Jiang Xi and Back, an english speaker's tale

Hi friends,

For those of you who know Jason Toews, I almost settled on the blog title "Not as interesting as Jason's, but I have to aim high", and I'm sure you know why.
I’ve been out of the U.S. for about the past week and a half or so, but I just wanted to give you all a small glimpse into a specific couple of days. Having recently explored the city of Jingdezhen in the Jiang Xi province of China, I’ve observed a number of cultural practices that I think everyone should consider when travelling there.

First is the meal time practice of bai jiu, bi jiu, hong jiu and basically every form of alcohol that you can imagine. Throughout the course of each meal, you will be toasted numerous times by people all around the table, they will toast you and leave the rim of their glass lower than yours to show their deference for you, then say a few words of greeting to you. The only words you should beware of are “gan bei” or cheers, because the “bai jiu” (a rice-based white wine) you’ve been served is 100 proof alcohol, and this is the point at which- when the mayor of Jingdezhen asks you to chug one with him, you know you should have insisted on the red wine. If you have a drinking problem, do not go out to dinner with Chinese friends in China, period.

The second cultural practice is mainland Chinese hospitality. For those of you who have only experienced Chinese mainlanders travelling outside of their motherland, this will no doubt come as a surprise, as they have a notoriously brash reputation. But for you seeking to visit the Jiang Xi province in spite of this, prepare yourself to be bombarded with the company of strangers in restaurants, the pandemic gift-giving of any friends you may have made in the area, and the inability to pay for anything. I literally am petrified of having any of these friends I have made in Jiang Xi coming to visit the States, because I would be entirely afraid of disappointing any expectations of good old fashioned New England brusqueness.

The third cultural practice is less a cultural practice than a lack of oversight by the police. While there exist quite clear dividing lines between ongoing and incoming traffic, there is no enforcement of traffic rules and regulations while in city streets. This doesn’t merely apply to the Jiang Xi province, but all of mainland China. If you consider jay-walking to be your primary sport in the states, think of China as the X-games. The pedestrian does NOT have the right of way, even when that green pedestrian light misleads you into thinking otherwise. Often on a six lane highway split by a physical divider into two directions, you will still find incoming mopeds passing on both sides of you. Knowing the dangers of driving in China, there are extremely strict penalties for driving with any alcohol in you whatsoever. The anglicized term is “drink driving” as opposed to “drunk driving”. This would be great, except there is no one to enforce this road law either. As a plus, you will find less road rage here than in the States, because it is widely recognized that all Chinese politeness is on pause during the operation of a motor vehicle.

There is, of course more to gawk at than just the Chinese culture.

The Jiang Xi countryside is reputed as the most beautiful in China, and in fact during a two-hour walk through the countryside, I saw no less than five bridal parties being photographed in the small village we walked through. Jiang Xi is also famous for its use of chili and spices, one dish with a green vegetable -somewhat resembling spinach- served in the cocoon of a red pepper. Another dish has beef and a number of different hot peppers ensconced in a bed of wide rice noodles. The food in Jiang Xi was my favorite of any Chinese province so far, but it may be somewhat biased by the fact that I was dining with some of the more elite as opposed to my usual cheap travel fare. Jiang Xi is further recognized as the pottery capital of China, having produced the ceramics for the emperors of the majority of Chinese history. Tea cups produced in a fine china set will be thin enough that incandescent light will still pass through abated, its color only changed by the external glaze finish. If you can appreciate the use of light in art, you may get some idea of why people are willing to pay over a hundred thousand dollars for a small tea set. As far as I’m concerned daily, I’ll stick to Starbucks’ paper cups.