A NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND ACKNOWLEDGE CERS’ FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS CHINA since 1986 EXPLORERS China Exploration and Research Society VOLUME 21 NO. 4 EDUCATION/INTERNSHIP SPECIAL ISSUE 2019

3 Money Mushroom: Matsutake as Gift and Commodity 22 Gratitude and Grace 6 Balancing Tibetan and Western Medical Practice 24 “Life, as one” 8 The Changing Landscape of Tibetan Buddhism 27 Expect the Unexpected 10 Preservation or Diminishment? Tibetan Culture and 30 Smiles of Nature Language amidst Technological Development 32 Thoughts 12 Sacred Mountains and How They Craft Cultural Identity 35 Mayflies / Barefoot 14 Technology vs. Teachings 36 Student Bios / Current Patrons 16 Cultural Landscapes: How Modernization and Tourism CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: will Shape Shangri-La CERS crew, biologists, students & teachers on HM 18 The Golden Monkeys and Lisu Village Explorer in Myanmar. Shangri-la Old Town in evening. 19 A blunt confession Duke & Stanford students work with local Tibetan students. Board walk to sacred mountain. Founder / President A NEWSLETTER TO INFORM AND ACKNOWLEDGE CERS' FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS WONG HOW MAN Directors: CHINA Dr William Fung, CERS Chairman, Chairman of Li & Fung Group Cheng Kai Ming EXPLORERS Professor at the University of Hong Kong CHRISTABEL LEE China Exploration and Research Society Managing Director, Toppan Vintage Limited VOLUME 21 NO.4 EDUCATION/INTERNSHIP SPECIAL ISSUE 2019 Vic Li, Co-founder Tencent AFONSO MA Introductory Message Martin Ma OLIVER MOWRER SILSBY III y tech friends were arguing DERRICK PANG the other day in a chat CEO of Chun Wo Group group about what needs to Eliott Suen be done to overhaul the US JANICE WANG CEO of Alvanon educational system. They Gilbert Wong allM agreed that traditional education was useless, Founder Chairman of Bull Capital and what was needed was marketable skills to WELLINGTON YEE prepare graduates to be productive members of BILLY YUNG society under the fourth industrial revolution. Group Chairman, Shell Electric Holdings Ltd. “They should all learn to code,” one offered, and Advisory Council: that seemed to be the consensus. CYNTHIA D’ANJOU BROWN Philanthropy Adviser It seems to me now that, rather than chasing an ERIC S. CHEN I couldn’t help thinking of a recent article that I ever-changing job market and trying to prepare Vice Chairman, SAMPO Corporation had read in The Economist, which pointed out students to be useful cogs in an industrial James Chen machine, we should focus on preparing them to Managing Director, Legacy Advisors Ltd. that jobs for programmers would soon become adapt to change, to think critically, to be good JUDITH-ANN CORRENTE obsolete as AI and Machine Learning replaced Philanthropist, President of Met Opera those functions. So would jobs for financial citizens, and to find fulfillment in their lives. My Money Mushroom: DANCHEN analysts, lawyers, radiologists and accountants. goal now is to help students to learn how to learn, Former Vice-Party Secretary of Tibet Vice-President, China Writer’s Federation Instead, the author predicted, the only remaining how to reason, and how to appreciate. Above all, Matsutake as Gift HANS MICHAEL JEBSEN employment in the future might very well be I want to help them to connect to a world outside Chairman of Jebsen & Co. Ltd. in “low-productivity” jobs that served wealthy of their own, building a platform of experiences Barry Lam investors; jobs that could not be done by so that they will be able to always feel deeply any and Commodity Chairman, Quanta Computer, Taiwan David Mong machines: traditional butler, concert musician, injustice committed in any part of the world. By Alex Miley Chairman, Shun Hing Education and Charity Fund artisanal cheese-maker. Stanford University Dr Michael J. Moser Our all-student issue of China Explorer this International Attorney In fact, it seemed to me, our ability to predict the year illustrates this with offerings that explore TUDENG NIMA Tibetan Scholar demands of the job market in 25 years, or for that a remarkable diversity of questions and issues. he matsutake mushroom is regarded as one of the top JOHN E. STRICKLAND matter in 10 years, is abysmally poor. Let alone From recognizing the value of disappearing ten food luxuries in the world, with an industry valued Retired Chairman, HSBC our ability to predict what will actually matter indigenous technology like the cross-bow, to between one and two billion US dollars. In 2007, high-end CERS Field Staff: most in later life. Many of the college lessons that unravelling the connections between global Science Director matsutake was being sold for more than $4,000 a kilogram, WILLIAM BLEISCH, PhD, I remember most often today were offered up in markets and the rural economy of the Tibetan CAO ZHONGYU, Logistics Support with average years reaching upwards of $2,000. These TSERING DROLMA, Education Officer classes that I thought at the time were a lark – fun borderlands, to foreseeing the future of sacred are some of the fast facts for matsutake, but not the main focus of this LI NA, Kunming Admin. Officer but useless: Field Botany, Marine Ichthyology, landscapes in the face of rapid cultural change, T article, which will instead be a simplified, top-down characterization of LIU HONG, Speleologist Ethnomusicology of South Asia, The Romantic to appreciating the deep joy of the first taste of EI THANTAR MYINT @ Sandra, Country Manager, Myanmar the matsutake trade, the elaborate supply chain from picker to consumer, Poets, and Samuel H. Beer’s masterpiece of a freshly collected wild bee honey, the contributors SU HLAING MYINT, CERS Field Biologist and a social view of the transformation between gift and commodity ASTOR WONG, Staff Anthropologist course Western Thought and Institutions. Who have taken deep dives into first hand experiences during the transportation process. WANG JIAN, Kunming Director would have predicted then that these would be that no classroom can offer. CERS is proud to be ZHANG FAN, China Director the classes that have served me the most in my able to showcase their fresh talent, curiosity and A quick overview about the history of the matsutake leads to the country Headquarters Staff: current career and life? deep connections with a world that was new to BRENDA KAN, Office Manager these young explorers, but has become home for of Japan, which is currently the country that imports almost 100% of the XAVIER LEE, Filmmaker matsutake traded globally. The importance of matsutake in Japan, fueled TRACY MAN, Financial Controller CERS. BERRY SIN, Logistics Director by nostalgia, can be seen in Anna Tsing’s book, The Mushroom at the Editor: End of the World; “You can understand France without knowing truffles, WILLIAM BLEISCH, PhD but you can’t understand Japan without knowing matsutake.” The Design and Printer: William V. Bleisch, Ph.D. mushroom was originally considered a delicacy only fit for the imperial TOPPAN VINTAGE LIMITED Research/Program Director, CERS court, but as time passed it became more accessible to commoners. (852) 2973 8600 Domestic production was the main stream of matsutake production in TOP TO BOTTOM: Japan, until the 1970’s, when production began to drop significantly. Soaked and grilled in yak butter. HOW TO REACH CERS: With respect to the entire contents of this newsletter, including its photographs. Japanese biologists researched the cause of the decline and discovered Tsering Drolma buys a kilogram of “older” matsutake. Unit 7 & 8, 27/F, Tower B, SouthMark, All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2019. @ China Exploration and Research Society. s 11 Yip Hing Street, Wong Chuk Hang, Hong Kong that forests were diminishing, which was considered a national phone (852) 2555 7776 fax (852) 2555 2661 Please contact CERS for reprint permission. e-mail: [email protected] Website: www.cers.org.hk

PAGE 2 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 3 tragedy. They later found the cause to be acid rain, which was linked to pollution generated by Chinese factories. As a result, Japan decided to utilize their technological advantage to assist China with greener factories. In return, this helped relations between the two countries . Japan also started importing Matsutake from abroad. There are various theories of how matsutake production got started in Yunnan Province of China, but one constant theme is that Japan was seeking out opportunities in other countries, not that other countries were redirecting their resources to Japan. All in all, matsutake imports after 1980 began to blossom, and the skeleton for the current matsutake trade was formed.

In her landmark book, Anna Tsing explores why there are so many middlemen in the supply chain. She asks if removing them would even be possible; “…would local pickers appreciate the monetary gain or are the personal relationships far more important?”

Where does the chain all start? The matsutake trade is initiated by pickers that are either local or commercial. All ages and genders participate in the picking, and they have many reasons. For one, the mushroom are quite lucrative and can be picked any day of the week during the season, which is very important for individuals that already have demanding jobs. Next, going below the surface, individuals will often have a family tradition or feel nostalgic about the process of picking. Many pickers point to the smell as the biggest trigger of fond memories, as well as the best way to find matsutake in the forest. In addition, pickers often go back to familiar spots where they found a cluster in the past.

These insights were provided by Tashi Drolma, a CERS staff that has been picking since she was six when she went with her mother. Drolma led the CERS group through a specific supply chain highlights the Shangri-La matsutake market, which mini matsutake picking experience. I was super excited to accounts for about 70% of the global exports, as vocally stated by a find the real deal in the nearby forest. Although conditions Shangri-La matsutake company as well in a pamphlet. The other 30% is were poor, we still found a “nugget” matsutake, which we from the Pacific Northwest, which operates a bit differently. later cooked for dinner. The traditional local way to serve matsutake is soaked and grilled in yak butter. The last link of the supply chain begins once the mushrooms arrive in Japan through a government licensed wholesaler. These traders consider Most of the picking is done very early in the morning themselves “matchmakers,” and they incur a lot of the risk associated sometimes before 3:00 A.M. Once the morning picking with contaminated or insect-infested matsutake . The wholesalers is finished, pickers will sell either directly to a local may sell to supermarkets as a commodity, for which quantity is more market, or will sell to another local that collects from important than quality. Or they may sell to small retail businesses individual pickers scattered throughout the mountainside. and fancy restaurants, which starts to enter the realm of gifts, because This transaction is the point where the mushroom is personal advice is often extended through a matsutake transaction. In transformed from a gift to a commodity, because almost all the case of restaurants, the clientele is thought of beforehand, such as of the first transactions from pickers to the first middleman for a special occasion like a wedding. When individuals buy matsutake (local market or the mass collector) are based on prior at private auctions, they almost always have the idea of building or relationships and trust. At the local market the matsutake maintaining a relationship. This is where the matsutake comes full becomes purely a commodity as it begins its trek to circle, as it returns back to being a gift. Gifting a matsutake mushroom Kunming and then as export to Japan. to another individual signals a serious commitment, and the price of the mushroom is never discussed. TOP TO BOTTOM: We made a visit to the local market in Shangri-La, where many of the mushrooms were already purchased. Tsering TOP TO BOTTOM: A “nugget” that we later cooked for dinner. Following the many steps in the Matsutake supply chain leads us through Tashi Drolma leading a mini matsutake picking Excited to find the real deal. Drolma bought a kilogram of “older” matsutake to prepare a journey that starts as a gift, transforms into a commodity and returns as a experience. a soup dish. When I asked a local market vendor about his gift in a different country. The local market in Shangri-La. margins, he said he makes roughly $100 profit per kg. This A snapshot of the matsutake trade.

