Zhangjiakou, Hebei

May 2018 - The final leg of our trip to Hebei .

We reached Zhangjiakou and we enjoyed a good stay in this noisy hotel. The car park for our coach was a bit further away. That evening the guys went around, looking at things. The weather was not too bad for May.




There is a Parkson in this town! And of course we made a bee line for it. But there were not many things which attracted us. We were mostly interested in eating and tasting local food and flavours. And most of us were not interested in buying souvenirs.



Zhangjiakou is in Hebei, not far from BEijing.  Chinese: 张家口; also known as Kalgan.

It is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest. At the 2010 census, its population was 4,345,485 inhabitants on 36,861.56 square kilometres (14,232.33 sq mi), divided into 17 Counties and Districts. 

 Due to its position on several important transport arteries, it is a critical transport node for travel between Hebei and Inner Mongolia and connecting northwest China, Mongolia, and Beijing.

Zhangjiakou will be one of the host cities at the 2022 Winter Olympics.

Hebei Purple Taro and Glutinous Rice Balls

It was quite a cold morning and we needed to have a short pit stop at a R and R place on our road trip.

These purple taro and glutinous rice balls were sold in a hot food stall.

They were hot and appreciated as we shared them outside in a cold May morning.

Hebei sun was gentle and the cool morning breeze gave us some uplift as we waited for a mechanic to come to do some repairs before we go on our. We were hard pressed for time.

This time round we did not have a good coach although the driver was kind and quiet, with not much information. Some Mainland Chinese drivers have been full of information giving us lots of tips and interesting history. He must be very worried that his 21 seater coach was not doing well.

Sibu Tales : White Pomfret

The white pomfret is called bah chiong in Foochow. It is known as ikan duai putih in BM. Highly priced by all the races of Malaysians it is often sold off in no time. Sometimes they are even sold fresh off the boat because the consumers come to the river side to buy the freshest of the fish.

The best season in Sarawak for this fish is before the Chinese New year until the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calender. It is strange but true. This is the time when all Chinese will desperately want to present a big dish of fish for the New Year Reunion Dinner to signify "abundance" for the family. In fact any fish is considered a must have dish for the reunion dinner. But the pomfret is the best.

Those who are not celebrating Chinese new year would make umai or the Sarawakian raw fish dish for their drinking sessions by the beach. The white flesh of the pomfret makes delicate and subtlely tasting raw fish salad. To the westerners this umai is known as ceviche.

Pomfret can be steamed, fried and deep fried. When a cook steams a white pomfret he only uses a bit of light soy sauce, some ginger, a bit of wine and spring onions to create a fabulous steaming fish dish. Local fishermen and villagers usually fry the fish in a kuali with just a bit of oil  The fish just needs a bit of salt for marinating. Deep fried pomfret is very crunchy, sweet and tasty.

Because of its decrease in population, and its popularity, the pomfret fetches a high price. The bigger the more expensive. Small palm sized pomfrets are sold below RM20.00 per kilo.

Sometimes, one or two big pomfrets given to VIPS may help to smooth some commercial transactions.

Many countries in the world do not allow frozen fish to be brought into their country through airports. Singapore is an example. Some loving parents, unknowingly brought in a few large pomfrets from Sarawak,only to be told at the Singapore customs that their precious fish would have to be confiscated. 

Beijing - Eating Noodles, 2018 and 1937

Memories of Beijing

Photo : Famous Foochow journalist enjoying two bowls of noodles in Beijing.

It was spring when we went to Beijing. It was neither too cold or too hot but we still had to bring a warm jacket just in case. It was lovely to be finally in the city where my father, one of the first two Sibu Foochow boys studied for their university degrees from 1934 to 1937,

I have to say that the bus driver was a good man who was very patient with all of us, for in the group most of us were over 50 years of age.

A favourtie activity for us in Beijing - looking for noodles.

 I remember my father telling us that noodles sold in Beijing shops were really good. He missed Beijing a lot and used to tell us interesting stories.

In 1937 my father graduated from Yenching University and came home to Sarawak in 1938 to start his newspaper business. However before he introduced his Sarawak Times in Kuching, Sarawak, he also introduced Beijing's famous Ja Jiang Mien to his siblings in Hua Hong Ice Factory, Sibu. Later he taught my mother to make it, and it was to suit his taste buds. Our family subsequently loves all sorts of wheat noodles.

Sibu Tales : Tai Sing :Textile Shop

There were two LAU brothers who had a very good  textile business in Sibu. Their shop was called Tai Sing (Big Success) on Blacksmith Road.

