Be on the alert for Moon Cakes, they are fattening!  As reported in the LA Times, Moon Cakes are the top choice for desert on this special day.  Yummy.  If you have not stocked already with a box of Moon Cakes and do not know where to look,  China Town might be a good bet or check out this resource in another Times article.

This anent Chinese Festival has its roots in legend.  In a distant time across the oceans in the mythical time of Yi a great archer, the legend was born of how he shot the moon.  No not in the 20th century sense of “shooting the moon” but literally with a bow and arrow.  In another old Chinese story Chang Er flew to the moon, where she has lived ever since.   During the Moon Festival you might see her dancing on the full moon of Autumn.

The Chinese Moon Festival is traditionally held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month.  In the Chinese Calender it is usually marked in big Orange or Yellow letters as something very special.  It’s also known as the Mid-autumn Festival and  is deeply embedded in Chinese and Vietnam tradition.  The Moon Festival is one of the most important events for the Chinese taking the place of Thanksgiving and Christmas here in the West.

The Moon Festival is a time for families and reunions.  When the full moon rises, families get together to have parties, eat and watch the full moon.  Giving and eating moon cakes is a part of the festivities.   For the Chinese the Fall Festival is a celebration of harvest much like Thanksgiving is here in the West.  This is just one other reason why the Chinese are so fond of the Moon Festival time.

The Moon Festival is also a romantic one. A perfect night for the festival is if it is a quiet night without a silk of cloud and with a little mild breeze from the sea. Lovers spend such a romantic night together tasting the delicious moon cake with some wine while watching the full moon. Even for a couple who can’t be together, they can still enjoy the night by watching the moon at the same time so it seems that they are together at that hour. A great number of poetry has been devoted to this romantic festival. Hope the Moon Festival will bring you happiness.

The moon cake is the food for the Moon Festival. The Chinese eat the moon cake at night with the full moon in the sky.  From About Chinese Culture.

So, tonight family and friends will gather here while some mad Occidental cooks up traditional Western food for the hungry.  We will finish up the evening by sipping wine, laughing at the moon and just maybe eating a moon cake or two.  Thinking about it now most likely it is best to cut one of those beaties up into a couple of pieces and share it among friends.  Less calories that way and more fun to share.

Since I have been in China for the past month traveling to exotic as well as modern port’s-O-Call, language has been in the forefront of my daily interactions.  Mostly for us simpletons, it is never even considered difficult getting around or making simple transactions at home like getting directions or ordering dinner.  But, travel to China, or to virtually any weird foreign place, and the world is another universe with different sensibilities and LANGUAGE.  Its a real bitch not being able to ask where the bathroom is when you just sucked down a pitcher of beer “Gam Bei” style.

With these difficulties facing me on a daily basis I decided to do something about it.  You have to realize that my wife is Chinese and getting around for me is a breeze so long as I am a prisoner.  If I want any freedom at all, drastic action has to take place.  My first step was to drop by the local book store at the swanky upscale market in down town Shanghai.  This place has every thing from Mont Blanc Pens to asparagus.  I found the Lonely Planet section and looked up the Mandarin Phrasebook and I was off – literally.  The police were called and several hours later I was found safely enough wandering around the fruit isle.  Well my adventure did not get very far so it was back to the drawing board.

My second thought was to do a search on the Internet for an easy way to communicate with the natives here in China.  What I can up with was the term Chinglish.  Really, what is Chinglish?  Could this be the answer to all of my delemna?  With great hope I did a few more looks and found that no Chinglish would not solve my problem but it was good for a laugh anyway.  So have a look, do a couple of searches yourself with google for Chinglish and enjoy.

The web site of the day is a British one that posted an article that I wanted to share..  A wonderful rag full of signage that somehow missed the translation.  I have my own version of a sign that missed it somehow – I picked up in our Yellow Mountain trek which I will share with you here.  When I took the picture laughing out loud the rest of the company was taken back a bit but got over it.  Enjoy!

Over the three days that we were in the Yellow Mountain district a total of 550 pictures were taken, a few of them really nice.  All of them can be viewed at flickr but sift through quickly to find the good ones.