PAGE 4 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 5 decorations. In the treatment room, our attention was immediately drawn to three anatomy thangkas. Thangkas Balancing are traditional paintings that are usually “inspirited” through a Buddhist ceremony performed by monks. Although these Tibetan & medical thangkas may not be as religiously significant as a deity portrayal, they still contain Buddhist influence.

Western In the treatment room, the doctor had recently treated a patient’s muscle pain with an herbal yak butter spread that Medical is typically heated and massaged into the affected area. He was adamantly opposed to traditional western painkillers, such as Advil, because of their potential side effects of Practice damaging other organs. This prompted us to ask how he By Areta Buness (Stanford University) and Madison Dunk would have treated internal symptoms including stomach (Duke University) pain, nausea, and lack of appetite. He recommended drinking ginger tea, avoiding cold substances, and taking several herbal prescription medications.

ibetan Medicine has a rich history as one On our way out of the hospital, we noticed several women of the world’s oldest forms of traditional dressed in local Tibetan attire, as well as a pair of monks medicine.1 While the practice of Tibetan picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy. To better medicine has many ties to Buddhism now, it understand the opinions of local people towards Tibetan has not always been that way. The medical medical practice, we also asked CERS Education Program Tpractice actually began before Buddhism was introduced in Coordinator Tsering Drolma about her experiences.2 She, the region. The main goal of this practice is to predict and personally, does not believe that Tibetan and western prevent disease in a way that is tailored to the individual medical practices conflict, however she recognizes that patient. This is done by looking at physical manifestations some individuals from older generations may believe that in the body, as well as lifestyle factors including diet, living Tibetan medicine is better for your organs. She has used environment, and occupation. Treatments are targeted both forms of medicine in different instances. For example, at imbalances in any of the above factors, often through she chose to give birth at a Chinese hospital, and will specific combinations of herbal supplements. typically go to a western or Chinese pharmacy for common cold medication. However, with more serious or chronic Tibetan doctors are trained as both healers and educators. illnesses, she has found Tibetan herbal medication to be As educators, for example, they are able to help their helpful, noting that these types of medications often require patients by instructing them in which herbal supplements dietary and lifestyle restrictions while taking longer to cure are likely to improve overall health and prevent disease. the illness. This is of particular importance for nomadic populations because of the remoteness of their lifestyle and lack of During our visit to the local Tibetan hospital, the doctors access to hospital facilities. and nurses mentioned that in a situation where a patient is in need of life support technology they will transfer him or her We had an opportunity to visit a typical Tibetan hospital to a Chinese or western medical facility. This is not to say in Shangri-La. We were instantly impressed by the that Tibetan medical practice is inferior to that of western accessibility of medical care offered: they provided quick culture, rather it is simply a different approach, with its own service with inexpensive copay. methods and goals. Tibetan medicine, with its emphasis on improving overall long-term health, is particularly important We were lucky enough to meet with a Tibetan doctor and for nomadic and other remote populations. The accessibility ask him several questions about his practice. He was trained of care is also beneficial for local people. Tibetan medicine in Tibetan medicine at Qinghai University Medical College. focuses primarily on the power of preventing illness We first met with him in a communal office, where patients through personalized treatment. Tibetan medicine should arrive when they have an appointment with a physician. not be considered a primitive alternative to other medical From there he brought us to a treatment room. The hospital practices, but rather be recognized for its unique approach to as a whole was relatively empty, very clean and bare of preventative care and holistic health. Lower left : Top and right: Tibetan medicine prescription. Tibetan thangka paintings showing human anatomy and medical relevant diagrams.

PAGE 6 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 7 The Changing Clockwise from bottom left: Entryway to a traditional Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Shangri-La, China. Landscape of Om mani padme hum sign. Prayer wheels leading up the mountain to a local temple. Giant prayer wheel outside of a temple for tourists. Tibetan Buddhism The mantra “Om mani padme hum” written on Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags. A traditional shrine in a Tibetan home. By Jordan Fong and Carolina Sculti Stanford University their assumed ethnic identity and culture and negotiated the end of the day, Wang Da empties and cleans the bowls the transitions of modernization to adapt and promote of water, performs five more prostrations, and prays to “His rior to the 1950s, Tibetan Buddhist monasteries had a traditional culture and modes of life. Although religion and Holiness” and the Compassion Buddha. This daily ritual is function additional to faith, ritual, and education. Depending culture continue to evolve in the face of outside influence, common among many followers of Tibetan Buddhism. on the region, these monasteries might have had powers many of the daily practices remain the same. ranging from taking part in governmental administrative Lobsang explained how he finds safety in ritual, especially decision-making to acting as a center of education key We interviewed two Shangri-La locals, Wangda and with the guidance of monks and monastic institutions. Pin the social life of smaller communities. This integration of Tibetan Lobsang Sonam, about their daily practices and how they “People still believe monks can pray much better than us Buddhism into the socio-political sphere gave rise to the lineage of the live out their faith. - we trust in their knowledge- we pray on behalf of them.” Dalai Lama as both a spiritual and governmental power. The mutualistic He believes the true purpose of monasteries is not tied relationship formed between the Tibetan government and the lamas at Lobsang mentioned that, for most “lay people” or followers to tourism or beauty, but to spread knowledge and save the head of the largest monasteries led to a rapid expansion of Buddhism of Buddhism who are not monks, the most important aspect culture. “Fancy monasteries don’t matter that much, the throughout the Tibetan plateau. However, during the rapid changes in the of practice is to keep in mind the Three Jewels- the Buddha, knowledge and reliability of the monks is what matters.” 1950s and the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, many of the powerful his teachings, and the religious community. monasteries were destroyed and religion was increasingly discouraged We asked Lobsang why he practices, and he explained by the central government. By the 1980s, Buddhism had almost entirely Another aspect of their practice that both informants how many followers fear death, being reincarnated as been pushed into the private sphere of Tibetan life. Yet, as we saw in mentioned as being important was compassion and animals, or going to hell. Differing from a motivation of Shangri-La, recently there has been a surge of tourism throughout Tibet forgiveness. “A common practice is just being nice to fear, others practice to promote harmony for others and that has resulted in preservation of monasteries and religion and their people.” Lobsang mentioned that he starts his day being lead a lifestyle stemming from goodness. As far as religion promotion as a spectacle for foreigners and Han Chinese. In this article grateful and cheerful, along with prayer and worship. within the younger generations, Wangda believes they we will analyze the perspectives of two local villagers of Shangri-La on Wangda begins his day by offering 7 bowls of water to hold less spiritual belief because of the safety they find in the continually changing landscape of Buddhism across China and Tibet. the deities and performing five prostrations, physical Communism and what it provides for society. demonstrations of respect and devotion, while reciting the Tibetan Buddhism is a branch of Buddhism, based on the teachings of chant “Om mani padme hum,” the mantra of the Compassion The future of Tibetan Buddhism and the role it will play Sukyamuni Buddha and the interpreted philosophies brought to Tibet Buddha. This is a worship of the deities who embody in daily life are uncertain; however the goal of reaching from India. One goal of Tibetan Buddhism is to help the practitioner compassion. Throughout the day, Wangda uses Mani beads enlightenment for today’s generation is still present, and reach enlightenment, which is the release from the cycle of life and to count recitations of this mantra. It is common to keep the safety and harmony it provides for Tibetan society is rebirth. This goal of enlightenment is achieved through a proper process track of the number of chants performed using these beads- still valued. and dedicated practice. Tibetans have used their religion in defending the more chants repeated the more merit is accumulated. At

PAGE 8 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 9 Preservation or Diminishment? Tibetan Culture and Language amidst Technological Tibetan kid focusing on his mobile phone.

