China (2015)

Time got away from me again.

After leaving Japan I continued on to China (Shanghai) for another week.  As always, my stay in China was educational and a lot of fun.  We conducted a course and an instructor meeting while still having some time to tour about.

THE COURSE:  This time I ran a 4 day Offshore Emergency Medicine course.  This course was designed by one of our instructors (Jeff Isaac) for an audience of serious sailors.  Past attendees have crossed oceans and some have circumnavigated the globe.  In this class we only had one sailor.  I have learned not to be surprised by anything when I travel to China.  Most of the class came because this is a new course in China and they just wanted to experience it and be the first attendees.  As always, the food was plentiful and good and the participants were eager and enthusiastic with plenty of questions.

AFTER THE COURSE:  On the first day after the class we walked through the newer section of Shanghai.  The architecture is stunning. We were greeted by unexpected asymmetrical curves, interesting angular shapes, gaping holes and acres of glass.  From there we took a ferry across the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River that splits the city into 2 sections.  On the West shore we walked around the Bund, a section that was the international banking center of China from the 19th and into the mid twentieth century.  What a contrast. This was a protected enclave of British, French and American financial interests in China.  The architecture reflects this past presence.  Many of the buildings  have ornate facades and steepled or domed roofs.  Others are in the more conservative, blocky style so often seen in older financial buildings.  It was/is about the illusion of stability and power.

That evening Sun, Lella and their friend Ethan took me out for a wonderful vegetarian meal.  The next day I traveled by bullet train to West Lake in Hangzhou.  It is a really beautiful place that feels more quaint  and much less hectic than Shanghai.  I would like to return when I can spend more time.

Shanghai is really an incredible place to visit.  It is enormous with history, architecture, street life and as I found out after I got home, a vibrant arts scene.  I am again grateful to my growing circle of friends in China for caring for me so well.

After arriving back to Maine and spending about a week trying to get caught up, we headed South, trailer in tow, to Georgia.

Next stop, Belgium for an international Instructor Training course.

Oh, by the way, have a look at this documentary on YouTube.  You will see a familiar face at around the 4 minute mark.  As you may recall from a prior post, Fay and I did a workshop in Lhasa 2 years ago at the Mountaineering Guide school there.  The film highlights some of the people we worked with.

Tibet #1

As a Westerner, it is hard to go to China without thinking about Tibet.   On our September visit we were able to visit some of the eastern regions of this very large province but not the interior parts and not Lhasa.  As you probably know by now Fay and I got a last minute opportunity to do some teaching at the Tibetan Mountaineering Guide School.  Even though I have another blog about our classes in Founglou, I want to write something now so that it is still fresh in my mind.  Fresh, is of course a relative term especially when you go from about sea level to 3650 meters/almost 12000 feet in about 2 hours.

For most westerners Lhasa IS Tibet.  It is all mixed up with the Dali Lama, Chinese development, freedom of religion and personal destiny.  It is not simple and hardly unemotional for many people.  Don’t worry, this will not be a political or religious tract.  I will try to describe what I did, saw and experienced while there.  After all of this I am not sure that I am much better informed.

China and the US have comparable land masses.  Given relative sizes, Tibet and AK make up similarly large portions (12% vs 15% respectively) of the countries that they are part of.  Like AK, Tibet has considerable potential for natural resources, not least of which is hydroelectric power.  It also has important strategic importance with India.  Imagine the US government allowing AK to secede. 

It is known as an Autonomous Zone of China by virtue of the fact that the Han (Chinese ethnicity) are a minority.  But make no mistake, it is China and is not likely to be an independent state without some unforeseen cataclysm.  The history is confusing so I will leave you to your favorite resource for politics to decide for yourself (see below).

The permitting process (not a visa because Tibet is part of China) seemed like smoke and mirrors.  We sent our passports and China visas to the School and they worked their magic.  Before boarding our final flight to Lhasa we had to show the permit to a variety of people.  It was a good thing that Kang (a well-respected Chinese guide and student in our other courses) was with us because the process was not straight forward.

