By Juliette Schindler Kelly
We took the bullet train for a little over four hours to travel from Beijing to Weifang, located in the middle of the Shandong Peninsula.
Weifang appeared to us to be a hidden Chinese treasure. It is renowned as the world's kite metropolis, with an international kite festival every April, and calls itself the vegetable basket of China. It also is known for its flowers, mineral resources and communications infrastructure. It is very clean and well cared for. We had only a short time to spend in Weifang but spent a pleasant evening with Dr. Wang Guiying, vice mayor, and were told by one of her staff that she was named one of the up and coming mayors in China.
In the morning I woke at 5:30 a.m. (a common tale to those who have traveled overseas) and realized that I wasn't going to fall back asleep. I debated about returning to the fitness area of the hotel that Lt. Gov. Owen and I had used the afternoon before. It was very different than most U.S. health clubs in that you are asked to change into special clothes that resemble short silk pajamas (pink for the ladies, gray or white for the men) and slippers, with the assistant standing close by to assist. You are then escorted to the elevator, every step of the way with hotel employees at hand, beckoning, pushing the elevator button, etc. (Leading me to contemplate on China's stated unemployment number of around 4% and what some of these 'jobs' pay. Does this fit the economic concept of underemployment or are these employees the lucky ones, to get jobs in a five-star hotel, even if to an outsider it appears to be “make work”?)
Anyway, I didn't feel like that much attention at this tender hour so threw on my running clothes and after politely say 'ni hao' to the desk clerk, asked if he could recommend a path to take. He frowned and told me the air is bad and I thanked him and asked again ... eventually we realized our communication barrier was to great and he told me to 'go right'. I enjoyed seeing the sights on foot and was impressed again with the lack of garbage and in fact recycling containers on the street. In addition to the ubiquitous bicycles and mopeds, there were some Chinese out jogging and doing tai chi.
We took the bullet train for a little over four hours to travel from Beijing to Weifang, located in the middle of the Shandong Peninsula.
Weifang appeared to us to be a hidden Chinese treasure. It is renowned as the world's kite metropolis, with an international kite festival every April, and calls itself the vegetable basket of China. It also is known for its flowers, mineral resources and communications infrastructure. It is very clean and well cared for. We had only a short time to spend in Weifang but spent a pleasant evening with Dr. Wang Guiying, vice mayor, and were told by one of her staff that she was named one of the up and coming mayors in China.
In the morning I woke at 5:30 a.m. (a common tale to those who have traveled overseas) and realized that I wasn't going to fall back asleep. I debated about returning to the fitness area of the hotel that Lt. Gov. Owen and I had used the afternoon before. It was very different than most U.S. health clubs in that you are asked to change into special clothes that resemble short silk pajamas (pink for the ladies, gray or white for the men) and slippers, with the assistant standing close by to assist. You are then escorted to the elevator, every step of the way with hotel employees at hand, beckoning, pushing the elevator button, etc. (Leading me to contemplate on China's stated unemployment number of around 4% and what some of these 'jobs' pay. Does this fit the economic concept of underemployment or are these employees the lucky ones, to get jobs in a five-star hotel, even if to an outsider it appears to be “make work”?)
Anyway, I didn't feel like that much attention at this tender hour so threw on my running clothes and after politely say 'ni hao' to the desk clerk, asked if he could recommend a path to take. He frowned and told me the air is bad and I thanked him and asked again ... eventually we realized our communication barrier was to great and he told me to 'go right'. I enjoyed seeing the sights on foot and was impressed again with the lack of garbage and in fact recycling containers on the street. In addition to the ubiquitous bicycles and mopeds, there were some Chinese out jogging and doing tai chi.
It was not crowded though, and later that day we discussed that the 'cities' we are visiting sound huge but the term incorporates districts that we do not in our country. One source of information on Weifang says it has a population of 8.6 million, as Lt. Gov. Owen pointed out in a meeting about 2 million more than the state of Washington. But this source describes Weifang as having under is jurisdiction 4 districts, 6 cities, 2 counties, and 3 municipal development zones. Clearly not a city in the American sense.
We took a two-hour bus ride to Qingdao, located on the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula and one of eastern China's major economic centers. It is known for Tsingtao beer and since the Olympics, for the Qingdao International Sailing Center on Fushan Bay, site of the sailing competition. We visited both places and in the process learned about the history and economy of the area. Tsingtao beer was established by the Germans during their control of the city, an unusual circumstance in China. Some of the architecture reflects this heritage, particularly in the old town area.
Like the Puget Sound area, Qingdao is rich in seafood and other natural resources. We were honored to have Tian Guangwen, the director and vice president of Qingdao Port, join us at the dinner that the Qingdao Municipal Foreign Affairs Office graciously hosted. The Port of Qingdao and Port of Seattle share a friendship agreement, also commonly called sister ports. We learned more at the dinner about the growth and record volumes of Qingdao Port, one of the very largest in the country.
We took a two-hour bus ride to Qingdao, located on the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula and one of eastern China's major economic centers. It is known for Tsingtao beer and since the Olympics, for the Qingdao International Sailing Center on Fushan Bay, site of the sailing competition. We visited both places and in the process learned about the history and economy of the area. Tsingtao beer was established by the Germans during their control of the city, an unusual circumstance in China. Some of the architecture reflects this heritage, particularly in the old town area.
Like the Puget Sound area, Qingdao is rich in seafood and other natural resources. We were honored to have Tian Guangwen, the director and vice president of Qingdao Port, join us at the dinner that the Qingdao Municipal Foreign Affairs Office graciously hosted. The Port of Qingdao and Port of Seattle share a friendship agreement, also commonly called sister ports. We learned more at the dinner about the growth and record volumes of Qingdao Port, one of the very largest in the country.
Photos: At top is the fountain, complete with beer bottle and cups) at the Tsingtao brewery and museum; at center is Lt. Gov. Owen with the Port Director Tian Guangwen. At bottom right the lieutenant governor is with Feng Bin, deputy director of the Qingdao Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.
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