Hohhot （呼和浩特）

                                                                     大家好！

For Spring Break, I decided to travel to Inner Mongolia (内蒙古). Last semester, I saw a movie that took place in Inner Mongolia and decided that I would like to visit Inner Mongolia myself. Despite the name Inner Mongolia, it is actually an autonomous region in China. I went to the capital of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot (呼和浩特). 呼和浩特 was a very interesting place. It was very unique compared to the other cities I have visited in China so far. My favorite part was seeing the Mongol influence that was still there. A lot of signs have both Mandarin and Mongolian written on them. The Mongolian script is very beautiful too. On the buses in Beijing, the voice recording is in Mandarin and English but in 呼和浩特 is is in Mandarin and Mongolian. The Mongolian language sounds very similar to Russian or Eastern European languages. Interesting fact about 呼和浩特 is that it is often called the "Blue City." The color blue in Mongol culture is associated with the sky, purity, and eternity. According to the 2000 census, about 8.5% of the population in 呼和浩特 were Mongols.

The first day that we arrived in 呼和浩特 (by sleeper train no less) we went to Dazhao Temple (大昭寺) the Five Pagoda Temple (五塔寺）and the Islamic Food Street. The Five Pagoda Temple is a Buddhist Temple that was constructed from 1727-1732 by a Mongol monk. When we went to the Five Pagoda Temple there was no one there and we were wondering where everyone was. Then we went to Dazhao Temple and there was a Spring Festival party going on. It felt like everyone from the city was there. They were burning incense and just having a great time. Dazhao Temple is probably the most famous temple in 呼和浩特. It is also the oldest and largest temple in the city. The temple finished being constructed in 1579. The third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyasto, visited the temple in 1586 and blessed it. Now people from all over Mongolia come and visit the temple. It was really cool being there during the Spring Festival and seeing everyone praying and burning incense. It felt a little bit like we were in the way but I enjoyed getting to see people live their everyday life. After we left there we went to the Islamic Food Street. I bought some yak milk tea (牦牛奶茶). I should have known that it was going to be bad since it was only 5 kuai and the lady scooped it out of a bucket. It tasted like straight up liquid butter though. If you ever find yourself visiting 呼和浩特 you have to try something yak related whether it be yak milk or yak meat. Then you can decide for yourself whether you like it or not.

The next day we went to Zhaojun Tomb (昭君墓). Zhaojun Tomb is the resting place of Wang Zhaojun, a commoner woman from the Han dynasty. She married a nomadic chieftain named Xiongnu Chanyu. Fun fact, Wang Zhaojun is not actually buried there. Her true grave and cause of death are unknown. I thought it was really cool. Unfortunately, most of the places at the site were closed and it was so windy that we couldn't even climb up to the top of the mound. However, it was beautiful and I think in the summer time it most be a really cool place to go to.

On the last day we went to the Inner Mongolian Museum (内蒙古博物馆). This museum is huge! It was founded in 1957 for the tenth anniversary of Inner Mongolia becoming an autonomous region. The museum has many artifacts from ethnic tribes such as the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Qidan, and Mongolians. It also offers insight into the traditions and history of Mongolians. There are three floors in the museum. The first floor is dedicated to nature, the second to history, and the third to culture. My favorite floor was probably the second floor. There was one exhibit where we got to see some of the nomadic tribes that lived in the area before the Mongolians and now Han Chinese. While we were there, an old man saw us and stopped to check out the white people. We took pictures with him and his family and then every time he saw us in the museum he would smile and wave at us. There was also a little girl who was too shy to ask for a photo. When we told her she could take a picture with us we were swarmed by about ten other Chinese families trying to take photos with us. We were celebrities for the day.

I had a great time in 呼和浩特 and would like to go back and explore the grasslands since it was too cold to go this time.

Until next time.

