While many women spend their whole lives searching for the perfect husband while regarding marriage as their ultimate goal, there are some who simply refuse to give in to the traditional ideology. Instead, they dedicate their lives to their career, dreams, beliefs and their friends.
In Shanghai, I am fortunate enough to meet a few of them. At the dining table on Monday night sit five women who I consider powerful in their unique ways. Toi is a famous art director from Hong Kong; Bai Jie is a well-known TV producer; Jessie is a Harvard MBA graduate who has met the US President and visited Africa several times on business; Karen is a promising young woman with strong characters and an appetite to eat people for lunch; YiJia is a Shanghainese with amiable personalities. Although they might be different in characters, backgrounds and expertise, they all possess the quality of powerful women - smart, opinionated, rich, successful and independent.
Most of them come from prestigious families, which support them with the best education and exposure. They dine at the expensive restaurants and their family's owned properties are scattered around the world. I was dazzled by their generous spending, their exquisite taste and their air of confidence. But contradicting my impression of being self-absorbed and unreachable, they are surprisingly down-to-earth and considerate, despite all the wealth they possess. Although most of them are in their forties, they possess vibrant energy while making dirty jokes and funny stories. Some of them are the silliest persons I've ever met. It is a bliss to be around them.
Apartment & Stadium
Apartment. Stadium. Apartment. Stadium. Apartment and Stadium.
These are literally the only two places I spend time in in the last week. Every morning I commute from the service apartment to the Stadium, from where I travel back in the middle of the night. There is no place else. No shopping mall, no restaurant and no going out.
Approaching the final stages, rehearsals have been moved into the Stadium, where the actual show will take place. The schedule is packed with 3-4 shows a day and the creative team is to oversee all of them. For the past two weeks, we work more than 12 hours a day everyday. I am starting to lose count of the day of the week. Day and night just come and go, and things become a blur. The only clear image I remember is surprisingly the brief moment I lay on bed every morning. I guess that is the only time I am wide awake nowadays.
These are literally the only two places I spend time in in the last week. Every morning I commute from the service apartment to the Stadium, from where I travel back in the middle of the night. There is no place else. No shopping mall, no restaurant and no going out.
Approaching the final stages, rehearsals have been moved into the Stadium, where the actual show will take place. The schedule is packed with 3-4 shows a day and the creative team is to oversee all of them. For the past two weeks, we work more than 12 hours a day everyday. I am starting to lose count of the day of the week. Day and night just come and go, and things become a blur. The only clear image I remember is surprisingly the brief moment I lay on bed every morning. I guess that is the only time I am wide awake nowadays.
Foursome
20070817
As the four-day trip draws closer to the end, the children seem to be happily awaiting their home sweet home. But as they start packing, I can see they feel sad to leave the places they called home for the last three days and the coaches and choreographers who supported them wholeheartedly and show them great kindness.
We selected four ID kids for this endeavour and each has distinctive personality. Liu Yuan is serious, reserved and determined. MeiYing is athletic and straightforward. TuJun is an active and talkative teenager. And Fong Miao is outgoing yet with restricted ability of limp movements. Not only do they get along very well, they take care of one another, fetching water bottles, towels and carrying bags.
It is the first time I spend so much time with intellectually disabled children. They are not so much different from the normal ones. They might be mentally less developed but they are more innocent, less complex and mostly importantly, happier than most. The longer you spend time with them, the more you will fall in love with them.
As the four-day trip draws closer to the end, the children seem to be happily awaiting their home sweet home. But as they start packing, I can see they feel sad to leave the places they called home for the last three days and the coaches and choreographers who supported them wholeheartedly and show them great kindness.
We selected four ID kids for this endeavour and each has distinctive personality. Liu Yuan is serious, reserved and determined. MeiYing is athletic and straightforward. TuJun is an active and talkative teenager. And Fong Miao is outgoing yet with restricted ability of limp movements. Not only do they get along very well, they take care of one another, fetching water bottles, towels and carrying bags.
It is the first time I spend so much time with intellectually disabled children. They are not so much different from the normal ones. They might be mentally less developed but they are more innocent, less complex and mostly importantly, happier than most. The longer you spend time with them, the more you will fall in love with them.
