Nanjing

Nanjing is the capitol of Jiangsu Province and has twice served as the capitol of China. The city is hosting the National Games in less than a month, so they have been sprucing up the city. Among other things, all the taxis had been freshly painted bright green.

Today I went to Nanjing, a large city about 1 hour bus ride away. Matt and Corrine needed to get some more ram for their computer, and I just went along for the ride. Nanjing only has about 1 million more people than Yangzhou (just handful in China), but it is one more rung up the modernization scale. Nanjing is a Starbucks city, whereas Yangzhou has only acquired KFC and McDonalds. Nanjing also has a Walmart, a sandwich shop, and Mexican food. You might as well be in America.

The journey was a bit of an adventure because we had no Chinese speakers or even veteran travelers around, but it went quite successfully. The bus was absolutely posh – it looked like 1st class on a plane with comfy seats, AC, and a television. I couldn’t help but remembering my 16 hour bus ride in Laos last summer which was, shall we say, a good deal less luxurious. I could hardly believe the two trips were on the same mode of transportation.

As we were walking to the Mexican restaurant in Nanjing, I saw seven other foreigners. It’s only been two weeks since I left Beijing, but I have already gotten used to my teammates being the only white faces I see. Seeing other genuine westnerers caught me by surprise, and I stared in typical Chinese fashion.

When I came back this evening I went for a walk in a park outside of campus (the pictures show the park during the daytime). It was only about 7pm but already dark. The sun seems to set quite early here. The park was dark and peaceful, filled with couples and families on their evening strolls. I feel pretty safe wherever I go because even if I am by myself, I am always surrounded by people. I came out the far side of the park onto a street I had not been on before. After the stillness of the paths among the lakes and weeping willows, the street was bright and noisy, although still in a night-time sort of way. The light was more yellow and the atmosphere was closer because of the surrounding darkness. Vendors stood or squatted on the sidewalks with their carts of fruit or slabs of raw meat or piles of Chinese novels. Shopkeepers stood idly at the doors of their shops watching the people outside.

I love life in China because it happens everywhere right before your eyes. Sure, you see all the parts of life you really wished people would keep to themselves. But communities feel so much more connected here. It is like the disappearing "front-porch" culture of the South. It made me think that maybe if Americans’ homes weren’t quite so big and comfortable, we would be forced to step outside and interact with society.