Note to Readers: Now that Rick has made his introductions to China, we will be posting two-three of Rick's chapters in each weekly post. Rick's chapters were on a disc in alphabetical order by title. They vary in length from quite short to longer essays. There is no index to help us know what order he had in mind overall. So we will be including a chapter with photos and two other informational chapters each week. We hope you enjoy.
Chapter 4 - Changes in Luoyang from 2004 to 2010
I couldn’t believe how Luoyang had changed during the six years that I was gone. There were more shopping areas. There was one shopping center called WANDA. It took about fifty minutes to walk there from where I lived at the Number 19 High School or twenty minutes by bus. It was really beautiful inside. There were a lot of stores and one floor had many restaurants.
In the basement, was the grocery area. There was also a movie theater and a place to go roller skating on the top floor. They was a big bakery and a coffee shop, both were very popular. There was a McDonald’s and a Dairy Queen on the first floor and when I was going to leave in June of 2013, there was a sign that there was going to be a Pizza Hut coming soon.
There were also many places to shop close to me. That is why the area where I lived was so busy on weekends with so much traffic. There was a nice shopping area called Xin Du Hui about three blocks from where I lived. It was not enclosed like a mall. There was also a theater on the top floor. The store Carrefour was in the basement that had groceries and other things. If you went shopping there on a weekend when there were sales, it would be like the weekends just before Christmas in the US. If you didn't want to shop when it was like that, you could go during the week but they may not have the sales still going on.
Another store that was a block from there was Wang Fujing. It had four floors and in the basement were the groceries. There are little stores everywhere I would walk.
As far as fast food places go, within four blocks of where I lived there was a McDonald’s, two KFC’s, a Pizza Hut and a Dairy Queen. There was another McDonald’s by Pizza Hut that only sold ice cream.
I also want to mention that there was a Wal-Mart in Luoyang. It took about thirty minutes by bus from where I lived. In a three-year period, I only went there a few times. It isn’t like the ones in the U.S. The upstairs was mostly food, fruits and vegetables. Downstairs were some clothes, not as much as here, some electronics, toys, some bakery items, certain groceries that weren’t upstairs. People didn’t go there like in the US. It was too expensive compared to the regular Chinese shopping areas.
I lived two blocks from the Number 19 High School that I taught at. There were many small restaurants to eat at between where I lived and the school. A lot of the students would go to those.
The first time that I was in Luoyang there wasn’t much on the south side of the Luo River, which is called the New District. The official name is the Luolong District. When I came back in 2010, there were hundreds of tall buildings. They are mostly around thirty-two stories and were mostly apartments. The Chinese would buy the apartments and that was their home.
In China, there is a tradition about when women have a baby that I want to talk about. After a woman has a baby, she stays in her parent’s or parents-in-law’s home to live. The grandparents help take care of their new grand-baby. They may help for a long time. The new parents and the grand-baby's family will live together for some time. The new mother stays indoors for thirty days. After that, they have a big party to celebrate at a restaurant for the new baby with friends and relatives. When the baby is 100 days old, the parents go to a photography studio and have pictures taken of the baby. When the baby is one-year-old, there is another party for that first birthday.
I said that the parents and baby will live with relatives for a while. I know of parents that would stay at the baby’s grandparents for 2-3 years or longer. It may depend upon the situation. While the parents are at work, the grandparents take care of the baby.
After one of my friends had her baby, she and her husband lived with her parents and the husband’s mother would come over during the day and they would all take care of the baby. Sometime later after the baby was more than one-year-old, I went to a park with them. There was the baby’s mother, her mother, the mother-in-law and the nanny. That baby was really taken good care of.
In the basement, was the grocery area. There was also a movie theater and a place to go roller skating on the top floor. They was a big bakery and a coffee shop, both were very popular. There was a McDonald’s and a Dairy Queen on the first floor and when I was going to leave in June of 2013, there was a sign that there was going to be a Pizza Hut coming soon.