The flight from Chongqing to Lhasa takes you over a vast mountainous region, bereft of the usual signs of civilization.  On the ground the landscape was brown and drab contrasting with the towering mountains, blue skies and colorfully painted homes.  Lhasa is not one of the Special Economic Zones that I referenced in a prior post, I suspect because attracting foreign capital is not a mission.  Nonetheless, a lot of money is in flowing here.  There are modern high-rises, new stores, and car dealerships.  Even after you cross the Lhasa River into the older part of the city, development abounds.

We arrived Friday, late in the afternoon.  We met some people from the school, had supper, and then went to our rooms.  The next day we headed to the school and began the first of our classes.  Sat AM was focused on an introduction about wilderness medicine to 100 + students.  Then on Sat PM, Sunday PM and Monday AM we taught classes with 25 experienced guides.  One has summited Everest 6 times and all had been to at least 8000 meters (26000+ feet).  Our presentations were a mix of talks, Q and A and practical skills.    We used our Chinese slides because that is the official language of the school.  Kang translated everything for us except for the practical skills.  For those, we used hand signals and succeeded admirably.  Our students were enthusiastic and very appreciative.

On Sunday we visited two important sites in Lhasa.  Both have been designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.  The Potala Palace, once the major home of the Dali Lama until he fled to India in 1959, is now a museum containing important religious icons. It is located on the top of a prominent hill rising 300 meters (1000 feet) above the valley floor.  There was hardly time to see more than a fraction of its contents.  The Jokhang Temple is perhaps the most sacred of all Buddhist sites in Lhasa.  It is located in Barkor Square  and surrounded by many shops selling Tibetan wares to locals.  We were not able to go inside to see some of the really famous and unique icons because it was closed to non-Tibetans when we arrived.   This time of year, both of these important sites are visited predominately by Tibetans.  In fact, except for one person in the airport and Fay, I did not see another westerner anywhere else in Lhasa.

Tibet #2

There is obvious tight control in Lhasa. Access to both the Palace and the Temple were controlled by checkpoints staffed by polite guards. All bags were screened by x-ray technology. There were police in our hotel who peeked over our shoulders while we corresponded via Wi-Fi. Our hosts advised us not to wander about by ourselves, especially at night.

Many in the west worry about the dilution of Tibetan culture and their ability to continue to practice freely. We did not see any images of the Dali Lama anywhere we went. Still, their reverence for all things Buddhist was openly displayed without apparent reservation. Many locals and Tibetan tourists walked around these two important buildings clockwise, dressed in traditional, regional garb spinning large and small prayer wheels, clicking off mala beads, and prostrating themselves.

That money is changing the landscape is incontrovertible. There is ongoing building in evidence everywhere. Although I did not see any of the destruction to the Square described in one of the links below, there are modern, mall-like shops mixed in with the smaller stalls and storefronts. Many of the changes have the potential to improve educational and economic opportunities for Tibetans but I doubt that they are all motivated by altruism. I don’t think the Chinese can afford to have ethnic groups feel emboldened to seek self-determination at the expense of China as a whole. China is not alone in that fear and motivation. And, they are not the first nation to try and homogenize culture with money in the name of progress.

Still, despite all of the building, Lhasa strides the past and present seemingly unsure who she is. A distinct rural feel remains part of the present. As we drove out to the airport we saw about 10 Yak meander free-range and unmolested down the sidewalk and out onto a street lined with new offices, high-rises and a BMW dealership.

Here are few links, albeit dated and of western sources, that offers some views on China and Tibet.

1 September

I returned Monday from my warm-up (9-day courses N of Montreal and Whistler BC) for the next 4 months.

We leave Sunday for China. After the arrival in Hong Kong, we will start in Chengdu and end in Beijing with multiple stops along the way. There is an outside chance that we will get into Tibet. I’ll do my best to send some comments and observations along the way.

With Sun as guide, I think that there will be a lot in store for me on this trip. He is eager to get his company moving. He believes that personal appearances by me will be a big help. Did I mention that he is an optimist? He is responsible for the included picture of me above. It is on his WMA China web page with hopes of plastering it around China, too

After this trip I have our company meeting in Boothbay Harbor, ME, 2 presentations in WY at the end of the month, London for another battlefield course in early Oct, and Japan at the end of Oct until around 10 Nov. Then it is back to China in late Nov for 2+ weeks. Somehow we have to get the trailer to GA in Nov, too.

Wish me luck.

David