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Curt
climber
Gold Canyon, AZ
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Are you suggesting that burning coal may not be the cleanest way to produce energy? Stop the presses.
Curt
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, randisi... oh my, :(
say, do you have any close up views on a good day, of the yellow sea, that you mentioned?
sad to see the bad air, :(
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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everybody chain smokes Lucky Strike non filters over there,
they need to switch to Kent with the micronite filter,
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
www.climbaddictdesigns.com
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When I worked as a handbag designer, I made several trips to Hong Kong and into China. Mostly only to Shenzhen, but a few trips further north to see factories.
One time our factory owner picked us up in Shenzhen and drove us six hours to see his factory when we first started doing business. Beautiful mountainscapes. Seeing people working fields, mothers with babies on their back, hoes of bamboo. Cattle of some sort being driven along the roadside by handlers, and waiting a good while for them to be maneuvered for us to pass.
Unfortunately for me, that was back when I was much more clueless, and barely aware, really, of my surroundings. Few real memories of times which should be richly laden.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
Boulder, Colorado!
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Awesome thread! The air part is not so awesome, but I really love these photos (and your commentary). I hope you have more to share. And I'd love to hear more about your work too.
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apogee
climber
Technically expert, safe belayer, can lead if easy
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This is a great thread. Great insights, all around. Thank you!
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Great OT TR. Keep on posting!
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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Randisi as a 40 something angry white dude. That's cracking me up!
Good to hear from ya, buddy!
I would have thought that you and ekat might have known each other from the valley.
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Dr.Sprock
Boulder climber
I'm James Brown, Bi-atch!
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Shanghai Population
1953 6,204,400 —
1964 10,816,500 +74.3%
1982 11,859,700 +9.6%
1990 13,341,900 +12.5%
2000 16,407,700 +23.0%
2010 23,019,200 +40.3%
2012 23,710,000 +3.0%
Public awareness of the environment is growing, and the city is investing in a number of environmental protection projects. A 10-year, US$1 billion cleanup of Suzhou Creek, which runs through the city-center, was expected to be finished in 2008,[96] and the government also provides incentives for transportation companies to invest in LPG buses and taxis. Air pollution in Shanghai is low compared to other Chinese cities, but the rapid development over the past decades means it is still substantial by worldwide standards. The government has moved almost all the factories within the city-center to either the outskirts of Shanghai or the neighboring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in the last two decades. In addition, several parks have replaced factory land in the city-center. As a result, Shanghai's air quality has been steadily improving since the 1990s.[97]
In March 2013 over 12,000 dead pigs[98] were found in the Huangpu River, which supplies Shanghai with some of its drinking water. The pigs were dumped by farmers in neighbouring Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, a major pig farming area that is upstream of Shanghai.
Skyfall, 007 movie, had some cool scenes done in Shanghai,
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phylp
Trad climber
Millbrae, CA
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Randisi, this is great. Thanks for sharing your world. Now all you need is that bagel shop...
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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I haven't been to Dalian, but I've been to China quite a few times on business. Just to big cities, so I can't comment on what life is like in the country, but in the cities, it's not so different. There are areas that are all shiny and modern and full of people whose standard of living is pretty much like the professional classes in Europe and North America. And there are areas that haven't changed much in centuries, that look very different to anything you'd see in Denver.
I'm no expert, but from what I've seen, mostly it's just people, like anywhere else. There is wealth, there is poverty, there is good, there is bad, there is beauty, there is ugliness.
And above all, there is a coming-together of global influence. Just as there is plenty of Chinese or Thai or Japanese food not far from you at home, there is plenty of American and European food in Shanghai or HK or Kuala Lumpur. And fashion. And stupid TV shows.
This is Shanghai, but it could be any modern city, anywhere.
A food court, in a mall in Shanghai
Blacksmith setting up his portable shop
Tourists taking pictures of each other in front of well-known landmarks.
Older part of Shanghai
Down south, in Guangzhou, a lot of people climb up the steps to Monument Hill for an early morning workout.
City workers taking care of a park in Guangzhou
And finally, whatever you can say about the people, cats are cats are cats are the same everywhere.
