Some of Sara's Photos

And here are the rest:http://www.flickr.com/photos/8748600@N06/sets/72157608063906947/

The First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (Part 1)
(an excellent 10 part series about the man who united China, started the building of the Great Wall and for whose tomb the Terra Cotta Warriors were built. )

With reenactments, expert commentary, and impressive graphic re-creations, Discovery Channel's The First Emperor: The Man who made China traces the rise of the young king, who, an ingenious and often brutal ruler, transformed seven warring states into a single, united empire ten times the size of the Egyptian pharaohs' domain.

You can watch the rest of the series on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYCM64KTRX8

Tibetan artist Gonkar Gyatso will give a talk at the Spencer Museum of Art at 7 PM Thursday, August 28, tipping off three days of activities in the Lawrence and Kansas City area that will include visits to studios of local artists, talks with KU students and faculty, and a Saturday, August 30 lunchtime conversation at the Kansas City Art Institute’s H & R Block Artspace. The events at the Spencer and the Artspace are free and open to the public. Born in Lhasa in 1961, Gyatso’s artistic career charts the course of contemporary Tibetan history, documenting a creative engagement with what it means to be Tibetan in the 21st century.


More info: KCUR.org events calendar: http://events.publicbroadcasting.net/kcur/events.eventsmain?action=showEvent&eventID=778215

Spencer Museum of Art: http://www.spencerart.ku.edu/gyatso.shtml

Beijing’s Silk Market is full of smooth talkers

Great article by Joe Posnanski in the Kansas City Star!

“You need underwear, yes, you do,” a second woman yelled at me as I wandered aimlessly from one booth to another, steadied only by the presence of my intrepid interpreter, Linjun Fan, who had two purposes: 1. She was here to prevent me from spending my life savings on an “authentic” Chinese fan; 2. She was here to take hilarious video of this clueless American getting fleeced at the Silk Market.

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/758661.html

Dear China Travelers,

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to watch as many of director Zhang Yimou's films as possible before our departure for China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Yimou

I'll send around a list of his films (by email) and where some of them can be found around town.

A couple of my personal favorites (I haven't seen them all yet) are Raise the Red Lantern and House of Flying Daggers. They are exquisite.

From the BBC

An excellent country profile on contemporary China, specifically on leaders, the media, social unrest and human rights:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1287798.stm


Also, a modern timeline with audio and video:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1288392.stm

"Up the Yangtze" movie

There is a very interesting movie that is playing at the Tivoli in Westport through July 31st.

In many ways, it is hard to watch. It follows the life of a teenager and her family who are very poor farmers and are displaced by the flooding of the river. The teenager gets a job on one of the big river boats and we get quite an inside look at the lives of the workers on these ships.

The ship that is featured is one of the Victoria line and is not like the ship which we will have for our 5 nights on the Yangtze. Ours is the Regal China Cruise line. There are no cheezy piano sing-a-longs or ballroom dancing. There is a nice quiet lounge and library at the front of the ship. Onboard edu-tainment consists of "classes" on oriental medicine, massage, tai chi, carving, etc..

The movie does show some of the beautiful scenery that we will see and also gives a glimpse as to the magnitude and scope of the Three Gorges Dam project and the resulting upheaval.

If you would like to help the family that is featured in the film, there is a special website set up for it:
http://www.givemeaning.com/project/yufam. Here you can also read updates about the family.

Here is a trailer for the film...

Power, Politics and the Olympics
from America Abroad Radio

We go beyond the fun-and-games of the Summer Olympics to explore the politics, agendas, grandstanding and the debates involving China.

Sunday at 6 pm on KCUR 89.3 fm
Listen online at www.kcur.org

Probing China's Changing Character
Fresh Air from WHYY, July 23, 2008 · What happens when an entrenched culture suddenly opts for rapid change and the upheaval of centuries of cherished tradition? NPR Book Critic Maureen Corrigan finds some answers in two new works of nonfiction.

Learn more, listen to the story, and read excerpts from the books.

Fourth Annual International Dragon Boat Festival
Saturday, July 26th

Thanks to China traveler Carol Perry for the reminder about this weekend’s Dragon Boat Festival on the Plaza. You can find the details here: http://www.chinagardensociety-kc.org/dragonBoat.htm

Here's a pdf of the flyer: http://www.chinagardensociety-kc.org/pdf/2008%20Dragon%20Boats%20Flyer-7.26.2008.pdf

The Summer Palace in Beijing

I was completely enchanted by The Summer Palace. I can't wait to go back and spend more time there! I even bought a map of the grounds and have it posted in my office.

www.chinasummerpalace.com

Thanks to China travelers Sue and Tim Scholl for this tip…..

On Thur, July 31 KCPT will have a Globe Trekker program on Beijing, a city guide., On Thur, Aug 21 they will show a program on central China. 10: PM- 11 :PM

The web site is www.globetrekker.com

Thanks to China traveler Jennifer Randle for this tip....

Ted Koppel is hosting "Koppel: People's Republic of Capitalism," on the Discovery Channel (45 on Time-Warner) over four nights - Wednesday, July 9 through Saturday, July 12, at 9 p.m. each night. The series focuses on Chongqing where we are disembarking from our Yangtze cruise.

Dear Travelers,

You are invited to join us for a one day seminar created especially for our travel group.

Date: August 2, 2008

Time: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (with a one hour break for lunch)

Location: The Mary Clark and E. Grey Dimond Scholars' Center (also known as The Diastole House)

Address: 2501 Holmes St., KCMO, 64108 (directions here: http://www.diastole.org/directions.asp)

**If you have not yet joined us for a Near & Far event at The Diastole House, you can learn about this wonderful center and view photos here: http://www.diastole.org/tour.asp

Seminar Details: Robert Gamer, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Political Science at UMKC, and editor of the book “Understanding Contemporary China” will lead us through a multimedia exploration of contemporary Chinese culture, politics, business and agriculture. He recently presented this seminar as part of the distinguished Carolyn Benton Cockefair Lecture Series at the University.

Fee: $45.00 (includes a lovely lunch at the new Bo Lings Restaurant in the nearby City Market area)

If you would like to attend this seminar, please send a check payable to Dr. Gamer, to the KCUR address below. Please put it to my attention. RSVP and payment are due by July 21.

KCUR Radio

4825 Troost Ave Ste. 202

Kansas City, MO 64110

(attn: Sara Jane Crane)

Internet Helps Liberate Music in China

Morning Edition, June 25, 2008 - When America was rocking to the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, the airwaves in China were dominated by songs with lyrics from Chairman Mao's Little Red Book.

It's more open today, but the Communist government still bans anything that mentions sex or violence, or that has "low class humor" — which bans an awful lot of American music. So the music most likely to come pouring out of the radio in China is syrupy ballads usually produced in Hong Kong or Taiwan.

But Chinese musicians and fans are finding a whole new universe of sound on the Internet. And it's helping to create and nourish a new generation of independent artists in China.

Learn more and listen at NPR.org

Discover Chinese Indie Music Here