February 1, 2007

• China Blog: Day 160. (Backpacking China: Day 21) 
  
  21:04 Beijing Time
  
  Phrase Of The Day: Wangluo! Ta shi cun zai de!(The Internet! It lives!)

  AT LAST!

  Yes, folks, for the first time in over a month I can FINALLY update!

  Sorry, sorry, sorry for the absence, but for once life has been COMPLETELY out of my hands. After returning from Shanghai my schedule got so hectic that, by the time I could blog properly, a rather inconsiderate earthquake off the coast of Taiwan destroyed China’s connections to the rest of the world. This made it particularly difficult to access most American servers, and nigh-on impossible to access others. Sadly, Xanga was included in the “others” section.

  It’s been a real shame, because I have had the most interesting month since my time in China. In the last 43 days, I have celebrated Christmas with the most bizarre Christmas dinner ever concocted by Westerners, made up with Fiona, stuck my tongue to the side of an ice palace, had my photo taken with Chairman Mao, almost been arrested in Tiananmen Square, and now I’m in a backwater mountain town learning Chinese!

  I know how much folk dislike long, rambling “I-did-this-and-I-did-that” entries, so I’ll skip that and jump straight to the juicy stuff. Right now I’m on my travels around this totally awesome country, with my brand new Nikon D40 at my side, bought for 5000 RMB. I can’t upload any photos right now, but at my next port of call (A small town near Jinan, Shandong Province) I SHOULD be able to give you a photodiary of some of my experiences since leaving The ‘Chun.

  As for this week, and last week, I’m in a small town in Hebei province called Ping Shan (literally: Flat Mountain) at a Chinese bootcamp that Tessa brought to my attention. I’m having a great time, and yesterday I even sent my first tex message in Chinese characters! My oral Chinese is coming on faster than you can say “Hanyu!” and I’m getting to the point where I can manage full-on conversation. Along with the bootcamp, I’ve also led an expedition to climb one of the mountains in the PingShan range, learnt Chinese calligraphy under a world-renowned master, and learnt to use a Chinese dictionary.

  I also survived nearly wo whole WEEKS without nuirou chuan, a feat so far unprecedented in the history of my China life.

  Rural China is SO far removed from Changchun, Beijing, or any other place I’ve visited it isn’t even funny. Here even more so I’m treated with a mixture of reverence and awe. I almost feel bad taking as many photographs as I do. I’ve even taken to carrying a pack of cigarettes with me so I can offer something to people whose photo I take. (Travel Tip to all China Backpacker wannabes: ALWAYS carry a packet, even if you don’t smoke. They’re a great way to make instant friends.)

  There are things here that make our lives seem utterly alien. People here have a community spirit that has long since died out in the UK. From the mendicant dentist operating on a wooden dinner chair at the side of the path on market day, pulling teeth with a pair of pliers (I jest not) to the wheelbarrow-pushing farmwives talking in the rapid Hebei accent, Ping Shan has an aura of simple bustle and basic, busy lifestyles. Everywhere you look, people are stood talking in the street, children and animals roam freely, playing and frolicking amongst the dust from the construction of holiday resorts. It’s a sight that, like much of China’s traditional way of life, is disappearing under the weight of modern construction- Ping Shan is a booming resort and spa town, popular with Chinese government officials and Beijing businessmen looking to get away.

  The quality of life, by our standards, is fairly poor but the folk in the villages and the small towns surrounding Ping Shan are among the friendliest, most welcoming people it has ever been my pleasure to meet (With the exception of the restaurant owner who refused to serve me because I am a weiguoren) and the street food is second only to Xi’an in terms of sheer awesomeness. The countryside makes for fascinating photography, and I can honestly say that right now I am more comfortable with my environment than I ever have been in Changchun, Sunderland, or any other big city. I feel like a country boy once again. I can walk for ten minutes and be out among rolling foothills, farms, and empty plainsland without a soul in sight. It’s the closest I have come to heaven in China- the nearest thing to Shangri-la I have found so far.

  For the first time in six months, I almost feel at home.

  So much so, that come Sunday, it will be hard to leave it all behind.

  • 8:29 am
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