Postcards from China » Qingyang http://blog.chineseoutpost.com An American who taught in China in 1993-94 returns for a visit in 2006 with his native Chinese wife and their two pre-schoolers. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:36:10 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 The “Athletic” Company Headquarters on the Road to Quanzhou http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/28/the-athletic-company-headquarters-on-the-road-to-quanzhou/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/28/the-athletic-company-headquarters-on-the-road-to-quanzhou/#comments Fri, 28 Apr 2006 15:01:49 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/28/the-athletic-company-headquarters-on-the-road-to-quanzhou/ You might have read my little series earlier on Clyde Drexler’s endorsement package for “Athletic,” a Quanzhou-based shoe manufacturer.

But traveling from Qingyang to Quanzhou, you can actually see the Athletic company headquarters.

Apparently Clyde’s endorsement is doing them some good, because their headquarters are looking pretty-darn-fancy-schmancy: statues of white horses, doric column structures, and so on.

These photos were taken from a moving vehicle and unfortunately don’t do the place justice, but maybe you’ll get the general idea…



And here are a couple shots of Drexler billboards nearby. The road from Qingyang to Quanzhou, in fact, is one great gauntlet of Clyde Drexler billboards…


]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/28/the-athletic-company-headquarters-on-the-road-to-quanzhou/feed/ 0 The Jinjiang Hospital in Qingyang http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/26/the-jinjiang-hospital-in-qingyang/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/26/the-jinjiang-hospital-in-qingyang/#comments Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:30:54 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/23/the-jinjiang-hospital-in-qingyang/ It may interest you to know that I survived minor surgery in a filthy Chinese hospital operating room in 1994 (skin cancer), but here’s a photo set in support of “the modernization of Chinese hospitals.”

The Jinjiang Hospital–like so many other major highlights of the Jinjiang region–is in Qingyang.

Chinese medicine still holds some surprises for Westerners; and even for some emigrated Chinese. Both my Wife and a friend of ours originally from Beijing, now living in the States for several years, have gotten into “disagreements” with Chinese doctors here over the recommended treatments for our kids. For any flu-like symptoms, the doctors have wanted to start I.V. rehydration plans and run a series of x-rays (X-rays? Huh?).

We’ve declined.

But the hospitals themselves are looking good. ;-)

Here are some shots of the one in Qingyang…and by the way, that’s a statue of Norman Bethune in the sixth picture. Why they rendered his English name that way, as “Henvy Ivoman Bet-hune,” I can only guess….







]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/26/the-jinjiang-hospital-in-qingyang/feed/ 0 The SM Shopping Center (and Wal-Mart) in Qingyang http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/24/the-sm-shopping-center-and-wal-mart-in-qingyang/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/24/the-sm-shopping-center-and-wal-mart-in-qingyang/#comments Mon, 24 Apr 2006 13:32:08 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/24/the-sm-shopping-center-and-wal-mart-in-qingyang/ Across the road from the new housing utopia I mentioned last week sits one of China’s behemoth “SM” shopping malls.

These huge complexes, four stories high and perhaps 1/4 mile long are sort of China’s modern commercial answer to the Great Wall: The Great Mall.

In the bottom of this complex is a Wal-Mart Supercenter, along with a miscellaneous variety of other shops. The ground and 2nd floors are mostly clothing and department stores–and some of the department stores even include small, clean, attractive play areas for the kids (we’ve made a couple trips to the SM just to give the kids a change of scenery). The third and fourth floors of this complex are reserved for “exhibitions,” but a similar one we visited in Xiamen is packed with 5 floors of shops and restaurants.

Speaking of Wal-Mart, I was amazed to learn that there are now 56 Wal-Mart locations in China, with plans to open perhaps that many more in the coming few years.

And Yes, most of the stuff on the shelves is marked “Made in China.” ;-)

Here are the photos….

