Peking Duck and China's fascination with McDonald's

(written in June of 2010)
On our last night in Beijing a few of us joined my roommate Joleen and her friend Lynn (an international student at St. Thomas home for the summer) in a traditional Peking duck meal at an upscale private restaurant owned by a friend of Lynn's father.

We had a private room with 3 wait staff dedicated to our table, a private wash room and very personal service.

Lynn ordered for us. In addition to the Peking Duck we had some amazing food that was fit for the season-including a special plant that is cooling for the summer- and the very best kung pao shrimp I've ever eaten as well several varieties of fresh juices (melon, papaya and tamarind). I also enjoyed another beer! It is not 'lady like' to drink shots, so our shot glasses were removed!

As many of you know China was closed to the outside world for a long time. In the 1970s China began what is referred to as the 'Opening.' This is the Socialist Market economy that has opened China up to private ownership, international investment and acceptance into the World Trade Organization. All together, this has created quite a change in China including a growing middle class that likes to travel and eat out. Which brings me to McDonalds and KFC.

Before the 'Opening,' the only restaurants in China were either associated with hotels or were private and used for visiting dignitaries and business dinners. Almost everyone else ate at the 'canteen' associated with their work unit (danwei). In the danwei system every person was guaranteed a job, a place to live and enough food to eat (usually all in the same area too). The canteen, also a danwei, provided the food as a part of someone's job and not what we would associate with 'dinner-out.' Customer service was not a part of the feeding-the-masses job description.

Believe it or not, this helps explain why McDonalds and KFC are so popular in China. These were two of the first fast food restaurants to open in China and among the first non-canteen restaurants to be available to the emerging middle class. Both built huge stores here, some of the biggest in the world.The service is fast and friendly (you know the standards, "would you like fries with that?"). The spaces are well lit and clean and you can even take a tour of the kitchen! So, the Chinese love McDonalds and KFC not because the food is all that good, but because it's clean, well lit and they get good service. Another major reason is that it's 'modern.' Another blog would have to ensue for that discussion. But as 'food for thought,' imagine that you've been told your culture, your traditional ways are backward and outdated...

This very fancy meal gave me the feeling of being a dignitary in China before the Opening. It also reminded me that I wanted to tell you why China is so infatuated with KFC and McDonalds.

Little Donkey Farm

China, with it's millions of people to feed and it's rapid industrialization, is facing some similar issues as faced by the United States in the 1970s. Back then, the US embarked on a new agriculture plan that was supposed to help us feed millions of people. It succeeded, but not the way we planned.

What we got was cheap, sweet, over-processed food grown using unsustainable methods. Did you know it's actually cheaper to grow organic food? The reason it's not cheaper in the grocery store is because the US government continues to subsidize big unsustainable agribusinesses. Yes! It's cheaper for your local family farm to grow your food without pesticides, petrochemical fertilizers and big machinery. AND it can be delivered to your local market with much lower transportation costs.

What does this have to do with China? Well, the Chinese government is faced with the some of same decisions as the US was 40 years ago. I hope, based on our mistakes, the Chinese government makes better choices than made by the US.

To that end, Shi Yan, PhD, has started a government funded trial CSA farm on the outskirts of Beijing. 'What's a CSA?' you might ask. CSA is an acronym for Community Supported Agriculture. We have many thriving CSA's in Minnesota and across America. In fact, Shi Yan traveled to Minnesota to study our CSAs to develop her own version in China. (Pictured: Shi Yan (left) and Danmin 'Barbara' Fang (right-the woman I got to help)).

CSAs in Minnesota are based on the shared risk model. City dwellers buy shares in a small family farm. This covers the seeds, labor and land. If there is major crop failure the shareholder shares the risk. Every week of the summer the share holders receive a box of food grown on the farm. The Little Donkey Farm is similar and also different to the Minnesota model.

The Little Donkey Farm has share holders who receive boxes of food, but also provides space for community gardens. Families rent these plots and grow their own food. Each Sunday, over 100 urban Beijing residents travel to the farm to work their plots. They are provided with tools, seeds, organic fertilizer and water as well as farming expertise.

Our visit to the Little Donkey Farm was a grand adventure.

We were treated to a tour of the farm. We met the Professor, a donkey. The Professor represents the traditional ways as donkeys were used to plow the fields way back when.

We also met the free range chickens (roosters and hens) raised for food and eggs. The chickens have a very large space to roam.

Then we saw the pigs, including a variety of pig that is native to northern China (see the picture of the dark brown pigs).

