Blue China - A blog about Peter Schindler’s on and off the road encounters with people in China

July 1st, 2009

Customer service of a different kind…

Posted by peter

Yesterday, when I was on my way to a China Mobile shop in Chengdu, I saw an Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) branch that was emblazoned with the lovely green logo that identifies this countryside bank. As the taxi drove by, my head swivelled around because I have fond memories of ABC.

It was a good two-and-a-half years ago that I spent many months in Beijing preparing for my epic driving journey through China in Miss Daisy (see www.ontheroadinchina.com/nokiadiscoverchina). One of the myriad preparatory tasks was to open a bank account since it would not have been wise to carry tens and tens of thousands of Yuan in cash with me. If it had been overseas, an international credit card would have been the obvious choice, but in China that would not have gotten me very far, certainly not in the country side. The question then was: which bank? China has many banks, some small, some medium sized and a few large ones such as Bank of China and China Construction Bank. The mother of them all is Agricultural Bank of China. It had, when I checked last, 400,000 employees (that’s after having been trimmed down substantially in the past ten years) and branches nearly everywhere, even in the remotest corners of the country. ABC’s smart green logo brightens up even the dimmest of places. ABC was to be my bank.
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June 13th, 2009

My wife is three years young today…

Posted by peter

We – Olimpia, Luo Sang, Gary, Anne, Lei and I – prepare to leave the Yading Nature Reserve [Where is the Yading Nature Reserve?]. A man approaches Gary’s car. Gary rolls down the window. They talk. I see Gary shaking his head. I wonder what the man wants. Does he want to collect a parking fee? He comes over to my car. I roll down my window. When he sees me he says “But you’re not the driver…” I reply, “Yes, I am. What’s up?” He says he’s to tell me that “you have a severe case of altitude sickness”. In less than a heart-beat, my body floods with adrenaline and I know who he’s talking about: Angie is mortally ill. My eyes fill with mist. I jump out of the car and run as fast as my legs will carry me over to Gary’s car. I yell, “Angie is suffering severely from altitude sickness, I must go ahead first. Don’t try to follow. Please drive safely. The drops are steep.” I dash back to my car, apologise to Olimpia and Luo Sang that this will be a rough ride, but that they needn’t worry. My lungs heave. I breathe in fear and breathe out urgency. I talk to myself, “I must get to Angie. I must get there now.” And then “Don’t drive too fast, you have other lives in your hands.”
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6 Responses :

Cindy Says:
June 13th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Wow! has it been 3 years already? Angie looks great in the photo! Thank you for the reminder to celebrate life!
peter Says:
June 14th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Hello Cindy,
how lovely to hear from you…I forgot that you’re subscribed to my blog! Well, well, wasn’t that a scare then? And I still recall vividly all your support…you went to collect all our things at the hotel, right? Thank you!!!
Yes, Angie’s totally fine, in fact, she’s been fine ever since she took off in the plane from Zhongdian…
Take care, Peter
Linda Says:
June 14th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Well writtened piece - I felt I was right there with you. You’ve captured the intensity of the moment. Yes, we should all celebrate everyday that we have with the ones that we love.
Keith Says:
June 19th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
That is a very moving story Peter, I didn’t know about it.

Give our love to Angie.

(And it is heartening to know that you have a, well, heart, after all!)
Peter Schindler Says:
June 19th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Linda, thanks for your comment….!

Keith, how does the saying go? Who needs enemies with friends like you?
Nino Natividad Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Wow! THis is very nice. Good luck!

Nino Natividad

May 10th, 2009

Between a rock and a hard place…

Posted by peter

In April 2008, Mr. and Mrs. Li’s daughter Xiaojing gave birth to a baby girl, prematurely but without major complications. Xiaojing’s family is from a rural corner of eastern Sichuan, but in 2007 her parents moved to Dongguan, less than two hours’ drive from glittery Hong Kong. Dongguan is a large city in Canton province which, with some justification, can be called the world’s manufactory. It is here that all (or nearly all) the stuff we buy cheaply gets made. For many in China, this is where dreams are born and made. Often it is also where they die.

