China Blog — Isaac Hatfield

November 30th

It’s been over two weeks since my last blog post, and even though things have been quiet, I have quite a bit to share. I was exhausted after our fast-paced trip to Shandong, so we decided to take it easy when we returned to Taiyuan. Unfortunately, after our week of rest, I caught a bad cold, and Chen caught it a couple of days later. Our quiet week turned into two very slow-paced weeks, but we're both feeling much better and ready for our next adventure—Sichuan.

Chen and I arrived in Jinan, Shandong, on the 14th after a foggy road trip through the mountains of Shanxi and Hebei. Most of the highways I’ve been on in China are surprisingly quiet, and on our way to Shandong, we were often one of just a few cars, though we did pass many large trucks. Every couple of hours, we stopped for a break at rest stations to stretch, get snacks, use the (very dirty) bathrooms, and refill our travel mugs with hot water. We drove through dozens of long tunnels, the longest being 18 km, and some sections of the highway were so foggy you could barely see ahead of the car, and the way Chinese cars and trucks drive, this felt a little sketchy.

Despite the long, somewhat treacherous drive, we arrived in Jinan that evening and I immediately loved the city’s lively atmosphere. Shandong is China’s second-most populous province (I just learned this after a quick Google search), and I could definitely sense the difference from Shanxi. The traffic was the heaviest I'd seen in China so far, with cars and bikes weaving through each other in what Chen and I call “organized chaos.” It looks like an accident could happen at any moment, but somehow everyone dodges each other just in time.

Our hotel was close to Daming Lake, a popular tourist spot and park. After checking in, we took a DiDi (Chinese Uber equivalent) to the lake for a nice walk. China really comes to life at night, with nearly every building lighting up. Restaurants and shops have some of the brightest signs I've seen, making the city feel like one giant Times Square. The most popular attraction at Daming Lake is Chaoran Tower, which, once lit up, becomes the backdrop for tourists' TikTok videos and photoshoots.

From Daming Lake, we walked to a “fine dining” Pizza Hut. Chen had been talking about Chinese Pizza Huts since we arrived, so I had to experience it myself. The meal wasn’t anything special, but the menu was unbelievable, with cheese-stuffed crusts, Beef Wellington, and a new deep-fried frog pizza (not available when we went). I wouldn’t exactly call it fine dining, although the price was—it was probably the most expensive meal we've had in China—but it’s a real sit-down restaurant, unlike the Pizza Hut I’m used to. We ordered a shrimp and crab pizza with cheese-stuffed crust, soup, and mushroom crostini.

The next day, after a terrible sleep in our sweltering hotel room (the AC was off for the winter), we headed to Weifang to meet Chen’s parents' friends, who were going to tour us around the volcano and winery. First, they treated us to a delicious Shandong lunch. They called us before we arrived to ask what kind of food I liked to eat and I said I liked chicken. We arrived to a beautiful meal with a whole chicken sitting on the table, head, feet and all.

After lunch, we visited an inactive volcano surrounded by a range of volcanoes. The unique volcanic soil is rich in minerals and sapphires. The government plans to buy the land to preserve it as a national park, however the locals are against the idea since mining the sapphires is a crucial source of income for many of them. We then visited the winery where Chen’s parents source their wine. It sits next to the beautiful Gaoya Reservoir, and even though it was the off-season, I could imagine how nice it would be in summer. Before heading back to our now even hotter hotel room, Chen’s family friends took us to the sapphire centre of Weifang where jewelers sell the gemstones from the volcanic rock.

The next morning we hiked up Qianfoshan, or Thousand Buddha Mountain, a large park in Jinan. The grueling climb up thousands of steep steps took us past dozens of small temples, each honoring a different Buddhist god. At the summit, we had an amazing view of the city. On our way down, we spotted the Maitreya statue through the trees, a 30-meter golden Buddha statue that sits on the mountain side, overlooking Jinan.

