Chinese Language Blog

Explore the old city of Datong in China’s Shanxi province in this short video. An overnight train from Beijing will get you there in just over 5 hours. Check out the old neighborhood and the newly rebuilt City Wall, in addition to some other places of interest such as the Drum Tower, Grand Mosque, and Nine Dragon Wall. Feast on some spicy chicken and fish, and then get rowdy in a pool hall/KTV bar at night.

北京站 – běi jīng zhàn
Beijing Railway Station

人太多了 – rén tài duō le
too many people

我们买了硬卧票 – wǒ men mǎi le yìng wò piào
We bought hard sleeper tickets.

大同 – dà tóng
Datong

山西省 – shān xī shěng
Shanxi province

城墙 – chéng qiáng
City Wall

青年旅舍 – qīng nián lǚ shě
youth hostel

快了宝贝 – kuài le bǎo bèi
Happy Baby

滑旱冰 – huá hàn bīng
rollerblading

鼓楼 – gǔ lóu
Drum Tower

清真大寺 – qīng zhēn dà sì
Grand Mosque

九龙壁 – jiǔ lóng bì
Nine Dragon Screen

清炒西兰花 – qīng chǎo xī lán huā
stir-fried broccoli

鱼香茄子 – yú xiāng qié zi
fish-scented eggplant

辣子鸡 – là zǐ jī
spicy chicken

烤鱼 – kǎo yú
grilled fish

吃饭以后，我么去打台球 – chī fàn yǐ hòu, wǒ me qù dǎ tái qiú
After dinner, we went to play pool.

In case you missed the first installment of our “Culture Shock in China” series, you ought to go back and read about the culture shock associated with food and dining out in China (from an American’s perspective). Of course, you can’t talk about food without talking about drinks. As such, today I’ll share my culture shock experiences when it comes to drinks and drinking in China.

Hot Drinks

People in China love hot drinks. Even when it’s scorching hot in Beijing and I’m dripping sweat in my classroom, my students are filling their bottles with boiling hot water and tea leaves. It’s an ancient Chinese belief that cold drinks are bad for you, and I often get strange looks from colleagues when I reach into the freezer to fill my water bottle with ice cubes in the summer. Thankfully, some people here are catching on to the pleasure of an ice cold beverage in the hot summer months, and many shops and restaurants keep drinks cold during the summer. Don’t expect the same in winter, though, as coolers will be turned off and most drinks will be room temperature.

Choice of Drinks

Warm drink anyone?

As an American, I’m used to having milk for breakfast – cold milk, from a cow, in my cereal. That’s not the case here in the Middle Kingdom, where the most popular milk for breakfast is soy milk (豆漿 – dòu jiāng), and it’s usually eaten alongside a hot bowl of porridge and a few steamed stuffed buns. Here in Beijing, a famous snack is mung bean milk (豆汁 – dòu zhī), a sour and funky smelling drink made from the remnants of the mung bean noodle making process.

Of course, the most popular drink across the country is without a doubt tea (茶 – chá); it’s everywhere you look. Green tea, black tea, red tea, iced tea, any kind of tea you want. One drink that you’ll see in just about every Chinese restaurant is Wong Lo Kat (王老吉 – wáng lǎo jí), a kind of herbal tea that is sweet and helps cool you down during a hot pot meal. Check this out if you want to learn the Chinese names for drinks.

A Chinese tea ceremony.

Milk and tea are all well and good, but for the most interesting aspects of drink related culture shock, we need to move on to the hard stuff.

Booze

Getting sloppy at the Qingdao Beer Festival.

China loves boozing. You don’t need to go to a bar or club to do some serious drinking here, though. In fact, most Chinese prefer throwing a few back on the street with snacks or in a restaurant. Street beers and street food are probably my two favorite things in China; a big ole’ stick of grilled lamb (羊肉串儿 – yáng ròu chuàn er) and a lukewarm big bottle of Yanjing beer (大瓶燕京啤酒 – dà píng yàn jīng pí jiǔ) go together like spaghetti and meatballs. For some reason, cold beer still hasn’t quite caught on here yet. Either that or restaurant owners and shop-keeps are just too cheap to turn on their coolers. One awesome part about drinking culture in China is that it’s perfectly acceptable to put a few beers down on your lunch break without condescending stares from the other diners.

