Calm Spirit/Ying Yu Jade China Trip 2006
Shamian Chinese Medicine, Foot Massage and Home Again
Shamian
Chinese medicine is unique in China, Most of the Chinese medicine programs in
China are approved of by the government. But Shamian Chinese medicine is cultural
in its teaching and learning. The Shamian Chinese medicine center is l located
on the Pearl River waterfront, a short walk from the White Swan hotel. They offer
the full array of services, including diagnosis, treatment, Chinese herbal medicine,
tui na massage, qigong healing, and basic foot massage. It's interesting to try
all the different foot massage treatment centers in the cities I visit, so we
went for foot massage. We were greeted and seated in a private room, served watermelon
and Chinese tea. A "menu" if services is available, and we chose basic
foot massage, 90 minutes for about $6 US dollars. We were asked if we prefer a
man or woman to perform our massage I would have had to wait 10 minutes for a
man, so we both got women foot massagers. Actually, very young girls. You remain
fully clothed for this, but remove shoes, socks and roll up pants. They started
with back, neck, head and shoulder massage, then worked to the arms and hands
and fingers. During this time, feet were soaking in hot water with herbs. Then
the foot massage which also includes, calves, knees and thighs. It is not gentle,
but it is very effective and benefits the entire body . Tom thought the massage
was too hard, and his foot was tender for a couple of weeks afterwards, but my
foot massage felt good and benefited my entire body.
It was interesting
to notice that the very young women giving massage had some slight physical deformities
or disabilities. This Shamian medicine school seeks out young girls who were in
orphanages and did not get adopted, and trains them in foot massage and other
aspects of Chinese medicine. They aren't Chinese medicine doctors but they learn
one aspect, like the massage,or tuina, and do it very well. It gives them a career
and opportunity to make living and provide a valuable service to society.
We
left for the airport at 4 am, and endured the inspections of leaving the country,
The Chinese authorities insisted on seeing and counting our American money that
we had. It is very time consuming to clear the exit process from China. There
were a lot of Americans with their new Chinese child, who were relieved to finally
being able to go home after two weeks in China. We were looking forward to going
home, also, as the shopping was truly exhausting and a lot of work.
The total travel time was about 25 hours, although our layovers in Tokyo and Minneapolis were less than two hours. Customs is easy in Minneapolis, and we didn't have any problems entering the US. You show your passport to enter, then claim your luggage and take it through customs inspection, then place it on the conveyor belt where it goes to your flight, then go through security again. Security took awhile because we had some of the more valuable jade bangles in our carry on luggage which looked "suspicious". The TIA inspected it, didn't know what it was or why we had it, but let us through.
When we arrived home, we told each other that was our last trip to China, but as I'm writing this, I'm already looking forward to the next trip. China is endlessly interesting, and my Chinese friends enrich my life and expand my awareness of Chinese culture. It's interesting and educational to travel to China as a tourist, but traveling to visit friends and for business is incredibly interesting and educational. And yes, I'm already planning my next trip.
Thanks
for reading the 2006 Travel to China travelog. I will be happy to hear your comments
and answer questions. Send email to calmspirit@calmspirit.net
Next: Tai Chi in Beijing, Teahouse