After all of the climbing my calves were feeling it while others in our party were really laid up lame for days afterward.  Our little “Goat” was the realy climber of the group scampering up the climbs waiting for us at the top.

You can follow several pictures below

Today, the Collecting urge still raises its head and my shelves are filled with old telegraph keys, books and tea wear, notably Yixing clay pots.  If you have followed along with me there have been previous posts on these little wonders of the craftsman that hold wonderful utility in the making of tea.  Recently I have expanded my collecting of tea things to include Gaiwan’s which are porcelain cups designed perfectly for the brewing of tea.

My passion for collecting the little Yixing clay pots is driving the rest of the family a little nuts.  You can always tell when collecting goes far when the family comments on it with statements like, “Oh no not another one of those things.  Don’t you have enough of them already?”  This is the delema of a “collector”.  When is too much enough?  In my mind there is always another rarer more collectable out there and the search is on!

But today’s post is not about me.  I met today one of the most remarkable men in Shanghai.  Luo Ming is a business man and manufacturer of fine Red Wood furniture with a factory in the Fujian Provence.  Mr. Luo is not just a collector but an avid collector of all things Chinese Art.  His interests include the Yixing Clay and Giawans from the Ming and Song dynaties including all kinds of carved wood and sculpted works and pottery.  His home in one of the most presigious areas of Shanghai was literally filled with antiques from the Ming and Song Dynasties.  His home was simply amazing!  I have included a few of the pictures of the wonderful home which was more like a fabulous museum for me.  Mr. Luo was a childhood friend of my wife’s “Baba” and served us wonderful Fujian oolong tea from one of his Yixing pots.  I was staggered by his collection which he began when he was a small school boy.

Visiting Mr. Luo’s home and meeting his lovely wife and family, looking over his artwork briefly, is one of the highlights of my visit to China this year.

You can see pictures of the artwork that I was privaledged to view at flickr.  This is only a very small sample of the collection.

The Yellow Mountain district was made famous during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) by a poet-traveler, Xu Xiake who once commented on Yellow Mountain in one of his poems:

“You will find viewing another mountain no longer worthy after you visit the Five Sacred Mountains. Nor will you find viewing the Five Sacred Mountains worthy after you visit Yellow Mountain.”

The Five Sacred Mountains include the Taishan Mountain, Hengshan Mountain in Henan Province, Huashan Mountain, Hengshan Mountain in Shanxi and Songshan Mountain.  Non of these compare, according to the poem, with the Yellow Mountain.  This mountain district of legend is located in the south of Anhui Province, covering an area of roughly 250 square kilometers.  These mountains are a geological wonder of the earths crust movement thrusting upwards some 100 million years ago.  The mountains are primarily granite which has gone through glacier erosion creating steep peaks and deep gorges of fantastical proportions.  Much of the 72 or so peaks are reported to be above 1,800 meters or about something over 6,000 feet – not a terribly high elevation but the climb is very steep and from see level a bit strenuous.  The highest peaks are above the cloud cover creating the Cloud of Seas.

The Yellow Mountain was first known as the Yi Shan Mountain in the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) and changed to its current name in the Tang Dynasty (608-917 AD).  Ancient Chinese legend has said that the mythical Yellow Emperor who is regarded in legend as the foremost ancestor of the Chinese people, was a seeker of herbs on the Yi Shan Mountain and sought to make an immortality potion.  The origin of the Mountain’s name comes from this illustrious mythical ancestor who succeeded in finding the immortality he was seeking and became a god ascending into heaven.  Our trip has no such aspirations.

Searching through the web another report is given as to the origin of the name for the Yellow Mountains.  According to the ChinaVista report the poet Li Bai (701-762), the great Tang poet, wrote these lines naming the district:

Thousands of feet high towers the Yellow Mountains
With its thirty-two magnificent peaks,
Blooming like golden lotus flowers,
Amidst red crags and rock columns.

For pictures and more information about the Yellow Mountain you can check ChinaVist.com and do a search for Yellow Mountain in Google.  Its an interesting voyage.  Be sure to check out the images of the Yellow Mountain district.  Mine will be coming soon.

“October 1st in the year 1949 Chairman Mao declared the founding of the People’s Republic of China and waved the first five-star PRC flag. The PRC’s National Day was declared at three o’clock on October 1, 1949, in front of 300,000 people during a ceremony in Tian’anmen Square” according to an About.com news story.

Traveling to Hangzhou from shanghai a day before the National Day was pleasant with relatively light traffic and overcast sky’s.  Arriving in Hangzhou the weather in the West Lake district was decidedly cooler than Shanghai which was a treat.  The following day, Monday, was the beginning of the National Day week holiday season and travel within the city slowed appreciably.  The grid lock in the intersections between the buses and cabs with the pedestrians that are constantly criss-crossing the streets was chaos for drivers.  Fortunately, traveling up Longjing Road to the hillside above Hangzhou was less of a mess than the traffic jams down by the lake proper.  We were able to visit a local tea farm for lunch and enjoy a lazy cup of Longjing tea at 50 RMB a cup!  The exchange rate is for the yen is 6.75 RMB to a U.S. dollar currently so figure that at about 7 bucks a cup twice the expense of a Starbucks coffee.

As I mentioned in a previous post, West Lake Dragon Well tea, grown on the hills surrounding the city, is Hangzhou’s specialty. From growing it to writing poetry about it, Hangzhou green tea is consumed almost everywhere throughout China and abroad being highly prized where ever tea effectionados gather. Longjing can be ordered on-line from a very good tea shop in Arizona called Seven Cups.

High grade Dragon Well is expensive often displayed in luxury shops like jewelry. Yet many of the poorest local people consider drinking green tea a necessity.  Hangzhou’s Longjing display’s its brilliant emerald green spears like leaves, especially in the Spring, boasting about three quarter inch long spikes.  These treasured leaves are renowned throughout China for their beauty.  Just recently I discovered that Longjing tea has 7 grades, really!  So even the poorest can afford a lower grade of green tea.  Tea made into tea bags is the leavings and sweeping of the sticks off of the floor, junk really for the uninitiated.  There is a very good description of Longjing Dragon Well tea found at TeaGenius.com

Some of the data I gathered about the very long history of tea culture in Hangzhou was highlighted when Hangzhou was the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty 1127 – 1279. The Teahouses of Hangzhou are reported to have been decorated with fresh flowers and famous paintings to create a place of relaxation and pleasure for the guests at the tea house. Besides rare varieties of green teas, plum wine was served in the winter.  What raised the Longjing Dragon Well green tea to be the most famous of Chinese green teas was the esteem of an eighteenth century emperor who visited Hangzhou and appointed a small patch of 18 tea trees to be his special tea garden.  See the Teagenous for more infomation on Hangzhou green tea.

Hángzhōu, capital of Zhèjiāng, is one of China’s most famous tourist sites. Located at the southern end of the Grand Canal and surrounded by fertile farmlands, the city has been a significant cultural centre for hundreds of years. Modern-day Hángzhōu, with its characterless architecture, has little to differentiate it from other Chinese cities. The main reason for coming here is to visit the legendary West Lake (Xī Hú), a true beauty in the midst of a concrete jungle.

For Me the main reason to visit Hangzhou is for the tea.  The Dragon Well or Longjing tea which is grown and roasted in Hangzhou is popular everywhere in China where tea is treasured.  There are few places in the world that enjoy Hangzhou’s reputation for tea.  Think Napa Valley for wine and Hangzhou for tea.

Tea is used for daily drinking and for special occasions here in China.  As an example, on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year a cup of spring tea is offered to the Goddess of Mercy in wish of yearlong well-being; another old custom is the gift of tea to the parents of a bride to confirm marital relations.

The tea houses that line West Lake and huddle in the valleys of surrounding hills of Hangzhou offer tea that has to be experienced. Every trip we make to China always includes a trip to the Hangzhou valley and a visit to the tea houses that are up country in the hills surrounding the valley.  Brews of tea are not cheap, but the price of a pot buys hours of lazing around, a favorite activity of locals and visitors as well.  We will be having lunch up-country and I will post some pictures.  We are late in the tea season but its still worth the trip to Hangzhou.