Mr. and Mrs. Li had come to Dongguan in search of good luck and more income. They had decided to go there because in the rural neighborhood of their native Sichuan they found it nearly impossible to feed a family of four – themselves and their two daughters – and to save enough for the good schooling they hoped to give to their children. It was not an easy decision to leave Xiaojing and her sister behind but thought it would be best for them in the long run. And so Mr. and Mrs. Li went on their long journey to Dongguan where they found work in one of the countless factories there.
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10 Responses :

Terry Says:
May 11th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
a very touching story Peter, thank you.
Peter Schindler Says:
May 11th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Hello Terry, glad you’re still an avid reader…yes, a very sad story…one I really wanted to share…
linda Says:
May 11th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
It is unfortunate that the news story spoke of a girl forced into motherhood too soon. When both parents work, it makes it difficult to teach and supervise the kids. The news story left many questions in my mind (what happened with the rapist/teacher? Adoption an option?).
Peter Schindler Says:
May 11th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Hello Linda,

the story said that the police took DNA samples from both father and baby and that the rapist was arrested pending the results of the test. The story happened over a year ago and aliases were used so I don’t know more than this.

There are over 2 million Liushou Ertong in China…
A-gu Says:
May 12th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I agree, very sad story. New to the blog but happy to read.
CindyK Says:
May 16th, 2009 at 2:36 am
My heart goes out to the girl in the story and her family, and to all the 留守儿童.

I am glad you took the time to post this story. The world needs to know about the conditions of life in China. The world needs to band together to help the people living there.
Peter Schindler Says:
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 am
Thanks Cindy for leaving a note!
Peter
justinjiang Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
It’s really tough for a 14 year school girl and her parents! irreparable damage has been done to the whole family. Thanks for posting this article for us to share bitterness.
justinjiang Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
It’s really tough for a 14 year school girl and her parents! irreparable damage has been done to the whole family. Thanks for posting this article for us to share the bitterness.
Peter Schindler Says:
June 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Hello Justin, I happen to be online. Yes, it’s a life so difficult that I cannot even imagine…Peter

April 25th, 2009

Wouldn’t that be something? (Part II)

Posted by peter

(Last week I wrote about the first part of journey from northwest Yunnan to Thailand. Now the story continues.)

After Dali, we make a brief stopover in Kunming on our way further south to the fabled rice terraces of Yuan Yang. These rice terraces, when in winter and early spring the rice has not yet grown so tall and strong as to hide the water in which it is planted, offer some of the world’s most spectacular sun rise views.

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2 Responses :

John Says:
April 30th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
Beautiful pictures of Yunnan. Although I’m from Kunming, I’m sorry to say I haven’t been to the places you’ve mentioned above.
Tina Says:
May 2nd, 2009 at 3:33 am
I really like some of the pictures that you shared. Also your articles make for a great reading.

Keep ‘em coming.

Tina
http://www.ekhichdi.com/fashion-and-styles/ballon-fashion-dress-show

April 18th, 2009

Wouldn’t that be something?!

Posted by peter

I’m at Kunming airport [Kunming is the capital of Yunnan, one of China’s most diverse provinces in the country’s South West] waiting to board my flight back to Hong Kong. It is Friday afternoon. I hope there are no end-of-week air traffic delays because I’m longing to be home, to sit on our balcony with a glass of chilled white in one hand, a cigar with a good draw in the other, and to tell Angie the details of the last few days since we went our separate ways in Chiang Mai, she on a flight via Bangkok back to Hong Kong, I by car back to Kunming. I’m longing to be home because I’ve been on the road non-stop for almost five weeks. The first two-and-a-half weeks I spent in Germany, Austria and Switzerland meeting with companies in the travel trade. Europe was good, but it is the second half of my time away from Hong Kong that I want to tell you about.

Six months ago Angie and I spent the Chinese National Holiday week (centred around October 1) travelling from Northern Thailand – the Thai side of the Golden Triangle, to be precise – via a leisurely river cruise on the Mekong to Luang Prabang in Lao. At the start of the journey, our tour guide took us to a small hill in the Golden Triangle from which we enjoyed a good view of the point where the borders of the three countries – Thailand, Myanmar and Lao – come together. Near the top of the hill we found, mounted in a metal frame, a map of the Golden Triangle and its neighbouring regions.
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7 Responses :

Phyllis Says:
April 18th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
How about ?
执子之手，与子携老。
- to hold your (the partner)’s hands, to grow old together.

more valuable than the rarest precious gem, and most fortunate if one could find
peter Says:
April 19th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Hello Phyllis, hadn’t seen this one before…very nice, thanks for sharing!
Vivienne Says:
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:33 pm
那是“身无彩凤双飞翼，心有灵犀一点通”
Vivienne Says:
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
出自唐朝诗人李商隐的诗作
Peter Schindler Says:
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Vivi,你好，没听说过这个；还是要多跟你学普通话！
Peter
Eulalie Says:
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Keep up the good work.
Blue China - A blog about Peter Schindler’s on and off the road encounters with people in China » Blog Archive » Wouldn’t that be something? (Part II) Says:
April 25th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
[...] « Wouldn’t that be something?! [...]

