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Once again I spent this Chinese New Year with Zoe and her family–on both the eve of the New Year (大年夜) and the second day of the New Year (初二), the family met at the home of Zoe’s youngest uncle (youngest of 6 children that is) at about noon and stayed until after dinner. Actually, I’m not sure that the eating ever stops from lunch through dinner … it’s sort of like a uni-meal where everyone stays happily stuffed throughout the day.

The closeness of Zoe’s family on these occasions is really wonderful. This year I got a picture of the group, all 24 family members who came over that day, representing four generations. Pretty amazing!



Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous Dragon New Year!

龙年行大运！

After a bringing in the New Year in Shaoxing, we moved on to one of several Ancient Capitals of China, Nanjing (南京), in Jiangsu Province. Nanjing (sometimes called Nanking in the West) was the capital of China on several occasions and its name literally translates to “Southern Capital.” BTW, Beijing literally translates to “Northern Capital” and the “Eastern Capital” (东京 in Chinese) is ….. yup, Tokyo.

This was my first time to Nanjing (Zoe had been here several times before) and top of my list of places to visit during our quick two-day trip was the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (full name: Memorial for compatriots killed in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Forces of Aggression 侵华日军南京大屠杀遇难同胞纪念馆). Needless to say, I was prepared for a heavy hearted experience (similar in many respects to what I’ve felt when visiting the Holocaust museums). And indeed I found several parallels. This is an impressive memorial, and I would say that it is probably the best historical museum that I have visited in China.

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Another highlight in Nanjing was the Presidential Palace (总统府), which housed the Office of the President of the Republic of China before the republic fled to Taiwan in 1949. This is where Sun Yat-sen was sworn in as the provisional President of the Republic of China in 1911. Chiang Kai-shek also had his office in the palace. During the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), Chiang Kai-shek’s government fled to Chongqing and the building was occupied by Wang Jingwei who collaborated with the Japanese. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Government reoccupied the complex.

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Last but certainly not least I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the wonderful food we had in Nanjing. From duck blood soup (鸭血汤) to pork skin noodles (皮肚面), we ate well. Don’t let the names/descriptions fool (or scare) you, it was DELICIOUS!!!

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Zoe and I took a high-speed train (about 2 hours) down to Shaoxing (绍兴), Zhejiang Province, for a quick three-day retreat (followed by two days in Nanjing, which I will talk about in another post). Shaoxing is a poetic term meaning “continued prosperity” and this historic city is best know for its yellow rice wine (黄酒). Shaoxing rice wine is somewhat sweet and quite pleasant to drink, unlike China’s white distilled rice alcohol (白酒) which is much stronger and pretty nasty IMHO. Shaoxing is also famous for the residence of Lu Xun (鲁迅, one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century), its East Lake scenic area, and the tomb of Yu the Great (大禹, a legendary ruler in China who introduced flood control around 4,200 years ago).

In Shaoxing we stayed at Dayu Kaiyuan (大禹开元), a quaint water village to the south of town that has been converted into a hotel. Guests stay in the little village homes that have been upgraded with all the latest immenities. Very charming! Here are some pics … scroll down for the engagement part ….

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After touring all the sites we wanted to see in Shaoxing, I asked Zoe if she would like to hike to the top of the mountain where we could see the giant statue of Yu the Great, and she accepted the challenge.

From our little village hotel we could see the statue of Yu the Great on top of the mountain.

However, about half way up the hiking trail Zoe was out of breath and not sure that she could make it to the top. As it was already about 4:15 and the park was supposed to close at 5pm, I encouraged her to keep going–”you can make it” I kept saying. Zoe jokingly replied, “OK, but if I make it to the top you have to marry me.” This was not the first time that she had made such a suggestion, but this time (unbeknownst to her) I was carrying a diamond ring. ;-)

Keep going ... you can make it.

Almost there ... feeing much better.

When we got to the top we were the only ones there. I got Zoe staring out at the view from the mountain peak while from behind her I reached into my camera bag to pull out the box with the ring. When she turned around I was down on one knee and asked her to marry me. She accepted! :-)

What just happened was just starting to set in ...