There were also many places to shop close to me. That is why the area where I lived was so busy on weekends with so much traffic. There was a nice shopping area called Xin Du Hui about three blocks from where I lived. It was not enclosed like a mall. There was also a theater on the top floor. The store Carrefour was in the basement that had groceries and other things. If you went shopping there on a weekend when there were sales, it would be like the weekends just before Christmas in the US. If you didn't want to shop when it was like that, you could go during the week but they may not have the sales still going on.
Another store that was a block from there was Wang Fujing. It had four floors and in the basement were the groceries. There are little stores everywhere I would walk.
As far as fast food places go, within four blocks of where I lived there was a McDonald’s, two KFC’s, a Pizza Hut and a Dairy Queen. There was another McDonald’s by Pizza Hut that only sold ice cream.
I also want to mention that there was a Wal-Mart in Luoyang. It took about thirty minutes by bus from where I lived. In a three-year period, I only went there a few times. It isn’t like the ones in the U.S. The upstairs was mostly food, fruits and vegetables. Downstairs were some clothes, not as much as here, some electronics, toys, some bakery items, certain groceries that weren’t upstairs. People didn’t go there like in the US. It was too expensive compared to the regular Chinese shopping areas.
I lived two blocks from the Number 19 High School that I taught at. There were many small restaurants to eat at between where I lived and the school. A lot of the students would go to those.
The first time that I was in Luoyang there wasn’t much on the south side of the Luo River, which is called the New District. The official name is the Luolong District. When I came back in 2010, there were hundreds of tall buildings. They are mostly around thirty-two stories and were mostly apartments. The Chinese would buy the apartments and that was their home.
There were not a lot of stores for shopping at that time, but each year more opened up. It was really nice in the New District. There weren’t a lot of people there yet and compared to the city itself on the north side of the Luo River it was so clean and there was fresh air because of the trees and plants everywhere. The city had trees and plants also but because there are so many people and so much traffic, it wasn’t as clean and the air wasn’t as fresh.
The traffic had changed so much. People were making more money and were able to buy cars and better places to live. Many of my friends now had cars. A lot of people still went by bus, bicycles, electric and motor bikes. The traffic would just continue to get worse and worse, the traffic jams would become so bad. I remember one time when my friend Celia and her husband told me how long it took to get from their place to shop at Xin Du Hui close to where I lived. It was during one of the festivals. They lived three miles from there and it took them one and a half hours.
I went home during the summers of 2011 and 2012 and even though I was only gone for six weeks each time, I could tell the difference in how many more people and cars there were when I returned which, of course, caused more traffic problems.
People drive very different than we do here. They drive on the same side of the road as we do, except in Hong Kong where it is on the opposite side like in England, but they don’t obey the rules of the road like they should. It is hard to explain. I have many pictures and video of these things. It shows what it is like and how different things actually are. From what I have been told, their driving classes and tests are different than ours. They do not learn to drive when they are young like we do in the US. They learn to drive in their 20’s and later. I had many friends that would go to driving schools when they were in their 30’s, 40’s and older.
Luoyang is constantly changing, becoming more spread out and more of a tourist city. Even in just one year, there are many changes.
The traffic had changed so much. People were making more money and were able to buy cars and better places to live. Many of my friends now had cars. A lot of people still went by bus, bicycles, electric and motor bikes. The traffic would just continue to get worse and worse, the traffic jams would become so bad. I remember one time when my friend Celia and her husband told me how long it took to get from their place to shop at Xin Du Hui close to where I lived. It was during one of the festivals. They lived three miles from there and it took them one and a half hours.
I went home during the summers of 2011 and 2012 and even though I was only gone for six weeks each time, I could tell the difference in how many more people and cars there were when I returned which, of course, caused more traffic problems.
People drive very different than we do here. They drive on the same side of the road as we do, except in Hong Kong where it is on the opposite side like in England, but they don’t obey the rules of the road like they should. It is hard to explain. I have many pictures and video of these things. It shows what it is like and how different things actually are. From what I have been told, their driving classes and tests are different than ours. They do not learn to drive when they are young like we do in the US. They learn to drive in their 20’s and later. I had many friends that would go to driving schools when they were in their 30’s, 40’s and older.
