Traveling the World

Tag: Minority

Chengdu Minority Performance

by on Oct.22, 2009, under China

Minority Performance Center

We took a private van to the performance, where upon arrival, we were greeted with sashes and full cups of sweet Tibetan wine which immediately gave us all a buzz! We were given amazing seats, and no one around us had sashes or wine, so we felt quite special. We were amongst the first people inside, and thus waited about 20 minutes or so before the place filled up. I saw a flier earlier in the evening that made me think the real price of a ticket was around 200rmb ($29), yet we paid only 80rmb ($12.50)! During the performance, we were given bracelets by some of the female performers, again something no one else got!

Sashes

The man who sold us the tickets ran over several times to translate the Chinese coming up on the screens to the side. He explained that despite hoping to become a huge tourist attraction in the future, as it’s quite new there haven’t been any subtitles put in place yet. They also said no pictures or video was allowed to be taken, yet the head of security gave us the go ahead! I decided I liked the feeling the wine gave me, so I asked for more wine, and they said sure, but none was seen.

Richard enjoyed his nap until we attempted to wake him up several times. He felt the performance was boring, and I agreed to some extent. I love Chinese culture, but I hate Chinese performances and drama, as the acting is always terrible. The only part of the performance I enjoyed was the juggling and modern dancing. Sad, huh? I’ll let those more interested in ancient history and traditional aspects of the culture experience it for themselves and give us a more detailed review.

Minority Performance Center

At the end, Richard was approached by a woman and a cameraman, who asked if he spoke Chinese. Lucky for me, he pointed straight at me with a shit-eating grin on his face. They asked me questions on camera in Chinese and people started swarming around me. I spoke as quickly as I could to make it sound like I knew what I was saying, but in all honesty, I was quite nervous and only understand half of what they were saying, and couldn’t express myself fully.

As we left, they asked us to wait a minute. After the minute was over, they produced a brand new mini keg of the same wine we drank earlier and told us to enjoy it! I had only expected a single glass, but they gave us the whole keg for FREE! I felt like a superstar, and going completely against Chinese custom, we all tipped the man 20rmb ($2.80). If you would like to meet up with Mr. Lee and experience this performance or any other activity he has to offer, you can find him at the People’s Park, or call him at +8613908035353.


1 Comment :, , , , , , , more...

Chengdu – Part 1

by on Oct.18, 2009, under China

The train to Chengdu was terrible. We were originally planning to go straight to Shanghai from Guilin, but the woman at the station said Guilin to Chengdu was only 9 hours. We had hard seats, and since Lily and I spent 15 hours on the hard seats from Wuhan to Guilin, we figured 9 wouldn’t be so bad. That is, until we realized we were terribly, terribly wrong. Read about it here.

We took a van from the train station to the Dragon Town Hostel that blatantly overcharged us 50rmb when it should have been about 15rmb, so the hostel reimbursed us because they were supposed to pick us up and didn’t. We decided on privacy over price and got 2 rooms, each with 2 beds. The front desk service was great, the staff spoke good English and always gave good recommendations for activities and restaurants. On the down side, the internet and computers were very slow and the bathrooms smelled, but the beds were comfortable.

People's Park

As soon as we dropped the bags, we went on a mission to find the People’s Park on foot. I’d seen many programs about China on Discovery Channel, and almost each one showed this park, so it was a must see for me. The most important aspect of this mission was to have my ears cleaned! En route to the ear cleaning, Melba began to feel weak, so we changed our mission to eat until we had to roll out of the restaurant. A man who works there and spoke amazing English pointed us in the direction of an expensive restaurant, and he wasn’t joking about this being the best food in Sichuan.

