Things I Love About Living in China

Hi all! I'm so glad to have you here. 

It's been awhile since I've written a blog post. I figured that in my free time today, I could make a blog post about my favorite things about living in China. 

Our recent Saturday out exploring Bagua-tian (a replica of the Song dynasty octagonal field farmed by the emperor himself.)
I like this picture of Lu a lot. 

Family-

This is definitely one of the most important factors of my Chinese expat life. I have a unique perspective to offer on the Chinese family culture as I'm married into one! Although it's still difficult for me to fully communicate with my in-laws since I don't speak much Chinese-much less Hangzhou dialect-we still get along well with our limited conversation. My husband, Lu, is our only real hope of making sure we understand each other. 

We almost always get together on the weekend, usually on Sunday night, for dinner at my in-laws' house. This way, we can keep up on what's going on each other's lives (and I can enjoy my mother-in-law's delicious cooking!) By now, she knows all my personal favorites of hers, and she makes sure to prepare them when we come over for dinner. Even more, she makes sure that my favorite dish is placed right in front of me on the table for easy access with my chopsticks! 

Life with a Chinese family has really taught me about respect for one another especially in the unspoken things we do for each other. American culture is much more about direct communication of our love. We hug each other, kiss each other, and say "I love you." In most East Asian cultures--read Japanese, Korean,Chinese--symbols of our love are much more implicit. For example, my in-laws always insist on setting and clearing the dinner table by themselves. I always manage to grab a few empty dishes and take them to the kitchen, but I always get reprimanded for trying to help out. They insist on me sitting down on the couch and relaxing. "Eat some fruit!"-they say. Talk about true hospitality. Even though I'm family! 

Moreover, I always return to our apartment downtown to find it stocked with enough milk, yogurt, bread, and fruit to last us through the weekend (or longer!) So much for adult responsibilities and shopping for ourselves. In fact, I had to tell my mother-in-law that she was giving us more oranges than we could possibly ever eat. "Please, tell your mother, no more oranges!" I said to Lu two weeks in a row. Even more, when she comes for an apartment re-stocking, she'll often fold our clothes still left out on the clothesline, and lay them in a neat stack on the bed. 

My father-in-law is also great. Despite the facts his father is in hospice (so he's commuting almost every day to take care of him) & he often has overtime at his job, he always welcomes me with a smiling face. He helps out my mother-in-law in the kitchen and hardly ever sits down inside the house. Last summer, before the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, he learned a sentence in English every day. Although I'm sure he's forgotten most of them by now, I appreciate his gusto and warm-heartedness.

Although in the past Lu's parents' beliefs have collided with mine, we all get along pretty well. Near the beginning of my expat life in China, Lu related his mother's advice after a night out: that I shouldn't wear such bright eyeshadow to family gatherings (even though I had specifically gotten compliments on it from his family members). As I believe in makeup as an important part of self-expression, that piece of "advice" didn't go over well. In fact, I bluntly told Lu that I would continue to wear the makeup I liked, if not make it even  bolder to spite his mother. From that point on, I've never heard a complaint again! 

Recently, Lu's father lectured that I shouldn't be playing with the street dogs outside their apartment. Really the only reason that this became an issue was because one of those cute dogs followed us up the stairwell to their apartment door and sat there waiting for me come out. I thought it was a funny situation when Lu's dad opened the door to find a ruffled little mutt sitting on the doorstep, but he was not impressed and yelled at the dog to leave. After scaring the poor little dog away, he started to lecture me about the "dangers" of dogs. I know he had my best interests at heart and this was his act of "tough love" but telling me that I couldn't pet dogs rubbed me the wrong way. I pretended to not understand his Chinese. Now I know that I just have to pet all those cute doggies when he's not watching! (And I have to keep them out of the apartment stairwell, haha!) 

My Chinese family

My darling-the reason I'm here to begin with

 The Scenery-

The famous pavilion at the Bamboo-lined Path at Yunqi 

It probably goes without saying that Hangzhou is of the prettiest cities in China. It has a long history of being "heaven on Earth" and the Hangzhou people are rightfully proud of their city's rich history with scenic West Lake and the surrounding hills filled with tea fields and mountaintop temples hidden within bamboo groves. Hangzhou has also made the dream of a "flower for every season" a reality. Plums, peaches, and cherry trees are planted in apartment complexes and alongside roads. Camellias, sweet osmanthus, and various annuals dot the landscape with color and fragrance. The people who designed the city really knew what they were doing! 

