#ipexiamen

Entering China, or any country has a lot of new experiences especially in the world of food, but sometimes when some foods are off-limits a language barrier can be a daily stress. This blog is supposed to help you ease your way through Chinese cuisine with some dietary restrictions in mind.

Overview Of the Cuisine

Northern China

For starters, the type of food common in one province isn’t representative of the whole nation. In Northern China where the weather is more seasonal, wheat is a staple crop so a lot of northern Chinese dishes revolve around flour. Some prime examples of such dishes are flour-based noodles, steamed buns and also dumplings. One dish that stood out to me was  Chun Bing (春饼) which is often translated to spring pancake, but it reminds me very much of a very thin flour tortilla. Chun Bing would be given with Peking duck meals often with an assortment of veggies, duck based sauce and duck meat. 

Northern style resturant with Peking duck and hotpot

Southern China

In Southern China, it seems that saltiness and oil are more appreciated than in the North. In addition, rather than wheat, rice is a staple crop in the south with rice and rice-based noodles being the foundation of many meals.  Congee or rice-water porridge is common breakfast food in the south as well which sets you up to be full until lunch, unlike Americans who often make oatmeal sweet many prepare their congee to be savory. 

Rice noodles in a soup

hot, hot, hot!

Coastal & Islands

In coastal provinces or islands like Xiamen fresh fruit is in abundance and often sold in carts on the streets selling coconuts, durians, and mangosteens as well as chopped up in stores where I had my first sight of yellow watermelon. Another thing to be noted is that in an island is that fish very common, particularly unspiced fish or chicken as some people believe that spice is intended to mask undesirable flavors, so a good fresh fish should be able to be served without any potential masking. 

Dietary Restrictions

A Fair Warning

Cross contamination was an inevitable thing in canteens as they use one ladle to serve many dishes. In addition, in some versions of single-pot soup, everyone's soup is cooked in the same water just sectioned from each other. There may also be a gap in language as well as just a cultural barrier, as perhaps they’ll understand what you wont eat, but think  that you don’t eat a particular food, for example pork or meat, because you don’t enjoy it, not because you don’t believe in eating it and any trace of it. In the case of Allergies, it may be really difficult to know what is in a dish, or what oil they used. If you are very strict and meticulous about your dietary restrictions, than your meals may be a bit repetitive. However, there are many new foods that hopefully you can try and enjoy.

China will make you realize you have to communicate your needs thoroughly to your buddies especially if you eat Halal or Kosher where more rules apply so new foods will be a concern other than perhaps just pork to your buddies for example: do you eat frog? Do you eat insects (considered delicacy)?  Are you opposed to eating a sausage made of dog neck? (one person in our program tried it without knowing) .  These foods are uncommon and if you order safe they are easy to avoid but  these are things we did cross paths with on our unique trip.

Critters & frogs legs

Vegetarians

If you are vegetarian, there are a lot tofu based dishes in china around the clock. If you are eating in the canteen I think a good go to would be eggs with produce, as they often cook eggs with tomatoes, carrots or zucchini. I will warn however that unlike in the states tofu doesn’t seem to be a meat replacement or substitute so it is not uncommon to see a dish with both meat and tofu. In addition tofu is a great addition to soups however many of the soups may have  meat based broth and there is a lot of cross contamination among dishes. I think one of the greatest things to look forward to though if you are vegetarian, or have a meat related restriction, is a Buddhist temple restaurant! There are many vegetarian and vegan options and  are  usually buffet styles. Compared to the price of meals in China, I would consider a temple buffet a little expensive (often 50 yen, when I could get a simple meal for 20-30 yen, however 50 yen in USD is around 8 dollars.

Kosher

I apologize in advance that I do not have a better answer to this, nor am I too informed on this topic, but I will write to the extent of my knowledge in the hopes that it will help someone. While we were in China, we did not cross paths with any strictly kosher restaurant that respects the rules of preventing the cross contamination of certain ingredients, dishes, and utensils. With this set aside, the one individual that we have on our trip that had a Kosher restriction was comfortable not eating kosher cut meat. Something this individual did in order to meet their needs, was frequent halal restaurants & canteen to stay away from pork, be on the lookout for shellfish (you are going to have to explain that shellfish is crab, shrimp, crawfish and more),  eat fish frequently instead of taking a chance, enjoyed the buddhist vegetarian buffet. If something looks like purple/maroon tofu but more gelatinous that can either be pork blood curd or beef blood curd.

