Jiangsu Journal: Two Years in Changzhou

Getting There

Tue, Aug 24, 2004 - 06:00am

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They say getting there is half the fun. I didn't find that to be so. Not at all. A journey by airplane that lasts more than 22 hours is not what I'd call fun. However, there were a few perks. The transpacific leg included several meals, which is more than I can say for most domestic flights these days. I had the foresight to pre-order Kosher meals which (among other things) means that I received my meal before most of the rest of the passengers. The Chosen People indeed.
The in-flight map as the plane crossed the Sea of Ochotsk. I thought playing Risk was the closest I'd ever get to this particular body of water.

There was a classic case of airline turf war going on between me and the passenger to my left, Matt, over the armrest. Apparently this fellow was an experienced traveler and had no qualms about hogging the armrest, causing me to list to the right for most of the trip. I think the kinks are out of my back now. Mostly. The guy was a Mormon businessman out of Salt Lake, apparently one of the many who travel to Shanghai to mine the vast labor resources of the China. We didn't talk much. He did, however, suggest that I get a foot massage as soon as it was convenient. I think that goes without saying, though.

Another obvious advantage to the transpacific flights was the in-flight entertainment. I'm a movie fan, so I was glad that there were a few movies on the flight. The passengers were treated to a viewing of The Whole Ten Yards, Hidalgo, and most of Starsky and Hutch. Unfortunately, the latter was interrupted in the last 15 minutes so that we could land. But, that was fine… By that time I was good `n' ready to get off the plane.

Arrival at Shanghai's Pudong Airport

Wed, Aug 25, 2004 - 06:00pm

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I wanted to be prepared, so I spent a good amount of time reading different accounts from people who had entered the country before me. Several people said that their computers and/or cameras had been catalogued by customs at the time they entered. Others had been exhaustively searched. I was a little concerned that some of the things I was bringing into the country might create problems.
The baggage claim carousel at Pudong Airport, Shanghai.

In reality, the most difficult part about the Pudong airport was baggage claim… and that difficulty was itself pretty relative. It took quite some time for the luggage to finally come out on the conveyor, but when it did, it was all together and unharmed. In retrospect, the thorough search I was subjected to at SFO was far more of a hassle than anything that had happened since then. The so-called war on terrorism created far more problems than the Chinese authorities. Not that I had anything in my baggage for dogs to sniff out, but the only dogs in the airport were cargo— some passenger's pet.

No photograph can do the Pudong Airport justice. The structure is freaking enormous. If it's not the largest airport I've ever been to, it does a damn good job of pretending to be.
With customs up ahead and nothing to declare, I expected at least a brief check and a few questions, and maybe a quick scan of my bag. In fact, the customs booths were all empty: nobody was on duty and so the process of coming into the country amounted to a brief stop at the passport control booth to get the old passport stamped, a long wait at the baggage claim. Without customs officers, I just pushed the cart of luggage through the gate and that was that. The headmaster and our waiban Han were waiting along with the driver holding a very professional-looking sign. Welcome to China!

The Road to Changzhou

Wed, Aug 25, 2004 - 10:00pm

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Just as appearances might suggest, China seems as expansive as the United States. The highways are wide. The cars are small— but getting bigger every year. As I expected, there were a host of cars not available in the U.S. or cars going by other names. I was familiar with the "Super Saloon", the "Sunny", and the "Bluebird" from visits to the Caribbean. Those models are available in China as well. It appears, however, that no car is as popular as the Volkswagen "Santana". This is a small sedan that looks like (and may well be) the VW "Fox" that was sold in the U.S. some years ago. It looks nothing like the hatchbacky VW "Fox" that is now available.
The economical, fashionable and ubiquitous Volkswagen Santana.

