Guizhou – The Kinetic Canuck

Guiyang: Day trips

Guizhou might be poorer than other Chinese provinces, but what it lacks in financial wealth, it makes up for with rugged beauty. The province boasts plenty of natural wonders, such as caves and China’s tallest waterfall, and it is also culturally relevant as well, with its many minority villages. If you head out to this part of China, and visit only Guiyang City, you’ll be missing out on a lot! Let’s take a look.

Day Trips

There are plenty of short trips you can take and still be back in time for hot pot in Guiyang City. On this last trip, we had plans to visit China’s tallest waterfall, Huangguoshu, but there was a mix up with our driver and he thought we wanted to go to a waterfall that was much closer to the city. We stayed flexible and decided to make 2 stops closer by instead. Here’s what we did.

Tianhetan

I had never heard of Tianhetan when we lived in Guiyang, and it is all in very good shape, so I think it might be a new attraction, built quite recently. Our plan was to go to Huangguoshu, but our driver wasn’t actually prepared to go that far for the 500rmb we had negotiated. Instead, we agreed to pay him 80rmb and he dropped us off at the park and went on his merry way. I’m still not entirely sure if he just genuinely misunderstood us, or if he was trying to make an easy buck on (what he thought were) some dumb foreigners, but either way, I didn’t want to be in a car with him all day, so I was happy with the solution.

As is usually the case in Guizhou, the park was lush and green and not too crowded. (By Chinese standards anyway)

We hiked around for a little bit and enjoyed the scenery. There was a coffee shop that made pretty awful sour coffee and poor Kim ended up with an insect in hers, but at least coffee was available! Guizhou has come a long way!

We didn’t really have a specific plan of what we wanted to see in Tianhetan, because we’d only learned about it that morning, but we moseyed around and eventually came upon signs for a cave. Caves are one of Guizhou’s specialties. On we went!

The boatride into the cave was a bit cheesy but honestly quite enjoyable. The cave itself was very well lit up, and there were plenty of beautiful areas. It went on for much longer than I expected it to! Of course, there are people snapping your photo along the way and you can buy them a little further down the cave for an inflated price. It’s a nice momento if you happen to look good in the picture (I almost never do).

China’s caves are always brightly lit up, so they don’t overwhelm me the way some caves do. There are enough distractions.

We were actually trying to find the waterfall, but weren’t too tenacious about it. We kept enjoying the paths and eventually found our way out of the park and onto the next leg of our journey.

A suspension bridge that Dave and I wanted to go on, but they were charging an extra so we passed.

Qingyan Ancient Town

I’ve actually been to Qingyan Ancient Town 3 times now, and each time it was pleasant in its own way. Like many ancient towns, there are shops galore where you can buy silver jewelry and plenty of Guizhou specialty snacks.

There are plenty of restaurants where you can sit down and have some lunch as well. Make sure to try the Yang Yu Ba (potato patties). They are stellar! Pigs feet are also always on the menu in this ancient town.

We didn’t stay for long on this trip, because we’d spent so much time in Tianhetan, and we ended up in a Guizhou-style thunderstorm, so we headed back before I’d really wanted to. If you’re looking for a chill way to spend some time, Qingyan Ancient Town is a great way to achieve that goal. You can easily pair this trip with a visit to Tianhetan as well, because both are easily accessible by Didi.

Weekend Trips

There are honestly so many different places where you can take weekend Trips in Guizhou. For this post, I’m only writing about the places that I have personally been. The two trips that Dave and I took while living in Guiyang are still some of my favorite memories of living out that way. Zhenyuan Ancient Town and Xijiang Minority Village are definitely worth the trip!

Xinjiang Minority Village

Xijiang and Kaili were actually one of our last stops when we lived in Guiyang. Looking back, I really wish we had done more traveling out there, but we were pretty overwhelmed at the time and I worked quite a bit. I am glad that we at least made time for Xijiang though.

Minority villages are everywhere in China, but the closest we’ve come to feeling like one was authentic was in Guizhou. You’ll see traditional architecture in these towns and people will often be in traditional costumes as well. There are always trinkets and souvenirs to buy and local food to taste. When we lived in Guizhou, I took this a bit for granted. I found Xijiang to feel a lot more authentic than Tongli, in Suzhou.

People still live in these towns, and although it isn’t 100% authentically traditional, they are still farming with hand ploughs and there are beautiful rice paddies all around. It’s peaceful.

To get to Xijiang, you can take a bus or a slow train to Kaili. We actually went after classes one Sunday night, and got to Kaili at around 11pm. Getting a taxi was rough (it would be easier now with Didi), and when we got to our hotel, they didn’t want to take us, because we are foreigners.

They aren’t just being racist when they declined foreigners, although it certainly does feel that way. Only some hotels in China legally able to register foreign guests. That’s what makes things complicated

**Pro China Tip** I strongly suggest booking with Trip.com if you are staying in more remote places. We’ve had a few bad experiences in the past where we’ve arrived at the hotel, only to find out that they can’t take foreigners. If this happens when you booked with Booking.com, you aren’t going to get much support. If you go with Trip.com, however, they’ll find you a new room. They offer much better support in that regard.