... and she was very happy ...

... and, of course, I was ecstatic as well!

The newly engaged couple with the only witness to my proposal.

That evening we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a wonderful local dinner at the hotel restaurant followed by Royce chocolates (one of our favorites) and champagne in our room. It doesn’t get any better!!!

Great local dishes washed down with 15 year old Shaoxing wine.

Bringing in the New Year with roses, candles, chocolates and champagne!

After taking a break from running for the better part of the 1.5 months post Beijing Marathon, my friend Oliver and I decided last minute to do the Shanghai Half Marathon (for the hell of it). And so we went out for the 21km run on this clear and very cool day in Shanghai. Perhaps because of the lack of training (or maybe it was the heavy meal I ate the night before), I got a nasty side cramp at about the 14km mark and had to push through it almost to the end. Nevertheless, I still managed to break 1 hour and 50 minutes (barely). Oliver was in better form and finished about four minutes earlier. The greatest highlights of the race were starting on The Bund (with 26,000 others) and running over the Nanpu Bridge. Perhaps I’ll do the full marathon next year.



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The symmetry of 42 (kilometers) at 42 (years of age). After over 16 years since my last marathon (in Los Angeles)–which was 26 (miles) at 26 (years of age)–I decided that I needed to prove to myself that I’ve still got it in me.  Or perhaps I just needed a concrete goal to rally around and get myself into shape.  Either way, when my friend Oliver told me that he was going to run his first marathon in Beijing in about 3 months, I barely hesitated before volunteering to do it with him.  That night I created our training schedule and we pushed each other (along with a third friend, Mark, who joined us for some of our runs) pretty hard.


It paid off, as we both finished all 42km along with thousands of other runners (in all there were 30,000 runners, including the 10K, half marathon and full marathon).  I broke four hours (3:58)–my primary goal–although I didn’t achieve my stretch goal of 3:45.  Nevertheless, we were absolutely blessed with clear beautiful weather in Beijing and it was a great race.


On a related note, I ran the race in my Vibram Five Fingers shoes and was able to meet / join a group of other VFF fans.  I must say that my VFFs have changed the whole running experience for me … they’re amazing!



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The freshwater “hairy” crab (大闸蟹) is a (probably THE most prized) delicacy in Shanghai … and the Shanghainese LOVE their crabs!!! The most famous and sought after crabs come from Yangcheng Lake (阳澄湖) and can fetch upwards of RMB 700 ($110) per kilogram. Keep in mind that these are little (small enough to fit in your palm) crabs, so that’s a lot to shell out for the tasty morsels that require a decent amount of work to extract. But they are indeed TASTY morsels, particularly the female roe.

This year I enjoyed the first feast of the crab season (Autumn) with Zoe and her parents at their home.

Zoe and her parents enjoying a feast of hairy crab.

Shanghai is one of the largest and most metropolitan cities on the planet … no surprise there.  What might surprise some, however, is the increasing appetite of local Chinese for the trappings of foreign cultures.  A great example of this is the increasing popularity of Latin dancing in Shanghai.  Below are pictures and a video clip from a Tango party that attracted over 100 people (both Chinese and foreigners) at 10pm on a Sunday night.  The video is of Buenos Aires Tango masters (Laila & Leandro Oliver) who were invited to teach and perform in China (Shanghai and Beijing).  Absolutely beautiful, and what wonderful energy at this Milonga!!!

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Boys’ Night had a nostalgic twist this week. The Eagles (including Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy Schmit), the top-selling US rock band of the 1970s that proved it could still produce Grammy award winning hits as recently as 2007, made its China debut at the new Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai. And Shanghai welcomed them with open arms, packing the arena with about 15,000 fans, most of them Chinese, and many if not most of them born long after the band was formed in 1971. Not counting the migrant worker population, that number represents about 1 person in every 1,000 in Shanghai.


So, why such enthusiasm for these 60-something rockers? My best guess is that at least in part it’s because “Hotel California” remains one of the most popular English-language karaoke songs in China. Whatever the reason, the reality is that Eagles tickets sold for about 50% more than tickets to see Usher (a 32-year-old R&B superstar) at the same arena this weekend. Go figure.


