Edinburgh Days 3 and 4

As Day 2 in Edinburgh was spent at my “Memory and Memorialisation in the PRC” conference, I will skip to Days 3 and 4 of my trip, which featured Arthur’s Seat, Edinburgh Castle, and the Royal Mile.

On Day 3, after a full day of networking at my conference, I was ready to hit the town and play tourist again. The morning started off wonderfully. My friend Vicky had taken the train up from Oxford to crash with me in the Gil Dun Guest House, and we traipsed down to the dining room for a complimentary Scottish breakfast, complete with a generous portion of haggis.

One of the tastiest breakfasts in my recent memory.

Haggis is a must-try if you go to Scotland, as it is the national dish. For those eaters who are less adventurous, I will say that it is a type of sausage. Stop reading here. For the more adventurous, I will disclose a full description. Haggis is a type of savory pudding (it is the black sausage disk above) that contains a sheep’s “pluck,” or the sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs. It is traditionally encased in the sheep’s stomach. Another fun trivia fact is that haggis has been banned in the US since the early 1970s due to the sheep’s lung.

View of King Arthur’s Seat

So anyway, it was a delicious breakfast. After fueling up for the day, Vicky and I set off to Arthur’s Seat, within convenient walking distance of the guest house. Arthur’s Seat is actually an extinct volcano that sits at the very center of Edinburgh, and forms the majority of Holyrood Park. It is a bit of a hike to reach the top, but provides a stunning vista of the entire city from all angles – the Royal Mile, the Edinburgh Castle, and the sea. The location is the subject of quite a bit of mystery, and it is often mentioned as a possible location for King Arthur’s legendary castle Camelot.

View of the harbor from the summit

After the breathtaking views from the summit, Vicky and I walked down the path through Holyrood Park to the far end of the Royal Mile. The Royal Mile winds through the center of the Old Town of Edinburgh, with the Palace of Holyrood at one end and the Castle of Edinburgh at the other. The Palace of Holyrood is the official residence of the British monarch and royals, although they rarely stay here. Vicky and I were satisfied with viewing the outside of the palace grounds, as entrance cost a tidy sum. The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland, and thus is included on the Palace of Holyrood’s architecture (the current royal coat of arms for the United Kingdom includes the unicorn for Scotland and the lion for England).

A bit of the beautiful architectural detail on Holyrood Castle, featuring the Scottish unicorn. Notice that the shield has an English lion on it. 

Near the Palace of Holyrood is the Scottish Parliament. Vicky and I perused the exterior, then stopped for lunch at a tasty local fast food joint, Pork, that had excellent barbecue pork sandwiches, perfect for a chilly October day. Then, the Royal Mile pretty much became tourist central, with plenty of cheery vendors. Actually, many of the vendors were exchange students from countries such as Russia and Spain working part-time in the shops. After stocking up on gifts for friends and family, Vicky and I continued up the street towards Edinburgh Castle, only to find that…it would close in half an hour! Rather than panic-buy tickets, we decided to leisurely spend some time snapping photos (Vicky’s main goal) and save the castle for another day (my main goal).

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After our photo splurge, we slowly made our way back down the Royal Mile and stopped for coffee. We gradually meandered to a church, where there was a fantastic organ concert we were able to attend. From there, we went to a Scottish pub for dinner with a new friend Vicky had made from the Netherlands.

After several full days, I overslept, so my Day 4 started rather late. After stopping in at Starbucks (it’s a tradition of mine – I visit a Starbucks everywhere I travel when possible to a) view the similarities and differences and b) buy a collector’s mug), I moseyed over to Edinburgh Castle, where I spent the rest of the afternoon. The oldest part of the castle is St. Margaret’s Chapel, built in the 12th century. I also explored the Scottish National War Memorial and the Scottish War Museum located inside, and discovered that a lot of Scottish military organization was inspired by…the Swedish. Apparently, many Scots fought for the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War. Regarding Scottish royal history…well, I remember embarrassingly little except for Mary Queen of Scots and her son, James – he was James VI of Scotland, and also became King James I of England in 1603 after his cousin Elizabeth died. England and Scotland were still governed separately at this point. James I’s son, King Charles I, was the last monarch to stay in the castle (although he mostly resided in England), and he was faced with civil war in Scotland, etc., etc.

