Day 3 evening & 4: NANJIECUN
Nanjiencun was not so much about seeing things - it was about experiencing a diffeent China and because it was so different from anyhting else I`ve seen in China before - it was WOW!
"Here there is no upstart, and no poor households, the collective is backing the villagers, Nanjie is a big family, people dream of a sense of security"
It brought back my "sweet memories" of almost failing my final University exam answering the question on Socialism & Communism... cause Nanjiecun is the place where socialism seems to be still alive and guests are invited to "view red revolutionary culture and feel the superiority complex of collectivity"!
10.pm. Chairman Mao greeting me on arrival to Nanjiecun... no people on the streets...no sign of shops or any other opened establishments...quiet...mysterious...kinda relaxing...Am I really still in China?!
..and when I notice that Lenin, Stalin, Marx & Engels are also there to welcome me...I feel it`s gonna be one wild "red" experience ;)
I check into an old school hotel (right next to Mao square) ...
....where every floor has a floor attendant (in army green uniform!) and will open the room door for you, so that you never have to bother about having your own room key..and when I decide to go for a late night walk in the rain they run after me offering me an umbrella! Night walk feels kinda spooky... some random strangers on the street... no cars...no nothing! Just me on the empty streets, rain and the silence!
According to the brochure of Nanjiecun there are 848 families and 3100 people living there in 1,78 square km of land. Aside from being able to visit different areas of the village (agricultural area, cultural area, red revolutionary area, Happy Eden house area, etc.) brochure insists that "people can also get the effect of purifying soul, subliming emotion and edifying sentiment."
Dongfang square in the morning:
...add the sound of broadcasting propaganda and you`ll get the whole picture!!!
Lenin... childhood memories...
Stalin
And on this square I had a kinda of a "Big brother" encounter! :))) 4 guys (on the picture) with pens & notebooks were trying to talk to me (interview me)...and as their English was worse than my Chinese we tried to talk in Chinese..
We talked for some time, but let me give you the coolest bits of talk.
First is my typical conversation in China...when I answer to the first question everyone asks here.." Where are you from?"
- Where are you from?
me: Latvia!
- Aaaaaa.. (trying to make a smart face to show they know it...even if if it`s obvious they don`t)
me: Do you know where it is?
-....aaaa.... (trying to invent a smart answer...failing...)
me: it`s in Europe!
- a...a...a.... (maybe they know Europe...maybe they don`t ;)
After some chit-chat about what do I do in China and stuff like that... the fun began:
- How did you know about this place?
me: from a guide book
- Aaaa...
- Do you know Mao?
me: (ok, here we go :)....mmm... yes...I know who he is...that`s the statue of him right here!
- What do you think of Mao?
me: Excuse me...
- Was he a good person or a bad person?
me: (not wanting to offend locals I opted for a "diplomatic" answer) I have never met him in person, so I wouldn`t tell you... Do you think he was a good or bad person?
- O, very good, good good!
They obviously wanted to talk more, but I had plenty to walk around & find my breakfast canteen (as suggested in hotel), so I said good-bye and headed away...they followed me for a while...and then I lost them :) Promising start of the day!
I wondered along perfectly clean & empty streets...public WC every 200 m...found public showers ( I remember those from childhood summers in Jurmala!)
The Gate
And then I found the Canteen in the same building with the tourism information office!
...again childhood memories of typical soviet time canteen...
...with a typical Chinese style breakfast meal :)))
My breakfast...payed total of 4 RMB (0,40 Euors) for these 4 dishes :)
1) toufu "cheburek" (quite good!)
2) dumplings (which, of course, are not really called dumplings, because to Chinese every different kind of dumpling has a different name :) I named these ones "Mao meat balls" as the sound of the name in Chinese was very close to it ;)
3) sweet pies!!! (really delicious)
4) chicken soup (of course...how could I ...after 2 years in China....still hope to get a chicken soup that wouldn`t be sweet at this time of day!!!)
and I stayed away from these pots...;)
The making of : "Mao meat balls"
And again... green uniforms...
