In A Wuhan Minute @inawuhanminute - Tumblr Blog

In 60 seconds --

Xianning, China, a place of hot springs, bamboo forests, the huge Taiyi Caves, bats and wandering water buffalo.

Onward!,

AG

In 60 seconds --

The critically endangered Yangtze river porpoises at the Wuhan Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute for Hydrobiology site.

It is rare in this life to get to observe a mammal that may not be swimming this earth in 10-15 years. But we got that chance this past fall.

Just looking at these animals you can see how intelligent they are and so very curious. These six porpoises are in a breeding program to help save their species.

The trouble is the porpoises have only produced one live baby in the last 10 years. Scientists are trying feverishly to figure out why.

Because of overfishing, pollution of their habitats and a lack of quality food both in the wild and in captivity, these animals are dying at a the very high rate of about 15% a year, according to researchers at the facility.

Just a few years ago, there was another river dolphin swimming the Yangtze, the baiji. It was a larger dolphin with a much longer, snout. It is still touted on signs for Wuhan events as a sort of mascot. But it is now extinct.

So what will happen to Wuhan’s marine environment if this river porpoise also goes extinct? In short, researchers told me it would be chaos. This mammal is at the top of its food chain so if it disappears, then other species will be affected.

When I asked a researcher what could be done to help these porpoises, she said to tell people to come see them, raise awareness of their plight.

Onward and upward, Wuhan!

AG

#wuhan china riverdolphins endangered

allaboutchinese

你的心是自由的，要有勇气追随它。 Your heart is free. Have the courage to follow it.

inawuhanminute

Also LOVE this man!

mymodernmet

Artist Playfully Holds Cut Paper Silhouettes Against Towering Monuments to Bring Them to Life

inawuhanminute

Enlightenment for your Monday!

#asiamonday

la-hermosa-china

千里共婵娟 by 村夫

themiaoculture-deactivated20240

Shidong Miao Sister’s Meal Festival Parade

inawuhanminute

Lovely!

#china #silvercrafts

penamerican

"You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children." ― Madeleine L'Engle

inawuhanminute

Love this lady!!!

In 60 seconds --

You never know what you might see on the streets of Wuhan at night. This man was sitting on the sidewalk near Jiedaokou station playing this Chinese harp, which reminded me of the dulcimers of my home in USA.

Onward and upward,

AG

#wuhan wuhandifferenteveryday china

guardian

Mischief managed: illustrations from the new edition of Harry Potter | See full gallery

From the multi-coloured sorting hat to the red glow of Ron’s hair, we revel in Jim Kay’s glorious pictures for the new illustrated edition of Harry Potter. Have a look, Muggles, and see more at The Guardian.

inawuhanminute

These books are really... a NEED, don’t you think?

ballerinaproject

Miko - Chinatown, San Francisco

Bodysuit by Wolford wolfordfashion

Follow the Ballerina Project on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter & Pinterest

For information on purchasing Ballerina Project limited edition prints.

inawuhanminute

Love this project so much!

#chinatown

How moon cakes make magic

Our family just experienced our first Moon Festival here in China. Although we’ve lived in Wuhan a year, we missed all of the excitement and cultural learning of the festival in 2014 because we had just moved to China from the United States.

But this year, my older daughter joined her brother in his kindergarten class at for a moon cake-making extravaganza.

We really enjoyed hearing the romantic myth surrounding Moon Festival or the Mid-Autumn Festival, how Hou Yi shot down nine suns, and his beautiful wife, Chang E, later outwitted an evil man by taking an elixir that made her float up towards heaven, away from the storied warrior. But she couldn’t bear to be too far away from her beloved Hou Yi so she stayed on the moon instead.

Then the other moms and teachers connected the myth to the magic of dough-kneading and molding that is moon cake making, and we all got to sample the children’s handiwork after the cakes baked.

While we miss the traditions of our community back in the United States, we’ve really enjoyed sharing in Chinese traditions this year.

Having this hands-on activity making moon cakes and connecting it with the legend of the festival made Chinese culture come alive for my family in a way we hadn’t previously experienced it.

And this is the key lesson I hope my children learn while we’re in China – to respect the cultures of people around the world by participating in that society, even if for a short while, and not just being mere observers.

This is the gift my son is learning in his Chinese kindergarten, beyond the language benefits. He knows what it’s like to be “the other,” which carries its own blessings and difficult times as well.

Onward and striving,

AG

In 60 seconds:

Because nothing says food safety like an orderly row of pigs feet laid out on the sidewalk. But this man was taking it to a new level. He was burning off the little hairs on the pigs feet with a flamethrower. That made for quite the visually stunning image.

According to a 2011 LA Times article, China is the world’s highest pork producer, and it houses half the world’s pig population. Chinese people eat about 100 pounds of pork per person a year. And the pork’s feet or zhu ti are one of the choicest parts.

And the nation consumes 100,000 tons of pork per day, according to LA TImes writer David Pierson.

That’s a whole lotta pig!

Onward and upward,

AG

In 60 seconds:

Apparently Wuhan has a city wall. We were meeting some friends to play at Ziyang Park in Hankou and took a detour to see the wall. It’s a reconstruction of the original wall. According to my historian friends, the city knocked down the old wall and built a new one in 2011.

One history I’ve found online says that the original wall had divided Wuchang from Hankou for some 1,800 years. The famous Wuchang Uprising that started the 1911 Revolution began at the wall site. This revolution ended dynasty rule in China. So it’s kinda important

Onward and upward,

AG

Here is one example of a mooncake recipe to try at home folks!

In 60 seconds:

I recently had the pleasure of attending a moon cake making activity at my son’s preschool. We sang, “roll, roll, roll the dough, gently in your hands” and then we stretched each piece of rolled dough around smaller balls of red bean paste or white and red lotus seed paste. Then they squashed each of those balls in different intricate molds and baked them. Lovely, dense, uber-sweet biscuit cakes.

The teachers taught about the legend of Moon Festival -- how the great warrior Hou Yi rid the world of nine suns and left one in the sky, using only his bow and arrow. He then married a beautiful maiden, Chang E. But there was a jealous man, who wanted a gift he was given, the elixir of heaven. But sensing that the man would stop at nothing to get the elixir, Chang E, took it to save her husband, and she floated toward heaven. But she didn’t want to go too far from her beloved. So she stayed on the moon instead.

Onward!

AG