Development and social media service. Lobsang said WeChat is a unity may come at the cost of diversity. Lingual homogeneity By Josh Romine prominent part of Tibetans’ daily lives. The versatility of may be convenient and allow for widespread connection Duke University the app is two-fold, in not only function but in connectivity. and productivity, but at what point is the sacrifice of local The network it creates is far-reaching, while also allowing cultures too great? Lobsang emphasized that he and his A Huawei shop in Shangri-la. for more frequent and intimate sharing and communication wife are proud of their Tibetan culture, but they can see between friends and family. the diminishing effects from generation to generation. Tibetans, he explains, are “a small group in a big society,” hina presents a fascinating dichotomy of The spread of the smartphone to Tibet has had a particularly WeChat is playing a role in the preservation of the spoken with little political power. Thus, “it’s hard, very hard, to development. Populous city-centers such as dramatic impact on daily life and language. I sat down dialects in Tibet, Lobsang explained. Tibetans frequently preserve language.” He uses his young son and other local Beijing and Shanghai, which are among with Lobsang Sonam, a native of the Tibetan area and use the app to message each other, sending audio voice children as an example. Although being raised in Tibetan global leaders in technological advancement current resident of Shangri-La, to ask for insight on Tibetan messages instead of typing them out. This reflects the households, the kids use Chinese on smartphones and watch and innovation, are juxtaposed with vast smartphone habits and trends. His first smartphone was an widespread trend in Tibet of individuals speaking local TV and videos in Chinese. In this way, the reach of global areas made up of rural villages or nomadic families who lag iPhone 4 bought in 2010. He said many adults first owned C Tibetan dialects while not knowing the written language. technology threatens local Tibetan language. behind in many measures of development. This is not to say a smartphone around this time, but noted that remote Lobsang explained that largely only Tibetan monks and such communities are untouched by changes in the urban areas were not as quick to acquire the tech. Not until 2014 scholars study written Tibetan. To these monks and scholars, Further than smartphones and language, a digital world world but merely seem to move at a delayed and slower or 2015, he estimated, did smartphones gain prevalence preserving written Tibetan is important; the language is an makes more difficult the preservation of all aspects of pace, as if they float in the wake of the hurried progress throughout Tibetan villages. essential piece of their culture and identity. But the voice minority cultures. Lobsang described how with TV and of modern society. Despite the cultural and technological messages of villagers allow for communities to continue to other technological attention-grabbers fewer stories of inertia of remote communities, advancement in nearby towns Many Tibetans choose iPhones over other popular communicate in local dialects even as technology evolves. culture are passed between generations. He reminisced and inevitably seeps into the grasslands and mountains. Rapid smartphone companies, including those made by the lamented; before TV, family members shared traditional technological advancement in the 21st century has left few Chinese tech giant Huawei. This is in part due to Apple’s I asked Lobsang if he thought the spread of smartphone culture orally, but in the world of phones and TV this communities worldwide unaffected, reaching even the most early commitment to a platform for Tibetan-specific apps. technology could help the preservation of Tibetan language, occurs less and less, leading to what he called “diminished remote of Tibetan regions. Clothing of modern materials, Lobsang explains how, although the market is small, iPhone or if a standardization of written Tibetan was possible with culture.” automated cooking tools, and agricultural machines all offers the largest and most advanced selection of Tibetan smartphones. He explained that, due to the vast number of make Tibetan lives easier and more convenient, and apps, such as Tibetan calendars, dictionaries, and Buddhist unique dialects, digital standardization would be not only The spread of technological advancement to Tibet and smartphones and computers have better connected Tibetans teaching apps. The iPhone’s initial Tibetan support has led a difficult project but perhaps a futile one, as regional other minority communities has certainly had an impact to the world. More so, as urban life changes exponentially to many other companies, including Huawei, to follow suit dialects can sometimes be mutually unintelligible. But does on culture and language. Global interconnectivity has the faster than rural life, and unprecedented numbers of in recent years. the technology hurt local language use? Although villagers capability to preserve and make robust the traditions and nomads are flocking to cities as modernity beckons and the certainly still use their local dialects and the technology values of unique groups. It also threatens to unify and push government prods. But as globalization unifies the world, The most frequently used smartphone application across can connect more people faster than ever before, Lobsang forward quickly, leaving some aspects of ancient cultures has the technological boom threatened minority cultures, or China is WeChat. Since its release in 2011, WeChat has said it does present problems. Digitally, across the country, to fade away. As technological innovation progresses more does it provide further capability to cement and pass on the grown to unprecedented levels, now hosting over 1 billion Chinese is ubiquitous. This norm certainly has merits, for rapidly, cultural impacts will be only even more evident cultural identities of millions? monthly users. The app functions as a messaging, payment, the sake of efficiency and standardization. But championing and drastic.

PAGE 10 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 11 times in the Lunar calendar, these sacred mountains host in the landscape and in local consciousness, passed down Sacred Mountains thousands of pilgrims from throughout Tibet who come through generations in a cycle of daily, monthly, seasonal to either walk or do prostrations around the base of the and annual ritual devotions. mountain in an effort to gain merit in the hopes of later and How They Craft achieving enlightenment or at least an auspicious rebirth. Although there are different realms and varying powers of mountain deities, the offerings made by people are Cultural Identity It is hard to make a distinction between whether these similar. Among the many rituals and offerings are burning beliefs come from religion or a more general cultural belief, of juniper branches, hanging prayer flags, chanting specific By Kate Littlejohn but from what I understand, neri mountain deities stem prayers, doing prostrations and walking clockwise around a Stanford University from religious beliefs and as a result are the only mountain stupa or the base of a mountain. These rituals are performed deities that can help one earn merit towards enlightenment. and offered to the mountain deity in the hopes that they will bring good fortune, health and plentiful crops to one’s riving through the countryside in the For example, Mt. Kailash is the highest peak in the Kailash family throughout the year. However, if one offends a northwest corner of Yunnan Province, range, which forms part of the Trans Himalayas in the mountain deity it is believed that it will bring misfortune I noticed bundles of wooden arrow-like Tibet Autonomous Region. It is considered one of the most to the family, with the most common belief being illness. structures situated at the top of multiple powerful neri and so sees an estimated 80,000 pilgrims mountains. From Dr. Bill, CERS Research making the 5 day pilgrimage around the sacred mountain Sacred mountains provide a source of unity and identity Director,D I learnt that in Tibetan culture these structures every year. for people. In Tibetan culture it is important to tell your signify a sacred mountain. As a person of Maori heritage, mountain deity about others who will be living in the area sacred mountains are an important part of my own culture. I Another realm of sacred mountains involves small groups in order for them to be protected. In an interview with Tashi became interested in how these mountains were significant of villages who worship their own local mountain deity. Drolma, one of the chefs at CERS Zhongdian Center, she to the local Tibetan people and how they could be a part of These mountain deities are known as yul lha and arise explained that she will bring her visitors to the mountain their cultural identity. from widespread cultural beliefs. Annually, generally at deity as a way of sharing her mountain and also asking the beginning of the Tibetan new year, one male from each for protection of her visitors. It is also seen as a respectful All over the world, for thousands of years, sacred natural household within the village will bring a bamboo stalk to action to keep the mountain deity informed about those who sites of indigenous societies have played a part in shaping the top of the mountain to participate in a ritual to build the pass through the land. cultural identities. In most Tibetic speaking communities, labtse structure for the mountain deity. Some believe that Clockwise from bottom left: locals believe that deities reside within the land, the the bamboo is a representation of a weapon, as it is shaped Sacred natural sites continue to play a significant role in waters and the sky. Mountain deities are powerful, as they View of Napahai lake. like a spear, while others think that it is a representation the lives and identities of Tibetan people. The Tibetan’s Boardwalk to sacred mountain. can bring illness to your family when disturbed, but are of a horse. Either way, it is collectively thought that both connection to nature is an important part of their culture, View from high above Shangri-la. beneficent when propitiated appropriately and reverently, representations are to aid and encourage the mountain deity as these sacred mountain sites undergird their identity and Temple and sacred snow mountain. providing wealth in the form of livestock, crops, and other in helping to protect one’s family and village. “Tibetan-ness.” Prayer flags at sacred site. nonmaterial forms of good fortune in one’s present life. Landscape near sacred mountain. Though most sacred mountain deities are worshipped and Overlooking Napahai. In simple terms there are three different realms of sacred associated with entire communities, smaller mountains mountains. The sites of greatest power are known as neri. may be exclusive sites of worship for individual families It is believed that in the past, important religious figures, and households. In Tibet, these mountains are sometimes such as monks or yogis, travelled through these areas, and called zhidak (spelled Gzhi bdag). These sites are inscribed Buddhist deities now reside in the mountains. At specific

PAGE 12 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 13 especially the younger generations. During this time China also introduced programs that promoted economic growth, which brought an improvement to industry in Tibet and an increase in wealth. These two dramatic changes in Tibetan culture seemed to mark the beginning of the end of Tibetan Buddhism.

Contrary to what we believed about the effect the Cultural Revolution would have on Tibetan Buddhism, however, once the strict policies were lifted in the 1980s, Tibetans began to rebuild monasteries and revitalize Tibetan culture. Grandpa Wangda reinforced this view by stating that the bans did not affect religiousness of people; it was more of a pause rather than the end of Tibetan Buddhism. Once the bans were lifted, the older generation picked it up again and tried to pass it down to the younger generations. At that time, storytelling was a huge part of daily life, as there were no or very few electronic devices that could bring entertainment to kids. Without these distractions, kids looked forward to learning more about Tibetan Buddhism through the stories of the elderly. Grandpa Wangda expressed the feeling that, now, the younger generation does not participate in religious practices and rituals as much anymore, exactly because they now have these distractions. Thus, entertainment now comes from modern attractions, such as smartphones, and Technology vs. not from stories about deities. In addition, time seems to be becoming a more valuable Teachings resource for the younger generation and they would rather spend it on amusements and activities they feel are more By Nate Hartley and Matthias Frick important. The desire to wake up in the morning and read Duke University prayer books for an hour and a half is now replaced by getting more sleep and checking the most recent QQ posts.

or generations, religion has served an important Although the practice of Tibetan Buddhism is less frequent role in the lives of Tibetans. It is ever present among the younger generation, it is still a part of their lives, in the dedication people have for Tibetan as they still participate in big religious events with their Buddhism, motivating people to travel for parents. However, as Grandpa Wangda stated, if we want months by foot to Lhasa or voyage around Tibetan Buddhism to survive, the desire to participate in Fthe base of sacred mountains at altitudes that cause some daily prayers and rituals has to come from within and not be people to barely be able to walk on their own from the forced by external forces. One potential way we could see exhausting journey. Tibetan Buddhism to thrive in the future, with the growing importance of technology, is modernizing the religious While visiting local monasteries, we noticed that mostly experience to appeal to the fast pace of today’s society. older people were there to pray. Very rarely did we see We saw this in one of the documentary films we saw this children or teenagers taking part in the rituals or prayers. summer, in which experts suggested that one could appeal This raised the question as to why there is such a stark to younger generations with a modernized tashi gomang, the difference in participation in religious practices between collapsible portable reliquary carried around for teaching the older generation and the newer, upcoming generation. purposes by itinerant monks in the past.

