Julie and Jonathan Go Walkabout: October 2013

China; the second month.

Welcome back, or welcome - if you are a first time visitor to our blog. Our second month in China has been pretty eventful one way or another and the time sure has flown by. In fact hard to believe another month has been and gone. However when we stop and look at what we have done in the last month it does become apparent why the month has gone so quickly for us. So what have we been up to? – a bit of a clue really if you have already looked at the photos that Julie has been posting regularly.

Over the past month there have been a number of days off. The first break we had was for Moon Festival, a celebration around the full moon and is celebrated in the hope of a good harvest; it is also known as the mid-autumn festival. Going hand in hand with this festival are “moon cakes” – the round shape signifying completeness and unity of families. They surely must be sold by the millions as they are being exchanged and consumed everywhere and we are offered them on many occasions. They are a small round biscuit and can be sweet or savoury - I think they must be an acquired taste.

Going hand in hand with this festival are fireworks. In fact they seem to go hand in hand with damn near any sort of celebration/event – birth, marriage, death, opening new shop, birthday, new car, new job. You name it and they get right into their fireworks and not just in the evening, middle of the day, even 5.10am is no problem either! At the complex we live in the buildings are all 6 stories high and is a large block complex – the flashing of light and bang when they initially ignite and then again when they explode at the height of their trajectory creates quite the percussion effect and is very cool to watch and listen to…….2-3 nights a week somewhere in the ‘hood.

And then there are the straight crackers/bangers – recall the days before all you could get were “tom thumb” crackers in NZ, when you could buy a “double happy” cracker. Well over here the double happy is on steroids and about 3 times the size and comes in a large coil of about 300 which they roll out and let rip, it’s like a machine-gun – sometimes at the same time as the rockets. The other day there was a wedding in our apartment block and during the evening they let rip with the fireworks. We were watching from out the window and saw they had 8 containers of sky-rockets, which are packed into a container about the size of a bucket, which were lined up next to one another (all good and safe - not!) anyway the container fell over and the last few rockets went shooting off across the ground into a small tuk-tuk taxi and a trailer loaded up with rubbish. They jumped around laughing and none too concerned.

– sort of reminds me of someone I have known all his life; when in his mid-twenties with some mates letting off skyrockets horizontally to go bouncing off down the street, all great fun and even funnier when they see one hit the back of a parked car…..and then realisation struck – it was his car and there was a neat round hole punched in the tail-light from the out of control skyrocket!! Then it was really funny wasn’t it Matthew.

For Moon Festival we had 4 days off, Wednesday 18th to Saturday 21^st. Bruce, the local rep, had discussed going to Huangshan, -Yellow Mountain, as a group with the other English teachers in the area. Seemed to us like a pretty good deal – Chinese guy organises the bus, picks us up outside our apartment, arranges the accommodation, tickets for the mountain, food and drops us back off. No language barrier issues along the way, all translated for us. A real no-brainer for our first expedition. Also on the trip to fill the 22 seater bus are several of Bruce’s friends and their children – the children were a bit of a surprise but hey, remember TIC!

We got picked up at 5.30am and after a bit of trekking around the greater Huaian city to collect everybody we headed off on a 7 ½ hour bus trip to Huangshan. Was interesting driving through the local Chinese countryside, albeit we were on the main highway system, and seeing the mainly small landholdings with a lot of locals out harvesting their plots. In a lot of areas we drove by the average plot/paddock size would have been approx. 1-2 acres and many were smaller. Did not see much in the way of large scale cultivation.

Once checked in at Huangshan we travel to a nearby ancient town by the name of Hongcun, a world heritage site. It is several things; very picturesque, interesting, run-down, tired and touristy. There are a large number of art students lining one side of the lake with their easels and oils recording their version of the ancient scenery. (see Julies photos)

The next morning we were to meet at 8.30am to depart and catch the cable-car. Well TIC and by the time the Chinese families wandered out we departed at 9.45am. A 40 minute queue for the cable car was rewarded with spectacular views on the 12 minute ride up the mountain. At the top we hike for approx. 1 hour across and further up the mountain to our hotel. It is seriously expensive on the mountain and a cheap double room is 1500RMB/$295NZ –so Bruce has arranged for us all to stay in 2 bunk-rooms behind the hotel in the staff quarters area. All the blokes in one room and women and children in the other, hard case. Am seriously concerned as to the sturdiness of the bunks as they are made from maybe 40x20mm rough sawn timber – the sort of stuff one would normally associate with packing timber and thrown away after use. Not here though, they have been turned into bunks and I’m on the bottom and a larger than normal Chinese man is on the top bunk and they rock and sway! – TIC.

