May 14, 2012

A few years ago a Chinese student named Xiao Shao came to Texas Tech University to study the Chinese role in the Vietnam War at the Vietnam Archive. He attended every one of Ron's classes - not because he was getting any credit, but because he enjoyed Ron's subjects, and he learned English by sitting in on the classes. They became good friends, and when he left America he got a job at Jinan University in Guangzhou China. A few weeks after we arrived in Vietnam, Ron was invited to come to Guangzhou to speak to Xiao Shao's students and faculty. So we went to the Chinese Embassy 3 times to try to get a Visa to China. This was not a simple matter. The first time we were rejected because we needed a letter of invitation written in Chinese and we were too early. The second time we were actually interviewed and then rejected because the letter was not written by a high enough official at the university. We got that fixed and third time we went there we gave them our passports and were told to go to a bank 20 minutes away to pay $160 apiece and we had to wait 3 days for it all to be processed. Finally we were accepted and May 7 we flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Guangzhou China. Guangzhou is a city of 13 million people! It's hard to believe that the government in China still has the law of only 1 baby per couple. There are so many people in this country!!!

We were met at the airport by Xiao Shao and we took a taxi to our hotel which was right on campus.

He took us to dinner at a tea house, and he elaborately poured hot water into a tea pot, then into little glasses, then he put tea leaves into another pot and let it steep. Then he poured us little cups of tea. This procedure went on and on. He ordered dinner for us and we had so many dishes that I can't even remember them all. Some of them sweet, some not sweet.

The next day Ron gave his lecture on America's relationship with China in World War II.  They had posters up in the main area advertising his talk.

Then in the afternoon he gave another talk on Chinese Immigration to America and America's Response.

Both talks were well received and I was very proud of him.

The next day we were on our own. Our plan was to take a taxi to this museum that was recommended, but the front desk couldn't get a taxi for us, so we walked a long way to the main entrance of the college and couldn't find a taxi there either. We found a huge mall and after lunch we saw "The Avengers." It was in English with Chinese sub titles.

The next day we were met at our hotel again, and taken to another building where Ron did a Q&A for the History Department staff. He pretty much talked about how he started out in the education business, how he wrote his book, and how he got it published. He also touched on the current issues of Chinese/American relations.

Then they took us out to dinner at a restaurant right on campus. We were in a private room and the food was spectacular. Everything from duck, to sautéed pumpkin branches. They served us little, tiny glasses of wine and kept filling them up. Most of the staff spoke English too.



The next day we flew to Xí An. This is also a very huge city with millions of people. Here lie the Terra-Cotta Warriors which are the 8th Wonder of the World. In 1974 some farmers were digging a well and came across some pottery fragments and ancient bronze weapons and reported it to the local government.  With government approval, an archaeological team began digging and found thousands of statues of warriors and horses under the earth and they continue to dig up more and more. It seems that a Chinese Emperor had these statues built so they would protect him in the afterlife, but once they were built, he had them buried! They face east with their backs to his tomb and they served as guardians to protect the entrance to his burial. There are estimated that 8,000 life-size pottery warriors and horses are buried in this area, along with tons of weapons. This all happened 2,200 years ago! Most of them were found in pieces, and it's taking a long time to put them all back together.

An archer.

Xí An has lots of Pagodas and museums, but our favorite was the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. We walked there from our hotel and there was a huge water show taking place very similar to the one at the Bellagio in Las Vegas with extravagant music and lights. There are just so many people in China that it's goes beyond description! Hundreds of families lined the water and there were booths selling everything imaginable.

I had lots and lots more pictures of China but I seem to have lost my camera somewhere at our hotel in Xí An! I'm just sick about it.

Tomorrow we go to Cambodia.