The older brother was generous and very helpful to his employees, one of them being my uncle by marriage. My aunt earned extra money by helping out as a confinement lady. Tai Sing Shop employees learned a lot from this towkay and often went their way upon having saved enough to start their businesses or move to another town in Sarawak.

My relatives frequented the textile shop because it was one of the two shops in Sibu for the Foochows to buy their condolence gift (of 1 chien of material) for the bereaved family. When relatives were travelling or were not able to buy personally the material, they could call the shop 12, Blacksmith Road (tel 602). The shopkeeper would send the gift to the family of the newly departed. This gift is called the Wang Lien.

After the funeral, the Wang Lien would be shared among the bereaved. Quite often there would be gossips about the unfairness of the distribution. But the materials of 1 chien would really be too short for any adult wear. Just enough for some baby clothes.

That was the WHITE (death) package deal in those days. We just had to pay up for our order of Wang Lien and Ah Mui (as in Plum) the towkay would tick against the name. He had a very good register (Chinese accounting book) for IOU

This traditional WHITE business carried on for many years. Their competitor was Tai Lung which is still operating in the 21st Century. Tai Lung is also the more popular shop for RED business, or wedding deals.



Tai Sing did not continue for some unknown reasons.

But we do miss the understanding proprietor who was cheerful, helpful and very hospitable. Women from down river or villagers were welcome to take some materials on credit and he would take out the long account book to make a record.

Frog Statue in Nihewan Museum, Hebei

The frog statue in Nihewan Museum attracted a lot of our attention. My co travellers took many photos with the frog. The frog is a good luck symbol for the Chinese. But at a closer look it was a rubbish disposal bin. Rubbish was to be thrown into the hole. Perhaps the city council here wanted to let the citizens know that it is lucky to throw rubbish into the box. Good idea.

The museum , China's only museum for paleolithic relics is found in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei in 2010.

It covers a floor space of 3.3 hectacres and showcases more than 50,000 relics unearhted from the Nihewan Ruins.

The Museum grounds offer a lot of space for senior citizens and youths to conduct their activities. It is well landscaped and very modern.

Nang Chong Stories : Porcupine

My two uncles and their spouses were mainly rubber tappers after the Japanese Occupation.  Being villagers they raise their young children in Nang Chong and sent them to village school. Times were tough but they managed. But when the prices of the rubber went down  followed by the political upheaval in the 60's, they had to look for alternative work to make ends meet. They went to Sibu to be wharf labourers as both of them were not well educated.

My aunts remained in the village, and they continued to tap their rubber trees, plant a bit of rice on their empty swampy land. The children continued to attend the village school. It was really not too expensive to live in the village even though cash was quite limited. They grew their own vegetables, reared their own poultry, pigs and fish in the ponds.

Once in a while our uncles came home to tap some rubber to help out as the rubber trees were still healthy and giving a good amount of latex.

Once the two of them found a family of porcupine in the rubber garden when they were processing the latex in the rubber processing hut. In no time, they managed to kill two of the adults with their parangs.

The two porcupines were quite big and my two uncles managed to drain their blood into a clean basin. Soon they built a fire to burn the skin of the porcupine and they slowly cut the meat up so that they could share with the neighbours and relatives.

My grandmother would not have any of the meat, but my eldest uncle cooked quite a bit of the porcupine for every one to eat. Third uncle, who looked after my ngie ma or maternal grandmother,  therefore took his share and sold it to some people who were hanging out at the Cooperative store.

He brought back the money and shared the cash with my grandmother and kept his share for his own family. Grandma said that the cash was enough for the fares of the motor launch trips to Sibu. We were never told why Grandma did not want to eat porcupine.

Years later my two uncles learned that porcupine meat had health benefits. (those were the days before Google was able to give us any information.

Midnight Hotel, Beijing

We arrived at Midnight in Beijing and because it was dark and we were so tired we did not see much.
the next day we saw the front part of t he small airport hotel, with Qing dynasty design..A lot of interesting arches and aquamarine blues.




Breakfast was simple, buffet style with some very cross servers. But it was a warm breakfast of buns and some watery porridge. And then we were on our way.

Sibu Tales : Bridal Tea Set

The Bridal tea set is a must for the bride to bring to the groom's house in a traditional wedding. And it is for the tea ceremony at the groom's house.

However in modern days, some varieties of tea ceremony may be conducted. Firstly it may be conducted in the restaurant. Secondly the tea ceremony might be conducted at the grandparents' house, if the grandparents are elderly. Thirdly, it could be even conducted in the bride's house if the groom is from  another country.

