Tour
Journal
This past February, I was
honored to be chosen to tour China with the
Mantovani Orchestra as the
Assistant Concertmaster (on violin). I will
never forget my experiences there,
and all of the fascinating people I met.
We toured through several cities in
mainland China, including Shanghai,
Beijing, Wuhan, Shenzhen, and
Guangzhou. One of the most interesting
concert halls that we performed in,
was the
Oriental Arts Center in
Shanghai.
During our free time, I was
able to become a tourist. I was thrilled to climb
the steps of the Great Wall.
Its steepness is not for the faint of heart,
but the mountain views are
spectacular and worth the effort. I also visited
a jade factory. We
were taught how to recognize real jade from fake jade
based on the
difference in pitch when it is tapped.
I really enjoyed visiting the peaceful YuYuan
Gardens. It was skillfully
designed to create the illusion
of vast space, while in actuality it is quite
compact in the middle of a big city.
The abundance of coi fish provided a
splash of brilliant orange color. We also visited a
Cloisonné factory, a Jade
Buddha Temple, and went to the top of the Pearl Tower in Shanghai.
I was lucky to be in China during the
Chinese New Year. This year, it began
on Feb.18, 2007. I learned that
the beginning
of the Chinese New Year, is
determined by the second "New Moon" after the winter
solstice. This is the
year of the pig. There are 12
different animals which are recycled every 12
years. I enjoyed the
festive decorations, fireworks, drums, and dragons
for the celebration.
- Bonnie McManaman, Feb.2007
