Since being released from quarantine in Shanghai a few weeks ago, I’ve been driving back and forth between Shanghai and Kunshan as usual. Normally I spend weekdays on the campus of Duke Kunshan University and in my apartment in Kunshan, and weekends in our family apartment in Shanghai. In some ways, this is the best of both worlds. My weekdays are generally spent in solitude and in the tranquil and beautiful natural environment of western Kunshan near our university. Weekends are spent with family in the middle of the hustle-bustle of one of the world’s largest cities.
Since returning to China in September, I’ve kept up with some of the habits and practices that I developed while sojourning for the previous six months in my hometown of Acton, Massachusetts. Among those habits are nature walks, cycling, and observing wildlife, especially birds and trees.
A Bulbul on a Camphor Tree outside my balcony in Kunshan
The apartment complex in which I live in Kunshan is full of many different species of birds and trees, so I only have to walk out of my door to spend some time enjoying nature, or even just observing the treetops from my balcony. The most ubiquitous and sonorous local birds are the bulbuls and the doves. Along the canal that runs alongside our apartment complex one may often find a Little White Egret fishing as it walks in the water on the canal-side. I’ve also spotted a juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron. These are also ubiquitous birds in the region and they can be found along just about any waterway. Then there are the Magpies and the Magpie Robins that come out especially in the early morning hours.
Eastern Spot-Billed Duck circling over Forest Park in Kunshan
Just to the north of our apartment complex is the wonderful Forest Park of Kunshan. This park is full of forest and wetlands, which attracts dozens of species of birds. I’m starting to explore it more than ever these days. The other day I rode my bike from my apartment to the middle of the park. There is a great foot-cycle bridge that was built a couple years ago which facilitates the journey, and gives one fantastic views of the ponds inside the park. I parked my bike and bushwacked along some farmers’ paths that diminished into the wetlands, but didn’t have much success. At one point I spooked a family of ducks that were resting in wetland well protected from human traffic. I took photos as they circled around the park, and later identified them as Eastern Spot-Billed Ducks.
A Little Grebe fluffing its feathers on the DKU pond in Kunshan
For the purpose of identifying birds here in China, I have an English-language guide to the birds of Japan, which also works well for China. I also have an e-book guide to birds in East Asia. Between those two books I can usually figure out which bird I’m looking at. Sometimes it can be challenging though, since as any birder knows, birds have different plumage depending on the season and whether they are male, female, or juvenile. Also, they have so many different manifestations, so it can be confusing at times.
A Juvenile Moorhen grooming itself on the DKU pond in Kunshan
For instance, while observing the water birds in the pond on our DKU campus, a juvenile Moorhen was standing in the reeds grooming itself, and for a little while I thought it was another kind of bird. I guess that’s part of the fun. In addition to a family of Common Moorhens, there’s also a family of Little Grebes living on the DKU pond. The Little Grebes are very tiny and lovely birds. They are also very skittish, and as soon as they perceive anything out of the ordinary, they dive under the water or make for the reeds on the edge of the pond. The Moorhens are more relaxed and showy, though they too will retreat into the reeds if pursued by an avid photographer. In addition there are many others birds that show up on campus, including White Wagtails. I’ve also seen a kingfisher on many occasions, and hope to capture it with my camera someday.
A seasoned birder can id birds just by their calls. I have been working on that, but it is very difficult to remember all the birdcalls, and for each bird there may be several different sounds they make, some are calls, some are songs, some are warning cries, etc. But if you know where they are usually found, that narrows it down a great deal. It’s really about learning how they relate to their surrounding environment, and what their behavior patterns are, how they eat, raise their young etc. Mostly birds are searching for food when they’re not resting.
In any case, I find it very meditative to spend time observing birds in their natural environments, and having a good camera helps. I picked up a 150-600 mm telephoto lens after I returned to China, and it makes a huge difference to what I can photograph. Then I can observe the photos and see details that I miss when I’m out there in nature.
