Food Part III

Last night we went to a restaurant that offered all its fresh wares on display: live fish, crabs, shrimp etc. in tanks as you walk in. The chef would scoop something out and cook it up for you as you ordered. A bit disconcerting, but the boys liked watching.


Shanghai is famous for its hairy crabs (which we can't eat, of course) and its ribbon fish (which are yummy). We've also now eaten lotus root, white fungus (so good) and sauteed chestnuts in brown sauce (tasted sort of like potato).

Tonight we decided we wanted something different, so we went out for (wait for it) Japanese food! We had huge bowls of delicious udon noodles with vegetables and tofu. It made for a nice change. The funny part was that the chopsticks were different, the tea was different, even the soy sauce seemed different.

We've gone native.

China's Name - a post from Noah

Dear everybody it is so cool in China which was called Qin-na in ancient times. (Q sounds like ch in China)

Qin is from the emperor Qin, and the Ancient Persians added na (na means nation) to Qin to make Qin-na (Qin-na means Qin’s nation).

Long Live Emperor Qin

We're Back Online!

Ni hao from Shanghai! We made it after a fun and interesting 2 days in Xi'an and a very long train ride to Shanghai. We are in now — Friday night here. The Internet is very slow and very expensive, so we'll not be using it as much.

Xi'an is called the Dragon City. It is known for the Terra Cotta warriors, created and buried to guard the Tomb of China's first Emperor Qin over 2200 years ago. The tomb was situated to maximize Fengshui - and may even originate the concept. The tomb was then forgotten until 1974 when a farmer discovered it accidentally while digging a well. In the first excavation pit, over 8000 life-sized statues of warriors were uncovered. Only a few additional pits have been excavated — they are moving slowly to avoid spoiling the find. We'll post photos soon.

The city also has one of the few standing city walls. Noah and Jon rented a two-person bike and rode the city wall. It was an amazing view.

So we're doing fine. On Sunday we visit the synagogues of Shanghai, tomorrow the museums and markets. We hope everyone is well at home. We'll try to keep getting on line as we can.

Pandas

On Friday we went to the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. They are magnificent! They look like giant stuffed animals. The little kids go nuts to see them, calling out Xiong mao! Xiong mao! (Panda! Panda!) Most were sleepy, but a few were active, climbing up and down their jungle gyms like giant teddy bears. Some were in indoor enclosures and some were outdoors; some were alone and some were in groups. Not being able to read the signs, we couldn't tell why. They are fascinating to watch and it was hard to tear ourselves away.

The zoo is old and seems very old-fashioned by American standards, with small cages and bare enclosures for the animals. However, there are some beautiful animals there, including golden monkeys, Manchurian tigers, and the most regal peacocks I've ever seen. Supposedly there are also yaks from Tibet, but we didn't find them.

Food Part II

We went to Dini's kosher restaurant last night. Very pretty, very Western in style: cloth napkins on the plates, full set of Western utensils, glasses of water on the table (from bottles, don't worry). We were all a bit flustered by it, actually. However, no Peking duck on the menu -- I was crushed. Also, they were out of beef, so we had four different chicken dishes. In fact, Noah had matzo ball soup. The food was good, but we were a bit disappointed. We'll have to see if we can do better at the kosher place in Hong Kong.

Jon did well at his lunch with the University people today. Turns out the Vice Dean is a vegetarian, and knew of a good Buddhist restaurant near the school, so they went there. They had all the "mock" dishes: mock duck, mock beef, etc. Yum!

The boys and I found a place near our hotel that had menus with English translations (sort of). We skipped the turtle soup and the fried squid, and had a fish dish that was wonderful. It was a whole fish that looked like one of those flowered onion blossoms, that you pull off the bits to eat. It was in a sweet and sour sauce, but with peas and pine nuts instead of the pineapple and bell peppers that you see at home. Quite delicious. Can't wait for dinner!

The Sacred Road

This is the Garon family with their newest pet. The Sacred Road, which leads to the Imperial Tombs, is lined with giant statues of animals in pairs, both standing (in service to the Emperor during the day) and kneeling (at rest during the night). Kids love climbing on them. The road is lined with weeping willows and meditative music is piped in throughout the park. Very peaceful.

Today Jon is lecturing at the University of International Business and Economics. He's a little nervous, mainly about lunch with the President and Dean after the lecture. The boys and I are going swimming at the hotel, and then maybe some more shopping...

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is truly awe-inspiring. I'd read about it, seen documentaries, but nothing could do justice to being up there and seeing the never-ending expanse of it, extending out for miles in all directions.

Our guide gave us the choice of the easier way up (more crowded), or the harder way up (better views), and of course the boys chose the harder way up. It was worth the effort, although Jon and I couldn't go as far as the boys wanted to go (I think Noah wanted to go all 4100 miles). The Wall is a combination of uneven steps and ramps leading up and down from towers. Very hard on my poor feet, but amazing to see.