The Grey Line Goalies

Today you can “meet” the goalies. They wear the grey practice jerseys. As anyone in hockey knows, with poor goaltending, there is little that can be done for any team. There are three goaltenders with the team in Harbin. The first two we took to Finland with us. My first impression was that goaltending would be a big issue for us, and to some extent it is, mostly because they all lack game experience. Before this season, none of the three had any international game experience. However, the top two goalies performed well in the games and gave us chances to win. I have high hopes for their progress.

Goalie, #88, Jia Dan Dan (Jzah Dan Dan) She is one of the older players at 23 years old and she smallest goalie at 5’4”. She has been on the team for a while, but until this season has always been the backup goalie. She is very quick and has good form, but her size means she is either hot or cold. As a typical goalie, she marches to her own drum and is an interesting kid.


Goalie, #30, Shi Yao (Shree Yow). She is 18 and quite big at 5’8”. She has only been on the team a short time, and is very young mentally. Her size and skills give her great potential. She played some great games early on, but recently has not been as strong. She too is quite an interesting character, shy at first and intensely competitive. She works very hard to improve and as she gets more experience and confidence will be very good.


Goalie, Liu Bo Lu (Lee-oh Bo Roo). She is 17 and also 5’8” tall. She is young and very new to the team. She did not make the trip to Finland with the team. She is still a development goalie but has some good potential. She has improved a lot in the two months I have seen her. She took Tim and I out shopping the other day and was quite a guide. She is a very fun loving kid, and probably saved us a lot of money shopping.


I am finishing this blog from Rhode Island, as I completed my 24 hour journey home and I am at the end of December 22nd, which was a 37 hour day for me with the traveling time change. I will be traveling aorund New England a lot visiting family and friends so my next blog will probably be in 2006!

I will return back to China after the New Year to endure the tough Harbin winter months of January and February. We saw the beginnings of the Harbin ice sculptures being built on the side of the highway on the way to the airport as our driver cruised along at a smooth 160 kph. January is the time for the “Festival of Ice and Snow” in Harbin, which is the biggest tourist attraction for the city and has recently become an international tourist event.

Signing off in the U.S.A…. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year to you all!

The Green Line

Today you can “meet” the green line. Only two of these players made the trip to Finland, and all are development players. Again they are a great, hard working bunch.

At Defense, #9, Huang Lina (Whong Lee-nah). She is 20 years old and 5’5” tall. She was one of the two players on this line to make the trip to Finland. She has good hands and is tough. She is a bit slow and some times loses her focus, but she is a very funny kid. She likes to draw and is always sketching people.


At Defense, #28, Wang Nan (Wong Nahn). She is 17 and also 5’5”. She did not make the Finland trip. She is very strong, but needs to get faster. She is a very smiley kid, and always seems happy. She works very hard and I am sure will improve a lot this season.


At Center, Yu Ying (Yoo Young). She is 22 and 5’6” tall. She is an older player with good skills, but plays very slowly. She has played both Defense and offense, and did not make the trip to Finland. She likes to joke around a lot and seems like a very nice kid.


At Wing, #22, Hou Cui (Who-oh Shweee). She is 17 years old and is 5’4”. She is very small and not very strong. She was the other player on this line to make the Finland trip. Although she gets bounced around a lot on the ice, she did score two goals on the trip. She eats more than anyone on the team, but never seems to get any bigger. Every time I see her, she is eating. Once, I actually saw her make and eat a chocolate pudding sandwich, literally chocolate pudding between two slices of bread.


At Wing, Han Xu Ping (Hahn Shoo-Ping). She is also 17 years old and 5’5” tall. She is very shy, has decent skills, but is also very physically weak. I had to stop her today to get this picture. She always hides from me when I have the camera out, a very sweet and shy girl.


Tonight, Tim and I went out with the guys to play some pool. Coach Ji was the best by far, but I held my own as the only one to beat coach Ji the entire night. We went with Mr. An, Coach Li, Coach Liu, Dr. Gao, the Tall Man and Ms. Zhou. It was a fun night. We went to a high class joint, where there were attendants to rack the balls for you and hand you the bridge when you needed it.

So good night from Harbin. Tomorrow we scrimmage the boys and on Thursday, Tim and I head home to the U.S….

