How to Travel to China On Your Own – Part 2

 

My first trip to China, Day Two

1) Flying from Moscow to Guangzhou

During the night flight from Moscow to Guangzhou our plane made a considerable detour. We could see it on the animated flight maps on the two monitors between the aisles and on our seat-back TVs. I only managed to get some sleep from time to time as my knees were crammed up against the seat in front of me, which would wake me up.

During the night we mostly flew over deserted areas. The clouds were scarce, so we could occasionally see dim lights below. In a word, it wasn’t really interesting to look at the dull landscape. When I woke up in the morning (for the umpteenth time), the passenger cabin was brightly lit by the sun and we were flying above fluffy snow-white clouds. An incredibly beautiful sight! The bright sunlight gradually woke up the other passengers. They were looking around in bewilderment, trying to see why they had woken up. As soon as they figured it out, they stopped talking and began enjoying the amazing view. Some passengers remained indifferent, though – they lowered their window shades and went on sleeping. About an hour later the sunlight became so intense that we had to pull down our own window shade as it was unbearable to look at the dazzling whiteness of the clouds below. Actually, it is like in the mountains where it’s not recommended to look at the white snow for a long time if you’re not wearing sunglasses.

A few hours later breakfast was served. I love delicious rolled pancakes, that’s why I ordered them on seeing them on the menu. Alas, I regretted my decision very soon. Not sure how our meals were heated up, but the procedure rendered the pancakes hard and turned the jam filling into some strange, gooey and absolutely unappetizing substance. Other than that, the breakfast was ok. As usual, the flight attendants first offered us a selection of juices and soft drinks, and after that – tea and coffee.

After breakfast I became impatient to land in Guangzhou. The flight maps promised a sharp turn and after that – a more or less direct route till landing at the destination airport. Unfortunately, the sun was still shining brightly and it was impossible to see the ground through a mass of whimsically-shaped white clouds. About two hours later a flight attendant informed us on the intercom that we were approaching the airport and that the plane would soon start descending. An hour before landing the flight attendants distributed immigration cards which took us quite some time to fill in. A card consisted of two parts. One part was to be left at the airport Immigration control whereas the other was to be kept by the passenger.

Some 20 minutes before landing the passengers were asked to fasten the seat belts, straighten the seats, put their hand luggage under the seats or in overhead bins and switch off their electronic devices. The plane entered the clouds and started descending. This moment as well as the take-off is always very unpleasant as air pressure changes can trigger airplane ear. Our seat-back TVs began showing the landscape below – the plane’s external camera had been switched on. Those who were lucky to have window seats had a chance to enjoy the view with their own eyes; the others had to content themselves with the camera views. As my seat was not in the central row, I was able to get both the top and side views of the enormous city lying below. Guangzhou evoked mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was an impressive modern megalopolis of remarkable urban beauty and design. On the other hand, from time to time I could see strange (small and absolutely unattractive) identical-looking houses standing so close to one another that even a car couldn’t pass between them. Such houses were located on rather high hills and were scattered over a large area.

At this moment our plane was about to touch down and the passengers became quiet. Thanks God, the landing was successful! The happy passengers began to clap their hands, expressing their gratitude to the crew. The plane taxied to the jet bridge, the flight attendants opened the doors to let us out. Julia and I were not in a hurry, so we were almost the last to leave the plane.

After a short walk in the jet bridge we found ourselves in a long corridor of an airport terminal where there were a lot of closed doors with signs written in Chinese. The corridor interior design was nice and without any extravagance. Interestingly, there were no signs in English that would tell us where to go! It was as if the corridor had gone dead! There was no one ahead, and there was a small group of Chinese discussing something animatedly. We decided not to walk too fast, hoping that the Chinese knew where they were going.

At last the long deserted corridor ended and we saw two signs in English showing which way foreigners and Chinese citizens should go. Walking in the direction indicated by the signs we found ourselves in a big hall where there were neat lines of passengers of our flight. They were being helped by polite policemen who were using gestures to show each newcomer which queue they should join.