再见！

郎马乐

Harbin (哈尔滨)

                                                                     大家好！

Over winter break, I took a trip to Harbin (哈尔滨) with a friend of mine from Milwaukee. 哈尔滨 is the capital of Heilongjiang Province. This province is the farthest north in China you can get. At one point, it used to be a part of Russia. That's why there is a lot of Russian architecture, food, and influence. 哈尔滨 is also know as the "Ice City." In the winter, it is known for its ice and snow sculptures which we were able to see. 哈尔滨 is also historical important because of its relationship with Russian. Today, it serves as an important gateway for Sino-Russian trade and containing a sizable Russian diaspora. It was a very cool city and only a seven hour bus ride to Russia.

Our trip to 哈尔滨 was an adventure. It was the first time that I was traveling without someone who spoke better Chinese then me. It was completely up to me to navigate the city, buy food and tickets, and just function overall in 哈尔滨. Sometimes it was stressful, but overall I feel like it was very beneficial for my Chinese. My friend and I took a sleeper train to 哈尔滨. The train was about nine and a half hours long. Sleeper trains are an experience. I think everyone should take one just for the experience of taking a sleeper train. It's not my favorite way of traveling but it definitely isn't the worse.

Upon arrival, my friend and I went to Central Street. Central Street is cool because it has a lot of traditional architecture. The street was built in 1898. Today, it is home to many types of architecture styles such as Baroque and Byzantine. There are also little Russian bakeries and French fashion houses. We went to St. Sophia's Cathedral which is in the center of Central Street. St. Sophia's Cathedral was built in 1907 after the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Trans-Siberian Railway connected the Russian city Vladivostok to northeast China. When we went, the cathedral was under renovations so we weren't allowed to go in. During the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, the cathedral was closed. Today, the cathedral has been turned into a museum.

On our second day, we went to Ice and Snow World. It was the first day that it was open to the public but not all of of the sculptures were done. It was still cool even though we only got to see a couple of done sculptures and a few half done sculptures. It was also the coldest day in Harbin when we were there so we had to layer up and we would occasionally just go and buy something to drink so that we could stay inside. Just outside Ice and Snow World is Russia Town. We went to Russia Town hoping to be able to try some Russian food. However, everything was closed since it was only the first day that the park was opened. We walked around looking for food and then decided to walk across the river (there were lots of people on the river so it was okay to walk on) and head towards the city. Walking across the ice was cool and it was quicker than trying to go out the way that we came in. We decided that for dinner we would go to the Ice Palace. The Ice Palace is located in a hotel and is only opened in the winter. The palace is completely built out of ice and has to be kept at a very low temperature so that it doesn't melt. It is known for serving hotpot (火锅). We were so excited to eat there, but when we got there and saw the prices of the hotpot, we quickly realized that we couldn't afford it and left to go somewhere cheaper. We did manage to get some pictures before we left though.

On the third day, we went to the Siberian Tiger Park. The Siberian Tiger Park was built in 1996 in order to preserve the species. This park reminded me a lot of the Panda Research Facility in Chengdu (成都). I would say that it isn't as nice as the Panda Research Facility but the goals are the same. They would one day like to be able to release the tigers who are quickly going extinct. However, some of the tigers are kept in such small cages and that's not right. It would have been nice if all of the tigers were allowed in the big pens like most of them were. It's not a perfect place but it's trying. The tour itself is like a safari. We are in a big safari-like vehicle and travel through each pen. The tigers get really close to you. I've never seen so many tigers in one place. The Siberian Tiger Park is the largest natural park for wild Siberian Tigers in the world. I think it is important to preserve the species and to educate people that these are real animals that don't deserve to be killed. However, there are still some problems with the park that hopefully in the future will be fixed and that the tigers will one day get to return to the wild. That night, we went and got a 哈尔滨 style 火锅. It wasn't what I tried to order but it was very tasty and I'm happy that we got to eat it.

Overall, I really enjoyed my trip to 哈尔滨. It was a good place to practice my Chinese more since not a lot of people speak English there. Though, I was surprised at how many people we met that did speak some English. I highly recommend traveling to 哈尔滨 if you are ever in China. I've also heard that it is beautiful in the summer as well.

See you next time!
再见
郎马乐