The tea ceremony is to introduced the bride to relatives, or the groom to the relatives. During the introducting, the bride will offer a cup of tea , which might not even be real tea, to the couple who would give a red packet (usually with quite a  bit of cash) to the newly weds. One of the elders would be the master of ceremony and call all the relatives to come and sit in the arranged chairs and they would be offered tea, after the three bows.

Most newly weds would keep the bridal tea set for the rest of their lives.

Today for convenience, the groom's family gets the tea set to make it simple.

Some weddings do not even have tea ceremony. The couples can opt for a minimalist wedding and do away with all traditions.

Sarawakian Local Delights : Stir Fried Pork with Pineapples and Limes Sauce

Pork bought in the town, or wild boar shot in the jungle can be easily cooked in the longhouse and served to visitors for fellowship. It would be easier to serve, and nicer to present,  if the sauce is not too watery.




The meat must be thinly sliced , two fingers wide for easy chewing. Bones can be cooked together too for better taste. This is especially true if wild boar is used. The meat slices are then marinated with light soy sauce, pepper and a bit of sesame oil for a short while like 20 to 30 minutes.

The sauce is prepared by boiling  pineapple slices with several fresh limes in two bowls of water, some chilli sauce and some tomato sauce. No thickening is needed. Some sugar and pepper may be added if desired.

Fry slices of two big onions for the aromatics and add the pork slices. Once the meat is no longer red, add the prepared sauce and cook until the sauce is thick and the meat is thoroughly cooked and flavourful. Add more salt if desired. You can either have the sauce more watery, or you can reduce the water .

If the liquid is very reduced,you will feel that you areeating the slices of meat with a delightful jam.

Enjoy.

The Peking Man in Hebei

It was an awesome day out at Ninehewan in Hebei.

The road towards the archealogical site was dry and dusty but I could see the desert slowly becoming greener.

The Chinese government and the people of Hebei are trying their best to tame their desert and with great success.

Hebei is a coal producing province and a special train even transports coal to the sea coast port  Qinhuangdao Port, which is the world's largest coal port. It is on the Bohai sea coast. While I was there the coal carrying trains going to Bohai sea seemed to be non stop.

Nihewan is the famous area where the Peking man was discovered in 1923-27. Some of the fossils found here dated roughly 750,000 years ago or even older. The government of Hebei has improved this area and it is becoming a tourist attraction site.

Sarawakian Local Delights : "Tunu"

The Ibans have a way with chicken and any other meat.

Before cooking and cutting up the chicken the cook will "tunu" or singe or burn the skin until it is a little burnt. This will add a special aroma to the meat.

Perhaps it is a good way to "kill some of the germs" a young Iban man told me.

Chicken soup cooked in bamboo with this preparation step often has a very unique and delicious taste and flavour.

Ching Ming in Wuyuan

The special offering for Chingming in Wuyuan, where we visited, was wormwood cake, a kind of cake made of wormwood leaves and glutinous rice, before Ching Ming day comes.

"Wormwood" is a kind of wild vegetable which looks like celery leaves. It is very short, but has unique pure fragrance.

Blend the wormwood leaves and mix the juice with the glutinous rice flour. The dough becomes light green immediately. Stuff the dough with sweetened bean paste, sesame or vegetables. Press the dough with a mould to produce a round cake, and then place it on a banana leaf and steam.

To the local people, wormwood cake is "more than simple fine food. It is more like a spring breeze that contains infinite memories and unique homseickness which drifts further and further away and becomes ever more refreshing as time goes."

I shall miss Wuyuan, although as time passes the memories will fade with age.

Oh if I can get a whiff of the wormwood cake aroma!! And feel again the warmth from the steam of a roadside stove. It has been a shivering cold day.

Sarawak : More wild ginger

White wild ginger flowers, with palte yellow and green leaves.

Bowls with Rooster Motif

Many hawker stalls and coffee shops serve noodles in ceramic bowls with rooster motif. The local people call these bowls "rooster bowls".

According to the Hakka people the original bowls were actually made by Hakka people in the Guangdong province about 100 years ago. The original design was a drawn rooster with a red necka nd trunk, black tail and legs walking on green grass. Purple peoonies and green leaves form the background. Sometimes small flowers and leaves are seen at the bottom of the bowl.

Because these bowls are very durable, they are very popular.

There are several different sizes of the original bowls from China which have become collectors' items.