Green Tea is harvested in two main seasons according to my father-in-law a tea connoisseur.  The first and best tea is harvested “before the rains” in Spring time up until April the second week of May (referenced by The Leaf article Mary Lou Heiss) which starts the Monsoon Season.  The second tier harvest is “after the rain” from June till about now in late September.  So the tea that is available now is of lesser quality than the fresh Spring “before the rain” tea but its what we got so it will be enjoyed very much.  Over the past seven years drinking real tea and listening to the experts like my “Baba” Jennifer’s dad, I have developed a real discrimination for good tea.  There is nothing worse than a wine snob unless its a tea boor.  I try to stay away from snobbery but definitely stay away from ignorance first.

So its off to the car and a 2 1/2 hour drive to Tea Heaven.

Our trip to Hangzhou will include a visit to the hospital for Jennifer’s Uncle who has been ill for the past two years with prostate cancer.  Jo is now every bit of 90 years old and doesn’t get around much.  After we pay our respects and spend some time catching up with the family in Hangzhou we will hit the road for the hills.

Looking around to find the history of this district has revealed several interesting tidbits.  Qingdao is the birthplace of Taoism.  I will have to look this up to sharpen my memory of this religion but if I recall correctly Taoism is founded on the idea of non aggression.  That is what I remember anyway from my reading during the seeking years of the 60′s.  The philosophy of the Dao or Taoist is more of a way of life than a religion and has long roots in the local traditions here in Qingdao.  Its a way of getting along in the world without putting yourself forward.  Shrinking to make yourself strong or something like that.

Second historical occurrence has to do with the German invasion and occupation of the City during the early 1900′s.  The Japanese have invaded and occupied Qingdao in both World Wars I and II finally being removed after 1945.   There is a hugely famous May 4th Celebration of the cities liberation. The German influence has remained however.  There is a German community that has remained founding a beer factory no less.  The Tsindtao brand has world wide distribution and locally honored.  Its pretty good especially the Gold label stuff. Tsingtao is produced with spring water from Laoshan, a mountain area to the North of Qingdao and famous throughout China for it purity.  Every year there is an International Beer Festival here in Qingdao lasting two weeks at the end of September.  We were lucky enough to get to visit the Beer Festival with Jennifer’s cousin Miao Miao (pronounced Meeooow Meeeooow like a cat crying for milk.  Serious!) along with her husband. She holds a very high position in the National Government in the Tax division.  The local IRS?  Her driver drove us all over the Qingdao district for two days.  Thank you Miao Miao, you are the “Bomb”.  That means you are great!  Wonderful meeting her and her family.  I will always remember her “Gan bei” which translated means “dry the cup”.

While we were visiting the city of Qingdao we were fortunate enough to take a trip up the coast to the Laoshan mountain via Miao Miao’s driver.  We drove up the spectacular coast and ended up taking a gondola ride up to about mid way to the top of the Laoshan mountain.  From there we hiked up another couple of hundred feet to a very old Taoist temple remembering that this is the birthplace of this religion/philosophy.  The grounds of the temple were simply amazing.  Several of the trees growing there have been alive for thousands of years.  There was one Camilia Japonica that towered above us with an inscription dating to a planting 414 years ago.  The days sunlight finally broke through allowing me to take some really nice pictures of the temple grounds and woods which can be viewed at flickr.

Qingdao was home to the 2008 Olympics hosted by the Chinese featuring their wonderful harbor for the sailing competitions.  Qingdao is a very sports involved city having a very active soccer program.  Everyday from out hotel balcony we could witness the runners and joggers up and down the sandy beaches.  Swimming in the netted off area in from of our hotel was a very large swimming area measuring about a half mile of open water by one mile along the beach.  Qingdao is a wonderful place to visit.  So far of all of the cities in China where I would want to live Qingdao ranks at the top of every list.

Interesting Links to Qingdao information

That’s Qingdao

Bicycle riding here in the Old World is still an expected mode of travel but the gas guzzlers have come a long way in the last few years.  Every year the number of bicycles is going down and the motor-driven cycles, mopeds and scooters not to mention the cars and trucks have taken over the road ways.  Here in the great city of Shanghai bicycle traffic still is important for commerce but the writing is on the wall.  The world’s oil reserves are going to be taxed by the hungry giant that has awoken from a long slumber.  China is 21st Century and Shanghai is leading the Country into it with a vengeance.

