Surprise in Shanghai

My daughter has been on the road in China with her Mandarin teacher, another parent chaperone, and 18 other students for the last three weeks. I've been recording their adventures on the blog Tigers on the Road for our families and friends, posting the pictures and reports sent back by Mr Yu using his iPad. In just a few days they will return with countless stories, pictures, souvenirs and life-changing memories.

A surprise was waiting in their hotel: Blas and a colleague were awarded a grant to do field work in Mongolia, so he had to travel to China for a week for the planning. He secretly arranged with Mr. Yu to surprise Miss R. by taking a room in the same hotel. Apparently there is film  of their reunion, which I hope to see on their return.

They have been able to spend a day together wandering the streets of Shanghai with a friend. Priceless!

Tigers on the Road

These tiger pictures are from a May Day parade.

My daughter has been studying Mandarin in high school for 3 years. Now, she will be traveling around China with her teacher, another chaperone and seventeen other students for about a month.


They have a great itinerary, and Mr. Yu has led many such trips in the past. Since I can't go myself, I made a blog so those of us who have to stay home can follow along, virtually. Their school mascot is the tiger ("the Gallant Tigers") so I called it Tigers on the Road. This gives me an excuse to post lots of tiger pictures to my Tumblr.

"Wild China"

Let's hear it for Netflix instant streaming!
Lately, we have been watching a six-part series called Wild China, filmed for the BBC's Science and Nature series. It was filmed in HD, and combines classic wild-life nature documentary with glimpses into a region's history and customs.
This video clip compiles some of the time-lapse photography, including an amazing sequence of bamboo growing. It looks like an alien creature when it comes out of the ground!

Wild China's time-lapse from ßlϋeωãvε on Vimeo.

Wild China BBC series

We've been watching the BBC series Wild China on Netflix. The quality of the photography is incredible, and the music is wonderful. This clip, from the first episode, cuts out the narration and just gives some of the images and the music, The rice terraces that are thousands of years old, the limestone karst gorges and caves, the sandstone columns: these landscapes seem so familiar from paintings and yet seem unreal at the same time. What you don't see here are the long sequences on the amazing wildlife of the region, and some of the wonderful scenes of daily life.

Here's a clip with narration and some of the animals: