A Poem at Yamdrok Yumtso

Two Tibetans—a Guide from Lhasa and a Driver from Tsedang—
Take us along the Jade River
Looking for Dharma
 
This Great Jade River lies flat and smooth,
Cuts through the highest peaks the world has to offer,
Its dry banks softened by stubbed evergreens
 
In the Jade River
Life is given and Life is taken
 
Our flags for Prayer are ready
With the names of those we love written on them
And as we drive along the Jade River we think
About hanging the flags at the top of the mountain
Above Yamdrok Yumtso

Rebar

In China it is often easier and quicker to use some of the vast human power to achieve a goal rather than designing and implementing a technology solution. Rebar is a good example. As China redoubles its efforts and expenditures on commercial and residential infrastructure in second- and third-tier cities it requires massive amounts of steel reinforcement bars (rebar). Rather than mining, smelting, and rolling new rebar, the main practice is to hire (very inexpensive) laborers to knock down old buildings and "harvest" the old rebar by chipping away the old concrete. Old towns disappear this way, and new ones rise in their place, all while the West is fast asleep, one day behind! 

Yamdrok Yumtso

Yamdrok Yumtso is one of three Saint Lakes. High above is a towering mountain pass where prayer flags are hung. In Tibet, one never prays for one's self; one prays for others--health, life, happiness. You can write the name of the person you wish to pray for on a flag before you hang it.

Yak fuel

Tibetans are highly self-reliant. They farm, worship, build, and socialize in village lifestyle. Their animals (yaks, chickens, dogs) are quartered nearby the home and seem to be integral to the family life. Most Tibetans in villages have little or no electricity or "modern" appliances. Instead they employ wood fired stoves for heating and cooking. Most families use dried yak dung (patties) for starter fuel and burst capacity.

(Photo: After collecting patties from the field, the dung is "hung out to dry" before being stacked for use later on.) 

(Photo: Two good yaks taking a break.) 

Yumbu Lakhang

This is the first Palace in Tibetan history, built in 2 BC. After a short, steep climb at about 15,000 feet, you reach the ramparts. One or two monks live here to maintain the palace. It is a very sacred place filled with many ancient antiquities (no photos permitted inside).

(Photo: Prayer flags blow circles of closed prayers above Yumbu Lakhang.)

(Photo: The triangular plot of land is the oldest farm in Tibet, located below the Palace.) 

(Photo: John and our driver, Pinto.) 

Get thee to a nunnery...in Tibet

Tibetan Nuns can achieve high holy status but they are not eligible to become Lama. 

Nun's provide many services to communities all over the Himalaya and Tibet. 

The nunnery we visited today is famous because it houses a below-ground cave where a Dalai Lama from the 7th century went to meditate for three years about where to build a place of worship. 

Today, only 20 nuns live here and they run a tea house, a gift shop with blessed gifts, and they create and roll scriptures that are housed inside many official Tibetan prayer wheels and figures of Buddha. 

The nuns I met and spoke with were full of energy and good humor. Click below for a real treat. 

Tibet: First Impressions

Not too many words for today. Just images. 

(Photo above: Tea.) 

(Photo above: Pasta.) 

(Photo above: Shoes.) 

(Photo above: Boy.) 

(Photo above: Prayer flags.) 

Waiting for Lhasa

It requires much patience to remain calm while waiting to go to Lhasa, so you do your best. Maybe you talk to some strangers to while away the time. 

(Photo above: A stranger asks Uncle James about the collector pins on his bag. They talk for an hour.) 

(Photo above: A little Himalaya under wing.) 

(Photo above: A lotta Himalaya poking through the clouds.) 

Saying good-bye to YSR

After two days of intensive learning, discussing, debating, understanding, our time in YSR had to end.

(Photo above: Man in front of hay rolls used for insulation on top of new greenhouses.) 

(Photo above: Rebecca Lin, the fuel in Kenny Lin's engines, purchasing smoked corn for the group on the long ride from YSR to Lanzhou airport.) 

(Photo above: Large alloy statue of birds in Lanzhou's residential neighborhood park, not far from the airport.) 

(Photo above: Lanzhou International Airport.) 
 

The events at YSR

A group of about 100 Chinese (from around China) and 7 Westerners gathered to celebrate both the 7th anniversary of the ground breaking of the Center and the launch of 100 "Digital Centers" being sponsored by Town and Talent. 

Dr Kenny Lin, Sayling Wen's partner and chief executive of Town and Talent, was Master of Ceremony and delivered the keynote. Many Chinese Communist Party officials gave speeches of recognition, and a few of the Westerners presented perspectives from the "outside." 

With major projects like YSR Center and Town and Talent company, there is a delicate balance between the politics and the business. It was a very, very good time. 

(Photo above: Dr Kenny Lin, who presented the keynote address celebrating the launch of 100 Digital Centers for farmers.) 

(Photo above: Recipients of Certificates of Authorization to operate Digital Centers.) 

(Photo above: Scott Dunford, a Michigander now living in Beijing with his wife, Tara, and their children, sponsored four students, which enabled the kids to attend a full year of school in YSR they otherwise would have missed because their families didn't have the USD100/yr for school. Scott and Tara are amazing, caring people with a very strong message.) 

(Photo above: Two students meet Scott and Tara and introduce themselves in English. It was stunning.)

(Photo above: Two students and the teacher from YSR. This man makes much of the YSR Digital Center and the student sponsorship possible.) 

Singing horseman from Yellow Sheep River

Most Yellow Sheep River residents have not ever left the town, and most have never seen a white person. The Internet has arrived in the past two years, bringing images of the west. 

This Yellow Sheep River singing horseman and his friends were so curious to see white people that he offered to captivate us with a local horseman tune. 

Two by two

Camels come in pairs in Yellow Sheep River. 

Why go to Yellow Sheep River (YSR)?

Sayling Wen had a vision to "wire the west" (of China) with the Internet, to raise the hopes and dreams of poor farming children, and to create a supply chain software for farmers in the hinterland that will save them money and increase their reach to markets far away from their home fields. His company is called Town, Talent, & Technology (http://www.yellowsheepriver.com/eng/ysrwstory_index1.php). 

We went to YSR to be part of the 7th anniversary of breaking ground for the Center that attracts foreigners to this remote location to see first-hand what Western China is, and how this boot-strapped outfit is making a difference. 

(Above: Farmers in Yellow Sheep River.) 

(Above: 88-year old farmer, just in from the fields.) 

(Above: Town and Talent Hotel and Conference Center. Sayling Wen's legacy.) 

(Above: Gateway to Town and Talent Center.) 

(Above: Gathering room inside Town and Talent Center.) 

The last 100 milesmileto Yellow Sheep River

We flew from Hong Kong to Lanzhou (pronounced Lan-Joe), and a driver carried us "the last mile" (actually 100 miles and 3 hours) to Yellow Sheep River. 

We took a trucking route that only has three lanes--a dead-man's highway--and as night fell on the road to Yellow Sheep River things got a little dicey. Most cars there do not turn on their headlights because the dust/smog on the road creates intolerable glare, but the lack of light makes it nearly impossible to see oncoming traffic until the very last moment! It's like an exciting video game where invaders come at you over a relatively close event horizon, except the road to Yellow Sheep River is very real and very intense. 

 

Our 4-door sedan shared the road with other cars, motorcycles, rickshaws, motorized three-wheelers, and small-, medium-, and large-sized commercial trucks carrying everything

 from potatoes to motorcycles. 

Every time we passed a slower vehicle, we had to deal with an oncoming vehicle with lots of honking and light-flashing, and a last-moment dog-leg dash back into our own lane. It kept us awake :) 

The road to Yellow Sheep River

We have been in Yellow Sheep River for two days. This is a very small town in Gansu province, which lies in the exact center of China. 

One third of China's population lives in small towns scattered across the desert and mountain regions of Western China. Most of them are poor--some of the poorest people in the world. 

Most families farm the land for potatoes and other roots and vegetables. In a good year, a typical family earns 2000 RMB (USD300). 

The next few posts are about Yellow Sheep River and what we did in this amazing place with some outstanding people. 

(Photo: High desert farmland in foreground with Western China mountains in background.) 

Managing change within change

Change is a constant in China, and many of the changes are very large-scale and/or radical. For example, China needs more roads and airstrips to accommodate all the cars and planes coming online. China needs more jobs to help bring its impoverished farming class up an economic rung or two. China needs cleaner (and more) power so it doesn’t choke on its own soot from coal-burning operations. And so on.

Managing one such massive change in a country challenges citizens, policy makers, economists, business people, and neighbors. Managing hundreds of large-scale changes is difficult to imagine. 

But that is what China is doing.

I visited Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) while we were in HK, and I met with Dr Jiming Liu who is professor and Head of the Computer Science department.

(Photo: Self and Dr Liu.)

Currently, all 6 of the universities in HK grant 3-year degrees. In order to increase their competitiveness with other universities (in China and abroad) the HK government mandated all universities adopt the 4-year model.