The Black Line

Today, you can “meet” the black line. Some younger players with good potential

At Defense, #26, Tan An Qi (Tahn Ahn-Shee). She is 19 years old and another of the taller players at 5’9”. She is a very nice girl and has helped to teach me some Chinese while she learns English. Her favorite English phrase is “speak slowly so that I can listen” and she says it very well. She is a very strong defender, but gets lots of stick penalties.


At Defense, #21, Jiang Na (Jhahng Nah). She is one of the youngest players at 17 and one of the taller ones at 5’8”. Another nice girl, I have recently moved her back to defense. She played the last couple games in Finland there due to our injuries. She is probably more of a center, but is slowly learning the defensive concepts. She works very hard and is one of our stronger players physically.


At Center, #2, Yu Bai Wei (You Buy Way). She is another of the young ones on the team at 17 and is 5’5” tall. She is one of the nicest girls on our team. A little shy at first, but very funny. She speaks pretty good English, but does not speak that much. She is the strongest player in the weight room too despite her smaller size. I recently moved her to center from Defense, since we returned from Finland. She has good hands and offensive instincts, but will probably end up a defender in the long run. She likes to joke around and her favorite English phrase is “See you yesterday!” then she laughs as she knows its not right.


At Wing, #25, Xia Zheng Lai (Zhya Zhung Lie). She is 19 years old and is about 5’4” tall. She is another very sweet kid. She has very fast hands and stick handles well. She, is a little weaker physically than the other players, but is very smart on the ice. An all around nice girl who works hard.


At Wing, #11, Huang Hai Jing (Whong High Jeeng). She is also 17 years old and is 5’8” tall. She is our resident space cadet. She always staring off at the sky or not paying attention. She is physically very strong and has decent skills. Sometimes she gets lost on the ice though. She is another very sweet kid, and she tries very hard to improve.


So that is the black line… tomorrow you meet the Green Line and then the white line and the goalies before I head home for “Ryan in the USA” for the Holidays…

Shopping Harbin-Style

Well Tim and I had two afternoons of Harbin shopping. Wanting to pick up some trinkets and Christmas gifts, we ventured into downtown Harbin near the Sophia (Russian) Church to find some stores on Saturday afternoon. We had a couple tour guides with us, two of our younger players, Yu Bai Wei and Liu Bo Lu. They took us into places we would never have found without their help.

First off, it was a nice sunny crisp cold day in Harbin. As you can see from the picture, the ice sculpting has begun and they were working on building some in the square near the church. My guess is that they won’t even begin to melt until about May! Because of the cold, to enter most stores was a rat maze of heavy army green tarp/blankets that hang behind the doorway’s so you cannot see into any stores. After going through three or so of these you were in. We entered three places all like indoor flea markets. The place was jam packed with booths of stuff from toothbrushes to TV’s. It was packed with people too. Each one we entered had three to six stories of these huge indoor flea market style places. One place we walked down into what I assumed was a subway took three turns and went through four tarps into another place, the same as the others. We found some things, the girls bartered for us and told us when to walk away because it was too expensive. Most of the time, two or three booths away, we would find the same thing for much less. All in all the girls probably saved me 40%-50% on the items I bought (or about $2 american money). Things are very inexpensive here. A nice heavy lined windproof jacket that would cost $100-$150 in the U.S. you can buy for 200 Yuan (about $25).


We took the girls out for an early dinner as a thanks, and had Baozi (like a large dumpling type thing stuffed with meat or vegetables). They were very good. We stopped at the market on the way home to pick up some snacks and we were back. You can see our tour guides here (Liu Bo Lu left and Yu Bai Wei right), posing with the Santa in the front of the restaurant.


On Sunday, we decided to take the two block walk down to the Carrefour. It is a big department/grocery store. It is two stories with the department store on top and grocery store on the bottom. It also has some kiosk type stores surrounding it and a food court with a KFC and some Chinese restaurants. Near the outside of the Carrefour, are many street vendors selling everything from peanuts to gloves to baby books on the sidewalk. We looked through the vendors but found nothing of interest and ventured into the Carrefour. We both spent about 2 hours browsing an shopping. For the entire time, the same version of “Jingle Bells” played loudly over the store stereo system.

Again, the place was packed with people. It really is amazing the number of people in Harbin. Even compared to my visits to NY and Chicago, it seems like so many more people are everywhere here. The sun was setting on the way home and we are easy to find, just look for the big ferris wheel and you can find it!


Tomorrow, I will continue my player introductions with the “Black Line”… good night from Harbin!