Halal

This is the Uyghur Restaurant everyone in our group loved

If you are halal then this trip is surprisingly accommodating if you know where to go! Xiamen University has a halal canteen to meet the needs of their Islamic students who come internationally and domestically. When in Xiamen, there was one halal restaurant close outside of the campus, and  there was another one I saw farther away from campus. In addition, you can enjoy all of the foods I mentioned in the vegetarian section. When in Shanghai for the internship, we were conveniently located near 8 halal restaurants in walking distance. Most of these restaurants specialize in beef noodle dishes, but other ones included halal Beijing hotpot, a halal Uyghur restaurant which sold warm toasty nang (like naan), and some quick kebab shops.  If you opt to do the internship, the canteen at SNERDI is not as accommodating as the one at Xiamen (there is cross contamination at both though), but if you communicate your needs to SNERDI there is a halal restaurant right outside the company campus you can go to during lunch break that they mentioned they have taken interns to before. 

Halal beef noodle shop located outside of SNERDI

Allergies

The allergies that I think are worth discussing is that peanut oil may be used for cooking in china much more often than in the states, as well as peanuts being roasted and tossed into a dish. If you have a milk allergy, milk seems like a less common ingredient in savory meals than in the states as many sauces opt for soy sauce,vinegar,oil  and sesame rather than cheese or cream. I will once again repeat though that cross contamination is a big concern, so if you have an allergy I recommend that you mention that to the IPE office when applying if it concerns you.

Xie Xie 谢谢 for Reading!

from back in the States ,

Leslie Arciniega

My internship at Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Design Institute through University of Michigan's Clean Energy Study Abroad at Xiamen University XMU

Background on this Opportunity: To conclude this 6-week study abroad about clean Energy hosted by Xiamen University , we went to Shanghai to tour Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Design Research Institute in Shanghai (SNERDI). Some of the students would go home after this, but 6 of us including myself chose to stay to take on an internship at this facility.

Move in Day

We moved into our hotel the Sunday before our first week of work. We were met by a mentor who handled the communication of checking into the hotel and made sure were situated. We stayed at Hanting Hotels (Shanghai Caohejing Branch) which is near SNERDI. I spent that evening unpacking, and then went for a walk in the neighborhood that would be home for the next 6 weeks. What I loved about this area was that it felt like a neighborhood, in that it was very pedestrian, with so many restaurants, food vendors and quick shops. The area we were staying was not too touristy and so the shops we went to often recognized us immediately.

First day of Internship

For our first day of the internship, we all had breakfast at the hotel and then our program coordinator at SNERDI who is an HR representative picked us from our hotel to teach us the bus route to the internship. We had a conference meeting welcoming us into SNERDI and to learn all about SNERDI’s mission. At this conference meeting we each met our mentors who was supposed to guide us through the next 6 weeks. We got our own office room for our little cohort, and we were each assigned a desktop. Our program coordinator gave us a more thorough tour of SNERDI where we became familiar with the coffee maker, canteen, as well as the grocery store and fruit store. We then all talked to our mentors about our projects, and for the next 6 weeks our mentors would pop in and out of our office to give communicate with us.

My Project

At this internship, I was paired with a mentor and given a project regarding fluid computational dynamics. On the first day my mentor went through my resume and my skill set with me and based off of my previous experience with AutoCAD to 3D design models, I was tasked to create 3D meshes of pipes in a nuclear reactor with ICEM CFD software to then be analyzed with ANSYS. The goal of this task is to create different pipes models with different constraints and characteristics and run them through simulations to see which would cause the least resonance and compare other physical properties.

SNERDI Campus Impression

SNERDI is a beautiful campus in the city, and has many perks including being able to use your meal card at a grocery store and fruit store. I went to the grocery store to buy a coke everyday and many of my peers bought snacks during lunch (pocky, sweets, ice cream, cookies, jellies, dried fruit you name it!). The grocery store also had many commodities like toothbrushes, toothpaste, razors, shampoo and conditioner (many household items too but we weren’t necessarily in the market for tupperware, 10 lbs bags of dry rice, extravagant lego sets and underwear from work). They also had quite the selection of Ramen noodles if you wanted to eat that in lieu of dinner or pick up some for the weekend.

