10 Reasons To Live In China One Day: #7

七。People

The people you will meet in China are some of the kindest and most sincere people you will ever come across - fact. There's much to be said about how easy it is to settle into a place with such a foreign culture when the vast majority of people are welcoming and willing to help. Sure, it's not easy when the language barrier is such a big factor that can isolate you, but most people are very patient and friendly, willing to look past the fact that you can't communicate in the same words. At least, in my experience, it's true.

Some of the fondest memories of China I have so far are of the friendships I made in hostel dorm rooms when I was travelling. Fleeting as they may have been, they certainly left a lasting impression on me. I remember it coming as a lovely surprise when I woke up one morning in Shanghai with a fellow dorm mate patiently waiting for me to wake up so she could hand deliver some biscuits and sweet treats from a local bakery she bought for me and my friends. We exchanged WeChat contacts and although we never actually spoke again apart from the odd comment on my pictures, it was the first time I'd experienced such a selfless act of friendliness in China.

Later on when I went to Xiamen, Fujian Province, I met yet more locals who undoubtedly made my time there even better. Sam, Haroon and I became good friends with two girls manning a waffle stall in Zeng Cuo An food market. We became particularly friendly with a girl called Dracula (yes, what a name!) who I bonded with because she was originally from Tianjin. The following day, she offered to show us around a little more, taking Sam and I for a little trip to the park and out to lunch at 'Grandma's House' (外婆家 - one of my favourite Chinese restaurant chains). It's easy to be sceptical of people who want your contact details almost as soon as they meet you. Certainly, if the same thing happened to me in London, I'd be massively guarded but living in China has definitely made me more trusting of people's good intentions. If you don't engage with the people, you'll miss out on opportunities to experience the culture and lifestyle in China beyond your expat bubble.

Haroon, Sam, Me, Nicki and Dracula - Xiamen, April 2016

It's not just the locals that make China though, it's the expat and traveller community too. The group of British Council English Language Assistants that I went out to China with are genuinely a bunch of people who I have come to call good friends. We were all there for each other when we needed to rant about a crap day of teaching. We travelled together. They've shared a big part of my life and understand exactly what I mean when I make a China reference (without getting annoyed that I might be mentioning it too much in conversation).

A young, clueless bunch of English Language Assistants in Beijing

Fellow travellers I came across have also become good friends. I had the pleasure of meeting up again with Poppy who I travelled to Dali with during Spring Festival very recently. We caught up over many cups of tea, sharing more travelling stories together and appreciate the funny sides. Poppy mentioned that she told one particular story to her friends about a typical Chinese tourist she came across in Portugal who she had somehow become a personal photographer for during a hike. The trouble was that to her friends, it was just a story about her taking photos of a stranger, but to us, it was hilarious simply because we knew that it was just "soo China" and I could completely visualise exactly what happened as she told the story because I'd experienced similar things too.

Me and Poppy hanging out in trees by Erhai Lake, Dali

Having other people in the same boat as you, who understand the strange and wonderful context of China only consolidates your experience. It's not the easiest of countries to crack but the people there and the people you meet certainly make it worth it.

Farewell Beijing

So things got a little messy the night we ended up at Adam’s and Vics. But, we still had one more day of sightseeing in Beijing to get through before heading to our respective cities. The day began with a visit to Beijing’s National Museum - which was huge. It was probably a good thing that we could just wander each exhibit in our own time because most of us felt quite fragile from lack of sleep. It wasn’t really anything to rave about, but nice to find out a little bit about China’s history and see some antique artefacts. Later we went to the Temple of Heaven but admittedly, I wasn't feeling up for exploring the grounds. The lack of sleep was starting to kick in, unhelped by the hot weather.

Arriving back at the hotel accommodation, we were given schedules for times we were expected to depart on coaches the following morning to catch trains to our cities. Most of us weren't too pleased by the 6am departure times but I suppose being able to say goodbye to the majority of the gang at the train station all at once was a plus.

We'd decided to have one last night together visiting some of the famous hutongs (alleyways) in Beijing and having a quiet drink. It was nice to browse some of the shops for some souvenirs. I'd even treated myself to a clip-in hair flower accessory to keep up with the latest Chinese fashion trends (more on this in later posts).

We had a bit of a nightmare hailing taxis to take us back to the accommodation. Drivers would either refuse because they insisted we were on the wrong side of the road or because they had absolutely no idea where it was. The concept of a queue is also pretty much non-existent in China too, so we'd often get close to flagging a taxi down before some other random people jumped in before us. It was frustrating to say the least that our 'quiet final night out' ended with us getting back later than intended having spent an hour trying to get taxis.