Clockwise from bottom left: At first, after some initial research, we came to believe We could even use Virtual Reality (VR) coming to play a Students of Duke & Stanford. that the Cultural Revolution and modernization was the major role in the future of religious practice, as this would US students participating with Tibetan kids. main reason for the lack of religiousness. However, after bring a more exciting way to practice religion. An example Older Tibetans making offerings. talks with Tsering Drolma (CERS Education Program would be the animation of deities that tell their stories A specimen of Tashi Gomang. Coordinator), and Grandpa Wangda (CERS Caretaker), this to kids and thus make the whole story more tangible and view changed to a rather simple explanation. exciting. With the development of VR and modern apps we would see Tibetan Buddhism be taken to another, more As part of the Cultural Revolution imposed on Tibet in modern level. These advances could appeal to the younger the 1970s, Tibetan Buddhism faced a great challenge as generations and make religion become once again part of religious institutions were destroyed and religious practices the daily lives of the Tibetan people. were strictly prohibited. We thought that this was the starting point for the decline in religiousness among Tibetans, and

PAGE 14 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 15 I asked Lobsong to give me his thoughts on why modernization was happening in Shangri-La so quickly Cultural but not as fast as in other nearby areas. The first thing he mentioned was how open this area is to visitors, especially Landscapes: How westerners. Other places around Tibet are not as open to sharing their way of life to just anyone. He also mentioned the mystique of the area. He attributes this in part to Modernization and the novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton, which brought attention upon the Tibetan area and way of life. In fact, in 2002, Zhongdian County was renamed “Shangri-La” Tourism will Shape after the fantasy land of that novel, attracting even more attention. In becoming a city, Shangri-La had to meet new infrastructure-related standards. This brought the Shangri-La government and some investors to the area, developing By Noah Vigran new roads, hotels, restaurants, an airport, etc. The new Stanford University mystique that was Shangri-La combined with the new accessibility to usher in an influx of tourism activity. The rapid development brought about many changes to the area both good and bad. I asked Lobsong to highlight the biggest shifts of life here. As far as good changes, he said the economy received a boost, as there was more money circulating around the area. The locals were benefiting off of the region’s new fame. Restaurants, shops, home stays and attractions were opened. Another, perhaps even more important effect was in the protection of the environment. As it turns out, the increased interest in Tibetan culture from tourists actually serves to protect the local environment. Much of Tibetan culture deals with animate landscapes, referring to “mountains, lakes, springs, trees, and other nonhuman environmental features that are believed to be abodes of gods or spirits.” . Tourists want to come to experience the rich cultural and religious history that exists here, and there is no doing so without these sacred natural sites. As a result, there are many government pon arrival here in Shangri-La, I was taken environmental policies in places to protect and preserve all aback by the sheer beauty that is this place. of these areas, and everything living in them, from loggers The Napahai wetlands, sacred mountains and and hunters. diverse ecosystems were unlike anything I had experienced before. All of this was There also exist some bad changes as a result of simultaneouslyU living in conjunction with a small yet modernization. My conversation with Lobsong mainly had growing new city that now welcomes tourists with open to focus on local culture. He told me that local culture and arms. Shangri-La is a special place, to say the least, that has practice is not necessarily dying out, but rather, in experienced a very large amount of change since the turn of the Century. In initially learning about all the change general, is becoming less authentic. With new opportunities, around me, I found it difficult to believe that there could Lobsong has seen a monetary interest like never before. be room for the original natural and cultural landscape in All the practice is getting blown out of proportion, taking a town modernizing so quickly. The local people share a away the reasons why anyone holds up the tradition in easier than making the trek to visit. Domestic tourism is deep passion for their culture and surrounding area, but I the first place. Cultural and religious beliefs are being also in decline, and the trend currently is for Chinese to also got the feeling that moving forward with the world commercialized to appeal more to visitors. This plays a travel to the big Chinese cities, or to travel abroad. was an intriguing option as well. Could there possibly be big role in creating a culture that the tourists want, not Clockwise from bottom left: room for both? what actually was happening traditionally. Lobsong said, Other problems are with the environment and culture; the Shops selling various products and souvenirs. “the size or material of the Buddha should not matter,” but futures of both are unknown. As of now, many of the Napahai Wetland. As it turns out, I was mainly wrong in my initial assumptions. visitors prefer the big, gold buddha, so that is what is here. sacred sites and animate landscapes are protected, but as the Napahai Wetland. After talking with Lobsong, I feel that I population and infrastructure of the world expand, it will be The view from Shika Snow Mountain. The question is what this will all look like moving forward. interesting to see where the world gets new resources. As Old Town Shangri-La during the day and at night. learned a great deal. He has much experience with tourism Lobsong informed me that even right now the tourist culture for culture, if the decline in tourism continues, it is really in the area and is also an avid environmentalist. I now is different from what it used to be. When he arrived in unknown what change could look like, with the new age of believe the culture and environment will remain prevalent 2013, Western tourism to Shangri-La had begun to decline. technology connecting the world and making us all a little along with tourism in the area, but maybe not in the same He believes the reason for this was the development of more homogenous. way they were intended. There have and will continue modern technology. With one quick online search, one can to be many changes as a result of the modernization and find out so much about an area. For some, that is much Who knows what the future holds, but I am very curious. development of Shangri-La.

PAGE 16 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 17 The Golden Monkeys A blunt confession By LAI Hiu Chi Emily and Lisu Village HKUGAC By Eliz So HKUGAC

henever someone talks about Yunnan, what does it remind you of? Souvenirs like Xuanwei Ham or Tibetan knives? To me, Yunnan reminds me of the Black Snub-nosed monkey, also known as the Yunnan golden monkey. This type of monkey has a funny yet unique Wface. It only requires one look to remember what it looks like. Other than their funny look, what is so special about them is that they are the highest living species of nonhuman primate. These monkeys tend to live around 2500 to 4500 meters above sea level. That is also one of the reasons why they are so rare and classified as a first-class protected and a globally endangered animal. There are not many places with this high elevation in their range. Another threat is that there are people who hunt them. Although the Lisu people did not hunt the monkeys, as they believe that they are their ancestors, other groups did hunt them in the past. Also, monkeys can be caught in traps set for other animals.

The Lisu people believe that there was once a boy who got lost in the mountains. He then started growing hair and slowly became more like a golden monkey. Mr Yu, the village head of the Xiangguqing Middle Village for over 30 years, believes that the Lisu have many similarities with the efore going on to this trip, my mom was sick golden monkeys. He believes that the way the Lisu eat is most similar to worried about me. “I just saw all these news golden monkeys, as they both eat with their hands. The Lisu also learn to about ethnic cleansing in Myanmar, many climb from the time when they are very young. There is a Lisu legend that if people died ah! Very unsafe!” Or if not, my one sees a dead monkey, it will give their family bad luck. Therefore, there fellow peers, ”Myanmar is an underdeveloped are now forest guards checking if people cut trees or set traps, to protect country, what fun can you have? Checking papers is the golden monkeys. B probably more exciting than that!” And in the very back of my mind, I assumed that our accommodations and dining On the day we went to observe the golden monkeys, it was drizzling, like would be simple and crude. So I would finally succeed in every other day we stayed there. Searching for them with binoculars was losing weight. But no, Myanmar and our expectations were harder than I thought. Binoculars were heavy and we had to look up all the two different worlds. Myanmar is heaven. time, searching for the monkeys. It was tiring. Firstly, we used the scan method, which is to find as many monkeys as you can and write down their After two tiring flights, we finally arrived Myanmar under a gender and age and what each one is doing. Through the scan method, we scorching sun. I was stunned by the beautiful HM Explorer summed up the number of monkeys, categorized by their action and time and also the river view. And while we were still trying to period. Then, we made a graph to find the relationship between the time period and their activity to compare different times. From the data, we comprehend what’s happening, we were greeted by our figured that at around 9:30 am, many monkeys were eating. After they’ve crew members warmly. And that’s where our journey starts. eaten, a lot of them were resting. That is their habit, resting after eating. When I was focusing on them eating their meal, I found out that they kept Since then, every day is like a dream. We would lie down at on throwing the leaves away. They bit the petiole off and threw away the the front of the ship, take in the cool morning breeze and the leaves. Afterwards, I asked Dr Bleisch. He found it surprising too, especially serenity. Sipping our hot coffee and casually chatting with because the tree was poisonous. Later that day, the director of the nature our fellow friends. Then, we would enjoy our scrumptious reserve stated that those trees were used by humans as medicine. I thought breakfast. Speaking of food, I got to say I’m in love with it was quite interesting and if I ever have a chance to go back, I think I will TOP TO BOTTOM: Myanmar cuisine! I have never been hungry on this boat, try to find the reason why the monkeys eat leaves of this poisonous plant . Yunnan Snub-nosed Monkey with baby. simply because the food are too attractive that I couldn’t Male Snub-nosed monkey. stop devouring them. I have too many favourites that I have Yu, head of village at Xiangguqing preparing for Throughout the three days living in the Lisu village, not only did I learn eventually lost count. Therefore, I hereby give my highest Crossbow festival. more about Lisu culture and legends, but I also learnt that those animals praise and respect to our cook. He is fabulous and he has TOP TO BOTTOM: s make a huge contribution to culture. Their extinction would be a massive inspired me to finally learn cooking. Sunset silhouette on the Irrawaddy. tragedy. Students and teacher of HKUGA on HM Explorer.