SNERDI has a very impressive Recreational center which we had access too, and was available for all employees after work. They had a gym which included an indoor track, circuit machines, cardio machines and dumbells. They also had a basketball court, badminton court, pingpong and if that wasn't enough, they also have a pool/billiards room.

Xie Xie 谢谢 for Reading!

from Shanghai,

Leslie Arciniega

Xiamen University Vs. Shanghai Internship

Photographed above: A delicious personal made soup rich with veggies from Xiamen University’s Siming Campus Round Canteen, topped with tofu 

For Starters: What is a Canteen!?

The best way I have been able to describe canteen is like our understanding of dining hall but rather than a premade balanced meal or buffet like we have on campus, you pay for a la carte dishes. In Xiamen we paid for those dishes with our university card, and at our internship at SNERDI in Shanghai we paid for them on our company ID card.  These canteens where our primary source of meals, but as these are a la carte be conscious on how much you are spending on your meal cards so you can afford food at the end of the trip!

My peers and I had no clue why we called the dining halls canteens, I mean after all it’s not the wrong word for it, just an uncommon word.  But alas an explanation! According to the internet, the likely reason why we call them canteens is not rooted in the translation but rather because the chinese word 餐厅 (cān tīng), which directly means food/meal hall, sounds similar to canteen.

As a side travel, most of our group as well as one our chinese buddies and her friend decided to travel to Beijing during the weekend of the Dragon festival as we had no class on that Friday. We purchased our tickets around 3 weeks before the trip for reasonable prices but it should be noted that dragon festival time is some of the busiest travel days in China as people are trying to see their families. Our program is small which makes it easier to buy tickets for a group on a whim.

THURSDAY NIGHT

We took a plane that Thursday night after class from Xiamen to Beijing which was around a 3.5 hour flight but it was delayed a bit at the airport. When we left the airport we took taxis from the airport to the hostel. When we first exited the airport there was a table where someone speaks English that immediately offered to call a taxi for us which is typically black SUVs or sedans at a high price. We went outside the airport to order a regular taxi at a metered rate. That night we checked into our hostels at around 1:30 am and went to bed right away as we planned on going to the Great Wall in the morning.

FRIDAY

Woke up bright and early for the Great Wall. We went through a mostly public transportation route, but it was very helpful that we had a buddy who was able to speak Chinese and haggle taxis for us. If you do not have someone who speaks chinese them it may be useful to go via shuttle through a tour which many hostels around Beijing offer.

For reference, our trip to the Great Wall including transport, admission on student price, taking a cart up to the Great Wall and tobogganing down on student price was less then 200 yuan. If you go via a shuttle with hostel you may have a shuttle that takes you and lunch for around 260 to 360 yuan or more, with cable car and tobogganing unincludied. Everyone in our group thought the tobogganing was well worth it!

After the day at the Great Wall many of us were tired after the little sleep, early wake up, long walk, and late meal. Many of us had a big dinner and fell asleep early.

SATURDAY

Saturday morning I wandered around Tiananmen square alone untill noon. Remember to bring your passport (or chinese ID card if you are a citizen of the PRC). While it was filled with people, this square felt like a very safe place to wander by myself as there was many guards posted and the area mostly was filled with families and couples.

If you enter through the the gate of where former Chairman Mao Zedong potrait is you will find yourself headed towards the Imperial Palace.

After having lunch I spent the rest of this day trying to get a feel for Beijing as a city, by wandering through the streets. Compared to Xiamen, Beijing is more fast paced and has so many foreigners. At this time it made me realize that Xiamen has become like our Chinese home as we didn’t feel like visitors to Xiamen but Beijing felt very temporary.

This night I had Beijing Peking duck for dinner and it was amazing! I expected it to be like thanksgiving but they carve the duck for you and there is little meat on a Peking duck but the flavor of the skin was so fatty and savory.

