April 21/00

The
penultimate
Dalian
chronicles

Ihe weather has warmed, though
not significantly. The nights are
still cold and we have to keep our little

space heater going in the evenings to
be comfortable. My wife, Ann-Louise,
decided one day to put it on full blast
and blew the circuit breaker. The fuse
box is in the hallway, locked, so we
had to call Miss Ma and ask her how to
get someone to come and open it. She
didn’t know who to call, nor did
anyone else it seems. In the end, we
spent a night without electricity. The
next day, Mr. Tian came over to see
what he could do. His solution was
simple. He pried the cover off with a
screwdriver so that I could get my hand
in and throw the breaker on. It is very
common to have power interruptions
that last all day, so we are used to
going without power. I have learned the
value of saving my files every few
minutes when working on the
computer.

The warmer weather has brought a
flurry of outdoor activity. Everywhere
street trees are being pruned and on
campus the hill surrounding our
building is being landscaped. It seems
each class of students must take their
turn at helping with the project of
spring cleaning. Everyday there have
been a hundred or so students in
matching jogging outfits out on the
grounds raking leaves, digging holes
for tree planting and burning piles of
rubbish. I walked by the huge Bank of
China tower the other day and saw a
group of regular workmen outside
digging huge holes around the building
in preparation for tree planting. Then I
saw a group of bank employees, all
men, all in nice business suits, being
paraded outside to join in the task.
There they were in their white shirts
and ties digging with pick axes and
shovels in the afternoon sun. It is part

of the culture here that no one appears to
be too good to do a little manual labour.

Last weekend, Ann-Louise and I went
for a little holiday in Beijing. We had a
marvellous time. We did all the tourist
things, such as shopping at Silk Alley,
the Pearl Market, and some of the malls.
We spent a whole day at the Forbidden
City. We took our time and enjoyed
every part of it, especially the wonderful
imperial gardens. All the cherry trees
were in blossom and it made us

homesick for Vancouver. Ann-Louise had

her heart set on seeing the Great Wall
and so we set about enquiring about
prices for a tour. I found one at the hotel
near us that was only $50 Cdn. The next
moming we were off and what a day we
had. The bus had only Chinese tourists
on it but the tour guide spoke English.
She and the others made us feel right at
home. The tour was an all-day affair. We
went first to a jade factory where they
carve all the jewelry and ornaments that
we see sold everywhere. I even went for
a camel ride being offered across the
street.

Next, we were given a tour of the
most famous Chinese medicine clinic in
all of China (or so we were told). It was
like something out of the ’40s. The
entrance hall had shelves and shelves of
large jars containing everything you
could imagine, preserved in alcohol.
There were snakes, deer antlers, bear
galls, ginseng, herbs, and animal parts
that my biology background tells me
were genitalia — but from which
animals I do not know. We were ushered
into a lecture hall with tables and chairs.
First we were given a hot drink that I
hope was tea. Then we got a lecture on
the benefits of herbal medicine,
acupuncture and massage therapy.
Afterwards, we had a tour of the Ming

In front, Ritva Tavela, Business
instructor. Next row, from left:
Catherine Ostler, ESL instructor,
Allen Zhu, director of China projects,
Ann-Louise Williamson. Next row:
Mr. Tian, associate professor of
international programs, David
Jackson, ESL instructor, Miss Ma,
program assistant, Elle Ren,
program assistant, and soon-to-be
ex-campus supervisor, Barry
Williamson.

tombs where the imperial families are
entombed hundreds of feet
underground. The cultural revolution
destroyed most of the treasures
contained therein, but it was still a
fascinating place to see. After a
wonderful meal at a restaurant, it was
off to the Great Wall itself. Though I
personally had never felt the need to see
this tourist attraction, I was genuinely
awed by the first site of it from the tour
bus. It is truly a wonder. The bus
stopped at the wall and though it was
very commercialized, we enjoyed our
afternoon there. Ann-Louise had her
usual panic attack as she climbed the
stairs to the first turret. I didn’t blame
her for it. The stairs were each about 24
inches high and only about six inches
wide. Climbing was difficult and I left
her to rest and ponder while I climbed
to the third, fourth and fifth turret. It
was almost a one-hour journey, but from
the top I could see into outer Mongolia.
For the Chinese visitors, the ascent to
the top is like a religious pilgrimage to
their ancestors. Very elderly men and
women struggle to the top, determined
to finish the trek if it was the last thing
they did —and for some of them it
looked like it might well be.

Though the weekend was fun, we
were glad to get back to Dalian and
some fresh air. The pollution in Beijing
is choking and we never actually saw
the sun or blue sky, though it wasn’t
cloudy. We are back home now in my
cosy little apartment. Sunday, we had a
surprise hail, rain and snow storm that
left the streets covered in ice. We are
beginning to think about the end of our
time here and planning our mini-
vacation before returning to Vancouver.
It won’t be long now.

Barry

@nformer

Ory

OY