Visiting Wenzhou

As already announced, we spent our weekend in Wenzhou. This trip was planned in cooperation with our department from the beginning. The local university is also a partner of our department and sent students to Jena for exchange last year. This year, as a preparation, we visited the students here. We met about 12 students and their professor in the two days.

We started on Friday at 1:15 p.m. in Shanghai Hongqiao. Luckily, I had looked into the trip in advance, so I noticed in the morning that we had to go to a different metro station than I had in mind. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have made it to our train. So we drove to the train station for 1 ½ hours. Shanghai Hongqiao is really huge, and because it was a holiday, there were also many people out and about. Somehow, we also found the entrance to the secure area and were inside after a short baggage and passport control. Then we picked up our tickets, quickly went to Subway to get some food, and then quickly headed to the train. The journey took about 3 ½ hours and was very relaxed. The trains here are very spacious and very quiet. There is a lot of legroom and the seats can be reclined far back. There is a lot of staff on board all the time, selling food and drinks, constantly cleaning the aisle, collecting trash, and taking care of many other things. So you glide along at a maximum of 300 km/h and can enjoy the scenery. It took a long time to get out of Shanghai, its outskirts, and neighboring cities. The further south we went, the more mountainous and beautiful it became. A bit like the foothills of the Alps and with many rivers. However, at a certain point, you are more in tunnels than outside. Regardless, you have full 4G reception everywhere, which is very convenient.

We arrived in Wenzhou at around 5 p.m. and were greeted by three cheerful Chinese people. We took a taxi with them to our hotel and were greeted by Prof. Wu Ming on-site. Then we quickly checked in and settled into our rooms. They were quite simple, but completely sufficient. The mattresses were rock hard, but at least there was air conditioning because it's just not possible without it in temperatures constantly above 30°C. Afterwards, the whole group went to dinner. The restaurant was on one of the main streets, dotted with small shops and restaurants, and was quite busy at the time. We had a colorful mix of fish, tofu, soup, various meat dishes, and even chicken feet, which Thomas and I finally tried. They simply taste like chicken, who would have thought. However, the sight is just unusual and prevents you from simply biting into it.

It was a very nice gathering, we talked a lot, laughed, and ate. And the atmosphere in the restaurant alone was very interesting. Many people, everyone talking at once, the chefs working shirtless in the kitchen, and a great variety of smells. It's hard to describe. Afterwards, we took a short walk around the campus and then fell into bed tired but happy after a refreshing shower.

The next morning started very strangely because the breakfast was not tasty at all. We found out that we only had the cold side dishes, which were spicy and very sour. When we found the soup and a few Baozi, everything was fine again. Then, at 36°C and blazing sun, we went back to the campus. There are many large buildings with lots of greenery in between, a lake with black swans, and several sports fields. After a short stop at the library to get something cool to drink and a quick tour through a small mall, we continued to the campus of the medical university in Wenzhou. The grounds were also very beautiful. The buildings looked cool, there was a lot of greenery, and a few rivers in between.

Since it was already around 12 o'clock, we went to have lunch. We went to an alley that looked like you always imagine. Many small food stalls on the edge, everything a bit run down, and above you, a total tangle of various cables. There was a lot of food to eat, this time including chicken stomachs, squid arms, and fried ice cream. It was incredibly delicious again, and I really enjoy being able to try everything. From there, we took a taxi and went to the city center. We actually wanted to go to the Jiang Xin Yu Island, but it was closed.

So we went to the mountain to visit the Hu Guo Temple. The funny thing was that the girls in my car discussed something with the driver and then he spoke to me in French and we had a short conversation. It's incredible what happens here.

The temple was very beautiful, there was also a kind of worship service going on, and with the singing of the people, it was simply a great overall impression. One of the Chinese guys also explained to me that the language they were singing in was Sanskrit. Only women were present, but the prayer service was led by monks. Afterwards, a lot of women were distributing fruit next to the prayer room, and when they saw us, everyone immediately got something in their hands. I think this had something to do with faith and was intended to do us good. From there, we walked further up the mountain to reach the Zoo of Wenzhou. When we arrived at the top, sweat flowed down our faces in streams, even though it wasn't that much walking.
We didn't look at much in the zoo. Right at the entrance, there was an amphibian house, which we briefly walked through. I felt really sorry for the animals, as the keeping conditions are definitely nowhere near appropriate. Small enclosures with hardly anything in them except tiles on the floor and a bit of water when needed. Then we walked past penguins and wolves to the pandas. One was sitting like a king in the middle of a pile of bamboo, eating, and the other one was sleeping. There were also two red pandas across from them, which were also super cute. That was all we looked at, and we passed a children's entertainment area with various amusement rides that didn't look particularly safe.
At the exit, we took three black cabs (unofficial taxis) and went to the Wu Ma Street (Five-Horse-Street) in the city center. That's the main shopping street, and Sophie would have loved to go shopping in every store. There, we had delicious ice cream and tried a white wine, which are both specialties of the region. Then we walked around the streets a bit and looked for something to eat for dinner. There were people everywhere, mopeds honked, and there was a smell of all sorts of things.

For dinner, we had pizza because we weren't very hungry, and then we took taxis to the Sanyang Wetland Park. It's a huge area that used to be a kind of swamp and is now developed. By now, it was dark, and we joined the crowds of people flowing through the main road. There are vendors everywhere selling food or toys for children. Our destination is a park that was specially transformed for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Numerous objects were set up with fairy lights, and there is a light show. But before we could go in, the Chinese had to get our tickets. So we sat down on the street in front of the entrance. It feels like we haven't seen any non-Asian people this weekend, and that's also noticeable here. Many people passed us, and we were something special to them. Everyone looked at us with interest, pointed at us, took pictures of us, and especially for little children, we seem to be particularly interesting. A 5-year-old girl ran up to us and said in very good English, "Hi, I'm Samantha," and then left. Ma Lei explained to us that many Chinese parents aim for their children to learn English and explore the world. Since this is not easy for most of them, they want to take advantage of every contact with foreigners they can get.
The park itself was very beautiful, and we walked around it for about 30 minutes. Since it was quite late by now and we all just wanted to go to bed, we took a taxi home.

The departure the next morning went well. We knew what we should and shouldn't eat for breakfast, and Prof. Wu Ming was there again to say goodbye. Wang Zhibing and Yang Ruilun then took us to the train station. However, this time we didn't take a taxi but a bus, and we arrived only 15 minutes before the train departure. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time for a proper farewell. Fortunately, the baggage control went quite quickly, and we made it on time and arrived back in Shanghai after another 3 hours.

I already mentioned it before, but I want to repeat it again. I find it really unusual how nice and attentive the people here are. We were offered help with buying tickets at the train station, the women in the temple gave us fruit, and the students took care of everything. everything was paid during the day, they always asked if we needed anything, and the professor even came to our room at 9:30 p.m. to bring us a mobile phone charging cable.

In conclusion, we can say that the trip was very worthwhile. We had a lot of fun, met many nice people, and saw and experienced a lot. I think we might even see some of the people again because they would like to travel around China with us. Let's see what comes out of it, but we would love to do that.

And to all of you guys from Wenzhou we want to say thank you very much. It was a pleasure meeting all of you. We had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the tour through the city. We wish you all the best, especially on your trip to Germany. We told our fellow German students that they should take good care of you, so I hope they do their job as well as you did :)

谢谢

Furthermore, I would like to mention that although I have already written a lot here, it is far from everything. It is difficult to describe the atmosphere and convey it meaningfully. You have to experience it for yourself.

written by Friedemann and Sophie