2018 January, Trains, Tires and Tai Shan

28 January 2018

Greetings all from Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.  We’re nearing the time of Chinese New Year, nearing the time when we pass our 8th anniversary in  China and my 3rd anniversary as the General Manager here in Shenyang.  Hard to believe. 

The Michelin Shenyang Tire Company Direction team (- 2) , Jan 2018

We are trying to be really focused on both our customers and our people, so one of the things we do at least once a year, typically when we have had some changes in the management team,  is to organize a team visit to tire dealers, wholesalers and car manufacturers.  At the same time we try to have some fun and explore beautiful northeast  China.  With that objective in mind, a couple of weeks ago, the management team went to Shandong province.  Below is an account of the adventure from my perspective I wrote during the trip:

The China Geography lesson! Shandong province is right across the East China sea from Liaoning Province

18 Jan 2018

Me and 11 of my team are on an adventure! We are Taking the overnight train from Shenyang to Jinan to see some Customers on Friday and have some fun together on Saturday.  The entire adventure is also meant to help us improve our teamwork and I’m sure it will!  Last year we went to Harbin to see customers and also have some fun at the ice festival and that little trip did start to build some good relationships with people.  When you spend days and nights together you do get to know each other!!  Unfortunately, 2 of the team members are sick and cannot join us, so we will have to pick another destination for a future time !  I’m convinced the benefits far outweigh the cost for developing a team that is both customer and people centric.

Given the quick advancement of trains and transportation in general in China, I think this type of train won’t be around much longer... too slow!.  This type of train is a “green” train (and that does not necessarily mean environmentally friendly).  Green is the color on the outside, it stops at many stops along the way,  it’s slow and it always gives priority to the high speed trains.  

 

Getting on the  Green train in Shenyang

Overall it’s 14 hours overnight for a trip that would take 2 hours to fly.  Several members of the team have told me that when they were young (10-15 years ago) this type of train with a sleeper cabin was only a dream!  Only possible for government officials. Normal people Couldn’t buy it even if they had the money.  In fact most members of my team have only taken a train like this one or two other times in their life!  (Like me!) I Shared the cabin with 3 other women on my team.  When the tickets for this train are sold there is no allowance for male/female in a cabin so during the first 20 minutes everyone is wanting to swap cabins to be with friends etc. A bottom bunk ticket can normally only able to swap with another bottom bunk ticket holder.  One car has 40 bunks and there Is 1 toilet and 3 sinks common for all.  

Sarah and the bunk mates (thankfully the Chinese ladies took care of all of the switching conversations so that 4 out of the 6 females on my team  could be together as bunk mates!

Communal sinks and toilets on the train

Ready or not, Lights out at 11:00!  Seems to be norm that the men drink and play cards!  Smokers go between the cars to smoke even though it’s not allowed.  The women seem to stay in cabins and talk and look at their phones (like me right now as I write this!) 

I am soaking it all in, another real China experience! 

Sleep was intermittent.  Lots of stops, lots of other trains passing, but overall quiet (with my headphones on and an audio book droning me off to sleep).  

My first night in a Chinese train— wasn’t on my bucket list, but done now!

19 Jan 2018

Good morning from somewhere in Shandong Province, China.  Looks cold and foggy outside.  We haven’t arrived at our destination yet, but my little cabin is awake and getting ready for breakfast.   I Just came back From the 3 sink common bath area after brushing my teeth beside my personnel manager doing his morning shave and my quality manager putting on her makeup!this takes team building to a whole new level!  Breakfast was standard Chinese...good thing I brought some of my own snacks!

Breakfast on the train...yum....

The team that eats breakfast together works well together!

Jinan is the capital city of Shandong Province and it has about 8 million people.  Just from observation it is not quite as developed as Shenyang.  Lots of white sky, and it wasn’t 100% fog...

We visited 2 tire dealers and listened to their concerns and their outlook for the future.  Always interesting to hear direct with no filter!

Then we had lunch and then drove 2 hours To TaiAn.

Talking to our customers in Jinan

Taking to our customers in Jinan

To sell something, you gotta have some stock..not too much though!

