Blogs from Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 11

New photos on: http://s251.photobucket.com/albums/gg311/draftwrite/ …..little things make you realise you're back in China. The green flash on the toothpaste tube does not indicate mint but green tea flavoured toothpaste. The look of incredulity on the face of someone you narrowly miss as they travel the wrong way down the bike lane concentrating on their mobile phone call, amazed that, wow, there are only 4 million people in this city & yet someone almost hit me... (note; not “I nearly hit him”). The constant haze in the air, even on what passes for a clear day. The internet is a real web, a place where things get stuck & don't ever escape, where the information highway is like some of the streets in town under reconstruction, blocked off by a hastily erected wall at both ends.... …..back ... read more

when he picked up the phone and shouted, “wei! wei!”, I could hear the sounds of China and the heat of the street coming down the phone line. “wei, wo shi tracey” but he kept shouting over me – until he recognised the voice from England. it wasn’t what he said, but the way his voice was expressed through a large, beaming unseen grin, it wasn’t the fact that we talked over each other in unrecognised, incorrect words, or that we spoke for two minutes only. it was is the total undeniable, complete understanding of real friendship that was clearly recognised at both ends of a telephone held thousands of miles and eight hours apart. I am going back and wanted to tell him. I got that over. I felt the ripple of joy – felt ... read more

This past weekend was our first program outing: a two-day, one-night adventure to Suzhou and Zhouzhuang. Although our time was short, CIEE did a good job of jam-packing our itinerary and making sure we got the most out of our time away. At 8:30AM on Friday morning, we boarded a bus that took us an hour and a half away from Shanghai to one of the most distinguished of a multitude of canal towns, dotted around the Yangzi delta. Suzhou is renowned for its poetic gardens and beautifully spun silk. Our first stop was for a group lunch and lecture at the Pingjiang Hotel, located along a canal lined with small shops on cobblestone streets. Although we did not have much time to explore this first location, our general impressions were that we were in for ... read more

Otin tänään pitkään himoitsemani kuivakuppauksen. Kiinassa kuppaus on ollut noin 3000 vuoden ajan yksi tärkeistä perinteisistä hoitomuodoista. Kuppaajat ovat siellä nykyään tavallisesti sairaaloissa tai klinikoilla työskenteleviä lääkäreitä. Kuppaamiseen voidaan käyttää eläimen sarvia, onttoja bambupaloja, keramiikka-, lasi- tai -muovikuppeja. Kuppiin muodostetaan alipaine liekin avulla. Bambukuppeja käytettäessä alipaine saadaan keittämällä niitä ensin yrttikeitoksessa. Kupit kiinnitetään tietyille kehon pisteille (ns. akupunktiopisteet) siten, että alipaineen tuottama imuvaikutus aktivoi veren ja imunesteen virtausta. Perinteisessä kiinalaisessa lääkinnässä kuppausta käytetään hoidettaessa hengitysteiden vaivoja kuten vilustuminen, keuhkokuume ja keuhkoputkentulehdus. Sillä hoidetaan myös selkä-, niska-, hartia- ja muita lihaskipuja. Vaivojen katsotaan johtuvan qi- eli energiavir... read more

Hi All, We thought we'd do something different today instead of the usual temples and museums. We did have to take a taxi to get there but we did manage to get the bus back. We love travelling on the buses here in China, if you can get a seat that is! So it was off to the Yangtze River bridge today. A cracking example of China's former socialist power and it's also a good example of how much China has changed. Before the bridge was opened in 1968 there was no direct rail link between Beijing and Shanghai, now the high speed trains can do it in just under five hours. There is a delapidated museum, next to the delapidated park and playground, wih a statue of Mao and some half heated exibhits showing the ... read more