Zhenyuan Ancient Town

Of all our weekend trips during our time in Guizhou, my favorite was definitely Zhenyuan. We went there in an attempt to escape the noise and pollution of the city. We needed to unwind and Zhenyuan was perfect for that.

This clean and peaceful river was soothing to my culture shocked soul.

I wrote a couple of posts about our time in Zhenyuan, and they are actually 2 of my most viewed posts of all time. Not many people visit that little gem of a town, so they don’t realize that they’re missing out. Zhenyuan was the first little Guizhou adventure Dave and I took in that first year living in China, so it will always have a special place in my heart.

Walking around in Zhenyuan at night was beyond beautiful! The trip up the river was really nice as well!

If you want to read more about our trip to Zhenyuan, you can click here or here! There are lots of pictures and tips of what you can do and see there!

6 years later and I’m still proud of this picture!!

Other Options

Of course, these are just the places we ended up going, but there are plenty of other places you can visit within a day as well. Huangguoshu Waterfall along with the beautiful scenery nearby is an excellent option. Dragon Palace is nearby too, where you can see over 90 karst caves. Guizhou is full of natural beauty that you can see on a day trip outside of Guiyang.

If you have a bit more time, there are some incredible options to see other ancient towns, hike Mount Fanjing, or even visit Zunyi, home of China’s most famous brand of alcohol: Moutai.

With Guizhou’s milder climate and natural beauty, I really don’t think you can go wrong visiting this beautiful province. I may be a little biased because I called this place home for a year, but I think that as long as you have a sense of adventure Guiyang is a must see if you live in China!!

There is a higher ratio of squatter toilets in Guizhou, and your bed may not be as soft as you’re used to, but those are minor inconveniences in return for all this province has to offer!

The next stop on this epic 2021 Summer trip is the city of Yangshuo, in Guanxi Province!! We were there once before, but this trip was just as epic (and full of totally new experiences!!)

Spoiler: It was Beautiful!!!

Guiyang City

To some, Guiyang might seem like a pretty mundane place. It doesn’t have Pandas, like Chengdu, or Gardens, like Suzhou. It doesn’t have the glitz of Shanghai or the history of Beijing. But that certainly doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth visiting, and here’s why…

Abundant Beauty

Now, I know that there are certainly some run-down areas of Guiyang, but it’s undeniably pretty too! Downtown, by the river, is always a lovely place to take a walk.

The limestone mountains in the area also make the city beautiful. I’ve been going through a lot of my old blog posts recently, and found a great video in one of my last posts before we left Guiyang. You can watch it here.

There are a few things you can do in Guiyang too, like visiting the minority museum or popping by a Temple near the river.

Dave circa 2015, “holding up” the minority museum

We only stumbled upon this temple in our 2021 trip. We lived in Guiyang for a year without every seeing it!

The thing I find most beautiful about Guiyang isn’t its pagodas or temples though. What I love most is the abundance of trees in Guiyang. It’s the greenest city I’ve seen in China. I really hope this doesn’t change as it continues to develop.

Food!

For me, Guiyang is all about food! Hot pot, disc barbecue, street food, spices, fresh herbs…. Guizhou has it all! There are more varieties of hot pot than anywhere else I know of in China. Hot and Sour fish hot pot, fermented soybean Hotpot, creamy kidney bean hot pot…I cannot get enough of it!

And hot pot isn’t where it ends! One of the things that I love about Guiyang’s food scene is that there are still so many Mom and Pop type places all over the city. We never had to go to a single franchise restaurant the whole time we were there. In fact, we hardly see them! Great little craft beer places and independent coffee shops have opened in recent years too!

Our favorite noodle shop. Their prices have barely gone up in 6 years and the noodles are still EXACTLY the same

And of course, there’s street food! Glorious, delicious street food! It can’t all be trusted to be clean, admittedly, but generally, if there is a line up, it’s safe!!

Octopus balls. These are really commonly found in Taiwan

Rotisserie wings and drums!!!! The stuff of legends!!!

Monkey Park (Qinglingshan)

On this last trip to Guiyang, we didn’t make it to Qinglingshan, but we’ve been there many times in the past, so I thought I should include it in this post. Qinglingshan is home to hundreds of cheeky macaques who will steal your food, drink your water and try to take off with your bag.

It is a lovely place to spend a day visiting though, and you won’t regret making the trip, even if your water does get stolen.

On our last trip, actually, the bigger problem was the people, not the monkeys. For some reason, people seemed to think it was ok to throw garbage at the macaques. I told off two different people who were doing this and encouraging their kids to join in too.

Don’t be cheeky to them and they might not be cheeky with you!

The park is huge, so you can easily spend a day there. Honestly, I have been there half a dozen times and still haven’t seen it all! There are plenty of trails to follow, and all over the park you’ll find people dancing, playing traditional instrument’s, spinning tops, or maybe even fighting off a monkey. There’s never a dull moment!