SUNDAY

On Sunday I went to the temple of heaven in a small group of three people. It was a bit of a walk from the hostel, but didn’t seem far enough to get a taxi. We were able to get in with student pricing but the did question the validity of our Xiamen student cards and age of a member in our group as student discounts in China is mostly for undergraduate students but this was quickly resolved with “we are foreign students” in Chinese which we learned in class.

The temple of heaven was one of the more refreshing places to go to in Beijing in terms of getting away from the city while staying in the city for a breath of fresh air and greenery.

Xie Xie 谢谢 for Reading!

from Beijing,

Leslie Arciniega

Nanputuo Temple, Xiamen, China

If you are visiting Xiamen, a very popular place to visit is a temple! The one that many tourist go to visit in Nanputuo temple which is right outside Xiamen University. It’s a popular location due to its tranquillity, traditional beauty and a place where spirituality and nature are intertwined as this temple goes all the way up the mountain and is facing the ocean.

While you don’t need to bow or pray if you are going to the temple to learn more about Buddhism and Chinese culture (you are typically completely welcome to though) there are some customs that visitors should be mindful of. The respectful way of entering a temple is left foot forward and when leaving it will be right foot forward. In addition, when exploring a temple the respectful manner would be to start from the left then just keep going right.

Other things to take note of is that some temples may have a no photograph policy or may have an implied dress code which is typically no tank tops or short shorts for men and women but as a group we didn’t run into any issues with this. Overall, just be mindful of the space, be respectful to the people monks, and staff in charge of the space and they will likely gesture to you any corrections, like taking off shoes or walking in a certain way, if needed. This temple is a very common destination for Chinese tourist as well so most of the people here are just exploring this place for the first time too.

When you first enter the shrine there is a gigantic Buddha to greet you, and the very large representations of the Four Heavenly King’s, each one protecting a compass direction of our world. If you keep walking around, along the walls are statues of some of the 500 Buddhist disciples as well as smaller prayer rooms.

You can also go up the mountain from this temple! All along the path young and old were trying to go up the steep path with steps of unpredictable depths.

On the way up the mountain you’ll find small places to pray or rest such as benches, gazebos, or small shrines dedicated to specific deities in Buddhism. On one side of the path, there where all these figurines. I’m uncertain if these where placed here by monks or by visitors, but it was such an amusing things to cross paths with!

The sight at the top of the mountain is well worth all the steps. All this hiking will definitely build an appetite and many temples have buffets or restaurants that one can dine in. One of the great things about these buffets is that they are typically vegetarian as Buddhist believe in reincarnation and that in the next life you can come back in any living form. This “vegetarian” definition isn’t very strict however as it is potential their may be chicken broth in some dishes, but generally it is safe from meat and many of the dishes seemed vegan.

Hong Shan Temple, Xiamen

Another temple we toured was Hong Shan temple.This is a temple more common to locals of Xiamen and was a bit disguised in the city but after a few flights of stairs inside we found ourselves outside on the roof of the temple and then eventually hiking up in nature. Inside the temple they are working on getting wooden representation of all of Buddha’s 500 disciples. They are currently between 200-300 and it was incredible to see the character in all the figurines. Some were chubby, some were muscular, some were skinny,many had long ears as that is supposed to represent wisdom and old age.

At this temple we took a watercolor painting class of a traditional Chinese technique.The entire atmosphere was so serene and tranquil.

Xie Xie 谢谢 for Reading!

from Xiamen,

Leslie Arciniega

If you come across a hidden street where large white statues of felines decorated in colorful designs greet you, then you have found Xiamen’s Cat Street.

Why is it called Cat Street? Well the narrow street is covered in cat statues, as well as cat themed artwork like murals and signs, cat themed gift shops and even a small cat museum where visitors can see cats, pay to play with them and potentially adopt them as well.

To enter the Cat street you’ll pass through this inviting arch decorated with a light blue banner covered in unique cats faces. When you keep walking forward you’ll eventually see another cat themed arch to enter you into the small market square. The square is filled with petite cafes full of character, restaurants, and several feline themed gift shops. One of the stores was a little spa shop where customers could submerge their feet into tanks where fish could nibble the dead skin off feet. Above many of the store buildings are apartments where families reside.

If you look at the stairway in the picture you can see a couple having what seems like an engagement photoshoot!

