Three Gorges Dam Museum

The Three Gorges Dam Museum (above)

Model of the dam (above)

Yesterday I went with my school's Spoken English teacher and his other Spoken English teacher friend to a few historical Chongqing sites....



The Three Gorges Dam Museum was a very interesting stop on the list of sightseeing spots in Chongqing that I wanted to see. I wanted to see how this "great achievement" in engineering was portrayed to the people throughout China...or at least how the government wanted it to be portrayed to the people throughout China.



The museum was better than I expected and actually had exhibits on other events and time periods rather than just the dam itself. They had a hall on The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the Sino-Japanese War, Mao, etc. Everything was very visual and occasionally there were English descriptions but it was mostly at the beginning portion of the exhibit.



In the first exhibition hall there was a big globe displaying the largest rivers in the world (one of them is the Yangtze). A little boy and his parents were examining it and it was obvious that we wanted to have a look to, the mom told the boy "Come on, let's go! These foreigners want to see the map too!" Not wanting to look like I was pushing a kid out of the way for some dumb globe I said "I am sorry! He can keep looking, but you know how foreigners like maps." She automatically said "No problem." Suddenly her mouth dropped and she realized that these words were coming from a foreigner.



We continued to talk for about five minutes about me, where I came from, how long had I learned Chinese, what did I think about China, whether or not I was used to the cuisine etc.

They left and then this other man in a blue shirt came up to my side and started asking me the same questions...except he didn't stop after five minutes and began delving into more personal things like where I lived (I wasn't dumb enough to actually tell him), where did I go to school.

Finally that was over, phew, and we moved on to the next exhibit hall.



When we got to the exhibit hall I noticed the same man in the blues shirt was there and he was pretending to be looking at something while staring at me from the corner of his eye. When we moved on to the next stone tablet, painting or whatever, he did too. I began to get nervous.

I told my English teaching friend that the guy was following us. He told me to just ignore him for now and that if he started to pester me we could leave.



Right after he said that the man approached me again. This time he asked me what the best way to learn English was. It took me several tries to understand him because I was feeling very scatter-brained. I simply told him to watch movies...I walked away. He followed. "But how did your Chinese get so good if you only studied it for 2 years? I have studied English for 9 but I can hardly say anything!" I told him that I watched movies. And then I said "Excuse me I have to go."



Trying to throw our middle-aged stalker off for a while we had a bathroom break. He was nowhere to be found after that so we headed into a very perculiar room...I noticed the sign said Foreign Art Room. We ventured in and were immediately greeted with English "Hello, please have a look around." Except the art in the room was all Chinese art...and it was for sale. A few minutes later we discovered they were fake. Then I heard a familiar voice, this time protesting. "But this is my country's art? Why can't I come in??" It didn't take me long to figure out that it was the blue shirted man. And apparently this was a room for foreigners only.



The art was mostly reproductions, and not even painted reproductions at that. The prices were out rageous too. 250,000 yuan for a reproduction! What!? So this must be where they fool foreigners into buying "authentic" Chinese art. And at first glance they seem real enough, and you're buying them at a museum to boot!



(Dana & John I saw the exact same silk embroidery piece that is hanging in your dinning room in that museum store. The same exact one! I kid you not!)



I think the reason it is only open to foreigners is because Chinese people would quickly realize that the pieces on sale are fakes.



We left bemused by the fact that only foreigners could enter. Unfortunately the entrance was also the exit and that same man was waiting for us. He was still engaged in a heated argument with the attendant as to why he couldn't enter the store. But as soon as he saw us he accepted defeat.



I practically ran away from that store, anything to get away from this overly friendly individual. He ran too. I gave in and about faced, this time looking pissed off. He asked me if I had a phone, I said no (lie), and then he asked me if I had an email. But of course he didn't have a pen. He got one though. I worte down my Chinese name and a fake email address. He complained that I had written it too sloppily and that I should write it again. I told him no. (Being that up front in Chinese culture is extremely rude, if I'd wanted to be polite I would have said something along the lines of "But my friends are waiting for me.") He said ok. And that was the last I saw of him.

Thank god. It was a very scary experience...or to me it seemed to be.



I caught a bus home with my English teaching friends and went to my best Chinese friend's home for dinner. My parents have already left for vacation and this evening I am to accompany my host grandfather by plane to Guilin. It is supposed to be one of the prettiest places in China, and it takes two days to get there by car. Thank god I am going by plane! Chinese people don't use seat belts!



Oh, and the reason for such an occasion is because October 1st is National Day! 7 days of vacation for most people! Yay!