The Ancient City of Zhenyuan

Saturday, June 26th, 2010 in: News, Travel

Zhenyuan is a lot like Budapest, in that it is in fact twin cities divided by a river, Ben informs us as our hired car pulls up to our first attempt at finding an available hotel in the city. It seems that this is where the similarities end. It’s a public holiday, which makes this task more difficult than usual. Zhenyuan is a popular tourist destination. The first three hotels are already full, and we were about to move on when Ben snagged the last two rooms in a riverside hotel. The price is almost as much as what we paid for 4-star accommodations in Tongren, and the hotel was clearly not up to snuff, but the situation demanded it. This way of traveling is not without its drawbacks. The view was nice at least.

We wandered down the streets and discovered that although there were many tourists, the overall feeling was much different from Fenghuan, with far fewer souvenir shops. Most of the people here were from nearby, using the public holiday to come visit. It was a much more relaxed, comfortable atmosphere; we didn’t feel bullied by it.

We had a nice dinner out on the veranda overlooking the river and a fabulous old stone bridge crossing it. Temples were carved into the surrounding mountains, adding to the apparent age of the city. We decided to walk over the bridge and down the riverfront, occasionally getting stopped to take photos with groups of young tourists. I start thinking about making funny faces in the photos to muck them up, but then I think about how bizarre that reputation would be, as the foreigner that makes a funny face in everyone’s photos.

We crossed another bridge back to our rooms, and grandpa decided to call it quits. lacking internet, I did some writing on my computer and decided to go out again. Jim and Ben were off doing their own thing, so I was left to wander on my own. I took a similar path to the one we walked in the daylight, but at night everything got lit up very cheerfully. I stumbled upon a foreigner escorted by some young Chinese girls. “Well, this is a welcome surprise!” I exclaimed. “Yeah, I didn’t expect to see a fellow waiguoren out here!” He was a teacher in a neighboring province, from New York, traveling with some of his students. “Are you single?” one of them asks me. “um, what?” I laughed in response, and laughed again when the New Yorker explained that she meant to ask if I was traveling alone.

Further down the road, I spot some amazing lanterns dancing in the reflective river. As I crouch to take a photo, I see a flash to my side, and realize that someone has taken my photo. A group of kids in their late teens wave to me and beckon me to join them. Why not, this could be interesting! And indeed it was; they were there for the holiday as well, enjoying a drink on the river. We share a few beers and some stories; they’re fascinated by my travels and apologetic for their English, which is just good enough to get the point across while still being amusing. “David, I want to ask you just one question.” I must have heard that sentence 30 times that night. We all had a good time, and when we stood to leave, they offered to walk me back to my hotel. At first I said it was really no problem, that I had no trouble getting back on my own, but one of them leaned in close and whispered “Just say yes, we’re a bit embarrassed to say that we want to stay with you as long as possible.” It was my turn to be embarrassed, and I relented, leading the stumbling crowd to see me off at my hotel.

Once again, a night is made more fun and interesting by a chance encounter.

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