The Blue Line

Today, you can “meet” the blue line. The other of two our strong lines, after returning to China.

At Defense, #19, Captain Wang Linou (Wong Lee-New-uh). She is the oldest player on the team at 26 years old and is also near the shortest at 5’3”. Although I introduced you to her earlier, I thought I would keep her with her line. She has amazing puck handling skills and is a very smart and strong hockey player. She speaks English well enough to translate quickly for me. She is quite a character, always joking around with Tim and I.


At Defense, #8, Fu Yue (Foo, You-uh). She is 19 years old and a taller player at 5’8”. She is a strong steady defender. She has a good shot and plays her position very well. She is a quieter kid, but has a good sense of humor too. She grew up playing with Tan An Qi (black line) and they have been together on the same team since they were very young.


At Center, #29, Gao Fu Jin (Gow Foo-jeen). She is 21 years old and is even taller at 5’9”. She is a big strong player who is still learning the game. She has a good shot and scores the tough kind of goals. She too is a very interesting kid. She always has a huge smile on her face and is happy to being playing hockey. She has tremendous potential with her size and strength.


At Wing, #17, Cui Shan Shan (Shwee Shan-Shan). She is only 18 years old and is about 5’10” tall. A crafty and rangy player, she may end up being one of the team’s best in a few years. She has a tireless work ethic and a great outlook. She is always smiling and is a very sweet kid. She too has a real desire to learn English and surprises me with a new phrase every so often.


At Wing, #10, Zhang Ben (Zhawng Ben). She is 20 years old and is 5’6” tall. She is a very strong player who was playing on the line with the two assistant captains while we were in Finland. She is fast and works hard. She is quite thin and the players all joke with her about it. However, she is surprisingly strong for her build. She is a quiet kid and very hard working.


Tomorrow is Saturday, and only a half day, before the players head home to see their families, before returning Sunday evening. Tim and I will venture out, hopefully to do some holiday shopping. I think we may have a couple players as guides around Harbin.

Good night from frosty Harbin…

The Red Line

I realized even after two months of blogging, I have only formally introduced you to three players, the captains. We have made up new lines here in China, after losing our two players to the Finnish Women’s League, our assistant captains, Jin Feng Ling and Sun Rui.

So today, I would like you to “meet” the red line (for the non-hockey readers, they named that of course as they wear the red jerseys during practice) and they are one of the two stronger lines we have right now:

At defense, #55, Qi Xueting (Shee Shoo-Ting). She is 19 years old, and quite short at 5’1”. She is one of our best defenders with a great shot and she is very strong for her size. A very fun loving, hard working tough player, she is a great player to have around both on and off the ice.


At defense, #66, Zhang Shuang (Zhawng Shwawng). She is 18 years old and 5’3” tall. She is a very steady defender and was recently selected as an Assistant Captain as our two others are in Finland. A very sweet kid, she is also quite smart and can read a bit of English. She is very smooth and confident with the puck for her age. Again a great girl, quiet, but a good leader.


At Center, #7, Li Xiuli (Lee Shoo-Lee). She is 21 years old and a bit taller at 5’8”. She has the best stick handling skills of anyone on the team. She has a fun loving attitude, and along with Tang Liang, they are the “stylish” ones on the team. I should update her picture as she now has light red hair, since returning to Harbin. A very funny girl, she is the one “Most likely to end up on MTV” on our team.


At Wing, #24, Tang Liang (Tahng Lee-ahng). She is 20 years old and 5’3” tall. She is a very fast and very smart player. She is the sidekick of Li Xiuli and will be right with her when they end up on MTV. She is a big fan of Eminem and, she too, is quite a character. She has changed her hair color at least twice in two months and you see it now in its most recent “jet black.”


At Wing, #3, Xu Zhiwei (Sue Zhee-Way). She is 21 years old and 5’4” tall. She is very quick and has a good shot. She did not come with us on the trip to Finland as she had some discipline issues prior to my arrival in China. However, she is a team leader and a great girl. She is the player who sharpens everyone’s skates. She always has a smile and I have not witnessed any discipline problems since I have arrived. She is also a good player and will really add something to our team.


The days here have fallen right into a routine. We have a light, skills oriented practice in the morning, and a full practice in the afternoon. Tim has begun to implement his strength building program, so the team is in the weight room four days a week. We have a half day Satruday and a full day Sunday off every week.