A panorama of the front of the SM mall in Qingyang–and that’s Jet Li you see on one of the banners in the fourth photo; he’s now endorsing a high-end Jinjiang-based men’s clothing company:



Close-ups of a couple of the 3-story banners:

A couple interior scenes:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/24/the-sm-shopping-center-and-wal-mart-in-qingyang/feed/ 1 New Development “Private Living” in Qingqing, Fujian http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/19/new-development-private-living-in-qingqing-fujian/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/19/new-development-private-living-in-qingqing-fujian/#comments Thu, 20 Apr 2006 04:18:02 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/19/new-development-private-living-in-qingqing-fujian/ When my Wife’s Younger Brother told us he is thinking of buying an apartment in Qingyang, I pictured a decent looking place on the inside with the normal drab appearance on the outside. But “Prepare to be astounded,” he might as well have said as the taxi approached this new housing development for us to take a look.

This vast development has more of an “exclusive gated community” feel to it–one with uniformed Chinese policemen pulling guard duty–with some shops that most Chinese won’t be spending money in soon out front: high end jewelry, high end real estate, high end travel agency…you get the idea.

The more we walked around the grounds, the more I thought this would all look more at home in some nice corner of Europe or well-to-do end of Hong Kong.

Here are some pictures….

Looking at the main entrance area from across the road:

Scenes near the interior courtyard:



Some of the single-family dwellings:

Over the wall at the end of this lane, we see how buildings more typically look in “the rest of China:

Peek over an outer wall and check out the construction debris:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/19/new-development-private-living-in-qingqing-fujian/feed/ 1 A Visit to the Liangzi Foot Massage Spa http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/12/a-visit-to-the-liangzi-foot-massage-spa-%e8%89%af%e5%ad%90%e9%9b%86%e5%9b%a2/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/12/a-visit-to-the-liangzi-foot-massage-spa-%e8%89%af%e5%ad%90%e9%9b%86%e5%9b%a2/#comments Wed, 12 Apr 2006 19:43:39 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/12/a-visit-to-the-liangzi-foot-massage-spa-%e8%89%af%e5%ad%90%e9%9b%86%e5%9b%a2/ Late one afternoon, I finally gave in to my Wife’s and her Younger Sister’s invitations to visit the massage spa they kept telling me about in Qingyang. They’d been there together a few times already–my Wife’s Younger Sister even had some gift certificates for us to use. But even though that sort of thing just ain’t my cup of tea, I decided to go.

Quite close to “Sunshine Circle” in Qingyang, next to one of the hotels, is a Liangzi Foot Massage Spa outlet. I knew nothing about the place before going, but it looked quite nice, a very “Old Shanghai” feeling to it, I thought, and going up the stairs, we saw pictures of all sorts of allegedly famous or important people who’ve been customers of this business at various locations around China. Seems this spa is part of a chain that’s growing by leaps and bounds both in and out of the PRC.

Anyway, we checked out the “menu” of services and decided to go with the foot bath/foot massage option, and were shown to this room:

Soon, our attendants arrived, and I found out why the gals liked coming here so much: female customers are treated by young male attendants, and male customers by young female attendants.

The employees that came in to attend to my Wife and her Younger Sister, ja, sure, OK, they were handsome young fellows. But the ones that came to attend to me and my Wife’s Younger Brother, well, are probably best described as “sturdy” young women.

As they poured our foot baths for us, we chatted and found out they’re all from Henan Province, just like the owner of the chain. (And I found out that Henan accents are, for me anyway, hard to follow.) So for the next hour we experienced the herbal foot soak, strenuous foot and calf massage, “health” pedicure (removal of dead skin by a fellow who carried his tools from room to room in what looked like a 19th century traveling doctor’s medical bag), and finished up with a brief shoulder massage.

Afterward, my Wife’s Younger Sister asked me how I liked it, and I was frank: they seem well-trained, I said, but I still hated it–darn foot massage was actually quite painful, though they assured me it gets better with each subsequent visit.

More interesting was what I learned while researching the chain online later. And it turns out I’m rather late to the game of discovering this enterprise.

