My Final Week in the Mainland of China - Goodbye Guangzhou and Mainland China!

 Zhujiang New Town - The neighbourhood where I lived

Today I left Guangzhou, Mainland China and am now chilling in my shiny hotel in Hong Kong.

Leaving Guangzhou was cripplingly upsetting, I still can’t believe how hopelessly attached I became to the city, especially with how much I hated the stress and crowds when I first arrived. It truly has become like my ‘3^rd home’ (after Chesterfield and Sheffield). Seeing the sites I’ve come to know so well pass me by on my one-way train away from it was like losing a dear friend.

There’s just so much to do in the place, much of which had already been done by the end of my 6 month stay – so I certainly developed a broad picture of the city, but with so many memories and places I’ve grown attached to it was difficult to decide what to do with my last week there. I think I used my final days well, sharing them with friends I have there and taking in the final sites of the places I adore.

A night of Food and Drinks!

This week Yinzi’s friend Dukhyun has been travelling around China and came to visit her in Guangzhou for just one night only - So we gathered with some of Yinzi’s other friends from Sheffield for some food and drinks by the Pearl River!

It’s quite amazing how many of Yinzi’s friends from Sheffield have now ended up in Guangzhou, almost like fate brought us together to help us through the daunting process of entering the big scary world after University, and in my case the daunting process of acclimatizing to a new city in a new country in the big scary world.

I think this is the only night I can recall having met with a group of people for a social evening with drinks and chat since my time here in Guangzhou, and I missed such events! I look forward to reuniting with the company of friends and booze when I return to the UK.

It was a great chance to indulge in one of my favourite things about Guangzhou – the beautiful night views reflected on the Pearl River. It’s so relaxing by the riverside, and I’ll greatly miss it.

 

The Yangtze River from the Plane

The Wedding

We returned to Yinzi’s hometown for 2 more nights to attend her best friend’s wedding! This meant paying one last visit to her grandparent’s house where I spent Chinese New Year, but now in the full bloom of spring! It’s truly peaceful there.

A view from the farm roof at sunset

We went to visit the tomb of Yinzi's relatives once more. I could not take photos of the tomb, but the surrounding area was quintessentially Chinese

 The Barn Room I stayed in during Chinese New Year

There were so many Spring chics running around!

The next day was the day of the wedding, where I was one of the best men.

Before the ceremony it’s tradition that the bride and groom greet the guests at the main entrance, however there were two weddings going on at the same time so two couples lined up at the door. Once I got to the outside entrance I was approached by a man with a huge video camera asking for an interview in Chinese, which I pulled off relatively well….not really…

The View from Yinzi's bedroom window in the morning

As I stood there, crowds began to form on the streets to point and take photos of me…this was the moment that stood out as one of my many ‘Adam, where are we and what are we doing?’ moments.

It was explained to me afterwards that I was invited down to the main entrance by the bride’s request to Yinzi. It turns out the two marrying couples were rivals, and the other couple were putting on a huge show with photos posted on the walls and everything. So in an attempt to out-do them in popularity the bride called Yinzi and demanded I come downstairs. It worked very well. I wondered why the other couple were giving me such evil stares before they went indoors. Did I do a good thing?

 

The ceremony. My orders were set out plainly and simply – follow Yinzi at all costs.

So we went into the room with hundreds of people sat at their tables when the host of the ceremony approached Yinzi and the other bridesmaids and took them away….ok, I’ll just follow the other guys.

The ceremony begins with a huge display of lights accompanied with hilarious superhero-typed theme music (followed by my attempts to hide my laughter) and the host calls us onto the stage…..then he calls me forward and begins asking me questions in Chinese…while the audience watched….while the guy from earlier was still filming… this was another ‘Adam, where are we and what are we doing?’ moment. I was unable to respond but luckily the other best men saved my arse by answering for me and I was allowed to get back to my original job of walking and standing.

 

The Bride and Groom

I gladly had some very strong drinks afterwards. 

The view from the hotel onto the town - where the wedding preparation took place

It was madness, but what an experience!

Final day - Final Views of my past

For my final day I had to take one last visit to the places I knew so well here, beginning with my first apartment.

The first view of my new home

This may not look like such an eye-catching photo, but to me it’s one of my most vivid visions of China. When we arrived at the train station in Guangzhou we got straight onto a taxi, which dropped us off at this spot. I remember stepping out, absorbing all the stares from passers-by and looking at the make-up of the environment – it was so alien to me. The buildings looked like they needed demolishing years ago, the street was covered in filth and the noise was unbearable. What was stranger was seeing a familiar face in this strange environment, my friend Kexiong! He led us to my apartment building which proved to be even more of a shock. I remember thinking ‘how am I going to adapt to this?’

 

My old apartment building

 

The street I used to live on

 

The facade of my workplace

 The shopping street near my old apartment

 

The metro stop I took to work everyday

The Zoo Metro Stop - where I got off for work!

Well, I did – and even more than that, I grew so attached to the place. I passed the spot everyday as I walked to work, and now it’s so normal to me. It taught me one of my most valuable lessons I gained here – with time anywhere can become a home.

 

My Apartment Building (Day and Night)

After 2 months I moved to a new place in Zhujiang New Town, a contrast to my previous place! It felt like I’d been working hard to build a life for myself and had suddenly broken through and hit the big time, gaining a comfortable lifestyle in a luxurious environment.

I’ll miss the folk who ran the building, such as the security guard who smiled and said ‘hey!’ whenever I returned home. It wasn’t much but when you’re in a foreign land with not many folk to interact with, it meant a lot.

 My street

 

Zhujiang New Town - Just 30 seconds from my Apartment! 

 

I'm still amazed that I managed to live in a place like this

 

The view from the bridge to work

 

My street at night

 I loved this apartment and the surrounding area. I and Yinzi truly made it our own, and leaving those keys behind was the hardest part of leaving until now – ok, I cried a little bit.

After leaving we took Yinzi’s things to her new hostel where she will stay for the next month, and so will RuiGui. Unfortunately despite by best attempts I could not find a viable method for taking him home with me, so for now at least this place is his home. Luckily, the people living in the hostel also have a pet turtle, so he will be in good hands! I miss the little guy already, I love you RuiGui!

So now I’m with Yinzi here in Hong Kong – Guangzhou is behind me, what lies ahead is 2 nights here and then flying back home, leaving Yinzi behind. How do I feel? Too much. It’s impossible to express how much I don’t want to leave her, I can’t comprehend how horrible it will be. All we can do is hope for the best and take it as a test for our relationship, making sure we can still be there for each other despite the distance. Like my 6 months in China and her 1 year in England, it’s just another phase of our lives – it will be both challenging, highly rewarding and better times still lay ahead.

Zai’jian!