If you’re looking for beauty, great food, and a laid back place to spend a few days, Guiyang is a great spot for you! The weather is comfortable and the cuisine is to die for… Make your way to Guiyang soon!

It’s a great place to see, either solo, or with a group of friends!

I’ll be back soon with some ideas for day trips in Guizhou province and even some suggestions for weekend getaways! Check back soon!!

Guiyang: Then & Now

My relationship with Guiyang City has always been complicated. I spent my year there trying to be positive, when I was working at a school that treated me quite poorly. Culture Shock was hard on me, and I found myself extremely homesick. Making that big of a move can be difficult for even the strongest relationships. I had a lot going on when I lived in Guiyang in 2014 and 2015.

Dave and I enjoying some Douchi, a fermented soybean Hotpot.

Since then, of course, I’ve changed. I’ve adapted pretty well to life in China, I’ve become more self sufficient here and learned quite a bit more of the language. I’ve also “found myself”. In Guiyang, I was trying to figure out who I was outside of my 8 years in sales. Who was I, if I wasn’t living in small town Canada? Now I know who I am. I’m a musician. I’m an animal rescue. I’m a blogger. I’ve accomplished things that I never imagined, like creating a Merchandise Line to raise money for animal rescue. I also weigh 10kg less than I did when I lived in Guiyang. I’m more comfortable in my own skin, and more confident in what I’m capable of.

Four of us are responsible for all of this. From the art, to the manufacturing, and the sales… We’ve built this brand and helped so many animals along the way.

All this is to say that going back to Guiyang these last 2 summers has been eye opening. So many of the grudges I’d held in my 5 years away are gone. I don’t feel small and shy, the way I did 6 years ago. I have since surrounded myself with people and peers who treat me like I am enough. I am adequate. I went from being on the brink of walking out of my job in Guiyang, to being put in charge of an entire English Program in the school where I’m teaching now.

Then and now I’m Zhongtian Hua Yuan, where we lived 6 years ago.

Guiyang has developed so much in the past 6 years. There is a metro here now, and the city is much better connected with the high speed rail. Traffic has improved as a result of the metro, and with Didis being available now, transportation above ground has become easier too.

Hunter Mall got a lot nicer. It also got a pet Alpaca…

Of course, some things still haven’t changed. Many of our favorite restaurants are still there. The city still has a great street food scene, and all our favorite treats. On the other hand, Guiyang got its very first McDonald’s while we lived there, and now there are many all around the city. Starbucks has popped up everywhere as well.

Our favorite fish hot pot place is still there. There prices have hardly gone up, and the food is as good as it’s always been!

The scenery around Guiyang is still as beautiful as ever as well. I haven’t seen a city in China as green as Guiyang.

Qinglingshan Park is gorgeous and it’s right in the middle of the city!

Surprisingly, some of the closest friends we made in Guiyang have still been around over the last few years we’ve visited. Catching up with them was fantastic. Some of my students also got in touch with me to meet up. Seeing these people 5-6 years later reminded me that although we didn’t have many friends in Guiyang, we did have a couple of really great ones.

Star, myself, Ivy and Yuki. Great kids that have turned into great young adults

Going through all of these old photos got me thinking of all the incredible kids I got to teach, of course, and although my place of employment back then wasn’t ideal, the job itself is what kept me going. There are kids there that I will never forget.

I gave her the English name ‘Martha’ because Martha was my favourite Dr. who companion. This student was so shy, and I wanted her to have a strong name, after a strong character

Of course, visiting Guiyang is very different from living there again, but these last two trips have been so great, I can’t help but consider the idea of us ending back there for a year or two. Suzhou is beautiful and comfortable, but the food and excitement of Guiyang can’t be beat. I also can’t help but wonder whether things would have been very different for us if we had been there after we’d already been in China for a few years first.

And if I’d worked somewhere where we are actually taken seriously as teachers. Sure, it was fun, but it wasn’t really a school.

I suppose this post is more of a reflection on how places and people change over time. When we left Guiyang in July of 2015, I could never have imagined I would end up loving the city so much just a few years later! Traveling really does shift perspectives, and I think there’s a lot of that happening here.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Especially in the case of food!!!

I have 2 posts planned for Guiyang. One to give people an idea of what can be done in the city, and the other with ideas of things you can do as a day or weekend trip if you come to Guizhou Province.

Stay Tuned!!!

2020: Vacation & Virus

2020 has been a very hard year for everyone… But I think expats have had unique challenges that people back home don’t really realize. I have friends who are separated from their spouses and kids, because boarders closed when they were apart. I know people who have lost their jobs and their homes because they didn’t get home in time. Thousands of pets have been abandoned or left behind this year, because it’s simply too expensive to fly them anywhere. And of course, this is on top of the stress that everyone is already under, as this pandemic changes the way the world works, and the way we travel.

I wouldn’t dream of abandoning our furry crew, which is why we are sitting tight and waiting for the worst of it to pass.

Dave and I have been lucky, but even we have been affected. I won’t see my family and friends for 2 years because of this virus. Traveling home this summer was impossible, because if we leave, it is exceptionally hard to get back into China. Even if the boarders had re-opened over the summer, we couldn’t have risked it, because they could close again at any time.

