A Pair of Panties and Boxers

I’ve heard rumors that Chinese people can’t drive. I can prove otherwise. Well, our cab driver can. The alleyways were just wide enough to pass through. The walls and the side mirrors were barely an inch apart. He sped through it while striking up a casual conversation. The more he looked at the rear view mirror the more nervous I got. It somehow reminded me of that carnival game where you move a metal ring down a rotating metal rod. And at any moment, it would touch and you’d get zapped.  Driving down that alley was just like that. At any moment, the car could crash and we’d be zapped.

We were heading toward the Iron Pagoda in Kaifeng. It was dusk and the pagoda would be closing soon. It was our last day and we wanted to squeeze in as much as we could so we made the attempt to get out there.  The cab driver turned into chatty Cathy after he learned JC’s grandparents were from Henan Province, the province where Kaifeng is located.

Chinese provincialism is strong. People in these province are all Chinese. They’re all brothers and sisters. Therefore, chinese people from the same province are more willing to help each other as opposed to someone from a different province. For example, a 广东人 (Cantonese person) will be more willing to help a fellow Guangdongren as opposed to a 福建人 (Fujinese person).

We almost didn’t make it to see the Iron Pagoda but our cab driver had connections. He was friends with the guards at the entrance. They were closing up just as we were pulling in. With a few laughs and a couple of pats on the back, the cab driver motioned us to get out of the car. The guards at the gate let us in with free admission. Oh the camaraderie. If JC had said that his grandparents were from another province, I don’t think the cab driver and the guard would have been as generous.

The Iron Pagoda didn’t top my discovery that there was such a thing as Chinese Jews but I’m glad we made it out there.  The pagoda isn’t really made out of iron. It’s build from bricks. They call it the Iron Pagoda because of the color. Each brick is intricately carved with over fifty different images of Buddha, standing monks, flowers, lions, dragons and other engravings. It’s little things like this that reminds me you don’t have to visit populated cities to find beauty in another culture. Sometimes the smaller, less traveled paths are just as beautiful and if not, even more charming. I wonder how many people have been to Kaifeng when they visit China.