Time to sign off tonight… I will have another line for you tomorrow…

The Mysterious "Tall Man"

Every organization has that one guy that just gets things done. The guy you go to when you need anything. Here, no one seems to know his name, but our the team captain and translator calls him simply the "tall man.” One day she said to me, "You need something, you ask Tall Man, and he will give." That about sums it up!

First of all, he is not really that tall. He is maybe my height or an inch shorter, under 6 feet for sure. Many of the speed skaters that I see around the training center seem much taller, but he is our “tall man.” Also, I am not sure what his job actually is, but when you need something, no matter who you as or what you ask for, he is the person who gets it done.

A couple days ago, I asked one of the team leaders about the stipend for myself and Tim. A day later, the “tall man” showed up with our money and a form to sign. He drives the team bus, and is a very good driver. He arrives in the kitchen with food and supplies often, and he is the dispenser of the fruit. Every couple days, some fruit arrives and he organizes it and divides among everyone to bring back to our rooms. Tim needs passport photos, so, “ask the tall man.” We need a ride to the airport, “ask the tall man.” You need more heat in your room, “ask the tall man.”

The other day I was planning the training schedule and was told that I have to inform the “tall man” when meal and shower times will be. Apparently, he turns the hot water on and organizes the kitchen staff too. Clearly an invaluable person is this mysterious “tall man.”

And to top it all off, I have found that he is a very nice man, always smiling and joking (pictured on right). I truly hope he never gets sick, because then nothing will get done!

Colder than Christmas

Before traveling on this journey, I did the typical internet research into travel advisories for China, Finland and the specific areas of the countries that I was traveling. The only warning for traveling to Harbin, China was the “extreme cold” in the winter. It was stated several times on various websites. This week I have discovered the reason for those warnings.

Before we left for Finland, the temperatures in Harbin in late October and early November hovered around 0 ºC (32 ºF). We returned from Beijing and stepped out of our extremely warm train sleeping quarters into the Harbin ice age! The temperatures have ranged from about -15 ºC (6 ºF) at best during the day to -25 ºC (-12 ºF) at night, and that is without the wind chill factored in. It is a dry bitter cold requiring a number of good layers for the short walk across the complex from the dormitory to the rink.

I had my first ever experience of my glasses fogging up when walking INTO a hockey rink, as the temperature in the rink was much warmer than outside. The players get dressed up in their gear and throw huge jackets, scarves and gloves on over their equipment for the walk. You can see Huang Lina trying on Tim’s Russian cold weather hat on the right.


On another related topic, I have been interested to see that some places here in China do have Christmas decorations up and you can purchase them at stores. It is obviously not as crazy as in some places in the northeast U.S., but there are signs of Christmas even in Beijing and Harbin, China.

The rollercoaster has not run since I have returned, as the park is closed for the winter, but I expect that would be quite a chilly ride if it did. As you can see, there is a little snow on the ground but not that much. I guess it must be too cold to snow.


Good night and bundle up!

Forbidden City

So here is Part II of our long day in Beijing.

After returning from the Great Wall, we stopped in for lunch at a famous restaurant. It was suggested by our driver. So, Tim, Li, the driver and I had a nice meal. We had chicken, some vegetables and a couple of soups, along with various other dishes. The first soup was Shizi Tou (Lion’s Head). It tasted a lot like chicken noodle, but it was just a broth with a single large meatball type thing floating in the middle. I was told it was not meat, but it was very good, tasting as if you took all the solid ingredients in chicken noodle soup and mashed them together into a ball. The final soup we had was all broth and is supposed to be good for your health. I had a few spoonfuls and it tasted a little fishy and not too good to me. I asked what it was and Li did not know the English word, tried to describe the animal and we were lost, then he asked the waiter for paper and pen, and of course, he drew a turtle. Turtle soup!

After lunch, we headed downtown and got out of the car in Tiananmen Square. It is impossible to describe the immense size of the square. We were told it can hold 1 million people, and I believe it. On one end of the square is the tomb of Mao. On the other end is the entrance to the Forbidden City. Below is a picture taken from the middle of the square looking towards the entrance to the Forbidden City.