It wasn’t hot inside the airport – obviously, air conditioning was on, but still it was hotter than my favorite 18C… Surprisingly, at Guangzhou airport you get your passport checked not by customs officers but by policemen. It took me about two minutes to present my passport, boarding pass and immigration card to a policeman and go through the turnstile to the Customs hall. Strangely, none of the customs officers wanted to check my luggage. I looked around and noticed that the other passengers were passing through the hall quickly and moving along to the main part of the terminal.

As we were the last to arrive, the crowd at the meeting point had thinned out. There were no more than 30 people. Peering into the signs with names and surnames held by the Chinese who were meeting passengers, we didn’t find our names, so a few minutes later we walked to the exit. That’s when we were met by Shelley – a cheerful smiley Chinese girl who knew Julia well through work. It turned out that after the flow of passengers petered out, she thought that she must have missed us and left the terminal to look for us outside. Naturally, she didn’t find us there as we were still going through passport control. That’s why Shelley returned to the terminal, where we finally met.

After a heartwarming meeting Julia and Shelley exchanged a few questions. I noticed the girl looking at me with surprise, after which Shelley burst out laughing and said that she used to think that my name was a woman’s name, so she had expected to see a girl instead of a young man. After that all of us burst out laughing. We had to explain the difference between the names Vitaly and Vitalia to her. Shelley said that she had come in a car sent by her boss – Julia’s long-time friend and business partner. On calling the driver, the girl went to buy us some drinking water as it was extremely stuffy in there. After cold Moscow, the weather contrast was striking…

While we were waiting for the car, I watched a small road close to the airport. Good quality modern cars were moving along slowly, stopping to pick up passengers at any suitable place and the drivers were signaling to each other while maneuvering. Interestingly, no one got mad, no one shouted even when someone wasn’t quick enough to get into a car. I couldn’t help wondering what the same situation would result in in Moscow.

2) Going to Shenzhen

Our car arrived. After pulling up right in the middle of the road (naturally, the drivers behind honked at us immediately), the driver helped us load our stuff into the car, and we set off. The driver turned out to be a serious and reserved dude, he didn’t speak English but it was obvious that he knew the ropes and drove confidently. As for me, I was plying Shelley with questions in-between her dialogues with Julia. And was taking pics with my smartphone in the meantime. My camera was still on the bottom of my overpacked travel bag, so I had to settle for a smartphone. The photos aren’t very good quality, of course, but that’s all I’ve got…

I was first of all struck by the climate. Warm, humid, with lush greenery. Even in the city, which we were leaving by car, it was obvious with what loving care the Chinese look after their natural heritage. As we were driving out of the city, the amount of vegetation increased.

An excellent multi-line highway with moderate traffic, a high traffic barrier lined with flowers, a very good vehicle traffic organization in terms of road signs – everything indicated that the Chinese government pays lot of attention to the national roads. We saw quite a lot of police cars as well as stationary radars and traffic enforcement cameras. Funnily, a lot of drivers were honking there as well even if the drivers in front of them shown by the light signal that they were changing lanes.

Shelley said that the weather was a bit strange as the forecast had promised rain instead of +27C. I was happy about the weather, though, as Julia and I weren’t dressed properly for a rainy day.

On our way to Shenzhen we drove through two other fairly large cities, one of them being the famous Dongguan. I couldn’t appreciate the beauty of the cities as we mostly drove through their industrial areas. On both sides of the road there were small hills which were definitely of artificial origin. Shelley explained that the hills were composed of sand brought there from big construction sites. Special machines knock a huge pile of sand into shape, after which it gets covered with concrete in the form of large cells. Thanks to the unique climate, the man-made hill becomes green with vegetation within a year or two. And in a few more years the first trees begin to grow there. In a word, all that looks interesting and unusual.