March 22nd, 2009

Five steep, wooden ladders…

Posted by peter

A few weeks ago a friend sent me an article with the words: “You might want to share this story with your readers. It moved me a great deal.” Here is the story.

In a very remote corner of south-central Sichuan there is a hamlet perched upon a cliff high upon the canyon formed by the mighty Dadu River. This hamlet doesn’t have a name. Instead, it is known by the description of its location: the Second Level Terrace of the Wushi Bridge Village in Gan Luo county which is one of many in the Liang Shan Yi Minority Autonomous prefecture of Sichuan, China. This tiny spec in the Chinese universe is home to four hundred members of the Yi Minority, one of China’s fifty six officially recognised ethnic groups. (All in all, there are 6.6 million Yi in China, thus accounting for one half of one percent of the population.) Among them live two teachers, Mr. Li Guilin and Ms. Lu Jianfen. By their own accounting their lives are entirely ordinary.
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7 Responses :

Eileen Jong Says:
March 23rd, 2009 at 10:07 am
Thanks for sharing this Peter. It’s inspiring, and definitely puts the day-to-day moans about teaching in HK into perspective!
Alan Morgan Says:
March 23rd, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Avery moving story and I am sure these people are not alone here in China.
sky b., tel-aviv Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 5:05 am
wow! i just read the story, by incedent, so othentic and moving one family’s day life…
thanks
Qingdao Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Excellent read. Do you know where I can find the complete list of the [2008 “Touching the Nation” award]? I’d like to find out if we have any winners from QD.
peter Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
Hello “Qingdao”,

The original article is on http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2009-02/06/content_10771658.htm.

If you’d like, I can ask the friend who sent me this article if she knows where the complete list is published.

Peter
Horlic Says:
March 26th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Thanks for sharing
Hek Says:
April 10th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
Inspirational stuff!

hek

February 28th, 2009

Here’s to the world becoming smaller!

Posted by peter

Friday two weeks ago, I phoned up Frites to make a reservation for lunch the following day.

“For tomorrow lunch, can you give us a really nice table? Perhaps the one in the corner, you know which one I mean?” I asked the restaurant manager.

“Not sure I can give you the corner table, but I’ll reserve a nice and romantic one for you,” the manager replied.

“A nice one will do fine. It needn’t be romantic,” I replied tersely, partly wondering why he put the emphasis on “romantic”, partly irritated that he wouldn’t give us the corner table I wanted. On the other end of the line I could hear the waiter give off a laugh. I didn’t know why.

My wife could see that I was puzzled. “You don’t know what’s tomorrow, do you?” she asked.

“No, what’s tomorrow?” I admitted to having no clue.
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8 Responses :

王皓\红红 Says:
March 2nd, 2009 at 6:13 pm
来看看。
martin Says:
March 2nd, 2009 at 10:23 pm
OF COURSE it is worth celebrating Valentine’s Day. It doesn’t make it an obligation just because it’s arranged once a year. I like an excuse to send my Valentine flowers to the office for all of her colleagues to see and admire
Peter Schindler Says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 6:21 am
But Martin, why don’t you send flowers when you think about it during the year? And why only once? Instead of sending it on Valentine’s Day, why not at some time during the year with the words: “Just thought of you”…
Bertram Says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 am
I also am against the whole Valentine’s thing - mostly because the price of roses and restauratns goes up (used to be in Hong Kong you couldn;t book your favourite restaurants without having to buy the special Valentine menu). Not that I’m cheap (okay I’m losing the argument I know), but just don’t want to inflate someone else’s profits. A nice cooked dinner at home and flowers the day after … yes she’s a lucky girl.
Peter Schindler Says:
March 3rd, 2009 at 9:52 am
I think you’re going my way, but not far enough…the most meaningful - in my not-so-humble opinion - is to celebrate spontaneously, to celebrate when the mood strikes, not because a date comes along…and if it turns out that the mood never strikes over 365 days, well, celebrating on Valentine’s Day ain’t gonna save the relationship…will it?
Murray Arundell Says:
March 8th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Hi Peter, I’m with you re Valentine’s Day. Refuse to acknowledge it at all. I like you prefer to celebrate my relationship with my wife on an ongoing basis and not on a day which has come about purely to increase sales figures for Greeting Card Manufacturers, Florist and Restaurants. We were in Singapore on Valentines Day this year. We wandered along to Holland Village for dinner and it amazed us just how many of the restaurants were demanding that we order only from their special “Valentine’s Menu”. We passed on this and eventually ate in a place that was operating as it should and ignoring such nonsense.
Vivienne Says:
March 12th, 2009 at 7:17 am
hi
Phyllis Says:
April 18th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
Angie and you are really an adorable couple