The pigs are kept in very sustainable pens that feed them and handles their waste very efficiently so everything can be used in the gardens. Veggies are even grown on the outside of the barn and other structures to provide shade in summer.

Then we were each able to help a family work their plots. It was my pleasure to help Danmin 'Barbara' Fang's family. It was a multi-generational work day which included Barbara's mother, her daughter as well as her husband. Barbara brings her daughter so she can learn and understand where her food comes from.

I hope you enjoy the slide show with views of the farm including some cool techniques for staking plants that don't require a trip to your garden center.

Some additional information you may want to consider the next time you contact your congressional representatives.

Some side effects of our subsidies and what we've learned:

• The family farm is almost a thing of the past. Small farms using sustainable organics can grow more food for less cost. We can save them if we change the way the government uses subsidies.
  
• We've increased our dependence on petrochemicals for fertilizers, pesticides, planting, harvesting and transportation. Agribusiness is unsustainable and continues our dependence on oil.
• Subsidies to big agribusiness have continued to grow despite the fact that we are subsidizing sugar (high fructose corn syrup) and feed lots when we really need clean safe food. We are not getting the nutrition we need to be healthy and productive.
  
• The hybridization of seeds/food that grow faster and produce more but don't have the same nutritional value as the old seeds/foods (remember all the colors of corn, they actually have more vitamins and minerals than yellow/white corn).
• Soil depletion because all we add to the soil are three ingredients (Nitrogen, Potassium and Phosphate) then plants consume un-replenished micro nutrients and strip the soil of it's life.
  

Saying Goodbye

Our last day in Beijing is a rest day after our big day at the Great Wall. We need the rest and time to catch up on homework.

I made it to the top with our professor Jyothi Gupta (pictured). The left picture is the climb, stage one. We actually climbed several of these steep slopes to get to the top of this particular section. It was hard, but we made it.

Today is our last day in Beijing. Tomorrow we leave for Tianjin. I cried as we left the farmers' market for the last time today. I know it is very unlikely I will ever see them again. Here is a picture of the three people who fed me for a good portion of this trip.

One day they got a good laugh as I learned my Chinese numbers. Today I took this picture so I could remember their faces. They make salted fried peanuts (regular and spicy), Chinese folded bread sandwiches (day trip meals) honey filled donuts (breakfast and day trips) and flat bread. I didn't buy their homemade noodles, but I bet they were fabulous.

New Comfort Food

Every morning I am able, I will walk to the farmers' market and get this sandwich. There's not much to it, but it is so yummy.

In China, breakfast is very much like dinner in that breakfast food is very similar to what you would order for dinner. It was fun for the first few days. Now, I'm really tired of all the oil used in the cooking and the same thing for breakfast each morning.

A couple of students discovered this place and have been 'turning-on' the rest of us ever since. The past two days we have had early meeting times and the sandwich makers don't arrive that early, so tomorrow is the next time I'll get this sandwich. I can't wait.



Description of the process:

On a spinning flat surface, he uses one ladle full of the batter and uses a metal squeegee to add these micro thin layers as it cooks. He then cracks an egg on top of the 'crepe.'

Next, he scrapes it up off the pan and she builds the sandwich. First, there is a sauce, then some chili sauce, then some lettuce and then some crispy rice bread. She folds it up and cuts it in half and for 3 Yuan you are full. That's about 50 cents.

Now to either fall asleep or get my homework done.

Lunch and a Massage?

Now that it has taken me several days to get back to you, I'm having trouble figuring out what to write. There are so many good stories so I will have to settle.

Lunch and a Massage?

So we get back from our tour of Hutong area or the old city with cool narrow streets, which included a pedi-cab (rickshaw) ride from the bus drop-off to a place deeper inside where the buses can not reach. We visit a home with traditional courtyard and 3 generations living there. This picture has Pang and Joleen posting in the middle of a busy Hutong intersection. Notice the Budweiser beer sign on the bar in the background? American is everywhere over here. After Hutong area we visited a silk factory. It was amazing to see the process which is still very manual.

Then it was late afternoon and we needed to find some lunch. A few of us were really suffering from back and foot issues, so we needed a massage and figured we would have time for both and homework (right)!

I am with one of my professors, Jyothi Gupta and my roommate, Joleen. It's mid-afternoon (3ish) and many food places are closed. We want to get a massage and we've gotten directions to a place near our hotel, so we figure we'll just start walking towards the 'SPA' (as Jyothi would say) and then hope to find a restaurant on the way.