Still, I look back on the time in Beijing really fondly. Even now, two months into living in China, Mentougou training camp and the people I spent those intense first two weeks with hold a special place in my memory. I even miss it a little from time to time. It really was a great way to start this China experience. Instead of ending this post on a bum note, here's a photo of one of the leaving cards I received from students during the training camp. I think it summarises my time in Beijing well, and set the tone for what I was about to embark on as I moved onto Tianjin:

Cheers Shirley! Who doesn't love being told they have a childlike innocent heart and sweet smile?

Becoming a hero

“You’re not a hero until you’ve climbed the Great Wall”, so the famous saying goes.

It was yet another early start the day we embarked on an adventure to conquer the Great Wall. I am happy to say that, as according to the saying, I indeed became a hero! I can now check off ‘Climb the Great Wall of China’ off my bucket list, huzzah! I guess I didn’t really go in with too many expectations, but here were some surprises:

1. It should probably be renamed the Great Wall(s) of China
   It’s a common misconception that the Great Wall of China is just one long stretch of wall, but in fact, it’s split up and you can climb different sections of the wall. When we were dropped off by our coach, tour guide Dave said we had a couple of hours to climb to the top and meet back at the car park to move on to the next tourist attraction he had scheduled. To my surprise, there were two different parts of the wall to choose from. Dave pointed out that the section to the left was incredibly steep and would probably take a long time to climb to the peak and regrettably (although not that much), I chose the ‘easier’ side. It was a bit of a blue pill/ red pill choice. It’s not to say it wasn’t tiring, but part of me wishes I took on the challenge of the harder to climb wall. On the other hand, the side I did choose had varyingly steep steps which made the descent back to the car park especially nerve-racking. The last thing I wanted was to have said I got to the top of the wall, but also broke my leg on the way down (although that would have been a good one to tell the kids one day), so I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been to walk back down on the other side. Don’t fret though! You’ll be happy to know I made it down in one piece.
2. Cats live on the Great Wall. 
   Half way up our climb, we were drawn in by a sweet little ginger cat completely content with life. Needless to say, this cat was a true hero. Here’s a photo of Fraser looking the happiest I’ve ever seen him in the company of the Great Wall cat:
   
   
   
3. You can also get ice cream on the Great Wall
   There are obviously some clever Chinese people out there looking to make the most of the thousands of tourists who visit the Great Wall every day. I for one really appreciated the fact that I could stop off for some shade and enjoy a little ice cream break. Kudos ice cream sellers!

It really was a great feeling getting to the top of the Wall and getting a panoramic shot of China. By this point, it hadn’t really felt like I was really in China yet. The first few days were such a blur. Things happened so quickly and I was half asleep most of the time fighting against jet lag. We were then whisked away into the middle of the mountains and lived isolated from the proper world. Not being able to leave the school campus made it feel like we were living in a bubble. But finally, this was it. The real China!

I was really grateful for the beautifully clear skies that day, a rarity in somewhere like China as I would soon learn. We of course had a mini photoshoot when we reached the top. We all needed proof that we had conquered the Great Wall of China to show everyone back home. Here’s me living up to my ‘Super Asian’ persona, peace sign and all. 

I managed to get a really sweet photo of the gang with my Instax. This photo now sits nicely in the middle of my photo collage above my desk as a reminder of the great people I’ve met since being in China and how grateful I feel to have shared my first few weeks in China with them having an absolute ball.

(Excuse the chipped nail varnish…)

Next up on the list on the first official day of sightseeing was the Summer Palace. 

It was a bit of a shame that our schedule was so jam packed that we couldn’t spend more time exploring the Summer Palace. We were given a short tour and speeches about the history of the palace before being given a little time to wander around for ourselves. We took a stroll down the seemingly never-ending Long Corridor, admiring some of the original painted decorations along the inside. Given more time, I would have liked to have gone inside the Incense Tower (pictured above). I’m sure the Summer Palace is the kind of place you could spend an entire day at and still not have explored all of its corners. This can only mean one thing – must go back and visit properly!

Still, my day was made by this one particular woman who had her selfie game on point. Forget your selfie sticks, this woman came with her own tripod and a sassy 'I don't need no man' attitude. 

 Good on you gurl!

That night, we decided to experience some Beijing night life. It was lucky that I had a good friend who had been living and working in Beijing for a few months already. Andrew actually very sweetly came to visit me on the day I flew into Beijing. I remember feeling so jet lagged that actually seeing him for the first time in ages felt like a dream. He recommended we check out what Sanlitun, a district in Beijing popular for bars and expat clubs, had to offer.

Our confidence was still on a high since being able to successful order food using limited Chinese, so we jumped in cabs and uttered the words ‘Sanlitun’, hoping that the taxi driver would know where we meant. Success! 

