In the Eastern Superpower

One big motivation for a PhD student like me is conference travel. Hard luck if you are sending your papers to research journals! But if you don’t mind presenting your work in conferences instead, nothing like it. So when I saw that a prime conference in my field was taking place in China, I scrambled a demonstration proposal. Luckily, it got accepted and I packed bags for a leisure trip.

China always fascinated me. It’s similar to India in so many ways, yet so different in many other ways. Both states had similar issues when they started building in late 40s/ early 50s, namely regaining the lost glory and managing the huge resources each had at their disposal. I believe it’s human nature to poke your nose into neighbors house and I, being no exception, was curious to see how the different approaches taken by the two nations compare in practice. However, this, by no means, was the major reason for my fascination. I generally like to observe people from different cultures. China, being such a close-knit society for so many years, must have developed a unique lifestyle. I was very much interested in seeing their way of life. Besides that the conference venue, Hangzhou, and the surrounding area offered some of the very best tourist attractions in mainland China. I must say, the trip was fulfilling on each account.

A disclaimer before I start: I did not see a Panda, in case you are coming with any such expectations! B-|

The People

One big obstacle in traveling to China is the language. Although I wanted to learn speaking some basic Mandarin, it remained just a plan. Instead, I had to harass Chinese people into speaking English. To my surprise, they not only were sensitive towards a foreigner not speaking their language but they took an extra effort in making me feel at home. It also helped that my friend, Will — a Shanghai native, was in company for most of the tour. I can’t thank him enough for being such a perfect host. 

From the little encounters I had with locals, they seemed very knowledgeable and well-informed. For instance, I casually asked a co-passenger in a bus whether people preferred private cars or public transport. He answered with statistics like total number of cars in Beijing and Shanghai and why that was a problem.

People seemed very hospitable as well. In the conference hotel, there were attendants at about every 10 feet greeting you with a smile. It was sort of overwhelming for someone (like me) going from the US where you have to help yourself by following sparingly put signboards.

Another thing I noticed was that the senior citizens were leading a very healthy life. First thing is that there is a considerably large proportion of them because of the single child policy of the recent times. (Although it’s relaxed a bit, single child is preferred by most urban couples.) You would see the senior folks playing cards or Chinese chess, or doing some exercises like Tai-chi. Occasionally, you could also find them singing or dancing. Happy souls! 

Being the only brown skinned guys, my friend Anshuman and I caught a lot of eyeballs on the streets of Hangzhou and Nanjing. Many people requested photographs with us. This was a first since there is hardly any place not frequented by Indians. But apart from Shanghai, we hardly saw any brown(or black)-skinned tourists. It was then totally understandable when a guy asked Will whether we were from the US.

Too bad I didn't capture the moment when a bunch of ladies asked Anshuman for a photograph.

On the flip side, I noticed a complete disregard to traffic rules. You would see people riding their mopeds on footpaths, or pedestrians crossing road at any place they want. But I’m not complaining. They, in fact, made me feel at home. Sample this link.

The Food

Thanks to Will, I could taste some of the very authentic local food. I am also a certified chop-stick user now after completing the ultimate challenge of eating sticky rice successfully. \m/

There is just so much variety in Chinese food that I never needed to go to any burger/pizza joints. Over there, they cook all kinds of things like shell-fish, fungi, and bamboo shoots. Each city/province specializes in some form of meat, e.g. red carps in Hangzhou, or ducks in Nanjing. Duck dumplings we tried at one place in Nanjing were amazingly delicious. Tea-flavored eggs is another dish worth a mention. Chinese restaurants in the US serve an entirely different cuisine altogether which does not compare with the authentic one. 

Lotus flower served as a starter

Staple meat of China

Eating a crab right takes some skill

Chickens packed in clay pots

A street food joint in Shanghai

Surprisingly, There are quite a few veggie options in China. They make a really yummy dish from lotus root and a special kind of rice. I loved Sangutsaibao (veggie buns) so much that I had them almost every day. Stinking tofu (yes, that’s the name!) is a popular street food. They actually have a famous century-old vegetarian-only restaurant in downtown Shanghai. Its popularity can be judged from the fact that there was a minimum wait time of 1.5 hours when we went on a weekday. They also make some delicious moon cakes over there. A word of caution though if you are a strict vegetarian. Unless you can explain your dietary restrictions to the chef in detail, you could be served vegetables fried in animal fat.

If you are a fat-conscious person, you would be scared to see the amount of oil they use. Except for a few steamed dishes, everything is deep-fried, in a bucket-full of oil no less! One thing you would miss, especially if you are an Indian or middle eastern, is desserts. Chinese meals don’t usually include any sweets. That’s how, I suppose, they keep the calories gained from extra oil in check.

The Heritage

I was initially planning on visiting Beijing and the area surrounding it, of course for the great wall. The plan, however, didn’t work out. I was recommended Nanjing: a city with a great history and located closer to the conference venue as well. Nanjing has been the capital of China during the rule of several dynasties including the Mongol rule. So it was well worth a visit.

The father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yatsen, had also chosen Nanjing as the capital. They have built a huge mausoleum for him which is known as the purple mountain. Surrounding the mountain, there are several historically significant sites such as Xioling tomb. 

