This will be my final full day in Zhengzhou. Boo-hoo! And yet again it's a beautiful morning (no - not a cue for a pantomime song!!!).
When, exactly, did I mention the word "smog"? Surely I didn't.
Yesterday I commented on the sounds I can hear in the morning from my hotel room window. Today I managed to capture some of the exercise music. It began at approximately 6.10 am. Yes I know I'm sad, but when you've been confined to one small room for a couple of weeks you start to contract cabin fever. Being couped up in a dormitory is fair enough while your no'but a youth - like my David - in a hall of residence at university, but when you get to be an old doddery blighter like me it's a different matter I can tell you. And I've got luxury facilities.
You'll have to excuse the poor sound quality, but I only had a crummy PC mic. Anyway, it all starts with what I will call "Exercise-1". So we get:
Exercise-1
Exercise-2
Note the very different styles. The first piece is what you'd expect - bright, jolly, regimental, but the second comes as a bit of a surprise. It kind of haunts me. (Remember, this has been my rigid alarm-clock for the past two weeks.) I feel I ought to know what it is. If anyone can identify it, please tell me; it may help to "lay the ghost".
Those two go on for considerably longer that I recorded. They alternate a couple of times, and are then followed by:
Exercise-3
And finally, the:
Announcements
I take it these are exhortations to the students to be good citizens and love the Motherland, etc, but as they are distinctly undistinct, and my understanding of Chinese so rudimentary, I can't tell.
Of course, it being Saturday there wasn't a soul in the parade ground which, if I am right, is part of a college almost adjacent to the hotel.
There will be more later. But I will have packing to do, etc. Last night Professor Suin and her the deputy Hed of School us (Jennifer, Judith, Yang Le, Gao Xiao Yu and me) for a final banquet. This was in a much lower-key establishment, and probably all the better fot that. Nevertheless, we had a private dining room again. This is very common with the restaurants here: downstairs is open plan; upstairs individual rooms for private gatherings. Needless to say, it was very nice, hard work and pretty messy (on my part, that is; how long do you reckon it really takes to master chopsticks - no, not on the piano; I can handle that!)
Anyway, the worst happened: afterwards I was presented with a second box of tea! Bear in mind that each of these boxes is about the size of a large briefcase. So my packing is going to have to be very inventive - or else some will get left behind. (I wonder if the hotel staff here would appreciate an extra cuppa?). I had the bright idea of ripping out the unnecessary padding, replacinjg the tins of tea, and filling the space around them with "smalls". How about that? Of ocurse the suitcase is still empty yet, so I'll have to keep my fingers crossed.
And Shuai is coming this afternoon to settle the remaining formalities. Then she has invited Nigel and me to dinner with her and her husband, whom I have never met. Whether this is to be at their home or at a restaurant I know not. Given I have to leave here bright and early tomorrow for the airport, I'm fervently hoping it won't be another chilli-based meal!
The morning would appear to be free, then. Another stroll in the park is called for, I think.
10.am, Saturday in Green City Park, and it's already busy with folk out enjoying the brilliant (really) sunshine. One thing I've noticed is that everyone is wearing quite warm-looking clothing. I think it is a mild day.
Of course I have to get there first. Crossing the road is bad enough with the doubtful assistance of the walking green person (he/she is animated), but without it ... ?
In the park, there are lots of families and red balloons and other festive things. Here are some impressions:
Looks like they're getting ready for another spot of jollification. They do enjoy that. It's probably the same stage I saw last weekend (or was it earlier in my trip? Seems like I've been here for ever).
By contrast to these colourful scenes, most of the men seem to wear dark clothing. Not black, necessarily; just dark. It's strange that: you wouldn't think it would be so noticeable, but somehow when they are gathered in largish numbers it's a sight that strikes me as unfamiliar, and occasionally vaguely sinister. It hadn't occurred to me that we wear particularly bright clothing, though.
And what are these folk doing? Could it be a Party convention or a trade union demonstration?
Nope. It's this:
A demonstration, certainly; but of calligraphy.
Speaking, as I was earlier, of the dark clothing worn here: as I was entering the hotel on returning from my photo-shoot, I had the distinct and uneasy feeling I was being surveyed by one of the "Men in Black". He was on the steps of the hotel, and certainly looked shifty in that way that "spooks" are supposed to do. But if that was indeed the case then he wasn't very good at it was he? Must have been my imagination.
So now, lunch over, I'm back in my room awaiting the call from Shuai and typing this - haven't been able to face packing just yet.
I had a slight problem earlier. As I left my room I heard a phone ringing and thought it might be mine. However, on returning to my room, I found my card-key wouldn't work. A thought struck me: it was just after mid-day. That's probably the time by which one is meant to have checked out. Suppose they think I'm leaving today not tomorrow! Fortunately I was somehow able to communicate the problem to the recptionists, one of whom re-programmd the card for me. Phew.
Well that's about it from here. When I first arrived in Zhengzhou it was hard to know quite what to make of it. It seemed an alien place, bathed in grime, noisy, with unintelligible street-signs, questionable aromas, traffic-anarchy and, of course, shrouded in smog. I've gradually been able to make more sense of it, even in the short time I've been here. Of course it has its dark side, no doubt; and crossing the road is still an activity fraut with danger; but on a day like today, with the sun shining, and the park - like the streets themselve - full of life and energy, it is clearly a handsome city in its own way. I won't forget it in a hurry. And I certainly won't forget its most important attribute - the wonderful people I've met; from the hotel janitor, reception and dining-room staff, to the taxi drivers, shop-assistants, restaurant staff, and of course my new-found friends at Zhongyuan Instutute of Technology - staff and students. New-found, maybe; but I suspect, if my assessment of the Chinese character is anything like accurate, already life-long.
Not goodbye, one hopes, but au revoir; Zai Jian ("see you again") Zhengzhou!
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