Way back in November of 2004, BusinessWeek wrote:

Quick — what is one of China’s best-known new brands? No, not a low-tar brand of cigarette, a popular candy bar, nor a nifty new digital camera. Believe it or not, it’s Liangzi, a nationwide chain of foot-massage shops. Their often plush interiors feature two-meter stone Buddha heads and curtained “opium beds,” as well as, most important, legions of young foot masseuses who will expertly push your pressure points — and all for a few bucks per hour. Liangzi Foot Bath Health & Fitness has taken the country by storm over the past few years, pulling in revenues of $18 million last year.

When 34-year-old founder Zhu Guofan was young, he certainly had no idea he would one day be a successful entrepreneur. Born to a poor farming family in rural Henan province, he never finished high school. His early career included stints selling ducks and chickens in an open air market in his hometown of Xinxiang, as well as running a roadside stand hawking barbecued meat sticks.

Then he noticed the popularity of the local foot masseuses, who worked in rundown shops, and decided to offer an upscale version of the service. After founding his first shop in February, 1997, he was bowled over by its instant popularity. “Every day, over 100 people came to the shop,” says Zhu, still amazed at his success. “Back then I didn’t understand the concept of a chain store — but my brother-in-law suggested I open another shop,” says Zhu….

For more on Zhu Guofan and his foot-massage empire, check out these articles:


Sturdy attendants massaging customers feet
(Photo courtesy of China Daily)

Zhu Guofan (l) with the president of Malta
(Photo courtesy of Liangzi Foot Massage)

You can also visit the English language section of Liangzi’s company Web site at http://www.liangzi.com.cn/doce/jituan.htm.

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/12/a-visit-to-the-liangzi-foot-massage-spa-%e8%89%af%e5%ad%90%e9%9b%86%e5%9b%a2/feed/ 0 A Visit to the Jinjiang Museum in Qingyang: Part Three http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/10/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-three/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/10/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-three/#comments Mon, 10 Apr 2006 16:00:04 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/10/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-three/ More from our visit to “The Panorama of History of Jinjiang” at the Jinjiang Museum in Qingyang, Fujian Provice, China:

A recreation of a section of the “Wu Li Qiao” Anping Bridge, which I visited and wrote about here and here:

From an interpretive narrative:

An Ping bridge (Wu Li bridge) stretches over the bay between Anhai town, Jinjiang, and Shuitou town, Nanan. The bridge which was built from the 8th years (AD 1138) to the 22nd years (AD 1152) of Shao Xing years in Southern Song Dynasty is 2255 meters in length and 5 meters in width and be known as “the longest bridge in the world.” The bridge is the longest one in mediaeval times in the world. The construction of An Ping bridge fully represents the intelligence and technique of ancient Chinese people.

A reproduction of the Buddhist carving at Anhai’s Chao An Temple:

From an interpretive narrative:

Manicheism was founded in Persia in the third century AD by Manes. Manicheism has its unique dualistic and trisiksa religious philosophy. The dualistic philosophy divides the world between good and evil principles or regards matter as intrinsically evil and mind as intrinsically good. The trisiksa philosophy regards the world experiencing past, now and future. Manicheism was introduced to China in Tang Dynasty, prevailed in south-east China in Song and Yuan Dynasties and vanished after Ming Dynasty. The Caoan Temple on Hua Biao Mountain at Luoshan town is a relic site of Manichaeism temple which is conserved in the best condition in the world.

Photos from a recreated “Street” from ancient Jinjiang, with stores, restaurants and a drinking house:







Related:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/10/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-three/feed/ 1 A Visit to the Jinjiang Museum in Qingyang: Part Two http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/08/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-two/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/08/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-two/#comments Sat, 08 Apr 2006 19:03:01 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/08/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-two/ The second floor of the Jinjiang Museum is devoted almost entirely to a very interesting, robust, and educational “Panorama of the History of Jinjiang” exhibit.

Here is the first set of photos, commentary, and quotes from this display….

