“I’ve learned I’m actually quite skilled at nonstop miming. How else could I get through all these conversations without speaking the local language?” – Old Sean
Welcome to Chongqing, China
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything of merit. Or anything at all, really. For the past month I’ve been in the gradual process of shipping myself to the opposite side of the planet, to a hazy city called Chongqing, China.
If you’ve not heard of Chongqing before, that’s understandable. It’s not nearly as cosmopolitan as the cities that cling to China’s East coast, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou or Shenzhen. However, navigating and visiting Chongqing is a challenge, since it’s is an utterly immense supercity.
Navigating Chongqing
Located on intersecting banks of the enormous Yangtze River and smaller, but powerful, Jialing River, Chongqing extends deep into the mountains it’s built upon. Chongqing was a major stronghold several times in history and served as a Chinese seat of power during the Japanese invasion in WWII. There are many superstructures that burrow beneath the city and locals tell me (with an odd amount of pride) that Chongqing has more bridges than anywhere else in China.
There’s a lot to unpack in Chongqing. It’s partially underground maze, partially super-developed metro system, partially mile high skyscrapers, partially old pot and clay neighborhoods, and partially giant parks in rolling mountains. But the Yangtze River is the dominating feature. On a clear day, when the sun angles in, the River earns its name and blazes a bright, iridescent yellow.
Part Traveler, Part Mime
Do I speak the language? Sure, if you count the words “hello” and “thank you” in a garbled, barely comprehensible accent. I’ve improved my dramatic arm sweeps, and I’m continuing to develop miming skills as fluency.
Can I read anything? Certainly, as long as there are pictures next to it. And somebody bilingual is nearby to nudge me along.
In short, after much Pictionary, I’ve managed to set up a nice little apartment on the 25th floor overlooking a great number of slightly lower apartment buildings. I also have a glancing view of the Yangtze River on clear days.
The food is spectacular, with Hot Pot being a somewhat iconic meal of the region. The beer is also splendid (at least the drinks I remember) and the people are enormously accommodating. They’re very understanding of my bumbling English and desperate translation apps.
Home, Confusing Home
I’m situated over an area in the city within walking distance to my work. It’s known as a party street of sorts with the name “Ninth Street” or Jio Jie (more accurately, Jiǔ Jiē but I can’t lock onto the Chinese tones yet).
Chongqing is a grand city to meander around. The transportation is cheap, allowing me to take haphazard trips to far-flung, borderline unpronounceable corners of the urban jungle.
“Urban Jungle” is a term I use quite literally here, in this subtropical region, where I promptly get lost. I often recruit equally bewildered guides to escort me on my poor decisions. Fortunately, the taxi drivers here are extremely understanding. With so few foreigners visiting Chongqing, my incompetence is still a novelty. They often laugh at my expressions of abject confusion. Then they cheerfully accept an overused, handwritten note requesting in Chinese that I’m returned to an area I’ll plausibly be able to recognize.
What else can be said? The skyscrapers with their rooftop gardens have tumbling waterfalls of ivy cresting over and down their sides. Trees dot every urban corner, bright white paint circling their base (as a type of medicine to ward off the cold or diseases, I’m told). When the traffic lights signal it’s time to cross any street, the tiny green man actually walks, speeding up to a sprint as the timer counts down. Everywhere in the city, buildings, walkways, construction, new gardens, trees and footbridges are constantly being built. The rapid construction renders most of my mental-map-making a challenge.
Popular Photography
Nights create pillars of lights shooting upwards with blazing frequency. There aren’t many other foreigners visiting Chongqing, so I’ve become a miniture celebrity on my street. People frequently ask to take my photo with limited English, which is both flattering and disorienting.
“So handsome!” one girl chirps, waving her phone at me. “Picture, picture, yes?”
I’ve started giving myself ten extra minutes to get to work, just in case I’m stopped and asked for more photos.
In any event, the brief corner of China I’ve experienced has been a confusing, traffic-thundering, multi-transportation labyrinth delight. Soon, I’ll fly out to Hong Kong in a smattering of days to get my visa entry paperwork in order. My boss also told me a trip to the nearby city of Chengdu will also be a potential destination for paperwork.
With that, I wish you the best of regards and excellent trails.
Old Sean
Written January 8th, 2017
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