Today the bowls are produced in the Lampang  region of Thailand.

The rooster bowls look very nice when they are stacked up in any noodle stall in coffee shops in Sarawak.

Kapit :Express Boats

Kapit express boats have a special place in my heart.

After I graduated I worked as a teacher in Kanowit but one day, a man called up my mother, who was rather ill and asked her to pick up some kampong chicken at the wharf addressed to her. Someone from Kapit had sent her seven chickens for her to help nourish her back to health.

Until today, from 1975, we still do not know who sent the chickens.

My third uncle went to fetch the chickens on his bicycle and he asked the express boat more than 10 times to ascertain the recipient of the special gift. He was an honest man.

Praise God for this mystery gift.

Sibu Tales : The Sisons

The Sisons came as missionaries to work in Kapit at the Christ Hospital in 1961. He was a dentist from the Philippines and was very hardworking. His wife Emma was beautiful and a great singer. They had lovely children.

In 1968 they came to Sibu and joined our Church, the Wesley Methodist Church. Ray and his siblings went to school with many of us and we were MYFers together. Dr. Sison meanwhile also helped with the Iban Church.

Dr Sison was a good leader. He was friendly and very down to earth.

The late 60's were turbulent days and every where soldiers were hanging out, and the Malay Regiment came as if they were the Occupation Army. Even the swimming pool at Bukit Lima was full of British soldiers. So it was quite uncomfortable for families to bring their children swimming. We needed to have one afternoon (I think it was Thursday) for ladies only. Our school swimming team did not do well, while the Sacred Heart Boys' school did very well. I gave up swimming too, and so did many other girls.

One evening the MYF held an International Night for all members and invited guests. Some of the members borrowed costumes from Mrs. Sison for the Filipino Bamboo Dance. They all looked so good!! It was good that we had missionaries who helped us in the school to have a better world vision.

With so much going on, most missionaries had to bring their families home and they all left before 1983 actually. The Sisons left in 1971. It was very sad to see the missionaries leaving one by one.

NOTE : Last month, April, 2018 a group of us from Sibu, led by Wong Meng Lei had the opportunity to do some field work in Manila. It was so good that I was in touch with Lily Sison del Mundo and Ray Sison (in Hong Kong) through Facebook. Meng Lei and I visited Mrs. Sison and the family . Rev Tie, based in Manila drove us to their home.

It was so good to meet them again.)

Sesame Pork or Beef

This is enough for a family of 8.

Meat:
800 gm beef or pork - thinly sliced or julienne

Marinade:
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 egg white
2 tablespoon Cornstarch
2 tablespoon wine of choice


3 cup Oil -- for deep frying
Sauce:

Sauce ingredients:
4 tablespoon Sesame seed paste -- - or
4 tablespoon Peanut butter -- diluted in
4 tablespoon Water
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoon Sugar
2 tablespoon Soy sauce
2 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
4 tablespoon Sesame seed oil
4 tablespoon Chinese wine (Xiao Xing or Foochow red wine or Port)

4 tablespoon Roasted sesame seeds


Combine meat, salt, soy sauce, and cornstarch. Mix well with hand.
Bring oil in wok to high heat. Deep fry meat 1 minute. Drain. Remove meat.
Bring oil to high temperature again and deep fry 1 minute more.
Drain and remove to platter. Coat with sesame seeds.
Mix sauce ingredients into a smooth, thin sauce. Heat in saucepan and pour over meat.

Changle Man : First Foochow Christian Convert

The First Foochow Christian Convert. Ting Ang or Ting Ing Ko. Changle man.



Otis Gibson 


was born on a farm in Moira, New York. He converted at the age of 13 and when he was 19 he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church. After he graduated with a doctorate in divinity in 1854, he was appointed a missionary to Foochow. He had just married his wife Eliza a few months before they were sent to China!

In 1856, Otis Gibson and his co workers established two churches in Fuzhou City, Church of the True God 
*Jing Zuo Tong) and Church of Heavenly  Peace (Tien Ang Tong). A day after Christmas the same year, 
he purchased a place in the South Bank of Min River . By 1859 he bult a western boarding school for 
laymen and ministers.

In 1860's he helped in the translation work of the Bible and other Christian books into the local Foochow dialect.

In 1857 He and Robert Maclay baptized their first convert, Ting Ang who got rid of all the idols in his home.
He also started the Methodist mission in Yeng Ping (Nanping) in 1864

He had to leave China because his wife was very ill. Nathan Sites and other Methodist missionaries continued
 his good work.