Plum blossoms

The famous stone Buddha at Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou

Liu-he-ta (Pagoda of Six Harmonies)

Plum Blossoms at Bagua-tian

Fall foliage is beautiful

 Even though I do detest big-city life and I would never choose it over living in the peaceful countryside, Hangzhou is filled with plants, even in the heart of downtown. For this very reason, I'm very grateful that my husband is from Hangzhou and not some other metropolis like Shanghai (which is the opposite of green) or Hong Kong. Also, unlike expats living in Shanghai or Beijing, a mountain hike or walk alongside the lake is just  minutes away by public bicycle or bus. Which leads me to my next point...

Public bicycle stand, image by City of Hangzhou

The Public Bicycle System- 

Hangzhou is said to have the largest public bicycle system in the world, and for that, I'm very glad. Forget about having to worry about hauling your own bicycle around and worrying about fixing your flats! This system is used by 280,000 passengers daily and helps those in Hangzhou lessen traffic on the road all while giving us much-needed excuse to stretch our legs. The first hour of use is free and past that is 20-30 cents an hour. This system is an absolute life-saver for me as a bicycle is often the fastest (and obviously cheapest) way to get around town. I would say that I use the public bicycles at least 3x a week. The initial capital for this system was paid for by the government and the ads on the bicycles and bicycle stands plus the slight fee charged after the first hour of use fund the company in charge of maintaining the system. On a sunny day, you will often see a group of bike mechanics, surrounded by a smattering of metal pieces, replacing old parts on the bicycles. 

The Food-

All the delicious foods of Chinese New Year-egg rolls, crabs, and hotpot!

 I don't even know where to start when talking about Chinese food. It's so varied based on personal taste and where in China you're from. I personally love the southeastern Chinese cuisine, as well as northwestern beef noodles and northeastern boiled dumplings. The cuisine of Zhejiang Province tends to be a little sour, a little sweet, and more refined than other cuisines of China. Since Zhejiang is an ocean-bordering province, there is an emphasis on seafood. However, there is plenty of poultry, pork, and freshwater fish as well. Bamboo shoots are said to be included in half the dishes of Hangzhou, whether it be soup or stir-fry. I know for a fact that lotus roots are also especially tasty here in Hangzhou. They are one of my favorite Chinese foods.

Sweet lotus root

Perhaps my favorite Chinese food-Shanghai soup dumplings!

Next, I want impress on you about how affordable it is to feed yourself here. Unlike many parts of the Western world, eating out is almost the same price as doing the cooking yourself. I am now extremely spoiled about going out to eat quite often. If Lu or I don't feel like cooking, we just need to decide what restaurant we want to sponsor! Since we live downtown, there are tons around, and since living here, we've found out which ones are the best and they've become our usual haunts. We are really close with the waitress at the sushi restaurant near our place and we've brought their bustling little izakaya even more business by bringing our friends and coworkers there on the weekends to dine with us.

Fruit is so cheap

Bubble tea is also very cheap and great for quenching that mid-afternoon hunger

 Our favorite local only-in-Hangzhou restaurant is Xin-bai-lu (aka New White Deer). It is known for its Mabo Tofu which is a mere $2 per order. It is a great value restaurant, with everything tasting delicious and a surprising quantity of food for the price. For a typical dinner with our bellies full to the brim with food and drink, we pay about $10 per person. On the downside, because of its affordability and delicious local food, every chain store of Xin-bai-lu experiences incredible popularity, to the point where you need to arrive before the dinner rush at 5:30, or risk waiting an hour to get seated. Waipo-jia (Grandma's Home) and Lü-cha (Green Tea) are some of our other local favorite restaurant chains. All serve authentic Hangzhou staples like Dongpo pork, sweet and sticky braised lotus-root stuffed with rice, West Lake sweet and sour carp, and freshwater shrimp stir-fried with green tea leaves. Ooh, I'm getting hungry just typing this up!

The famous West Lake sweet and sour carp and  green tea shrimp

Lu and I enjoyed his 31st birthday dinner at Xin-bai-lu

 Last but not least, I love street food here in China. When I first came here, I was doubtful about the cleanliness of buying food on the street, but since living here, I have found out that all street vendors have a carefully thought-out plan and art behind what they're peddling. A very typical street food in Hangzhou is cong-bao-hui, a type of flattened crepe with a deep-fried breadstick (youtiao), lots of green onions, and a sweet or spicy (your choice) sauce inside. As things are made to order, the food doesn't sit around getting old. In fact, whenever I'm handed street food (most often I'm buying shao-bing or a sweet potato) I'm often juggling it in my hands because it's so piping hot! My recent visit to Taiwan, with all its glorious night market foods, only fueled street food's credibility.