The entire atmosphere of the square is so quirky and whimsical. In addition to all the cat statues on the street, many of the stores, have adopted their own cats that reside at their stores to greet clients.I was surprised by how well behaved all the store cats and dogs are and how well they respond to being pet, as well as not running away even when not on a leash. I feel as if this is a very common problem with many pets in the states as even the most loved pets constantly try to run out the door if they are not on a leash!

If you enter the cat museum you can see some adorable cats but for their well being they are more for observation there rather than interaction for most of the day. Supposedly, the friendly cats scattered throughout the city where very popular among tourist, and the city as well as business owners embraced this. Some of the murals were painted by students, and then everyone continued with trend. This collective effort is how we got the unique cat street we know and love today!

In a mall near cat street, there were cats on display that have just won competitions in the United States! I thought it was kind of funny that I just arrived to China to see several cats that were just in the United States.

Even the food near here is cat themed! If you are in the mood for a quick snack before taking a cat nap, the fish-shaped cakes with red beans are a delicious treat to opt for. In the hot midday sun this fresh treat goes perfectly with an iced milk tea!

Xie Xie 谢谢 for Reading!

from Xiamen,

Leslie Arciniega

Itinerary

4 Hour flight from Chicago to Seattle: 7 am departure (Chicago time) Flight from Chicago to Seattle (4 hours)  Arrive at 9:35 am (Seattle time) on American Airlines

14 Hour flight from Seattle to Shenzhen: 12:45 pm departure (Seattle time) flight from Seattle to Shenzhen (14 hours) arrive at 6:00 pm (Shenzhen time) on Xiamen Airlines                          

1.5 Hour Security clearing and immigration/customs process 

1 hour flight from Shenzhen to Xiamen: 8:25 pm departure flight from Shenzhen to Xiamen (1 hour) arrives at 9:35 pm (local time) on Xiamen Airlines

All times posted are posted in Chicago time for a good understanding of what a long flight day looks like. This was my first long flight so I had a lot of questions. For example, at every gate I would ask  the airline attendant if I had to pick up my luggage since it’s a transferring flight as well as where in the airport to go next and all where very helpful.

12:00 am: Buy VPN.

1:00 am: Pretend to Sleep.

4:00 am: Wake up bright and early for airport.

4:15 am: Buy Dunkin Donuts Iced coffee because that is my comfort food.

5:00 am: Arrive at airport to check in. I was a little panicked at first, because it’s a Friday so O’hare was overflowing. It was busy and the line was long, going beyond what was even marked out, but the good thing is that O’hare is used to being busy so can run through a large crowd efficiently.

5:10 am: Check in luggage. I had mine sent to Xiamen directly from O’Hare so I wouldn’t have to pick it up at Seattle or Shenzhen. I recommend you weigh your luggage before your flight if possible. My luggage was overweight by two pounds so I awkwardly reshuffled a few pieces into my carry on. I had no clue how much an article of clothing weighs so I ended up moving 7 lbs of clothes into my luggage.

5:20 am:  Go to TSA line. Wait in long queue.

6:00 am: Finish TSA, find terminal.

6:45 am: Board Plane

7:10 pm: Take off! Drink juice and look at the sky for about an hour and a half and then nap for another hour and a half.

11:35 pm: Arrive at Seattle airport

12:15 pm: Find next terminal, get ticket, check in. One of the interesting things about the Seattle Airport is the train shuttles to get to to different terminals.  I have never experienced that before at an airport.

12:30 pm: Wander around the airport looking for lunch. I got subway sandwich and it was at this point in my trip I realized I should have brought a water bottle (I later bought one in China). One of the really cool things about the Seattle airport is that they “support local artist” so there were musicians scattered around the airport playing music.

1:30 pm: Went to a currency exchange in the airport. I got $500 USD to yuan as I’m paranoid that the ATMs in China will eat my one and only debit card for security reasons, even though I informed my bank that I would be in China.

2:00 pm: Blog a bit.

3:15 pm: Board for Shenzhen.

3:45 pm: Take off!

There was a lot of things I felt like I was experiencing just on the plane ride.

The plane had a large seating capacity with 9 people in a row, rather than 4.

The window curtain was unlike one I’ve ever had. Instead of a regular pull down plastic curtain, the screen changes color with the press of a button.