About halfway along our trip, to the right of the highway we saw a log of big and small ships, special cranes for unloading and loading containers and other transport packaging. Shelley explained that it was a sea port. I had no time to ask her more questions as at that moment the driver asked her something and they engaged in a long conversation.

We passed several toll collection points on our way. The driver either paid in cash or by a special card which he touched on a mini-card reader, after which we continued our way. Luckily, even during the rush hour the tolls don’t create traffic jams. A very well-thought-out system…

Soon we began to notice more and more signs pointing in the direction of Shenzhen International airport. This large airport is not only an airline hub, but also a major airport which plays a very important role in the region’s economy. Some time later we saw the airport itself. For the most part, there were Chinese aircraft at the moment, judging by their liveries.

We were driving into a suburb of Shenzhen which mostly consisted of squat and seemingly inexpensive concrete buildings whose residents were obviously not very well-to-do. Washing was hung out in every window and on every balcony, there was no litter around, and in the distance one could see fields divided into small patches. There was a small shed on nearly every patch. Part of the land was planted with something, whereas the other patches were empty (obviously, they had already been harvested). Drawing analogies, one could compare it to dachas somewhere in the vicinities of Moscow. A tiny patch of land for growing fruit and vegetables, a small house or shed and manual or automatic irrigation. Can’t say for sure, but most likely those identical-looking squat houses are for villagers who work in Shenzhen and provide themselves with vitamins by doing the gardening after work and on weekends.

At last Shelley said that we’d driven into Shenzhen. The architecture on the outskirts of the city was plain, but the closer we got to the city centre, the taller and lovelier the buildings became. Soon Julia remembered the route we were following and said to me that we should approach her long-time friend and partner Lenny’s office in some 10-15 minutes.

As we weren’t in the city centre, we had a chance to feel the bustling atmosphere of a typical Chinese industrial area. A huge number of cars (mostly new, with a lot of high-end cars among them), occasional lorries and, most interestingly, hundreds of bicycles and scooters scurrying along the streets. As all the roads in the city are also provided with concrete or metal traffic barriers, one can witness a curious scene quite often: if the closest crossroads is one or two hundred meters away from a pullout, many cyclists and scooter riders simply ride their vehicles on the wrong side of the road, keeping close to the curb. Luxurious new jeeps and impressive-looking cars were moving along unhurriedly, their drivers keeping a close eye on the road. You can imagine how it looks when road users signal simultaneously every time they’re about to change lanes. Very unusual, really!

3) Meeting and having dinner with friends

Our car pulled up at the office where Shelley worked, and we went to the second floor (fully occupied by her boss’s company, by the way). The office interior was businesslike. In every room there were employees who, on noticing us, smiled cheerfully and nodded greetingly. A minute later we found ourselves in the boss’s office. Lenny turned out to be a polite young man. After a warm meeting with Julia and receiving a gift from her, he introduced himself to me. His very good English and an in-depth knowledge of the current economic situation in Shenzhen spoke for the fact that he was a very good specialist. Hardly had a few minutes passed when my guess was confirmed. Engaging in manufacturing printed circuit boards, Lenny was a university graduate with a background in economics and so he knew the current situation in the market very well.

It wasn’t really cool in the office, though the air conditioner was on. The thing is, many Chinese don’t like it when the air temperature is too low and unlike us they feel comfortable even after an insignificant drop in the temperature.

Lenny suggested that we have a cup of good Chinese tea and discuss some questions concerning our business trip. The tea turned out to be special, and Lenny seemed to understand about tea. By the way, it was the only opportunity for us to watch and participate in a tea ceremony while we were in Shenzhen. Sadly, I felt too shy to take pictures of the process, so I can only say that I really liked it… As a hospitable host, Lenny saw to it that our little cups should always be filled with tea. During our leisurely talk Julia told him about the purpose of our visit, after which she asked me to add details concerning the technical aspect of the matter. Naturally, I’m not going to write about that here, I’ll just say that all the meetings with our Chinese partners were very productive.