The entrance to “The Panorama of History of Jinjiang” Exhibit:

From one of the museum’s interpretive blurbs:

Jinjiang city lies in the lower reaches of Jin River and is close to Chinese eastern sea. The city’s topology is mainly mesa and plain and it has a warm and wet climate. Early in the prehistoric period, Min and Yue ancestors were living here. After Qin and Han Dynasties, especially after Western Jin Dynasty, people from central China moved to the south and lived along the river. Thus the city was named Jinjiang. Jinjiang was officially established as a county in the sixth year of Kai Yuan years in Tang Dynasty (AD 718) and was executed at the same level with state and prefecture. After that period, Jinjiang witnessed a gradual development and expansion and has become the political, economic and culture center of Quanzhou region of China.

An ancient contraption for making dofu (tofu); looks strikingly similar to modern contraptions for making dofu:

“the stele autographed by the country magistrate of Jinjiang / unearthed in Quanzhou / the 23rd of Jiajing in Ming Dynasty (AD 1544)”:

Part of an ancient water mill’s working parts:

An ancient weaving loom:

Hand-carved chairs from (I believe) the Song Dynasty:

The battle to reclaim Taiwan from the Dutch:

From another interpretive blurb:

In the 22nd year of the reign of Emperor Kang Xi in Qing Dynasty (AD 1683), under the decision of Emperor Kang Xi, Shi Lang, commander-in-chief of the navy of Fujian led troops to reunify Taiwan. After Qing forces occupied Taiwan, they offered sacrifices to Zheng Chenggong Temple and made proper arrangements for the formal subordinates of Zheng Chenggong. These efforts resulted in a stable political situation of Taiwan.

More on this:

At the joint period of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jinjiang was the military base established by Zheng Chenggong to expel Netherlands invaders and reoccupy Taiwan. During the reign of Emperor Kang Xi, General Shi Lang built up the armed forces here, stormed and captured Penghu islands and and Taiwan and accomplished the great course of reunification.

Cannon reclaimed from the sea and this battle:

More information about the area from another placard:

The Silk Route of the Sea–Along the long and sinuate coasts there were three bays and twelve harbors which were the important parts of Quanzhou Harbor. Quan Zhou was considered one of China’s four important harbors since Tang Dynasty. The other three are Jia Zhou, Guang Zhou and Yang Zhou. In the era of Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, it had already become The Largest Harbor in the East. As the south harbor of Quanzhou, Anhai harbor had been prosperous for a long time from Song Dynasty to Republic of China, in which the business men were famous around the world.

Related:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/08/a-visit-to-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-two/feed/ 1 A Visit to the Jinjiang Museum in Qingyang: Part One http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/07/a-visit-the-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-one/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/07/a-visit-the-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-one/#comments Fri, 07 Apr 2006 19:35:19 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/07/a-visit-the-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-one/ As I’ve hinted here and there, there really is some interesting history to this Jinjiang region in Fujian Province, including lots of trade contact with the outside world long, long ago.

The downside of this longstanding local focus on commerce and money-making is that appreciation for the arts and history typically takes a back seat to other concerns.

But maybe that’s starting to change a wee bit, and I think Qingyang may be at the center of this little ‘r’ revolution.

Case in point is the Jinjiang Museum, which focuses mostly on the history, but also the arts and culture, of Jinjiang.

Technically, I suppose, you’re supposed to visit the museum during its regular open hours and not take photographs of the displays, but because one of the museum’s main tour guides is friends with my Wife’s Younger Brother, we managed to skirt both issues not long ago, enjoying an exclusive, picture-taking private tour.

Here is the first set of photos and commentary from our visit; to avoid a single post that’s “too long,” I’m going to divide the museum visit into two or three posts.

A view of the Jinjiang Museum; most museums I’ve visited in China before are very boring structures; this one is not:

The museum’s main entrance:

The museum’s central interior:

An exhibition on the lower floor–the museum paid about 200 young, upcoming artists and calligraphers for contributions to their inaugural display; here are some of their works:

My Wife and her Younger Brother take a break before we head upstairs:

Next time: A first look at some of Jinjiang’s history….