They believe that China is being guarded by four animals from four directions — the Black Turtle from the north, the Dragon from the east, the Vermillion Bird from the south, and the White Tiger from the west. We saw some of these and a few other mythical animals sculptured in a garden. 

The monumental Dr. Sun Yatsen Mausoleum

The Confucian temple area

The mythical animals

The Shanghai bazaar

People tying their wishes on a tree

Confucian temple is another place of great significance. It is a philosophy similar to Buddhism or Taoism and used to be followed widely across China. The temple is located across a small stream of river. The street separating the two turned out to be a very pleasant place for a walk. Being a Saturday evening, it was buzzing with people. There were some very good snack joints and souvenir shops to keep us engaged.

Shanghai, though, had a much better offering. The walking street across the bund in central Shanghai is a shopper's paradise. Everything from small clothing accessories to antique showpieces was available for cheap. The eateries were in abundance too. And more than anything, it’s the architecture of the buildings that sealed the deal for me. 

Modern China

Since I went to urban parts exclusively, I probably do not have a complete picture. But I am impressed by what I saw. You can see the investment made in building the infrastructure, public transport and likes. We noticed an awful lot of skyscrapers in Nanjing and Shanghai. But I was more impressed by the subway connectivity in these cities. Taxis were super cheap as well thus making it super easy to make any plans on-the-fly.

Nanjing skyline

The people's square, Shanghai

Shanghai skyline

TV tower glowing in the night

The West lake in Hangzhou organizes an amazing light and music performance every night. Courtesy our conference organizer, we got a chance to experience one of these brilliant events. Posting some of the pictures from the mesmerizing show. Rather than giving out any more details, I would just recommend everyone to experience it once.

To conclude, putting up a picture showing both the old architecture and the modern architecture in a single frame. I loved the way they were blended in China. Hope it stays the way it is.

The two worlds

Around the world sitting at home: The beginnings

No, this is not about the Internet! I haven’t really come of age for that. Instead, I will be writing on our good old Radio. 

Growing up in early 90s, we were one of those rare households in neighborhood who owned a television set. Neighbors would come over to watch episodes of the great mythological dramas like Ramayana, Mahabharata, and so on. These dramas and a daily dose of news aside, there was nothing much to watch on the television. The primary medium of entertainment was still the radio. Being a big fan of All India Radio (AlR) and Vividh Bharati, my mom’s daily routine was tuned according to the shows on the radio. Her day would start with the famous sound of 'Yeh Akashwani hai! '. I, on the other hand, used to hate it because the content largely included either some random talk shows, messages released in public interest, or some classical (old) Bollywood music. However, over time, I ended up developing a liking for shows such as Geetmala, Jaimala, and Sadabahar Nagme. What the heck?! I even listened quite a bit of Sakhi Saheli — daily afternoon show for housewives. 

Late 90s saw a growth of cable television. Many more options of entertainment opened up. There was ESPN, Zee, Sony, and so on. Radio, which once was so indispensable, was no longer necessary. This, though, changed again when I shifted to a boarding school in 2002. Initial days of my hostel life were like a hell. (I should write up on some of those interesting experiences.) Being an introvert, it took me a long time to make new friends. Until then, the time seemed to go by so slowly. That was when, on my birthday, my mom gave me a gift I will never forget — A radio transistor!

Even though the radio still offered a limited choice, I believe I was matured enough by then to appreciate what was on offer. The programs were not as boring as I perceived them to be as a kid. Another development that happened around that time was the government’s move to open up FM spectrum for private players. To me, it meant addition of one more channel that mostly played music of the recent times.

Although our hostel had a TV set in a common room, I never needed it except for some live coverage of cricket matches. Every ODI game was like a festival in the hostel and I couldn’t possibly have stayed away from it. Mention of cricket brings me to the main topic of this article — how I travelled around the world sitting at home. 

Some of the cricket games, especially test matches, were not covered by national TV broadcaster. But the AIR would have a live commentary feed of most games. So in case a game was not televised, I used to tune into the radio. I soon found that, it’s not only AIR that covers the games, but the BBC radio and Australian radio also had a very good commentary feed. Just out of curiosity, I tried tuning to these channels on short waves, but unfortunately could never manage to get the signal. They said that that’s the air pollution causing the lost signals. Maybe true! However, one day, while tuning for some cricket commentary, I caught a signal that sounded foreign. They were broadcasting some news. After a while, they translated the same news in Hindi. It was being broadcasted all the way from Russia. After the news, they had a round of discussion analyzing political scenarios in Russia for a while. Then, the presenters read out a bunch of letters sent in by listeners from all over India. They concluded the one hour program by an old Raj Kapoor number, an apt one for Russian listeners! (Check this link out to know why.) They mentioned in the closing that the program was aired for an hour every day as part of some India-Russia friendship agreement. However, despite many attempts, this was the only time I could tune in to it. Possibly, they are still airing it.

This is a little story of the beginnings of my exploration. I used that transistor for a good 10 odd years. It traveled from Pune to Bangalore where there was a richer choice in channels having a good mix of quality music and an interaction with listeners. All this while, internet was spreading big time. The radio channels worldwide had started airing their programs online. This helped me a big deal since I no longer needed to tune my little transistor. My exploration took a giant leap. More on it in the next part. Stay tuned!

Link to part 2.