A highlight video of the 2011 Qingdao Beer Festival.

Drinking beer Chinese style involves constantly refilling a small glass. Cheers is Chinese literally means “dry glass” (干杯 – gān bēi), and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do when somebody says it. Drinking beer with Chinese men often quickly escalates into a drinking contest, as they’re always pumped up about the possibility of out-drinking a foreigner. Of course, that never happens. Chinese guys tend to turn red after just a few beers, and they get high-school girl drunk if they put down a sixer. Beer is just the warmer, however – the main event comes in the form of Chinese liquor.

My friend showing his best bai jiu face.

Chinese spirits, known as “bai jiu” (白酒 – bái jiǔ – lit. “white liquor”), are made by distilling sorghum. The end product looks like vodka, but the similarities end there. I like to call bai jiu rocket fuel, because you feel like you could take off for the moon after a big sip. At first it doesn’t taste so bad, but then the aftertaste leaves you scrambling to find something anything to help get rid of it. One small sip of the stuff will leave me wincing and squirming, desperately grabbing for a bottle of Coke or some food to destroy the foul taste. Meanwhile, the old Chinese man next to me casually takes a huge gulp, lights up a smoke, and goes about his business as if nothing happened. The idea of chasing booze or using it in a mixed drink is still a very new idea over here; most people just drink the stuff at room temperature, straight, no chaser. Go to a Chinese banquet or wedding, and you will see people getting irresponsibly trashed as they tip glass after glass of bai jiu. If you plan on doing any kind of business in China, you’d better get used to drinking this stuff, as marathon bai jiu drinking is synonymous with meetings and business deals here.

The phases of bai jiu drinking.

That’s all for today’s installment of “Culture Shock in China.” Stay tuned in the months to come for posts about transportation, relationships, working, and more.

Yunnan on the map.

We’re making our way all around the massive country of China bit by bit here in this ongoing series. Last time, we visited Shaanxi province, the home of the legendary Terracotta Army in Xi’an. The next stop is a place that I will most likely call home come next year – Yunnan (云南 – yún nán). With diverse scenery, wildlife, and people, Yunnan is a remarkable place. Its name can be translated roughly as “south of the clouds”, and you’ll realize it’s a very apropos name if you should get the chance to visit.

A nice introduction to Yunnan from CCTV’s “Beautiful China.”

History

In the 1960s, geologists in Yunnan discovered fossils of the Yuanmou Man (元谋人 – yuán móu rén), the oldest known hominid fossil in China, and all of East Asia for that matter (1.75-2.5 million years old). Human settlements also existed around the area of Lake Dian during the Neolithic period. Around the 4th century BC, the Dian Kingdom (滇国 – diān guó) would be established. By the time of the Han Dynasty in the year 109 BC, Emperor Wu established Yizhou province in the area, along with 24 regions. A little later on in 109 AD, a county named Yunnan was set up – the name came from the fact that it was south of Mt. Yun (云山 – yún shān).

Many years later the Kingdom of Nanzhao (南诏 – nán zhào) came to power. Made up of many ethnic groups – most notably the Bai people – this kingdom rebelled against the Tang Dynasty in 750 AD. The rebellion was successful, and as a result the kingdom quickly expanded throughout Yunnan and even into Burma, Thailand, Laos, and neighboring Sichuan province. After taking the city of Chengdu, however, their power began to decline, and they were eventually overthrown in 902.

Historical map of China, showing the Dali Kingdom.

Next to power was the Kingdom of Dali (大理国 – dà lǐ guó), established in 937. Duan Siping was the founder, and he was succeeded by 22 kings during a span of over 300 years. In 1253, the invading Mongol Empire took over, and a few years later in 1274, the province of Yunnan was established. Chaos enveloped Yunnan when the Mongols were overthrown up until the Ming Dynasty came in 1381. During the rule of the Ming, there was a war with Burma. Eventually, the Qing Dynasty would take over in 1681.

With the end of Imperial China at the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Yunnan was ruled by local warlords and financed by opium harvesting. In modern times, the border of Yunnan experienced the Sino-Vietnamese War (中越战 – zhōng yuè zhàn zhēng), launched in 1979 by China due to Vietnam’s invasion and occupation of Cambodia.

Geography

View of a lake from a mountain - pretty standard in Yunnan.

You’ll find Yunnan in the southwest corner of China, where it shares a border in China with Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Tibet in China, as well as with Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. The province is situated in a mountainous area, and it can basically be split into an east and west region. The northwest features high elevations, with many mountain ranges and rivers running north and south, including the mighty Mekong River (湄公河 – méi gōng hé). Also, the west is known for its canyons while the east is known for its plateaus. Most people live in the southeast part of the province, which has a lower elevation. A wide variety of flora and fauna can also be found in Yunnan. The province is split in 16 prefecture level divisions, and its capital is Kunming (昆明 – kūn míng), commonly referred to as the “Spring City” (春城 – chūn chéng) in China.

Climate

As you can imagine from Kunming’s nickname, the climate of Yunnan is generally very pleasant and moderate. Most of the province is considered to be in either the subtropical highland or humid subtropical zone. In Kunming, homes come without central heating and it’s rare when you need to turn on the A/C in the summer. Of course, temperatures can get below freezing on mountaintops and can also be incredibly hot in the far south parts of the province. Most of the rain falls between June and August in Yunnan.

Population

Ethnic minority population of Yunnan.

As of 2009, the population of Yunnan province is about 46 million. The area has always been known for its diversity in terms of people, however, thanks to the Japanese invasion during WWII, a huge migration of Han Chinese into the area occurred. Still, nearly 34% of the population of Yunnan is composed of ethnic minorities. Apparently, of the 56 recognized ethnic groups in China, you’ll find 25 in Yunnan. These groups are widely spread throughout the province, as you can see in the figure below.

Culture

Yunnan cuisine uses a wide variety of fungus.

Of course, with such a varied landscape and a diverse population, Yunnan is full of culture. Most ethnic groups have their own distinct dialect, fashion, and customs. In fact, the Naxi people are the only ones in the world to still use a pictographic writing system. Each ethnic group also has its own distinct festivals, including the Torch Festival of the Yi people and the Water-Splashing Festival of the Dai. Yunnan cuisine is also varied, and includes the famous “Under the Bridge Rice Noodles” (过桥米 – guò qiáo mǐ xiàn) that are slurped up all over the country. This province is also very famous for its tea, most notably the Pu’er tea (普洱茶 – pǔ’ěr chá). For some interesting cultural quirks, check out the article on the “Eighteen Oddities of Yunnan.”

Famous Places

Beautiful Dali Old City.

One of the most famous places in Yunnan is without a doubt the city of Dali, home to both the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms of years past. Most visitors head to Dali Old City (大理古城 – dà lǐ gǔ chéng) to enjoy walking on the cobblestone streets, cycling around Erhai Lake, or hiking along the pathway atop Mt. Cang. Speaking of old towns, the Old Town of Lijiang (丽江古城 – lì jiāng gǔ chéng) is an UNESCO site with a history going back 800 years. Located in the northwest part of Yunnan, this town is one of the most popular domestic destinations for Chinese tourists, so beware of traveling here during holidays. Not far from Lijiang, you’ll also find the Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡 – hǔ tiào xiá), a scenic canyon and epic place for a multi-day hike.

Other famous sites in Yunnan include the southern scenic resort of Xishuangbanna (西双版纳 – xi shuāng bǎn nà), the Stone Forest (石林 – shí lín), and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山 – yù lóng xuě shān).

A short video tour of Dali Old City.

Swimming and cycling around Dali.

I’ve been enchanted with Yunnan province since I first moved to China back in 2008, and while I finally got the chance to visit in 2011, one week was far too short. The laid-back style of Kunming, the hippie vibe of Dali, the mouth-numbingly spicy Dai food, the awe-inspiring scenery, and the friendly nature of the people have had me wanting to go back ever since. I look forward to exploring more of the natural beauty of Yunnan and learning as much as possible about the varied culture of its many ethnic groups in the years to come, and I’m especially excited about sharing those experiences with all of you fine people here!

All smiles hiking outside of Kunming, my soon-to-be home.