20 Jan 2018

Today we explored TaiShan mountain just outside of TaiAn city. Good news is we were above the fog/smog!  This is a UNESCO site.  This is one of the 5 famous and holy mountains China. (Heng Shan, 恒山 Heng Shan, 衡山 tai Shan, 泰山 Hua Shan, 华山Song Shan

嵩山.  Taishan is famous because many emperors came here to give thanks to The gods and each one prayed for their own needs at the time.  There are many places all along the path that have engravings in stone of poems and philosophy. When the emperors came they did not climb themselves.  They rode a horse to a certain point and then they were carried.  It is said that there are 18 flat points along the path and that is where the emperors would stop to pray. These places also came to be called 十八盘 shi ba pan2 =18 plates which has a similar pronunciation to shi ba  pan4 盼，meaning 18 hopes for the emperors carriers!  At one point on the mountain, (where the cable car stopped) there are 4 gates (north, south, east, west) and the South gate is the only one with contact to the earth.  We went through the south gate and through this gate it is said we are no longer on earth, we are in heaven.  There was a big stone tablet with no engravings.  there are still many Taoist temples and the top is Yu WANG DI which means the God of the sky.  Of course there is a path and steps...and also a cable car!  I’ll let you guess which method of transportation we chose!

Cool up on the mountain...but I'm sure it wouldn't be so cold if we had walked up all of those steps!

The view from the top of Taishan mountain

Taishan architecture

Clean air up on top of Taishan!

The team around one of the landmarks...same as the one on the 5 Yuan note

The classic tourist photo..with the 5 yuan note!

Beautiful morning on Tai Shan mountain

The Chinese version of the US smokies...Taishan

Tai Shan in Winter is beautiful with the layers

Taishan in winter

After lunch on the mountain, we drove back to Jinan.  In Jinan we visited Baotu park which  has 72 separate spring water sources.  It was being decorated for Lantern festival, so it was hard to see the natural beauty.  The water was crystal clear and occasionally you could see small bubbles in the water seeping from the bottom of the ponds. The biggest spring was really bubbling up!  I’m sure this park is beautiful in the spring and summer..but with beauty comes tonnes of people too!!

Sarah in front of the bubbling spring in Baitu park in Jinan

Baitu Spring at sundown

Baitu natural springs park in winter

An artistic carved stone window in Baitu park in Jinan, Shandong Province.  I could go for one of these in my garden one of these days!

Getting ready for the lantern festival in Baitu park

One of the spring water ponds in Baitu Park, Jinan

We went to eat at a nice restaurant beside the Daming Hu 大明湖 (big lake) which is fed by the natural springs. And at night many lighted bridges making it a very nice atmosphere.

The view from the restaurant on Da Ming Hu in Jinan

The walkway around Daming lake in Jinan

Team picture at the restaurant

The bridge and pavillion in daylight at DaMing Hu in Jinan

A view of the river on Da Ming Hu lake in Jinan

The restaurant beside Daming Hu in Jinan

After this we went to the train station to take the night train back to Shenyang. It was an uneventful ride..the good news is We were in a cabin with 4 people with a door, not 6 people without a door!

The 6 bed cabin without a door on the overnight train

Looking back at the last 3 Days, it was very successful..we talked to customers, we shared some wonderful experiences that I’m sure will help is work better together and we saw some beautiful scenery.  Beautiful China.

Another experience I would never have been able to do without my Chinese colleagues, and in many ways they would not have been able to take without me.  Memories of a lifetime!

I leave you with my favorite photo of the trip...at the “South Gate of Heaven” according to Chinese legend.

According to the Chinese legend, there are 4 gates into heaven (North, South, East, West) and the South gate is the only one with a connection to earth.  This is the South gate on Taishan.

So that’s about it for this adventure!  Now, Sarah has visited 2 our of the 5 holy mountains in China...3 more to go!  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers as we continue to seize the day here in China!

Sarah & Rod

Shenyang, China

2018 Jan, Holiday Cruise part 2 - Taiwan to Hongkong

21 Jan 2018

Greetings from cold Shenyang! It’s -11C ( 8F) outside as I write this mid afternoon. To escape once more from the cold temps outside, I am finishing up the 2/2 entries for our holiday cruise. When we last left off we were leaving Vietnam en route to Taiwan, and so this entry is all about Taiwan and a little more of Hongkong. For more info and pictures of Taiwan from another trip there, see Oct 2013 entry.
Taiwan 2013

Roadside beauty in Taiwan!

