Master Cleanse – End of Day Eight

I just returned from three days in Harbin and Yabuli ski area. It’s like a mini-Davos for Mainland companies with a lot of the Mainland’s successful Entrepreneurs and investors like Jack Ma (http://www.alibaba.com), Charles Zhang (http://www.sohu.com) among many others. I accompanied my wife who gave one of the opening talks there. It was very inspiring to see the theme of the forum focus on social and environmental issues and hear the passionate discussions among the entrepreneurs and business leaders. Philanthropy was also a common topic. The facilities were not that great, but the people more than made up for it.

While there, I also met with representatives of the Game and Animation base they are establishing in Harbin. I felt bad as they drove out to Yabuli on a Sunday to see me. There was a snowstorm while we were at Yabuli which was a bit surreal (they also had an amazing fireworks show while it was snowing). Because of travel issues arising from the storm, they ran the third day’s events in the evening of the second day (which ran till midnight or so).

I managed to sit through four banquet style meals during the conference. The food was pretty amazing too (one meal served birds nest, another had venison and even bear paw). I was able to sit, take in the sights and smells of the food, and talk to people who were eating without too much issue. I had a chance to ski (Yabuli has a lot of ski slopes), but my wife and I ended up sleeping in. I had some really good discussions regarding media, creativity, and wellness while I was there. It turns out that, there is a seven day fast on the Mainland similar to the Master Cleanse. My wife may try the Cleanse starting on Thursday. If she does, I may extend my Cleanse to twenty days which should be interesting. The exploration into will power, experiential and physiological aspects of digesting food, and self-reflection in a winter wonderland have led into personal insights and increased understanding.

It was interesting that my wife and I flew Shenzhen Airlines. It was my first time. They have a “theme song” that the stewardesses dance to as we land. The food seemed pretty good too, though I didn’t partake.

Am going to try a salt water flush before going to bed tonight…