Thursday, July 17, 2008

Earthquake Relief Performance


Tonight was opening night in Shenzhen. It was a benefit performance for the victims of the Sichuan Earthquake. It was a very touching experience as about 20 children who survived the earthquake were in attendance wearing their native Sichuan dress. The children were from the city of Wenchuan which was the epicenter of the earthquake. We were told that their school was one of the many that collapsed and they were some of the few survivors. We were told that many of them no longer have parents. It was amazing to see them smiling and having fun trying to communicate with us. We counted together in Chinese, then we did it in English. They seemed to really enjoy teaching us Chinese words and thanked us for coming to China. At the end of the performance, the older children went onstage to present the cast with flowers. Somehow, it seemed the opposite of what it should be. They should be the ones receiving the flowers, but it was a very moving evening. You can see photos on the photo page.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Arrival in Shenzhen

Today, we flew from Nanning to Shenzhen. Our flight was only one hour, but it takes 12 hours by road. Glad we flew! Shenzhen is just across the border from Hong Kong. Unfortunately, Zachary and I won't be going to Hong Kong because my visa only allows a single entry into China and I would be stuck in Hong Kong! We can visit Hong Kong when we get to Macau in a few weeks, so it's not a big deal. Shenzhen is obviously a big city and has a very urban feel. It makes Nanning seem like a much smaller city, even though it was quite large with multi-millions of people. Tomorrow is the set load-in day and we have a press event in the morning. Our hotel is OK, not nearly as nice as in Nanning, but it will do. We've got the National Geographic Channel, BBC, and Cinemax, so at least we have some TV to watch!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Nanning's Next!

Today is our last full day in Harbin. The cast had the day off and Zachary and I struck out on our own for a while and explored the city a bit. The highlight was a wonderful lunch at a Russian restaurant that has been there since 1914. It looked like someone's well-decorated living room. The food was great and a much welcomed changed from Chinese and fast food.

Tomorrow we fly about 2,000 miles to the south to Nanning, China. Nanning is near the Vietnam border. We hope to visit Detian Falls which is the second largest border waterfall in the world behind Niagara Falls. Half of the falls are in China and the other half are in Vietnam. You have to be careful not to cross into Vietnam because a visa is required for entry and if you don't have one, it could be problematic!

After Nanning, the show goes to Shenzhen, which is just across the border from Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, and Macau.

Next update will be from Nanning!
Carter

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Siberian Tigers!

The other day, the cast took a field trip to the Harbin Siberian Tiger Preserve. It was an amazingly upclose view of some beautiful wild animals. The experience was certainly something that you couldn't have in America! We boarded buses that drove us into what felt like Jurassic Park-like cages - very large. The bus drove through the cages and we were surrounded by tigers that were roaming free. It was absolutely amazing to get so close to them. At times they would walk directly around the bus. We were able to get some amazing pictures. Go to the photo site to see all of them. At the end of the tour, you had the option to buy LIVE animals to feed to the tigers! A couple of cast members bought a duck and a rooster. We were all a bit concerned that it would be brutal and nasty, but it was actually very National Geographic-like. There is a video of the duck's demise on the photo site. Needless to say, PETA would have a fit over this, but in China, it's just fine! At the end of the tour, Zachary got to hold a baby tiger which he absolutely loved!

After the tiger park, we went to a huge park called Sun Island Park. This park is the home of the annual Harbin Ice Festival. We went to a museum that was well below freezing and saw amazing ice sculptures. All in all, it was one of the most interesting and fun days of touring I've ever had. Definitely not something we would see at home!

Our next stop on the tour is 2,000 miles away in Nanning, China. We fly on Tuesday. Nanning is very close to the North Vietnam border and is known for its signature dish, dog hot pot! Should be interesting! Supposedly Nanning is a mix of about 100 different cultures and nationalities, so it will be very different from Harbin, which is almost all Han Chinese (or at least that's what I was told).

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

SOMA Opens in Harbin


The Sound of Music opened last night in Harbin. The show was fantastic! It was full of energy and could have easily been sitting on a Broadway stage! The performances are remarkable and the cast is solid as a rock. The audience absolutely loved it. They clapped along, and it is obvious that Do Re Mi is their absolute favorite. The children were amazing and the whole show was wonderful until the the bows which were received with cheering and a standing ovation from the audience. I couldn't help thinking, as we sat in chairs behind a Communist-style voting desk, that it is truly amazing that we are here in China with this treasure of a show. The photo above is from this morning's Harbin Daily newspaper. Click here to go to an English translation of the Web article. The actual newspaper is much longer and has a lot more pictures. I'll take some pictures of the paper and post it to the photo site.
Carter