PAGE 18 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 19 I still remember the triumph and pure excitement when we first saw a Adding on to that, although the villagers are poor, they’re always slight splash in the river from an Irrawaddy dolphin. I have never knew happy and content with what they have. They have genuine and close that a dolphin could live in a river. And dolphins are such adorable and connections between neighbours and friends. They often smile and amazing animal. It was a foggy and cold morning. In a sudden, josh laugh care freely in the village, or talking to each other from time to yelled out ,” Dolphins! Guys come over!” Three dolphins were surfacing time. It made me feel ashamed of myself as I still cry or complain about the tranquil water consecutively in the far end of the river. This is my my life even though I don’t have to worry about my basic needs. It first time I have ever seen dolphins in their natural habitat. I gush of taught me to observe the little things around me and simply be grateful. fervent happiness and somehow also calmness washed over me. There It’s our choice to be happy, not the environment. And simply looking at was also a family of 3 with a baby dolphin in the middle. Watching the smile on the children’s face made me smile unconsciously. them swimming carefreely in the river made me think of the dolphins kept in cavity in Ocean Park and also the dolphins shows. Dolphins are Pursuing further, I’m glad and at the same time, surprised that the waste intelligent creatures and they deserve to have a free will. But not as an management pilot scheme that we have brainstormed worked out. I’m economic tool or a money tree. not much of a believer, so at first when mr sum told us to brainstorm the scheme, I was like, “okay so he probably wants us to actually use our We then proceeded to hop into a fishing boat of the local people to brain and not only chill in here.” (So thank you mr sum!) I thought it experience how they fish. It was an unforgettable moment when we saw was just an exercise but not an actual plan. I wasn’t much of an active the dolphins appeared to help the fisherman to round up the fish. For student in those days, and honestly I regret that. I have learnt a lot about hundred of years, dolphins were always there to help the fisherman and waste management in our school, but I have never thought of applying it’s a very strong and unique bond. And even in a world where humans it in real life. The boat is just a new Classroom for us. Anything could are selfish and often harm the environment, it’s very rare to witness a happen in this world. As long as we are willing to take a small baby step bond like that. Whereas the bond between the trainers and the dolphins to start off. If it sounds impossible, then we should working step by step. in marine parks is nothing compared to this genuine relationship. Trying wouldn’t hurt much, so why not? However, as electro fishing and pollution occurs, dolphins were hurt and killed throughout the events. It’s very unethical to electrocute such In terms of personal development, this trip had reminded me of my intelligent creatures. I hope we humans can be more thoughtful and stop personal flaws. And it actuated me to improve myself. For example, the torturing animals. More importantly, establish a healthy relationship lack of courage to speak up, lack of curiosity, inability to ask questions, with our environment. The earth is our home and all the animals are and last but not the least, the fear of insects. Just by studying in school our neighbour. Nothing makes us more superior over all the animals neglected all of them. And I’m glad that I have recognised my flaw, so so we don’t have the right to cause huge damage to them. Personally, after this trip, I can try to work on them and be a better version of me:) I’m comfortable with eating meat and fish. Because just like lion killing deers, we have to consume meat to meet our dietary needs. But I also want to thank the crew members wholeheartedly, especially I couldn’t accept animal torture or farms that mistreat animals for their Sandra, Chan, Sue and Dr Bill. We have learnt a lot throughout the meat. And electrofishing is torture to the dolphins. Therefore, I hope it whole trip thanks to all of you. I wouldn’t forget the genuine friendship could be stopped. we have established. I still remember the last night we spent together on the chilly beach as we gather around a small bonfire under the stars. Apart from that, we have also visited several local villages and As we confessed our appreciation and feelings, a sense of sadness interacted with the villagers. Yes, they may be poor and have to live in overwhelmed me and tears started rolling down my cheeks. I knew I old, weak houses that have bad hygiene. But for one thing for sure is would miss this place and miss the people here and the boat, basically that they’re genuine and happy. When we visited Thapethetan village everything. 6 days was just too short. I had to hold back my tears again in our first day, the villagers waved at us in a welcoming manner. They when we entered the airport. It’s amazing how a person could acquire invited us into their homes, opening their door wide open (literally) to so much in just 6 days. let us try out their local snacks which is very delicious. To be blunt, as I recall, I haven’t been invited to any of my neighbour’s home. Well, As I start to end this article and I still have a whole lot of homework except for once because they wanted to promote their brand. But other waiting for me, I came to realise that nowadays, we live in a world than that, no. We’re so into ourselves and too busy to establish human where everyone strive to succeed and is willing from day to night. connection. Another observation is that the children are running freely Every part of our lives is occupied by technology and everything is too without any constrictions from their parents. The parents didn’t warn fast-paced. That we often neglect the beauty around us. In fact, we have them to stay away from strangers, which we the principle is taught to us just finished my exams that lasted for 2 weeks. And it has been tough. Various student activities in Myanmar. since we were a toddler. We’re always suspicious of each other, thinking This trip has made me realise the beauty of nature and finally catch up that we’ll be harmed due to all the news we watch every day. But what with my fellow friends, establishing real friendships. I have learnt a lot the villagers have is the trust. It’s something so simple but rare. People that we couldn’t acquire in a normal classroom knowledge-wise and in our society only think for their own benefits, and they would do mentality-wise. And as Aung San Suu kyi said, since we live in this anything to have that. Which in most of the time, will bring avoidable world, we have to do our best for this world. We have been neglecting disadvantages to others. That’s the reason why we are always suspicious the nature and the environment too much, taking them as granted. We and far apart. When we can’t even be honest, how can we have trust? should try our best to protect the environment even from the slightest While they have a harmonious village, our fellow people are fighting step. each other. Therefore, I’ll try to be honest and genuine to people. It has been a blast. Myanmar you have been amazing. Looking forward for my next visit to Myanmar!

PAGE 20 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 21 Gratitude and Grace By CHEUNG Wai Tak Anna HKUGAC

with them as a form of celebration. As we all enjoyed the who kicks the air more than the actual football in a football desserts, I looked around this house and the women. The game, I was hesitant to join at first, but I thought to myself, house is built out of wood and somewhat unpolished, the if not now, then when? After a few failed attempts, I finally kitchen is next to where we sat and is rather crude, with an managed to moderately pass the ball to another person. I open fire as the stove, antique copper pots layed around on never imagined people could laugh that much and have so the earthy ground. This gave me such a shock due to our much fun with just a ball, albeit we couldn’t understand drastic cultural differences, the contrast between the lives each other. I remember thinking, ‘wow, I haven’t had this we experience and the lives Myanmar people lead was all much fun in a really long time.’ of a sudden so lucid and overwhelming to me. never truly and fully grasped what Myanmar had given me. The After that, we all sat around a bonfire, including our CERS exotic experiences I had over the span of six days I spent there The lives these villagers lead are down to the basics, where manager Sandra, a CERS student Chen, our biologist Su, were perhaps way too eclectic for me to comprehend, yet. I am the seemingly rudimentary necessity, electricity, feels so and our wonderful chef on board, all from Myanmar, and of fortunate enough to be able to travel all over the world, from luxurious. It’s hard to believe that architectures taller than course our students and teachers. At first, we were all just Japan to Spain to Australia, but I have never felt anything close three stories are non-existent in most parts of Myanmar, and silently warming ourselves up in this chilly evening breeze, Ito what travelling to Myanmar had made me feel. This country has this children have never seen a tablet in their lives. The level staring into the burning flames. Shortly after, we began alluring nature that is somehow extremely elusive, I was completely of seclusion from the mainstream society and how out of to talk about all kinds of things, starting with what we’ve gobsmacked by everything I saw and felt, and still am even after two touch Myanmar is with the rest of the world was something gotten out of this trip. Suddenly, we all started to thank weeks since departures. Thinking back to one of the best trips I’ve I never expected. But when I turned to observe the women, one another for such an unbelievably wonderful experience, ever been on, it all seems like a blur, but I guess the most important what I saw in them startled me even more. The couple of and shared what we’ve learned from each other throughout after all wasn’t what I saw, but what I felt. For I will never forget middle-aged women stood beside us quietly, with the most the trip. At some point, some of us started bawling, even the connections and bonds I shared with the local people of Myanmar, beautiful smiles I’ve ever seen on their faces, radiating the the chef wept silently though he couldn’t really understand as there will always be a piece of my heart drifting serenely along purest genuinity, sincerity and happiness. I was astonished what we were talking about. It was at that moment the Irrawaddy River, forever remembering the tens and hundreds of by amount of positive energy these women lustred, filling where all the barriers between ten or so utterly disparate beautiful smiles I’ve seen. the atmosphere with glee with their incredible generosity. people disappeared all at once, as if dissolved in the tears Whenever I looked at their smiles, I couldn’t help but shedded from the overwhelming beauty of authentic human There are a couple of memorable moments I remember specifically from smiled as well, from the inside and out. These complete connections. The unvarnished bonds between these people the trip, because they all remind me of the simplicity of happiness. Here strangers somehow reminded me more of home and family instantaneously overpowered the differences in nationality, are some of them and I hope you’ll understand what I meant by that. than my actual home itself, the warmth and their amiability age, status, or language. I’ve never felt more present in my was so rare, something I don’t often experience back in life, sitting under the starry night sky, feeling the soft sand It was the first night of the trip and we had just finished dinner. We were Hong Kong. We thanked them in our best attempt of under my bare feet, listening to the gentle waves crashing told that we had one last activity before the day ends, shortly after we Burmese, repeatedly, their smiles only grew bigger and onto the shore, tears rolling down my cheeks, sharing this were heading towards the village the HM Explorer docked next to. We brighter. I later learned that the phrase they kept repeating beautiful moment with people whom I’ve just met a few Clockwise from bottom left: stopped at one of the houses which was only dimly illuminated by a few was saying that our girls are beautiful. I’d gladly say the days ago. What we had was so special, so remarkable, and A spectacular view of dawn and the moon also the light bulbs. The women who owned the house gestured us to sit around same to them, Min Ka Hla De. so very unforgettable. stars of Sagittarius. the primitive tables and chairs outside the house. On the tables, there The group photo of the fellow crew members, layed plates full of scrumptious traditional snacks, such as sticky rice On the last night of our trip, we had an amazing barbecue It may take me weeks, or months, even years to entirely biologists, students and teachers. pudding, coconut pudding and fermented green tea salad. Pots of hot on a tranquil beach, the food was absolutely delightful. take in what I’ve experienced in Myanmar. But before that, The burning campfire lights up our hope to the future tea accompanied the sweet treats. While we were stunned by all these Halfway through dinner, some of the crew members of Myanmar will always be somewhere on my mind, lingering of Myanmar. delicious foods, we learnt that it was the Golden Festival in the village, the boat started playing cane ball (the national sport of gracefully, waiting patiently for me to enjoy the pleasures The stunning women of the village being the best a celebration which occurs only once a year. The villagers would serve Myanmar), in the matter of seconds the boys all joined in. of retrospection. possible hosts to our teachers and students. traditional snacks to their visitors during this time to share their joy Sooner than later, even the girls chimed in. As a person

