Wuhan is only a five hour train ride from Yichang. It’s a pretty large city, actually made of of three smaller cities: Hanyang, Hankou and Wuchang. To put it into perspective, Yichang (population over a million) has one university and one college. Wuhan (population over 7.5 million) has more than 50 universities.
Straddling the Yangtze river, [...]
One of our favorite treats in China is a candy-coated kebab. They are made with different fruits (strawberries, kiwis, orange slices, crab apples, etc.) and coated with a sugar glaze. Shorel’s favorite is the crab-apple candied kebab.
What do you do the day after Thanksgiving? Shop? Normally, we stay home to avoid the crowds.
But since China didn’t know it was the day after Thanksgiving, Sandra and I went to one of the Wal-Marts in Wuhan.
Shorel buying some Christmas lights.
A scary Santa door hanging. Did he get a sunburn passing through Florida [...]
Spending holidays overseas is always a special experience. In preparing for a holiday you develop a more intimate connection to the meaning behind it. This year we celebrated Thanksgiving in Wuhan, our provincial capital.
This is our Thanksgiving meal. We didn’t have turkey because it was too expensive (USD$2.50/lb.) and we don’t have an oven large [...]
Beggar’s Chicken. Legend has it that a Chinese servant once stole a chicken from his master’s coop. Just then, he heard his master’s footsteps approaching. In a hurry to get rid of the evidence, he coated it with clay and popped it into a nearby oven. He had found a way to cook his bird [...]
1 (3 pound) broiler-fryer chicken
6 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
1 (1-inch square) piece fresh ginger
root, pared and cut into thin slices
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups salt
1 1/2 cups water
Remove giblets from chicken and reserve for another use. Rinse chicken and pat dry [...]
It’s harvest time in Yichang. This area of Hubei province is famous for its Mandarin Oranges. Right now, if you were to ride out into the countryside you would pass orchards of mandarin oranges ready for harvest. Trees literally loaded down with fruit.
Some are sold in local marketplaces by folks like our favorite fruit seller [...]