That afternoon, we drove back to Taiyuan on the same long road, this time without the fog. I was exhausted from the trip, and once it got dark, I got to experience the overwhelming lights on a Chinese highway. Along with plenty of flashing lights to keep drivers awake, every few kilometers there are cameras with bright flashes that use facial recognition to ensure drivers follow the traffic laws. If you're speeding or not wearing a seatbelt, you'll receive a text with a photo of yourself as a warning. Chen’s cousin showed me a picture of their uncle driving without a seatbelt. Terrifying, but effective.

WAKING UP IN OUR 28 DEGREE HOTEL ROOM [1/17]

The next day back in Taiyuan, we were invited to lunch with more family friends. We met them at their electric bike shop where they refurbish electric bikes, scooters, and utility tricycles. They let us test drive a couple of the vehicles including a tricycle which we immediately wished we had in Canada, but unfortunately they aren’t permitted on Canadian roads. After riding around the neighbourhood and being posted on Chinese TikTok, the family friends brought us to one of the most interesting restaurants I've ever been to. We pulled up to a house with a big yard and a row of five Mongolian tents. On one side of the yard was a coop with chickens, ducks, and goats, and on the other was a huge pile of rice drying in the driveway. The meal was a delicious Shanxi hotpot which is served in a special copper pot. Unlike hotpot from other regions, the ingredients in Shanxi hotpot are already cooked and broth is poured over them to keep them cooking without burning. Hot coals are placed on the inside of the pot under a large opening in the middle which acts like a chimney. The whole meal was amazing, including the goat blood and pork cheeks… though I preferred the noodles and pork belly.

In the following days, we mostly relaxed, ate noodles, visited a park along the Fen River, and went to Chen’s family friend’s son’s high school where Chen taught a class about art history and storytelling and shared our experience filming Aisha’s Story in Jordan. The students were really engaged, and they were also excited to see a foreigner in their class, giving me a big round of applause when I showed up. After the talk, they asked me about my time in China and whether I know their favourite Canadian basketball player and of course the rapper Drake. One student even sang a Drake verse to me in front of the class only for me to reveal that I am in fact a Kendrick Lamar fan when he asked if I knew about the feud. I also met the students and posed for photos with them—it felt like being a celebrity with five phones documenting.

It was really interesting to spend some time in a Chinese high school, especially after hearing about how intense it is from Chen’s family friend’s son. High school students go to school from 6:30am to 9:30pm five days a week, with multiple hours of homework each night. They then go to school for a half day each Sunday for review and tests. This made Canadian high school seem like a breeze—I got exhausted just hearing about their schedule and I was surprised to see how awake and engaged they were despite everything.

Unfortunately, a couple of days later, I woke up with a sore throat, likely from a cold going around the school, but I still felt fine otherwise. Chen’s uncle treated us to a big meal where vegetables, noodles, and meat are boiled in broth in a large pot in the middle of the table and balls of cornbread are stuck to the inside of the pot to cook. The next day, we hiked with Chen’s parents to the Mengshan Giant Buddha, built during the Northern Qi dynasty. The original head was missing when discovered and replaced in 2008. After fighting off the cold for a few days, it finally hit me hard, and I was stuck in bed for a couple of days. Once I recovered, Chen and I explored a nearby park, played pool, ate lots of dumplings, and hung out at the wine shop.

This past Thursday, once Chen and I were feeling much better, we headed back to his grandma's village to film interviews with her for one of Chen's PhD projects about internal migration history in China. I really wished I could understand the interview, but Chen briefed me on his grandma's fascinating life story. She was born into a wealthy family, but due to many factors including WWII, the Chinese civil war, the land reform movement, and the cultural revolution, her family was forced to give up their wealth and farmland. Although they had lost everything they still had their reputation as an affluent family and Chen's grandma was forced to marry into a poor family to change this reputation. She married Chen's grandfather and they had 6 children, Chen's mother being the eldest. Chen's grandmother took care of them, worked, and made them all their own clothes due to poverty. After the interview, Chen’s aunt made us a delicious hotpot lunch, which we shared with the family. We then walked to a small wall that Chen's grandfather built to protect the village from bad luck, and visited his grave near the village.

