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China Trip |
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2005 Betty Finch and Jill Walker attended the International Gourd
Cultural Exchange in the city or Huludao, located in the Liaoning
Province of China. The opening Ceremony included hours of singing,
dancing and pageantry. The representatives from
visiting nations were given the best seats for the festivities. The
ribbon cutting ceremony was first. Women
in long red dresses held a bolt of red silk
draped from one to the next for dignitaries
from the attending countries to cut. Betty
was given the honor of making the last cut, kicking off the
ceremony with a release of colorful helium balloons and a shower of
confetti. |
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Betty making the
cut that kicked off the festivities. |
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The entertainment
included this spectacular dragon dance |
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with many large drums.. |
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| At the close of the ceremony Betty and
the Korean delegate were brought on stage.
A gourd belt was tied around Betty and the Korean was given a
wand, then they were asked to dance together.
Confetti shot into the air and a flock of white doves were
released to symbolize how a common interest in gourds could bring
diverse nations together.
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Betty and the
Korean delegate dance in the opening ceremonies. |
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Betty and the
Korean pose for pictures for the media after the dance. |
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Betty speaking at
the forum through an interpreter. |
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Betty and
Jill Walker were presented with flowers and plaques |
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for
speaking in the International Forum on Gourds. |
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| After attending the 3-day gourd festival
in Huludao, Betty and Jill traveled to Mr. Zhang Cairi’s gourd farm
outside of
Tianjin
where they were given a garden tour.
A group of gourd artists had gathered to demonstrate mold making,
jade knife pressing, soapstone carving, and wood burning. |
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Mr. Zhang Cairi
showing Betty his molded gourd garden. |
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Mr. Zhang
Cairi’s son-in-law demonstrates the seamless |
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gourd
mold making technique. |
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Betty and Mr.
Zhang Cairi watch as workers carefully chip |
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a gourd from a
plaster mold. |
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Jill,
Betty, and Mr. Zhang Cairi watch as a skilled worker
wood burns |
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a molded
gourd using only one arm. |
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Mr. Zhang Cairi
presenting Betty with a molded Katydid cage as a gift. |
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| As a result of this trip, Betty decided to
write a book about Mr. Zhang Cairi and his molded gourds.
Upon returning to California Betty attended the Folsom Gourd
Festival where she purchased one of Mr. Zhang Cairi’s molded gourds
from Guojun Zhang. They
discovered their mutual admiration for Mr. Zhang Cairi and decided to
co-author a book about his molded gourds. Guojun returned
to
China
and conducted further research for the book and sent photographs
and information over the Internet to
Betty who put everything together on her computer. One year later
their book, “The Immortal Molded Gourds of Mr. Zhang Cairi” became a
reality. |
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| The Minister of Culture got news of the
book and invited them to tour a Dai village in the Yunnan Provence
hoping they would consider writing a book about the unique Hulu-se
(gourd flutes) of the Dai people. |
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| In 2006 Betty and Jill
Walker made a second trip to
China
. That story
later...Ö |
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| Those of you interested in Mr. Zhang
Cairi's Chinese Molded Gourd Art, |
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