Tai Chi

After the first mission was complete, I was free to fulfill my several year long dream of having my ears cleaned here. For a tiny 20rmb note, ($2.80) I experienced the cold and painful, yet exotic and thrilling feeling of bliss that was a dream seen through. As I began to hear things more clearly by the minute, I went in search of the man to thank him for his recommendation, and asked about any other activities he was aware of. He told us about a minority performance in the north of the city being done by the Yi and Chang minorities, and for a price of only 80rmb, we said hell yes! We still had some time before we left for the performance, so we took pictures and joined the elderly people doing Tai Chi.

The next morning we got up super early and went out to the Panda research base 10km from the hostel. It cost 58rmb to get in. To play with the small black and white Pandas cost 1000rmb, and the small red raccoon like pandas cost 100rmb. Alfred and Richard paid the 1000rmb for me because I couldn’t afford it and they wanted me to do it with them. I was really appreciative, even if I didn’t express it in words.


2 Comments :, , , , , more...

Miao Village – The Experience

by on Jul.07, 2009, under China

Bathroom

After the 1 hour journey through the mountains, we had learned the songs necessary for being allowed into the village. The women of the village presented themselves, and we began our song. Funny enough, we were interrupted by two large oxen returning to the village followed by an old woman hunched over from years of carrying things in a basket on her back. She was slowly whipping them to keep them in line. Once they passed and we finished our songs, we were granted passage. Once through the gate, we walked to the bathroom area which was located next to the classrooms. As a teacher, I was appalled by the state of their classrooms. They have only a few desks, no light coming in except from the windows, a chalk board, and of course a Chinese flag.

Brick Houses

After the bathroom break, we began walking through the town, stopping to see the insides of their one-room “houses.” They were each maybe 600ft.2 (60m.2) and fit a family of probably 5 or 6. Barely any lighting was fixed, and the houses were made of mud bricks, something I saw at the Naxi village in Yunnan province. Their kitchens were a pit on the ground where fire could be made, and a wooden beam above it to hang a pot. They also have three large wooden barrels within a cement area that would store rice. Outside of that, the rest of the house was abysmal.

Lovers Playground

We later went through the rice paddies and up to the top of the village and into a cave. They told us that the cave was once inhabited by bandits a long time ago. It was beautiful, wet, and about 10-15 degrees cooler than on the outside. After taking pictures and checking out the entire cave, we left through another exit which took us to more rice paddies. We walked down in what seemed like forever, eventually reaching an area called “lover’s playground.” This place is definitely a paradise, and can be a great place to be intimate. There are many areas to be explored, like the hills in the background! On the ground you will find swings, the source of the river (with a cave you could probably enter), a bridge, and rafts.

To leave this area, we had to go back up the same way we came from, through the caves, the rice paddies, and through the village. We eventually landed up at the lunch table! The food we were served is pictured above, and they kept it coming. I felt bad about how much food the Chinese tourists were eating, so I didn’t eat as much as I could because I know they rely on this food for many things. As I sat there and ate their amazing food, the pouring rain was a symbolic reminder to me of their long-standing plight. I think the food tasted so good to me because it symbolized their love and hard work, as the food they grow is their main source of income.

Stage

After lunch, the children escorted us to a section of the village we hadn’t seen yet. It housed a stage for their daily performances. It began with them playing the drums, and something definitely interesting to listen to. After that, the girls from the stage ran out to the audience and smudged black paint on the faces of someone they liked. It is customary for any man touched by the Miao girls to go on stage and sing for the entire audience. Of course, being the only foreigner, I was tagged by one of the girls. The problem was, no one spoke English, and I hate singing, so I flaked out and ran to the back room. I asked the tour guide to teach me one of their local songs so I could show respect to the village. With the help of my girlfriend to write down the tones, the tour guide taught me a song. I then proceeded back in front of the audience and sang not only a Chinese song, but a song in their dialect. I think they were impressed, even though I know I sucked since it was my first time singing it. I do NOT have a recording of it, so you’ll never listen to how bad it was, muwhaahah!