We ended up at a LGBT friendly bar called Adam’s, drawn in by the bold rainbow flags that hung either side of the bar sign. The board outside indicated we missed out on the 'Buy one get one free before 8pm' cocktail deal, but we managed to convince the owner to extend the offer for just one hour longer.

The cocktails weren't too bad. I stuck with what I knew (mojitos and the like) but Sam's inclination to order something a little different didn't go down too well. When in Beijing, it would only be fitting to order a cocktail called a Beijing Romance, right? Well, word of advice for anyone thinking of making the same mistake - that cocktail is far from romantic and you should steer well clear.

We'd also ended up in what I would describe as China's answer to Oceana, or Pryzm as I think it's now been rebranded as. I can't say it's really my scene, but the night was hilarious for many reasons. Charlotte provided endless laughs and it was great to finally let off some steam after what was an intense introduction to life in China. Perhaps though, our decision to have such a late night wouldn't bode too well the next day when day two of official sightseeing kicked off... 

Exploring Beijing: Part II

With training camp completed, we were given a few days in Beijing to do some sightseeing before departing to our respective cities as fully fledged English teachers. We were all packed up, ready to leave the mountains by 9am and arrived at the hotel complex of Beijing’s Capital Normal University later that morning. We didn’t want to waste any time in Beijing so a group of us decided to take a trip to Beijing Zoo.

We braved navigating the Beijing subway – not unlike the London Tube network - and found the Zoo with little difficulty. It was a pretty warm day, but fun to see all the animals. Of course, we bee lined for the Pandas (when in China and all that) and became well acquainted with the monkeys, bears and elephants. I’d decided to truly embrace the zoo experience and be incredibly Asian by buying some giraffe ears. This has since earnt me the nickname ‘Super Asian’. For anyone who knows me well, this nickname is for all intents and purposes highly ironic.

(Photo credit to Daisy and Charlotte)

We’d purchased combo tickets which gave us entry to the panda enclosure and a boat ride up a river. There was also a speedboat ride you could go on for about 25RMB (£2.50), which I decided to skip because we were already due a boat ride. But this was the wrong decision to make. It was –the worst- boat ride I’d ever been on. Packed onto a little boat like sardines, the heat was intense. There was nothing to see along the route, no soothing sea breeze to cool us down from the hot weather. Things got sweaty. Throughout the whole journey, I couldn’t think of anything but how much I wanted to get off. For some in the group, it was technically the first boat ride they’d ever been on and I couldn’t help but feel terribly sorry for them having to endure what we did as a first time experience. Onwards though! I guess it was a good job I had my giraffe ears to lighten my mood.

That night, we also decided to skip the buffet dinner food provided by our accommodation. By this point, we had buffet style food coming out of our ears so decided to venture to a local food street for a more authentic feeling Chinese dinner. Unlike western eating traditions, Chinese people order or make several dishes which everyone around the table share amongst themselves. So if you’re a ‘JOEY DOESN’T SHARE FOOD’ type of person, China may not be for you.  

The pictures on the menu helped, but with my limited Chinese, I was able to decipher what type of meat each dish contained and order everyone a bowl of rice (Dad, I know you must be proud). We’d actually ended up with a pretty decent range of food and fell in love with a spicy stir fried asparagus dish. Full stomachs all round, we were pretty pleased with ourselves for being able to successfully order our first Chinese meal! 

Exploring Beijing: Part I

So teaching at the English camp was intense for the most part, but we were treated to a day off one Sunday and taken to a temple older than Beijing city itself AND, wait for it... a supermarket! I cannot stress enough how happy a mere trip to the supermarket made us. It truly was a treat considering we'd been isolated in the mountains, training day in, day out. We were warned in no uncertain terms not to leave campus as there was a river nearby which would lead to certain death if we fell in. Needless to say, I didn't fancy my chances.

Tanzhe Temple 

CEAIE organised a little excursion for us to visit one of the oldest temples in Beijing. Tanzhe Temple is over 1,700 years old and is said to have been established before Beijing was known as a city.

Abuzz with tourists and locals, we were let loose to explore the temple grounds. Some of its main attractions included an emperor and empress tree over 1000 years old, a big bronze pot used by monks to cook with and a beautiful golden prayer wheel we decided to get involved with.

Of course, no cultural excursion would be complete without creating unforgettable memories. For us, the trip to Tanzhe Temple was made unforgettable by walking through a stone gate (pictured below) and embarking on what can only be described as the path with no end...



Dave, our English speaking tour guide, made no mention of this never-ending mountain climb during his speech about the unmissable attractions at the temple. Perhaps this should have been our first clue not to embark upon this journey. The walk began with a gentle stroll, but soon became a steep upward struggle up a mountain. I have to admit - I am in no way, shape or form a sporty person. It seemed we walked forever under the belief that the end must be close by. We were mistaken.