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neebee
Social climber
calif/texas
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hey there say, randisi...
wow, thanks for the yellow sea, to see!
and for sharing all the pics of your local area...
and naturally for all the rocks, and landscapes etc...
say, that little fenced trail up the black? rock (was it called) ...
how does it fair/fare as to hikers?
is it by the sea, does the waves ever rush, during storms and ruin parts of
it, or add more danger to the already dangerous looking climb?
do folks frequent it all, or just on certain occasions... ?
thanks again, for all of this interesting share, and, the rock,
for the ol' climber-needs, here, :))
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Ward Trotter
Trad climber
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The OP needs to get away from the People's urban center and get out to the people's Ziang-Miao autonomous prefecture for collective contemplation on socialist doctrine to purge artificially accumulated Capitalist atmosphere.
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bergbryce
Trad climber
South Lake Tahoe, CA
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Neat thread.
I always thought Bread sang All I Need is the Air that I Breathe, but it was actually the Hollies.
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Guangzhou
Trad climber
Asia, Indonesia, East Java
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I lived, worked, and climbed in China. Loved my time there. About the only bad thing I experienced was the pollution.
I spent most of my weekends int he country side. Felt that locals there were extremely friendly. We were putting up routes outside Guangzhou. Kids would come watch, old couples would invite us in for tea, and we help harvest rice one weekend.
Currently I'm interviewing with a couple of International schools in China. Both my wife and I like it, the climbing is good, the cost of living reasonable. Pollution still sucks.
With all that said, I am also chatting with a school in Chile. Chile would definitely take priority over China.
Eman
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Cool to see the pics Randisi, definitely would like to get over there.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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nice randy, tx for the pix.
2.5 years? really?
where does it go
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Randisi, my wife and i lucked out ib both Bejing and Shanghai with unusually good air conditions....not so in Chengdu.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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First trip to Asia was Seoul. Got off the plane and then didn't see anything further than about 100 meters away for two days. Air was yellow and the locals were all wearing masks. But it didn't smell bad, which I thought was weird.
Turned out not to be pollution, but rather the top 5 cm of northern china en route to North America. The result of desertification on a scale almost incomprehensible.
Seoul was a great place though. As opposed to New York, where I am stuck for the next few days.
Edit: Back from the pub, and so with access to photos...
View from my hotel, as the storm was clearing
And a really tacky decoration in a conference center
I've posted this one before, but it belongs here just to keep things climbing-related. Or at least rapelling-related
And finally, the climbing store (also at the Namdaemun market). Although, with a name like Kolon Sport, I think maybe I've found Locker's source for Blue Butt Plugs
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Fluoride
Trad climber
West Los Angeles, CA/Joshua Tree
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Love this thread. Keep posting pics Randisi (and ghost).
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climbski2
Mountain climber
Anchorage AK, Reno NV
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Dec 13, 2013 - 12:57pm PT
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Been lurking and enjoying this thread for a while now. What an interesting and beautiful place. Air doesn't look any worse than Reno the last few days actually. cold high pressure has been sitting in our bowl for about a week now. Fortunately that is unusual for us.
Noticed that China is planning to land a rover on the Moon tomorrow. Is that big news over there? Do you know if they will be streaming anything live on it?
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Dec 13, 2013 - 03:36pm PT
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Fun stuff! My son who is half Chinese went to China when he was 15 (2005) as part of the Youth Climbing World Comps (his girlfriend was the one vying for Worlds). He was so excited as he said "I'm going to go and be among my people". I laughed, since he is more American than I am since he grew up in California. I asked him what he ate and he said mostly "Pizza Hut". He was a little taken aback by the air quality...he said "Mom everyone wears masks". Whenever I would call his hotel I was routed through a Chinese "sports host". Oh yeah, I'm sure. They kept tight reins on the comings and goings, but they were not "restricted" in the traditional sense of the word.
In 1978 I traveled to China just after it opened with a contingent of 20 others on an education and humanity "mission". We were TOTALLY restricted. No picture taking allowed. There was 1 Chinese "guide" for every 3 people. We had no freedom whatsoever although they took us to see many sights and treated us well. We never got to see any of the peasants or working Chinese. Our bus had bars on the window and were very darkened. There were some creepy feelings about would we be allowed to leave. Many Americans at the time called us un-American for going since China was still regarded as an enemy state.
My former Chinese husband, who grew up in America of Chinese immigrants spoke Chinese until he was 5 and went to kindergarten in Santa Rosa. His father then said "you will speak English now". No ifs, ands or buts about it.
I would love to go back and visit China now, but it's not likely to happen.
Please keep posting...it's lovely. The culture is such a contrast.
Susan
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Dec 13, 2013 - 04:29pm PT
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We were TOTALLY restricted. No picture taking allowed.