In any case, it was a great show. As the band played Desperado for their last encore, we knew that this night would go down in the annals of our Shanghai adventures …



If one didn’t know better they might believe that WW3 had started in Shanghai, but the reality is that this was only the usual turn of events on the eve of day five (大年初五) of the Chinese New Year. It is believed that the fifth day is the birthday of the God of Wealth and the best way to get his attention (and good favor in the coming year) is to welcome him with fireworks … LOTS OF FIREWORKS!!! This year I captured the deafening scene on video from the balcony of my apartment (see below).



It had been at least seven years since the last time I had gone snowboarding, so I was very excited when Zoe and I headed North to Sun Mountain in Yabuli (which is commonly regarded the best ski mountain in China).  Well, having kept my expectations somewhat in check, I certainly wasn’t disappointed.  Sun Mountain is decent sized (albeit a fraction of the size of the larger resorts I used to enjoy in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, California and the likes) and the hard-packed snow was pretty dry and light.  The Gondola whisks one quickly to the top (or the mid-mountain for beginners) and there were several slopes from which to choose.  Best of all, despite the fact that we were there in peak season, we didn’t have to fight any crowds and almost never had to wait for the lift … I’m sure that this will change in years to come as skiing becomes more popular in China.


To get to Yabuli, we flew into Harbin (哈尔滨), capital of HeiLongJiang (黑龙江) Province, up in the Northeast of China.  Being near the Russian (Siberian) border, we were able to enjoy Russian food (and vodka) one night.  We were also thoroughly impressed by all of the ice sculptures, many of them with lights inside, that constructed everywhere throughout the city as well as in parks.  China’s tenth largest city (about 10 million people), Harbin was considered China’s fashion capital in the early 20th century as new designs from Paris and Russia reached there first before arriving in Shanghai.  Harbin is also a potential candidate for the 2020 Winter Olympics … I hope they get it!



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It seems that Shanghai is becoming more and more like most major cities in the world (albeit like most of those cities on steroids). At no time of the year is this illustrated more than on Christmas. Here I am in a country that is about 4% Christian and yet Christmas decorations are everywhere. Yes, most shopkeepers are just looking for a way to make an extra buck, and probably have no idea what Christmas is (see the first picture below–note the upside down “Merry Christmas”–as an illustration). All commercial cynicism aside, however, what’s wrong with young Chinese families (as well as some older ones) getting together, exchanging gifts, and supporting the local economy. And they do come out in force to support the local economy!


I have been asked many many times by Chinese friends whether Christmas is the same in the West as their Chinese New Year (春节). Over and over again I have explained that January 1 is the beginning of the “Western” new year. Only this year did I finally figure out the source of the confusion. It seems that Westerners created the confusion in the first place because whenever we say “Merry Christmas,” we always add, “and a Happy New Year.” Of course, there are still several similarities between the way Christmas is celebrated in primarily Christian countries and the way that CNY is celebrated in China (e.g., family members returning home, big feasts, exchanging of gifts, etc.).


So, I still don’t expect many Chinese to understand the significance of Kenneth the elf, who Best Buy brought to Shanghai (see last picture below). But the Christmas lights and decorations throughout this city do create a wonderfully festive spirit. Happy Holidays!!! (Next I have to try to explain Hanukkah to my Chinese friends…)



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On a recent day trip to Hangzhou–a new high-speed train that gets up to 350km/hr took us from Shanghai to Hangzhou in 45 minutes–we visited Xixi National Wetland Park (西溪国家湿地公园). Located on the Western outskirts of Hangzhou, it is the first and only national park of its kind in China. The park, covering over 10 square kilometers, is densely crisscrossed with six main watercourses, as well as several ponds, lakes and swamps. We enjoyed a lovely fall/winter afternoon taking a boat ride down the streams, walking along forested paths and trying some of the local snacks. The last picture is of Zoe trying her hand at grinding a rice and green vegetable mixture used to make local pancakes (similar to green tortillas) … the hat was added to her wardrobe by the local chef. ;-)



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