Scottish unicorn and flag with English lion and flag inside the castle

Edinburgh Castle also boasts some absolutely spectacular views of the city, which I was able to witness at dusk. After winding my way back through the Royal Mile, which was also quite spectacular at dusk, I stopped for my last meal of the trip: fish n’chips.

Edinburgh 2018, Day One

Now that I’m quarantined and can’t really travel anywhere, I figured it would be the perfect time for me to reminisce about all my past adventures that I have faithfully cataloged in photo form. First stop: Edinburgh, Scotland in October 2018.

One piece of advice for getting as much bang for your buck as possible in graduate school? Find conferences in really cool places so that you can receive at least partial funding for traveling there. My initial reason for traveling to Edinburgh was, I kid you not, to participate in a conference titled “Memory and Memorialisation in the PRC” – which happens to be exactly what I study.

View from the plane after landing

After applying and being accepted to the conference (yay!), I booked my flights and flew across the pond one crisp October day. Upon arriving at the Edinburgh Airport early in the morning, my initial impressions were: 1) all of the signs in the airport were bilingual – in English and Chinese; 2) Scottish English sounded very different than British English and I had to strain my ears to understand my taxi driver; and 3) there were no Union Jacks in sight.

I had booked a room at the Gil Dun Guest House (near Arthur’s Seat), which I would highly recommend – terrific service, great location, and complimentary breakfasts. Once I had gotten settled in my room, I took a well-deserved nap before venturing out into the city.

Not a bad welcome to the city!

Although I was tempted to sleep more, I fortunately had two friends in town to keep me accountable and ensure I was ready to hit the town. Rebecca (and subsequently her husband, Tom) was a fanatic of everything Harry Potter and had mapped out a route for us accordingly. I had not known this beforehand, but apparently Edinburgh is the birthplace of Harry Potter. (There are even Harry Potter tours in town!) Our first stop, therefore, was the Elephant House, a cute cafe where Rowling had written much of the material for the first several Harry Potter books. Out of the cafe window, you can see Edinburgh Castle and Greyfriar’s Kirkyard, allegedly the inspiration for Godric’s Hollow. After drinking coffee and eating cake at the Elephant House, we stopped to see the nearby Greyfriar’s Bobby – the statue of a famous Edinburgh terrier. In the 19th century, Bobby apparently dutifully guarded the grave of his owner for 14 years, and his story became quite well-known due to his undying (no pun intended) loyalty. For tourists, rubbing Bobby’s nose is good luck (but please don’t do this now!).

The statue of Greyfriar’s Bobby

Next, Rebecca took us to Diagon Alley – umm, I mean, Victoria Street. The winding street with colorfully painted store facades made it easy to see how J.K. Rowling received her inspiration. The three of us stopped in a few appropriately themed shops, including one where we could try on robes, flick wands, and fantasize about having received our Hogwarts letters (alas, mine has still not arrived).

Victoria Street, a.k.a. Diagon Alley

Our next stop was the National Museum of Scotland. The architecture of the place is absolutely stunning, particularly the entryway. Unfortunately, I did not get to see Dolly the sheep, but I would highly recommend the exhibit on Scottish national history.

The gorgeous lobby of the National Museum of Scotland

Last stop for me for the day was the University of Edinburgh, where my conference was taking place.It is the fifth oldest university in the English-speaking world and was founded in 1582, serving an important intellectual center during the European Enlightenment. Economist Adam Smith and philosopher David Hume both hail from Edinburgh (and have their own commemorative statues on the Royal Mile, which I’ll discuss in a later post). Another little-known fact about the University of Edinburgh I learned that was relevant to my studies is that it was the alma mater of the first Chinese student to graduate from a European University – Dr. Wong Fung, who graduated from its medical school in 1857. After his graduation, he disseminated the knowledge he had learned to doctors in Hong Kong, which saw a marked increase in Western medical knowledge afterwards. 