When Poe developed an infection in her intestine while we were stuck in Malaysia, it was an awful feeling. Knowing we couldn’t get to her was not a situation I want to repeat.

Luckily, China is one of the safest places to be right now. Closing the boarders, requiring masks in public spaces, major disinfecting routines and frequent testing have all made a huge difference in controlling the pandemic. Rules have been put into place, and people follow the rules. That’s why our second wave has been minimal (so far).

China has worked with The World Health Organization and followed guidelines for preventing the spread of the virus.

Of course, taking things seriously can make for some hoop jumping on holiday. So many hoops, in fact, that plenty of people chose not to travel at all. I knew that if I just sat at home, I was gonna get pretty depressed, so Dave and I took plenty of safety measures, chose areas of China that had been COVID-free for some time, and we planned a 2 week trip. Here’s what that looked like for us…

I love that her mask says ‘face shield’ in English

Part 1: Nucleic Acid Tests

We decided to get the tests done before leaving on holiday. It isn’t a requirement to travel, but can facilitate things, so we figured it was wise. Also, if we were going to travel, we wanted to be sure we weren’t carriers. As a responsible person… You have to make sure you aren’t putting others at risk, after all.

We opted for the throat swab instead of the blood tests (blood tests can tell you if you ever had the virus in the first place, and we’re fairly sure we haven’t). There was a huge line up when we arrived, but when we asked which line we should go to, we were taken out back to a bus that had been turned into a testing site. Sounds sketchy, I know, but it was all very sanitary and well organized.

The following day, we had our negative results. We were sure to take photos of them, as well as to take our physical copies on the trip. It’s always a good idea to carry photos of your passport, visa, last entry stamp and other important documents, either on your phone or in a USB. That way, if your passport goes missing, you have some sort of ID.

The process was simple and painless. It only cost about $20 CAD, and was very quick. Unfortunately, these tests are only considered valid for about a week, so they didn’t help much. Still, I was happy to have them.

Part 2: Masks

We don’t typically have our masks on over our faces if we’re outdoors, but we always had them with us.

Like it or not, masks are a part of the world’s new reality… But in Asia, they’ve actually been a reality for a long time. I read one conspiracy theory that said Instagram came out with mask filters 2 years before COVID, and the author of the meme stated that this is proof that the virus was planned. In reality…people in Asia wear masks for a variety of reasons. Air pollution, road dust and illness are all reasons people wear masks here, and I had all 3 types of masks in my apartment long before the virus came out. Now, of course, more people are wearing them more often… But they aren’t by any means a new concept here.

I really do hate wearing mine. They make my face sweaty and I often complain about wearing one. It’s not fun. But my comfort isn’t the only thing that matters (I put it right back up after the photo, because we were inside a busy building).

Part 3: Health Codes

These codes ran our lives while we were on the road. Pro-tip for anyone traveling in China right now: bring a battery pack!!! If you can’t access your health code… You’re not getting in anywhere!!

In total, we downloaded 4 or 5 different health codes on our trip (I lost track). There was a different code for each province (it hasn’t been standardized nationally yet), and there were a couple of codes to show which areas you’ve been in over the last 2 weeks. Under the arrow on my code, you can see where I was for the last 14 days. Because every place I went to was ‘green’ (COVID-free), my own code is green. If I went anywhere where there was an outbreak in the last 14 days though… That code would be yellow or red, and I would have to stop my travels and get checked into a quarantine hotel.

Don’t worry, at every train station, airport and tourist site, they have posters up with the QR you scan to get the code. It’s impossible to miss, because there are always people standing in front of the signs, filling in their info

Like this!! The codes use your cell phone number to track where you’ve been. It seems creepy… But this is all happening anyway. Who needs microchips when everyone is walking around with portable tracking devices that they use willingly??? (Between selfies and privacy, selfies will always win!)

Part 4: Entry Forms

Wherever we went, we had to fill in forms with all sorts of information about our travel history and contact info. Some of the forms were pretty long and even required our visa numbers and job info. Most of them just wanted our: Names, phone numbers, passport numbers, hotel info and, of course, the date of our last entrance into China.

We had to enter this one just to enter Mount Emei. It was a bit excessive

Most places just had security guards doing this and almost none of them spoke English. If I had known all this ahead of time, I would have written out a little form with all my info in Chinese ahead of time to make things just a bit easier. By the end, we knew which questions were coming and we were prepared to answer them. The only place we needed help was at Mount Emei (different area than the form shown above). They mistook my visa for my latest entry stamp and they thought I’d only entered China in July (which is pretty much impossible…but, whatevs).

Sometimes they had us fill in the forms ourselves, which wasn’t easy either, because they were in Chinese. We could guess some of them based on Dave’s limited knowledge of characters (I have like 0 knowledge), but often we had to get them to read the forms to us (at least my listening comprehension is pretty good).

