Huangshan University

10/21/2009

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Wednesday morning there is a group dining in the other restaurant from the main dining room where the breakfast buffet is located. It appears to be a distinguished group of Chinese from the government.  The main dining room is a buzz with most of the tables filled with Asian tourists.  Still I am among the minority in the dining room.  As I peruse the buffet, I splurge and select a fried egg, a steamed bun filled with red bean, and orange and apple slices. I find a place at one of the large tables next to two women. They are delightful women and we quickly warm to each other’s company (Paula from Colorado and Norma from New Zealand). We enjoy chatting about how they met before I began an informal interview regarding how they selected this area for travel.  They have scheduled their tour via Exit Asia and flew to Huangshan from Beijing. The ladies will be hiking on Huangshan Mountain today and staying overnight at the Beihai Hotel. The Beihai Hotel is located up on the peak where the tourists can witness sunset and sunrise. They will return to the Huangshan International Hotel on Thursday so I look forward to seeing them at breakfast to see how they enjoyed their tour of the mountain.

Later as I return to my room I see two buses loading with VIPs . . . later I learn they are members of the People’s Congress are departing for a day of sightseeing here in Huangshan.  As they depart the buses are led by a van covered by flags and music blaring from speakers.   

The highlight today is visiting Huangshan University campus and meeting the faculty and students of the Tourism Management program.  Much like many of China’s universities, there is an old campus and a new campus.  The Chairman of Huangshan University meets me and we proceed to a conference room.  We exchange business cards and begin our business discussion regarding our respective academic programs. We are served green tea as is the custom for all meetings in China.  Fortunately I love a cup of hot green tea.  Just as I receive a second refill the group suddenly scurries about and I am told it is time to move to the room where I will be presenting my lecture.  The campus is busy with students playing basketball or scurrying off in small groups of 2 or 3.  As we approach the building where my lecture will be held, I notice students smiling and waving to me.  I love the friendliness of the Chinese students.  When I walk into the auditorium, it is already filled with several hundred students.  There are students standing at the back entrance and others standing at the windows.  What a wonderful surprise! The stage is set and several students whisk off with my computer to set it up to the data projector. 
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Huangshan University audience
The highlight today is visiting Huangshan University campus and meeting the faculty and students of the Tourism Management program.  Much like many of China’s universities, there is an old campus and a new campus.  The Chairman of Huangshan University meets me and we proceed to a conference room.  We exchange business cards and begin our business discussion regarding our respective academic programs. We are served green tea as is the custom for all meetings in China.  Fortunately I love a cup of hot green tea.  Just as I receive a second refill the group suddenly scurries about and I am told it is time to move to the room where I will be presenting my lecture.  The campus is busy with students playing basketball or scurrying off in small groups of 2 or 3.  As we approach the building where my lecture will be held, I notice students smiling and waving to me.  I love the friendliness of the Chinese students.  When I walk into the auditorium, it is already filled with several hundred students.  There are students standing at the back entrance and others standing at the windows.  What a wonderful surprise! The stage is set and several students whisk off with my computer to set it up to the data projector.  The Chairman of Huangshan University introduces me to warm applause.  Cristine translates my presentation so that the students and faculty can glean the most from my hour long presentation.  Unfortunately, I do not pause often enough for the translation to occur. I will need to work out a signal for future presentations.  All in all the students and faculty appear to have enjoyed the presentation.  After I conclude my comments, I ask for questions.  They are a bit hesitant to come forth with the questions at first.  After the first student was brave enough to ask a question, the others begin to raise their hands.  The questions are excellent.  They really had fantastic questions that illustrated critical thinking.  One young man asked how historic buildings and places could be protected without the government’s assistance.  This really started the discussion about assuming responsibility and leadership in the future of one’s community. 
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Huangshan University Faculty
I loved the dynamic discourse.  The meeting concluded with an exchange of gifts and photos.   
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Huangshan University campus
After the presentation the faculty and I were off for a tour of the new campus.  At first they were going to drive me around the campus, but I insisted on walking. Large numbers of students were playing basketball, ping pong, and working out on the track. The athletic areas are located adjacent to the residential halls.  All students live on campus so the residential halls look like a small city in of its own. The new campus is centered on a central plaza with the large library serving as the focal point. The trees and small lake give the campus a park like appearance that reminds me of the beauty of the University of Utah.  I enjoyed talking to one of the faculty as we walked around the campus.  
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During my presentation on sustainable heritage and cultural tourism, I had commented about the importance of showing your guests authentic foods, restaurants and entertainment.  I did not realize that I was changing the plans of my hosts.  They changed the location of dinner after hearing my lecture. I am so glad that they did . . . although I know the other location would have been good food, this was authentic. We discussed the architecture of the building and even visited the kitchen area.  Instead of the typical menu guests are invited into an area where the food is on display in a variety of pots and woks.  My hosts ask me to select the dishes.  Well this is a challenge.  I want to try everything but I order about 8 different dishes plus a few cold dishes to start the meal. Then we return to the entrance.  We are shown upstairs to a private dining room.  Our servers are wonderful.  They are full of smiles and warm hospitality that transcends our language barrier. 
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Our wonderful service staff
I loved the food and the evening of conversation.  I was very pleased with the selection of dishes including beef, fish, chicken, bamboo, tofu, and a couple that I am not sure exactly what they were . . . except they were delicious. Two of my favorites were food prepared cleanly and simply. One of the dishes was made from rice flour and flavored with herbs and meat.  Did not look too great, but looks were not to be trusted.  The other dish was simply celery, sweet bell peppers, and onions (I think) in a light sauce.  This was an outstanding, fresh tasting dish that was a great way to clean the palate before moving onto the next dish.  We exchanged toasts and enjoyed each other’s company.  There was a great deal of laughter and friendship shared during the course of the evening.  Mr. and Mrs. Wang arrive and join the table.  More toasts and more laughter.  During dinner my hosts inquire if I am up to a 5 Kilometer walk tomorrow.  I quickly do the math in my head and respond of course! No problem! 5 kilometers = 3.1 miles.  I have walked 4 miles in an hour and a half so this should be easy.  This statement would come to haunt me on the next day.
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Journey to Huangshan begins

