Category: Challenges

My Books > The Great China Quest > Challenge 6: ACCOMPLISHED!

Map updated!

Challenge 6: Work in the kitchen at a noodle shop.

It wasn’t too hard to find a noodle shop in Lanzhou. Afterall, this is considered the home of the noodle. As one man on the train coming here told us, “Lanzhou noodles are the best. Everywhere else, they’re just not as good.”

The problem we had was finding a shop that would actually let us work in their kitchen. We imagined the situation reversed – would we let us work in our kitchen? Absolutely not. But luckily, once again, the kindness of the Chinese people came to our aid.

With the assistance of a man named Cloudswhite, the headmaster of a local school, we approached the shop where we’d eaten our breakfast. The remarkably kind family who ran it not only agreed to show us how to make noodles but also let us have a go.

Now I’d like to say how natural the art of making noodles came to us. I’d also like to say how much the customers enjoyed our efforts. I’d like to say these things…but I can’t. We were quite simply hopeless and our noodles never made it near the customers! Instead the dough was gathered back together into a ball and the restaurant’s chefs made amends for our poor attempts. We once asked the owner’s older sister, Xu Ping (the one teaching us), if she’d ever consider giving us a job. “No!” she replied without hesitation.

We had a great time and learnt a lot. We now know how to make beef noodle soup, although no-one would reveal the shop’s special secret recipe. “I’ve never written it down and I never will. It’s only passed down through the family by word of mouth” the owner, Lu Jing, told us. The day really couldn’t have been any better…but as we went to leave there was suddenly an unexpected twist.

“What will you do next?” Lu Jing asked.

“We’re not sure yet” we told her and started to list some of the challenges we still have to achieve. “We still have to learn a martial art, street perform, attend a wedding…”

Suddenly, Lu Jing interrupted and pointed at her daughter saying, “Her older brother’s getting married the day after tomorrow! It’s two hours from here by bus. You can come if you like!”

Amazing!

Photos (click on them to see the full image)

Videos

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My Books > The Great China Quest > Challenge 5: ACCOMPLISHED!

Map updated!

With the disappointment of failing our first challenge (Challenge 4: Catch a fish) still in our thoughts, we decided to spend a few more days in Qinghai province and attempt our next challenge:

Challenge 5: Experience the life of a monk.

On our way to try and fish at Qinghai Lake, we’d chatted on the bus to a university student who called himself “Goat 5”. He’d very kindly invited us to his hometown – a small, remote town high in the mountains on the Tibetan plateau – so we gave him a call. He’d told us he could arrange for us to spend time at a Tibetan monestary near his home.

What followed is sure to be one of the most special memories of our trip. We spent a night with the monks 4000m up near the Yellow River. We learnt about their largely isolated lives and observed their rituals. These included waking up at 5am to chant prayers, playing drums and horns and visiting a local family who had recently suffered a bereavement.

Due to some sensitive political issues that we discussed with the monks, we have agreed not to reveal their identities or location so we’ve been limited in the pictures we have been able to use. Sorry about this but we hope you’re imaginations can fill in the gaps.

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Videos

Video 1: Monks chanting and playing a horn at 5:00 AM (pitch dark)

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Video 2: Monks still chanting at 7:00 AM

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My Books > The Great China Quest > Challenge 4: FAILED!

Map updated!

Challenge 4: Catch a Fish.

We thought China’s biggest salt water lake, Qinghai Hu, would be the perfect place to catch a fish. Located 3,200m above sea-level on the Tibetan plateau, it’s home to an abundance of fish. Surely this would be our easiest challenge yet…

Well, the only problem was, once we arrived we discovered that anyone found fishing in the lake faced 7 years imprisonment. Even more strangely, it seemed that no-one was even supposed to talk about fish. The local restaurant owners immediately put a finger to their lips and shooshed anyone who so much as asked if they sold them.

Clearly something fishy was going on and we needed to find out what.

We had dinner with a local Tibetan man who wouldn’t give us his name but insisted that we just call him “Shushu” (Uncle) in a small town beside the lake, a place known only as “One Five One”. He told us that the government has imposed a strict ban on fishing to protect the nearly extinct population of “yellow fish”. People still risk catching them during the night and there’s a clandestine place for restaurant owners to buy the fish and sell them secretly to tourists for high prices, but for anyone caught, the punishments are severe.

So we didn’t catch a fish and we didn’t even try. And in case you’re wondering, we didn’t even eat it for dinner. Instead we enjoyed a plate of yak meat with potatoes.

Photos

Videos

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