I should add that these forms actually do serve a rather important function. If there happens to be a breakout in a particular area, they quickly contact everyone who was in contact or in the vicinity of the sick people. Those people are then tested and kept under quarantine for 2 weeks to ensure the virus doesn’t spread. For locals, this is all tracked with their ID cards, in a big, national system. For foreigners, everything is done manually. It’s not a perfect system, but it does work. It prevents community transmission, which is the big threat in this pandemic.

I can’t lie..I would not want this job. To manually track every foreigner that comes into your city can’t be fun. The government could have easily said foreigners weren’t allowed to travel at all. This is an ok alternative, I’d say.

Part: Excessive Caution?

The only place where we really experienced any sort of difficulty was, unsurprisingly, Guizhou. This isn’t because Guizhou province is particularly bad (they have some of the best food in the world there!!). Guizhou simply sees fewer foreign tourists than other parts of China, so they aren’t quite sure what to do with us.

Guizhou is quite remote and far away from most of the biggest tourist attractions. It’s also a poor province.

When we arrived at Guiyang airport, everyone got up to get out of the plane, as usual, but before we could start moving towards the exit, the flight attendants made everyone sit back down. Then, they made all the foreigners on the plane get up, and walk out of the plane first. It kinda felt like we were being arrested or like we’d done something wrong.

We were greeted by staff in surgical gear, telling us that our Nucleic Acid Tests didn’t matter and telling us to quickly follow them…

The process itself wasn’t much different from other cities, other than a few extra forms and a bit more time watching them fumble through our passports (even though we’d shown them our stamps), but the way it was done was pretty alarming. I couldn’t help but think that the whole ordeal further perpetuated a prejudice against foreigners currently in China. Somewhere through all this COVID stuff… (some) people here began thinking that it is foreigners bringing the virus back into China. In reality, it’s Chinese nationals coming back from trips abroad who are the biggest risk. Foreigners are still barred from the country, and have been since March, so we aren’t the ones coming and going.

There were even some very racist comics released on the web about how China needs to clean up the country of ‘dirty foreigners’. These comics were met with backlash from both foreign and local netizens. The sentiment is there, but it’s not a sentiment that everyone in China shares.

A friend of mine had a similar experience to mine, also while in Guizhou province (not in Guiyang though). When he arrived by train, he and his Chinese girlfriend were taken by police car to the closest hospital for a mandatory nucleic acid test. This was in spite of their green codes, valid entry stamps and the tests they’d already done in Suzhou. When they arrived at the hospital, however, the doctors there told the police to ‘stop bringing them every foreigner that comes into town’. So obviously, not everyone in China thinks foreigners are a walking plague.

Temples were rather strict about mask wearing as well, but we noticed they would tell us to put our masks up (while we were outside), but let locals walk around without. Once more, these instances occured in remote areas.

To Summarize

Traveling in China at the moment is mostly safe, and only a minor inconvenience. If you plan to do it, I recommend that you bet prepared to be a bit more patient than usual. Most people are just trying to do their job and play their part in keeping China safe. You will meet the occasional racist, but that’s the case in all countries and all situations, so I wouldn’t worry too much.

And hey… Look at the bright side… Sometimes the special rules put into place for foreigners get you a shuttle bus to yourself and a fast track out of the airplane!

I’ve got more to write about Yunnan & Guizhou! Check back soon!

My Love/Hate Relationship with Guiyang City

It’s a green-tea-drinking, guitar-music-playing and blogging type of night! After a fabulous day off spent scooting around Guiyang with Dave, I’ve decided to postpone my final piece of the National Holiday Saga for a night when I have less recent events that need telling. So today, I shall write about Guiyang, the city where I am living 365 days of my life.

Guizhou Province is the poorest province in all of China. People who know about Guizhou province don’t have very fond opinions of the place, and while we were on vacation we received quite a few negative reactions from Chinese people when we told them where we live. However, the majority of westerns have no idea where Guizhou even is. It’s sort of like Saskatchewan in Canada…internationally, it isn’t very well known, and within the country, nobody really wants to talk about it!

For the kind people who are following my blog, but whom I have never actually met in person, THIS is Saskatchwan. They are really only known for two things: flat, endless fields and an insane obsession with their CFL team, the Roughriders. We drove through there last summer and passed towns named "Elbow" and "Eyebrow". We kept waiting to see if we'd find 'armpit' but we sort of already felt like we were there :P Just joking my Sask peeps! Your province in lovely! — For the kind people who are following my blog, but who may not know of the lesser known prairie provinces in Canada, THIS is Saskatchwan. They are really only known for two things: flat, endless fields and an insane obsession with their CFL team, the Roughriders. We drove through there last summer and passed towns named “Elbow” and “Eyebrow”. We kept waiting to see if we’d find ‘armpit’ but we sort of already felt like we were there 😛 Just joking my Sask peeps! Your province in lovely!

We live in the capital of Guizhou province: Guiyang. And although it definitely has it’s flaws, we feel safe here and I most definitely never scoff at it’s scenery. Guizhou may not be as rich as Xiamen city , or as scenic as Guangxi province but the scenery here is so ruggedly beautiful.

