Exploring Zhenyuan

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Woke up to a quiet town and calm river after a loud night here in Zhenyuan. The town might be a quiet river getaway except that it is ringed by train tracks kept busy with frequent train traffic plus bars, many of them right across the river from me, that blare loud music until about midnight. Being the height of tourist season, many Chinese come here to play, not just for the sights.

I'm off on a boat trip this morning, but not before stopping for some breakfast snacks. There's a popular bun and noodle place just down the street, where locals line up. I get two of the last few buns. Then, down the street there's a woman making a fried cake stuffed with green onions and peppers. Both delicious.

Zhenyuan is sandwiched between two parks. I'm headed on a boat trip to one, Wuyang. It's a short trip from town and has nice views. It's a good getaway for a few hours. The best part was meeting a couple and their son. She is an English teacher at a middle school, though her spoken English is poor. She wanted to practice with me. Her husband trades commodity futures. I'm still a little unclear on whether he works for himself or for the Shanghai exchange. Whichever, he works on his smart phone while taking in the sights. After the cruise, they invite me to join them to see the Kuomintang museum. It was the headquarters of the Kuomintang during the war with Japan and served as a prison for Japanese POWs, called Friendship House. The museum partially celebrated the cruelty of the Japanese and the great conditions China provided for POWs. We then headed for lunch in town where we had what is a common dish in this area, Sour Fish Soup. Great to have the chance to split it with them, since there is no way I could have ordered it alone. They insisted on paying.

This family has typified how friendly I've found Zhenyuan in general. I seem to be the only foreigner in town and am greeted with "hellos" and plenty of patience as I try to make my way around.

The family is leaving town by train later in the afternoon, but want to see the primary sight in town, Qinglong Dong, a series of temples and grottoes that cling to the mountain at one end of town. We walk there, but they don't have time to go inside, so I'm on my own after our goodbyes. It is a fantastic group of temples with a great view of town. It is one of 3 places in China where Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism sit side-by-side in a complex. While walking through the temples, I meet another friendly couple. She teaches Medical English and he's a retired government worker. Turns out their next stop is Wuhan. They were able to translate some of the details of what we were seeing for me, which was of great help.

Wiped out after a busy day, I opted for simple barbecue and ear plugs for a good night's sleep.

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