HUADU GLOWS WITH LIFE

The more time I spent in China, the more I felt that something amazing is occurring there, like the massive awakening of a people long hindered from revealing their true potential, and I felt privileged to be along for the ride (if only temporarily). The street market in Huadu is quite an experience. Think noisy carnival in the midst of a vast construction project; a contemporary urban garage sale packed with people until the late hours. The sounds of bargaining and hawking and techno music fill the hot, damp evening air as we stroll down the avenue, passing vendors displaying everything from lingerie to cell phones. One guy offered to cut my hair, which I declined, but I did break down and purchase a watch, which the seller assured me was made with “real metal.” A bargain at 20 Yuan, it stopped working 2 weeks later, lasting about 13 days longer than I expected. The animal market was truly a shocking ordeal. The smell of flesh and blood permeates the dank air, as merchants pedal snakes, turtles, chickens, fish, ducks, and much more. Butchers chop and weigh meat of the very freshest variety, and we draw more than a few stares from locals as I try to hide my revulsion. I wonder how many foreigners they encounter wandering through these halls of death. My guess is not many. We were looking for boiled scorpion, but couldn’t find any.

We used Huadu as our transportation hub, catching buses to other places of interest from a station in front of the New Century (a ritzy modern hotel), and other buses or vans back to the campus afterwards. We enjoyed a wonderful Korean meal one afternoon (aside from the Kim chi, which I will never like no matter how open-minded I try to be).

During my last evening in China, I was looking for some souvenirs of what I perceived as Chinese culture, such as a scroll featuring calligraphy and Chinese artwork. Locating such commodities in a place like Huadu is no easy task. Everyone is selling new technology and practical things, and there is next to no interest in cultural artwork or historical artifacts. However, after much searching, we found several excellent wall hangings with hanzi characters in a secluded bookstore on the third floor of an unassuming shop. Also, I wanted a Yao Ming basketball jersey, but mistakenly inquired of Albert if he knew where I could buy a Mao jersey. After much laughter at visions of Mao Zedong playing for the Houston Rockets, I assured him that if a Mao jersey existed, I wanted that too. I wish I could have captured more of this place and stolen it home with me.

CHINA RESHAPED MY WORLD

What an exciting, progressive, impressive, overwhelming, and authentic place is China. I am already drawn to return to this dichotomy of light and darkness, aspiration and despair, hope and desperation. My favorite parts of China are its levels of discomfort, of unfamiliarity, of enlightenment, and of danger. I wonder how many tourists visit this country and don’t ever really see it. Take this small piece of advice…when you travel, don’t bring your expectations with you. Enter with open eyes and a clean slate. The place will carve itself onto your psyche in a genuine and powerful way if you allow it. Pay no mind to reviews on Trip Advisor, which are full of luxury seekers. Be a truth seeker. If all you want is dependable room service, excellent cuisine, beautiful views, the highest level of comfort and the greatest amount of stars for your restaurants and hotels, then do the world a favor and seek these things closer to home.

There is no way to describe China without contradicting yourself. It is a nation of contradictions. Any traveler who experiences this cannot help but view it with equal levels of awe and disgust, and to describe it with both fondness and aversion. Be assured, if you have feelings within you, China will bring them out.

Tomorrow I leave for Greece, the Greek Islands, Turkey, and Israel. I wish you all the best until I return with more stories. Thank you for sharing the adventure with me.

AN AFTERNOON IN GUANGZHOU

Today we take the relatively short bus to Guangzhou (also known as Canton), the third most populous city in mainland China. Half of the world’s cranes must be here, as construction crews modernize and renovate the face of the city around the clock. The first place we journey is underground to the brand new state of the art metro system that snakes its way beneath the massive city. The slick and efficient trains are packed beyond imagination, and Albert advises me take my wallet out of the “sucker pocket” (back pocket) and guard it more closely. We disembark at a stop called “Comic City”, which we soon discover is an extravagant and colorful shopping mall. Several signs display slightly flawed English translations, such as “Please Do Not Littering”, or “Stay Here is Prohibited”, which most likely refers to homeless people or loiterers. Hey, at least they are trying. In America, it’s English or nothing.

After perusing the aisles of pirated DVD’s and various electronics (avoiding fashion clothing stores like the plague) we stop at a quaint but sleek looking sushi bar and order all-you-can-eat. We are seated and given hot tea and fruit flavored soda, and the rules are explained to us. There is conveyer belt carrying an assortment of sushi dishes by, and we may take any we like (except those on blue plates, which are expensive gourmet dishes). Since each color dish has a certain price value, we immediately decide to eat at least double the value of our “all-you-can-eat” price. Also, we insist on eating more than everyone around us, and make a big show of measuring our stack of plates against our neighbors. The young Chinese couple next to us thinks it is all just hilarious, and explaining why we consumed so much, Albert jokingly tells them, “We are robbing them,” which only elicits more laughter.