Two cong-bao-hui coming up!

 Differences with the U.S.-

Have you ever seen duvet covers, someone's knickers, or even fish drying out under the sun under a lampost? Neither had I, until I came to China. I have seen so many things that made me say, "Only in China." I've also noticed differences that are pertinent to Asia, like using your umbrella while riding your bicycle. Although it's technically illegal in both Japan and China, everyone does it (including me.)

No lack of interesting things to see out in public!

Something guaranteed to make me happy while eating out with my husband is the fact that he will refill my (and any other guest who happens to be with us) glasses whenever needed. Whether it's tea or beer, the Chinese have a saying, "fill your guest's teacup 70% full and their wine glass until it's overflowing." Sound advice to me.

Lu also tends to "take care of me" meaning that when we're eating at a big table and the dishes tend to be a long reach away with my chopsticks, he'll grab whatever's new or extra delicious on the table and put some in my bowl for me. At first, I didn't really like this because I felt like he was treating me like a baby or something, but now I realize it's just one of the many unspoken ways he shows me love. In fact, I've come to reciprocate the action over time. 

Hanging out under a bridge? You're perfectly safe here and enjoy the artwork!

Is it raining out? Just ride your bike with an umbrella in hand!

All in all, there are many things I love about living in China. Of course, there are many downsides (in my opinion) to living here ie. pollution, lack of personal space, noisiness, blahblahblah, but China's got some good things going for it. Although those downsides can sometimes get overwhelming, I always have to remind myself of how grateful I should be to be living here in China with caring people all around me and many new experiences to be had. 

Hope this post could give you some new information about China that you didn't already know! If you have any questions or concerns, please leave them in the comment section below. 

Thanks so much for reading and have a fantastic day~<3

Josie

A much-needed escape from Hangzhou!

9.23.2016-

     Many people in China might call me crazy for saying this, but "it was time to take a break from Hangzhou." There is a saying in Chinese that goes,  "上有天堂, 下有苏杭" or "Just as there is paradise in heaven, there are Suzhou and Hangzhou on Earth." .However, I've lived in this city now for over a year and I've seen almost all the famous places (from tea fields to broken bridges) and during our 3-day holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival I made plans with my husband to travel somewhere new!

Broken Bridge in the snow, photo by the Hangzhou Tourism Commission

     Our destination was the city of Tonglu, an hour-and-a-half bus ride away and the perfect distance for a weekend getaway. Upon arrival, I learned from my husband, Lu, that even at an hour-and-a-half away, it's still part of Hangzhou! (And he calls Hangzhou a small city....) Well, even if we were technically still in Hangzhou, at least the scenery was different!

     Although the city was much more developed than I had imagined--read high-rises and several new shopping malls--most of the city was much older and slower-paced than "our" Hangzhou. Lu commented that the streets felt like Hangzhou proper did when he was still a small child (over twenty years ago.) People sat out on the streets playing poker or chatting with neighboring tenants while mutts of every shape and size poked around looking for scraps to eat.

Rainbow paradise

The first big view inside the caves

 
  The first day of our trip we checked into our hotel room, dropped off most of our stuff, and headed to the bus station to take a bus to the famous "Yaolin Wonderland" caves. It's a fairly new attraction, having only opened to the public in 1987! These limestone caves were definitely the high point of our trip~With an overall area of 28,000 square meters and over a kilometer deep, this cavern was much bigger than any other I had ever been to! It was also the most colorful place underground I have ever been to! Every hanging stalagtite and stalagmite tower was lit up with rainbow lights. Although giant snaking electrical ropes occasionally came into view on the sides of the path, the lights themselves were well-hidden within the formation's nooks and crannies giving the cave a truly magical feeling. If I had known this existed last year, I would have wanted to take some of our wedding photos at Yaolin! ^o^

Deep in the caverns

A dark portrait

Looks like candy

Entering the cave  

     The entire, hour-long journey inside the caves was a joy (aside from dodging the tour groups that occasionally came upon us) and it felt wonderful to be in a cool 55 degrees while outside was still hot. Most of the cave was peaceful and we enjoyed the intensely humid, dank air down below. Unfortunately, during the last 20 minutes of our spelunking, the air became thick with cigarette smoke, even to the point of giving me a  headache. It turns out there was a "lazy-river" inside that was manned by a bunch of old men who had nothing better to do than give themselves lung cancer and stink up the entire region with smoke.

