Taking in the awesome architecture throughout Kunming

A Murky Yet Familiar River: My First 10 Days in Kunming

Bryce Fan
Bryce Fan
Sep 9, 2018 · 11 min read

Crazy Rich Asians has been all the craze back in the states — the first film of its kind to feature an incredibly successful all-Asian cast in 25 years. Naturally, I’ve been listening to the soundtrack lately, and one song in particular resonates with me: the movie’s rendition of the Coldplay hit Yellow. Although the Chinese lyrics stray far away from a direct translation from English, the song still tells the powerful story of a young woman who is unsure if a love is worth “diving in a river” for. She compares her uncertainty to the beautiful yet rare occurrence of a falling meteor: should one give in to their doubts, or instead take a leap of faith?

Eventually, she realizes she can’t fight her emotions. Something in their relationship is too visceral and powerful to ignore — and indeed she jumps into the “river” of love: “happiness… I’ll leap into your river and swim to the end.”

It was naturally fitting then that this song came on my Spotify playlist as my plane touched down to Kunming, where I’m spending the Fall 2018 semester. Of course, I’m not spending a semester in China in search of a love worth diving in a river for — but I instead interpret those lyrics as a manifestation of my complex journey with my cultural identity. Just like the singer, I’ve often pondered if taking a semester off to discover the land my ancestors came from was worth it — especially considering how this year has been instrumental in my professional development. It started off in January, where I had the opportunity to intern for Senator Dianne Feinstein’s office in Washington, D.C. — and onto the summer in New York, where I worked with President Bill Clinton and the Clinton Foundation’s communications staff. As the midterm elections come nearer, I’m constantly reminded that I could instead be interning for a heated Congressional campaign in New York’s 22nd district, where Democratic challenger Anthony Brindisi has strong hopes for defeating incumbent Rep. Claudia Tenney. But, as much as I’ve been consumed by the idea that ending that professional momentum was an actual conscious decision that I made, I feel just like the young woman in the story that Crazy Rich Asians’ rendition of Yellow tells: at the end of the day, there are certain emotions that are too powerful, too visceral, too compelling to ignore. Something about the idea of being able to share a city with my grandmother as she enters her twilight years, and the immense gratification of being able to say that I’ve come even a little bit closer to understanding the land of my ancestors — those things, no matter how distant or idealized they may be, seem far more worth it than any internship or resume booster could possibly give me.

Missing my days as a Senate intern…

And thus, I too have taken a leap of faith — not in a river of love, but this time in a river whose waters feel somewhat familiar but all the more murky. I’ve been here before: on a journey to better understand what being an “ABC” (American Born Chinese) means to me — but this time, armed with a better command of Mandarin and the excitement of exploring the city that raised my maternal grandmother, the stakes feel higher but exponentially more exciting.

This river is all mine to explore — and I’ve got three months to swim to my heart’s content.


I’ve been in Kunming for nearly two weeks now, and those two weeks have been overwhelming for me as I explore the “City of Eternal Spring” — from late-night street food adventures to a course load taught entirely in Mandarin, it’s been a period of adjustment and excitement as I get a better picture of what the semester will look like.

Exploring the streets.

The study abroad program I’m participating in requires us to take a “language pledge,” in which all students promise to only speak Chinese for the duration of the semester (with certain exceptions of course, like medical emergencies and catching up with friends and family). After having academic orientation and taking the pledge on Sunday, our first week of classes started quickly as we received our course schedules and homework for the night. I’m taking four courses this semester: Kunming/Yunnan Studies (a class everyone is required to take, which helps us better understand the culture of the city and province we’re studying in), Environmental Policy in China (yes — as hard as it sounds), China’s Rural Moving Population (those who migrate from rural areas into cities), and our one-on-one thesis class, where each student is paired with a teacher who helps them write their semester thesis.

My first night’s homework… going to be quite the semester :(

Thankfully, Chinese courses at Hamilton are also taught entirely in Mandarin — so the idea of taking classes taught purely in Chinese didn’t seem as intimidating to me. The most difficult course on my schedule is by far Environmental Policy in China. Our first week attempted to teach us a comprehensive history of China’s environmental policies, which resulted in four hours of trying to understand the readings, greater confusion of what was going on in class, and a very basic understanding of what PM2.5 is and how it somehow relates to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing (yes, I am still just as confused as you are). Although this class is definitely tough, I’m looking forward to hopefully better understanding how China will balance environmental protection with its rapidly growing economy, especially in a city like Kunming known for its breathtaking landscape. Stay tuned to see if I end up crashing and burning in this one.

Enjoying local attractions with my roommate, Ruijun!

Although the course load seems rough, so far we’ve had plenty of free time to explore Kunming and the campus of Yunnan University, where I’m studying for the semester. A big shout-out to my roommate, who somehow always manages to have activities planned, whether it’s meeting his friends for dinner or exploring the surrounding area. My roommate (named Ruijun) is an Ethnic Studies major at Yunnan University, and he has a passion for studying China’s 56 ethnic minorities (少数民族). He often travels to remote areas throughout China to study the unfortunate conditions of many of these ethnic minorities, who live in areas without energy, running water, and internet. It’s been cool having the chance to talk to him about this issue (which is very unique to China), and also chatting about some differences in Chinese-American culture. He also happens to be extremely skilled in killing mosquitoes and other bugs in our room, which has been a big benefit for me — I’ve fallen victim to mosquito bites at least ten times this past week, each amounting to a huge swollen tennis ball on my skin before eventually dissipating into a small itchy bump. For some reason, mosquitoes have also been preying on my fingers, so it’s been funny typing with a super swollen middle finger (ha, does that say anything?).

