Exploring Nanjing in 1 day

Photo: Business and skyscrapers - Nanjing, China - 18/11/10

One day of wandering around is what I allowed myself in Nanjing where my night train brought me early early in the morning. It was still dark outside when I looked through the windows of the train onto the modern platform. Most of the Chinese clocks were about to announce 6.00am.
First trying to find the left luggage windows to leave my back, because in the afternoon the same day, a different train would be waiting for me to bring me even further north.
I got a little lost on the 3 floors counting train station as signs were not located very convenient but I managed to get my back taken care of so I was ready to take a few escalators into the ground and take the metro. From the north of the city I decided to take the metro to the south part and walk my way back up. I walked first aimlessly a little around and tried to find a good place to get a local breakfast. I found the perfect place in a side street where many local eateries where, with only locals. Many steaming pans on big fires located outside or in the entrance. My most favorite places are where their kitchen basically is located in the entrance or even outside.
I managed to order something by pointing at some noodle-slurping locals, and sat down next to them at a small wooden table outside along the street occupied with many cyclists and cycling market people or other sellers and buyers.

A pleasant walk along the lake; Hangzhou

Photo: West lake at Hangzhou, China - 11/11/10

In China it is very easy to rent bicycles, and this way of transport is promoted quite a lot to the tourists. After a good night of sleep in the hostel next to the west lake, I decided to go and rent a bike and cycle around town. It's quite a place, and most of the points of interests are spread around the city and the lake. Also I was told by some tourists that it's impossible to go around the lake in 1 day and especially by foot, since it is more than a 10k to get around.

Photo: Beautiful autumn trees - Hangzhou, China - 11/11/10

The day before while walking to the hostel on please autumn tree-lined road, I saw a few bike rental places along the streets; those places also being used by locals who own a chip card, press it against a chip card reader and one of the bicycles is being unlocked. I noticed as well that each rental place had a little information point and with a bit of luck they rent out bikes to tourists....

Mt. Huangshan in Cotton Paradise

Photo: Mountain Huangshan, China - 17/11/10

In the hostel in Shanghai I met Julien from Belgium. We got along pretty well and we both planned to climb Mountain Huangshan, a few hundred kilometers west of Shanghai. We planned to go on the Monday or Tuesday and checked for the weather forecast which gave us some disappointing information....clouds and light snow!!! Not exactly what you hope for to enjoy the wide views when climbing a mountain. Luckily on Wednesday the weather was predicted to be clear and sunny.
Since there are quite a few peaks on the top, and a long route was sat out, we planned to go in two days.
On Monday evening we took the night train K8418 leaving at 17.45 from Shanghai for which we had reserved bed in the hard-sleeper, carriage 8, bed row 9, with for me an comfortable upper-berth. There are actually price differences between the lower-, middle- and upper-berth, lower being most expensive, upper cheapest. Our expected arrival in Huangshan Shi, also know as Tunxi was early in the morning.

Indecisive Chinese train journeys

Photo: Train station of Shanghai, China - 15/11/10

A matter of being flexible in China too. While in a touristic town full with canals and many interesting views, I met an English chap, Ed, who at his turn met two Chinese tourists. The four of us spent the day walking around in the city, and the next day Ed and I where leaving for the train station. Ed taking his train back home to a town outside Shanghai, ready to go back to work teaching English, me catching another train to my next destination.
Ed, being able to speak quite some Chinese, helped me getting the train ticket, and after lunch he left to catch his train.
While I was waiting for my train, I was browsing through the lonely planet and re-reading where I was going, what I planned before. Suddenly I realized that I might not want to go to the little villages I planned to go. I didn't feel in the mood to go to these little villages, which probably are beautiful in the summer as per the lonely planet, but in the winter, well suddenly I had a very depressing image in my head with poor looking people doing hard work carrying heavy stuff etc.