We find a place with people eating in it and walk in. I have a phrase book, so first we determine we are eating in a Western (Sichuan) restaurant. In the middle of each table is a deep hole with a burner. Jyothi says it's a hot pot. So they ask us what we want. The menu is in Chinese with no pictures.

I show the person waiting on us my book which says “What do you recommend?” He points to an item with a range of prices. He's asking us how much we want to order. It's a group meal so you order enough to feed everyone. He suggests a very large portion and I remind each of us that we are not that hungry and he's probably thinking we are like typical Americans (and want to eat a lot) so we order the next lower price (which was still too much).

He asks us what we want to 'go with it' so we order tofu (from the book) and then again point to the “What do you recommend?” sentence in the phrase book. We also get two beers to split. (I can't believe how good beer tastes with the food here! Jeff you can get back up off the floor!)

So we all think we've ordered a soup with tofu when he brings out this huge pot of soup with lots of vertebrae bones with attached arteries in it and no tofu. (Joleen was reminded of her anatomy class and identified many things in the bowl. Everything is eaten here - nothing goes to waste).

Then begins the process I like to call “identify the meat.” So each time he comes back to the table I'm pointing to a different character/word for a type of meat. First beef - no, then chicken - no (didn't think so bones too big), then pork - no. Now, I'm getting worried I'm eating dog because some crazy American told me that they eat dog here (they don't'). So I can't find the characters for mutton or lamb or goat but I find the character for sheep and we are all very relieved when he says yes. He then brings out homemade noodles to put in the pot along with a pile of long lettuce leaves and a plate of tofu!

After awhile it's boiling away and we begin to eat by dropping in some things to cook and taking chunks of sheep back out and picking off the meat (all with chopsticks which I'm getting somewhat good at). At each point we ask him to show us what to do.

We were so lucky they were willing to take the time to help us learn how to cook and eat the food. I think we provided some entertainment for them as well. It took a long time to eat this meal because it's cooking as you eat and you drop things in. When we finish and get the bill for this huge amount of food and 2 beers, it's about $6 each.

Off to the SPA - and our long anticipated massage. We walk up and down the street looking for the place. I am convinced it is further up the street closer to the farmers market... when we get to the turnoff for the market, there is a salon but not the SPA that we've seen before.

We go in and ask if they do massage. And they say yes! We sit down in the waiting area and they come and clarify that all three of us want massage (three fingers, yes, 3). They take us to a locker, by the hair washing station, where we put our packs and things. Then we turn around and they want to wash our hair! First they want to put on the hair cutting apron. Jyothi points to my back and mimes massage, again. I get out the book to show them the character for massage. They offer to have Jyothi sit in the hair cutting chair so they can rub her back there.

I'm beginning to worry that they will cut our hair or something. This is not the place for us... Joleen and I go and get our things out of the locker. Everyone is watching us and I feel really bad. We leave and all I can say is sorry in English. I was amazed that they were willing to give us a massage - to somehow meet our request/needs.

So we begin the walk back to the hotel and carefully look for the sign with SPA. We finally find it a lot closer to the hotel (like Joleen said) and we had walked by it at least 2 times.

Relieved, we go in and ask for massages. AND they say "no."

Apparently, they are booked solid so we try to make an appointment for the next day and they say "no" again. By now there are 5 women in 50's style hair dresser uniforms (close fitting pastel purple tops with black pants). You have to remember that none of us speak Chinese so we are getting along with gestures and my very limited phrase book.

Finally they all breathe a sigh of relief when this woman who knows some English walks in. She has very limited English for speaking but understands us very well. Just as we are about to get an appointment, one of the massage therapists very passionately begins to speak to the women with the English. I can see she is worried about something.

The woman tells us they are worried they will hurt us because of the language barrier. Jyothi laughs and Joleen says, “Can't we just say, 'ouch' if it hurts?” We are determined to get a massage! I'm worried we are being pushy Americans. Just as we're about to give up... we find a time that fits our schedule and theirs.

It turns out we can make an appointment for June 9 at 1 in the afternoon. June 9 is our day of rest after the trip to the Great Wall, so we're thinking that will be a good time to get a massage. This must be a pretty high class place to be booked up so far in the future.

After making our appointment we go to the bakery and get a round of milk shakes for desert. Jyothi calls this picture “the fat satiated cats” after a good meal (adventure) and desert!

