We
are in Guangzhou, basically across the border with Hong Kong. It is
23:30 and our train for Chengdu is leaving at 8 am. We have more than
8 hours ahead of us and of course haven't booked any accomodation.
The same weird smog in the hot and humid air and dazzling lights all
around us. There does not seem to be too much of a change, does it?
People approach us on the street, grinning from ear to ear and
shouting alo alo!! They want to get us accomodation or some food and
I will not forget this woman after her offer. When i pointed at the
floor meaning i am just sleeping right here, in front of the railway
station, she looked at me shocked, eyes bugged out releasing a very
long ohhhhhhhhhhh. So yeah, sleeping mats extended onto the floor,
boots off and ready to take a rest! Meanwhile more people are coming
to join us because I forgot to mention that we were not the first
ones and definitely not the last ones taking that decission.
Guangzhou, in front of the train station. Just at the
beginning, before getting completely packed.
Soon
we are surrounded by hundreds of other Chinese lying on the floor (watch "Last Train Home", a Chinese documentary about the migrant workers traveling back home for New Year's festivity).
From entire families to single individuals, from very old people to
young guys, from some people with cool clothes (including this guy
with the hammer and the sickle depicted in a pretty fashionable way)
and smart phones to homeless. The bed they prepare is at least as
diverse, ranging from simple pages of the newspapers to mats,
blankets etc. Don't you believe that we went unnoticed. I felt
watched all the time and i really loved that feeling, it was so
funny. People taking photos of us or coming over to check our mats
and chat with us (in Chinese so you can imagine). We were also
introduced into their wonderful hygienic habits, meaning spitting
every 30 seconds with a ripping sound as if they were casting away
demons and other things for which i have no words since “disgusting”
falls short. It is almost 6 am, I have been awake listening to and
watching fascinated all these people picking up newspapers and
cardboard, entire families sleeping on the street, vendors with their
carts, “wonderful” ripping sounds and the police taking away
someone every now and then. All of this surrounded by massive
buildings, loads of lights, KFCs etc while a rooster can be heard in
the distance. It is time to sleep for a couple of hours and i do it
with this in my mind: it is different, indeed...
Up
for one of the most hardcore experiences of my life. About 32 hours
of train on a hard seat and I think it is unnecessary to say that we
continue being the only foreigners here. The first hours are really
fine. I am just watching through the window and it could not be more
fascinating. I read there is a saying in China which means something
like “For the new thing to come, the old must go”. It is
incredible this whole cicle of construction/destruction. The
countryside was incredibly beautiful: lush forest, wild misty hills,
beautiful lakes and croplands... and every now and then i would see
something which was hard to accept it as a village. Houses and
buildings abandoned or even half constructed, horrible facades and
all of them extremely close to each other, leaving no space for even
a normal street. No cemented streets, no square, no shops, no parks,
no temples... nothing, only sand, bricks, debris and weeds. All of
this surrounded by beautiful nature and everything seemed desserted
if it hadn't been for some people every now and then working on their
fields.
While
I wander in my thoughts about all this misterious land, life
continues on the train. That is, people are speaking very loudly,
making jokes and laughing. They are incredibly noisy and it is
particularly striking because people of all ages are like this. For
instance, we had next to us this group of man definitely above their
40s who would be listening to this horrible music which would be
really loudly, and they would be laughing and watching everyone
around making sure everybody hears it even though many people, like
us, were trying to sleep. There are a few things you need to know
about them. There is a bad side, which is the absolute lack of many
of those things we call hygiene or education standards. This means
you have to be prepared for people of all ages jamping on their
seats, shouting, open mouth while eating and sucking their food,
casting away demons (if you recall what this means and believe me,
you won't escape from this no matter where you are, whether it is on
a train, a bus or anything) and throwing everything, but everything,
on the floor. Oh, i almost forget, they blow their nose with their
hands. Another thing which still might belong to the bad side is that
they have no understanding about private space. They will literally
invade your space, take your book or your stuff to check it without
asking, sit almost on top of you etc etc. If you are capable of
handling this, then you can enjoy the good side which is, they are
generally really really nice. They will smile at you and observe you
like you are the most amazing and fascinating thing they have ever
seen. We tried to have a conversation with this bunch of men and you
can imagine the level of that conversation. We tried to say our
countries in Chinese and a few more things and everything turned to
be very lovely so although we hardly understood anything, we all
laughed and took photos together. This will happen to you as often as
you want, because they will be keen and many will offer you food,
whatever they have. Do not reject it. Another fascinating thing was
this member of the train crew who was every few hours trying to sell
something. Jesus, this people are good at selling stuff. At the
beginning it looked more like he was angry and would practice his
martial arts with all of us. What an intensity, what a dramatism. I
didn't understand a single word but hell, i am sure i would have
bought that belt if i had understood. He was talking about it for
like half an hour as if he were discussing about politics in Europe!
That belt had for sure even a car incorporated. Anyway, I must move
on and will only add that by the time we were only a couple of hours
from Chengdu i was feeling i would collapse and would not make it to
the end of that journey. Do not ever try this hardcore experience, at
least not in China, believe me...
Some of our friends on the train to Chengdu
We
are in Chengdu with Mason, a Chinese artist who very kindly offers a
bed for coach surfers. When we get to his flat, i am driven back in
time to my father's atelier and my uncle's studio. The oil, the
canvases, the easels...and he is actually a pretty cool guy. Finally
someone we can have a conversation with. He talks a lot about Europe
and he actually knows quite a lot about European film directors,
artists etc. In between all the stuff about Europe and his sudden
jokes about sex, he also tells us his view about China. He says they
are at a stage where pretty much everything is allowed as long as you
do not question at all the party and the structure of power. I ask
him among other things about homosexuality, since that guy in Hong
Kong told me it is more accepted in mainland China than there.
Mason's view is that it is not officially accepted but they just turn
a blind eye on it, put a curtain over it and claim it does not really
exist. Just about that time the observation comes that Mao's head is
on every single money bill but the ones which worth 0.5 and 0.1 yuans
(0.5=1.5Kc=less than 6 euro cents). Those ones worth nothing and
therefore, contain people...
Mason, a Chinese artist and our friend from Chengdu
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