As Christmas only seems to exist in theory in China (tacky Christmas decorations and santa hats are ubiquitous - still are, incidentally - but no one actually celebrates it when it comes to the big day) we had planned to spend it with all the other volunteers in Tianshui, one of the projects up in Gansu. This involved yet another battle with the school in letting us go (they initially wanted to take us to see the bird life at some lake, and then, of course, they were 'concerned for our safty') and another 32 hour train treck to Lanzhou.
We never got as far as Lanzhou though because the train stops in Xi'an, and two of the other volunteers were already there visiting. So three of us jumped off the train early, and within 20 minutes of being there we truly felt we were back in Xi'an. First, the taxi driver to the Hostel, which was literally round the corner from the train station, decided to get out of the cab and start chatting to other cab drivers for about 10 minutes, subtly attempting to get more passengers, and then charged us more than double the right fare, for a ride that took more than double the the time it ought have taken. At least we found a decent Hostel this time, and about an hour after having got off the train, at midnight, we went off for a club. That's another thing about China, you don't bother changing clothes, putting on make-up, or even showering after 20 hours on a train before going out because everyone thinks you're stunning anyway.
Xi'an was pretty much the same but with less tourists and much colder, however we did already begin to see a fair amount of northern China's notorious Winter pollution the west is so raving mad about. The sky was constantly dull and the horizon hazy and unclear.
The next day we met up with our friends studying in Xi'an, and had a nice stroll around the muslim quarters, marvelling at how unbelievable easy it was to haggle. They even spoke English! That evening, after dinner, our friends took us to the soup kitchen they volunteer at, where we all felt a bit useless and out of place, but nonetheless gave a helping hand in handing out baozi (steamed stuffed buns) and soup to the homeless. We got talking to some of the foreigners who run the place and it was really interesting to hear about how they had started the kitchen. It's the first soup kitchen to be opened in China.
That night, same ole same ole, went out and stayed out a bit too late beacause we got up too late the next day and very very narrowly missed our train to Tianshui, so had to get another one. As it was so late the only tickets we could get for the next train were standing tickets, which for the beginning of the journey was severely uncomfortable. We were squeezed onto the overcrouded train and had to stand in the corridor between carriages, occasionaly being able to squat on our luggage but due to the food carts passing through every other minute even this was virtually impossible. This involved quite a bit of intuitive thinking as we basically needed to stand on top of each other to avoid being run over by the cantankerous trolley women. Gradually however, some friendly Chinese took pity on us and one by one we sidled into seats and by the end we were all sitting more or less comfortably, chatting with randomers and staring out at some truly spectacular Gansu scenery. This was all on the 24th so Christmas for me, and I can't think of a stranger, more uncomfortable or more eventful Christmas ever. We arrived in Tianshui that evening and very nearly got into the Christmas spirit as the two person flat gradually filled up with 11 of us as more and more people arrived.
Gansu is the poorest province in China, and it's easy to see why. The landscape is dry and desolate, and when you chance upon a vegetable patch it is also dry and desolate, and you wonder why anybody bothers trying. The earth is shades of brown and grey and covered in a layer of grey dust, and at this time of the year, sporadic patches of white ice and snow. If it weren't for the snow, looking out, you would think you were somewhere in the middle east. It's basically a vast frozen desert. Despite the emptiness and dull colours it really is earily beautiful. It seems an endless wasteland of jagged and rocky mountains. The sheer cliffs are punctured by rounded entrances to dark caves, some made by animals, others humans; a daunting thought. And there's something positively thrilling about seeing a lone motorcycle speeding off on a narrow dusty road which twists it's way further up the mountains. It makes you want to be out there, until you see the occasional lake, frozen over solidly and you remember how cold it is!
Tianshui is a city thats sort of split up into too cities by a large plane of dry paddies. It's reasonably big, with a population of about 3 million, but it doesn't seem it because you only ever see half of it as the other half is in the other end. We didn't ever get to see particularly much of it so there's not that much more I can say. It is surrounded by the usual mountains, these terraced in anticipation of the brief wet season and dotted with the occasional small house.
