Cao Zhen

    caozhen0806@126.com

    TRAVELLING in China can rattle expats who cannot speak Chinese because the country is so vast in territory with diverse cultures. But it’s not scary for Greta L. Bilek at all. The U.S. architecture designer, who speaks limited Chinese, uses her keen eye to explore the culture and history of China and published a digital English travel guidebook series about four Chinese cities last year. She hopes she can help foreign travelers recognize beauty in China.

    “In the Middle Kingdom, what at first can be scary, can later be beautiful if you appreciate the flavor of China through its culture, food, people, poetry and history,” said Bilek.

    Getting into travel books

    Coming from Indiana in the United States, Bilek moved to Shenzhen in 2012 when her husband Jim relocated as a product manager in a software company in the city. The couple has traveled to major Chinese tourist cities, including Hangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu and Sanya in the past year and a half.

    At first, they just kept a journal of their travels on their blog “China Tea Leaves” to share with their friends and family members. Noticing a gap in the travel book market, where according to Bilek “there’s only one style of travel books that just lists sites and tips, with no real culture and feelings,” she decided to write her own travel book series entitled “China Tea Leaves.”

    A graduate from University of Notre Dame, an Indiana university renowned for its architecture school, Bilek had worked as an architectural designer in the United States for six years. For each guide in the “China Tea Leaves” travel series, she created interactive maps and hand-sketched graphics of the scenic spots. With contributions from her Chinese friends, the book also contains a glossary of Chinese names, places and events and a phrasebook with an audio pronunciation guide by a native Chinese person.

    Writing a travel book is detailed work and relies extensively on research. Before and after each trip, Bilek read English-language books and newspapers about Chinese traditions, asked her Chinese friends for recommendations, reviewed hotels and compiled transportation schedules. “There are some places we’ve been to more than once, like Hangzhou three times and Beijing twice. We want to highlight the best sites, food and drink based on our firsthand experiences,” said Bilek.

    After taking one to three months for writing a single book on a city, Bilek has published the Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xi’an and Chengdu travel guides on Apple’s iBooks Store.

    Experiencing the culture

    Apart from providing basic recommendations on local specialties, restaurants and hotels, what makes Bilek feel proudest about her books are her enclosed local legends, traditional folklore and bilingual Chinese poetry specific to a place. From “The Legend of the White Snake” in Hangzhou’s West Lake to “Nuwa Repaired the Wall of Heaven” in Xi’an’s Lishan Mountain to Longtaitou Festival and the solar term of Jingzhe, readers can always find interesting legends, charming ancient stories and mysterious history related to each region.

    “China is over 20 times older than the United States, massive, stereotyped, famous, but mysterious,” said Bilek. “Any trip to China is wasted if you don’t experience the beauty of this 5,000-year-old culture.”

    Bilek loves the White Snake legend behind the scenic Hangzhou City very much and her Chinese name Bai Zhen sounds similar to the name of the White Snake, Bai Suzhen. The story of the snake Bai Suzhen takes place around the best-known attraction in West Lake. “Although the White Snake is a tragic figure, she is a strong woman and many Chinese people love her,” said she.

    Bilek only studied Chinese for a week from a private teacher in Shenzhen, but she kept practicing while traveling. “I was intimidated by the Chinese language when I came to Shenzhen. I was overwhelmed because everyone around me speaks Chinese,” said Bilek. “But later on, there’s a lot of fun in studying Chinese because every character is a symbol. There’s a story behind every character which is related to history and culture.”

    “Once you say ‘xiexie’ (thanks) to one grateful and impressed Mandarin speaker, learn one meaningful character, taste one authentic dish, come to know just one genuine thing about the Middle Kingdom, you will be hooked and want to know more, see more,” Bilek wrote on her blog.

    Bilek believes that talking to people is the most effective way she can get to know a place. Whether cab drivers in Xi’an, vendors in Hangzhou, or locals on a Chengdu street, talking to as many people as possible helps Bilek find China easier to get around.

    “Hangzhou people are very relaxed, enjoy drinking tea and sharing their city with travelers. Beijing people are hardworking, but also fun loving. They like to play chess or cards on the street. Chengdu people also love teahouses and play mahjong all day long. Shanghai people are stylish and Yunnan people are generous,” Bilek recalled.

    With a keen eye on Chinese culture and people, Bilek is also observant on how Chinese celebrate Western festivals. She finds Shenzheners give a single apple as Christmas gift because the pinyin for apple (pingguo) sounds like the pinyin for Christmas Eve (ping’an ye, literally “peaceful night”). “China created a new tradition for Christmas, which is not seen in the West. I think it’s sweet, touching and a creative assimilation of a Western festival into Chinese culture,” said Bilek.

    Exploring Shenzhen

    This year, Bilek is writing the Shenzhen and Beijing sections for her travel book series. She agreed that although Shenzhen doesn’t have as many old streets as Yunnan, nor ancient relics as Beijing and Xi’an, Shenzhen’s attractiveness lies in its open, creative and ever-changing natures.

    “Shenzhen has stunning architecture throughout the city. The Civic Center’s upturned eave is a modern way to show traditional Chinese architecture. People in the city are from all over China, and they like to share what they know about their hometowns to foreigners,” said Bilek.

    As an urban designer, Bilek also has a word of advice for urbanization in China: “Cities can have large-scale buildings for effective urban use, but the way people live in them should be small-scale. Simply put, huge buildings should be surrounded or connected by small streets where people can do shopping and walking, like the traditional way of living.”

    “Once you say ‘xiexie’ (thanks) to one grateful and impressed Mandarin speaker, learn one meaningful character, taste one authentic dish, come to know just one genuine thing about the Middle Kingdom, you will be hooked and want to know more, see more.”

    — Greta L. Bilek, a U.S. architecture designer, who published a digital English travel guidebook series about four Chinese cities last year