2228 This is the machine that unwinds the silk cocoons. You can see the 10 cocoons in the water at the bottom of each collector. The cocoon inventory is in the square tub in the foreground. The larvae of the silk worms are in the little turquoise tub on the shelf.
2261 Here’s our canal boat pilot, on the phone. Can you hear me now?
2266 The Fangsheng Bridge, the largest bridge in the city.
2288 The main altar at the Daoist Temple. The happy couple seem to be enjoying themselves.
2298 One of the minor altars. You can see the Yin-Yang symbol on the front sign.
Oct 17 – Shanghai-Zhujiajiao, China. Once again we are heading out of Shanghai to the city of Zhujiajiao, a traditional waterside town. This time we go the whole distance by bus. Fortunately it’s not so far, unfortunately it’s through all of west Shanghai again. The trip was going to take an hour and a half but we has just gotten started, read that as ‘spent one-half hour driving in miserable traffic’, when our guide got a phone call from one of his cohorts that there was a big problem with the road ahead and he should probably switch to our afternoon itinerary for the morning in the hope that the traffic would clear up.
So we reversed course and headed back a little way to stop at the silk factory and then have lunch. The silk factory was interesting. The first thing they did was show us jars of preserved specimens showing the stages of development of the silk worm. Then we went into a room with a short runway and they put on a fashion show of silk clothing, nothing for men of course.
They still don’t have a really modern way to unwind the silk threads from the cocoon. First they treat it in hot water to loosen the substance that holds the cocoon together. This also kills the larval stage of the worm that spun the cocoon. They hold back 10% of each year’s crop to get the eggs that will produce next year’s crop. When the silk moth cuts it way out of the cocoon it makes a hole in one end that slices the silk into thousands of small useless pieces.
The threads of ten cocoons are combined in one process that makes a very strong cord of silk as it winds onto the unraveling machine. The cocoons bob around in a small bowl of water as the machine collects the silk. A girl watching the process immediately inserts another cocoon in the bowl when one runs out and puts the dead larva into another bowl. These larvae are stir fried and eaten or ground up and put into facial treatments. Our guide said that the fried larva tastes like peanuts. At least she didn’t fall back on the usual suspect, chicken.
Next stop the showroom, of course. I did get a nice silk tie for $28, a great price really. Diana bought a scarf, vest and some larger wrap of some kind. Lunch was upstairs from the showroom. Again the round table with spinning center was the order of the day. The usual suspects were on the menu but this time we had steamed pork dumplings (shu mai), and fried whole fish bream (the dish is called Squirrel Fish) sweet and sour sauce. Squirrel Fish is a traditional food in this area. Another very nice lunch.
Well the moment of truth has arrived. We are back on the road headed to Zhujiajiao. I worked with a Chinese economist whose first name was Jiajiao; everyone was having a hard time trying to pronounce it until he said, “Just say G. I. Joe and you’ll be close enough for me.” He was giving us a break because the ‘I’ should be short ‘ah’ and the Joe really should be gajo where the ‘a’ is short. Our guide was shocked when I added the Zew to the front and had no trouble with the name. Thanks for the assist Joe.
Actually traffic was not bad by local standards and we were at the city in about an hour. Our guide gave us a break and had the driver take us to the city and drop us off before returning to the parking lot. After yesterday’s treks to and from parking lots that was a real treat.
We started off by crossing one of the city’s 36 bridges, a small one of just one arch constructed of stone. A very short way down the canal we came to the boat dock and were put on them in groups of six. The boat is like the small boats on West Lake, powered by a man on the aft deck with a sculling oar. I was sitting at the back of the small covered space and looked up one time to see him talking on his cell phone. He was sculling with his right hand and holding his cell phone to his right ear with his left hand. I just had to laugh. Different country and culture, same habits.
As we rode along the canal we passed shops and restaurants, most with a second floor for additional selling or seating space. There were seafood, meat, candy, fruit and clothing stores. Families were walking along the sidewalks in small groups, many of which seemed to be at least three generations. Lots of children. A very picturesque setting. Most of the buildings are well over 100 years old, some over 300.
The village is not on the ocean but borders Dianshanhu Lake so the water is fresh, if not really clean. I’m very surprised that no one has called it the Venice of China. I guess there are too many canalled cities for any one of them to make that claim.
On the small square where we got off our little boat there’s a Daoist (often Taoist in English writing) temple the first one we’ve seen on this trip. Dao (the Way) incorporates the traditional concept of the ordered universe, Yin and Yang, and that symbol is prominently displayed in the temple. Inside the gate you enter the typical courtyard. This one has rooms built into the side walls. The rooms contain the ‘protectors’ of the Dao Zodiac. First you find your sign of the Chinese Zodiac and then you look up your specific year in that sign to find your protector. Stern looking men are the rule. I guess that’s part of the role of bodyguard. If you look stern enough people will be less likely to bother you.