Luoyang is constantly changing, becoming more spread out and more of a tourist city. Even in just one year, there are many changes.
Chapter 5 - The New District (Luolong)
(South of the Luo River)
When I left Luoyang in July of 2004, there wasn’t anything built up south of the Luo River. Six years later when I went back in August of 2010, it was like the area was another city. I couldn’t believe what it looked like. There were hundreds and hundreds of tall buildings, mostly apartment buildings that are are thirty-two stories, plus all of the changes in the city of Luoyang.
When I would go to that area, it was really refreshing after being in the city. There weren’t as many people and cars so the air was cleaner and there were more trees, all kinds of bushes and plants so it seemed fresher.
The building in front is The Splendid Mall (Sheng De Mei). It has groceries, clothes, all kinds of things. The groceries are on the first floor. Part of that first floor is an IGA grocery store. It has many Western food items. It is nice to be able to get them but they are kind of expensive. This is where I would get cereal and other things. I lived about 20-30 minutes from here by bus. Sometimes I would take the bus to the Sui Tang Botanical Gardens, which is on the way. The Gardens are 350 acres and I would walk for an hour or two and then walk to the store, which was about ten minutes from the south entrance of the Gardens, get groceries and take the bus back home.
These three pictures I took are from a friend’s place looking south. These pictures are taken from the city of Luoyang. You can see the Luo River and then lots of buildings in the New District. That is just part of the south side.
When I would go to that area, it was really refreshing after being in the city. There weren’t as many people and cars so the air was cleaner and there were more trees, all kinds of bushes and plants so it seemed fresher.
The building in front is The Splendid Mall (Sheng De Mei). It has groceries, clothes, all kinds of things. The groceries are on the first floor. Part of that first floor is an IGA grocery store. It has many Western food items. It is nice to be able to get them but they are kind of expensive. This is where I would get cereal and other things. I lived about 20-30 minutes from here by bus. Sometimes I would take the bus to the Sui Tang Botanical Gardens, which is on the way. The Gardens are 350 acres and I would walk for an hour or two and then walk to the store, which was about ten minutes from the south entrance of the Gardens, get groceries and take the bus back home.
These three pictures I took are from a friend’s place looking south. These pictures are taken from the city of Luoyang. You can see the Luo River and then lots of buildings in the New District. That is just part of the south side.
The above picture is looking at Luoyang on the north side of the Luo River. In the distance is the Luoyang TV Tower which is right on the edge of Luopu Park.
These two pictures are of the Luoyang Museum. It is south of the Luo River and north of the Sui Tang Botanical Gardens. It is free to go into.
The rest of the pictures are taken by the Sports Arena. There is a lake and a path where you can walk around Lingbo Lake. This is where sporting events, concerts and other events are held. I was told it holds 30,000 people.
Chapter 6. A Baby Tradition
In China, there is a tradition about when women have a baby that I want to talk about. After a woman has a baby, she stays in her parent’s or parents-in-law’s home to live. The grandparents help take care of their new grand-baby. They may help for a long time. The new parents and the grand-baby's family will live together for some time. The new mother stays indoors for thirty days. After that, they have a big party to celebrate at a restaurant for the new baby with friends and relatives. When the baby is 100 days old, the parents go to a photography studio and have pictures taken of the baby. When the baby is one-year-old, there is another party for that first birthday.
I said that the parents and baby will live with relatives for a while. I know of parents that would stay at the baby’s grandparents for 2-3 years or longer. It may depend upon the situation. While the parents are at work, the grandparents take care of the baby.
After one of my friends had her baby, she and her husband lived with her parents and the husband’s mother would come over during the day and they would all take care of the baby. Sometime later after the baby was more than one-year-old, I went to a park with them. There was the baby’s mother, her mother, the mother-in-law and the nanny. That baby was really taken good care of.
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