China continues to surprise me, I guess I expected a much more rural experience, but Dalian is a surprisingly dynamic and progressive city with big high rises, beautiful open gardens and spaces, mostly build within the past 20 years. Our tours were conducted by students and they were quite open about their life in China, and the recent changes; nothing political at all. Smiling, beautiful English and delightful to tour with. They filled our travel times with stories, superstitions, and Chinese traditions. It was FREEZING with stops at a city overlook with a birds eye view of the metropolis of Dalian, the Peoples Square, famous for kite flying (none of us were willing to stop long enough to even think of flying a kite!). On to Xinghai Square, even larger than Tiananmen Square and beautifully planted (well it would have been spectacular if in bloom) and gorgeous sculptures depicting the various sports enjoyed by its citizens - There were also bicycles that looked like go carts for rent, available for 2 or 4 people, but no takers today it was just too cold. I found a very moving sculpture that was 100 years of footprints; on the ground, about 100 yards long by 3 yards wide that included some lotus feet that had been bound. Fascinating. Our guide, JoAnn told us she was one of 3 children. Contrary to what we have heard, the one family, one child rule has relaxed considerably. It seems that if the 1st child is a girl, then the family can have a second child, hoping for a boy to continue the name. Jo Anne's parents had two girls, but defied the rules and had a third child, and luckily it was a boy. Jo Anne was sent to live with her grandmother in an attempt to circumvent the rules, but a neighbor turned them in, and her father did time in prison for the crime. It seems the the rules have relaxed even further since then (20-25 years ago) and the new rule is that if two only children marry, they can have two children. She said she loves her sister and brother and it was well worth it for her father to go to prison. (No mention of how long).
So many of the superstitions are woven into stories about love and heroism. We crossed the Beida Bridge where lovers cross the bridge together, exchanging a small gift in the middle to show their love. Stories about the bride's family and friends blocking the door and making it difficult for the groom to pick up the bride for the wedding ceremony in order to prove his devotion. She told of wedding traditions and pranks played on the bride and groom. The couple's friends and family hiding under the bed and demanding that 18 pieces of clothing be thrown out of the marriage bed... I asked just when the poor couple would be left alone, but never got an answer!
The last stop was Tiger Beach... once upon a time there was a very nasty dragon, and a tiger went to battle against the dragon to protect the people of Dalian. The tiger and dragon fought for days and days until finally the dragon was defeated, but the tiger was so badly wounded that he died of his wounds. There is a fabulous sculpture of the "tigers" that has 6 tigers carved in stone, but regardless of how you look at it, you can only see 5 tigers. It's really quite lovely, but it was so cold, many didn't get out of the bus! Last stop was the Dalian Friendship Center filled with overpriced treasures and special New Year's food. I found mushrooms, about 6 inches long, quite fat and sumptuous, packed in boxes lined with silk for about $40 and some things we've seen everywhere but have no clue as to what they are; they look like mini-skinny starfish, stacked about 8 or 9 high... beautifully boxed but absolutely no clue as to what they were!
Home to the ship, time to defrost and swill a bit of champagne!
No comments:
Post a Comment