Through the office window I could see houses on the opposite side of the street. Surprisingly, almost all of them had metal bars on the windows, from the ground to the top (ninth) floor! I had noticed it on our way to the office. When asked why the metal bars were even on the upper floors, Lenny smiled and said enigmatically: “It’s China”. So the question remains open. At some point Lenny said that his working day was coming to an end and invited Julia and me to a small restaurant not far from the office. Shelly joined us, and the four of us walked outside. The area where the office is located is full of small shops and workshops which offer various services. They were familiar to me from my colleagues’ stories and photos. Elderly Chinese repair shoes, sharpen knives, fix bicycles and many other things right in the street. To be honest, it’s way more interesting to see all that with your own eyes than hear about it from your friends and colleagues.

Some five minutes later we came to the restaurant, where we were met by young smiley girls and guys. We sat at a table. Lenny asked what we would like to have, but we couldn’t choose anything as we knew neither Chinese nor Chinese cuisine (by the way, I’m working on remedying that already). That’s why we asked our friends to make a choice for us. Frankly, deep down I was wary of getting something exotic and still alive. Luckily, our friends had made a wonderful choice. The food both looked and tasted great! While we were waiting for our order, we were brought tea and special cups in which we were to wash the tips of our chopsticks with tea. As it turned out, many Chinese restaurants stick to that ancient tradition.

The style of the restaurant interior was interesting – it combined crude wooden furniture with ornamental castings. It’s hard to put it into words (I still felt too shy to take pictures even with my phone, though I regret it now), but if I was asked to draw analogies, I’d compare the style to that of a saloon in the Wild West. Add to this subtle aromas of Chinese cuisine, tiny Chinese style decorative details and you will understand what made the atmosphere of the restaurant ambient. There was a hole in the middle of the massive table at which we were sitting. A gas burner sat on the hole, with a small gas bottle hidden right under the table. Some ten minutes later a huge frying pan with uncooked food was brought, a cook lit the burner and put the pan on it. That is to say, the main course was being cooked before our very eyes.

Eventually other dishes were brought, and we began our meal. Talking shop at a restaurant isn’t customary in China, that’s why we simply asked each other questions about China, Russia, each other etc. It was my first visit to a Chinese restaurant and fourth attempt to use chopsticks. (The previous three had been made when I was in a popular Japanese restaurant in Khimki with my brother and his family). I was struggling with the chopsticks stoically, trying to put the food from the common dish or frying pan on my plate. Frankly, I wasn’t doing very well. The bits would either fall out or I couldn’t pick them up at all. In a word, it was fun. Luckily, my new friends helped me out again. Deftly using chopsticks, they would put food onto my plate from time to time. Lenny said that at his request there was less pepper in the dishes this time – he took into account our eating habits when he was ordering. Normally the Chinese eat spicier food. Anyway, it tasted fabulous!

Talking unhurriedly while enjoying our meal, the four of us were little by little emptying the huge common dish. I remarked jokingly to Lenny that the remaining food was enough to feed another four people. That’s what the famous Chinese hospitality is about – friends and guests are always offered the best. On thanking the waiters, we left the restaurant and strolled back to the office. There we took a few commemorative photos, and Lenny saw us out. He promised to meet us again, after which the car with our unsociable Chinese driver and cheerful Shelley set off on the drive to the hotel. Eventually we left the industrial area and as we were approaching the city centre, the urban architecture was getting more and more beautiful. Excellent road surface quality, clean streets, lush greenery and lovely flowers – all that indicated that the citizens really love and take good care of their city. The only thing that surprised me was the presence of a high-voltage line not far from some residential areas. In Russia, high-voltage lines are normally to be found out of town, whereas in China transmission towers can be seen right in city areas.