     Once we had seen the whole cave (and I had taken a TON of photos) we went back to the hotel for a quick break before dinner. Lu did his research and found a highly-reviewed restaurant, and he was looking forward to eating some local fish. We picked the type of fish we wanted and had it made into a fish-tofu soup with lots of ginger. It was quite delicious. We also ordered some fried potatoes and tofu.

Potato balls

Green peppers always surprise me with their spiciness! (This is tofu)

The fish-tofu soup with lots of fresh ginger

     The next day, we went to Dajishan National Forest Park. It is famous for its waterfalls and clear waters. Although I thought the waterfalls were a bit hyped up (a lot turned up to be man-made dams!) the water was undeniably pretty. It made for a nice several-hour hike winding along the river through the forest. There were so many spots, although accompanied by "DO NOT SWIM" signs, had it been a hot day, I would have jumped in! The lower pools also had koi swimming in them making them even more picturesque.

The beginning of the hike

The pathway alongside the cliff

The beautiful blue pool behind the dam

Hungry koi patrolling for food

There were numerous pavilions along the way-this one was almost in the river!

The biggest waterfall (and the end of the hike!) which was surrounded by butterflies

     I enjoyed watching Lu trying to navigate across boulders and rope bridges along our journey. He's not used the kind of "hiking" that comes to me second-nature. In fact, after this hike, he promptly decided to buy some knee braces. I think he finally realized that marrying me meant several things:

1. hiking is my preferred mode of relaxation
2. cheese will somehow be in our food
3. I will take a thousand pictures wherever we go

     After just managing to snag a taxi dropping off a few tourists (there really weren't many people coming up that morning) we asked the driver for her advice on what to do in the afternoon. (Well. what I really mean is, Lu did.) She suggested a temple on the other side of town and even dropped us off at a good place to get lunch. I ordered some amazing fried noodles from a middle-aged woman running a teensy restaurant. Imagine your American-Chinese food "chow mein" but ten times better. It was seriously good. So, with our bellies full, we set out across the bridge and up the trail to the temple. I was expecting a much harder hike, in all honesty, but it must have taken a total of ten minutes to reach the top.

The walk to the temple

This type of pagoda is solid instead of hollow

     We sat down to admire the nice view of the city from the pavilion on top of the hill but that only lasted until the mosquitoes found our lactic acid-producing bodies! Entranced by the teahouse nearby, I started to walk over, to see what was inside. As I was walking, I found myself distracted by a big bell with a big beam hanging on a rope. As I have been to many Buddhist temples before in Japan and China, it wasn't the massive size of the bell itself that caught my eye, it was the fact that the entire beam and all the surrounding structure were covered in red ribbons, making it look like an important place. I went over, and sure enough, there were messages written on each ribbon.

Red ribbons everywhere!

Pavilion overlooking the city and the Fuchun River

      A woman came out of the teahouse and started talking to me-but I didn't understand what she said. She motioned to the ribbons and asked if I wanted one. At this point, Lu's $ radar kicked in and he came over to see what was happening. Sure enough, the ribbon would cost me a few dollars. I said, sure, I'll buy one and opened my wallet. (This is the difference between American me and my husband, who definitely would have tried to bargain for a lower price. I know better not to bargain when it comes to religious establishments!) We pondered what to write on the ribbon. "Let's just write something good about our marriage. How's that?" Lu agreed and thought of a good idiom to write. He typed it out on his phone and I precariously copied it onto our new, red ribbon in Chinese.

     The attendant told us that we also needed to decide how many times to ring the bell. Three, six, or nine times were all lucky combinations so that our wish would be fulfilled. I decided six and we started our loud rhythmic tolling. After we finished, we both not knowing what to do, looked at each other, clapped our hands in the Japanese fashion, and bowed. I found a good place on the railing for our ribbon and tied it into place. The woman then told us that we needed to pay for ringing the bell six times. Apparently the price is dependent on the amount of times you ring the bell. Oh well, another trap that I fell in!

     Anyways, we had a really nice break and got to play "tourist" in a different part of Zhejiang Province. As much as I love the sights in Hangzhou proper, getting out of the urban mess and into a smaller city with nature around really improved my mood.