Our First Trip to China

After six days (9 hours/day) of intense training our team deserved a much needed break. We planned a day trip for our group to Dazu County located about 110 miles east of our hotel. The kids didn't appreciate the 6:30 am wake-up calls but we had to do it in order to get them out of bed, fed at breakfast and on the road by 7:30 am for the 2 hour ride. Work hard...play hard!!

The 2 hour drive was a great way to see the countryside outside of the city limits. We had an engish-speaking guide named "Karen" - - she was a bit hard to understand for two reasons:

(1) a very thick Mandarin accent which caused her to put extra "arrrrrrrs" and "errrrrrs" on just about every word and heavy slurring which made her sound like she was drunk and

(2) she was using a really bad microphone so it felt like we were getting a tour from the local Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru attendant

But she was a very nice young lady and tried her best. It didn't matter, most of the kids fell asleep as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot and the ones that were still awake were tuned out and listening to their ipods. The 3 Moms on the bus appreciated her effort and she actually shared some very interesting Chongqing factoids with us:

Population is about 30 million of which 24 million are farmers.

Chongqing is the fourth largest municipality in China (in area and population after Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin)

There are very few bicycles in Chongqing. It is known as the "mountain city" - - a city built along the hillsides alongside the rivers. Because it's so "hilly" it is the only major metro area in China without alot of bikes.

They also call it the "furnace city." The average highest temperature is 81-101°F in summer and the extreme temperature can reach as high as 111°F. We've been very lucky...it's been hot but not as bad as in previous summers...it's been averaging in the low 90's everyday...but it's also extremely humid. There's no breeze because everything gets trapped in the mountainous landscape (wind, fog and icky smog)

Chongqing is a "model city" which explains the explosion of construction and development of transportation infrastructure and improvements. Because of its size and location along the Yangtze River it is a major port and gateway to moving goods up through the Western part of China. Because of the huge population Chongqing is also a good source of plentiful labor. For these reasons the central government has designated Chongqing as "the Gateway to the West" and is pouring alot of investment (both foreign and domestic) into developing the city. There are beautiful high-rise, "manhattan-style" condos being built on every corner.

As we left the city limits you could really see the contrast between the new and the old. The two hour drive was like a step back in time. Development is seeping into some of the rural areas as well with the building of big factories and manufacturing plants and then seeing residential structures and schools going up nearby. It's alot like driving east on HWY 580 and slowly seeing wide open spaces and farmland being converted into retail/residential and theater complexes or the next IKEA or Walmart Supercenter. Similar redevelopment efforts here but less focus on retail/entertainment in the outskirts of town.

The best part of the ride was seeing the old farmland and seeing the locals working the land and seemingly living their lives oblivious to the modernization that was creeping up on them.

People live very simple lives in China...there are no extravagances.

You eat what you grow in your own backyard.

No matter how big your family is laundry is washed by hand and hung on a clothesline to dry in the sun.

People WALK everywhere!

When you want to make improvements on your house, you don't hire an architect or an interior designer to "look at swatches or paint samples" - - you call your neighbors and all of your relatives and you roll up your sleeves and get to work. I watched what looked like three generations of family tearing down and rebuilding a brick wall around an old farmhouse. I saw an elderly woman who looked to be about 80+ years old pushing a wheelbarrow full of bricks over to her grandkids who were making stacks for their parents, uncles and aunties who were laying the bricks and building the wall.

There are rice and corn fields all along the way to Dazu county and you'll always find an old farmhouse nearby that looks like it's been there for multiple generations. Every so often you can tell someone has come into some money because you will also find new structures on the hillsides...built with newer materials and much larger to accomodate more family members.

As you get farther from the city it becomes obvious that the government funding to improve transportation and roadways hasn't made it out this way just yet...the roads are ROUGH...our tour bus driver drove very fast and would hit the bumps at full speed which would send us airborne for a few devastating seconds. We would all scream and just as we recovered from the drop we'd hit another one. Now I know what it must feel like to be in a video game...it was just like a rollercoaster! Crazy...but thrilling!

We finally arrived at Baodingshan to view the rock carvings. What an amazing experience!

It is a series of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings, dating back as far as 650 A.D. during the early Tang Dynasty. The carvings depict Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs. The Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 100,000 Chinese characters forming inscriptions and epigraphs. The sites are located on the steep hillsides within Dazu County with the high points being the carvings found on Mount Baoding and Mount Beishan. Our tour included both mountains. Mount Beishan is actually the older of the two sites.

The carvings are listed as a "World Heritage Site" because of their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism."

I know...I know...you're all probably wondering...how did she learn all of that in a day?! She is so smart...uh-hello...can you say "google" and "wikipedia" - - which is where you should go for more information on this wondrous attraction. I highly recommend a visit - - real or virtual - - very, very cool!

Here are some great pics of what we saw...

Photos cannot capture the magnificence of this site. If you ever travel to Chongqing the Dazu Rock Carvings are a "must-see"!!

After the tour we ate lunch at a very fancy restaurant at the Baodingshan site. The restaurant served regional Sichuan cuisine but with a slight twist to accomodate the palates of the many European and American tourists that visit the rock carvings. Our kids were thrilled to see a big plate of FRENCH FRIES on the table!!

After the visit to Beishan Mountain we headed back into the city to visit with our Sifu and his family. While in town he is staying at his parents home - a very nice condo on the 22nd floor of one of those Chongqing high-rises -- beautiful!! An awesome cityview from every one of the three bedroom windows...and HUGE for a condo...especially by Chinese standards. We met his grandparents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, Aunt and Uncle. They prepared assorted snacks or "small plates" for us to nosh on...but there were over 12 varieties of food and it was prepared (and consumed) in mass quantities, so it was really more like a Chinese banquet than a small bite to eat.

We said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel.
We fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow!

Glad we could share our adventure with you...blog to you later!!
DDubbs