Some Constants

Some aspects of China have not changed much since my last trip. Streets in older neighborhoods still have the same gritty atmosphere and characters; toddling babies, elderly men spitting upon the asphalt, motorbikes swerving around pedestrians, delicious smells of fried food and steamed buns wafting from food stalls...

  

My aunt and uncle work at a university in Changsha and live in housing on campus. Their apartment is right next to one of the canteens, and one chilly morning we headed down to eat some hearty and simple food. The canteen is exactly as it was before, no frills, just cheap and good food. Why change what works, right?

They sell some of my favorite breakfast foods, including all manner of steamed breads, including mantou (steamed bread), baozi (steamed bun stuffed with meat or a sweet filling), and zhuanzhi (steamed dough twisted into a roll and seasoned with sugar or onions). I've tried making these before, but for some reason the homemade ones are never as soft and fluffy. 

Right across the way is the faculty canteen, where the food is supposedly a bit better than the student side. They were serving noodles that morning as well as dim sum.

There is no heat in the eating area, so everyone bundles up in their winter coats and drinks steaming soy milk to warm up. Though Starbucks and other cafes have opened up plenty of outlets, the coffee culture hasn't quite permeated the Chinese market to the same extent as it has in the U.S. People do enjoy drinking it from time to time, but coffee has not yet become a daily ritual for the average person. Hence why you most likely won't find it sold in canteens. Coffee drinks are relatively pricey, and probably are consumed mostly by young people out with friends or by young professionals. 

There are many large, new malls in Changsha that sell both upscale Chinese and western labels. However, we decided to go to Gao Qiao, an older wholesale district that offers many traditional foods and knickknacks. The area is packed with small stores, and we walked through an area with lots of dried goods such as dates, nuts, and goji berries. There is a lot of selection, so buyers go along and try bits of the product before haggling the price with the vendor. 

I think this is some kind of squid?

Below is a photo of dried wood ear mushrooms, the same as what I ate in Hong Kong.

And of course one thing that hasn't changed yet is the pleasure of eating a large meal surrounded with family. We went to visit relatives who own their own small restaurant, and they were kind enough to cook our whole family a big meal full of fresh ingredients. In the photo below are my two grandmothers!

Large meals out with family are always great raucous fun, with people pushing each other to eat more and drink more, followed by the inevitable fight for the bill at the end. I'm glad these social customs still remain.

Tomorrow I'm leaving for my last trip of the winter break, to Hanoi in Vietnam. I hope that it's not as cold there as it is in China, and when I'm back in six days I'll be sure to post photos and updates! 

A Changing Landscape

It seems trite to say that China is changing, as it has been for the past few decades - and while the direction of the changes has remained similar to the past (towards urbanization, modernization), the scale of the change grows exponentially.

Last time I was here in 2010, in order to get from Changsha to Shenzhen I had to take an overnight train ride in a "hard sleeper," with 6 beds squeezed together in one train compartment. I slept on the top bunk in such a tight space that I couldn't sit up during the ride but had to remain lying down. Now the high-speed train system has opened, and the same inter-city journey only takes three hours.

The train runs so smoothly, despite reaching speeds of over 300 kilometers per hour! It was really interesting to look outside the window, though the ride was definitely comfortable enough to nap. We rode through mostly rural countryside, around hills and mountains, into deep tunnels. Despite these regions being far from the dense cities, no piece of land remained untouched. There is agriculture or construction everywhere, vast pieces of earth being cultivated or developed. 

We later visited a park in Changsha where we could observe the high speed trains whizzing by. They go by in a flash, it was so difficult to get a good photo! You hear a faint low rumbling and then whoosh! the sleek white train passes. 

Downtown Changsha is also being unearthed. The government has been developing a subway system for awhile (I remember construction happening from my last trip), and it's a massive operation, disrupting the flow of downtown vehicle and pedestrian traffic. I can't imagine how much work it must be to create underground tunnels in such an old and established city. Hopefully the subway system will help to alleviate the intense traffic jams that choke the city everyday. 

The city has also expanded on the outskirts with the housing boom. Large suburbs and units of apartments and condos have sprouted up, catering to the well-to-do who want to live outside of the hectic city. The housing estates are private, gated communities, sometimes themed in a particular architectural style. The community where my uncle lives has a Spanish theme - the houses are designed similarly and the street signs have Spanish words next to the Chinese. There are also perfectly manicured little paths and parks threaded throughout the suburb, dotted with plots of palm trees and elaborate fountains.  

This particular suburb was mixed with stand alone homes and condos in high rises. There were many empty units, as many residents have invested in real estate without renovating and moving in. You can tell when a house is lived in by whether there is a trash bin on the curb, and a condo unit by whether there are clothes hanging outside the windows to dry. The streets almost reminded me of a movie set, with fancy well-maintained houses but a vague unsettling absence of people.

Even though most well-to-do families own washing machines, most still prefer to air-dry clothes rather than buy a dryer. It's the original solar power! Even though temperatures were chilly, in the low 40s and upper 30s, there was a good amount of sunlight in the afternoon.