There are dozens of minority villages in Guizhou province, and many of them are nestled in the mountains. — A minority village nestled in the mountains of Guizhou province.

This was the view from our living room window in our last apartment. Guiyang has basically been carved into the mountains. Today we scooted through 3 tunnels as we explored the city. If a mountain is in the way of progress...they carve a hole into it — This was the view from our living room window in our last apartment. Guiyang has basically been carved into the mountains. Today we scooted through 3 tunnels as we explored the city. If a mountain is in the way of progress…they carve a hole into it

Still, Guiyang does have its flaws.

It’s an up and coming city…In the last 6 months, there’s been a huge influx of western restaurants and stores. As of now, Guiyang has many KFC and Dairy Queen locations, a Burger King, a Starbucks, 3 Walmarts (with another being built), a Carrefour (a French Grocery store chain) and most recently, a Subway (it opened here last week). There are even western clothing stores in Guiyang, such as H&M and designer stores like Diesel and Calvin Klein. Guiyang is moving up in the world! The only problem is that many of the citizens of Guiyang haven’t caught up to their city’s progress!

Imagine living in a city where everybody is 'new money'. They've gone from eating possum, to eating Beijing Cao Ya (Peking Duck) and gone from taking transit everywhere, to driving BMWs. It's a pretty interesting place... — Imagine living in a city where everybody is ‘new money’. They’ve gone from dog, to eating Beijing Kao Ya (Peking Duck) and gone from taking overfilled buses, to driving BMWs. It’s a pretty interesting place…

I know that Guiyang will eventually be fabulous in all ways, but the city is currently very lacking in the sanitation department. Parents allow their children to urinate in the streets (they sometimes hold them over sewers so they can relieve themselves…but often it’s done on the sidewalk), and people spit constantly. It’s not pleasant to hear, and it’s not pleasant to see on the ground. Walking in Guiyang is a fun little game…you need to watch where you’re going, but at the same time, you need to have your eyes on the sidewalk so that you can dodge spit, urine and loose or uneven tiles in the ground. How so many women here walk around in 3 inch heals is beyond me…the sidewalks are an obstacle course!!

a normal sight in Guiyang. I saw it in Xiamen too, but NEVER to the extent it's done here. It also happens indoors. One of my coworkers scolded a mother for allowing her child to pee on the mall floor, when the bathrooms were within eyesight. — A normal sight in Guiyang. I saw it in Xiamen too, but NEVER to the extent it’s done here. It also happens indoors. One of my coworkers scolded a mother for allowing her child to pee on the mall floor, when the bathrooms were within eyesight.

These signs are necessary. People spit everywhere, and although it's becoming less common in the more tourism-minded places, in Guiyang, 'horking' is alive and well. Littering is also a problem, as proper trash cans were only set up around the city a few years ago. Many people aren't used to having to throw their waste in bins and find it inconvenient to have to do so. The result...a lot of garbage on the streets — Although spitting is banned in Hong Kong, it is commonplace in Guiyang. Littering is also a problem because trash cans were only set up around the city a few years ago. Many people aren’t used to having to throw their waste in bins and find it inconvenient to have to do so.

Surprisingly, there aren’t many cockroaches in Guiyang. When we first moved into our new apartment, they were a HUGE problem, but since we got the place cleaned up we haven’t seen a single one. Rats, on the other hand, are an issue. The school is infested. My desk often has poop in it, and I find myself constantly wiping everything down with sanitary wipes. We find chew marks in our books and we sometimes see them running along the pipes above the teacher’s office. Worst of all, I can often hear them moving around in the walls behind my desk. Lexie and I will just look over at one another and shudder at the sound.

If rats were all this cute, it wouldn't be a problem. I can't imagine Remy pooping on my notepad, or chewing threw my spare La Jia (the spicy condiment that has replaced my love for salt)... — If rats were all this cute, it wouldn’t be a problem. I can’t imagine Remy pooping on my notepad, or chewing threw the La Jia stash (the spicy condiment that has replaced my love for salt) that I keep in my desk.

And Guiyang’s lack of sanitation isn’t its only problem. The queue situation isn’t quite as bad as it was in 2006, (the main issue in Xiamen was that queues didn’t even exist…), but still, people often cut in line. Just today, I had a women cut in front of me at Carrefour. She had a cart full of items, and all I had was a bottle of MeiJiu in hand but still, as soon as I looked away, she pushed her way past me. The smug grin she gave me after made me so angry I wanted to backhanded her. But the Canadian in me took over and I just gave her a passive aggressive dirty look instead.

And took a picture of the back of her head, because at that point I already knew I wanted to include her in my blog tonight! — Annnnnd took a picture of the back of her head, so that I could blog about her later.

But there is something even worse than urine on the streets, or people cutting in front of me at Carrefour. Traffic in Guiyang is insanity. The infrastructure here is so bad that it makes Winnipeg’s streets look logical, but even THAT isn’t the worst of it! People here have absolutely no regard for other drivers on the road, to the point where signaling isn’t done (EVER!) and instead of doing shoulder checks, everyone just honks to let others know that they are there. Guiyang is a LOUD city!