There was a local Chinese man who appeared to blitz his way up the pathway, stopping at particular intervals to scream at the top of his lungs in a monkey-like/ Tarzan manner. It was pretty hilarious to begin with, but eventually his screams became quieter and quieter. This meant only one thing - we must have a long way to go. We wondered whether we'd make it up alive. 'It can't be much further', we told ourselves. We were determined...ish.

(Sam taking a photo of the best view we could find)
It didn't take long for us all to agree none of us quite had it in us to try and get to the top. I guess the only good thing is that we managed to see a nice panoramic shot of a nearby town. The descent back to the main temple site was made with the overarching feeling that we'd wasted our time and energy, but at least my legs got a bit of a work out. I considered it a form of training for The Great Wall of China, which we'd tackle a few days later.

The coach ride to the supermarket was a sleepy one, but admittedly, our excitement at the prospect of browsing food aisles could not be contained. To give more context, the meals we ate during teacher training left much to be desired. We ate three square meals a day, served buffet style and catered to "western" ideas of what Chinese food should be. It was hard to pick out many differences between meals (noodles for breakfast, anyone?), so I can't emphasise enough how good it was to be able to buy snacks to break the monotony of our food eating routine. Hooray for Oreos and crisps! I also snuck some sweets in to my shopping basket to give out as prizes to my class in the last few days of teaching. Clearly, I was vying for teacher of the year already!

When it was time to head back to camp, our timing and luck could not be worse. We left the shopping mall and were met with what can only be described as an actual tsunami. Dave said we had to leave immediately, otherwise the roads back through the mountains could become too dangerous to drive through. We had no choice but to make a run for it to the coach.

As we ran, sheets of rain soaked us completely. Puddles became rivers but we waded on through. It was a soggy journey home. My converse went from white to an interesting shade of yellow-y beige. Needless to say, our first day off was pretty memorable.

(Rocking the drowned rat look, thanks Chinese rain storm!)

China's got talent

The Mentougou English Summer Camp Closing Ceremony was so much of a highlight for me, I thought it probably deserved a post of its own. So here's a really cringy, amateur attempt at video editing with some highlights of the acts during rehearsals. I was too busy whooping and hollering during the actual ceremony to take videos - but you get the idea...

Enjoy! x

Mentougou Closing Ceremony Talent Show 2015 from Annie Ly on Vimeo.

She'll be coming round the mountain

My first week and a half in China involved being whisked away to the mountains of Beijing's western district of Mentougou where I would embark upon an intense week of teacher training.

The days were long. Typically, the whole camp woke to the sound of motivational communist fanfare at 6am. Breakfast started at 7:30am, we ran lessons from 8:30-11:30 and had an extended lunch break in which I often napped in attempt to get over my jet lag. After lunch, we'd have a 3 hour session on teaching methodology and Chinese culture in preparation for a TEFL exam we'd complete at the end of the week to qualify as language assistants in China. After the formal teaching day was over, often in the evenings language assistants did extra curricular things like 'English corner' and games night. This wouldn't have seemed so bad if it weren't for the fact that this meant days ended at 9pm and we all still needed to lesson plan for the following day and/ or revise for TEFL quizzes. But it was also fun to let off a little steam, get to know the kids better and teach them the age-old favourite 'Duck Duck Goose'!

In all honesty, my camp teaching schedule was so jam-packed, it was hard to keep track of the days. It was tough going teaching classes of 30 mixed-ability kids, with ages ranging from 13-17, for 3 hours at a time. We were initially given specific topics to teach them based on a work booklet they were expected to complete - but the topics were incredibly random! One day, they were expected to learn about 'fusion-music' (whatever that is), another day on blood types, 3D printing or how to survive an earthquake... All incredibly useful English topics to know about in the modern day, I'm sure you would agree...

Along with the other lovely ELA's I was lucky enough to get on so well with at camp, evenings soon became group brainstorming sessions for games, songs and teaching ideas to somehow make lessons based on random topics more enjoyable. On one occasion, our "lessons" involved organising a whole camp game of 'Ooka Chaka', in which I think all the students learnt something really life-enriching - namely the ability to act out how to be a cat, mouse or elephant and how to run for your life when being chased by an opposing team!

When camp came to a close, it was selfies galore with all the students in Class 5. There was a camp closing ceremony where all classes participated in a talent showcase, but more on the 'China's Got Talent' style ceremony in another post. As exhausting as camp was, it was a really great learning experience. I have some hilarious memories of the kids I taught and the amazing ELA's I got to bond with in just a short amount of time.

Until next time!

Annie x