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Published: October 27th 2012
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The end of my first week brought the annual team-building event. Chinese style. You don't want to spend Saturday sitting on a bus with your colleagues? Lose a day's holiday. This would not work back home: the unions would not allow it. But of course with the fun office tribe it could be nothing less than a fun trip...
Only slightly deprived of sleep, I made it to the office for the unreasonably early start time. I realized I had no clue where we were going or what we were going to do, only that I was involuntarily immersed in Chinese mass tourism. Not much choice now. On the coach, we were encouraged to join in some games, which were half geared towards exercises against DVT (how far were we going to drive?) and half at making a fool of colleagues. I only understood one part of one game involving counting up to four (still, it was a small success).
After several hours we stopped for lunch in the middle of nowhere. My first proper Chinese meal: each table of 12 people sharing twice as many dishes. In fact, the only limit to the amount of food available being
Hobbit doorway
Turns out to be a very common style in the Chinese garden. the space on the table. But once a dish is cleared it is replaced within a few seconds. I developed a taste for the frog with coriander. The Chinese method of preparation is not like the French cuisses de grenouille, but is in fact a rather large frog quartered by two cleaver chops. It follows the style of all Chinese butchery: the object is only to make something smaller in the most efficient manner. Removing bones, fat or cartilage are irrelevant: bones are to be enjoyed by spitting them on the table. Still, it's the sauce that makes the dish.
The middle of nowhere in fact turned out to be Xikou, the family home town of Chiang Kai Shek (as we call him, but the Chinese don't: rather Jiang Zhongzhen). Some well-preserved old houses, with I'm sure some greater historical importance than I understood from the translated information boards. Or was it just that his family came from here, and coincidentally it hadn't been bulldozed to make offices, high-density housing, KFC or Starbucks? The town's main street was pleasant with many little local food and touristic shops. I met with the tribe, and they were very excited about the
fact that we would be staying in a five star Shangri La hotel.
Next in the chain of mass tourism events was the tomb of Chiang Kai Shek's mother. A short walk up the hill through the forest brought us to this underwhelming monument. Or maybe I missed the significance again. On the way back, half the tribe were playing paper-scissor-stone to move each step down the hill. I don't know why, only that it was a long game: there were hundreds of steps. Back in the tour buses again to the real destination: Ningbo! A spectacular lightning show greeted us as we drove through pouring rain. The consequent heavy traffic gave us plenty of time to enjoy it on our way to the centre of town. We promptly drove out again to find our restaurant. My second proper Chinese meal. Much anticipated by the group was the seafood of the region. It didn't disappoint. The ducks tongue, however, was another story: way too tough. Perhaps it always is, I'm not planning to become an expert. After a misplaced "Gambei!" (when does it mean cheers, and when does it mean drink everything in your glass now?), I was soon
downing shots of baijiu with one of the managers. And getting the whole table involved. Amazingly, the alcohol tasted OK. I was expecting paint stripper, but in fact, it was smooth and had a pleasant fruity taste. Maybe it was a really expensive bottle, that I just forced him to share around the table?
The hotel was very high quality, but what was impressive was the vast size of it. And the fact that there were many more similar hotels like it in the small Chinese town of 7 million people. After a cocktail, we slipped away for a very late night game of cards. I was taught the rules of ba shi fen. Actually I was taught one rule at a time, just after I broke that rule. I was just waiting for the gambling to be introduced. Fortunately it never was.
The next day was the optional team building part. Cue split between Europeans trying to explore, together with local managers trying to impress, and the 90% of colleagues who had a lie-in or went shopping. A treasure hunt around the local park was pretty interesting though, as we distracted residents form their card games to
ask how to find various places. Of course there followed another great meal: lunch involving primeval-looking, but very tasty, shellfish. The long coach trip home was a good chance to sleep off the food and the late night card game.
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