Part of the University of Edinburgh campus

Delhi, Day 2: Humayun’s Tomb and More Adventures

On my second day in Delhi, I visited my favorite site to date: Humayun’s Tomb. I arrived at around 9:30 AM, early enough to beat the worst of the heat, and was greeted with the jaw-droppingly stunning predecessor of the Taj Mahal. Humayun’s Tomb was built by the wife and son of Humayun, the second Mughal emperor, from 1569-1570 AD. It is the first garden-tomb on the south Asian subcontinent, and also the first to use red sandstone on such a large scale. In addition, Humayun’s Tomb shows the growing influence of Persian architecture in the Mughal Dynasty and marked the start of this influence in royal mausoleums. I am a novice in architectural studies (unlike my friend I’ve been sight-seeing with, who is an architecture PhD and a total boss at analyzing this stuff), but from what I understand, the domes and arches used in tombs such as Humayun’s Tomb and the Taj Mahal have Persian influence. The Mughals, like the Persian Safavids, also practiced Islam (although the Mughals practiced Sunni Islam, and the Safavids, Shia Islam). (The Mughals and Safavids, along with the Ottomans, are considered to be the three greatest Middle Eastern/Central Asian Empires around 1500-1600 AD, also dubbed by some scholars as the “gunpowder empires” due to their successful use of newly developed firearms, although this concept has been criticized as too simplistic.)

The breathtaking Humayun’s Tomb

Humayun’s Tomb actually contains hundreds of royal tombs in the grand mausoluem. The tomb of Humayun himself, of course, is by itself in a central room, raised above the rest on a small platform. (By the way, if you ever visit, be forewarned that you are NOT allowed to step up onto the platform!) This is a ceremonial tomb, though – his real tomb is far below in an underground chamber, apparently accessible through a side chamber but closed to most of the visiting public. The position of Humayun’s tomb is deliberate – his body is aligned on a North-South axis, while his head has been turned to face Mecca. I visited Humayun’s Tomb with my family 12 years ago (and can’t believe I didn’t remember how stunning it was!), but there have been additional excavations and restorations since then. The most notable is the mausoleum of Isa Khan Kiyazi, an Afghan noble in the court of the Suri Dynasty (dynasty that fought against the Mughals) that was constructed several decades before Humayun’s tomb.

Isa Khan’s tomb

Humayun’s tomb complex was added to the UNESCO World Heritage site list in 1993. After visiting, I could appreciate the origins of the word “paradise” better – apparently the English world is derived from the Farsi term for “walled garden.” After Humayun’s tomb, I visited Purana Qila, one of the oldest forts in Delhi that is believed to have been built by Sher Shah Suri (of the Suri Dynasty) and by Humayun. Unfortunately there was not much information inside on the actual history of the fort, but Humayun did die here. In the center of the complex was a building in which Humayun could relax and repose. Within walking distance was a mosque Humayun used personally (architecturally the most beautiful part of the complex, in my opinion). He was getting old, and when he heard the call to prayer one day, in his rush he fell down the stairs, and died from injuries 3 days later. The majority of people hanging out in the complex were not very interested in this history, though – they were mostly couples canoodling on the grass!

Close-up details at the Purana Qila mosque

One frustrating but understandable aspect of the tourist sites is how expensive they are for foreigners; tickets for foreigners are usually well over 10 times pricier than the same ticket for locals. Most “tickets” are reusable tokens – this is the same for one-time use metro tickets. When I had to relieve myself, I also discovered that public toilets here are quite comparable to those in China. They have what I affectionately dub “squatty potties” here as well – porcelain bowls set in the ground rather than raised, so that you squat over them rather than sit on them. If you travel to India, I’d also advise you to bring your own tissue, as not all places provide them.

