First Impressions of China |
| Sunday, 04 July 2010 19:32 |
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Hello My Kindred Spirits, Since my Madame Flavour adventure began two years ago, I have been meaning to visit China, to meet our growers of Green Jasmine and White tea, explore the remote landscapes where the tea is grown; and understand more first hand of this ancient culture, the birthplace of tea.
My itinerary would comprise of 2000km by car, touring remote Jiang-Xi and Fujian provinces - the best teas grow near the province borders. I would be accompanied on my solo trip by Frank my Chinese blender, a generous man who had worked with tea for years in China and the Ivory Coast (where he had learnt french) before starting his own business near Nanchang ten years earlier. We had so far spoken only by via e-mail. Frank organised all the details locally so it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that I bade farewell to Matthias and little Sienna for two weeks of adventure; and stepped with my suitcase full of clothes-to-cater-to-all occaisions, through the international terminal at Melbourne airport. My flight was direct to Shanghai, from where I had an internal transfer to Whenzou the next morning, where Frank and I would meet (he with a Camellia flower between his teeth!).
 Boarding the Air China flight, full of mostly Chinese passengers, I was already conscious of the level of family and of community, with several women taking on the role of grandmother on the flight, looking after the assorted babies by singing to them, clucking and rocking them. People generally entertained themselves by wandering around, making new friends, stretching, chatting, sharing food. I started to relax and enjoy this gentle entree to my new culture.
Around 12 hours later, exhausted after too many movies and not enough sleep the previous week in preparation, I arrived at the very modern and immaculate Shanghai Pudong airport. In fact as soon as I joined the queue at Melbourne airport I had realised my visions of going to a 'less developed' place were certainly not going to be true of Shanghai at least - many very elegantly dressed people . At Pudong airport, I experienced warmth and helpfulness. I saw a young man help an old woman with her bags. Then thankfully had an airport worker help me with instructions to find my bus to the domestic airport some 40 kms away. He then accompanied me to the right coloured taxi, carrying my heavy case and instructing the taxi driver where to take me ..even though we ended up at the wrong hotel.
I realise that not speaking Mandarin will be a challenge; as English so far is surprisingly non-existent. After only one night here, the hotel staff are nervous as they see me approaching - the English speaking woman with many questions. They start calling out the back for the staff member who does speak a little English, and backing out themselves, giggling nervously with maybe the same mix of trepidation and excitement I had embarking on this trip.
Room service last night was ordered without a menu. I asked, again in pidgeon English, for chicken, 'Spicy please' and had the most delicious surprise - a plate of tender chicken pieces on the bone including feet (being of French background, on the bone is just my cup of tea), luscious juicy mushrooms, whole cloves of garlic, soy beans, in a rich shiny sauce, exotic and slightly sweet with star anise - a wonderful and unexpected start to the adventure. I fly to Whenzou this afternoon to meet Frank Yuan and the tea g  rowers and spend the next five days being shown the estates, meeting the growers and tasting a world of exciting new teas.
Until the next leg of my adventure, au revoir! 感谢 (thank-you)
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After delays for all sorts of reasons, a couple of months ago, I booked my Air China ticket for a two week trip to co-incide with the spring White tea plucking season.
