Chinese new year trip to Funning

My Chinese new year in 2009 was spent in Funing, adjacent to Yancheng in the North East of Jiangsu province.

My friend Yan Lin and her son Zhu Yan made me welcome in their home town.

They have been my close friends for two years. Zhu Yan is in his last year of middle school and he has just completed his most challenging set of exams I believe he will ever face; his entry into the highly competitive middle school system.

Working all his waking hours he has made it to one of the best schools in Nanjing. More on him later!

His mum Yan Lin, is my best friend since I came to Nanjing, since I met her working with accomodation when I first arrived here.

Together in the holidays, we play some Ping Pong together, go swimming and eat delicious local dishes.

I hope they will one day visit me in Cambridge and we can make them feel at home as they make me feel here!!!

The bus departed later than expected which was ideal for us, because my friend overslept and we were late arriving at the bus station!

The bus was different from a long distance coach in Britain, it was tiny. In Britain long distance public travel is dominated by National Express, where the route is "leased" off the government and the buses have to run maximum capacity buses, even if it means a lot of the time they are empty!

The ride itself was comfortable enough. There was just about enough room for my legs, although sleeping (as in any coach) was not something that came easily. The ride over bumps was certainly not air-sprung, but the roads being very modern gave the suspension little room to grumble. I was pleasantly surprised at the suppression of noise. The engine was very smooth and kept the coach well up with other traffic.

When I arrived there, I got to meet the father. I bought him a nice little Short Wave radio, identical to the one I bought myself (not shown here). Some of my students may remember the lesson where we talked about buying presents.

With his radio I reasoned that he can take it anywhere and it can keep him company. I figured that with the power lead, some rechargeable batteries, he would never feel afraid to use it. I know that some senior citizens in the West are afraid of spending money, so I thought perhaps he might feel the same way.

The picture shows Zhu Yan's grandfather and me on our first meeting, with a collection of coins I bought for him.

Funning is a very modern city with much of the original buildings gone. There is only two small areas where I saw the original buildings still standing. The view of the river "Shen Yang" was quite beautiful at night, since they have decorated it with blue neon lights and other lighting features. It certainly adds to the peaceful relaxing feel you want, when you get away from the daily grind. 

Here is a very interesting view of what seems to be an old building ahead with red brick. However when you look at the gutter and camber of the old pathway here. You realize that the old dwellings still in use today (behind the building ahead, in line with this pathway) have been there the longest. Also the building on the left hand side has been a more recent addition too. I expect that even this not so old 19th century building will soon become a distant memory, as soon as they  get started on a plan for it's redevelopment.