After Purana Qila, I decided to visit Connaught Place (CP), a sprawling area of stores and businesses considered the commercial heart of Delhi. The original horseshoe-shaped structure with white buildings was built by the British, who believed that the horseshoe shape would be “lucky” for both shopkeepers and shoppers. At the time it was built, in the late 19th century, it was the largest market of its kind in India. I naturally stopped at a Starbucks there. A man associated with a group of autorickshaws convinced me to pay 50 rupees (less than 1 USD) for an autoricksaw to take me to Starbucks, then a nearby marketplace (my friend and I were speculating and determined that the drivers must have bargains with shopkeepers to bring tourists to them in exchange for a cut of the profit or something), then to an amazing South Indian vegetarian restaurant chain called Saravana Bhavan recommended to me by a friend. Of course, the “market” turned out to be an upscale store with multiple sections that was obviously geared towards foreigners, but I only bought 1 shirt for around 900 rupees (a little less than $15 USD) – a little expensive, but very cute, and I was very proud at my persistence in refusing to buy more stuff!

My delicious lunch at Saravana Bhavan 

Gardens Upon Gardens: My Trip to Suzhou

“上有天堂，下有苏杭,” or “Heaven is above and Suzhou and Hangzhou are below.” This well-known Chinese phrase has long been used to describe the famed beauty of Suzhou and Hangzhou. During the national holiday, my friend and I decided to see the famed beauty of Suzhou ourselves (since we heard it was a bit less touristy than Hangzhou).

Perhaps Suzhou was less touristy than Hangzhou, but it was still packed with tourists during the holiday week (not the best time to go, if you can avoid it). Our hostel, Suzhou Mingtown Youth Hostel, was right on Pingjiang Road, a historic street running right alongside a canal. Although the street was quite touristy, it was lively and offered a great selection of street food, restaurants, and cute shops, as well as the occasional whiff of stinky tofu (臭豆腐 – smells awful but many people quite like the taste). There were multiple gondolas on the canal that were available for tourists as well.

Not too far up the road from Pingjiang Street were two of Suzhou’s most famous gardens, the Lion Forest Garden (狮子林) and the Humble Administrator’s Garden (拙政园). Our first stop was the Lion Forest Garden, which we were excited about because of the beautifully grotesque rocks that give the garden its name and supposedly made quite a few labyrinthine paths throughout the grounds. This was indeed the case, but unfortunately the crowds contributed to quite a few bottlenecks throughout the winding mazes. The entrance fee was 40 RMB. This garden was built during the Yuan Dynasty (1342) by a Zen Buddhist monk – the only such garden to survive. The Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors of the Qing Dynasty also visited the garden, and the Qianlong Emperor had a replica of it built in his Summer Palace in Changchun.

One of many such labyrinthine passages in the Lion Forest Garden.

After taking a break for lunch to try and catch our breath, we braved the crowds again to visit the Humble Administrator’s Garden, the largest and most famous garden in Suzhou. As with the Lion Forest Garden, the Humble Administrator’s Garden was crowded with tourists in town for the national holiday, and had a steep entrance fee – 90 RMB. The grounds of the garden were quite lovely, but I wish we had been there during the summer, when the lotus flowers were blooming on the ponds. The Humble Administrator’s Garden was created as we now know it during the Ming Dynasty by scholar Wang Xiancheng, and took 16 years to complete (1526). Wang’s close friend, artist Wen Zhengming, worked on the garden and named it after a verse in Jin Dynasty scholar Pan Yue’s An Idle Life. Apparently, the author of the Chinese literary classic Dream of Red Chambers (红楼梦), Cao Yueqin, is said to have lived in the garden in his teenage years, and many Chinese scholars believe that the garden scenery described in this book is based on the Humble Administrator’s Garden.