Related:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/07/a-visit-the-the-jinjiang-museum-in-qingyang-part-one/feed/ 2 Taxi-Spotting in Qingyang http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/06/taxi-spotting-in-qingyang/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/06/taxi-spotting-in-qingyang/#comments Thu, 06 Apr 2006 13:33:43 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/06/taxi-spotting-in-qingyang/ So there we were, right across from the Ford dealership, stranded on The Highway to Hell trying to hail a cab to take us on in to downtown Qingyang.

Not easy.

Cabs do go by that stretch of highway, but most seem to be full of other passengers already heading somewhere.

After quite some time of waiting, I got bored and took a couple traffic photos.

In this one, with the Ford dealership in the background, notice the truck that has just whipped out into traffic, other fast-moving vehicles be damned as they swerve to avoid a collision:

But still no cab.

So I took some video.

This one shows some fast moving vehicles–and a guy on a bike-cart at the end–going in the direction we want to go:

In this next one, more traffic, looking in the opposite direction, and watch that “Bonzai!!!” turn across the traffic lanes there at the end:

Finally, after half an hour, an empty cab came along, but it was headed in the opposite direction. So it did a “Bonzai!!!” u-turn of its own, nearly causing pile-ups in both directions, complete with screeching tires and a blare of honking horns.

Deadly dangerous, but we were overjoyed to see it.

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/06/taxi-spotting-in-qingyang/feed/ 0 Have You Driven a Ford Lately, Comrade? http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/05/have-you-driven-a-ford-lately-comrade/ http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/05/have-you-driven-a-ford-lately-comrade/#comments Wed, 05 Apr 2006 19:07:51 +0000 Mark Baker http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/05/have-you-driven-a-ford-lately-comrade/ One afternoon not long ago, since we were visiting a factory across the road anyway, my Wife, her Younger Brother and I dropped by the Ford Auto Dealership on the outskirts of Qingyang that I mentioned here.

Now, I don’t know how many Ford dealerships there are in China, but I don’t think there are nearly as many as there are McDonald’s franchises. This was the first I’ve seen, anyway. Here’s a picture of the front of it for starters, by the way (bottom floor):

But we walked in this one and started looking at one of the eight or nine vehicles in the showroom–and that’s it; just several vehicles inside a showroom, no “back lot” full of additional models. Pretty quickly a salesman came in our direction and greeted us, and for some reason my Wife and her Younger Brother went mute, so this fellow and I struck up a conversation, despite his obvious surprise that (1) the foreigner instead of his two Chinese companions was doing the talking and (2) the foreigner was doing the talking in Chinese.

I had a little mischievious fun, asking him to pop the hood on a couple models and inquiring how fast the Mondeos would do zero-to-sixty. We were really there, however, because my Wife’s Younger Brother is thinking of buying a car in the next year or so, so he and my Wife eventually came over and joined in the conversation.

I took advantage of that to start checking out sticker prices and manufacturing info–and I got to chuckle as I walked away and heard the salesman, who must have thought I was with two of my employees or something, say, “As I was just telling your boss…”. (Later, Me: “Heh heh, did you hear that, honey, he said, ‘Your Boss’.” Her: Cold icy stare.)

It turns out that all the cars there but one were manufactured in China; mostly Guangzhou, I believe. Only one–a Lincoln Navigator loaded with all the extras–was “imported,” all the way from Detroit. It was priced–well, I’ll put it this way–it was priced at about double what the same model costs in the U.S.A., according to my online research. Yowza.

The salesman offered us a test drive, but we had to leave soon for another appointment and so took a raincheck (but if you’d like to learn more about Ford in China, visit http://www.ford.com.cn/). So we headed back out, crossed the road again, and tried to hail a cab. Which proved a difficult thing to do. But I’ll save that tale till tomorrow.

Samples from the advertising literature:

Ford Mondeo cover:

Ford Focus cover:

Lincoln Navigator interior:

]]> http://blog.chineseoutpost.com/2006/04/05/have-you-driven-a-ford-lately-comrade/feed/ 0