Xin Nian Kuai Le; Gong Xi Fa Cai - Happy Chinese New Year; Good Fortune Smile on You.

Hanjiang River and No. 1 Bridge Xiangfan

Imperial Library

My time in Wuhan City, Hubei Province is drawing to a close. I was supposed to go back to Australia to see my family, but bureaucratic red tape put an end to that, so this month, as I wait to head off to my new teaching position in SuZhou City Jiangsu province, I am taking time out to visit a few people.

I spent last week in Xiangfan City in Hubei, staying with a former student and his mother. Mother, who until her retirement taught Chinese, could speak no English. His father, a manager, works in Chibi City, about which I have written before.

According to one Chinese Website, Xiangfan is an historical and cultural city in the southwest of Hubei Province. It has an area of 26.7 thousand square kilometers and a population of 6.75 million.

The central part of Xiangfan is a plain. The rest are mountains and hills. Xiangfan has a subtropical monsoon climate with an annual average temperature of 15.8C, and has 240 frost-free days. Annual rainfall averages 878 millimeters. 

1000 year old street in Xiangfan

I travelled to Xiangfan by bus and returned by Train. The train is supposed to take longer than the bus, but my 3.5 hour bus trip became a 5 hour trip, and the New Year Price rip off put the cost of the bus ticket to 116 RMB as opposed to the 51 RMB I paid to come back by train.  Nevertheless the scenery was good to look at.

After a 2 hour wait at the bus station to catch the bus to Xiangfan, then the 5 hour trip, my friend Shangxin who met me at the bus station, immediately tried to put me in a cab for the journey to his home.  I was having none of that.  First things first. 1. A cigarette and 2. Stretch the legs.

We finally arrived at his home, and his mother cooked us some dinner.  The following but extremely foggy day, we went to the supermarket. 

It was located in a street with a 1000 year history, at one end of which was an imperial library, and at the other, a tower overlooking the Hanjiang river. 

 This was in the old city area, for there was an ancient city wall surrounding it.

We went back two days later on what turned out to be the only sunny day, to take the photographs presented here today. 

While I enjoyed my stay, it was a real pity that the weather turned sour, for I had wanted to go to WuDang Mountain which was mentioned in the movie Crouching tiger Hidden Dragon, photos of which you can see here, with some information here.

Crouching Tiger - Hidden Piglet.

From the River Tower looking toward the Imperial Library

There isn't really much to write about my trip, given that it was mostly spent indoors, but I did have a lot of fun; had two massages at the Blind Doctor Massage Office; and spend a good deal of time conversing with my friend's Mother.

I've posted 28 larger photos at King's Calendar. That file is practically all photos and has almost no text, with the exception of a funny story that relates to using a public toilet, and the surprises that foreigners might encounter. It's not quite the story that you might expect.

R.P.BenDedek

rpbendedek@hotmail.com

Ancient City Wall Xiangfan

R.P.BenDedek (pseudonym) is the Author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran (www.kingscalendar.com) and is a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News.

From Brisbane in Australia, BenDedek comes from a Multi-Faith and Multi-Ethnic family (including Christians and Muslims), and will soon be teaching Conversational Business English in SuZhou, Jiangsu Province China.