Taiwan General information

The Official language is mandarin, the Religion is Buddhist, Daoist. Christian. (3% Christian). The Average income in Taiwan is about 25k/USD/year for family. A university graduate salary is 1000 USD/ month. The current Exchange rate is 1 USD = 30 Taiwan dollars.

Taiwan Geography

Taiwan map looks like a sweet potato. From north to south is 420km, east to west is 120 km. Taiwan island land is 5 Million years old, compared to the earth age of 4.6 billion years old. Taiwan is very young. Split between 2 tectonic plates, (Philippine ocean plate and Eurasia plate), frequently on east side have earth quakes. The mountains grow .6cm each year and the river that runs through it erodes each year, creating a gorge that grows in both directions.

Taiwan History

The Portuguese were the first to actually “discover” Taiwan in the early 1600’s and they named it Formosa, but they never established a government there. The Dutch and Spanish were first to govern Taiwan from’1624 to 1662. In 1684 the Qing Dynasty (from Manchuria region of China, where Shenyang is) took over this island and called it Dong Ning. When the Qing people arrived on the island, The local people called the island Duawan (local language) so the Qing Dynasty called it Taiwan (sounded like Duawan to them). They ruled it until 1895 when Japan took it and controlled until the End of WWII, 1945 when Chiang Kai-shek founded the Republic Of China (ROC) after he fled from mainland China after losing the civil war against Mao Zedong. To most of the rest of the world the ROC is an independent country..to China it is a Province of the PRC. When we came to China we were told not to discuss the 3 T’s (Taiwan, Tibet and Tian an men square). The longer I live in China, the more wisdom I find in this guidance.

Taiwan population

23 million live in Taiwan, and 70% population of Taiwan From mainland China, 12% from Kuming ting (the side that lost in the China civil war after WWII). In Taiwan there are 16 different indigenous people, who moved there from other pacific islands and they settled there an estimated 700 years ago. There still exists .6 million people here, languages are similar to Hawaiian, Tahiti and other Polynesian languages. They had no written language, so no evidence of history. Currently in process of building some high speed trains and found some archeological finds of their history. Taiwan’s was first founded and mapped officially in 1544 by Portugal. They published a map in 1555, but they never governed Taiwan. The First written language was traditional Chinese ( still the language of Taiwan)

Education in Taiwan is not free, even elementary school must be paid. They have mandatory education until age 12 with free tuition for indigenous tribes with subsidies for room and board.

Back to touring Taiwan

On 2 Jan 2018 We Docked in Kaohsiung, population 2.8 Million. This city is on the east side of Taiwan and Has grown from
A fishing village to a major city. The area we saw was the Daoist temples and a fish market.

The two pagoda...enter through the Dragon and exit from the Tiger...or visa versa...can't remember!

One of the lucky dragons..at the entry to the pagoda

View from the top of one of the pagoda's in Kaohsuing, Taiwan

The Daoist Temple in Kaohsuing, Taiwan

More temples on the sea in Kaohsuing, Taiwan

What's left of the fishing village in Kaohsuing , Taiwan

The steps inside the pagoda

On 3 Jan 2018, we Docked in Hualien.  Hualien is largest city on east side of Taiwan, population is 150000. They have airport with F16’s from the US. In addition to this airport， they have another emergency airport with a runway and tunnel inside the mountain to hide the fighter aircraft. This was built by US.the east coast of Taiwan. From this city we traveled to the Toroko Gorge, deep in the central mountain range of the island. In this short range, there are 250 peeks over 3000 meters high and they grow an average of .6 cm each year. The Gorge is stunning! When Chiang Kai-shek came from China, he brought 2 Million people including 500000 soldiers. Then he put the soldiers to work and built a road over the mountain. No money to buy equipment, built by hand by the soldiers. The road was built between 1956- 1960, (4 Years) taking the lives of 226 people who died while building it. There is a shrine built to their memory (eternal springs shrine).