I’ve also never been on a plane with a TV in front of everyone’s faces and an remote for everyone. With this I got to see Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse and Spiderman: Homecoming.

4:45 pm: Dinner was a Chicken & Leeks meal. A great life hack especially if you have dietary restrictions is reading the menu to know what they are offering. In Xiamen Airlines, the menu is in the pocket near the table of the seat in front of you. The people sitting next to me thought I understood Chinese, because I knew what they are offering and what was in the food, plus you save the flight attendant time.

At this point I really thought we must have been many hours into the flight but we were only like 2+ hours into the flight

6:30 pm: I took a 2 hour nap

8:45 pm:  Woke up flying over Alaska and Russia. I thought we would be flying over the ocean so I was a bit confused to why were over ice mountains. But apparently we fly over or near land. I never realized just how large Russia was, and looking from the sky, made me feel so small.

Initially, I thought it reassuring we fly over land, like if some tragedy happened then we would have a  better shot on land than in the middle of the ocean, but then I realized its FREEZING and all mountains. So would it really be a difference? I was wondering if possibly maybe, I would see a polar bear, or mountain people at any points.

We got a sandwich snack at this point of Roast Beef and cheese.

At this point 5 hours were done and  7 hours left to go. I filled this time with naps and movie watching and looking at the world from the window.

3:00 am: Finally landed in Shenzhen China. We got off the plane and this was the first time I ever got off a plane to the ground rather than a direct tunnel into airport gate. They placed lanyards on us specifying if we were transferring flights, and were directed into shuttles buses.

The shuttle took us to where we would then go through customs, and get all 10 fingers scanned. This is when they used my one of my two Visa arrivals. I was concerned by this because I thought they were going to use one of the arrival in Xiamen, since this was a transfer I thought they wouldn’t use it in Shenzhen, and needed one arrival for later in the trip. However, all was well, as apparently immigration customs occur when you first enter a country, not when you arrive at your intended destination.

The airport here seemed to be so beautiful, contemporary, and refreshing. It looked more like a shopping mall than airport with high ceilings and its overall brightness, mixed with high-end stores everywhere.

5:00 am: Depart for Xiamen, China from Shenzhen, China.

So close to the finish point!

6:00 am: Arrive in Xiamen

Pick up luggage! Be met by buddy at airport. Take cab to dormitory with Buddy. Check in, make a key deposit, drop off Luggage to get some quick things at the store, then have a full nights rest!

Xie Xie  谢谢 for Reading!

from Xiamen,

Leslie Arciniega

Tomorrow I fly back to America! It has been such a fun adventure studying in Xiamen.

On Friday morning, we woke up early to say goodbye to the buddies. The buddies have been so fun to hang out with. They were so helpful at every point in the trip, and I will miss them.

We took a bus to the airport for a 9am flight to Shanghai, where we are spending this weekend. Our flight, however, got delayed due to a monsoon. After an hour, the plane finally took off, and we landed in Shanghai at around noon.

From the airport, we took a subway to our hotel, which is attached to a really nice mall. At 2, we took a bus to Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research and Design Institute (SNERDI).  They gave us a tour of the facility, and we were able to get a glimpse into some of the work they do and some of their reactor designs.

After the tour, they let us play in the onsite gym for an hour before we headed to dinner.

On Friday evening, some of us went to Hey Tea, a really famous bubble tea chain in China. It is really interesting because most of their tea is made with cream cheese, which sounds gross, but is actually really good.

(Photo credit Jerry Liu)

On Saturday, professor Wang took us to the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center. The center had a miniature model of Shanghai and a 360 degree video of the city.

Afterward, we went to dinner in the west part, or the old part, of Shanghai. The restaurant was really fancy, and we had a total of 15 dishes to split. The food was all traditional Shanghai dishes, and there were plenty of vegetarian options.

In the evening, we walked to the Bund, a viewing platform for all of Shanghai. It gives a beautiful view of the city and was amazing at night.

Overall, this was such an life-changing experience. I've learned so much and met so many great people. I'm sad to be going back to America, but I know I've made so many new friends and have so many amazing memories.

Thanks for reading!

Maggie Cooney

Electrical Engineering