Adventures in Guangzhou!

The tower itself is stunning. Supposedly it inspired Li Bai to write a very famous poem about it many years ago and there is also a whole myth that relates to the crane. Very interesting stuff. There is an enormous bell which Tyler happily gonged right beside the tower and several other buildings to see on the grounds of the park. We walked around for the whole morning and part of the afternoon, just taking in the city sights. Climbing the tower helped me to get my bearings quite a bit in terms of the layout of the city. I did notice that for a city of 8 million (only ~2 million less than Guangzhou [heh, only]) it is decidedly flat. There are hardly any skyscrapers or any other ostentatious displays of money. Wuhan is a big ol' dirty city like GZ, but it has a *much* different feel to it.

After touring the tower we took an inadvertant trip across the bridge (no left turn? since when do cabbies ever follow traffic laws, especially in China??) and then headed back towards the university to get some lunch. Once again, I was floored. For the equivelant of about a dollar each, we all had two enormous trays of really good jiaozi (dumplings) and a tasty soup with or without noodles. The place was a little hole in the wall that certainly had its share of flies but man was it worth it! I was so inspired that I suggested we go back the next day.

The afternoon highlight was watching a movie and taking a nap. We all agreed that the Chinese system of having a daily nap time after lunch is excellent. I almost feel guilty because with the high school schedule, our afternoon break is from noon-2:40pm while the universities get started again at around 2pm. Anyhow, I hopped in my sleeping bag and was out for a solid 2 hours or so. We woke up and immediately headed out to dinner around 7ish. Once again, this is my kind of weekend- wake up, have breakfast, do some sightseeing, have a feast for lunch, watch a movie, nap, wake up and have yet another feast. What can I say? I probably don't even have to reiterate, but it doesn't take much to make me happy as long as there's food involved.

After dinner we met up with Philip, our tourguide and benefactor from the Hangzhou/Shanghai adventure. Not surprisingly, in the three weeks since I saw him last, he has gotten himself elected to the student government, helped organize their sports day, and still found time for his studies and a new girlfriend. This kid is going far, that much is certain. After another minor taxi adventure, we headed out to a place called Vox Bar.

There are apparently two cities in China that have an underground rock scene: Beijing and, yup--you guessed it, Wuhan. The large majority of Chinese people seem to prefer the cheesy pop that I abhor, but there are apparently enough people around generating interest in punk-rock and indie-rock to support this bar which is a good sign. I really felt like I knew some kind of secret password to a hidden world as I walked in. The bar is in the middle of nowhere and you would *never* find this place unless you knew where to go. Inside the bar was packed with Chinese and a smattering of internationals, all of which were going nuts for the opening band. I glanced over at the bar and saw a sign advertising 5 kuai beers. Now that's my kind of place! I also noted their business card which proclaims Vox Bar as the "Voice of youth, Voice of freedom...a REAL bar. REALLY!" Let me be the first to say that they are not exaggerating.

While the opening band was packing up and the main attraction, Sound Fragment, was getting set up, I met Wuhan, Chinese friend of Tyler and Mal. Wuhan (yes, named after the city) plays guitar for a hard core band and is super cool. He is incredibly welcoming, extremely hip, and surprisingly knowledgeable on all types of music, especially for someone studying computer engineering. He explained to me how Beijing has more bands than Wuhan but that the heart of the rock scene is in Wuhan. In excellent English he explained that in Beijing they dress the part but that in Wuhan they live it. Normally I would chuckle at a cheesy comment like that, but by the end of the night I believed it.

The minute Sound Fragment started playing, I was totally into it. They were a little Coldplay, a little Radiohead, a smidgeon U2, and a whole lot of contagious energy that the crowd fed off. I didn't understand a word of their lyrics (apart from the occasional "I don't have..." as well as a few numbers here and there) but it didn't matter. Talent is talent when it comes to music and these guys have it. Wuhan filled me in that they're really big now in the underground scene and that they came down from Beijing for the show. I was inspired enough to buy their CD which, while not quite as good as a live performance, is still worth a repeated listen.

After the band finished up, people continue to party to the DJ'd music. Around 2am, the owner jovially proclaimed that everyone should "get the %$#* out" and proceeded to join the 15 or so people left to get some shaokao. We walked down the street as a pack to some random alley and created the after-party right then and there. Over yet another feast, I talked to Wuhan about traveling and music and to some french guy about being a westerner in China. It was brilliant. Before I knew it, we were heading home at close to 5am. What a night...