I’m finishing this blog post on our flight to Chengdu where we’ll stay for four nights before heading to Chongqing and Shanghai, depending on how we feel. After this 10-day trip, we’ll return to Taiyuan for a week, then head to Beijing to wrap up our China adventure.

Thank you for reading! I’ll update you all in around 10 days!

Previous post:

November 14th

My first ten days in China have been a fantastic introduction to the country. Thanks to Chen and his family, I have been fully immersed in Chinese culture—from daily family meals to visiting historical sites to being the only foreigner everywhere we go, I’m truly getting a feel for the country.

We arrived in Beijing on the morning of November 4th and immediately grabbed a big lunch at a mall (malls are very popular here and actually have great food) before heading for a much-needed Chinese massage after the long flight. Then we took a high-speed train to Taiyuan, Shanxi—Chen’s hometown—where his parents warmly welcomed us. They don’t speak any English but have been the most amazing and hospitable hosts. They quickly gave me the nickname 二豆 (èr dòu), meaning “Bean Number 2”—Chen’s nickname is Bean (dòu), so they affectionately call me their second son. Their home is a gorgeous three-story townhouse in a small community in the southern part of the city. There are tea rooms and sitting rooms on each floor as well as a bar on the top floor. In anticipation of our visit, Chen’s parents cleared the whole top floor for us, making it essentially our own apartment.

Shanxi Province, in northern China, is known for its rich history, well-preserved historical sites, noodles, and vinegar, just to name a few. I’ve already been lucky enough to experience all of these, and Chen’s friends and family are constantly adding more amazing suggestions to our itinerary. Taiyuan is the capital of the province, and with a population of 5 million, it’s only considered a medium-sized city. Driving around, seeing cars parked in endless rows (sometimes even in the middle of the street), you can really feel just how large the country’s population is.

We’ve had a lot of fun exploring Taiyuan and its surroundings. We visited Chen’s maternal grandmother in a small village called Wenshui about 50 kilometers outside the city—a part of China few visitors get to experience. Chen’s mother and her siblings grew up in this village, and Chen spent a lot of his childhood here as well. Sometime in the next couple of weeks, we plan to stay with his grandmother in the village for a couple of nights. We’ve also visited Chen’s uncle’s sign factory, spent a lot of time at his parents’ wine shop (drinking both wine and plenty of tea), harvested cabbages from their plot on a community farm, visited the Taiyuan ancient city (太原古县城), and hiked to a Taoist temple in the hills.

TOAIST TEMPLE, LONGSHAN MOUNTAIN [17/18]

One of the highlights for me was our trip to Pingyao, an ancient city south of Taiyuan that dates back over 2,800 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was a financial hub, with one main street even being known as “China’s Wall Street.” Walking through the city gate, you’re instantly transported to ancient China. Today, there are many tourist shops and restaurants, but the buildings and streets have been very well preserved, making it easy to imagine what the city was like hundreds of years ago. In Pingyao, we also watched a Chinese opera about a family living there during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). It was an immersive show, where the audience was led through different rooms, each depicting a different part of the story. Although it was in Mandarin and I was a bit lost, Chen translated the general storyline. The production ended with a dance highlighting the importance of noodles in Shanxi.

This evening, we arrived in Jinan in Shandong Province (about a six-hour drive away), where we’ll stay for two nights before heading back to Taiyuan. In Shandong, we’ll be visiting the winery where Chen’s parents source the wine for their shop. It’s the only winery in China that both grows its own grapes and produces the wine on-site. Located near a volcano, the volcanic soil here is rich in minerals that help with drainage and add unique flavours to the wine.

I’m feeling more settled here every day, and there’s still so much I can’t wait to see and experience. Thank you for reading—much more to come!