Bye 2014

Just before 2014 came to an end, we had a working visit to Singapore. We met up with our future in-laws to formalize some details of the wedding of Sam and Rachel.

We also met up with old friends who have decided to migrate south to Perth permanently in the coming year 2015.

2014 would be remembered as a tough year. Friends and acquaintances passed away abruptly without prior signs of severe illness or warning. Such thing is sure to become more frequent as time slips away so quickly these days.

 

Malaysians too suffered. Top in the list is the country's aviation and tourism. It's bad after the two MAS tragic flight disasters. The latest crash of Airasia flight just one day before we took our flight back from Singapore to KK further dented the much battered image of Malaysian aviation reputation.

 

The question is : Will 2015 be better? Let's hope it will.

Winter Solstice 2014

It has been the family tradition that we would gather for a reunion dinner during the annual Winter Solstice (Dong Zhi). However, a complete turn-up of every member is no longer possible these days. But this year, at least two families of my siblings managed to have everyone of their families present. We are truly happy to have them joining the reunion!

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Family

Not enough hours in the day, we often say

we watch as the business of life allows time slip away.

 

Before we know days turn to months and months into years

Time is mapped with laughter and cheers,

the long road sometimes landmarked with sadness and tears.

 

Elders pass and children grow,

has it been that long we ask, where does the time go?

 

Not every chance to gather is taken,

"We'll see them next time" we say and hope we're not mistaken.

 

A chance like now comes once in a lifetime it seems,

when the bright light of family is nurtured and beams,

there will be laughter and time to reminisce

we will all be proud this is a chance we did not miss.

 

Ryan Guerreno

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Gathering at my bro, Tak Vui's home.

Asher is indeed a very lovable little boy.

Grandfathers and Grandsons

Moms and Sons

Making Tang Yuan

Grand uncle and Grand niece

Jiangnan: Nanjing

When we think of Nanjing, Nanjing Massacre is the first thing that comes to mind. Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the Nanjing Massacres Memorial. It was said that many visitors after seeing the heart wrenching display were nauseated or even traumatized. Because of this, the authority decided against allowing visitors to visit this place. Whether this is true or otherwise, I just cannot be sure!

For our dinner and night excursion, we were taken to Gu Qin Huai (古秦淮) which is also known as Fu Zi Miao (夫子庙) in Nanjing. Fu Zi Miao is a famous Pedestrian Precinct in Nanjing. We were given the freedom to savor food of our choice in the many food outlets in this Precinct. This area is a favourite spot for entertainment, shopping, dining and drinking. Fu Zi Miao is situated by the Qin Huai River. Fu Zi Miao means "Confucius temple" in Chinese. The Precinct was named as such because there is a Confucius temple at one end of the street.

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The statute of a student sitting for an examination in the Precinct reminded all visitors of Nanjing's past as the production house of scholars and bureaucrats to serve the government of the day. Nanjing was at one time the official Imperial Examination Centre for the Jiangnan region during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The exam centre built in 1169 became the largest exam hall with over 20,000 cells for examinees. Today, a few rooms have been restored into a museum. Visitors can re-enact part of the examination process by donning the robes of Ming dynasty hat and sequestering themselves in the cells.

An old photo showing the massive exam centre with over 20,000 cells for examinees.

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Sight seeing in Nanjing turned out to be a technical tour to a bridge - Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge. Of all the bridges in China, the Chinese are keen to showcase this particular bridge built in the 1960's. This is a a double-decked road rail truss bridge.

Communist China, after years of economic difficulties and the aftermath of the "Great Leap Forward", needed the construction of this bridge to showcase China's independence and the ingenuity of the Chinese people as propagated by Mao. According to propaganda, ordinary workers took over from the engineers and designed the bridge themselves, guided solely by Mao Zedong Thought.

This bridge is also infamous for being the most common site for suicide in the world. Over 2,000 people jumped to their death from this bridge over 38 years from 1968 to 2006. That is an average of one death per week! Life is indeed tough in China!

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With the statute of Mao Zedong prominently displayed at the entrance hall, the guide told the story of the celebrated swim of Mao Zedong in 1966 across Yangtze River at the age of 73. On 16 July 1966, accompanied by 5,000 young swimmers at the annual race across the Yangtze River at Wuhan, Mao was reported to have swam 15 Km in 65 minutes. The message of the swim was clear, even at 70's, Mao was still a force to be reckoned with!

