100 Men Show in Hangzhou

Dear Readers,

quite impressive I have to admit! The show about local history and customs in Hangzhou, 3 hours South of Shanghai, really had something to offer. We were introduced to the local landscape with laser effects and holograms, topped only by real waterfalls produced right, left and centers. The local fauna was shown with the plenty of horses that would ride over the stage during the battle scenes. Canon fired loud shots with smoke and the artificial lake in front of the stage did indeed splash out some water for the first row people. Sadly all those effects are not easily captured in pictures, but the beautiful costumes and graceful dancers are.
The day could hardly have been more pleasing to the senses, for the lunch that we enjoyed just prior to coming to the show (which by the way was the third fully booked appearance that same day) was equally great! I really love sharing food and look forward to sharing with you soon!

All the best,

Mat

Hangzhou at the West Lake

Liebe Leser,

wie ihr sicher schon gemerkt habt, waren meine letzten Tage in China mehr touristischer als professioneller Natur. Als Anerkennung der geleisteten Arbeit im Rahmen der 175 Jahr Feierlichkeiten sind wir vier Organisatoren von der Firma auf einen Tagesausflug nach Hangzhou eingeladen worden. Seht selbst und erfreut euch an dem schönen Ausblick den wir vom Ufer und vom See aus geniessen durften.



Liebe Grüße,

Euer Matti

Humble Administer's Garden in Suzhou

Dear friends and family,

Hoping that you are all doing as well as me, I share more of my one-day-adventures in China with you. On a rainy day in August my friend Minglei and me decided to go to Suzhou together, supposedly "paradies on Earth" if you can trust old Chinese sayings... well you cannot, because Suzhou was nice without a doubt, but did not come close to my imagination of paradise. I guess I will have to learn quickly how to take Chinese proverbs less literally. I still liked the day it rained and we went to Suzhou, more for the company, the fun and running-action when catching trains and eating undefined meat on a skewer than for the touristy experience. Still, this little place is worthwhile seeing, if you can spare the cash for the comparatively high entry prices.

All the best,

Mat

My Shanghai Zoo experience

Dear friends and family,

I hope once again my lines might find you very well off. Today I would like to share a very ambiguous experience with you, i.e. my trip to the Zoo. The entrance gate seemed rather welcoming, but the first impression only lasted until I saw the first animal cage: poorly designed, much too small and reeking with excrement was my good mood flushed away. The bad signs of trash in many animal cages as fully inadequate substitutes for the lack of toys or otherwise useful interior continued throughout the zoo and have a tough time finding their equals anywhere else on the world. I regret to say that my impression about Chinese behaviour towards animals could hardly have been worse. Indeed, I seemed to be the only one to notice the lack of care for almost all inmates. Even the elephant show was pittyful, compared to the real ones in Thailand. If the first time I saw a Big Panda life and in color would have been under these circumstances, I might have purposely delayed my experience. I guess my disappointment comes clear when you compare the poster and the real impression of the Panda. And please note that I am not referring to the state of activity, as Pandas really spend most of their time (<80%) sleeping of lazing around.

Maybe that is what I should do as well, but please under better conditions,

Cheers,

Mat

Sulzer 175 Anniversary

Liebe Leser,

um dem Lauf der Dinge wieder ein wenig auf die Spur zu kommen, gebe ich mir Mühe die Geschehnisse der Monate
Juli und August schnellstmöglich zusammenzufassen. Was aber auf keinen Fall fehlen darf, sind die Feierlichkeiten zum 175 jährigen Firmenjubiläums meines Arbeitsgebers in Shanghai. Im höchsten Gebäude der Metropole, im Shanghai World Financial Center (ich frag mich auch, ob das wohl eine Bewandnis hat mit der Gleichschaltung von Welt und Shanghai) haben wir im 4. Stock (buuuhhh) eine große Galaveranstaltung für Kunden und "offizielle Würdenträger" organisiert. Das Team dieses Abends seht ihr vor unserem Eingangsplakat, aber lasst euch nicht von den zwei Männern täuschen, gearbeitet haben de facto nur die Damen und ich an dem Event. Funktioniert hat an diesem Abend beinahe alles, ausser der Ton bei der Filmpräsentation. Das sieben Gänge-Menü hätte aber auch gröbere Schnitzer vergessen lassen. Nur die gekochten Seegurken in brauner Aspik-Soße hätten für mich etwas kleiner ausfallen können. Nun denn, man wird schliesslich nur einmal 175 Jahre alt.

