Next we head over to “Beijing Street”, a district of the city boasting the historically preserved remains of roads dating back to all of the ancient dynasties of China. The roads lie at various levels beneath the ground, and can be viewed through glass floors in the center of the main street. As usual, tourists are interested in China’s past and tradition, while locals are attracted to the future and to progress.

I get to do my own bargaining for the first time with a street vendor, who punches his price for a jade bracelet into a calculator and shows it to me. I push the calculator away, wanting to practice my Chinese, and tell him the price is too much, and offer a lower amount. We eventually settle on a price, and although I probably could have bought it for less had I been shrewder, I feel satisfaction for having navigated the transaction successfully on my own. On the streets, although littering is common, there are tireless workers everywhere sweeping the roads with giant witch brooms and gathering trash.

We later visit a peaceful nature park on an island in a lake in the heart of the city, with serene walkways winding through dense greenery offering splendid views. It is a perfect example of the eternal battle between civilization and nature. In China, progress and expansion are crushing nature, but it is good to see parts of it preserved even within sprawling cities. We stumble across a small deserted carnival, and after playing a few short games of air hockey and one involving shooting at multicolored balloons, the dreary staff is crushed to see us leave.

HONG KONG, THE NEW CITY OF LIGHTS

After a four hour bus ride from Huadu, we arrive at the Hong Kong customs station. Inside, I start snapping photos and a smartly-dressed security guard runs at me and shouts “no photo!” or something to that effect. It seems strange to me that I should need an additional visa to get back into China after visiting HK, which I had naively thought was just another Chinese city. But since the British handed control back to the PRC in 1997, they treat it almost like a sovereign territory. Hong Kong has its own currency (HK Dollars), its own traffic laws (they drive on the left side of the road like the British), and its own border security.

We exchange our RMB in for HKD and then we get “Octopus Cards”, which will work as payment for the subway as well as many nearby eateries and shopping centers. As we stroll through Kowloon, dodging traffic and hawkers (aggressive street vendors), we notice the gold medal match for women’s beach volleyball (China v. US) playing live in one restaurant, so I suggest we eat lunch there. I order fried eggplant and noodles and Albert orders chicken and curry (welcome to HK, the international cuisine!). I am surprised to be given a fork rather than chopsticks. USA wins the match and we silently cheer.

We finally locate the hostel we were looking for (run by a friend of Albert’s, a kind and helpful chap named Stanly) and discover that they have no available rooms. However, the hostel next door, also run by Stanly, does have a room for us! After dropping off our things, we head out into the city, destined for the world-famous Hong Kong harbor. The nice thing about the harbor is that there is no traffic, and hawkers aren’t allowed, the result being a much more relaxing environment. Fountains, sculptures, palm trees, and various exhibits on the Olympics dot the harbor area, but even in this serene locale, one simply cannot escape the mood of excited advancement and swift prosperity that exudes from the city.

Walking along the bay, we stroll down the “Avenue of Stars”, Hong Kong’s version of Hollywood, featuring actors, directors, and various other celebrities of China. I can scarcely get a clear view of Jackie Chan’s star long enough to take a photo because of its popularity with Chinese tourists. An iron statue of Bruce Lee watches over the city. We sip macchiatos in front of Starbucks and watch people for a while, just taking in all of the magnificent beauty of this thriving, progressive city. You will see many international tourists in HK, mostly of the Prada variety, but also many Chinese, who revel in the impressive modernity and success of this place. They beam with pride. Across the bay is Hong Kong Island with its towering structures and rolling hills.

We are lucky enough to catch a tour of the bay on a boat which is nearly deserted, and at the perfect time of night while the sun sets, throwing golden light on the reflective towers on the island. We arrive back at the harbor in time catch dinner and get a good spot overlooking the island for the nightly light show. Every night, Hong Kong Island dazzles spectators across the bay with colorful lights mounted on buildings, shining in sequence, and laser lights flashing through the sky, all coordinated with music playing on speakers at the harbor. We catch a late movie and sleep well in our small but cozy beds.

The next morning finds us departing in a hurry, ahead of schedule due to an approaching typhoon. As we rush through the subway station to catch the right train and reach the bus terminal in time, I decide that Hong Kong is an extraordinary mix of San Francisco and New York, with a dash of Hollywood thrown in for good measure.