Welcome To Wuhan!

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As a part of our mini-vacation due to the sports meet on campus at the end of October, we decided to be tourists in Wuhan. We wanted to see all of the “tourist” sights that we had previously ignored as we tried to get used to the city as “locals”. We had a very ambitious list of hot spots including museums, the Yellow Crane Tower, East Lake and Mulan Mountain. The middle of the week was filled with birthday and Halloween celebrations which were followed by a few days of recovery. Our grand plans dwindled into an attempt to go to the Art Museum (which was closed, unbeknownst to us). I still wanted to do SOMETHING with our free time…

Celebrating my birthday made me nostalgic for birthdays past. One of my favorite things to do at my birthday party was a scavenger hunt. My parents would come up with a list of random, small household items and a few creative challenges (like the ubiquitous “eye of newt”). We would divide into teams and run around my neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for pink paperclips and macaroni noodles. I loved the competition and it was always so fun to see all of the people around the neighborhood get into it and scour their drawers and couch cushions for our random requests. I wanted to do something like that again. I asked the group what they thought about a Photo Scavenger Hunt. I volunteered to come up with a list of things that we had to find around town and photograph. Everyone was up for it, so we decided to devote our Sunday afternoon to our shutterbug quest.

It couldn’t have been a better afternoon! We met at my place at 3 and picked teams by flipping a coin. After debating which side of a Chinese coin was “heads” (the flower or the number), we were divided into two teams: Nick, Alexes and Laura and Katie, Sarah and me. It was so neat to be out around town for 4 hours with no real destination. We wandered down streets that we had never been down, took buses that we had never ridden and actually experienced parts of the city that we had never given a second thought to before. Our list was comprised mostly of the things that surprised us about China at first, but have since become a part of our daily life. It was good to be reminded how extraordinary (and just plain weird) a lot of things are. We had a few inside jokes and a category entitled “Only in China” for all of the random things that we see here that you would never see at home.

Here is the list:

-Group Shot
-Something with an American Flag
-Baby butt (bonus if the baby is going to the bathroom)
-Picture with a white person (that we do not already know)
-Chinese Man with a purse (bonus if there is no girl around)
-Stinky Tofu
-A Body of Water
-A sign from another University in Wuhan
-Huckelbeary or Tennessee Ken drinking in a cab (these are two of our mascots and they both involve a long story. If you really want to know, just ask…)
-A person carrying vegetables in a basket over his/her shoulders
-Two shops literally next to each other selling the same thing
-Chinese people exercising
-Chinese people squatting playing cards/games by the street
-Public urination by an adult (bonus for defecation)
-An autumn leaf (not yellow or brown)
-Someone sweeping the sidewalk (bonus if it is one of us)
-Bamboo
-The Group Crossing the Street (aka Human Frogger)
-Jiaozi
-Underwear hanging out to dry
-Street Performers
-Liu Xiang advertising different products (as many as you can find)
-Muslim Noodle shops (as many as you can find)
-Americans advertising different products (as many as you can find)
-“Only in China” (as many as you can find)
-Chinglish signs (as many as you can find)

-Best in Show

We had such a great time, we are definitely planning on doing this again with a new list.

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Photos

Leaves!
I had been lamenting the lack of colored leaves and we found these beautiful red ones right outside of the gate of our apartments.

Only in China
Here is a man riding a bike carrying a gigantic bamboo ladder. The finishing touch is the cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he does so.

Chinglish Sign
This is one of my favorite signs on campus. We have an ongoing debate as to what "bampling" is.

Sarah Sweeping
There are woman sweeping the streets pretty much 24/7. Sarah saw this broom and took up the job just long enough for us to take the pic.

Liu Xiang
I was joining him in his victory lap...

Two Stores Literally Next to Each Other That Are Selling the Same Thing
This was an entire street filled with paper stores.

People Crouching On The Side of the Street Playing a Game
Sarah was super sneaky to get this picture. She sidled up, feigned interest and snapped away.

Person Carrying Stuff in Baskets
Even in the big city, this method of carrying is more common than you would think.

Only in China
Here is a lady selling pelts. What?!?

Only in China
This was a live wire dangling dangerously over a sidewalk.

Man with a Purse
That is clearly his clutch.

Baby Butt
Chinese babies/toddlers don't wear diapers. They have split crotch pants. Parents hold them out and they go pretty much anywhere...

Only in China
This is actually a sidewalk. The cars and scooters drive on the sidewalk if the road is too busy.

American Advertising
Tom and Jerry are huge here. Clearly, they are the right choice for a store that sells purses.

Only in China
"Hey, no one will notice this cracked and uneven sidewalk if we throw a red carpet over it!"
"Yeah! Good idea!"

Only in China
Clothes hanging out to dry...right next to the busy road.

Only in China
Katie is buying a beer from a boy that cannot be more that 10. This is a phenomenon that we first encountered in Shanghai. Alexes dubbed the kid "Little Boy Booze".