Let's explore...Nanjing!

Hey guys!

Sorry for the long wait, I've just come back from a week of vacation and have now finally found some free time. Why did I have a week of vacation? China's National Holiday is the 1st of October, because Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949. Most people have a week off work/study, except for those who work in stores since these don't close during holidays or on Sundays. The result of this free week, also called Golden Week, is that millions of Chinese travel to their hometowns or go visit friends. Of course I also took this opportunity and went to visit Jana, a friend of mine, in Nanjing.

I got on a train on 1 October at 5 in the afternoon. Because of the masses of people travelling, I was only able to get a ticket for the 硬座 yingzuo, hard seater class. In Chinese trains there are 4 classes of tickets. 硬座, with rows of five seats, three on one side and two on the other, 软座 ruanzuo, soft seater, which has a little more padding and space, 硬卧 yingwo, hard sleeper, with bunk beds in an open cabin and 软卧, soft sleeper, with comparments of four beds. Check this website if you want to know more about the differences. So I prepared myself mentally for 16 hours of sitting in an uncomfortable seat. What I got was luckily not that bad at all. Of course the train was more than full, but I had a window seat which meant that I could lean against the wall to sleep. I actually got a few hours of sleep and arrived in Nanjing at 9 in the morning on 2 October. Jana thankfully picked me up from the station and after a short metro ride we arrived at her campus. I have to say that her campus is a lot nicer than mine, trees everywhere. It's also a lot smaller, thus harder to get lost in.

After a breakfast of dumplings we went to a beautiful park close to the campus and later in the day after a well derserved nap we visited a scenic garden and Nanjing's Confucius temple. The garden was beautiful and somehow quite peaceful despite the inescapable crowds. They even hired people to provide the appropriate musical background. The temple was not so peaceful but still very beautiful. I learned a bit about Chinese temple traditions. For example, it is common to tie pieces of cloth with good wishes on them to tree branches. Also there was a small water basin where visitors could light candles in the shape of water lilies. Absolutely gorgeous. Naturally our visit ended with a small photo session in front of the exit. As foreigners we do attract a lot of looks, a phenomenon that a Chinese friend called 回头率很高, the rate of heads turning is very high. It is not uncommon for locals to try and surreptitiously take a picture of me, pretending they're looking at something on their phone. It's always fun to call them out on it though, since for one thing it surprises and delights them greatly that I can speak Chinese and also I sometimes get to know new people this way.

 The ambient music.

 Xueye you cheng. Succeed in your studies.

Anyway, on with the show. On Friday we walked along the Nanjing city wall. There were surprisingly few tourists there and we enjoyed the relatively good air quality. The city wall is divided into separate parts, with a separate ticket to be bought for every one of them. Hilariously, there is also an "illegal" entrance to every part that apparently all the locals know about and use in their masses. That way, the city profits from tourism and the locals get to enjoy their city's sights for free, not a bad strategy. In the evening we went to an international bar which had music playing that I knew *_* I never thought that YMCA by the Village People would someday make me this happy.

Saturday we had a lazy day and in the evening went to visit the Jiming temple. On our way there we made some new Chinese friends who were also looking for the temple. The building was beautiful and we even got to listen to a Buddhist "mass". There were about 100 people gathered in the temple who were singing Sutras. With the sun setting and the sky slowly turning darker, it was a perfectly harmonious end to the day. For dinner we went to a restaurant serving Nanjing specialty food, which had attracted a lot of people. Reserving a table is only common in very fancy restaurants here, so the way this restaurant solved the problem of seating people was to have every group get a number and then wait for it to be called. A little strange at first, but efficient. The food by the way was absolutely delicious.

 The secret entrance.

On Sunday we decided to climb the 资金山 Zijin Shan, Purple Mountain, a "mountain" of some 400m in the middle of Nanjing. Jana invited some Chinese friends of hers to come with us and the first struggle of the day consisted of us trying to find each other. Turns out that her university has two campuses and her friends were waiting for us at the other campus. After about two hours we finally found each other at the foot of the mountain. It was a great hike and we found some time to take pictures in a thousand different poses. (换一个Pose! Another pose!) And of course we got stared at and loudly commented on in Chinese. I try not to let it bother me, but sometimes the incessant "look, a foreigner" gets tiring. Also I have discovered that before going hiking in China, it's instrumental to check the air quality. Had we done so on Sunday, we might have decided to change our plans since the air quality in Nanjing on that day was "hazardous", meaning that outdoor sports should be avoided. I should soon feel the effects, on Monday I woke up with a cough that has stayed with me since.

 Taking the chair lift back down. About 10 people waved at us and 5 were playing 小苹果, the hottest Chinese pop song at the moment.

On Monday we left the city and province and went to a lake in Anhui to have a barbecue with a few of Jana's friends. It was wonderful to see a truly blue sky again and breathe freely for a few hours. The scenery was tainted a little bit by the heaps of trash left behind by other people but nonetheless we had a great day.

Tuesday it was already time for me to leave, after an all too short visit. My train left at 8 in the morning and took me to Suzhou, where I had to change trains. Due to holiday craziness, the only train that I had been able to get a ticket for left at 8 in the evening, so I had a whole day to explore Suzhou. I went to the Garden of the Master of Nets, a cleverly designed building and garden complex where you never know what awaits you when you turn a corner. I got lost a few times, but obviously had a lot of fun doing so. Afterwards I visited Suzhou's zoo, which had beautiful parts, like the tropical birds, and awful parts, like the lion and tiger cages. I finally ended up in a park where I sat for about four hours, occasionally talking to people who either wanted a picture with me or just wanted to chat with a foreigner.

 I am oddly fascinated by doorways in China. The above was taken in the garden, this one in the zoo.

 Parrots!

 The cage of horrors.

Sunset at Suzhou train station.

I arrived back in Xi'an at 9:20 in the morning on Wednesday, which meant that I was back at university just in time to participate in the second lesson of the day. I am now adjusting back to getting-up-at-8-life and trying to cure myself of this cough. Tea is my best friend. Also my bed.
Chinese Word of the Day: 口罩 kouzhao, mask. Pollution in Xi'an reached hazardous levels yesterday :( It's back to normal today though. A true rollercoaster ride of visibility and life quality.

Talk to you guys soon!