James Dean Lives!

(Alaina) Feb 22

Hello America!

We started today by saying goodbye to Yuanyang and driving three hours to Jianshui, which is on the way to Kunming. Descending through the twisting mountain roads proved just as adrenaline-boosting as the climb up, though by this point we’re (mostly) confident that the driver is a godsend, not a madman. Up top the sky was perfectly clear, giving us a beautiful last view of the rice paddies. Further down the mountain we were enveloped in thick fog (visibility=0), and then we broke through to the clear sky and warm sun (t-shirt weather YAY) of the ground-dwellers. As we drove the soil turned red and dry, and we began to see more and more small squares of crops- wheat, beans, cabbage, tomato, corn, onion, and probably much more.

Just outside of Jianshui we stopped to tour Swallow Cave. Because of the natural beauty and harmony of the cave, the area has long attracted the followers of multiple religions. First we passed three Daoist tombs: one of a man who’s considered a hero of sorts for achieving the highest level of spirituality, and two of his disciples. Just after the Daoist tombs was a Buddhist shrine featuring a large gold Buddha statue, surrounded by people waving large bundles of flaming incense. Past this there was a Daoist shrine of the major gods (representing Heaven, Earth, and Water), followed by another shrine to Confucius. Apparently the three religions generally coexist peacefully, and are often found right next to each other like this. It was interesting to see so many people practicing their faith and honoring the figures they live by, drawn together by a mutual appreciation for a beautiful natural phenomenon.

The cave itself is a huge tunnel situated over a river. It has become famous because every year hundreds of swallows come to roost in the crevices of the ceiling from January to August. The opening of the cave was quite beautiful. The turquoise river disappeared into the yawning mouth of rock, the cavernous heights of which were speckled with the darting bodies of dozens of swallows. While the visit started very well, in my opinion the temples and initial view were the only worth-while sights.

We entered the cave and sat down to see a “show,” which turned out to be a man climbing along the walls of the cave 50 meters up to hang a banner. At first I thought the event must signify something, but no, it was just a tourist spectacle. I felt a bit uncomfortable watching a man risk his life in an unnecessarily dangerous activity just for entertainment. Inside, the cave was much less spectacular than the one we saw in Guilin. The river added a cool effect, but it was basically a giant tunnel with drippy oozy stone formations extending from the walls and ceiling. It was sparsely lit until the tour guide activated multicolored lights and bursts of music, which aren’t on all the time because they don’t want to disturb the swallows. It’s my prediction, however cynical, that the birds will stop coming as the tourists multiply and the gimmicks become more intrusive. We stopped a few times to see formations that supposedly looked like women, grapes, elephants, and tigers (the Chinese are more imaginative than I am), and trekked up and down multiple large flights of stairs. We tried some soup made from dates and the nests of the swallows (if you put it in soup, anything can be eaten?), which was sweet and actually pretty good. Then we took a boat back to the opening, which I appreciated because my quads are admittedly sore from several days of intense stair climbing. All in all, the two-hour tour dragged on (as my feet dragged on), and if future groups visit Jianshui, I would not recommend it.

We drove into the city of Jianshui, which is busy but smaller and less polished than Guilin, to have lunch. My favorite was a chicken dish with peanuts, cucumber, and carrots, all with a mild soy sauce flavor. Lunch and dinner always include a big bowl of soup, and this one-- shredded egg and green lettucey vegetables in a chicken broth-- was about an 8 on the soup scale. Soon, however, we were distracted from our food by a gaggle of young boys gathering at the window. Our fan club grew to 7 or 8 kids, who giggled and pointed at us for a good 40 minutes lunch. There was one older boy who we named James Dean, and he seemed to be the ring leader. It was when he began orchestrating a series of hand gestures, including blowing kisses, that we realized the transition from innocent to mischievous had begun. We did manage to catch them off guard when Alex blew a kiss back, but all in all, James Dean clearly had the upper hand as he was on home turf. When we left the restaurant they followed us for 15 minutes or so, giggling when we made faces and scattering when Alex moved towards them. It was a deep friendship.

From there we walked to a large Confucian temple. We learned a lot about Confucianism, which emphasizes harmony and family relationships, and places great value on the five virtues: benevolence, respect, wisdom, trust, and justice. The buildings were all beautifully constructed and decorated. Most distinctive were the traditional triangular roofs with the wings at the corners, covered in colorful ceramic tile-shingles. There were a lot of ornately carved wood and brightly colored images adorning walls and doors. Inside the buildings were various shrines and figures of Confucius, his family, and his top students. I was surprised to see people praying to and worshiping Confucius, because I always thought Confucianism was more of a philosophy than a religion. Apparently Confucius is often regarded as a deity of sorts and worshiped just as the major figures of any other religion are.

We checked into another hotel (very nice, as always) and had some time to relax before dinner. (Yes, we are always eating.) This was a collective favorite meal. It was a bit different because we were given a bowl of fresh cucumbers/carrots, a bowl of oranges/ apple-pear things / watermelon, and a bowl of plain peanuts. Usually everything is always cooked, so we had missed the simple raw ingredients. There was also a delicious fried chicken dish in an orange sauce that was sweet and a bit vinegary, and a cylindrical white vegetable that tastes a bit like the baby of a thick asparagus and a water chestnut. Finally, the crown jewel arrived: DESSERT! Sometimes meals end with watermelon, but until this they never included anything that could be considered dessert by American standards. We got a plate of sticky bread buns, half of which were fried. The bread was spongy and slightly sweet and the fried ones were piping hot and had a fantastic crunch. The rolls on their own made me very excited, but then we discovered the dipping sauce: very smooth and silky, tasting like a mix of cream cheese frosting and the frosting on cinnamon rolls. YUMM.

On that very happy note, I end my blog. Given that I’ve just talked about dessert, I don’t feel I need any sort of wrap-up.

Thanks for reading,

THE END