National Week 2012 Kicks Off in Jingzhou

Back in Jingzhou for 3 days before heading down to Guilin and Yangshuo
to hangout with our old colleagues Hedy and Alex.

Typical of China, but nonetheless still interesting to see.

An awesome parking job in front of Cathy's aunt's restaurant.

Cathy's friend's dog, McGrady.

Cathy's cousin of a cousin works at the Jingzhou Museum
and took us on one of her tours.  It was really busy there.

Whoever wrote this BS was one paranoid guy.  I read something like
"Dear Lord of the Afterlife, please allow this man to be an official in the Afterlife
because he was an official  in this life." Bit of stretch...

The second mummy in the Jingzhou Museum.
Somehow, I missed it last time I was there.
Note the embalmed innards on the right.

We went to see a classic musical performance.

Waiting around for our train to Guilin.

Never again will I travel on a Chinese train for more than 6 hours.
The train to Guilin from Wuhan was a nightmare.  16 hours of nightmare
to be exact.  It was crowded to the point where people were
standing IN the washroom. The seats were so uncomfortable, and I got
a grand total of 0 hours of sleep. I actually begged Cathy to get off at Changsha
so we can fly, but we ended up just taking the train.  Hands down my WORST
 experience in the PRC in the last 3 years...and it will be tough to beat.
Highlights included someone spitting on my pants and a kid
taking a dump next to me. If you take a Chinese train, go berth and not seat.

Midnight explosion!!!

Midnight in Jingzhou.  Firecrackers and fireworks have been going off in the distance for the last 2 hours, intensifying as midnight approaches.  Cathy, her mom and I lit some of those red chain firecrackers you always see but never get to experience lit up.  It's one of the clearest nights that I can remember here in Hubei.  Bloody hell, I can see the stars for once, which is a rare sight!  Colorful explosions are everywhere in the sky, across the lake, and behind the Jingzhou city walls.

Unfortunately, none of my pictures do justice to what I saw and heard, so I just stood there and soaked in the experience.  One of the best moments I had in all my travels here in Asia. It will be hard to match.

The firecrackers and fireworks of small-town China during Chinese New Year are equal to the epic Eve of St. James Day fireworks presentation I saw with my mom coming off the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela just after finishing the Camino in Spain. Both were absolutely stunning.

...I'm never seeing another Vancouver Celebration of Lights ever again because it isn't worth my time.

Spring Festival in middle of the Middle Kingdom!

Two more days and I'm off to South Korea.  I've spent the last six days in small-town China with my girlfriend's family for Spring Festival..."Chinese New Year" to all you Westerners out there. Earsplitting firecrackers go off every 30 seconds!

I've been to Jingzhou before, but this time it was a more substantial stay. I've gotten to see Cathy's family in action during the most important celebration of the year here in the Middle Kingdom.  If I had to sum up the entire experience in a word, that word has to be "educational."  I'll leave it at that for now. If you have any questions about what I mean when I say "educational," shoot me a FB message.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Jingzhou

Jingzhou - the ancient capital of the Chu Kingdom during the Warring States Period.  It was one of the most powerful factions until defeated by the Kingdom of Qin. More importantly, it's the hometown of my girlfriend Cathy.

The city is one big historical artifact.  It's one of the few Chinese cities with well preserved city walls.  The local museum houses some very impressive jade exhibits, well preserved weapons (that still have a blade's edge) and even a mummy!

I stayed at Cathy's mother's home, which is near a very pretty but run-down park.  It was a really old abode that probably harked back to the Cultural Revolution.  It housed 4 families in a sort of hutong style.  On one side of the main open-air foyer were the bedrooms, and on the other side were the kitchens. Staying there made me feel like I was REALLY in China.

Cathy's cousin drove us around town and even out to an ancient Chu tomb about 70 km away.  The whole area was still under excavation, and we were one of two groups who got to look around the tomb that day.  The highlight of the tomb was a pit about 100 meters long displaying about 35 chariots and 100 horses.  Another interesting part was the current excavation, which was of a princess or well-loved concubine.  The bottom of the pit had a lot of jade pieces, and archaeologists figured that the "host" really liked this girl.  It was really neat to see current excavation work.
 
Archaeologists don't know who this "host" is, although they know that the entire outlying area is part of his tomb.  He could be a king or prince of Chu, or maybe wealthy royalty.  They haven't started digging up his tomb yet, which is under a foothill, since there's still a lot of work to be done around the main tomb.

Another highlight of my trip to Jingzhou was the local cuisine.  The Spring Festival is coming up, and Cathy's uncle hosted a dinner reunion (the first of many in the upcoming weeks leading up to Lunar New Year). I was invited, but I was wary to keep away from the baijiu, even though Cathy found out it was the expensive stuff.  Seriously, I can't tell the difference between the 30 kwai stuff and the 600 kwai stuff.  All baijiu tastes like nail polish or barf to me. I much prefer sugelan weishiji - Scotch whisky.

I also got a nice pair of aviators to combat the glare of the sun across the snow.

All in all, I really enjoyed myself in Jingzhou.  I got to see Cathy's family and her very historical hometown. Unfortunately, she couldn't come with me on my big adventure, which starts early tomorrow.

Guangzhou and Hong Kong! I'm coming for you!!!