Had quite an unfomfortable nights sleep squeezed onto a sofa with 4 other people, and was actually quite glad to wake up. Despite the luxury of central heating the houses still don't feel that much warmer than the sub zero temperatures outside. We had organised a Secret Santa for all the volunteers there and from mine I got some mittens, two CD's by Chinese boy bands (love 'em, but I'm still a bit embarassed to say so at least!) and a bunch of other random stuff. In the afternoon we went for a big Chinese banquet as a kind of substitute Christmas dinner, where we amused and possibly scared the waiters a bit by singing every Christmas carol in the book and ordering too much beer. It was quite amusing to see people trying to act sober on phones to parents after not having spoken to them for months. In the evening we went to a bar and then to a club but by this time me and some of the others were so exhausted we decided to go home and have an 'early' night. For some reason we never made it that far and instead went to some random reastaurant and got the worst jidan mifan (egg fried rice) I've had so far in China and played 'never have I ever' with tea. Twas a good but strange Christmas!
We had decided to all go and visit Dingxi, another project in Gansu, the next day so we all got on yet another train, thankfully this time with seats. It SNOWED when we were leaving, but the initial excitement wore off quickly as we got into the longest and most terrifying taxi journey of my life as we drove past 2 pile-ups. I know this isn't impressive compared to what has happened in Britain. Nonetheless, we got to the train station in one piece and then on the train and away.
Dingxi is a tiny city, especially by Chinese standards. It has a population of around 400 000, and is situated between four or so low dusty mountains. It does seem quite desolate but its size and isolation does have its appeal. I loved how almost no matter where you go it always seems no more than a ten minute walk before you are in the middle of nowhere, and one of the buildings the girls worked in was pretty much the last stop before you were there.
So 8 of us once again managed to squeeze into a two persons dorm, this one considerably smaller than the previous, and headed out that evening to make the most o Dingxi's nightlife. This consisted of one small bar/club, where we sat transfixed watching a comedy act made up of an old man dressed in a pyjama suit and a fat woman dressed in tradiional Chinese clothing three sizes too small for her. As with most clubs in smaller Chinese cities, it started to die down at aound 12, and by the end of the night it was just us and the staff sitting and playing drinking games. Eventually they turned the music off and lights on, the cue for us to go home.
The next day we went our seperate ways; the Tianshui girls went home, and the Dingxi girls stayed as the Jiangxi lot went off to Lanzhou. We were planning on going to visit the last project in Gansu, a small village called Tianzhu, but when we got to Lanzhou the only tickets we could get home were for very early the next day, so it was impossible to get back from Tianzhu in time. I was truly gutted because it seems like an awesome place; it's really tiny, consisting of about two or three roads and is really close to the border with Qinghai, a province bordering Tibet and is therefore mainly Tibetan. Tianzhu therefore has a large Tibetan minority. We had planned on eating Yak's meat and buying Tibetan scarves and learning Tibetan swear words from their roommate, and were really disappointed that we couldn't go.
That and that it meant we had to stay a night in Lanzhou. Last visit didn't exactly make me fall in love with the place, and this visit even less so. I don't know how much I described it last time, but even in Summer it's not exactly a scenic city. You can see the full extent of what China is doing to the environment when you are reaching Lanzhou train station. It seems it's all there is half and hour before arrival, power plant after power plant billowing out vast clouds of grey smoke that engulfs the sky. You can feel it when you get off: your throat soon goes raw and there's dust in your eyes, your lips are chapped and your hands dry. The horizon is non-existant and the mountains that were clear last visit are invisible behind the thick haze of smog.
And when the lonely planet is fucking useless for finding hotels, and most of them wont take foreigners, things only get worse. We were actually contemplating either staying up all night or sleepiong in the train station when we finally found a tiny hotel for 50 kuai (5 pounds) a night for a double. This place has been dubbed 'the Brothel.' There were no showers and the toilets disgusting (but then thats standard in China) and we had to ask 5 times before they gave us the keys to our rooms. Needless to say, despite wanting the holiday to continue, this final night had us positively longing the train that has almost come to feel like home, back home.