A lone lotus flower lingers in the water.

As the line for the Suzhou Museum was an hour long, we decided to go back to the hostel for a nap before dinner. Best decision ever. After sleeping off our garden exhaustion, we ventured out onto Pingjiang Lu for dinner to a nearby restaurant serving Suzhou specialties. Our choices weren’t exactly healthy, but very delicious – baked dates filled with glutinous rice, candied lotus roots, and dong po rou (东坡肉), a mouth-watering stir-fried pork dish that melts in your mouth, named after the Song poet Song Dong Po, who loved this dish. My friend and I agreed that this was one of the highlights of our trip – meat so tasty that we almost wanted to serenade it!

From bottom-left going clockwise: dong po rou, glutinous rice-filled dates, and candied lotus roots.

On the second day, we finally braved the Suzhou Museum (苏州博物馆), which is right next to the Humble Administrator’s Garden. The current museum building was designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei and opened to the public in 2006. It has a sleek, modern feel to it, with sharp edges and mostly in shades of black and white. The artifacts on display are as old as the Three Kingdoms period (around 180-280 A.D.) and also include many items from the Ming and Qing periods. These include pottery, ceramics, jade, and calligraphy. Upon exiting the museum, you can wander the former grounds of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s Zhong Prince (this was a mid-19th century kingdom that precipitated a civil war in the Qing Dynasty for over 10 years).

Many of the artifacts from the Three Kingdoms period were excavated from the nearby Tiger Hill (虎丘), which we explored later that afternoon. Tiger Hill was my favorite place I visited in Suzhou because not only does the mountain have less crowds, more open spaces, and beautiful scenery, but the historical legends behind it are fascinating! The 80 RMB we paid to get in was completely worth it. Tiger Hill’s most famous marker is the seven-story Yunyan Pagoda (云岩寺塔), which stands proudly at the top of the hill. It leans like the Tower of Pisa, but its construction dates further back (its construction started around 900 A.D., during the Five Dynasties period). The hill contains many spots of historical significance and natural beauty. My favorite was the Sword Pond (剑池) near the top of the hill. There are said to be around 3,000 swords buried in this pond, but since the foundations of the Yunyan Pagoda rest here, this legend has never been properly investigated.

View of the Yunyan Pagoda from the base of Tiger Hill.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Suzhou belonged to the kingdom of Wu. Its name comes from one of two sources – one, the hill supposedly looks like a tiger (I didn’t see it); and two, three days after the Wu king Helu was buried here, a white tiger was allegedly spotted on the hill. No one knows exactly where King Helu is buried. His son is rumored to have ordered 1,000 of the men who worked on his father’s grave murdered to keep the burial place a secret. The alleged site of the massacre is on Thousand People’s Rock (千人石), a plaza near the top of the hill that is also near the Sword Pond. All across this plaza, there is colorfully stenciled calligraphy carved into the walls. This attests to the fact that Tiger Hill is not a recent destination for tourists, pilgrims, and other visitors – it has been so for hundreds of years, and even the likes of emperors have left their own carvings on the stones!

A few of the many calligraphic carvings on Tiger Hill.

Privet, Harbin!

As I begin my semester abroad in Shanghai for the fall, I find that I am consistently mentioning the city of Harbin to my friends. “Harbin has the best night market!” or “The live music is beautiful in Harbin!” or “I heard China’s Northeast described to me as the Texas of China.” It appears that I have many fond memories from traveling this summer, and it has indeed become one of my very favorite cities in China.

Harbin is in China’s Northeast in Heilongjiang Province, which borders on Russia. This means that historically it claims a lot of Russian influence, and that in the wintertime is quite cold. There is a famous annual ice sculpture exhibition (冰雕展）in the city center that boasts stunning creations – it is on my bucket list to return one winter to see this spectacle. The summer weather is quite pleasant there overall – none of the humidity of Shanghai or Beijing. (My first night there, however, the weather was an unusual 35 degrees, which was not ideal for a hostel room that did not have any kind of air conditioning.)