There are four trees in the courtyard; each has a multitude of red ribbons with gold characters tied to their branches. You can buy them in the little shop in the entrance gate. Our guide read a few of them. They are asking for longevity, prosperity, luck or some other desirable aspect of life. There’s a large bronze lantern in the center of the courtyard and just past that a bronze bowl with sand in which you stand your lighted incense offering.
As you enter the temple you encounter a table with two tall, red lacquer and gold wooden lanterns flanking similarly constructed display stand holding, among other things a gilded sword, some flags, a gilded stick and a carved gilded tablet. All three items are ornately carved. The background is red lacquer and the carvings are gilded. The larger scenes on the display stand seem to represent mounted men in combat.
The main altar of the temple is dedicated to the local ruler of the Ming dynasty. He and his wife with two servants are behind the altar. The most attractive thing in the display is the wife’s headdress. It’s done completely in white and an almost hot pink with overtones of lavender. The white part is mainly pearls and the pinkish part is some sort of gemstone. Not sure which. I need to find one of the craft ladies to see if she can name the color. I’m pretty sure I know it but can’t dredge it up. I’m stuck on periwinkle but I know that’s not it because that’s a shade of blue.
On either side of the main altar at the back of the temple are two smaller altars each dedicated to a man and displaying the yin/yang symbol. The wooden panels all over the temple are nicely carved and parts are very colorfully painted. Colorful paintings adorn the walls of the front part of the room. Most seem to have a theme of judgment and punishment. Some of the punishments seem to be mild, wearing a wooden collar for example. Some are pretty serious, being sawn in half or cutting in different ways.
Over the main entrance to the temple they’ve hung a huge abacus. No one seemed to be able to figure the number it was set to represent, including our Chinese guide. Maybe I’ll look it up when we get back to the ship.
Continuing down the narrow street we passed more shops and restaurants, many were cooking on the sidewalk for take-out customers. We passed one store selling live song birds, mynahs and the like before arriving at the old post office. The Daqing Youju Post Office dates back to the Qing dynasty and still functions as a small substation. There’s a mailbox outside that looks very British and has its lettering mostly English. This is a remnant of the British control of this area during the Opium War period. The exhibits inside explain how the mail system worked and the categories of letters that could be sent. The mail was divided into three categories that could be thought of as regular, priority and urgent. Regular would be, ‘Dear Son, We expect a good rice crop this year. Rain has been plentiful’. Priority could be, ‘Dear Son, Your brother’s wife just had a baby’. Urgent could be, ‘Dear Son, Come home, it’s time for you to get married!’ As in early Europe and America, many people didn’t read or write so professional scribes were employed to write many of the letters. I purchased a commemorative post card and Diana dropped it into the old mailbox out front.
From the old post office we walked to a traditional Chinese apothecary. Here the herbalist doctors examine their patients and prescribe certain herbs, spices or animal parts to be compounded and used. It might be a mix to brew tea or a recipe for an unguent to apply to a wound or rash or a power to drink in liquid. The shop was lined with drawers and shelves containing the myriad of herbs that populate the world of Chinese medicine. One of the more interesting bottles they had on display contained several ginseng roots, some unidentified seeds or beans and two different snakes marinating in an orange colored fluid. Apparently the roots, beans and snakes are included to prove the authenticity of the fluid. It’s dispensed in small bottles with a dropper that allows you to measure the dose into your tea.
After viewing the pharmacy we were given free time to walk along the street heading back toward the entrance. The most interesting stores to me were the various food vendors. They were selling things as pedestrian as boiled chicken eggs to prepared bundles wrapped in leaves that contained heaven only knows what. One unique item I saw was a dome shaped oven with a hole broken in one side for access. These were filled with what looked like quail eggs being roasted. One store specialized in duck and from the look of the ducks hanging on the racks; they’ve been prepared for Peking style roast duck. There were also fabric stores and souvenir shops but not as many of the latter as you would find in a heavy tourist area. They seemed to be designed for Chinese tourists. It was difficult to find post cards of any kind or tour books.
When we reach the five-arched Fangsheng Bridge, built in the Ming dynasty it’s the largest bridge in the city. The design is very elegant, clean lines and uncluttered surfaces. It’s very reminiscent of Roman bridges but the angle of the slope is steeper. The arch is such a basic necessity for architecture it is not at all surprising that it pops up almost everywhere.
After the group assembled at the bridge we walked across it and turned right at the canal we had used for our boat ride and walked back to the city entrance. Our bus is in the parking lot so this time we had to hike out to it. Not really a big problem for most of us.
It was two long days in Shanghai so we just went to the Lido and then back to the room to rest up even though we’re facing two days at sea before arriving in Hong Kong.
No comments:
Post a Comment