Ta Gou
One of the most famous schools around the region is Ta Gou, which houses twenty thousand students. Children as young as three years old are admitted to the school, where they learn the foundation of all kinds of martial arts -- including Bo Staff, Tai Chi, Boxing, Tai Kwan Dou, swordsmanship and Shaolin Kung Fu. Most of them are boys, but there are also girls in the classes.
They practice from sunrise to sunset and sometimes under the blazing sun. But one can really feel that despite the long practice hours and the physical hardship, students are enjoying themselves very much. They simply LOVE Kung Fu.
City of martial arts
20070816
Dengfung is an intriguing city that no other place can match. The spirit of martial arts is in the air. All the schools in the town are martial arts schools and there are plenty of them. The streets are usually turned into practicing grounds for the students where they do stretching, running or aerial flips. Students dressed in red or orange sweat shirts and pants line in three rows and on their coaches' commands, flip and lung across the pavement one by one.
Apart from the students, the fame of Shaolin also attracts a flock of martial arts admirers from around the world who are determined to master the celebrated arts. Along the streets, outside the hotels or in the martial arts schools, it is not unusual to spot eager learning foreigners who dress in Chinese style learning Tai Chi or swordsmanship.
It is quite interesting to see how the whole city seems to serve one purpose and one purpose only. All its people is dedicated to art and take it seriously. There is a spirit of holiness in this cradle of the martial arts. And I really love Deng Fung for it.
Dengfung is an intriguing city that no other place can match. The spirit of martial arts is in the air. All the schools in the town are martial arts schools and there are plenty of them. The streets are usually turned into practicing grounds for the students where they do stretching, running or aerial flips. Students dressed in red or orange sweat shirts and pants line in three rows and on their coaches' commands, flip and lung across the pavement one by one.
Apart from the students, the fame of Shaolin also attracts a flock of martial arts admirers from around the world who are determined to master the celebrated arts. Along the streets, outside the hotels or in the martial arts schools, it is not unusual to spot eager learning foreigners who dress in Chinese style learning Tai Chi or swordsmanship.
It is quite interesting to see how the whole city seems to serve one purpose and one purpose only. All its people is dedicated to art and take it seriously. There is a spirit of holiness in this cradle of the martial arts. And I really love Deng Fung for it.
Shaolin - Dengfung
20070815
It was such a good feeling to have a break and to be miles away from the 24/7 non-stop hectic production. What better still is that we are heading to one of the top travel destinations in China. I am absolutely thrilled.
The purpose of this trip is to bring four intellectually disabled children to the martial arts school and practice one of the acts at the opening ceremony. Boarding on a 1:40pm flight yesterday, we left Shanghai and headed for Henan Province to visit the birthplace of all Martial Arts--Shaolin Temple at Songshan. Our plane landed at Zhen Zhou and from there we travelled to Deng Fung city right below Songshan.
Dengfung is a simply structured city with small houses lined on both sides of the city roads. They are long, broad and straight, forming a grid-like network. They climb upwards and stretch all the way to the Songshan ranges yonder. The mountains sit quietly and subtly in the background in every direction and are veiled from a layer of mist most of the time, creating a magnificent scenery out of Chinese paintings. The sight reminds me of Jasper in Canada and Four Ladies Mountains in Szechuan, yet the scene here looks more graceful and more classic.
It is a total bliss to be surrounded by the mother nature. It feels spiritually soothing and peaceful. If only I could stay longer.
It was such a good feeling to have a break and to be miles away from the 24/7 non-stop hectic production. What better still is that we are heading to one of the top travel destinations in China. I am absolutely thrilled.
The purpose of this trip is to bring four intellectually disabled children to the martial arts school and practice one of the acts at the opening ceremony. Boarding on a 1:40pm flight yesterday, we left Shanghai and headed for Henan Province to visit the birthplace of all Martial Arts--Shaolin Temple at Songshan. Our plane landed at Zhen Zhou and from there we travelled to Deng Fung city right below Songshan.
Dengfung is a simply structured city with small houses lined on both sides of the city roads. They are long, broad and straight, forming a grid-like network. They climb upwards and stretch all the way to the Songshan ranges yonder. The mountains sit quietly and subtly in the background in every direction and are veiled from a layer of mist most of the time, creating a magnificent scenery out of Chinese paintings. The sight reminds me of Jasper in Canada and Four Ladies Mountains in Szechuan, yet the scene here looks more graceful and more classic.
It is a total bliss to be surrounded by the mother nature. It feels spiritually soothing and peaceful. If only I could stay longer.
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