Susan, I'm sure Randisi can give you a more complete picture than I can, but on my trips to China no one has paid any attention whatever to what I do. I'm sure there are places off limits, but on my trips, once I leave the airport, I've been completely free to do whatever I chose to do. No different than Europe or North America.
Maybe you'd run into some kind of restrictions if you tried to buy a ticket on a domestic flight, or rent a car... Randisi?
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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Dec 14, 2013 - 11:25am PT
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Thanks Randisi for this wonderful thread! I just moved from Japan to Colorado and you are making homesick!
I am always impressed when I go to China how there are still beautiful and somewhat wild places there in spite of 6,000 years of heavy habitation and over a billion people there. It's also very impressive each trip to see how much things have changed. I mainly go to conferences in the southwest (Kunming) and in even two years, the modernization is amazing (I first went there in 1979 when everyone was still wearing Mao jackets and riding bicycles).
One thing that surprised me from your photos was how much vegetation there is and how green everything looked for that time of year. The Korean peninsula is much less forested and much colder and more somber it seems.
Please keep posting!
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Dec 14, 2013 - 12:24pm PT
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Unfortunately, the Chinese education system focuses on rote learning and not effective usage of knowledge.
might as well replace that with the US k-12 education system, now. NCLB and the scantron overlords pretty much have most kids in their iron grip.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Dec 14, 2013 - 01:31pm PT
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Sullly
Merleau-Ponty is not what I would expect to find in the little red book or in most books about logic..., but he could be relevant for climbers - the rock and climbing gear as extentions of our bodies... rock-body... body-gear-rock...
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Dec 14, 2013 - 02:17pm PT
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On the subject of dual language signs...
Here are a few shots taken twelve years ago on my first visit to Guangzhou. If there's one thing striking about these it's that there's nothing striking about them. Could be pretty much anywhere...
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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So I take it you like it, then?
It's not what Americans think it is Dingus.
Go back in time. Way back. To when what is now the US was in its infancy. People in Europe believed it was an uncivilized place with a guaranteed-to-fail political system, full of savages, dirty, dangerous...
That's how people in the US now think of China.
Am I saying that China will blossom in the way the US did? No. Am I saying that it might? Yes.
What many people forget in this discussion is that people who live in China are...
wait for it...
People.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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LA Times reportedtoday that people are really pissed at Walmart because what they thought
they were eating their esteemed donkey snacks but, in fact, they were getting fox. Ewwww!
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Jan 13, 2014 - 09:25am PT
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Nope.. no varicose veins in these propaganda posters either;)
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survival
Big Wall climber
Terrapin Station
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Jan 13, 2014 - 12:41pm PT
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Looks like our advertising from the 50's.
I wish I had gone to China instead of Saudi Arabia!
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Guangzhou
Trad climber
Asia, Indonesia, East Java
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Jan 13, 2014 - 08:09pm PT
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who knows, we might meet and climb together soon. On the short list for a position in Xian. Would be nice to go back to China.
I have to agree, minus the pollution, China is a great place to live.
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SCseagoat
Trad climber
Santa Cruz
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Jan 14, 2014 - 11:05am PT
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Sometimes the Chinese are just strange. I was married to a Chinese man for close to 20 years…he was 1st generation born and raised in US so he was as American as apple pie. However his sister once asked me "do we really all look alike to you?" I was kinda stunned….I said "no, not if I'm looking at your face, but if we are in a banquet hall and all I see of those sitting in front of me is the back of their heads, then generally all I see is black hair."
The revering of the males, especially in the older generation is still very profound. My Chinese sister-in-law and I were pregnant at the same time. Her husband was also Chinese. But at banquets all the elders would flock around me and fuss over my pregnancy, even though I was blonde and blue eyed, simply because I was married to a Chinese male. My son and his cousin born several weeks apart had a joint Red Egg and Ginger baby banquet. I loved all the banquets and the symbolism for each one.
There was a wonderful family history book that my former husband's family kept up. It probably went back 100s of years. Or as my former used to say "when we were still monkeys in trees". However, very interesting is that only males were listed in the book until about the 1930s then they started to include females.
Jewelry is a preferred wedding gift and it is expected that you will wear every piece at the wedding banquet. It was interesting wearing multiple necklaces, bracelets, rings etc. My husband received many pieces too. And of course nearly all of the them were either jade or 22K gold or both. As the bride and groom would move amongst the banquet tables there was great pride taken for the "gifter" to point out the gift they had given…a little competition going on… And when my son was born I was astounded at so much beautiful baby jewelry. He was beautiful little Baby Buddhas, jade and gold pieces too. So tiny, so beautiful.
Susan
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Jan 28, 2014 - 10:59am PT
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Great pics Randisi. Happy Chinese new year.
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this just in
climber
north fork
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Jan 30, 2014 - 12:03am PT
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Take some pics, it would be cool to see what a Chinese New Year looks like. I know, not gonna do the justice of the real thing. Cheers.
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Big Mike
Trad climber
BC
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Jan 30, 2014 - 03:09am PT
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Thanks for this thread Randisi. It's really cool to see pics from the other side of the world and get to know you a little better!
Happy New Year!
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Evel
Trad climber
Nedsterdam CO
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Feb 19, 2014 - 09:44pm PT
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YOWZA!
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Feb 19, 2014 - 10:03pm PT
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Thanks for all pictures and words Randisi. Xiamen is important in the industry I work in and I hope to get there some day. For the immediate future the closest I'll get is HK in about a month from now, but it'll be all work and not enough time for play.
Your comment about the trees with the exposed roots brought back memories of Guangzhou. Wandering around in areas just full of trees like that. I don't think I got any pictures of the root systems, but here's some Guangzhou trees.
For those of you who don't know it, Guangzhou is a huge industrial city. 11 million in the city itself, and close to 45 million in the urban agglomeration. But my memory of the place is trees everywhere.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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Feb 19, 2014 - 10:10pm PT
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However, very interesting is that only males were listed in the book until about the 1930s then they started to include females.
I hadn't visited this thread in a while, so hadn't seen your comment Susan. What came to mind when I read it was that this is not so different from Europe or the Americas. It was less than one hundred years ago that the 19th amendment to the US constitution was entered into law. And if you think back to your own experiences in the 1960s and 70s...
Well, you know what I'm saying.
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Ghost
climber
A long way from where I started
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What industry are you in, Ghost?
Aviation
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Mar 10, 2014 - 02:52pm PT
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Shanghai cityscape
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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May 11, 2014 - 01:55pm PT
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What's the story of the statue by the yellow forsythia bush? It kind of looks like the Chinese version of St. Francis?
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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May 11, 2014 - 06:08pm PT
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Our daughter has been teaching in Liuyang (Hunan) since August and, so far, she hasn't mentioned anything about the air quality, so I'm assuming it's ok there
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Jan
Mountain climber
Colorado, Nepal & Okinawa
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May 17, 2014 - 03:38pm PT
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I'm sure those statues are not random. Each one has a unique individual face. They must be Buddhist saints or famous historical figures?
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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May 17, 2014 - 05:15pm PT
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very pretty
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jun 27, 2014 - 09:05am PT
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i want that gym
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 27, 2014 - 08:54am PT
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That face viewed from the gondola....any routes on it? Looks like good rock.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 27, 2014 - 09:09am PT
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Woah....that place needs developing.
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klk
Trad climber
cali
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Jul 27, 2014 - 09:12am PT
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veru kuehl
the via ferrata looks fun. except for the crowds
interesting erosion patterns there-- that fluting makes it look like limestone from a distance
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Ken M
Mountain climber
Los Angeles, Ca
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Jul 27, 2014 - 11:11am PT
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On the unknown statues with the yellow ribbons, you can't help but wonder what the story might be.
Like this famous statuary, which has a long and involved story behind it:
[Click to View YouTube Video]
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BLUEBLOCR
Social climber
joshua tree
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Jul 27, 2014 - 11:25am PT
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I gotta admit i like looking at the shots of the crowds more than those of rock.. Any shots of food? How much do they get for one of them pelts?
Thanks for the mind vacation, Randisi!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 30, 2014 - 06:52am PT
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More rock.....pleaseee!
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wilbeer
Mountain climber
Terence Wilson greeneck alleghenys,ny,
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Jul 30, 2014 - 07:33am PT
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Great job,Randisi!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Jul 30, 2014 - 07:37am PT
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Thanks....I'm a natural world kind of guy. When I go to a country my interests are almost entirely on the geography, geology, flora and fauna. The people and their culture are way down the line.
I know that in China, with 1.3 billion people, crowds of homo sapiens are the rule rather than the exception. Last year my wife and I went to the Siguniang area above Chengdu. The main valley traversing below Siguniang was thick with treckers BUT you only had to get off of the main trail and up into a side valley where the only paths were made by Himalayan Blue Sheep to experience a refreshing and beautiful wildness.
"....two paths diverged in a wood and I took the one less travelled by..."
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