Everything in Beijing seems to be on a massive scale, and the Forbidden City is no exception. I expected a small ancient community with a couple courtyards, but what I saw was a massive community of ancient buildings. The buildings are tall and larger than life and the courtyards are, in some cases, big enough to fit a couple football fields inside. About half-way through, Tim and I were getting tired and wanted to turn around as we realized it would be quite a hike back to where we were dropped off. However, Li, our guide for the day, pushed on. Then we found out that he had smartly told the driver to meet us on the other end of the City so we could walk all the way through without going back. The city just kept going and going and had about 9 courtyards in all. The Forbidden City was where the emperor lived and worked. We were told that it held around 1000 people, and was built during the Ming Dynasty. Below are the photos of our walk through the center of the city. After looking at the map, I noticed that we only saw about 1/3 of the city, an impressive place!

You enter the city under the painting of Mao, look at the people to see the scale

One of the many courtyards, again the tiny people help you to see the massive size

The Emperor’s throne room

Looking back there was a great sunset for photos

More sunset behind a very tall building

Another courtyard

A close up of the lion sculpture made of some kind of metal.

Near the back entrance to the city was a small garden

And Finally, looking back at the city from outside of the back entrance.


Well, I am back in Harbin now after the 13 hour train ride. I will write more about my travels tomorrow. Good night from a frigid Harbin!

Great Wall

A very aptly named structure, the Great Wall is an amazing site. Tim and I traveled about 70 km north out of Beijing to get to the Great Wall, Badaling entrance. We were accompanied by Li, a young man who works for China Hockey. After traveling for about 50 km, over a straight flat highway, we abruptly entered the mountains. They were spectacular especially in contrast to the flat land preceding them. After about 15 minutes we got off the highway and arrived at Badaling. The Badaling entrance of the Great Wall allows for one to climb to the highest altitude point on the wall.

The Great Wall is a tourist attraction and is set up as you might expect. There are many vendors selling replicas of the wall, certificates that you climbed the wall, hats, t-shirts, and of course cashmere scarfs. The funniest souvenir, which the vendor called the “pee-pee boy,” is a small ceramic or clay boy statue that when you pour water over its head shoots it out the front at you.

We paid our 40-Yuan and headed onto the Great Wall. It was a cold and sunny day (about 25-30 ºF) and there was a foggy haze over the mountains to the southwest, which made for great photos. We climbed to the highest point and then headed back down, and it was a three hour round trip. The Great Wall is built right on the side of the mountain and was completed around 100 BC. It is an amazing accomplishment. For those making a list, the Wall is a must see!

Below are some pictures of our journey:


Before getting to the wall the road leading up was lined with stone carvings like this one

Never that far from home

From the entrance to the Wall looking up.

Along the way there were camels and horses and clothes you could dress up in to get your picture taken.

Looking up the wall at our destination in the top right, the highest point.

There was a cable car and a sliding car that went up and down the mountain also.

We made it. A view of the three of us, with the wall down behind us at the top (Me, Li, Tim)

A great view of the wall and mountain backdrop on the way down.

Tim and others stop to look out in one of the Wall's connecting towers.

Another view of the wall on the way down.


In the afternoon we headed to downtown Beijing and saw Tiananmen Square and the “Forbidden City.” We finished the day with some authentic Peking duck, which was excellent. But those adventures are a whole blog by themselves so you will have to wait until tomorrow.

Heading back to Harbin tonight on the train…

Back in Beijing

Well, now that I have returned to China my blog title again makes sense. Before leaving Vierumaki, I thought about getting in a round of golf, but it was not to be.



We finished our final game Finland poorly as the team was tired and ready to go home. So, while playing without two players from our top line, we lost 9-0 to IHK. Our last day in Finland was Finnish Independence (from Russia) Day. You can see the flags flying and there were many small candle fires burning in peoples yards.



We got in to see the main rink in Helsinki on this trip. Last time, Tim tried to get in to see it, but he could not get in because instead of hockey they were having a “Sexhibition” It is a nice arena with seats up to the rafters.



We got some news prior to leaving that China Hockey had come to an agreement with the Blues. Our top two forwards Jin Feng Ling and Sun Rui (pictured with me) will stay and play for the Blues for the remainder of the season. It is an amazing opportunity for these girls and should be quite an experience for them. Of course, this meant they had to repack (below) as the Chinese group packing concept, which I don’t understand, means that they had about 5 different player’s things in their bags and other players had things for them in theirs.




We got to the airport very early and our flight was not yet even listed on the “big board.” However, based on the sign below, I am glad we had a direct flight and did not have to “connect.”



I am back in Beijing now and will explore the Great Wall tomorrow. Good night from China!