Mid-Autumn Festival

National Holiday is upon us, for most expats here in China it means a week off work and time to enjoy the last of the summer sunshine by taking short breaks around Asia.  I however am staying in sunny Shangers to explore yet more of this great city and catch up with friends.

 

There is some confusion about Mid-Autumn festival, numerous tales about it origins and how people celebrate.  The extent of my knowledge could previously have been summed up with one word ‘mooncake’.  These are round pastries filled with anything from red bean paste to salted duck eggs, which are consumed in vast amounts over this period.  I first encountered them in Vietnam, offered as gifts from my students.  It was a shame I just couldn’t bring myself to like them, choosing instead to give them to my hard-working, mooncake-loving colleagues.

 

So what is mid-Autumn festival?  It’s a lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people.  The festival is held on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese calendar, which falls in September or early October and was recently made a Chinese public holiday.  It is associated with the legend of the Moon Goddess of Immortality.  Celebrations include carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, burning incense to honour deities, and Fire Dragon dances.

 

My Director of Studies has introduced a role of Cultural Mentor, one of our local teachers who will not only have the unenviable task of teaching the foreign teachers Chinese, but also educate us about life in China: traditions, celebrations and customs.  It’s a fantastic initiative, which I’m very much looking forward to beginning.

 

Happy Mid-Autumn celebrations to my friends in China & Vietnam.

A xx

Brooms at the ready!

April 4th is a National Holiday here in China, marking tomb sweeping festival.  This combined with redecoration at our school, re-scheduled classes and the fact I’m not aware of any tombs in the area that require sweeping, leads to 4 consecutive days off and two ‘days’ of very light admin duties!  With two of my old university friends in town, this couldn’t have come at a better time.  Add to this the fact that Mother Nature appears to have forgotten about spring and leapt head first in to summer things could not get any better.

Day 1 saw us visiting The Jade Buddha Temple, this is the largest and most impressive temple in central Shanghai.  Having seen a fair few of these whilst in South East Asia, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away, but it turned out to be rather nice.  The two largest jade Buddha carvings, each made from a single piece of jade are very impressive, it’s just a shame you can’t get up close to them.  From here, we ventured down to Nanjing Road, the main pedestrian shopping area of town, before strolling down The Bund.  A few metro stops away lies The Yuyuan Gardens, our last stop for the day.

Jade Buddha Temple

 

Yuyuan gardens tea room

The following day saw us venturing out of the city centre on a daytrip to Jiading Ancient Town, which lies at the end of metro line 11.  Aided with a map and common sense we navigated our way to the bus station and clambered on to the right bus.  It’s a nice little place, with lots of old buildings, pagodas, bridges and canals.  Similar to the town of Xitang I visited last month, it made a refreshing change from the skyscrapers of the city.

Jiading Ancient Town

All in all an incredibly enjoyable few days, which makes me even more appreciative of my two consecutive days off each week, as I now know just how much I can do with this time and how many places lie a short journey from central Shanghai.  Off to the fabric market now to pick up some bargains and exercise my bartering gene!

A xx

“Freedommmmm!”

Today is the National Day of Vietnam, marking the day in 1945 when Uncle Ho officially declared independence from colonial France.  As you would expect, it’s an official holiday here and, as we learned at this week’s teachers’ meeting, the day when over 10,000 prisoners are freed as a part of the country’s annual amnesty.

 

The Communist big wigs here aren’t overly keen on public dissent; as such I will refrain from voicing my opinions about this matter, for fear of being thrown in with the remaining 99,000 prisoners.

 

We have all been told to be extra vigilant with our money and possessions, as petty street crime rises around this time each year (I can’t think why!)  Well good luck to them if they have the courage to seek out my money and mobile phone… from inside my bra!

 

A xx

Dalat-s all folks!

With a weekend of National Holidays at my disposal, what better way to honour Liberation Day than by making the most of the time off and booking a short break to Dalat?  Home to not a lot apart from pine forests, coffee plantations, open spaces and misty mornings, I feel a trip to the central highlands is just what I need after seeing what the cities and beaches of ‘Nam have to offer.  So I’ve packed my jeans and jumper (yes, you only require one in your wardrobe around this neck of the woods) and am departing until next week.

More tall travel tales to come…

Much love, your wannabe Bill Bryson.

A xx

Gio to Hung Vuong Day

Today is a ‘traditional’ holiday adopted by the government on 28 March 2007 commemorating the mythical Hùng Kings.  In case you’re wondering why we didn’t celebrate it on 28 March this year, the date varies due to the lunar calendar.  Anyway, work thought it was appropriate to celebrate by throwing an all expenses paid barbecue and pool party for all the staff at a very exclusive local tourist village. 

Long live the mythical Hùng Kings is all I have to say – ooh, wait a minute, that doesn’t work…

A xx