Where are we today? Tianjing

 We pulled into Tianjing this morning. Yesterday, we were in Dalian.  Today, I will be catching up on the blog with tidbits from Suzhou, Dalian, and  Tianjin

Of course, this is the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese zodiac.  All the cities in China we have seen feature dragons and the color red in decorations this year, and Dalian was no exception. 

Our guide in Suzhou the other day explained that it is considered very fortunate to be born in the Dragon year, so many Chinese families time their pregnancies to coincide with this time. I read later that this has sometimes strained the limits of maternity care in certain years.

All of the red and gold is very cheerful on these chilly, in between winter and spring days.

The current city of Dalian was founded by Russians in the nineteenth century, so the old heart of the city has a Russian influence. We visited a city park that was laid out during the Russian time.  There has also been a huge Japanese influence. 

We shared a delicious meal on the 10 th floor of a shopping mall. This was $10 for the two of us, including drinks. 

Random things we learned from our Suzhou guide: 

1) There is a generation of young men who were born during China’s one child policy who can’t find wives.  During that time, families aborted female fetuses in favor of males. Thus, there are far fewer women than men of a certain age. To compete, a man must have a place for the couple to live, and housing is extremely expensive. 

2) Today, the government encourages couples to have three children.  This is especially true if you work for the government. 

3) The majority of people, at least in the area where we were, follow Taoism/Feng Shui/Tai Chi and Buddhism is the next largest belief system. 

4) People work extremely hard. They are expected to retire young by US standards.  This is so they can care for their grandchildren while their children work,  Grandparents are the childcare system, and caring for your family this way is seen as a second, though unpaid, career.  What? A career hanging out with grandchildren? Yes, please!!

Today, we took a long shuttle into smoggy Tianjing to a mall to buy packaged snacks for our 11 or 12 hour trip to Bejing’s Tienamin Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven. 

It took forever for us to settle on what to eat, as we weren’t sure what anything meant. We hit the jackpot with the most delicious Angus Beef Soup and “Chinese Hamburgers”, which are finely chopped meats in flaky pastry buns. The soup was served on a chafing pot to keep it hot — in a mall! We have to up our fast food game, Americans. Lol. Just as yesterday’s feast in Dalian, today’s meal was a bargain. 

If I remember correctly, we used to have places in the US that were as smoggy as the Chinese cities are. Seeing it in China makes me think that our skies have improved.

Maybe, we have made more progress with air quality than we realize.

Love to All!!