China

I first went to China to train in Wing Chun, Tai Chi, and Qi Gong under master Wong Long-fai. Training was daily, very physically demanding, and involved some unique forms of exercise and equipment.

On a future trip, I went climbing in Yangshuo and had a memorable new years celebration at China's first reggae bar.

The five holy mountains#

There are five sacred Taoist mountains in China, and I hope to hike up all of them some day. Here is my live checklist:

• Tài Shān
• Huà Shān
• Northern Héng Shān
• Southern Héng Shān
• Sōng Shān

Tài Shān#

Chinese people#

When I was in a more rural part of China, I asked a man on the bus for directions. I didn't speak great Mandarin at the time, and certainly couldn't read any street signs. This man proceeded to

• get off the bus with us
• walked with us down a street to another bus stop
• waited with us for the correct bus to arrive
• told the bus driver where we are going and when to remind us to get off

Later on, from the window of our bus, we see the guy waiting at the original stop we all got off at - presumably so he could get on the next bus. I have several other stories from China and Japan like this, where someone went extremely out of their way to help me.

Another time, I was at a bar in Xi'an talking to another traveler about Huashan mountain, when a group of middle-to-old-aged ladies pulled us over to their table and started buying us drinks. I couldn't understand most of what they were saying, but just through gestures, smiles, and my shaky Mandarin skills, we ended up hitting it off. After they finished and paid, they gestured at us to join them in a caravan of SUVs outside (the other traveler bowed out at this point). One of the ladies was dressed particularly special and had a red sash with Chinese letters on it, but I never quite figured out what was being celebrated.

This group of around twenty ladies treated me with the utmost hospitality and respect, took me to several spots around Xi'an, and would not allow me to pay for a single thing. At around 4 am, they dropped me back off at my hostel and all of them were waving goodbye from inside the windows. I have no idea to this day what possessed these ladies to adopt a foreigner into their celebration.

Losing my phone#

I only had one bad experience in China when someone in Shanghai stole my phone. I lost a lot of incredible pictures that hadn't been backed up yet due to the great firewall.

Still ended up having a great night though!

My thoughts on China#

Me and my wife are both 2nd generation immigrants, whose parents came to the United States for a better life. We sometimes joke about how in a couple years, we may have to become 1st generation immigrants to China seeking a better life. Regardless of how the geopolitical situation evolves, I will always have a deep and everlasting respect for Chinese people and Chinese culture.