Dr Liu has a vision for developing degree programs with the ideal mix of liberal arts and computer sciences in the 4-year format, which sets his university apart from others whose programs lack the liberal arts component. His department/program is also the first to migrate to Mainland China, where the market for broad-based Computer Science and IT/IS degrees is very dynamic.

Each academic year, Dr Liu’s department runs a lecture series, and I was the sixth, and final, guest speaker of the 2009 school year. 80 senior undergrads and 50 grad students were invited to the talk titled “What’s the most important part of any business?” I used examples from eBay and other Silicon Valley firms to describe User Experience and Design, business communication, and business skills for technology workers using anecdotes from industry. Following the talk, a group of faculty met to exchange views about curriculum development and key business skills the university aspires to impart through the 4-year degree, which comes on line in 2012.

It was a fantastic opportunity to meet many wonderful students and faculty from a university where great things are happening and where great changes are under way. 

(Photo: Dr William Cheung, Dr Li Chen, Dr Joseph Ng, 2 very sharp undergrads, John Dila, Dr Jiming Liu, Dr Bo Xiao.)

 

Bamboo

Bamboo is the material of choice for nearly all commercial and residential construction projects here. Laborers climb the rungs gymnasts, occasionally without a tether. 

Jackie Chan Says Chinese Need Control (NYT, 4/19/09)

The China/HK government allows 150 Mainland Chinese to enter HK with residence status each day (55K/yr). Of course, many more would like to enter, but are turned away. 

If the government removed the daily limit, or dramatically increased it to meet demand, what would happen to/in HK? 

What if they don't remove/increase the limit? 

In the news yesterday, action film star Jackie Chan (born in HK) said:  “I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not,” The Associated Press reported. He also said: “I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.”

At some point, will there be a rush on this city? 

Amahs--Philipina "helpers"

Quick update re. the gathering of Muslim women, with better information than I had (thanks, Alonso and Gary): 

Alonso: "Those are the Philipina "helpers". They get Sundays off so they prepare food and get together with their friends. They live for Sundays, as you might imagine -- hence the positive energy. They congregate in public places because they are live-in help and have no where else to go. Walking among them feels like stepping into a bird cage. There is something about the sing-song nature of Tagalog that gives their conversations a distinct quality." 

and Gary: "The women of Causeway Bay you mention in your blog are actually "domestic helpers" (Amahs), who all have Sunday off. Because they are cheap labor, even middle class Hong Kong residents hire them and they live with their respective employers' families. Originally, most of them came from the Philippines but now more and more are from Indonesia, thus the Muslim attire."

Local contacts also explained how Chinese law prohibits hiring Mainland Chinese to serve in these roles (even though Chinese from the Hinterland would leap at the opportunity to move to HK and live with a local family, likely increasing their annual income by a hundred times or more) due to the potential "damage" such lowly labor would cause the Chinese culture. 

It's a complicated world. 

New Women of Causeway Bay

Across from the Hong Kong Library is a large open space for public gatherings and sports events. In the evening from our hotel we could see thousands of people "picnicking" there and, thinking there might be a concert or other event, we walked toward the throngs. 

When we arrived we noticed that almost everyone was female, and the age range was pretty focused--between 18 and 35. Many wore Muslim head ware. 

Most obviously, the women were having fun: They were laughing, eating homemade picnics, cooking on the street, and having a hell of a good time! There was a vibrant positive energy from these people. 

We didn't see any trace of a concert or other event--only several thousand women gathered in small tight-knit groups. 

Our best guess was these are manufacturing workers who came to HK for a day of shopping socializing--a wonderful, colorful change of pace from their factory workaday. 

In China, 16-20MM people migrate from the Hinterland each year to the growing cities, and this pattern has been going on for more than a decade. 

In the US, there are approximately 14MM manufacturing workers (maybe fewer if the car companies shed more jobs). 

Let us know if you know more about these new women of Causeway Bay. 

Behind the Ranges

Like a voice "as bad as a conscience," Curiosity pulls the Explorer up just one more slope to peer behind the ranges: Inhale the majesty and freedom beyond personal ignorance!  

Tomorrow, my uncle, James Buri, and I fly to People's Republic of China (PRC). This is my second trip to the area in as many years. It's James' first trip. 

I am a businessman and writer. James is an educator and consultant. 

Through our networks we are fortunate to have an itinerary of personal meetings and visits with people from across China: From Hong Kong to Lanzhou to Lhasa to Beijing and Shanghai--from the sea to the desert to the Himalaya and back--over three weeks.    

James and I love to learn and we are willing to immerse. We'd be glad for you to join us through our blog, and we'd love to hear your thoughts and questions as we go. 

John & James