The highways are divided into large/medium/small lanes. This gives the Chinese a guideline to ignore. The Chinese are such aggressive and inconsiderate drivers that most cars are rigged with proximity detectors which ring when a car is too close on any side. Even with the relatively conservative driver that was driving that night, the detector rang constantly. The Chinese are also very fond of their horns. They seem to use them to convey a variety of meanings including greeting, zeal, vigor, aggression, anger, and fear. As I was to find out, this is not a habit that is limited to the open highways.
The economical, fashionable and ubiquitous Carlos Santana.

On the way from Shanghai to Changzhou, we stopped at a little restaurant to grab a bite. Our party shored up on moist eggs, steamed green onion and fried rice with sausage. Like most other visits to foreign countries I've taken, the difference in food is the thing that seems to strike you first and hardest. As I expected then, the shock would resonate for weeks— and in more ways than one.

Changzhou: The Frequent Prefecture

Wed, Aug 25, 2004 - 10:30pm

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Far more signs went by in the darkness than expected but finally the Changzhou sign came swooshing into the gaze of the headlights. We pulled off of the highway and headed into the city which would be my home for the next ten months. The city seemed to be asleep. My first impression was that it looked run-down and burnt out. Was this really home to more than a million citizens? On street corners I saw people crowded around gas-powered barbecues, sitting at plastic tables, riding around on mopeds... but for the hour (10:30pm) it seemed pretty vacant. As I would find out shortly, the city goes to bed early.

At one intersection I saw the first of many ingenious new sights. The traffic signal, along with the usual red, amber and green light, sported a two-digit readout which displayed the number of seconds (in the appropriate signal color) remaining in the light's period. Since getting to know the driving habits of the local populace, I've come to wonder just how many lives this mechanism saves.

As we continued through the streets, I started to get a better feel for the size of the city: pretty big. Storefront after storefront passed by. I had expected the downtown area to last only a minute or so, but after a while I realized it was just going to keep going… especially when I remembered that the school was supposedly in the center of town.

Finally, the little van reached the school: Changzhou Middle School Number 24. The guard opened a gate and I tottered through with my luggage as the waiban, Han, led the way up three flights of stairs to the apartment.
Taken from the roof of the school administration building. The Shinco building (right) with its golden satellite dishes dominates the night sky in downtown Changzhou.

After pausing for a moment to catch my breath and put down my bags, I took a look out the window and got a feel for what I had missed on the way in. The skyline was lined with cranes and the night sky was lit up by tall buildings and neon lights. The city started to take on more character in my mind.

Along the hallway from the apartment were many more doors with windows like offices. Now, my expectation was that I would be located in a small building at the corner of the school, but it turned out a little differently. The apartment was on the same level as the school administration offices: the Headmaster, the school's Party Secretary, the Controller and all sorts of other important people would be just down the hall.

Even so, I was very pleased with the accomodations. A roomy outer office opened into a small corridor which in turn led to the bedroom and bathroom. The room had been equipped with a television, an air conditioning unit/heater, a large television set (the popular "Xogego" brand), a Chinese brand ("Legend") computer sitting on a fast 100-base line outbound to the rest of the Internet cloud.
The Haier Boyz

Stuck on the air conditioner was a sticker featuring two boys. I had seen them at the airport, but I was puzzled about who they were and what they represented. Now it was clear. A large home electrics firm in China, called Haier, used these two boys as their feature logo. In the weeks to come, I would be seeing a lot of the Haier boys. Not only this, but they would come to represent an ironic commentary on the disparate ways in which Chinese advertising and Chinese culture dealt with waiguoren (foreigners).

Across the hall was a modest kitchen with stove, refrigerator and microwave. I had no hopes for an oven, so I wasn't disappointed. There was also a small laundry machine. The room was a warm brown tone, even if lit by fluorescent lighting. There was ample storage in the form of cabinetry, shelves and under-bed area.

Han promised that she'd return in the morning with breakfast... and since I hadn't slept on the plane, it was really really time for bed. She made assurances that we would be able to sleep in. Like 9:00am in. I was thankful for whatever I could get, and after a little excited tossing and turning, I fell asleep.