Here the streets are clean.  Every day hoards of street cleaners roam the sidewalks and gutters hand collecting discarded debris while street sweeping trucks take care of the roadways.  In the few pictures that I have taken over the past week I have been astounded by how really neat the streets are throughout Shanghai.  Even the spitting is down.  You know that spitting has been a national past time here in China for centuries and is a very hard habit to break.  The Central Government has issued statements decrying this habit and in preparation for the recent Olympic Games in Beijing has outlawed this disgusting past time.  Old habits are hard to break even for those who are 100 percent human.  I found a You Tube Chinese video anti spitting campaign cerca 1950.  It didn’t work. The Chinese Spitting Image is long standing and reported on internationally even if they are 100 percent human. I refer to the Chinese.  Here is another You Tube Spitting video that is hilarious.  So like the rest of the world we really are a mix.  I love China and love spending time here, after all my wife is Chinese and 100 percent human.  Someday I hope to rise up to maybe 90 percent but Jennifer doubts that I can get any higher than that even if I spend the rest of my life in China.  The other 10 percent is animal.  They don’t call me Tiger for nothing!

This afternoon we travel to Qingdao a beautiful coastal beach and harbor city up the coast.  The two hour flight will bring us to this wonderful city and cooler temperatures ranging in the low 20′s and down to 17 degree C. overnight.  Finally!  Qingdao is famous for its beer.  Now that’s what I’m talking about!  The yearly International Beer Festival that is held in Qingao runs this year from September 19th through October 5th.  We will be there in the midst of it.  One of the worlds great beers in brewed in Qingdao.  the Tsingtao Beer factory was founded in 1903 by German immigrants.  The taste and style of the beer is distinctly German reminding me of Becks.

So its off to the Beer festival and then on to Yellow Mountain district for a hike.  Jennifer and I will be keeping track of our travels and pass along the dialogue if interesting.

Over the centuries the technology of tea pot creation has changed very little but each generation of potters has built on tradition of those who have gone before. Currently the artistry of tea pot creation has evolved, become richer and more varied leaving the traditional forms which I love the best. At this time of individualizm in China the emphasis in clay pot creation is less technological and more artistic. The Yixing clay artists of today strive to capture a mood, idea or story in the simple lines of the Yixing tea ware. Of course there are production pots but my interest is with the Master artist level creations.

Today was a wonderful day and my first visit to this artist haven in Yixing. The full story will follow after a bit of research. I would not be guilty of passing out false information….hahahahah.

Our neighbor Zhou Zong Qi here in Shanghai has been an art collector and antique affectionado for many years. One of his passions has been the special Yixing Master level clay pots. As will be discovered there are many levels of clay pot production from consumer goods to grand Master works of extreme value. Just imagine a David Hockney original in your posession. Stirs the imagination doesn’t it a bit. The fortunate thing was that Mr. Zhou aggreed to accompany us in our quest of Yixing clay tea pots and took us to the Master artist Pan Jun’s studio in Yixing for a look see. Mr. Pan is a mid-level Master who has studied under his father and both of his in-laws – all considered high level Masters – not the highest but after 50 years are well known and their chops are respected. What we found was an impressive display of art work at prices that were manageable – high but manageable. I was able to purchase two wonderful pots while I lusted after several others as well from the Baba Master (Pan Jun’s father). Next year Jennifer says I can get a couple more. In fact our Master artist host Mr. Pan invited me to stay with him and his family for a couple of weeks to learn the basics of Yixing clay pot construction. What a gift that is. Next year when we return to Shanghai I will take a side trip to Yixing and spend a week or so with him and get up to my elbows in clay.

There are many links on the web that describe the special qualities of Yixing clay and report the history of these wonderful little pots. After collecting them haphazardly for the past 5 years now I am hooked on the higher level of these art pieces. Here are some of the links that I have found:
Holy Mountain

Sesational Tea

Yixing Blog

Another Yixing Blog

A couple more pictures from flickr are here.