PAGE 22 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 23 SEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 25 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RE TOP TO BOTTOM: A religious event in Myanmar. Night time bugs on HM Explorer’s window.

s catch fish. Luckily for them, the evolution of the wildlife of the wildlife catch fish. Luckily for them, the evolution the fishermen a that resides in this great river has given their everyday search intelligent companion to aid them in of the Irrawaddy, for fresh food: the crown jewel, the icon species of freshwater the Irrawaddy dolphin, one of the few dolphin that exist on this planet today. a very delicate The fishermen and the dolphins share relationship:cousins, the dolphins, like their oceanic sonar, which aid have the ability to echolocate using around the wide and them in searching for schools of fish pods, they lead the deep waters of the river, and in their amounts of fish can fishermen to places where abundant their nets into the be found, so hungry fishermen can cast in return, they give river, collecting schools of fish, and who have helped back some of their catches to the dolphins them out. To my mind anyway, this cooperative and chain reaction of fishermen and dolphin, mayflies and birds, ultimately man and nature, they all go back to one word in my mind: unison. The entire community of human and animals work as one, helping each other to get the most of everything. All beings, no matter the size, no matter the species, are all interconnected, one’s response cannot be triggered without the reaction of another. Working in concert, through generations and generations, all help build the community that is the riverside of the Irrawaddy river. And this cooperative network does not only limit to fishermen and other animals that reside in this great ecosystem: the villages inland work as one as well. Every year, a ceremony called the golden festival is held in the village, in which the monks living in faraway temples and monasteries, gather around at the village to receive all kinds of delicacies and even money from every single villager. Though living away from the village, distant to the villagers who meet and greet each other every day, the monks are not treated as strangers, instead the villagers are rather as their breakfast meal, which attracts bigger birds to come bigger birds to come as their breakfast meal, which attracts and bigger sized to the river: flocks of ducks, cormorants, either head towards water birds such as heron and egrets, towards the the banks of the winding river, or swimming meal. scrumptious a for frenzy the into joining all channel, by covered is surface river the time, hours few a just In ripple after ripple, not a calm patch to be seen, and the air becomes alive with quacks, chirps and loud shrieks. So mayflies, insects that are being perceived as insignificant, useless organisms, due to their short lifespan of just a few days long, are the main driving force to waking up the wildlife of the Irrawaddy River, triggering such a massive response from residents above and below. This is the morning routine of the Irrawaddy River, and the action takes place every single day, the only difference is sometimes you might not get much of a large reaction from the birds. But this is only a small portion to the entire picture, the fish also play a major role in the Irrawaddy River. It’s rather obvious, as the villages of the Irrawaddy mainly gain their the out into their boats fisheries, steering income through channel to fish for walagos, carp and other edible species, but this is where things get problematic for the fishermen, as the river stretches an extraordinary length of 1,370 miles, added with the moving current the river, it is rather difficult for fishermen to accurately pinpoint the exact location to SEARCH SOCIETY he liveliness of the Irrawaddy river begins begins he liveliness of the Irrawaddy river in their in the evening. By then, mayflies from swarms of hundreds and thousands, rise the the depths of the river, fluttering around source surface all night, and around any light

Marco CHAN each other- By HKUGAC home, making themselves comfortable and even helping comfortable and even helping home, making themselves s one” “Life, a animals have made the Irrawaddy their -Both humans and Waking up in the early hours of morning, going up to the Waking up in the early hours of morning, going up to the upper deck of the boat to watch the most beautiful sunrise in the world, only to come to the realisation that the air to up swallows barn chirps of and buzzes with filled is thousands strong, with a flutter of their wings, swoop down from the morning sky, skimming the surface of the river, not only drinking, but also feeding on the corpses of the deceased mayflies, scooping them into their mouths; from below, smaller fish have also risen to claim the dead bodies Seems normal, as this is what mayflies do all across the Seems normal, as this is what mayflies do all across the world, but what makes it interesting in Myanmar, in my opinion anyway, is what happens after the swarm, and it is witnessed in have ever scenes I most spectacular the of one the natural world: they can find. They only have a few hours to finish the they can find. They only have a few hours to finish the mission of finding a female to reproduce, in order ensure the survival of the species. Then, in a few hours time, their life slowly drifts away from their body, as their corpses slowly descend to the calm surface of the river, so do their eggs, down into the depths of the river. T PAGE 24 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RE welcome to the monks. Perhaps they think that by offering to the monks, they will be protected by the Buddha Gods, or perhaps they give food to the monks just because they do Expect the not have enough food back in the monasteries, we do not know, but what we can observe and take from this hour long Unexpected ceremony, is no matter who you are, no matter if you are a By MAK Ocean buddhist monk or a regular villager, you are being respected HKUGAC no matter where you go, and treated with welcoming arms.

So religion also plays a part in connecting the hearts and efforts of those living around the villages along the Irrawaddy.

Sadly, we cannot observe this unique phenomenon in the busy city of Hong Kong. Every day, people are laser focused on their phones and computers, either replying an email to their boss, chatting with their friends, or trying to get through level 563 of Candy Crush, our frequency of actual conversation with the ones sitting next to us start to diminish. Even when sitting together at a dining table for a Chinese New Year reunion, it is obvious that the connection between family members are weak, as instead of the usual chattering amongst the family, everyone is just doing two things: eating and searching the Internet. With the continuous advancement of technology, we gradually become more separated than unified.

The same is seen with our general relationship with nature: with the rapid rate of urbanization, more and more unique TOP TO BOTTOM: and endemic species are forced to retreat to more remote t was quite a shock when I knew myself was able Rare Irrawaddy Dolphin sighting. parts of Hong Kong, so little chance is given for humans to go to the CERS trip because not everyone can Fishermen on the Irrawaddy. and nature to interact with one another, unlike the situation have such opportunities to learn outside school, for in Myanmar, particularly along the Irrawaddy River. example to get a firsthand experience of biology research --- from catching a fish to measurement While Hong Kong is rich in its economy, Myanmar is rich in and identifying species. its culture: fishing, traditional snacks, buddhism offerings I and more. The effort put into the preservation of this lost Although I am physics and economics student in Hong culture and the wildlife by the locals and non-governmental Kong, exotic wildlife and geography has always been my organizations helps connect communities together, though interest and interest is one of the reasons that drove me they may be living in different, faraway locations, they still to join CERS. As I wished, I learnt and saw lot, which work as one, cooperate as one, and most importantly, live I would never see or learn in Hong Kong. For example, as one. in one morning there was a crowd of little egrets by the shore of the river, there was so many that covered a part Usually, and after this rather depth insight into the of the grassland and made it white. When observing them communities living along the Irrawaddy River, I would one by one, they were only insignificant individuals. As a compare the village communities and the wildlife to that whole picture they were staggering because of the number, of an ant colony: there is a systematic network between because of the synergy between the different groups of each ant, they constantly communicate using theremones, birds. It was one of the most beautiful scenery I have seen helping the other ants deliver food or building materials in my life. back to the nest, and alerting one another about incoming TOP TO BOTTOM: dangers. Each member of the colony is close to one The other scenery that I could have never forgot is the another, which is the same for the relationships between the View from Bagan with Irrawaddy River in view. valley that created by river long ago. It was a part of the Night stars. villagers, the fishermen and the local wildlife, all working river, but when the river changed its path, this part became together and being connected. a deep valley. The different water levels carved lines on the hillside over the years and the marks of the river can To me, unison, “as one” does not just mean people be clearly seen even on nowadays on the cliff of the valley. working together towards a common goal, it represents the The lines are the rims of the different layers of the hillside. connection and a close bond between individuals, man and The bottom level has the deepest brown color, and the hues s nature, working in concert, living their lives, as one. fade from the bottom to the top. In the trough there is

PAGE 26 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 27 Students meeting on HM Explorer boat. Village children of Myanmar.