 

Russian performers play along Zhongyang Jie.

When I visited this summer, I stayed in a conveniently located hostel, Solid Stone Hostel (顽石国际青年旅社) that was conveniently right off of Zhongyang Jie (中央街), the historic central street of Harbin. My first evening there, I was pleasantly surprised to find an abundance of live music on the street – mostly Russian performers. Zhongyang Jie contains an abundance of Russian souvenir stores with matreshka (Russian nesting dolls), chocolate, fur scarves and hats, and the like, all while blasting stereotypical Russian melodies. Today, you can still see strong Russian influence in much of Harbin’s architecture. The CCP destroyed most of the Russian Orthodox churches, sadly, but the St. Sophia Cathedral still stands proudly in the city center.

Russian influence in Harbin goes back a long ways. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian government established Harbin as the center of operation for the Chinese Eastern Railway in the region. In 1905, the Russian government used Harbin as its base of military operations in the Russo-Japanese War (which Russia lost – the first time a Western power had been defeated by an Asian one) which was largely about economic influence in Northeastern China. There were actually more Russians than Chinese in the city before the War of Resistance Against Japan. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, over 100,000 White Russians (those who opposed the Bolshevik regime) fled to Harbin, making it the largest Russian enclave outside of the Soviet Union. Harbin also boasted a large Jewish population, although both the Russian and Jewish populations dropped sharply after the establishment of Manchukuo under the Japanese regime in 1932.

An example of Russian architectural influence.

Today, most foreign tourists and businessmen in Harbin are, in fact, Russian. So it was no surprise, albeit amusing, when Chinese would try out their Russian phrases on me: Privet!, Zdravstvi, or Kak dela? (Of course, their pronunciation was sometimes so muddled that it was hard for me to make out which language they were speaking!) Perhaps most unexpected was when one middle-aged Chinese man in a museum asked me not “你是俄罗斯人吗？”, or “Are you Russian?” but rather “你是苏联人吗？”, or “Are you from the Soviet Union?” When I called him out on it, he sheepishly said that “就是个老的习惯,” or “It’s just an old habit.” Particularly along Zhong Yang Jie, my friend Lara and I had many Chinese tourists ask to take photos of us – more than in any other city I’d traveled to, I think (closest in comparison would probably be downtown Beijing – no one has asked in Shanghai so far).

Locals check out the contents of the food stalls at the night market.

The food in Harbin is pretty delicious. Lot of fried and greasy food, meat, dairy, and big portion sizes. (This is one reason why my friend called Northeastern China the “Texas of China” – for that reason and because people are quite boisterous and in-your-face. The locals love music and dancing as well. And while Texas has a lot of historic cross-border influence from Mexico, for Northeastern China and Heilongjian in particular, it is from Russia.) One of my favorites was guo bao rou (锅包肉), pork meat that is deep fried and breaded in sweet batter. I also tried Harbin-stye ribs, or paigu (排骨). There are special ice-cream bars called ma die er (马迭尔) along with the more traditional Northeast popsicles, xue gao (雪糕，literally translated as “ice cakes” – I wish these were available more in Shanghai, they are light and so tasty!). Lots of breads around as well – my favorite was probably cong you bing (葱油饼), a thin, light bread that spirals around and around in one piece. The chuaer (串儿), or meat kebabs, were also amazing. Lastly, I tried this unique fermented beverage – not alcoholic – that is made out of rye bread called kvass (from the Russian), which was also quite nice. Lastly, my friend Lara and I went to a fantastic night market in Harbin that, in addition to selling all sorts of little trinkets and clothes, had amazing food – we even tried pig feet (zhu jiao, 猪脚)!

Little girls perform a military march glorifying the CCP’s revolutionary heroes, including Cultural Revolution model peasant worker Lei Feng.

One end of Zhongyang Jie comes out by the Songhua River (松花江) in a park that is called, I kid you not, Stalin Park (斯大林公园). This park is the site for many performances. My first night in Harbin, there was some sort of children’s performance festival taking place – I saw one particularly eye-opening performance with dozens of little girls dressed in matching militaresque uniforms shouting out CCP slogans as the background screen shifted between depictions of various revolutionary heroes with accompanying lyrics. (The Cultural Revolution model peasant worker, Lei Feng, is back!) The riverside park also holds a Flood Control monument commemorating the brave efforts of the people of Harbin in combating the 1932 flood. Late at night, you can see young people lighting lanterns and sending them off into the sky along the river bank, and in the early evenings, women gather to dance together while music blares from nearby boomboxes.

Young people light a floating lantern on the banks of Songhua River at night. 

The nearby island, Taiyang Island (Taiyang Dao 太阳岛), which literally translates to “sun island,” is a popular tourist destination as well. We went over by ferry across the river, which was a scenic trip. The island contained several beaches along the shore (which I would advise not to swim in – to our horror, Lara and I noticed that the bathrooms on the ferry docks, which went directly into the water, were right upriver from the beaches!) and a very pretty walkway. The parks featured a “Russian town,” which was unfortunately closed, and a park to commemorate the martyrs in the War Against Japan (not surprising, as this type of narrative is everywhere as part of the CCP’s patriotic education initiatives).

Speaking of the War Against Japan, I also visited several related museums:  Unit 731, which was surprisingly far from the city center, as well as the Museum of Northeastern Resistance Against Japan and the Northeastern Martyrs Memorial Hall. The latter museum, I was surprised to find out, is the oldest of its kind in China, opened to commemorate Chinese martyrs from both the war years with Japan and in the Civil War with the KMT, when Harbin was “liberated.” Unit 731, the old site of the research facility where Japanese army staff conducted horrific biological experiments on Chinese civilians (as well as Russians and POWs), had the most international visitors by far. It was devoid of the visual effects in museums such as the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, to my surprise, and narrated the history of the site in a very cut-and-dry manner. This, I suspect, only served to make the reality only more horrific. At the other two museums, the main focus was the CCP guerrilla warfare in Manchukuo. The KMT was hardly mentioned, but neither was the US. If I were to understand the history of World War II solely based on these museums, the narrative would go something like this: “The Japanese invaded and set up the puppet state of Manchukuo; the CCP set up the Northeastern Resistance Line and conducted guerrilla warfare; then in 1945, the USSR declared war on Japan and the war ended!”

 

 

Cosmetics, Cafes, and Dokdo for Days: My Initial Impressions of Korea

First of all, let me apologize for the tardiness of this post. I blame China. No, really…most of my social media is literally blocked by the Chinese Great Firewall, as we fondly like to call it. Thus, when I traveled to Beijing and around Northern China after my week in Seoul, I was unable to blog about it. (More on China later.)

I was in Seoul for the AAS-in-Asia Conference (Association of Asian Studies). My friend Anran had graciously put together a panel on China’s ethnic minorities and invited me to join, since my research is pertinent to that subject matter. More conference experience is always better, and of course the fact that the conference would be in Seoul gave me that much more of an incentive to apply. As it is not as common for graduate students to present at this sort of conference, my colleagues and I were of course thrilled to be accepted.

Two of my colleagues and I after presenting our panel.