Can you feel my road rage from where you are?? — Can you feel my road rage from across the ocean?

Just today, we saw someone make a U turn from the far right lane of a busy 6 lane road. I should add, that this U turn was NOT made at an intersection. We were driving in the lane to his left and had to swerve and slam on the breaks to avoid T boning him. Did he look scared or regretful, you might ask? Nope! He just kept driving. I’m not even sure he realized that there were other vehicles on the road, or that a beautiful white scooter had nearly been injured due to his insane expectations of what driving should be.

This is our scooter. She's swell :) — This is our scooter. She’s swell 🙂

So why, you might be wondering, am I still living in this city? Why do I continue to work in a rat infested building and continue to navigate horribly designed streets under fear of sudden insanity brought on by road rage? Well…that’s the thing. Amidst all this craziness, we both find ourselves happier than either of us have ever been.

These are two very happy people standing on the corner of a busy intersection, waiting for the light to turn green.

This is Dave, happily holding up a statue of Chairman Mao.

Me, happily hanging out on the back of the scooter, a few minutes before Mr. Brilliant did his world class moronic U turn

There are so many things here that contribute to this happiness. The food is a big one…everything here is flavored with an abundance of spice. The only bland food I’ve had has been when Chinese cooks try to prepare dishes for the western palette. Hot Pot is especially delicious and we’ve found several restaurants that have really made living here a tasty and fantastic experience.

Our favorite restaurant in Zhong Tian Hua Yuan (the closed community where we live) happens to be a Hot Pot restaurant near the bus loop. The dish is incredibly spicy and just gets tastier as you make your way through the meal

This is what it looks like when we are done. A pot of soup is put on an element (that is built into your table). You add ingredients as it boils (pork liver, seaweed and mushrooms happen to be our favorites) and the soup cooks these items for you. By the end of the pot, there are bits of everything left over. The soup takes on the flavor of everything you've put in, and as the water evaporates, the mixture gets stronger. Our first time here, we couldn't make it through the meal. Now we pick through the final bits, hoping to find one more mushroom or one more piece of tofu! — This is what it looks like when we are done. I’m planning a whole post on local food, so I’ll explain more about how Hot Pot is done then 🙂

Even better than the food at this restaurant, are the people who work there. Their restaurant is always clean and well maintained, and the staff work very hard. The owners, Kevin and LoMan, greet us by name every time we arrive. They are two of the nicest people we’ve met here and I hope our friendship grows. I always told everyone back home that the two things I missed the most about China were the People and the Food. At our hot pot place, we get the best of both 🙂

Kevin and Loman. They are so nice to each other! Most couples here aren't overly romantic but these two are adorable. I love being around them :) — Kevin and Loman. They are so nice to each other! Most couples here aren’t overly romantic but these two are adorable.

IMAG0495 — I believe that you can tell a lot about a person by the way they treat animals. This kitten strolled into their restaurant 4 days ago, looking for a home. They took him in and he’s already made himself very comfortable 🙂

But honestly, I think even more than the people and the food, what makes me so happy here is how much I LIVE!! Every day is an adventure…every adventure is a challenge. Whether we are trying to mail post cards or trying to find some western ingredient for a dish we are craving…every moment of our lives here is interesting. Seeing the way people drive here is interesting. The cultural norms here, that are so drastically different from our own….are interesting! We went to Walmart today to look for a Halloween Costume for Dave, and saw the funniest things. We saw strange meat, and asked what it was. The woman replied that it is rotisserie rabbit. You can also find stools at Walmart, that have the middle section cut out. These are built this way so that they can be placed over squatter toilets so that you can sit comfortable instead of crouching, while trying not to get pee on yourself!

Smoked pork fat, sitting in a wooden crate.

So I suppose what I’m trying to say here, is that I love my life. I love that everything is difficult. I love that I’ve learned so many new words in the last 3 months. I love how exciting it is to say something in Mandarin and have the other person understand what I’m saying! I love how the people here can be so amazing! Our waitress at the hot pot place didn’t speak a word of English when we first started going there. Now, she has a friend teaching her so that she can ask us simple things in English, even though we know how to ask for them in Mandarin.

I love how I’m building meaningful friendships here. I’ll never be able to talk about those rats with anyone like I can with Lexie!! I’ll never be able to stand on a street corner in the rain and rant about work and students and craziness like I can with her, because she’s going through the same things I am!

I love what I’m discovering about myself, and what Dave and I are discovering about our relationship. We are learning what we are like under the most stressful circumstances, and I’ve gotta say…I am SO happy to be here with someone I love so much!!

I love my life here…Urine and Rats included…

The Life of the Lao Wei

China is an interesting place to be for a foreigner.

First, let me begin by asking you: what do you know about China? Really? The fact that dog is eaten here may have popped into your mind, and perhaps you pictured deep fried ‘honey garlic’ something or other as well. Maybe you thought about the Great Wall. But really, for a country with 5000 years of written history, many North Americans know very little about life in the Orient.