Endurance

The 13 hour and 50 minute flight from Chicago to Beijing was long. I managed to switch to an aisle seat which was good because I would have lost my mind on the flight if I was not able to get up and walk around the minute I began to feel closed in. We were packed on the plane like sardines in our economy section. While the plane boarded, I could not believe all the people as they kept coming and coming to fill this enormous plane. When we started to take off we used the entire runway to get off the ground. Did I mention that I don't think there was an empty seat on the plane?

Most of us landed in China without Yuan (Chinese money) and water. It took nearly 2 long hot hours to get through immigration. When I finally got to the front of the line, the officer looked at my picture and asked me to take off my glasses. I guess I looked close enough to my picture because he let me in! After that I was dreading customs but we just walked right through and out of the airport without anyone batting an eye (that we could see any way!).

We were met by our tour guide and a very swank bus was called to take us to dinner and then to the hotel.

For dinner it we went to a different hotel and were told we had a set menu with tea included (the most amazing tea). We were also allowed one glass of beer, soft drink or bottled water (no refills). I had the beer! Pause here and know that my partner just fell off his chair because I NEVER drink beer. The beer tasted just like that first beer you have when you're legal and buy the most popular beer (Michelob). Other more regular beer drinkers at my table said it tasted like Budweiser. Now, my beer snob partner is grimacing. I must say though, it tasted really good with dinner and I drank it all.

Our hotel is fairly nice. We are in the equivalent of the Beijing suburbs because our professors wanted us to experience the real Chinese culture, not the business district where they are used to American tourists. It still feels very urban. I hope we do get to go to the business district so I can see how different it is (if it is). We're lucky and have European style toilets (not squat) and free LAN internet connection (can't connect to blogger or dropbox - lucky for me I can 'tunnel' into St. Kate's to post my blogs).

We are in a major tea district so there are stores selling tea everywhere. I'm looking forward to testing teas and bringing some home (any advice?).

Today we gathered at 9 a.m. and went to get money and water. The bank was an event all in itself. All 19 of us descended and were issued special numbers so we could get helped one by one. We hotly debated how much money to change. Our professors suggested we start with $100. Almost all the students I talked with changed more, including me. I think I just didn’t want to go through it again. They took a copy of my passport and I could not do anything but sit there and wait, watch and then sign each time the teller requested. The amazing thing was they counted the money they gave me at least 3 times each time it was moved around the desk. The large bills were put through the counting machine 5 times.

After that we walked the tea district and then found our way to a two story 'grocery store' that was like a two story super target. That was an experience I will have to relate later. Off to do some homework.

What do you feel about going there (China)?

As I tried to figure out a name for this blog, Rebecca Zenefski, a friend of mine offered to help. She had me take a number of steps to see if I could hone in on a good name. One of the steps was to answer the question, "What do you feel about going there?" Just write!

So I wrote...

Terrified! I'm the oldest person on the trip. All the other women are much younger than me even the professors. I'm worried I'm out of date, that I'll feel/be isolated. That's scary when I think of being away from home for 3 weeks - the longest amount of time I've ever been away.

It's important to me not to be a tourist. I want to be a student. I want to connect; respectfully participate in a relationship that is not just a benefit to me. I want to understand what lives are like for Chinese women, how does their activism manifest and what can we do together? What can we learn from each other.

In the last 100 years China has undergone extraordinary changes.

In 1912, the 'Republicans' overthrew the last Imperial Dynasty. Before they could really get their government established, Japan invaded China in 1937 and WWI ensued.

Once WWII was over (1945), the Communists and the Republicans united to defeat the Japanese. On the heels of that war, there was civil war between the Republicans and the Communists. We all know the Communists prevailed and the People's Republic of China was born in 1949.

The country then began the transition to a collectivist society and a socialist economic structure. Even though there were some things that worked, there was famine, corruption and hierarchy. In the late 1970's through the 90's, many of those dramatic changes were reversed through economic reform.

As I relate that brief history I wonder, "How does it feel to be an older woman in China who's experienced all of that? How is that different for a woman who lives in the city vs. someone in a rural area. What's it like to relate to a younger generation that's never known what you've known in such a dramatic way?

The dates and events of a country the size of China really only tells us very little about what life is like for the people of China. I think it is a big mistake to think we know something about a people or a place because we know a bit of history of that place at a hugely macro level. It is only in meeting and sharing our stories that we can learn and hope to build some solidarity and community.

I'm still scared, but I look forward to the journey.

In case you are wondering. I'm traveling to China for a global study course. The course is called Women, Work and Well Being. I will be there for three weeks with two professors and 16 other women. We begin in Beijing.