Guangzhou: Watch Your Leg Hairs Carefully.

Travelling in China sure is humbling.  Very humbling.  The way my trip worked out, I had scheduled my trip in ever-decreasing levels of English usage – from the formerly British-run Hong Kong to Macau, and now, the industrial city of Guangzhou.  I was a little nervous to be heading there – with a healthy dose of excitement to be sure, but as it was my first destination in mainland China, I was curious how difficult it would be to travel around.

And, well, much like the U.S. soccer team recent venture in the World Cup, my success was... mixed.

Basically, whenever you visit China, it will be the closest you will come to experiencing near total  illiteracy.  We're spoiled, since coming from a native English background, we grow used to seeing English words or fragments wherever we go.  No matter the country, whether it's navigating the metro in Paris to ordering dinner in Cairo, you normally can get by with guessing.

However, China is vastly different.  The country has only a tiny bit of English translation in use for tourists, so it's a mixture of fun and frustration having to navigate cities using only the slightest visual clues for guidance.  From taking the bus (numbers are Roman lettering, text/announcements aren't), to looking for street names, it's a challenge – and occasionally one that made me want to tear my remaining hair out of my head.  Even my eyes seemed eager for a break from all the complex Chinese characters, quickly jumping to wherever a scrap of English popped up on a sign.  Like this one, in fact:

Talk about prepared, huh?

But that's the logistical side of things – overall, China is a blast to be in with its own mix of contradictions in its exotic, irritating, super-helpful, sometimes incredibly selfish nature...

Getting to Guangzhou was a foreshadowing of this, as I wandered to the bus station to order a bus ticket.  No English, and my serious lack of Cantonese beyond the token hello/thank you made the process a little painful.  But, mutual patience and smiles made it work, and after navigating the warehouse-sized immigration control (with the plus side of finding a decent small bottle of tax-free Johnny Walker for about $3), I was on a bus and on my way.

As a bit of background, Guangzhou is a fast-growing Chinese city (duh - which one isn't??), and it has been making great strides in upgrading its infrastructure.  Thankfully for the tourist, that included a spotless and efficient metro system, that took me across to town for the princely sum of about $.20 a ride.

The downside is that popping out to find my hotel, I had my first experience with the perils of Chinese street signs.  Pure and simple, I got lost.  Hopelessly lost.  Wandering around the chaotic streets by the train station, waddling around doing my best turtle impersonation with my large rucksack, it was painful, especially since I KNEW my hostel was within 400 meters.  Sigh.

But, 30 minutes of sweaty perseverance paid off, and I finally got sorted into air-conditioned bliss, before heading back out to check out the town.

Back on the metro, a little boy was quite openly examining me with an intrigued look on his face – white folks are still something of a novelty to the average Chinese, I guess.  All of a sudden, what does the kid do?  Reaches over and pinched a bunch of my leg hairs.  Not just once, but three times – all the while his mother was mortified and trying to stop him... I guess the temptation of my hairy legs overcame his natural shyness.  Sigh, again.

After sharing big smiles all around, it was off to Shamian Island – a smallish island in the river, full of 18th and 19th century colonial homes.  It was so peaceful compared the main city, that it was like a breath of fresh air.  But, just like so much of China, at least half of it was undergoing feverish renovation, from road to new bistros and posh boutique hotels.  I was struck by this cool statue showing the changes in the roles of women, from peasant farmer to today:

I took the local ferry across the river, looking forward to the view.  After paying my $.15, we puttered out, where I got a wide, sweeping vista of... well... this:

China has a SERIOUS smog problem that makes LA of the '70's seem like the most progressive of environmental paradises.  Nasty.  I read that it's a global problem too, as up to 25% of California's pollution is wind-born from China's surging industrial economy.

That aside, it was great grabbing some mystery meat and flatbread grilled over coals in the street, then my first Tsingtao beer by the river.  The staff of the restaurant were no less curious than the boy, and kept looking over my shoulder while I typed... a wee bit distracting!

Dinner was my first foray into the spicy world of Sichuan cooking, and at Chuan Guo Yan Ji, I was introduced to stir-fried green beans in chili, with fiery hot eel swimming in chili oil.  Chili, chili, chili – it was fantastic, but I was pretty sure I'd be paying the price later as I headed back to the hotel, which (wonder of wonders!) I found on the first try.  Genius.

My second day was both unremarkable, and strangely satisfying.  There were no amazing sights or anything but it was great to just walk about and explore a 'working' Chinese city.

Breakfast was another attempt at the language barrier – with steamed rice/pork wrappings in gravy called changfen at a local breakfast spot.  I just pointed at what someone was having, added a badly pronounced attempt at 'please', and was all set.  I got an approving nod at the way I used my chopsticks – I'm guessing they didn't get a lot of tourists wandering in.

Then, surprise surprise, I got hopelessly lost (again!) trying to find two temple complexes nearby.  Actually, that worked out really well, as I ended up in back alleys, with schools, houses, and little market streets.  And, being completely turned around, I even got to head down them again and again...

Once I found the first temple, it was well worth the effort.  Called the mouth-twisting “Bright Filial Piety Temple”, parts of the complex dated from the 4th century.  Just a great, and more importantly,  quiet place to soak up the incense, chants, and amazingly intricate detailed carvings.

Next up was the “Lost Mausoleum of the Nanyue King”, ruler of an 8th century mini-empire around G'zhou, which was a discovered when a hill in the city was being excavated for apartments.  Just like London and Rome, digging anywhere is a bit of a lottery exercise, with so much history underneath everyone's feet.  It must drive property developers nuts to have their carefully crafted plans derailed with the chance discovery of an ancient pot or tomb.

The crypt was interesting, but the highlight was the suit of woven jade that surrounded the body.  With 2200 pieces, it was believed to protect the body from decay, and the authorities had to laboriously put it all back together.  Talk about the ultimate in jigsaw puzzles!

A rare find of my favorite German beer – Bitburger – at a riverside pub, and then it was dinner at Panzi's, a sprawling complex with a dozen big rooms and exquisite food.  No big use of fiery spice, but my sauteed octopus was just perfect.

And hey, for the second night in a row, I found my hotel room sans problem.  Maybe this Chinese language thing isn't as bad as I thought...