We left after being there for most of the day, and it was a touching experience that opened my eyes to a new and different reality that exists within China. Talking with the locals gives you such a dismal view of minority life in China, quite different from the other minorities I’ve met here. The trip to this Miao village was awesome and completely worth the time and money. To participate in this amazing experience, call +8615874386223 or 0743-3225512, or check out their website at http://www.fhjlb.com


Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Comments Off :, , , , , , , , , more...

Miao Village – The Information

by on Jul.06, 2009, under China

A day ago I thought this trip to a local minority group’s village would be something I’d do to pass the time and learn about something new. Little did I know that the experience would ring so true that I felt a need to completely detail it in it’s own article. We did this event on our second day in Fenghuang, and it would set the tone for the rest of our trip. I think it’s appropriate to begin my article with a traditional song sung by the Miao people.

jin tian a ge lai kan mei
yi jin lai dao dong jiu chun.
dong jiu chun de a mei duo
gē gē dou hui chāng shān gē.

This song (when altered to form a meaning in English) means:

We already arrived at the Dong Jiu village, where
today a handsome boy is going to visit his lover.
At this village there are many gorgeous women,
And the handsome boys sing beautiful songs.

Food they served us

Before actually telling about the experience, I wish to outline a few observations. From my experience, this is one of the poorest places I’ve ever been to, and it’s a huge shame how poor these people are. I don’t know how they manage to smile for tourists, because I know it’s not something I could feign 24/7. The Miao might not be physically beautiful, but their village and hearts are, and that’s all that matters to me. They work so hard to please the visitors and be hospitable, so much so that they use most of the food they grow to feed their visitors. This is because they can earn much more money from what visitors pay to do the day trip to their village, than from selling it to other local inhabitants. Below I will share some of their special words.

dian pao = beautiful woman
dai dai = little kid
mo rou = hello
niu rou gan = good-bye
hello = I want to do housework (I’m not kidding)

Now that you know how to talk to them, you should learn some of their rules:

Dong jiu village entrance

  • In order to enter the village, you must sing their songs. If they are not happy with it, the leader of the group will be held captive as the headmaster of their 2-room school and be forced to do duties.
  • Do not whistle. They believe in ghosts and devils, so they think whistling will signal them to come. If you whistle, it means you wish them harm.
  • They have huge bricks in the doorway in between the outside and inside of their buildings. The bricks stand for their society and ideals, so stepping on the brick means you don’t respect them.
  • Don’t bring an umbrella into a house. It means you wish to marry the inhabitant.

Some other societal norms are that women tend to marry young, but they tend to have babies out of wedlock. In fact, most women in the village marry around 17 or 18, which means they have kids around 15 or 16 sometimes! If you are interested in one of the girls, the best way to let them know is by tuggin on their clothes. If she likes you, she will in turn step on your heel. Afterwards something can be arranged, such as the opportunity to create a baby. As hardcore (and fun) as this sounds, my understanding is that they are strict about keeping the bloodline pure, so this social act only goes for the Miao people.

The sad reality is that they are quite cut off from the outside world. From Fenghuang, it takes almost an hour through a treacherous mountain pass to reach the village of which only the first 10 minutes of the journey is paved. As a result, if anyone wishes to reach Fenghuang or any other nearby towns, they must walk or hitchhike. Because it is so difficult, people rarely leave the village. Another consequence of this is that people only began visiting the village in 2006, and they were hooked up to the electrical grid in 2005.

Satellite Dish

Despite being extremely poor, almost every family has a satellite dish to help educate them about the outside world. Most of the people can’t even speak Mandarin, leaving them stuck in the past and within their own society, thus making the satellite dishes almost worthless. Most families here have many children because the One Child Policy does not apply to minority groups in China. In addition to having too many children, there is not enough money to adequately educate and take care of everyone. One of the little kids I met told me that most children in the village are only schooled for two years before beginning to work in order to earn money to help their family and younger siblings become educated.

Look for the next article: Miao Village – The Experience!


Podcast: Play in new window | Download

2 Comments :, , , , , , , , more...