February 21st, 2009

Zest for life…

Posted by peter

A few weeks ago I wrote about the hour I spent “teaching” the middle school students of Shang Gao in Jiangxi province. (Here’s the article: Bounced Mail) I was reminded of this experience when one of my “Best wishes for the Chinese New Year” emails bounced back: it was the one to Eva Yi, my friend who is from Shang Gao. I stayed with her father when I came through Shang Gao in the spring of 2007, and it was Eva who made it possible for me to spend an hour with the students of this small town.

When the email I sent to her bounced, I was worried that I might have lost contact with her. But soon tracked down her new email address and re-sent my Chinese New Year message to her. Soon afterwards received the following happy reply (published with her consent, of course). I thought you might find it interesting.

“Hi Peter,

It is so good to get message from you!

First of all, let me send my best regards to you and Angie, happy Chinese new year!

I have left [my previous employer] a month ago, I have experienced a lot during this one and a half year, let me share you and Angie my story.
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3 Responses :

anonymous Says:
February 21st, 2009 at 7:41 pm
glad some people can be happy with little money… not my style
Benjamin Says:
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:39 am
One of my most inspirational teachers (also, one of the most depressing ones) taught in one class that life for the alpha male or female is usually harsh and unforgiving:
In their 20s, they’re young and they party.
In their 30s, they work and work.
In their 40s, they work, but also think about settling down and starting a family.
In their 50s, they work, but soon realize they don’t know their kids and that their marriage is a failure.
In their 60s, they work and spend some time wondering what the hell they’re going to do after they retire.
Apparently, according to the stats, these people don’t live long after they retire…

This inspirational teacher’s story was striking and frightening. We all thought it was a joke until he admitted that it sums up pretty much his own life, which is why he wanted to remind us that we should never lose track of what’s important for us as a person, beyond our careers.

The reason why I thought about this is because I’m quite happy that your friend Eva has indeed found her own path to her personal development and fulfillment. I can understand that you admire her “Zest for life”. I’m sure she’s very happy to be able to live on a government scholarship and take a few dance lessons. However, I’m not sure she didn’t do the total opposite of what that inspirational professor described. I can not prevent myself from wondering how she’s going to provide tuition for her children, how she’s going to face the mortgage payments for her apartment, and with what she’s going to take care of her aging parents… especially since healthcare is one of the biggest concern for the Chinese because of its disproportioned expenses compared to the average Chinese salary. From this point of view, doesn’t her decision to quit her job, go back to her carefree student life, and take a few dance classes appear simply childish and irresponsible?
Peter Schindler Says:
February 23rd, 2009 at 10:39 am
Hello Benjamin,

great comment - thoughtful and thought-provoking. The first thing that comes to mind is that in the end it comes down to striving for a balance: to live only for tomorrow is probably not the right thing; to live only for today not the wisest either!

That said, I will give your comment some more thought and will write again later…

February 7th, 2009

Bright Flashes of Chinese Culture…

Posted by peter

A good friend of men, Ben, sent me a link to a sparkling collection of photos (mostly) about Chinese celebrating the arrival of the new year. They are marvellous, these photos…enjoy…
(The photo featured here is by (LIU JIN/AFP/Getty Images))

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One Responses :

红红、王皓 Says:
February 9th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
元宵节快乐！(*^__^*)

February 7th, 2009

In Search of my Mother (5)

Posted by peter

A few weeks ago I started publishing my translation of an article written by a man from Chengdu who went in search of his mother after the earthquake had struck in Sichuan last May.

The first instalment of the story as well as the reasons for my publishing it are here.

And here are the other, previously published instalments:

* Second Instalment
* Third Instalment
* Fourth Instalment

And now the story continues…

May 17, 2008

At about five thirty in the morning, we suddenly heard other villages get ready to depart. Since our bones were clattering and the night’s deep-freeze had for hours kept us from sleeping, we shot up in order to be able to follow them since they, too, were heading deeper into the mountains in search of their relatives.

The road we travelled was quite damaged by landslides as well, but it was infinitely better than what we had encountered at the Kuzhu dam.

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