The last week has been a public holiday in China, and a great time to enjoy the last of the warm weather (actually, it's more than just warm, it's 25 degrees in the daytime) with the family and friends. Hannah finally began to crawl properly a couple of weeks ago. For ages she'd only moved a few inches to grab something but then she just began going further and further and now she'll go all over. She's not quite as crazy as some other kids who are so fast they'd give Bolt a run for his money, but she goes when she has a need. So she's been motoring around in parks and on floors which keeps her entertained. She still prefers walking though, but needs some help which tends to involve her parents getting aching backs. Today she began to let go of us and try to stand on her own without holding anything, and may have managed 20-30 secs at best. Still a way to go!
On Thursday we went to Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. Jinan is a place that no-one stops in, and is mainly a place for transferring elsewhere. But we stopped there for a few hours to visit a mosque, some nice shopping streets and see the city whilst we waited for a lunchtime train to a small village nearby called Zhujiayu. It is a delightful village that was mostly abandoned around a century ago due to drought, famine, civil war and the like. For some reason it's not been destroyed and the couple of hundred families that still live there have not really touched the place. Now of course this is the draw for tourists, and there are of course some attempts to sell fruit, handicrafts and things to tourists, but it's not too bad, and the village is still, mostly as it was. Many of the houses on the outskirts are in complete ruins and are fascinating to walk around. The others near the main streets are in better condition and show what China really used to look like. It was a worthwhile half day walking around and into houses.
A few visitors have come by recently which has given us a good excuse to go some of our favorite places to eat and walk around, particularly some of the smaller alleyways that have so much life an authenticity to them. They are still what China really is like for most people that can't afford apartments or cars. And they seem happy, although seeing a blue-eyed baby makes everyone here happy! There is not a lot of other news to report, although it is interesting to see how different people raise their kids.
I suppose the most interesting thing that's happened in the last few weeks here is the inordinate display of patriotism that sort of came out of nowhere, fostered by the government, whipped-up by the media, and timed to coincide with the current political events and various anniversaries (of the founding of the PRC, of the islands themselves etc). The islands that China claims its own are currently occupied by Japan. Countries that don't really get on very well. In fact if there is one thing that every Chinese knows it is that China does not like Japan from historical reasons. And history is not just history. The past has influenced how the public view the present and relations with Japan. The dispute led to some significantly sized protests, drops in sales of Japanese companies' products, and a healthy distraction from the ongoing domestic political fiasco. One hopes things will die down in a month, after the initial political transition, although the transition may not be complete until Spring next year, so it could drag on. In the meantime there are plenty of other islands that China also claims, mostly in the South China Sea, and mostly islands that are, on a map, much much much closer to other countries than to China, so seem ridiculous for China to claim. The ones disputed with Japan are geographically more in the middle, so the claim is less unreasonable. That does not forgive the reaction of course, which is fascinating to watch as a foreigner. The issue is deeply felt by the entire population and rational conversation about it is not possible.
I'm slowly adding photos to my flickr account for those interested. Some from the May trip to Japan are up, as are plenty more of Hannah. You can check them out here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamsphotos/sets/.
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