The eternal springs shrine to the soldiers in Taiwan who died building the road

This road goes across the island through the mountains beside the river. The river runs fast from the mountains to the sea, steep banks, no way for river to hold water, so prone to flooding.

The river cuts through the gorge

Marble cliffs and evidence of strong movements over the years

The gorge is lovely and deep

Caves and crevices line the gorge cliffs

Looking from many meters above the river down ...in Taroko gorge.

Sarah "hiking" in the gorge..bump caps are necessary due to falling rocks...not sure the bump cap would really help if one of those big rocks let go!

Looking through the cliffs in Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

A river runs through it, carving away at the marble cliffs making it deeper and deeper

Natural beauty in Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

Sarah in one of the hand hewn tunnels on the road in Taroko gorge, Taiwan

Marble cliffs and cliffside path in Taroko gorge

Sarah at the entrance to Taroko gorge, Taiwan

Marble cliffs and green water at Taroko Gorge, Taiwan

After the gorge, we went into the city of Hualien and visited a Taoist temples where we learned about Taoist prayers. In this temple they worship female god 妈祖 Ma Zu god of fishermen, (harbor safety), In any Taoist temple, when you pray to the God , there is a way to know if your prayer will be granted. They have two pieces of wood shaped like a 1/2 moon. Depending on how they land when you drop them will tell you yes, no, or not enough information. I’m guessing you can only throw the blocks once!

Tao prayer blocks (After a prayer is said these prayer blocks are dropped and depending on how they land, the person knows if the prayer will be answered.  I don't remember the logic of yes, no, not enough information...and I don't plan to use it, so if you need to practice this, you're on your own!

Taoist shrine in Taiwan

Huge Taoist shrine in Taiwan

On 4 Jan 2018 we Docked in Keelung, Taiwan (north side of Taiwan) which is relative close to Taipei. Our friend Norman came to meet Rod at the boat and I went on a trip to the Yehliu Geopark National Park (a place that used to be on the bottom of the ocean, but due to earthquakes and volcanos is now on the surface). Here there were strange rocks and I’m sure this a geologist paradise!

A field of "mushrooms " in the distance at the Yehliu Geopark

The "Tofu" rocks on the coast at the Yehliu Geopark

"Mushroom" rocks at the Yehliu Geopark

The coast at the Yehliu Geopark

The strange rocks at the Yehliu Geopark

The "candles" at the Yehliu Geopark

Sarah beside the "Princess" rock at the Yehliu Geopark

Seaside at the Yehliu Geopark

Another strange rock at the Geopark

More "mushrooms" at the Yehliu Geopark in Taiwan

Sarah and a dog up close to one of the strange rocks in Yehlui Geopark

After the geopark, we stopped at one more temple...for me the religious reasons for the temples do not hold special meaning...I respect their beliefs, but I do not share them.  I do find the locations interestingly beautiful and certainly  peaceful.

The budda statues at the Taoist temple in Keelung, Taiwan

The taoist temple overlooking the harbor of Keelung, Taiwan

The view of the city of Keelung, Taiwan and off in the distance our ship (with the big X on the side)

On the 6th of January, we Docked back in Hongkong and had a day to explore the city. We have been here several times so we didn’t go to the typical tourists areas. When Rod was in the hospital there back in 2016, he walked around the area and found a small temple and park that was established literally on a mountain side in the city. He had told me about this park and his time there alone, meditating and praying and I wanted to go there to share this space and create a memory of us there together.

A step back in time in Hongkong to a small temple from the early 1800's.  According to the history, this temple used to be at the seaside...now due to reclamation of the sea, it's quite far inland.  This small temple will always be special to us..not for any religious meaning..but for it's position in the park that Rod used for his meditation in the journey with cancer here in China.

Mountain side landscaping in Hongkong

Meditation pagodas in the middle of Hongkong

Landscaping on a mountain side in Hongkong

Rodney in the Hongkong park

So that about does it for our vacation cruise of 2017/2018. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we continue our journey and adventures in China. I leave you with one last peaceful butterfly from Formosa.

a butterfly in Formosa/Taiwan peacefully eating his meal