Not your average newspaper stand
And now WELCOME to HAPPY EDEN!!! (that`s how the residential area is called in the brochure)
Residential area... looked like Socialist theme park..not very real... :)
Not your typical Chinese shop...
Mosque! (now that was a surprise!)
Little communist ZOO - free of charge for everyone to come and see the animals...strangest mini ZOO I`ve ever seen!
And this old man couldn`t just pass by me... he looked at me several times till decided to give it a try...and when he realised I am able to speak some Chinese...he had a plan! After talking there for a moment he invited me to visit his home and after refusing several times...
....there I was following him to drink tea in his apartment and confirm that there are indeed people living in those buildings I saw earlier... :) Actually he was a real cool old man :)...and apparently Muslim! (now I have to investigate the link of Islam and Socialism...)
All the land is used for a good purpose: growing lettuce, leek and other good green stuff!
Now that was one true trip back to past & escaping the real China for one day!!!
And before heading back to Rizhao ....yet again I was in Zhengzhou (for transfer)....and as this was my 3rd time passing through Zhengzhou + I had to stay 1 night there... I thought it also deserved a photo! (hope you get the idea ;)
See ya :)!!!
6 comments:
- Where are you from?
- France!
- Ah yes, France! Zinedine Zidane!
- And you?
- Latvia!
- Aaaaaa..
- ...And you?
- Estonia!
- Aaaaaa..
;)
Hi,
Read about Nanjie Cun in the lonelyplanet guidebook and am very interested in making a sidetrip there from Beijing. Is it easy to get to? Also how are the accomodations in the special hotel? How much is the cost of a room there for a night if you dont mind me asking... I cannot seem to find much information about it online! Thank you=)
Hello!
Getting to NanjieCun from Beijing seems like a longer trip, but I guess you can take a train or flight to the capital of Henan province - Zhengzhou. From Zhengzhou main bus station it`s a 2 h bus ride till Linying city. And once in Linying it`s just like 5-10 min taxi ride to Nanjie Cun.(so getting there from Zhengzhou was easy!) As for the Hotel they have different prices for different rooms...I bargained and got mine for 100RMB...it`s an old hotel, but the room was ok: bed, TV, even a bath! Good luck! :)
Hi! Thank you for the information, it will be very useful for when I plan my trip. Im from the Philippines by the way and I just noticed that you have visited my country. Hope you had a wonderful time, im so glad I discovered your blog! I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and looking at your pictures. Is there a lot to see in Nanjiecun to merit an overnight stay? Or would it be better to just visit for the afternoon. Since my level of Mandarin is practically zero, will I be able to communicate with the residents, or is there an official tour? I visited your country Latvia about 5 years and had a wonderful time. The people were so helpful and friendly! I remember riding the train from Riga to visit a national park that is suppose to be the "swizterland" of latvia and the kind man in the giftshop drove my friend and i back to the train station since there were no taxi's to be found. And of course trying some Lima chocolate!=) Thank you for all your help again!
Hi! thank you for all your help, it is extremely useful in planning my trip! Is there a lot to see in the village or will an afternoon there suffice? Also as my level of Mandarin is practically zero, I will not be able to converse with the residents as you did... does the information office offer tours in english or have an english speaking resident who can help show me around? Im from the Philippines by the way, I see you have just visited my country. Hope you had a good time=) Next time, try to visit Donsol where you can swim with the whales sharks or "butanding" as we call them in the ocean. I visited your country around 5 years ago and found the people to be so friendly and helpful! A local working in a gift shop drove us to the train station when we could not find taxi (we were in the national park that was apparently the "switzerland of latvia"). I also remember liking Lima chocolate very much! Please keep posting, I love reading your blog and looking at all your pictures! Its inspiring me to explore china and learn Mandarin!=)
I`m happy it helped and it`s great to hear you enjoy my posts & enjoyed Latvia! :) Your country is an amazing place - had great time there!!!
Nanjiecun is a very strange place and staying for a night gave me a chance to see how deserted it was after dark, so that was the interesting thing about staying overnight... Locals I met there didn`t speak any English, but there is Nanjiecun Tourism office and they do offer 80 RMB tour! Don`t know if they have any English speaking guides, but lady in the office spoke English! Hope this helps :)
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