南浔 Nánxún

Hello, all!

Hopefully everyone is having a good weekend? I myself just got back from a short jaunt to Nanxun, which is a small water village 125 km northeast of Hangzhou. The program encouraged us to do small-group travel by partially reimbursing our travel and living expenses, so I went with my roommate Chen Yan and her boyfriend Xu Chaojing (who happens to be the roommate of the other Fulbrighter on the program, who decided not to come. Yes, this is a bit third-wheelish, but since the couple spends a lot of time together I'm just getting used to it). It's only two hours away by bus, and we left Friday afternoon and got back tonight.

Once we arrived we checked into our hotel, which was an old, converted house on the river. The patrons were very nice and the lodgings decent; for 73 yuan/person ($11) we got individual rooms with AC and a private bath, as well as breakfast (which was... interesting, but not my thing). The entryway had a courtyard with a garden, and there was even a scholarly studio. 

After settling in we went for dinner, and then promptly realized that there's absolutely *nothing* going on there at night. Things were very quiet for our entire visit, which rather unsettling in China. In any case, we went back to the hotel and I learned how to play Mahjong, which was a lot of fun.

This morning after been woken up by the chickens outside of my room, we had breakfast and headed out to see the sights. The old residences were really beautiful, and some had an interesting blend of traditional Chinese and European architecture and decor. They also had a lot of gardens, which I would say was the best part. All in all, it was a fun and interesting cultural experience. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure:

Interior courtyard/garden at our hotel

Me (feeling slightly awkward) posing with the pipe by the scholar rock and antique furniture

View near of the river at dusk

Me with Chen Yan by the river

An example of the European influence at one of the villas

(No, I wouldn't recommend swimming in this water. Or touching it. Or eating anything out of it.)

小莲庄 (Little Lotus Villa) from across the large pond of Lotus plants

Chen Yan and Chaojing. Yes, they're always this cute. It's slightly painful.

So aside from that, just a few anecdotes:

Old China meets new China?

• I had never experienced a wooden Chinese bed until last night. While I thought my bed here at the dorm was "firm," the bed at the hotel was actually just wood with a sheet on top. If you care to replicate the experience, place a sheet on a wooden floor and plop on down. It's just about as comfortable as you would expect.
• The "how to eat an oreo cookie" commercial has made it to China! And guess who's in it... Yao Ming! It's really cute, I was quite entertained.
• I'm not sure if this happens elsewhere, but in China tourist locations have small shops where you can pay to put on their various costumes (mostly traditional Chinese outfits) and have your photo taken. Chen Yan decided to go for it, although I decided against it. She had an extensive photo shoot with Chaojing; I'll attach a photo (they borrowed my camera once theirs ran out of battery)
• You know that you've been in China for a bit when you start gawking at other foreigners. Then you stop, pause, and think, "Oh wait... that's right. Whoops."

That's all for now. There are some fun things coming up this week, including the Mid-autumn festival and going to see an opera performance for my 1-on-1 tutorial. I'll keep you posted!