4) Checking in to the hotel

In the late afternoon, we reached the hotel and got our things out of the car. The driver drove away to park nearby, whereas Shelley, Julia and I entered the hotel. There was a team of three very young hotel employees at the reception desk – two girls and a young man. Luckily, one of the girls spoke English well, so we checked in very quickly. We had our passports scanned, then the employees filled in a small questionnaire before giving us our electronic key cards. As you remember from the first article, we had our hotel rooms booked in advance by Julia’s good friend, with whom she used to work before he relocated to China.

When the female employee said how much we were to pay for two rooms, the sum was considerably different from the one Maxim had told Julia before our departure. Julia had to phone Maxim right from the hotel lobby to clear it up. It turned out that the difference between the provisional and actual accommodation costs covered the hotel risks. As the lively employee explained to Shelley, we would get our money back after we checked out. Julia paid by her VISA card (Chinese hotels are allowed to accept credit cards, whereas you may have difficulty in using Russian credit cards in Chinese shops sometimes). After that we were given a small plain-looking cardboard folder with an electronic key card and two hotel cards (one with our room number and check-in/check-out date, the other being our breakfast certificate).

While Julia was sorting it out with the accommodation cost, I took a walk around the lovely hotel lobby, passing by a fish tank in which an obnoxious black catfish (I hope, I identified it correctly) would chase the other fish in the tank.

Shelley informed us that the hotel offers free Wi-Fi. Julia connected to it immediately on her smartphone, whereas I remembered the password and decided to do it a bit later.

At last the three of us went to the second floor, where puzzled Shelley tried to find our rooms. No such luck! The thing is, the hotel corridors resembled a maze. It wasn’t until we’d walked around the floor several times that we figured out how the rooms were numbered. Rooms with the same numbers were grouped in blocks A, B and C, and there were special signs pointing their location. Some ten minutes later we succeeded in finding our rooms. We found Julia’s room first. We brought her things into her room, after which Shelley and I continued looking for my room. It turned out to be quite near, some twenty meters away. Shelley showed me how to use the key card as a key and a power switch. After that we came down to the lobby and thanked Shelley wholeheartedly for her help. She went home, whereas Julia and I returned to our rooms.

Since the Lotus Hotel is not five-star, the interior of its rooms can be characterized by one word: “neat”. Nothing in excess. Two small bottles of water on the table, which are replaced daily; a pair of new vacuum-packed slippers under the TV stand (absolutely useless for me as their Size 38 was supposedly intended for a Chinese guest, not for my own Size 44). Obviously, my fellow countrymen do not frequent the hotel. Anyway, it was not a problem because I’d taken my own slippers with me.

I was very much surprised by the absence of dust. Not sure how to explain it (maybe it was the wet climate or impeccable room service), but I didn’t spot a speck of dust anywhere in the hotel during our 6 days there.

The bathroom combination unit was separated from the room by a sheet of very thick coloured glass. It was a no-frills unit, with a small hotel toiletry kit containing toothpaste, a toothbrush, a hair comb and something else. The kits are given away to the hotel guests, but as I had my own toiletries, I left it intact. There were always a few clean towels on the bathroom shelf which were replaced daily.

My room, which was at the far end of the second floor, overlooked a small parking lot for the hotel guests. It didn’t really upset me. On the plus side, while sunshine filled the rooms overlooking the street, mine remained dark and cool…

On the whole, according to Maxim, the hotel offers good value for money, considering the fact that it’s located in the city centre. So, if you aren’t after the glamour of a five-star hotel, if you want peace and quiet and if you aren’t inclined to waste money, the Lotus Hotel is a very good choice.

Here’s the address of the hotel: No.1006 Fuzhong 1st Rd. (Zhongyin Garden), Northern Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.

And their website: http://www.szlotus.cn/

Lastly, a map in Chinese, which, printed out or downloaded on your smartphone, will enable you to explain to any Chinese driver where you need to get.

5) An evening outing in the city and meeting with Maxim

Julia had told me that Maxim was to meet us in the evening. He was to show us where we could have a good and inexpensive meal in the hotel’s vicinity, where we could spend our free time, the closest bank and how to get to the HiTech exhibition on foot.

Dusk set in almost immediately, and street lamps together with LED street lighting filled the streets of Shenzhen with light. The residential area where our hotel was located is a 20-minute drive from the city center, yet it was very quiet and there were surprisingly few cars and passers-by.

On leaving the pack of buckwheat that Julia brought for Maxim (Russians just can’t do without this wonderful food product!) in the hotel lobby, we went out to look round. I must say, the hotel has a very good location. Very close to the hotel, to the right of the entrance, there is a traditional Chinese restaurant which is full every night. On the left, there is a small greengrocery. A bit farther away there is a traditional Chinese pharmacy which mostly sells herbs. Another 50 meters away there are two Chinese restaurants where, according to Maxim, they serve tasty food and the menus are illustrated. Right behind the mini-parking lot, round the corner, there is a Bank of China branch, where we needed to exchange currency the next morning. The bank opens at 9 am, that’s why Maxim advised going there early so as to have time to register for the exhibition. (Oh how right he was…)

Gradually moving away from the hotel, we were examining the neighboring streets, while Maxim was commenting on what we saw. It turns out that some of the buildings in the area were pulled down and replaced with more beautiful and modern structures. The famous exhibition center Hi-Tech Fair suffered the same fate. The city authorities decided that it didn’t look attractive enough, after which the center was leveled to the ground and an even more modern and comfortable exhibition center was built. Needless to say, cement in China is not so expensive as over here, and city authorities have much more power…

Maxim showed us the way to the exhibition, and while he was doing so I took a few pictures of beautifully illuminated evening streets in the center of Shenzhen with my phone. Architects and designers have done a good job, no doubt!

As we continued our way, Maxim inquired if we had a Chinese SIM-card. To be honest, we had hoped to buy one on arrival, but here a difficulty arose… It turned out that the regulations on sale of prepaid SIM-cards in China have changed this year, so now they’re only available to a Chinese citizens who registers the SIM-card under their name and presents their ID (a counterpart of the Russian passport, but it’s actually a card the size of a business card). Foreigners can’t buy a SIM-card as freely as it was in the past anymore. In a word, we really overlooked this fact when preparing for the trip. Not being able to keep in touch in such a megalopolis spelled trouble. Maxim advised asking our Chinese partners or friends to register SIM-cards for us under their names. We were able to make calls from the hotel, though, but it was not the best way out, nevertheless.

As we were rather tired after such a long journey, we decided against doing too much walking. Some 40 minutes later we began our way back to the hotel. Maxim took his pack of buckwheat, we thanked him warmly, and he left. Though the evening was in full swing, I was too exhausted by the flight to Guangzhou and trip to Shenzhen, so I decided to turn in early and not to go anywhere else that night.

The next morning we had a lot of things to do before getting to the exhibition. Having agreed on meeting Julia at 8 am for breakfast, I left for my room. I connected to the hotel Wi-Fi and spent another 30 minutes messaging friends and relatives on Viber. Sadly, the connection was spotty, that’s why I couldn’t even send all the pictures taken with my phone. I had got unforgettable impressions, but my desire to sleep proved even stronger. I was asked to send an on the spot photo with a view outside my window (it was hard to take the pic through the massive external blinds, but I still gave it a go).

I sent a few more pictures, after which I logged out and set the alarm on my smartphone so as not to oversleep. Right before falling asleep I noticed another peculiarity of the room – an additional access limiting device, a kind of hinged lock unit. It was the first time I’d seen such a thing, that’s why I even took a picture of it.

During our walk with Maxim, I noticed that it had become much cooler in the city after the sunset, and even a light wind began to blow. That’s why I decided against leaving the air conditioner on for the night (it proved to be a bad decision later on) and hit the sack.

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