Winter in China: It's a bit chilly.

In the midst of another cold January in Xi'an, I often like to vent my inherent Britishness and complain about the weather. (Of course, I reserve the right to complain about the weather regardless of the time of year.) Still haven't seen a snowflake this winter, but it's certainly cold enough for it. It actually hasn't rained in Xi'an for a long time, so I'm guessing that the lack of snow is simply due to a lack of available moisture. My apartment has no central heating. Well, actually, technically, it does. But 'they' won't turn it on. Apparently you can't turn on individual apartments, just the entire block, all or nothing. So unless everyone wants to turn it on, it stays off. So it's off. But hurrah for oil heaters, heat lamps, air heaters, electric blankets and wearing jumpers 3 at a time.

The INSIDE of my bedroom window, a few mornings ago

Go into a shop or a restaurant and it's the same. The vast majority of them have large aircon units that could warm the room in 10 minutes... but they just choose not to use them. On the occassions that the heaters are used, someone will always open the doors and windows. It seems that people would rather keep their outside coats and jackets on that take them off and just close the window. Something else I've noticed is that car drivers will have their windows open all year round, even on the coldest days of winter, when they could easily close them and be significantly warmer. Is this weird? I think so.

I heard that big part of this is rooted in Chinese traditional medicine, since many people believe that breathing 'recycled' air is a great way to contract some kind of airborne illness. This was 'confirmed' by the 'fact' (=unfounded rumour) that SARS was spread by breathing such recycled air. I think a similarstory circulated regarding bird flu. So freezing-cold fresh air = good, nice warm air-conditioned air = bad.

Recently, after a couple of clicks on the 'next blog' button in the top-of-the-screen toolbar, I found this blog post discussing thermal comfort in China. The part that interested me essentially says that Chinese people have a significantly wider range of temperatures they feel are acceptable, and I can absolutely confirm that it's true. Able to see your breath in the 'comfort' of your own home? No problem. So hot that sweat is dripping into your eyes, down your back, down your legs? Again, no problem.

Maybe I'm a victim of being born and raised in a, comparatively, extremely comfortable environment. Damn you Britain, damn you for making me soft. And damn you, January, and probably damn you February too. It's the Spring Festival... where is the sunshine?

The Year of the Ox

Happy 牛 (niu) Year!

Happy Niu Year

It's New Year's Eve, and the rat will soon hand over the baton to the ox. Many of those born in the year of the ox (so, anyone that is 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96 or 108 years old during the lunar year that starts tomorrow) will wear something red every day to ward off bad luck.

It is though that during these special years (when you've lived through an entire cycle of the 12 years/animals of the Chinese zodiac) you might meet some kind of difficulties or obstacles in your life. Wearing the colour red is thought to be the best way of avoiding the bad luck, or somehow shielding yourself from its effects. (There is a good description of why people do this here.) So there are an awful lot of 11, 23, 35, 47... year olds that will be receiving red clothing and jewellery over the next couple of days. Often, this takes the form of red underwear, or more simply a necklace or bracelet of red thread. (This is sometimes worn around the waist too... what is that called? A waistlet?)

I think some folks will need all the luck they can get over the Spring Festival holiday period. This is the time when fireworks pop in the sky almost continuously for several days. You can here rockets banging off your apartment windows, explosions in the stairwell outside your apartment door. It amazes me that after the Spring festival celebrations that most kids still have ten fingers. The fireworks you can buy on the street here are big. Really big. And cheap.

And apparently the done thing is to launch them from your hands. None of this stick-it-in-the-ground and light-it-with-a-long-fuse technique. Or is it actually fairly safe, and I've just been wrapped up in a little too much cotton wool by life in Britain? The public firework displays can be spectacular, but again, I was able to get a little too close to the action for the liking of my inherent Britishness. These mighty fiery beasts were launched from just a few metres away, exploded directly above peoples' heads, and then the crap (often still on fire) rained down on everyone - brilliant!

Spring festival in Xi'an (2008)

Would you like a clean plate or a dirty one?

Aside from the 'lost in translation' issues that occur at the meeting of east and west, there are other aspects of language and culture that just simply don't exist on the other side of the world. One thing I've noticed is the way something is implied by certain things. You know, when a simple thing is said, but it implies far more meaning. But sometimes people just don't get it...

