The significance of a Chinese young person reaching the age of 20 years cannot be underestimated. It is roughly equivalent to the importance that used to be associated with turning 21 years old in the West, only much, much more. For the young person involved it marks their entry into the adult world and all that that entails. Their dreams of increasing independence are tempered with the realization of the equally increasing responsibilities. Responsibilities such as entering the workforce with a “good” job; finding a suitable partner, getting married and having a family and, of course, providing for their parents and sometimes even their grandparents into their senior years. A heavy burden, indeed. For their parents it means a huge shift in their perceptions. Their son or daughter is no longer a child and now ... read more

Surrounding Xiahe are vast areas of grassland used by local nomads as pastures for herds of yak, dzo (bull crossed with female yak), Tibetan cattle, sheep, goats and even pigs. The more famous areas are Sanke (about 13km away), Ganjia (about 34km away) and further away still, Takkar ( famous for its enormous rock formations). Ganjia Grasslands (not a joke, by the way!) were my first choice as they are supposedly less developed/commercialized and they can be combined with a visit to an ancient town, a cave, and a monastery of the less well-known Black Hat Sect of Buddhism to make a great day out. Unfortunately, being Golden Week (May), many of the visitors to Xiahe were already in groups, so I was unable to organize anyone to share the cost of a vehicle. Consequently, I ... read more

The present residents of Xiahe consist of about 45% Tibetans, 45% Han Chinese and 10% Hui Muslim, providing an interesting mix. As development continues, with road-widening projects, rumours of an airport, the tearing down of traditional housing and the erecting of ugly, bright new hotels and ever more souvenir shops, it is obvious that this mix is rapidly changing. The local Tibetans and Hui are being squeezed into a smaller and smaller area of town, or, in the case of the Tibetans, being moved further west. Mass resumptions have been common and the displaced people are usually offered "peanuts" as compensation. Very sad, the price of progress. On a brighter note, the people of Xiahe are an engaging and optimistic bunch. Many are philosophical about the changes that have taken place over the past decade or ... read more

Despite being in China for over a year, I had yet to experience one of the local festivals in my “home” region of Taizhou. Consequently I was very keen to attend the now internationally famous Qintong Boating Festival. The Qintong Boating Festival is held during Qingming Festival (around April 4-6) every year. The Qingming Festival (Clear and Bright Festival or Pure Brightness Festival) denotes a time for people to go outside and enjoy the greenery of springtime and also to tend to the graves of departed ones. Consequently a common English translation is Tomb Sweeping Day. However tomb-sweeping is definitely not on the agenda of this particular series of events. Last year I missed the opportunity to attend the reportedly most spectacular event in the festival, the opening ceremony, due to the fact that it ... read more

Summer is almost in full swing and we are struggling to catch our breaths in the acrid, smoke-filled air that is Taizhou during the annual burn off of wheat chaff from the summer harvest. Last week was particularly bad and several of my students had to go to the local hospital with eye problems. Everyone complains but no one seems to suggest to the farmers that there could be a better and more environmentally friendly method of disposal. This was the trigger to finally get me back to my blogging! It’s been over a month now since my last series of blogs describing my “winter” trip back to Oz for the first time in a year. This term has been action packed and I have managed to be more active in making better use of my ... read more