After arriving at Incheon Airport, my friend Katherine Alice’s husband, Soo Man, graciously picked me up. I stayed with them the first evening in the city of Goyang, which is very close to Seoul. My first day, Katherine Alice graciously showed me around the city. Then, and subsequently in my time in Seoul, I observed the following:

1. Every other store sells cosmetics. If you go to Korea, you’ll understand why. Korean women dress meticulously and wear quite a bit of make-up. Two trends that immediately stuck out to me in make-up were the toner and lipstick. Unlike in the US, in many Asian countries it is considered more desirable for women to have whiter skin. Thus, many women applied very pale toner to their faces to make their skin look even lighter. Also, many Korean women like to wear very bright-colored lipstick, which is pretty affordable as well.
2. Every other store is a cafe. Or sometimes multiple stores in a row. Katherine Alice and I counted 3 cafes in a row one time. She told me that cafes have been growing even more popular here lately. Buying expensive coffees at places like Starbucks is definitely a class symbol (similar in China), and cafes give off a sort of “Western” vibe, making them especially popular with young adults.
3. Plastic surgery is ubiquitous. This is really sad to me, as I am all about natural beauty, but it is quickly becoming the norm. I hate to break it to you, but most of those hunks from Korean dramas…have had at least some kind of face alteration. 😦 There were many plastic surgery advertisements on the subway as well. You can even get a special VISA from China to go to Korea to get plastic surgery!
4. Claw machines – now this trend I really don’t understand. I literally saw ROOMS that were filled with claw machines, all containing different stuffed animals. Since China follows many Korean trends, it was unsurprising to me to see claw machines popping up in northeastern China as well. Although certainly not ROOMS full of them like in Korea!

   

   One of the ubiquitous claw machine rooms.

5. Emphasis on the Japanese colonial period – as a historian, I was not surprised by this. However, I did not expect that Goyang’s local museum would have a large historical section that included not only the comfort women (a euphemism for kidnapped women from different countries in East Asia that were forcibly prostituted to the Japanese army), but also Unit 731 (a research unit for biological warfare that conducted egregious human experiments in Harbin, Northeastern China, then part of the puppet state of Manchukuo). There was even a statue to commemorate the comfort women in the city’s central square.

   

   Statue to commemorate the comfort women in Goyang. Locals even put a scarf, mittens, and a hat on her in the winter.

6. Dokdo – This is an island conflict between Japan and Korea. (There are many island conflicts in East Asia – mostly involving Japan and/or China.) Koreans insist that it is historically theirs, and it has become a huge point of national pride. (My Chinese friend observed shockingly that Korea seemed more nationalistic in some ways than even China.) Dokdo itself is little more than a couple of rocks (similar to the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands that China and Japan are disputing), but has become huge symbolically. Even on the little souvenir magnet I bought with a map of Korea, Dokdo was included!

   

   One of many such posters I saw about Dokdo.

7. Lack of regard for leaders – Perhaps this is because many Koreans have been a bit jaded by their leaders in the Japanese colonial era and the military dictatorship. The only two men I could find a widespread respect for were the two men whose statues grace the Seoul city center – King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-sin. King Sejong was responsible for the invention of the Korean hangul alphabet in the early 13th century AD and is credited with strengthening the military; maintaining good relations with Japan, the Ming Dynasty, and the Jurchens of northern China; and many scientific and literary achievements. Admiral Yi Sun-sin was a naval commander whose ingenious turtle boats were largely responsible for beating back Hideyoshi’s attempted invasions from Japan at the end of the 15th century.

Admiral Yi Sun-sin stands majestically in the city center.

On a less serious note…Korean food is delicious! My first day there I tried bingsu, shaved ice with sweet toppings – so tasty! I also ate Korean dumpling soup, spicy chicken hot pot with rice cakes (don’t know the name), beef hot pot, naengmyeon (cold noodles), bibimbap, king dumplings, Korean pancakes, makgeolli (liquor), etc. One thing I love about Korea restaurants is the appetizers – you are always served a variety of prepared, often pickled, vegetables, including kimchi. I heard that there are over 150 varieties of kimchi, which does not surprise me at all! Try not to be jealous while looking at these tasty food pics!

Bingsu

 

Chicken and rice cakes in spicy stew (you eat it while it’s on top of a burner)

 

Korean hot pot!

 

Bibimbap and king dumplings

Any thoughts about Korea? Let me know – would love to answer any questions about my trip!