Changsha #1: Chaozhong Street and Taiping Old Street

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An unexpected few days off work meant I was able to visit Changsha. I had wanted to visit in the National Day holiday but train tickets were impossible to get. Changsha seems like a popular city for Chinese people to visit, but not really known so much outside of China. The train journey itself was nondescript and after a couple of hours or so, I arrived in Changsha. I was mildly irritated that I had had been unable to set up the subway app on my phone as it only worked with Chinese ID numbers. Luckily, ticket machines in all the subway stations were plentiful so it was easy enough to get a ticket, it just meant I had to know where I was going at all times. Exiting the subway station, I was in one of the main shopping areas of Changsha. It was quite a shock to the system after being in small town China for a few months, but it was a welcome shock. I made my way to where I was staying, which appeared to be in the nightlife district. There were so many bars and clubs. I got the impression that Changsha was a young city. After getting checked in, having a little rest, and getting myself sorted, I headed out. My first stop was sushi as moving to a small town has rather limited my options. I was only a ten minute walk away from the IFS mall and there was a Genki Sushi in there. I got a bit distracted on the way as there is a giant electronic billboard and some of the pictures jump out, kind of in 3D so I spent a while watching that and trying to get some good photos of it. Three was also a statue of a man and a small police presence, I'm not sure of the police presence was to protect the statue or watch over the crowds that gathered to look and photograph/film the billboard, but when I tried to look online, I couldn't find any reference to the statue in English. Since it was still early when I got to the sushi restaurant, it was dead. I quickly got settled into a chair at the revolving belt, but since the restaurant was dead, there was little choice and I ended up having to order quite a few items and have them made for me. I wouldn't mind in that it is probably nicer and fresher to have it made to order, but they are so slow. I don't mind that stuff doesn't all turn up at the same time, but I was waiting so long for some pieces I had to chase them up. The food was lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had shrimp, salmon, softshell crab, eel, and tuna, as well as some takoyaki. I also got to try a new piece which was a roll topped with pureed avocado.

Once full, I headed out to have a walk around the area. Since this area was called Wuyi Square, I headed up to the actual square to see what was there. That was a bit anti-climatic as the actual 'square' was empty. It was a dark and rainy evening, but I quite enjoyed walking along in the rain as it seemed to make the colours in the neon signs more vibrant. I also passed quite a few small vendors selling Chou Dofu (stinky tofu), which I was looking forward to trying later on, after walking and working up a bit of an appetite. I continued my walk and came to the Chaozhong Street Historical and Cultural Block. This area is a smallish neighbourhood covering a few blocks that has had protective status since 1982. The neighbourhood is close to the Xiangjiang River and during the Qing Dynasty and the early days of the founding of New China it was home to the rice and grain industry, which was prosperous. Also when Changsha opened up to the world during the late Qing Dynasty, Changsha Customs and many foreign businesses were located in this area. I entered this area through the Chaozhong Gate. At least I think it was Chaozhong Gate. The first street I walked up was filled with small restaurants and bars. With all the neon signs, it reminded me of Korea, specifically the backstreet neighbourhoods of Gangnam in Seoul and Ingyedong in Suwon. Although it was super quiet in comparison. I think it was the rain and also the fact it was a school night, meant there weren't too many people about. The perks of being able to travel on a weekday. I spent a good while wandering the different streets in the neighbourhood. I really liked the place. It was a good combination of old and modern, in that the buildings were mainly in keeping with the past but now had modern style attractions in them. Despite it being a big tourist draw, it still felt like a real neighbourhood and it was interesting to see people going about their daily lives while dodging the rain. While most of the buildings had been kept in the old style, the former site of the Hunan Orphanage had some cartoonish street art added to its façade, which I quite liked. The orphanage had originally been founded in 1913 in Xiangtan and was called the Baochi Orphanage for the Poor. It relocated to Youju Alley in Changsha the following year and was renamed in 1917. I wished that I had time to return to this neighbourhood on my trip as I would have liked to see it during the day to see how it compares. I also liked that you could see the big skyscrapers of the city from this neighbourhood.

There was another popular neighbourhood, Taiping Old Street, that I wanted to visit. It wasn't too much of a walk away and would also leave me pretty much back at my accommodation. Perfect! I was in need of the bathroom so stopped off in a mall, which was rather dead. I did have a bit of a laugh on my way to the bathroom, I came across a poster for a company (which has long been out of business) I used to work for. A funny blast from the past and a sign that changing posters ins't a priority in that mall. I came to the entrance of Taiping Old Street and immediately liked the area. It just felt so vibrant and full of life, without being too busy. I also liked the mix of all the stores done out selling local products with smaller individual vendors sitting selling their wares on the street. I had a good walk around the neighbourhood up and down the main street and venturing off into some of the smaller side streets. It was busy, but not chock-a-block, which was nice as it meant I didn't have to move with the crowd. The shops were pretty repetitive on the main street pretty much alternating stinky tofu stores with sexy tea places. Sexy tea isn't as bad as it sounds, it's just the name of a local tea chain. I had been instructed to try it by a co-worker who used to live in Changsha, but didn't fancy one yet. At the end of the street I came to one of many 'Hey Hey Black Tofu' shops. I went and ordered a small portion of stinky tofu. Since it was quiet there wasn't much of a queue and I quickly received my order. I really like stinky tofu and Changsha is known as the place to eat it. I was excited to try it. I think my expectations were a bit too high as it was nice, but not that nice. It wasn't particularly spicy on the initial bite, but the heat hit later. I had expected it to be a bit more flavourful too. I think I must have been spoilt as when I go to Wuhan I go to a nondescript stall that tastes miles better. Once the tofu was eaten, it was only a short walk back to where I was staying. I was looking forward to seeing more of Changsha the next day.

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