By: Atty. Marlo T. Cristobal
A day after our arrival in Shanghai, September 17, we visited China’s famous tea plantation in Hangzhou where tea afficionados should never miss dropping in. Here we were educated on a sea of tea varieties. I did not know that so many kinds of teas exist and each or a combination of which is claimed to have therapeutic effects that guarantees a perfect health for the body or any of its organ in particular. There was one type of tea that we were particularly and thoroughly lectured on in an apparent effort to promote it as virtually a cure-all for body infirmities, a sort of silver bullet for an all around good body health. A tea of this kind that works with a shotgun-like power and expansive blasts would expectedly cost a finger. Naturally, most of my tour companions passed up buying the expensive tea except one tour friend, a health buff like me obviously, Frayda Reyes, who dared buy a package of the costly tea.
Let’s give it to the Chinese, like the people of many eastern countries, for their heavy reliance on plant or herbal medicines to impale on their lives a culture that venerates health as wealth, and less of the synthetic medicines of the western world. Is it any wonder then that study shows eastern countries, especially the East Asian nations, rank among the highest in the world for life expectancy? Of course l acknowledge that life expectancy results from the interplay of varied factors, but we must all equally acknowledge the findings of a study that quality preventive care (like the potent and efficacious centuries old natural or plant medicines of the eastern world) play a crucial role in increasing longevity.
We had the rare opportunity to catch a glimpse and cavort briefly in a principal place of the Golden Age of the history of China during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 A.D.) in Wushen, where we saw very old houses of the Tang Dynasty the Chinese administration currently preserves and leaves them what they appear to be: structures empty of human habitants that exude total dead silence that provoked in me feelings of eeriness up my spine. The many old houses sandwiched an equally long and fairly wide waterways that indicate a once very active community that they served as transportation and communication access among the residents.
What spices up Wuzhen’s reputation as ancient, historical place is its specialty of traditionally handmade printed cloth known worldwide as “blue cloth.” It is a fabric created through sophisticated ancient techniques to produce intricate patterns on cotton cloth that ends up a versatile material for varied items such as tablecloths, curtains, and clothing, scarves, bags, wallets, stuff toys, pouches, decorative items, you name it. This wonder fabric named as “blue cloth” pridefully hanged on high wooden poles so that tourists can appreciate its exceptional texture and quality. My wife and l were attracted to pose beside this hanged cloth flapping in the wind, and, like a gay appreciating the beauty and velvety touch of a lady handbag, l was enticed to do the same with the fluttering cloth, with the touch of à la true-blue gay.
In the neighboring region of Wuxi, some hundred of kilometers away from Shanghai, we went to visit a big pearl store, the famous Taihu Lake, and the tourist hub of Venice canal, that has earned the title, the “Venice of China.” While pearl/jewelry is an ecstasy to my wife, it is a disdain to me, Please read my previous piece. (Vietnam Travel Anecdote Episode lV (The Final Episode), Catalyst July 7, 2025). As soon as the group sat down in a conference room to listen to a lecture on jewelry matters, l sneaked out to take a nap instead, out of the building. Jewelry is not my cup of tea, not even if l have such mind-boggling amount of, local media bares, well over 1 trillon pesos brazenly and openly stolen by our utterly conscience-bereft government leaders from our people, slowly but surely for the last three years under an artful premeditation palpable. But, plundered Filipinos be consoled by God’s stern vow: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Please read Galatians 6:7,NIV). These plunderers, together with their cover-up artists and defenders, will reap God’s justice for a plundered people, just as justice God gave quick to the plundered souls of people the equally conscience-bereft Hitler dealt them. For God is not a liar. (Hebrews 6:18, KJV). “My counsel shall stand,” (Isaiah 46:10, KJV), by this God gets so emphatic about His certain delivery of justice from an unmitigated man’s wickedness — right here on earth, not only in the heavens as many Christians mistakenly believe (Please read Proverbs 11:31, NIV).
But let me retrieve my sedate self from these angry segues, with the calm water and soothing music of the Venice of China in Wuxi, which has earned the sobriquet, “,Venice of the East,” due to its many canals and waterways and its ambiance of Venice for its stone bridges and canal-side streets with shops and restaurants. We took a very wide side street that would require a length of about 50-meter-walk to reach the Venice canal. What called my attention more was the presence of many karaoke joints that dotted in the open this wide beautifully paved street. It was about 3 pm that day and the sole delight of a super senior citizen like me would yield to a brief nap. But my soul and spirit were awakened and my rapt attention commanded by the loud vocal singing of what sounded to me as professional singers blaring from the different karaoke joints.
In my ears and heart they were veteran singers. As l said in my previous piece (Music, The Language Of The Soul That Calms Down An Uptight Spirit, Catalyst, February 4, 2025), l have an ear for music, but not vocal chords. One vocal song exuded a melodious music in perfect notes that intensely soothed my ears, impelling me to get near the owner of that voice, a male singer. He welcomed my approach with a nod while singing, feeling clearly my appreciation of his voice which he delivered with Caruso-like moves of hand and body. There came a moment when l felt requesting his mike so l could join him fill the air with good music with my patented love for Elvis Presley’s soulful and velvety music. But 2 things held me back strongly. One, all songs there were in chinese melody and lyrics, which while entirely alien to me, the melody connects and harmonizes with the soul. An Elvis American song might not sit well with people in that venue and situation. Two, it might be presumptuous to think that my Elvis music measures up to their professional voices. But my strong desire to pitch in my music was there and obvious to my wife who timely pulled me away to save me from eternal and painful embarrassment. There goes again my guardian angel!