A great example of this can be seen in some Chinese restuarants. You walk in, you sit down, and you place your order. But in some places there is an additional step before placing your order... you have to choose which standard of cleanliness you require for your plates and bowls. I know what you're thinking - there should only be one standard: CLEAN. Sadly, that's not the case. You can have the standard stuff, or you can choose the shiny new-looking stuff that is shrink-wrapped, gleaming under the overhead lights - at an additional cost of course. If you were faced with this choice what would you think? What does it imply? To me, it says that you shouldn't eat with the free stuff the restaurant offers you because it is dirty. Apparently the shiny new ones are not even new, but they have been properly cleaned and then sterilised. The question begs to be asked: Why on earth do plates and bowls need to be sterilised? What awful disease-causing bacteria are they destroying during the sterilisation process?

I've asked waitresses about this but the reply is always a blank, silent stare. It seems that offering a 'clean' option does not imply anything, or at least it doesn't in China anyway.

Actually, I think there is another side to the story: I think that both options are clean. But if you choose the extra-clean option it is a small show of status; that a person can afford to pointlessly waste a few renminbi on something in a restaurant, which might be a good way to impress someone and gain a little extra face.

Just for the record, I use the dirty stuff ^_^

Getting older (or younger)

How old are you? Seriously, are you sure about that? If you come to China, you might be a different age. And your birthday might be on a different day.

Back in Blighty I was, of course, born at the ripe old age of 0. You are 0 when you are born, and then twelve months later you celebrate the anniversary of the day of your birth: It's your 1st birthday, you are 1 year old. Right? Right?

Well... maybe. Sometimes. But not all the time. In China, you are born at the age of 1. So people are a year older than they would be if they were born outside of China. I was fearful of my big three-oh approaching while I was in China, but without me even realising it I had already crossed that threshold and was hurtling towards my 31st! Hmm... Actually, nowadays this isn't strictly true, especially if you live in a city like I do. But elsewhere, further afield, the old system is still very much in use.

Then there's the subject of birthdays. My girlfriend isn't entirely clear about when hers is. She claims that since she wasn't born in a hospital, she has no birth certificate. And the date of birth on her ID card is her lunar birthday... (It's also on her passport, and who knows how many other things... is that entirely legal?) So each year she gets a phonecall from her mother to wish her a happy birthday, but it's a different date each year - but it's the same date on the lunar calendar.

Moral of the story: Travel to China if you want to be older, leave China if you want to be younger again. I once had a theory that you could age backwards by crossing the international dateline from west to east many times in succession. I'm sure I could tie this into the Chinese age system if I could be bothered.

Ligers, and other aberrations of nature

2009 has arrived, though this isn't really considered the arrival of a new year to around a third of the world's population. It's not New Year until the year of the rat ends and the year of the ox begins, which is on the 25th January this year, since it's dictated by the lunar calendar. So one new year has arrived, and another is still to come, and there's a lot for me to look forward to this year - including my wedding to (cue dramatic music) a Chinese girl.

A while ago I was once sitting in a coffee shop minding my own business, dealing with my usual heavy schedule of procrastination, when a couple of Chinese people sitting within earshot at the next table asked me a few questions. It seems that one of them spoke English, and was giving the other an English lesson, and they wanted to clarify the meaning of a couple of words. No problem, they seemed friendly enough, so I happily obliged.

A short while later my girlfriend came to join me; The conversation of the couple that I had politely helped earlier quickly changed topic. They started to talk about attitudes towards interracial relationships, which seemed fairly natural, and not in itself offensive. But then the English-speaker specifically asked her friend what he thought about Chinese and non-Chinese being together. His response, while screwing up his face in a very visual display of revulsion: "It's disgusting - it's like putting a lion and a tiger together". What a delightful man.

Since it was very obvious that my girlfriend and I could overhear every word of their conversation, and considering that I'd been friendly to them just a short time earlier, I think I should've been offended by this comment. However, this seems to be a fairly typical attitude of the older generation (in this context, by 'older' I mean about 25 and above) towards interracial relationships in China. This is in stark contrast to many younger people in China. (As an aside, a random Chinese girl once contacted me through Skype to discuss the possibility of having a "mixed baby", since that was her ultimate goal in life!)