In the afternoon we spend about 4 hours hiking across the mountain tops to the summit of “Brightness Top” at 1860mtrs. The views as you can see were quite spectacular. There was one trail we could see on another mountain where a path had been built directly on to the side of a sheer cliff face and have to say glad we didn’t go that way! –you can see the path in one of Julie’s pictures. The next morning we got up at 4.30am to hike out and find a good spot to watch the sunrise, as you do. We were aware that this was the “done thing” when on the mountain but was still surprised at the amount of people that just arrived en masse at any accessible spot with anything like a half decent view - to be followed by a huge collective “ooohhhhhh” when the fiery glow of the new day first lit up the distant horizon. The collective camera clubs went into overdrive!!

Later in the morning, which was still quite early given our early rise, we headed back down the mountain to Huangshan where we had brunch and got back on the bus for another 7 ½ hour trip. Return trip pretty uneventful and we both pull out our e-readers – sure is easier than carting books around the country-side.

Arrive home late on the Saturday afternoon and Sunday is a school day as we work a two week roster where one week you have a Saturday off and the following week you get Friday/Saturday/Sunday off. We are quite OK with this as it will give us a chance to head off to various places for a look around on the 3 day week-ends.

On the Tuesday we get the word that our passports have been processed by the Department of Entry and Exit and we now have a Chinese resident document in our passports! Now we have our passports in our hands we are happy to confirm and pay for a trip to Beijing during the upcoming National Day 7 day holiday break –yes!!

This National holiday is in celebration of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and is one of two “Golden Week” holiday periods in China outside of the Chinese New Year holiday break. During these times people are on the move big time around China and according to last year’s figures there was in excess of 120 million people booked on public transport over this period. So the first issue was transport and then accommodation. I head off to visit Bruce for some help as the best train/bus schedules and sites are in Chinese.

We could not get on the train direct from Huaian to Beijing as it was fully booked for several days, and also same for the return trip. Bruce thinks it is now too hard and we will have to stay put –not happening! What about a bus to Nanjing and then train from there? After some 3 hours with Bruce we finally have a Beijing plan booked and paid for.

On the 1^st October we catch a taxi to the main south bus station in Huaian and from there a 2 ½ bus trip to Nanjing. Manage to get some help from a local for directions to the train station but they just don’t seem right –(remember TIC and some would rather indicate or give you directions when in fact they have no idea and don’t want to lose face by not knowing so give you some directions, any old directions!) Second time around young guy has better English and steers us in the right direction. It’s a massive train station and we catch the 10.30pm overnight soft sleeper train arriving at 7.40am in central Beijing.

Upon arrival we are met by a private taxi guy we have arranged for the first two days in the big smoke. Figured it would be kinda nice to be met and taken around for the first couple of days giving us a chance to get our bearings and not having to worry about how to get around. The first place we head to is the Summer Palace some 15 odd km from central Beijing and arrive at a pretty reasonable time having gone straight there from the train station. We wander here for about 3 hours along with what seems like half of Beijing. When we leave the lines of people waiting to get in is eye opening and the traffic –let’s just say interesting. Next stop is the Temple of Heaven and then a wander through some Hutongs or “alleyways” of an old inner city neighbourhood. The Hutongs are the small alleys and roads which are home to a huge collection of small houses and shanties, some with communal courtyards where some of the poorer of the city live. Some are now protected due to the race to modernise they have bulldozed literally hundreds of these Hutongs. After this we are taken to our hotel – this private taxi is all pretty good I’ve got to say!!