10/19/2009

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This morning I pack my carry-on suitcase with the few items I am taking with me to Huangshan later today. Then I prepare to meet Xu Xin who graduated from the University of Utah last spring.  I await her arrival in the Guest House lobby.  She arrives with a bright smile.  It is great to see her and enjoy a lunch of Japanese food.  We walk 15 minutes back to campus and chat non-stop.  I enjoy learning about her activities and aspirations.  Unfortunately, our time together is too short.  We return to my room and gather my items to await Wang Yu’s father who will drive me to Huangshan. 

Mr. Wang Qinzhang arrives with Mingli (Cristine, my English translator) and his brother-in-law, Zhang Xi.  Mr. Wang is gracious and friendly.  We greet and instantly communicate without formal introductions. I can see Wang Yu in her father’s eyes.  Dean Li and Xu Xin see us off in the sleek black Toyota. I slip into the backseat next to Cristine.  The car has a built in GPS system that has guided them to the campus. Although I cannot understand the voice prompts from the GPSystem, I can follow the indication of time and kilometers to go. Our journey to Huangshan begins smoothly.  The first hour disappears slowly as we maneuver through Shanghai traffic.  Cristine and I become acquainted in the back seat of the car.  As we pass the suburbs of Shanghai the factories and small businesses give way to rice fields.  I wonder at the 3 story houses that dot the landscape.  It appears that the effort is to save as much land as possible for agricultural use. It is further interesting to see the metal structures that appear on the top of these houses.  I begin to wonder if these are Chinese lightening rods but I am informed that they have been put there by the residents to have the tallest home.  It is the Chinese version of keeping up with the Jonese!

After 3 hours of driving on expressways, the road begins to curve around mountains and through long tunnels.  In the late afternoon light I point out the tea trees growing above on the mountain sides as we smoothly sweep around the mountains. We are approaching Huangshan and I begin to pay close attention to the roadside although it is difficult to see much as it is now dark outside. As we arrive in Huangshan we are greeted by bright lights of multiple colors and shapes.  Along the river there are lights not just outlining buildings, but along the walls of the river.  It is somewhat like the decorations we might see at Christmas time in the Kansas City Plaza Shopping District.  The city is dressed in lights to welcome tourists and to create a fairy-tale vision of a city of lights.

Our car arrives at a local restaurant known for its organic food, Hai cuisine. A young woman springs from the door of the restaurant and I am introduced to Wang Yu’s mother. She is energetic and welcomes me with a bright smile. I immediately feel comfortable in her company.  We enter through what appears to be the kitchen with several woks filled with bubbling stews and meats.  Live fish, turtles, and birds seem ready to prepare for the pot. We climb the wooden stairs to a private dining room in this small quaint and homey building. I learn quickly that Huangshan cuisine is simple, clean, and flavored with herbs and salt.  A few appetizers are brought in to our table almost immediately.  One server pours a cup of hot tea.  I savor the fragrance of the green tea before sipping from my cup.  It is warm and refreshing.  My cup is refilled several times before the meal really begins.  A large pot is brought in with a soup.  My hosts inform me that you can only get this dish in Huangshan as the small creature used in the soup is found in the crevices of the rocks of the mountains here. From the white and black skin and the small bones, I gather that this is stone frog soup.  Not one to refuse without tasting, I begin by blowing on the bowl to cool the liquid.  The first taste reveals a soothing flavor that is light on my palate. I have not perfected my ability to remove bones delicately so I fear I look a bit silly to them at times. My hosts inform me that this dish is good for your bones, vision, and general health.  I serve up another bowl of the soup. Another dish features tender bamboo that is grown on the mountain.  It has been flavored with mushrooms and a type of sausage.  Delicious.  A tofu dish is served that has a strong aroma which at first makes me hesitate to taste the dish. As the dish makes a second round on the spinning “lazy Suzanne” I take one slice of tofu . . . I hesitate for a moment and then steel myself for the taste.  The tofu is surprisingly light and delicate in flavor. A large crock of a barbeque type flavored meat is served.  This tastes much like Kansas City barbeque and quickly becomes one of my favorite dishes in Huangshan. There are several other dishes but I fear that I was quickly becoming lulled into a food stupor.  I graciously extend my appreciation and attempt to wean away from the table.  The server replaces my plate and refills my tea several times before the plate of watermelon is brought in to signal the end of the feast. I am ready to slip into a deep sleep after a long day.  My hosts take me to my hotel room that has already been readied for me at the Huangshan International Hotel.  Without any hesitation, I am quickly fast asleep.   

 
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