Many of my friends and family assumed that I would be going to a country with more advanced technology than we have in Canada. Many people also assumed that I would be eating nothing but rice and chicken feet. But in reality, China is an incredibly diverse country. There are hundreds of local languages here, an incredibly diverse geology and every city has it’s own specialty cuisine. In short, China is so much more than you can imagine.

There are over 50 ethnic groups in China. They all have their own traditions, holidays, cuisine and language. How's THAT for diversity!! — There are over 50 ethnic groups in China. They all have their own traditions, holidays, cuisine and language. How’s THAT for diversity!!

But as little as you know about China, China knows less about you!

Eight years ago, when I lived on the east coast, in a beautiful little city called Xiamen, I was stared at daily. I had people point at me and yell “Lao Wei!” (foreigner) so that their friends might notice in time and get a look at me too. I had people come up to me and ask for my photo. More often still, I caught people sneaking photos of me. There were times when an interested man or woman would come up to me as I shopped, pulling things out of my cart to see what the strange ‘lao wai’ was purchasing. Everywhere I went in Xiamen, I was pointed at, shouted at and stared at. Whether I was taking a 2am stroll (the only time I found quiet in that small city of 2 million people), or walking up the path to my apartment, I was constantly met with stares and pointing. And of course, the ever-present sound of the words “Lao Wai!!!!”

Beautiful Xiamen City. My home in 2005/2006

I imagined it would be different in Guiyang. 8 years have passed, and thousands of teachers have arrived and left the country since I departed in 2006. Nearly every young person here now speaks at least a little English. EAL teachers are everywhere, working for private training centers (like I am), for private schools and even at public schools. There are easily a hundred of us in Guizhou province alone.

I live in the capital of Guizhou province; Guiyang

And if the presence of white teachers isn’t enough, Western culture has also permeated life here. Guiyang has several KFC restaurants, 2 Pizza Huts, 3 Walmarts, a Starbucks and H&M, just to name a few. English is everywhere! In their music, on their signs and on their T-shirts. Any company who aims to have a ‘cool’ image must have English in their name, even if no one within the company speaks a word of the language. People here are obsessed with Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, and today I even heard “Criminal”, by Brittany Spears, blasting from a lingerie store. 8 years ago, this was not the case. Sure, there was a Walmart and KFC in Xiamen, but seeing English on signs and T-shirts was hardly an every day occurrence.

We have a Dairy Queen and a Baskin Robs by the school where I work

Yet, the sight of a foreigner is still shocking for the majority of Chinese people.

A few weeks ago, I was driving my scooter to school, when a bus pulled up beside me. I had to focus on the traffic and ignore the commotion that my presence had caused in that bus. Windows were rolled down, and people were shouting and laughing and saying ‘Hello!’. I sometimes feel like an un-talented celebrity when this happens! (Perhaps this is how the Kardashians feel?) When Dave and I went and visited QianLing Hill Park, we were in as many pictures as we took! Even the monkeys seemed to think we were interesting and strange!

A wild monkey, staring at the Lao Wei! (Lao Wei is 'foreigner'. We hear it everywhere we go! We are treated like celebrities because there are so few of us in Guiyang) — He’s looking at me, thinking to himself “Lao Wei!!!!”

On good days, this isn’t an issue. I laugh and smile and respond to their calls with ‘hello’. A simple wave, or greeting in response to their excitement usually results in further excitement. “Did the Lao Wei just say hello to ME!!! Oh My God!!!”. I waved at a child who was staring at me from a restaurant this week. Her entire family waved back. Some of them even stood up to get a better view of me! And this, I should add, was in Zhong Tian Garden, where I live. There are between 8 and 10 EAL teachers who live in this area, yet it’s still exciting for them to see one of us.

On bad days, this aspect of life in China is less enjoyable. Being stared at while you are fighting back tears after a particularly difficult day, is not a pleasant feeling. Having a crowd form around you, while you struggle to chain your scooter to a gate because it has a flat tire, is exasperating. There are some days where I want to shout: “What’s wrong with you! Didn’t your mothers ever teach you that it’s rude to point!!!”. But I don’t. I know that even if I did, they probably wouldn’t understand me anyway, so I keep my head down and try to blend in with the masses. I’m vertically challenged so that’s easy, but it’s certainly harder for some of the tall teachers at Interlingua.

Still, in spite of these bad days, I’d say life in Guiyang is more interesting than upsetting. More often than not, people here are curious, but kind. We’ve had people bring out dishes for us that other customers in the restaurant have paid for us to try. Most people thrilled when I greet them in Mandarin, and embarrassed but excited when I respond to their ‘Lao Wei!!!’ with a ‘hello’ and a coy smile. (Yes, I know that you are talking about me…).

I consider myself lucky to be in China in 2014, during such a time of growth. In the last 8 years, many things have changed: I now see English everywhere I go, I hear English Music in cars and in stores and I can shop at H&M (I can’t even do that in Winnipeg!). But in some ways, China continues to be its cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-world self. The people here still marvel at the foreigner as though they are something special and interesting. I can’t help but wonder whether this will still be the case in 8 years from now.