Nanchang #1: Bayi Square

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A short, standing train ride took me to Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province. It's a new province for me to explore and I was looking forward to spending a few days in the city. The subway to my hotel was quick and not too crowded despite it being the holiday. It did take me a couple of attempts to orientate myself when leaving the station in the direction of my hotel. I liked the neighbourhood as it just felt like a normal neighbourhood with people going about their daily lives, especially when stepping off the main road and into the smaller side streets. I walked past quite a few small mahjong parlours hearing the tiles clicking and clacking as people relaxed and enjoyed themselves on their day off. My hotel was fine, a bit worn and overpriced but everywhere is in the holidays. I was feeling pretty hungry, so the first thing I did was order some food and a milk tea. I had a real hankering for some wonton soup so ordered that along with some xiaolongbao and a tea egg as I haven't had a tea egg in what felt like forever. My new town doesn't (well it didn't at that point) have an Yi Dian Dian, my favourite tea store, so that a guava milk tea was also ordered as they are so good. I didn't have to wait too long for the food or my tea. When the wonton soup was delivered the wontons and the broth are packed separately, so a big square of moulded together wontons didn't look too appealing, even after adding the soup they didn't really break apart. They tasted good though as did the xiaolongbao and the tea egg. It might not have been the best meal, but it was tasty and filled a hole. The tea was delicious, just the right amount of sweetness from the guava flavoured syrup.

Now it was time to head out and see some of the city. It was about a thirty minute walk from where I was staying to Bayi Square, which one of the central areas of the city. Bayi Square is named after August 1st (ba is eight and yi is one), which is the founding date and anniversary of the People's Liberation Army stemming from the Nanchang Uprising that took place on that date in 1927. There is a museum about it that I had hoped to visit, but I wasn't able to complete the form due to my lack of a Mainland ID card number. My walk to the square was pleasant, walking along the smaller streets watching life go by. The square itself is surrounded by roads and I needed to use a footbridge to reach it. I was positioned near the big monument in the square so I headed there first. It was really impressive jutting up into the sky. It's all grey concrete, apart from he red top and some gold writing. No idea what the writing says. On each side of the base, there are murals depicting the soldiers going into battle. I liked the monument and I only wish that there hadn't have been so many people sitting on the ledges in front of the murals as I really wanted some photos of them fully and people free. I walked down through the square. It was pretty busy and there was definitely a bit of a people sea going on in front of me, but with space to get by. There were also quite a few touts selling flags and stickers of the Chinese flag to commemorate the National Day celebrations. I loved the building opposite the square on one side. It looked very traditional in the sense of Communist style buildings, kind of like the ones seen at Tiananmen Square. When I looked up what the building was for later, I was rather surprised to see that it is the Jiangxi Provincial Art Museum. I had expected it to be some kind of public office. There were plenty of people taking selfies and getting their photos taken in front of it. It was just a shame that there were several lanes of traffic separating us from the magnificent building.

I had decided in, keeping with the theme, to head to Bayi Park, which was about a ten minute or so walk away. The walk took me through an underpass which had quite a few street vendors in it, one was selling some particularly ripe Chou Dofu (stinky tofu) that would have probably been better to sell in a non confined space. Then I walked along some kind of food street before reaching the park. The first part of the park was nothing special, but still nice. I walked along the water's edge watching the big yellow duck boats that people were paddling across the lake. The sun was also starting to set and the sky was turning a nice subtle shade of pink. I passed a small kids' amusement park and then took some of the paths through the park. It was a nice little park for a stroll. I was there a little too early as there were quite a few booths being set up to sell little knick knacks, jewellery and the like. I came across a pagoda that was nicely lit up and a giant sphere decorated with the Chinese flag. Next to this was a pathway across the lake, but it was blocked off and there were a few blokes dressed in Hanfu, traditional Chinese costumes, and it seemed to be some kind of event/activity that you had to pay to participate in. I continued on my walk and came to another small bridge/pathway across the water only a few steps away and this one had a moon in the water and some mechanical red roses that opened and closed. The moon reminded me of the one I had seen in Durham Cathedral albeit on a much smaller scale. I spend a while taking some photos there.

I came to the edge of the park and it was next to a shopping street so I went for a walk along there. I only went into one mall to pick up some supplies before heading back to my hotel. I was rather tired but had decided to walk back instead of taking the subway as I wanted to see Bayi Square all lit up. While it had been busier earlier, it was extremely busy now. The underpass was a bit of a nightmare to navigate but worth it to see everything lit up. It looked really impressive and the atmosphere was nice. Everyone excited to be on a long holiday from work and school. Finally back at the hotel, it was time to order a rather late dinner. I opted for Malatang, which is a spicy broth filled with different bits and pieces such as veggies and meat. I tried a new chain 'Zhang Liang' and was impressed. I was so hungry that I forgot to even take a picture and by the time I realised I was a good halfway through it. Never mind.

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Comments

[RENanDREW]

Yum!
Stinky tofu in a confined space, or any space really, is a hard pass from me. But this guava milk tea - yum! I don't think I've seen guava flavour over here, but I will look out for it now :)

[Zephyr]

Stinky tofu done right is so good. ;) Yes, look out for the guava flavour.

[RENanDREW]

Now that is a grand monument!
Very striking indeed.

[Zephyr]

It is, especially when all lit up at night.