Other than spending some time observing birds, I’m still adjusting to being back in Kunshan. I had to spend a lot of time setting up my apartment again, and I’m also moving my office (this is the fourth time I’ve moved offices in five years) so that’s a chore. And I had to register with the police, sign another contract with the landlord, get my internet set up again, and a thousand other small things.
I’m also trying to learn the names for all of the trees that surround us in Kunshan and in Shanghai. As with birds, I’m trying to learn all the names in English and in Chinese (often it helps to know the Latin names). One tree I’ve gotten to know well over the past month is the golden raintree. This is a very popular tree here in China. Around this time of year, they produce these seed pods that look like miniature lanterns. They are pink and they stick out in big clusters from the tops of the trees, so they look very festive. No wonder they are popular trees here in China.
There are also the ever-present camphor trees, and the Osmanthus trees which produce a wonderful fragrance in late Sept thru mid Oct. And many others as well. For example, outside my balcony windows are beautiful magnolias and Chinese Privets. Lining the canal and ponds are willows. And there are numerous cherry trees. But my favorite of all are the gingkoes. Our street in Shanghai is lined with gingkoes, which turn striking yellow colors at the end of November. The DKU campus also has gingko trees lining its pathways.
So, it seems that my long sojourn in the USA has given me a different perspective on my surroundings. I’m finding in general that it’s hard to break out of the patterns that I established while living in Acton. I crave nature walks and engagements on a regular basis, and my rituals are pretty similar to when I was living in Acton. I even find that I still have an aversion to crowds, though transmission-wise it’s much safer here needless to say than it was back in the USA.
Then again, I did finally get out to the bars the other night to see how the Filipino musicians are doing in the live music bars in Kunshan. I spent some time talking to Melody, the singer at the Eagle Bar where Marvin and Ama used to play before they left in 2019. She told me how difficult it was to be here in February, March and April, when the city was under lockdown and she was totally isolated. Most of the Filipino musicians went back to the Philippines. Now, they are desperately trying to get back to China so they can start earning money again. The ones who stayed here are keeping busy. To fill the gap left by the vacating musicians in Kunshan, quite a few musicians have come over from the city of Suzhou. I ended up jamming on keyboards with a guitar player named Jon at Wonderful bar. We played a set of Beatles songs including “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” and “I Saw Her Standing There.” Now that I’m back here, I’m gonna try to get out and jam more. It’s a lot more challenging and fun playing with other musicians and playing to a real live audience.
I’m also hoping to restart the music workshop that I was running from my apartment in Kunshan. Before the outbreak, we had a really nice group of students and young staff members and we were working on several songs, which we performed at the annual Chinese New Year’s Gala at the end of January. We were doing so well and gathering so much momentum, and then the pandemic arrived.
I just finished teaching my “HIST117: Sounds and the Chinese City: Live Music Scenes in China” course. The students gave excellent final group presentations on the music scenes in several different cities in China. It was nice to be back in a real live classroom, though we still had to bring in the international students via Zoom. That presented some technical challenges, but over time we were able to figure out some optimal solutions.
Now I’m getting ready to teach my “HIST101: Ancient Chinese History and Thought” course. It has to be a hybrid course, since I have several international students who are still abroad. So we will hold it in the classroom, but we will connect to those students through Zoom. It should be an interesting learning experience to find out how I can best engage these students.
My daughters Sarah and Hannah seem to be adjusting well to being back and in their schools. Sarah has been doing a lot of social activities with her friends. Hannah is taking swimming classes again. My wife Mengxi has gotten used to having us back again. At first it wasn’t easy for both sides. Everyone gets ingrained in habits, especially after six or seven months of developing them, and it can be difficult to re-adjust to different rhythms and routines.
Meanwhile, back at DKU, things are very quiet. While the international students are still abroad and their return time is uncertain, our other faculty members are starting to return to China and many are going through quarantine. Unfortunately, the Jiangsu government decided to extend quarantine time to one month before they can step on the campus.
As for our upcoming elections in the USA, I already voted, with a little help from some folks in Shanghai. Fortunately, I was able to cast my ballot in the state of Massachusetts using email. May the best man (and woman) win!
Melody and her new band at the Eagle Bar in Kunshan