mao |
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Before you are too amused by this, recall that I looked exactly the
same as they. |
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I really really like this composition. |
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The Chinese national flag lowers... |
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And all the lights come on around the Square. |
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OK... NOW is it time to go home? |
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Yes.
Day one is in the books.
And, as it turns out, Week One. |