a forest now, which only started to sprout after the river was a lot of double counting. After the counting in the people engage in production because of greed and desire, in less than an hour. In Myanmar, we and the villagers changed its path. I was again dazzled. It was extraordinary first morning, we decided to reduce the human error in our and people will keep working and working because they are willing to open our heart and accept each other. But as it was built by the nature’s spirit. But it was time and data collection, and we designed a more effective scheme want more. But when they got more, the satisfaction it in my city, people were used to being callous to strangers nature laws who draw such fine lines on the hills. with our teachers. After a constructive discussion which brought will only last a short time, citizens will started around us and reluctant to build a relationship with others. we all gave valuable suggestions and add on to other’s to be discontented again and seeking for new satisfaction. To us, building a relationship with people outside work or The other sight that I cannot forget was the night sky. ideas, we reached consensus and made a plan. We divided In the little villages in Myanmar, villagers do not have an school will hardly do us any good. As time pass by, being At night, the twinkling stars blanketed the sky; it stirred the our role into secretary and observer, which was further overwhelming hunger for luxurious goods and services. hardhearted has became a culture in Hong Kong. Building up certain thoughts of mine and once again sparked my separated into observing size and categories. Apart from the Spending time with their family and having a full belly are relationship with unimportant personnels has became an curiosity for the universe, which I have lost them because division of labour, we also brought in the use of telescope already enough for them. Their material life may be worse insurmountable wall in our mind, we do not know the of the heavy workload and repeated routine I had in Hong to help ourselves. We experimented our method in the third than a lot of wealthy men and women, but they are happier gate watcher’s name and the neighbor’s name. But after Kong. day’s morning, and our record was much more accurate than many of them. This experience shaken one of the most I went to Myanmar, the wall in my heart was demolished and detailed. From this experience, I learnt the importance fundamental beliefs that my value was built on. Although I --- building a relationship with strangers won’t waste many Animal science is one of the most important parts in the of a constructive discussion. In school, we mostly listen to know that money is not all-mighty, I thought I would only of my energy, and I feel much more happier when people trip. Thanks to my roommate who woke at 5:30 everyday commands from the leader and following orders in a group live a blissful life if I earned a lot of money, but now I around me greet with me, feeling like I have a certain to do bird watch, now I know quite a few names --- Pacific project without giving our own suggestion in the process. revised on my stance. importance outside my own social circle. When I am back swallow, Striated swallows, wire tailed swallows, etc. But now I know that a positive dialogue can create a more to Hong Kong, I tried to talk with the gatekeeper in our Although I know the names, unlike my roommate who has a comprehensive solution for our group work because we can The villagers taught me another lesson --- sharing happiness building and greet him every morning. I built some kind pair of sharp eyes, I could only classify them as little brown refine each other’s point and noticing some flaws that they and building relationship is a easy thing. They took us into of relationship, although maybe an insignificant one, I birds most of the time during bird watch. may have missed themselves. their house and gave us hearty hospitality by sharing their felt that breaking down someone else’s wall wasn’t such a food with us, treating us strangers like acquaintances. On hard thing if I am passionate and polite enough. And being The other important parts of the trip are sustainable The other precious lesson I took in Myanmar were from the road villagers will say hi to us, and when our boat left greeted in the morning does makes me happy. Thanks to development and Myanmar history. For sustainable the villagers. We visited a village at the first night. Those the village they will wave at us. This may be a small thing, this experience in Myanmar, I leaped out the first step and development, our focus is on rubbish on the river and villagers were poorer comparing to city standards, as an old but keep in mind that our relationship was not built on I will definitely continue my actions in the future. Why electro fishing. We will do a rubbish count in the morning television would have been their most dear belonging. But transactions. It is unlikely for them to get anything from should I not continue doing so if it bring me and the person every 2 days. The purpose is to record the amount of they were very contented. It was easy to see that they all us in the future, but they still treated us with warmth. They joy every morning and makes the world a better place? rubbish flowing through the river to determine the severity enjoy their life and satisfied with their blessings because did what they did purely because they were kind hearted of the river dumping problem on the Irrawaddy River. they were always smiling and they did not envy what we and genial. And it only took us less than an hour to build For conclusion, the CERS trip brought me inspirations, THe data will be used to comparison in the future after have. They were the real life example of satisfaction brings a relationship with the villagers. You may people think taught me the way of doing things and reshaped my values. CERS launched its river dumping reducing scheme. We happiness. I did not believe in the authenticity of such saying hi and by with each other cannot be considered Myanmar CERS, thank you! developed a method to collect data as accurate as possible philosophy as I firmly believed that humans’ greed are as a relationship, but then many of us in Hong Kong will within our capability. At first, each of us were doing our infinite. Such believe was built on capitalism which Hong not even say hi and bye with our neighbours --- we built a own counting without coordination or teamwork, so there Kong and its citizens praised. In a capitalistic society, closer relationship with strangers than with our neighbours

PAGE 28 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 29 Smiles of Nature By Yan Tse HKUGAC

Sandra translating student questions on the dolphin to local fishermen.

What did this signal mean? I kept all my question in to break down this harmony for our own interest? It Irrawaddy Dolphins surfacing from the river. my mind, watching their movements carefully. They that necessary to do so? Please Irrawaddy Dolphins, do breathed with a rhythm. Although their head were not afraid of us and turn away. re we going to trip just to marvel at they are near the wooden boat. above the water surface, they did not flipped their tails local people, places and things? I anymore. We felt despaired of the side-effect of electro-fishing. believe there are much more things Our adventure with Irrawaddy started on the 29th of beyond going to the China Exploration February. We stepped on the little boat with a local Until the fisherman wanted to pick up the net, those Every wordings came out from the mouth of the and Research Society’s trip. We travel fisherman and sailed to visit the ‘Smiling Angel’ in dolphins flipped their tails again. Dolphins, were you fisherman broke our heart deeply. His signed, ‘They Ato learn, to experience, to understand all the culture and Myanmar. talking to us? After a few minutes, fisherman showed a used to come nearer, even let us touch its head. But customs in Myanmar. cheerful face and hold their net up high in the sky. Fish they no longer come nearer. They are afraid of the The boat was swinging on the river, with the babble of scattered on the net. They got a rich reward. electro-fishing.’ Irrawaddy dolphins are named as smiling dolphins. a brook. The fisherman was glancing around, observing Living in the largest river in Myanmar, they should the flow of the water to see whether there are any I could not hide my curiosity anymore. The question popped up in my mind again: ‘Are we keep smiling like the past. However, their smiling face movement from the dolphins. They stayed on the boat here just to marvel at different signs and people? Are seem to be disappear in recent years. It is all because in patient, moving their head slowly, afraid to scare ‘How can you communicate with dolphins? How we here just for fun?’ of electro-fishing. We seldom hear this term in Hong away any of the dolphins. can you get this method for fishing? Why you will Kong or we even do not know about it. What they do cooperate…’ I am sure, we have lot more to do beyond it .We, as are just simply putting two electrodes in the water. Suddenly, fisherman started to hold up their net, hitting a part of the CERS, are not only explore different Those electrodes are with high-voltage, so that fish and on the boat with a regular rhythm. ‘Tap, Tap, Tap…’ The fisherman beamed, gave me a gesture of ‘stop for traditions that seem flying away, but also help to all creatures in the river will be attacked by electricity. This beat was hovering in my ears, kept repeating a second’. I realized that I was too impatient. I nodded preserve and conserve this kind of extraordinary Therefore fishermen can get the fish in a quicker way together with a tapping sound that was from the hitting my head to show my sorry. customs, relationship. with large amount of it. Unfortunately, Irrawaddy of a wood-stick. Unexpectedly, a head of the dolphin Dolphins will lose their lives too. There are only appeared on the water surface. All of us were in The fisherman told me ‘Dolphin will make their tails is We may not make the great impacts to the locals or around 62 dolphins left nowadays. astonishment. a straight posture, to show a sign of ‘please follow me’; change a lot of habits of them. But still, every big when the dolphins kept splashing the water, it means steps are started from a little step. We can try our best What we always claim or believe is ‘It is difficult for ‘Woah! Look at there! Their tails were flipping! They ‘you should throw the net in river’, there are many fish to help to raise the awareness in some little villages people and nature to coexist.’ We are harming the give us respond!’ All of us screamed out loudly. These in the water already, the dolphin has gathered fish near first. For instance, start a pilot scheme, educate the nature, we are destroying the nature, we are the really are absolutely different from what we know in the the boat. In that way, the fish around the net are food young people by giving out some books and make fierce that kill everything on the Earth. All these scenes textbook, media and any rumors. Irrawaddy Dolphins for the dolphins. We are benefit for each others. This advertisements. flitted through my mind. are willing to come near us, give us a helping hands to method passed generation to generation. We are proud catch fish and stay with us together. This is what we of it.’ I am confident that the Irrawaddy Dolphins will smile Nevertheless, cases in Irrawaddy River are totally had explored. from their heart and showing more happy faces together different from what we were expected. They have a This is very rare to see this phenomenon in usual. with the fishermen again in the future. No need to close relationship with those fishermen, help them to It is unbelievable. The dolphins swam near us and Humans are definitely not harming the nature. Instead, worry about their lives and homes. catch fish. Their smiling face appear constantly when showed their tails to us again. What were they doing? they built the relationship with animals. Why we have