In the morning our taxi man picks us up at 6.45am and we head to the Great Wall at Mutianyu some 70 odd kms north of Beijing. This morning we are joined by Anthony- (an Irishman) another teacher from our training group in Yanghshuo and Carole-(English), a friend of his who has been in China a year with the same company. Getting to some of these places early sure is the key factor in making the visit so much more enjoyable. We get a park right up by the entrance, the local vendors haven’t even started putting their wares on display as we are so early and we are on The Wall at about the same time some of the “fully guided coach tours” are meeting in Beijing to depart.

When we leave just after midday we pass literally miles of cars nose to tail, mostly not moving, heading towards the Wall entrance – that looks like fun! Oh yeah, and saw one fight between a couple of angry drivers! Our taxi man was really persistent with his “get up early” and it is clear to see he knows what he is talking about – he was a taxi driver in Beijing for 10 years and has been doing the private taxi/guide thing for 9 years so he does know his way around.

The Great Wall was simply spectacular – all I can say is that no matter what you have read, pictures you have seen, it is not until you actually see it with your own eyes and walk on it, see it rolling down hills and climbing up mountains off into the distance that you really appreciate it for; - it’s size, the sheer determination of those that built it and the folly of it all. Come and see it for yourselves! How about this - “The strength of walls depends on the courage of those who guard them”- Genghis Khan - who bribed and tricked his way through the wall system on his way to over-running China. Enough said!!

After leaving the Great Wall we visited the Hongluo Temple on the way back to Beijing. It must be on the Chinese tourist “places to go” list as unlike the Wall we were the only foreigners there. It wasn’t too bad and was where the photos of the Monk’s amongst the trees wearing red cloaks was taken – all 500 of them apparently. On the way back we also swung by the 2008 Olympic Stadium, saw the amazing Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Watercube. Have to say there really are some outstanding examples of design/architecture in China – old and new.

The next two days we are out and about on our own on foot and making good use of the subway system. We visit the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, which is at the north end of the Forbidden City and overlooks it and right back to Tiananmen Square – that is it would if you could see that far as the smog has started to build and it is shrouding everything in a nasty haze. The Forbidden City is a great example of “what once must have been” and whilst it is spectacular it has over time been looted and many of its treasures long gone leaving the buildings and many palace structures and associated courtyards –don’t get me wrong it is still pretty impressive. Apparently last year during National Day Golden Week the Forbidden City had 182,000 visitors in a single day!

Then there was Tiananmen Square. It sure is a big place and would look even bigger were it not for Chairman Mao’s massive mausoleum plonked in the middle. Had heard there was a lot of security around the Square and yep that sure is the case. Julie didn’t think asking the soldiers where they hide all the tanks was a good idea so I let it rest. A full lap of the Square takes quite some time as you wander around trying to take in all the sights and the atmosphere. (and trying to avoid breathing in too much smog) Also went to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower, north of the Forbidden City, which were again pretty impressive but somewhat tired and shadows of their former glory.

In the four full days we had in Beijing we managed to visit seven out of the top ten must do sites according to our taxi man, plus some others that are down the ranking somewhere. We are pretty happy with what we managed to squeeze in to our visit. On the Sunday morning we leave Beijing at 8am on the G2 train, so what? It’s a bullet train!! - that’s so what, and it streaks to Nanjing at up to 310km/h in 3 hours 50 and all the way smooth as silk. It was way cool!! Another bus trip back to Huaian and we have a spare day off up our sleeve to get some chores done before it’s back to school on Tuesday.

On the Friday evening we met for dinner in downtown Huaian with all the local foreign teachers we have met up with. We had done a ring around and some networking and in the end there was 13 of us and did we get some looks as we walked through town – I don’t think people had seen that many foreigners together at once in town. It was a great night and an opportunity to mix and talk in English at a natural pace instead of speaking slowly, repeating and constantly having to simplify words and phrases to make yourself understood when speaking English with students and fellow Chinese teachers. This comment is made fully aware of the fact we speak only one language and often think how insular and isolated we make ourselves by limiting our language options to only English.

So there you have it, the second month has certainly flown by and we have fitted a lot in during this time. Back to the grind for a while now I suspect. All still “so far so good” for us here in the Middle Kingdom. Thanks to all who have been in touch with us – great to hear from you.

Catch you later, J2 – on walkabout.