Jiangnan: Wuxi

By the time we checked into the hotel in Wuxi on 23 September 2014, it was already late evening and drizzling. Undeterred by the drizzle, with our umbrellas opened, we strolled the Pedestrian Walk which is just a stone throw from the hotel. The rows of shops on either side of the Walk were once residential houses. They are now converted to pubs, restaurants, fast food outlets, desserts outlets and souvenir shops catering almost solely to the huge number of tourists coming to Wuxi. Adjacent to one side of the row of shops is the canal, a reminder that this was once a water village of which Wuxi is famous for.

Wuxi is a name easy to remember. Wuxi in Chinese  "無锡" literally means "No Tin".

We entered an outlet that served only Taiwanese desserts. We chatted with the young man who served the customers and he turned out to be an undergraduate student studying in Jiangnan University.

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China became the world's largest trading nation overtaking USA in 2013. Four years earlier in 2009, China became the world's largest exporter of goods. It was reported in July 2014 that the top one percent of households in China control more than one third of the country's wealth while the bottom 25 percent control just one hundredth. Today, Communist China has risen to become an economic powerhouse of the world!

With wealth, the pursuit in life goes beyond the material things. Buddhism in China has been enjoying an unprecedented revival.

The Lingsan Buddhist temple built at the foot of Lingsan which was opened to the public in January 2009 is indeed a grand structure. It played host to the second World Buddhist Forum in 2009. It drew 1,700 participants from 50 countries spread over 5 continents.

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Lingsan Grand Buddha

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Nine dragons bathing Sakyamuni

Jiangnan: Lion Grove Garden, Suzhou

The Lion Grove Garden (獅子林園) in Pingjiang District, Suzhou was first built in 1342 during the Yuang Dynasty.  This garden is famous for the large amount of rocks arranged in labyrinthine grotto and artificial hill. The name of the garden is derived from the shape of some of the rocks, which are said to resemble lion. 

Emperor Qianglong of the Ching Dynasty visited Ziangnan seven times. In 1765, he visited this Rock Garden and left a tablet with the words "True Charm" (真趣) personally written by him as a gift. It was said that he initially wrote three Chinese characters (真有趣) translated as "Very Interesting", but the character "有" was slightly untidy. One official noted this and pleaded to the Emperor to be "awarded" the character "有". The Emperor too observed the untidy handwriting and gladly "offered" the character to him. As a result, only two characters remained: 真趣.

The rock at the rear resembles a lion while the rock at the front a crab.

Jiangnan: Taihu Hairy Crabs

The golden hairy crabs, found in some of the fresh water lakes around Yangze River have been highly promoted by the Chinese as one of the must-eat delicacies in Jiangnan. This is an over-statement to someone who has tasted our Sabah mud crabs.

We cook our mud crabs in many ways - chilly crabs, peppered crabs, sweet & sour crabs, steamed crabs....... The Chinese only recommend eating the hairy crabs one way - steamed hairy crabs. Rather boring!

We had to pay RMB180 to eat a pair of these hairy crabs in a restaurant in Suzhou.

Jiangnan: Hanshan Temple, Suzhou

Hanshan Temple in Suzhou would have been just one of the thousand of "unknown" Buddhist temples in China if not because of a poem written during the Tang Dynasty. This poem which was written by Zhang Zi when he was travelled and stopped in this town. Soon after, this poem propelled this little known place or more specifically the Hanshan Temple to perpetual fame.

Hanshan Temple was believed to have been built at around early 500 AD in Fengqiao (Translated as Maple Bridge), about 5 Km west of old Suzhou. The temple obtained its name, the Hanshan Temple after a monk called Han Shan became the abbot at around the first quarter of 600 AD.

The poem describes the dejected and melancholy feeling of  a traveler who stopped by Fengqiao and spent the night in a boat. The key phrase is a description of his hearing of the ringing of the bell from Hanshan Temple.

The ringing of the bell at Hanshan Temple on the eve of Chinese New Year is now a major pilgrimage and tourism event.

The visit to this temple did bring back memory of studying this poem during my days at the secondary school, "楓橋夜泊" translated as " A Night Mooring by Maple Bridge" or "The Midnight Bells".

月落烏啼霜滿天。

江楓漁火對愁眠。

姑蘇城外寒山寺，

夜半鐘聲到客船。

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In China, there is a Pedestrian Walk nearly in every city. Shops lined along the side of the Walk. They cater for visitors who want to shop, eat and drink. In Suzhou, we were taken to the Pedestrian Walk called the Guan Qian Street (观前街).