PAGE 30 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 31 s SEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 33 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RE Clockwise from bottom left: shifts with the moon. The sun stops by for a chat while changing Can you spot the archer? hey, you see the dolphins anyway! A failed attempt at afocal photography—but swallows is scientifically inaccurate. Their flight patterns of going swallows is scientifically inaccurate. or great cormorant occasional The help. didn’t and round round name) would make our day. But great tit (I bet you giggled at the task at hand when the of course, everyone would drop whatever Irrawaddy dolphins are in sight. deck, top the on by stop cormorants little curious Sometimes, surroundings. Meals on the top hopping about to surveil the alien whether you have entomophobia,deck table were fun, depending on some bug corpses might fall or the fear of insects. If your lucky, Watching insectophobes into your soup. (Mmmm, more protein!) its at entertainment was ceiling the from falling bugs with deal Mr Sum). best(I’m definitely not referring to After watching the sun set, stars start to emerge impatiently. Star gazing is a must, though it comes with a price: braving through harmless, These mayflies. of swaths and swaths with doors adults. as day a for live only creatures locust-like white pale As romantic as it seems, living for a day and a day only, they a for mosquito a trade would I though Even annoying. be can hundred mayflies, they fly and die shortly after all over the place. Fortunately, it doesn’t take long to get use to these guys. You wake up the next morning, dust off the mayfly corpses on your pillow, and a new day begins. There’s start. engines the when 7, to 6 around up wake You caring your exclude you if call morning no hurry, no rush, no roommate yanking you out of bed. The crew, already dressed in their CERS polo shirts with elephant-print pants or longyis greet you with the same, genuine smile they have welcomed you with when you first arrived on the boat. Pay attention, and you’d find that everyone around here has a genuine smile spread across their faces. Not that pan-am smile you see when you walk into a retail store. All the villagers we’ve visited were eager to welcome us by burning three incense sticks. I don’t know I don’t sticks. incense three by burning we is that All I know about Buddhism. much find spirituality with nature and can be one mind, of state tranquil that enter we if shoes. taking off our starting with at “being one with You might have scoffed studying was I when too, did I nature”. I me. Silly Chinese. for pieces Taoist something I barely at shouldn’t be laughing being was I words, other In understood. ignorant. nature. I hike once in a I’m no stranger to quarters three the to off venturing while, people of percent 90 where Kong Hong of been I’ve on. foot set to bothered never diving scuba snorkelling, watching, whale and stuff. It was And I had always been an observer. but something like, watching Planet Earth in person, minus the commentaries. is Don’t get me wrong. Being an observer interesting. watching was pretty great. Bird dolphin to journal an entire dedicate could I a little watching. Being a part of it required mentality. in change a plus effort, more called Becoming a member of the collective not are humans means That humility. for pests because acceptance, Also, superiors. are animals by caused nuances other and here to stay whether we like it or not. That was easier than what I had expected. as sunbathed us of lot the boat, a Adrift on the breeze styles your hair into a shape that would that something resembles vaguely look good on a long-haired dog. Apart from enjoying a little peace and quiet (perfect for sweet savouring illustrating), and writing solitude or what someone might call, a nap, the river supplied us with natural scenery. chat a for by stops sun the dawn, At moon. the with shifts changing when a leaves egg salted round impossibly The of ripples mild the on trail orange brilliant the river. The thin crescent quickly packs to another off rushing stars, surrounding up continent. A huge flight of swallows—little brown birds, we call them according to the abbreviation “LBB” fly back and forth near the banks for little critters. We usually give because in, minutes ten counting on up barn be to bird brown little every assuming SEARCH SOCIETY

As a city girl, I’ve always envisioned how it As a city girl, I’ve wilderness, the into off go to like, be would experts, Geo Nat of crew reliable my with mountains conquering and seas the braving the skies.” that seemed to grace

“ s ght ou Th By TANG Yo HKUGAC Well, don’t we have temples or what not? We do, but it all becomes a mundane routine. Perhaps, as tourists, we saw everything under a different light. The exotic setting intrigues us to dig deeper instead of getting it over with Going barefoot in pagodas might just be a show of of show a be just might pagodas in barefoot Going It that. beyond extends it me, For some. for respect enables one to become a part of the said infrastructure. heels your from ebbs energy of stream steady A Buddhist a your Whether head. your of top the to and spirituality there’s denying no there’s not, or transcendence. This did not come through in a snap, but after a week of going barefooted, I think we all got it. There was no nature’s deal with to had We no sock. was there shoe, elements with our bare skin. Naked and exposed, you’d stubbing Albeit, liberation. newfound your at marvel your toe on a nail might remind you to be grateful for modern technology. In the current day and age, one cannot survive without In the current day and age, one cannot layers of pretence camouflaging oneself with layers and or civilization modern Blame survive. to order in are, schoolers high even construct, social the just ourselves with gradually, getting the gist of masking superficiality. I guess it is fair to say that I’ve dipped my toes into the I guess it is fair to say that I’ve dipped Exploration is not unfathomable ocean of exploration. enthusiasm. aesthetic pure or gratification ego sheer came I so. think don’t I seen, I’ve what from least, At and myself—literally finding of purpose the with here after gruelling also spiritually. Okay, maybe to unwind retreat. exams, but hey, this ain’t no weekend And that, was the extent of my understanding about this And that, was the extent of my understanding beautiful, mystical country. “My impression of Myanmar came from vague vague from came Myanmar of impression “My comments on Suukyi, Burmese cats...” This, is a snippet of a random piece I wrote when I was of a random piece I wrote when I was This, is a snippet for Myanmar. hyping myself up PAGE 32 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RE Mayflies By TANG Yo HKUGAC

Mayflies may fly. Fly away! die in May!

Some say they die every day. Yes, it’s hard to say but they do die in a day.

Hope they don’t go far away hope they don’t go astray. But you don’t say— life’s just a play so come what may, let’s not get into nature’s way and just, be gay!

scars. The crude oil painted in the interior glimmers, Barefoot giving off a faint but pungent smell. Then, we realised that the smell came from the nocturnal bats that came By TANG Yo hear to prey on critters. I don’t think I could ever HKUGAC fathom how a synthetic structure like this over-brim with such vitality. There’s something about being barefooted. We’d have to take off our shoes, and grace the floor with nothing What’s the foundation underneath the monastery, one but bare skin. It’s because it’s what you do before you might ask? You instinctively look down at the teakwood walk into a monastery, just like how you automatically floor, pondering the question that echoes along the take off your shoes when you enter your house. cravings of the Buddha. The soil beneath our feet harkened, replying the questioner with silence. To a city girl, it seemed unnatural and unnecessary. But you follow suit, because that’s what you do. The 400-year-old nails, alongside freshly drilled nails begged for our attention as they poked us gently on Although no one questions it, the germaphobe in you the soles of our feet. Look down, them seemed to mutters in disgust. But “as the Romans do”, you do as tell us, and admire the earth, the wood, the dust, oft- the Burmese do. overlooked. This little girl, who gave us miniature pots became an instant celebrity! I have nothing against being barefooted. In fact, it’s Being barefooted means being vulnerable. It means into their homes. Even though all of the delicacies they sustainable. There were several kids, who stared at us, pretty liberating—physically and spiritually. You step taking control over your body, while letting the offered were exactly the same: curry, sticky rice, fried doe-eyed. One little girl even gave us tiny bowls that onto the brick floors with apprehension and trepidation. elements and forces around you guide the soul. It beans with tea leaves; we couldn’t stop munching on could pass for the crust of egg tarts! Marvelled by her Then the realisation of “wow the floor is cool” hits stems from the floors, travelling through your spine, the sticky rice. By the time we got to the last house, generosity, we took turns taking pictures with her and you unexpectedly, in a good way. You look down at all the way up to your head. Even an atheist like me we were beyond full. Nevertheless, we wanted to thank playing with her. It didn’t matter if we didn’t speak you feet, in its natural form, exposed and unprotected. could really feel the transcendence. Perhaps, it’s the the family for their great hospitality, so we still ate as the same language. Warm smiles and welcoming arms But why do you have to “protect” them anyway? Our tranquility and simplicity. Perhaps, it awakened the much as we could. suffice. ancestors have fared pretty well for eons without it. Buddhist facet of me.

They say hospitality is supposedly learned, but even Myanmar taught me many invaluable lessons on life. Be You line your feet along the teakwood planks, tactfully Being barefooted. It means taking off all the pretence, children who didn’t have much to spare gave us gifts. it religion, nature, or culture; this heavily misrepresented avoiding all the cracks. Colonies of ants pass by. letting go off materialistic pursuits and embracing the We went to a pottery village, which had turned away country has pleasantly surprised us. Let’s keep our Stray dogs stroll by, tapping their paws, tippy tappy. Burmese way of life. Or maybe, it just means being from electrofishing after NGOs advised them to switch fingers crossed, and hope that this beautiful country Hundred of years of rain and wind weathered the floors, barefooted. to something more environmentally and economically would remain a sustainable paradise. corroding the pillars and planks, exposing large, long

PAGE 34 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY PAGE 35 Student Bios

The Duke-Stanford Student-Athletes Civic HKUGAC aims to provide a holistic education in a Engagement Program (the Duke-Stanford Group), is predominantly English environment in which students can a group of 10 student athletes. This is the fourth discover the joy of learning through hard work, consecutive summer that CERS hosted this particular perseverance and creativity. By offering 10 students the group and they stayed at the Zhongdian Center for three opportunity to participate in CERS trip in Yunnan since the weeks, teaching local children English and sports. The summer of 2016 the College helps students develop the Duke-Stanford Student-Athletes Civic Engagement capacity for empathy and become responsible, Program is a pioneering joint program between the two compassionate, inquiring, and globally minded people universities to send athletes in various sports to who contribute to the society. Next year, more students developing countries to broaden their experience in will be exploring in other research sites of CERS in practicing their sports as well as to provide health and summer and winter times. The students really enjoy to environment related service to local communities. They all challenge the hikes at high elevations and in tough play different sports ranging from diving to running long environments-they truly embrace the accomplishment at distance. The students truly enjoyed working out a few the end of the program. hours every day at a high altitude of 3300 meters and immersing in the local Tibetan culture through interacting with the local children. For more information about the students and many more examples of their writing and experiences with CERS in Zhongdian, see the blogs by the students at https://ace.duke.edu/blog-program/ace-in- china/

CURRENT PATRONS

HONG KONG / OVERSEAS l Gigi Ma Arnoux l Rick Kroos l Chote Sophonpanich l Charles Brown l Barry Lam l Dr William So l Dr Joseph Chan l Christabel & Ricky Lau l James & Mary Tien l Eric Chen l Vic Lee l Betty Tsui l James Chen l Afonso Ma l Patrick Wang l Choy So Yuk l Albert Ma l Conrad Wong l Betsy Cohen l Martin Ma l Gilbert Wong l William E. Connor l David Mong l Dora Wu l Judith Ann Corrente l Pang Family l Sonny Yau l Ester Goelkel l Thomas Pritzker l Wellington & Virginia Yee l William Fung l Serge Pun l Jack Yeung l Victor Hsu l The SahanDaywi Foundation l Billy Yung l Hans Michael Jebsen l Oliver Silsby

A subscription to this newsletter is US$100 for three issues. CERS’ MISSION: All proceeds support CERS projects. The mission of the China Exploration and Research Please contact us directly if you are interested in signing up. Society is to enrich the understanding of our cultural and See the bottom of page two for contact details. natural heritage.

PAGE 36 CHINA EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY