Out of all the cities we visited, I think I liked Nanjing the best. I guess this might have something to do with C being so completely thrilled to be there. He studied Chinese at a university there last year, so he had some leftover friends and hangouts and nostalgia. Nanjing means "southern capital" in Chinese (with Beijing meaning "northern capital") and at some point in history it was the capital for a while. The city is huge, but not as overwhelming as Beijing, and with a big population of foreign students but not as much of an international presence as Shanghai. It felt like a city with a lot to offer, big enough so
that you wouldn't get bored, and with tons of interesting historical stuff, but not so comfortable or Westernized that you forgot you were in China. C tells me all the time how when he first came to Zhuhai, he was so disappointed and would have flown straight home if he hadn't met me, and now I understand why a move from Nanjing to Zhuhai would be more than a little letdown. The first day we went to the university because he was hoping to encounter a few old friends or teachers. His dormitory building had a new Ayi, and he asked her about the other Ayis and the other foreign people living there. The dorm building looked just the same as on our campus, but a little different. The same in that it's an open building, with no sense of "inside" when you walk "in," pretty cold and grimy-looking. Then we walked across the street to the main campus, which looks just the same as our campus, but a little different. This campus was right in the middle of the city, with a main road running through it - sort of like what I expected SYSU to be like based on the accounts I
received from the Chinese folks before arrival. HAHA. The Chinese campuses I've seen have a distinct look. I like the aesthetic, sort of. I like it in the way you like something that seems uninviting, but interesting, and which might be cool to experience for a limited time. Kind of like post-tonal music theory. Actually
exactly like post-tonal music theory! The campus is big and open, with buildings pretty spread out. Surprisingly, considering how much the Chinese seem to enjoy screaming colors elsewhere, the buildings are totally colorless. There are a few striking facades, the library with an imposing glass front or something. It's like Tian'anmen Square style architecture. 1970s meets futuristic Tian'anmen Square style. The classroom buildings are totally utilitarian, but not falling apart. The dining halls are very cafeteria-like; there are definitely no cushy booths, fireside lounge chairs, cozy nooks, or atmospheric lighting, like us Skidmore folks are used to. Overall stuff looks like it would be cool in the summer, but uncomfortable in the winter and slippery and drab in the rain. There are also no cafes appropriate for real lounging, but a lot of strategically placed benches overlooking dirty lakes or tree-lined streets.
Come to think of it, that is one thing I really feel the lack of on SYSU campus - comfortable gathering spaces. The building that functions as a student center does not actually function as a student center because there is no "center" area with couches, or computers with hydraulic swivel chairs for common use, or rooms designated as study areas, or rooms with big tables for club meetings. There is a bakery, where the international folks tend to hang, and they have reasonably comfortable seating but you can't plug in your computer so there's only so much hanging you can do. There's also a milk tea shop, but nobody hangs around there. The classroom building is absolutely uncomfortable, with tiled floors and a street through the middle that gives it that strange sense of openness. All clubs and organizations have their meetings on the ground floor, standing around in a corner. As in, the Foreign Language Association members do not sit in a room with papers spread out across a table to do their business. They stand in a corner of the teaching building, rain or shine or 99% humidity. The students' dormitories are those same open-in-the-middle type buildings, so that you're never really inside unless you're in a room. The rooms have four students, a slab of plywood as a bed, tiled floors, squatter toilets, and a sink outside on the balcony. There are no lounges or study rooms here either. My apartment is the same style, of course, but at least I have a big normal bed and an indoor sink and a western toilet. And I can keep my room clean because I don't have three roommates. The students can't even be comfortable on the toilet. How do these people relax? Where do they go? If your room is uncomfortable, and so is the classroom building, and so is the dining hall, and so is the student center...where are you supposed to put your feet up? Obviously there is a different standard for what is "comfortable" here, but...seriously? I guess American public schools are the same, with lockers for your stuff, basic desks, cafeterias, bleachers in the gym, etc. But a public school is a place that people go from 8-4, and then go home to their normal houses with normal (not bench-like) couches. Then when you get to college, the conditions on campus change, because the campus is now your home and not just where you go for a few hours during the day. But these students
live here. I LIVE HERE! I cannot bring myself to think that Americans are pampered and spoiled in this regard. The Chinese just don't know what they're missing. And being a developing country is not an excuse. It's not like there aren't ridiculous amounts of disposable products floating around whose energy could have gone into a non-disposable mattress instead.
I got a bit off topic. Our hotel was in the part of town called Gulou, or Drum Tower, and the "Drum Tower" is not a piece of old architecture but the 7th tallest building in the world. There is nothing particularly special about tall buildings in China, and the one in Shanghai that we saw is taller, but I don't think I've ever actually been able to stand at the base of such a tall building and look up. Our metro stop was right there and every time we passed I wanted to stand around and look for a minute. Once at night we went right up to the foot, and to see the top of the building, you had to crane your neck 90 degrees so you're looking straight upwards. During the day, you couldn't see the tippy top because it was up in the mist. I don't know why I thought this was so cool. I think I've never bothered to stand so close to a skyscraper and really think about it, and consider what would happen if a big gust of wind came and blew it over. Like what it would look like, falling to the ground. Eeee!!
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| An extreme example of my new favorite snack - mysterious appley fruits, candied, on a stick |
With the rest of our time in Nanjing, we ate at some cute restaurants, learned how to say 'cauliflower' in Chinese at one of them, spent some time at the Confucius Temple section of town with a ton of people and markets (the usual), and went to the center of the city to stroll but ended up on a frustrating search for a reasonable cafe. I know the pictures from this city seem the grayest and drabbest, but it was just crappy weather. It didn't feel like a drab city otherwise. Oh, and one night we went to this other university where C had some friends, and just showed up totally unannounced at some girl's dorm room. I would never do that. And she was obviously uncomfortable, wearing PJs, and her room was not in a state to entertain guests, but I couldn't convince C of the inappropriateness of just showing up like that, so whatever. But she was happy to see him, and she had some friend over, so we all sat around and chatted for a few minutes. The girl was from Rwanda and extremely pretty, and her friend, a jolly-looking smiley dude, was from Namibia. Three Africans in a room with me. Teeheehee. I've never even met anyone from Rwanda or Namibia, or Mauritania, before this, and then I had them all at once! I accidentally said something stupid to the dude, because I didn't know that they speak English as a first language in Namibia. He was probably thinking, damn stupid Americans, don't even know what other countries speak the same language as they do. Whoops.
As Shanghai was going to be our last stop on our journey, I suggested we just stay in Nanjing for a few more days, because we would only have two days in Shanghai anyway and we were both really enjoying Nanjing and we were so tired. But C said, but we're so close to Shanghai, and there's that cool high-speed train. And I
did want to take the high-speed train. So we went.
that you wouldn't get bored, and with tons of interesting historical stuff, but not so comfortable or Westernized that you forgot you were in China. C tells me all the time how when he first came to Zhuhai, he was so disappointed and would have flown straight home if he hadn't met me, and now I understand why a move from Nanjing to Zhuhai would be more than a little letdown. The first day we went to the university because he was hoping to encounter a few old friends or teachers. His dormitory building had a new Ayi, and he asked her about the other Ayis and the other foreign people living there. The dorm building looked just the same as on our campus, but a little different. The same in that it's an open building, with no sense of "inside" when you walk "in," pretty cold and grimy-looking. Then we walked across the street to the main campus, which looks just the same as our campus, but a little different. This campus was right in the middle of the city, with a main road running through it - sort of like what I expected SYSU to be like based on the accounts I 
received from the Chinese folks before arrival. HAHA. The Chinese campuses I've seen have a distinct look. I like the aesthetic, sort of. I like it in the way you like something that seems uninviting, but interesting, and which might be cool to experience for a limited time. Kind of like post-tonal music theory. Actually exactly like post-tonal music theory! The campus is big and open, with buildings pretty spread out. Surprisingly, considering how much the Chinese seem to enjoy screaming colors elsewhere, the buildings are totally colorless. There are a few striking facades, the library with an imposing glass front or something. It's like Tian'anmen Square style architecture. 1970s meets futuristic Tian'anmen Square style. The classroom buildings are totally utilitarian, but not falling apart. The dining halls are very cafeteria-like; there are definitely no cushy booths, fireside lounge chairs, cozy nooks, or atmospheric lighting, like us Skidmore folks are used to. Overall stuff looks like it would be cool in the summer, but uncomfortable in the winter and slippery and drab in the rain. There are also no cafes appropriate for real lounging, but a lot of strategically placed benches overlooking dirty lakes or tree-lined streets. 
I got a bit off topic. Our hotel was in the part of town called Gulou, or Drum Tower, and the "Drum Tower" is not a piece of old architecture but the 7th tallest building in the world. There is nothing particularly special about tall buildings in China, and the one in Shanghai that we saw is taller, but I don't think I've ever actually been able to stand at the base of such a tall building and look up. Our metro stop was right there and every time we passed I wanted to stand around and look for a minute. Once at night we went right up to the foot, and to see the top of the building, you had to crane your neck 90 degrees so you're looking straight upwards. During the day, you couldn't see the tippy top because it was up in the mist. I don't know why I thought this was so cool. I think I've never bothered to stand so close to a skyscraper and really think about it, and consider what would happen if a big gust of wind came and blew it over. Like what it would look like, falling to the ground. Eeee!! 
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