On Thursday, a group of us on the program explored a district in Kunming known for selling a bunch of plants and animals. There were hundreds of shops lined up selling anything from bonsai trees and stingrays (yes, stingrays) to golden retriever puppies and baby hamsters. It was a bit tough exploring these shops; although it was exciting to see all of these different animals sold at a super cheap price (only 80RMB for a kitten without bargaining, which translates to a little over $11 USD), they were kept in incredibly poor conditions characterized by small living quarters and the perpetual smell of animal pee. That is to say, I had a much more pleasant experience checking out the plant stores. My Chinese wasn’t proficient enough to understand the significance of any of the plants that were being sold, but it seems like the succulent trend hit Kunming long before it made its way to the states.

The streets were laced with pretty plant displays like this one.

On Friday, everyone on the program made their way to a mandatory health examination required by Yunnan University. We had to ride a taxi for over an hour to get to the hospital, where we had to take a bunch of different tests — from an ultrasound to an eye test. I only write about this hectic five-hour ordeal because of one test, which a lot of us found awkwardly hilarious: peeing in a cup. Worst of all, the cup was clear. It was hard not to laugh as everyone slowly exited the bathroom, covering their pee cup with their hands. Mine was yellow, so I guess that means I ought to be drinking more water.

We also had our first group outing on Saturday, where we explored the nearby Buddhist temple known as 筇竹寺(qiong zhu si). This also happened to mark my first time using the local bus system in Kunming, which is no different than Xiamen: drivers swerve and turn suddenly, fellow passengers seem completely numb and desensitized to the fact that their driver nearly ran over five people in a crosswalk, and you may even be lucky enough to sit next to a local who will occasionally audibly clear his throat and proceed to spit outside the window. What a special treat.

After a short twenty minute hike up a mountain, we arrived at 筇竹寺, which was a beautiful Buddhist temple constructed during the early Qing Dynasty. My roommate taught me how to pray in front of the various Buddhas scattered throughout the temple, and I took the opportunity to learn and pray with him. When I was in Xiamen in 2015, I remember feeling a particularly positive energy flowing from a Buddhist temple we visited. Since then, although I’m agnostic and don’t practice any particular religion, I’ve always felt a heightened sense of trust or comfort in praying at Buddhist temples.

Enjoying a traditional tea ceremony in one of the temple’s beautiful gardens

Our group then enjoyed a tea ceremony from one of the temple’s masters. We learned some tea ceremony basics, conversed with each other while sipping Pu’er and Shen Cha in a beautiful green garden in the back of the temple, and then enjoyed a traditional vegetarian lunch made by the temple cooks. We then began a rough hike up a super steep mountain that offered fantastic views of the city. It’s a shame the weather was a bit foggy that day, especially considering Kunming’s fame for its incredible air quality — but the hike was great fun and an awesome workout. A group of us ended up celebrating later that night by eating barbecue and drinking a ton of beer in this super sketchy restaurant in an alleyway near campus — after a long day of exercise, trust me when I say nothing’s better than some barbecue and beer. We ended up drinking until early in the morning, and although there was still some stuff probably lost in translation as we laughed and drank late in the night, it was an awesome experience getting to know some of the other Chinese roommates and my classmates better.

After a long day, there’s nothing better than beer and barbecue.

Of course, I can’t end this post without talking about food. As my grandmother warned me before I left, Kunming food is known for a particular taste known as “suan la” — which literally translates to “sour spicy.” A lot of the traditional food here is characterized by hot peppers with a vinegary sauce that gives that “suan la” signature taste — one that I don’t particularly love, but also don’t hate either. Some of the best food I’ve eaten here thus far includes the barbecue from last night, Shanghainese Sheng Jian Bao from a nearby place that my roommate and I often order delivery from, and dou hua mi xian (“tofu flower rice noodles”), a rice noodle dish with silky and soft tofu and a soy-sauce and vinegar-based sauce with ground pork. There are also milk tea shops here on literally every corner imaginable, in addition to a lot of Japanese and Korean restaurants that I’m looking forward to trying later on. I have yet to find a Kunming delicacy that makes me feel particularly excited, so stay tuned on this front. The most convenient eating option though is the cafeteria, which is both inexpensive and tasty — you can get away with only spending 5RMB for a full meal, which is less than $1 USD. The only drawback with the cafeteria food here is that it is extremely oily. All you have to do is look down on your tray to see the teaspoons worth of oil that quickly accumulate.

All of this for less than $1 USD!

And that’s pretty much it for now — classes resume tomorrow and another week will begin. In all honesty, it feels like I’ve already been in Kunming for over a month. From stopping by the grocery store every morning to get a bottle of Chinese yogurt to getting my lunch in the cafeteria, it feels like I already have a routine reminiscent of a local. But as my coursework ramps up in the coming days, I can’t help but feel like I’m still in a “honeymoon” stage — and that the real challenges of communication and culture shock may still be to come. Above all else though, I’m looking forward to visiting xiaoshiba next weekend, the old residential neighborhood where my grandmother grew up in. I’m lucky that I have a Kunming native as my roommate who was able to do some research and figure out where xiaoshiba is: I genuinely feel that he understands how important it is for me to find some of my grandmother in the city that we can now share.

Chillin at the top of the mountain.

Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy first post of mine — feel free to drop a comment and let me know you’re following my adventures abroad! Of course, I’d also love to hear any thoughts you might have on any of the above as well.

Bryce

Bryce Fan

Written by

Bryce Fan

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