But of course, we got the last laugh: Everyone knows that crossing lions and tigers leads to ligers and tigrons, which are bred for their skills in magic, and are pretty much Napoleon Dynamite's favourite animals.

Placenta oral liquid

Gifts. Often a tricky thing. How much do I spend? Do I get something fun? Something practical? Something they can share? How well do I really know them? How can I find out what they want, what they need?

In China people often tend towards the practical side of things, giving gifts that are health-related. I'm told that in the past eggs were the gift of choice. Nowadays milk is more popular. But if you want to go that extra mile, to really show that you care, just head down to the local supermarket and there'll be a whole aisle-ful of healthy gifts. These usually take the form of a large briefcase-sized box, immaculately packaged in red and gold, and inside... protein powder. Maybe with added vitamins. American ginseng is another popular one. But the best I've seen so far, by a country mile, has to be this badboy:

A part of me was hoping that this was just an awful translation. But its not. It really is essence/extract of sheep and black chicken placenta. I hear it does wonderful things for a lady's health. If I ever have to buy a gift for a lady that I have a particular hatred for, I might splash out on some Florifa for her.

Crime and Paranoia

Oh yes, it is nearly time for the year of the rat to become the year of the ox, and sure enough the period is heralded by the onset of the season of burglary and general theft. Even just among friends and work colleagues, I know of four people that have been the victims of burglary (or attempted burglary) in the past two weeks.

I always thought that Chinese burglars had a formidable task to contend with. Aside from the presumably harsh punishment that awaits if caught, how exactly do you go about breaking into a Chinese apartment? Maybe Xi'an is different to other places, I can't really remember, but a great number of apartments here have a big steel door. Seriously: from the outside, they look like prisons. Many apartment windows are shielded by thick metal bars. I would have thought it was extremely difficult to get inside, and yet it obviously still happens.

One thing I noticed recently concerned me slightly: Although I have one of these prison-style security doors, and I live on the 6th floor of my apartment block, my bedroom windows have no bars. But all five floors below me do have bars. Won't they just make it much easier for potential burglars to climb up to my windows? It's like a ready-made ladder. I found a thick wooden pole stuck down the side of my fridge - I sleep with it by the bed now :-/

Crotchless pants (spit or swallow?)

A horribly out of place title on a China blog? Of course not, since I am, obviously, referring to the delightful pants sported by Chinese toddlers. Like normal pants. But without the crotch. Underwear? Nope. Nappies? Apparently not required. (These kids must be freezing cold right now. I still see them wandering around dressed like this as the temperature hovers around zero. I hope they're not wearing similar clothes up north where it gets really cold... guess I'll find out in a few weeks.)

Do parents dress their kids like this in other parts of the world? I have no idea. This is one of the (many) sights that people think is weird when they first come to China, though after a while it is such a common, everyday sight that it's barely noticed. But while non-Chinese generally think that this is an odd (but still slightly cute) way to dress toddlers, is it really such a bad idea? Lets consider the practicalities for a moment. Crotchless pants: There are no nappies to buy/change, which must save the parents a small fortune, and countless hours of being up to the elbows in something they'd rather not be. The kids simply 'go' anywhere, usually by a tree, or just a wall if no tree is readily available. On the downside, as already noted, these little 'uns must be freezing when temperatures drop. While I'm not endorsing the use of pavement as a WC, the Chinese approach also negates the situation of the kids having to sit around in snug-fitting poo-pouches all day, which is essentially what they are.

As I understand it, this sartorial approach originates from a belief in traditional Chinese medicine. It has been believed for a long time that 'waste' should be removed from the body as soon as you feel the urge, and that holding onto it is bad for you. The same rule applies to the spitting that China is infamous for: People don't spit because they have a burning desire to offend foreigners. They don't do it because they want to make the place a mess. They do it because it is the done thing. It's been done for a long time, and is actually related to traditional Chinese medicine, steeped in history. So regardless of any governmental guidelines, I suspect the habit will still be with us for a long time. Along with the crotchless pants.