Euch alles Liebe und Gute! Auf das Ihr auch einmal 175 Jahre alt werdet!

Euer Matti

Eating Ants with Minglei

Dear Readers,

I hope my lines find you smiling, despite the strange food presentation I am sharing with you today. One of my many Shanghai days I spend getting to know Minglei over a bowl of fried ants (admittedly on roasted and very tasty pine nuts). We met in the early afternoon at her workplace and went to a AAAA touri site whose name I have entirely forgotten. Since it rained pretty much the whole day, we remembered the day as "the day it rained and we ate ants". Thanks Minglei for a great culinary start into our friendship!

Cheers and bon appetit,

Matthias

Ming Dynasty in Nanjing

Dear friends and family,

thanks for your continuous endurance of my blog posts. Today I shall reward your patience with some nice pictures from the Ming Dynasty Park in Nanjing, the capital of the South. Carefully restored, many beautifully ornated houses and ex-palaces are scattered throughout a vast park that is on top decorated with plenty of stone carved statues. Being one of the most expensive touristy sights in entire China, it better offers its visitors something more than a stone cold kiss from an old dynasty monster.

Have fun as well while walking in the park!

Cheers,

Matti

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Dear readers,

hopefully this message finds you very well. In my last entry I was refering to the old German saying that after your extensive meals, you should either rest, or take a thousand steps. We did opt for the thousand steps options, but only on the next day, when we visited the supposedly second best attraction of the city. I guess I must have been some other place for I was absolutely unimpressed by the seven story pagoda that was towering over Xian. The small sorrounding park did some help in covering up the rather decor-less interior of the pagoda and the seven floors helped in getting our 1000 steps in, but overall, it was again the company that made the day worthwhile while the sight could have been much better. Maybe I am a little spoiled for the picture does look okay, but on that day, I did not like it very much. The turtle statue on the way back to the bus stop was much more appreciated though.

Cheers to turles and their capabilities of escaping my good care even in an elevator,

Matti

Drum Tower

Liebe Freunde und Verwandte,

nach einem guten Esssen soll man ruhen, oder tausend Schritte tun. Nun haben wir in diesem Fall das zweite gewählt, allerdings nur im Rahmen einer Schrittanzahlung. Nach dem Muslimischen Viertel am Abend, haben wir den "Trommel-Turm" von aussen bestaunt, der eigentlich seinem Zwillingsbruder dem "Glocken-Turm" in nichts ausser Touristenmengen nachsteht. Vielleicht ist sein kleiner Ruhm der verhältnismäßig einfacheren Herstellung von Trommeln im Vergleich zu Glocken geschuldet. Jedenfalls nett beleuchtet und mit Multi-Drachen glohrreich umflogen war er eine nette Abendattraktion für uns.

Liebe Grüße,

Euer Matti

Muslim Quarters in Xian

Dear friends and family,

in an attempt to catch up with the long overdue reports on my travels in China, here come some pictures about the food to be enjoyed in Xian. Why this quarter with its old small pedestrian streets is called the Muslim quarter is not really detectable on first sight, so I stopped my investigation and rather looked at the various delicious food novelties on display. Please join the smile of the rice cake guy :-)

All the best,

Mat

Terracotta Soldiers I

Dear friends,

I hope my lines find you smiling and you are well off.
Today I want to share with you some pictures form the biggest museum that I have been to. Largely uncovered even until today, the Terracotta Army of one of the Chinese emperors (of the Ming dynasty?) was one of the highlights in Xian. Once brought to daylight, the exquisite coloring fades away in minutes, so what we can see today is only a small part of the entire formation that was supposed to protect the deceased emperor from his enemies. The soldiers are in life size and made up out of (only) three pieces. It must have taken years to produce only the small fraction that we are able to see.

I hope soon the Chinese scientists find a way of conserving the color when excavating the rest and can open up even more fields of history for us to marvel at and learn from.

All the best until soon,

Mat

Night-train Beijing-Xian

Dear Readers,

one of the least adventurous things to do in China is taking a night train. In terms of comfort it easily reaches European standards and in terms of price it is very well competing with the low budget airlines, unlike our overpriced railway connections. Thus after our trip in Beijing, we took the night train to Xian, saving on an overnight stay at a hostel :-)

Cheers to Chinese trains,

Matthias