There are various itineraries you can take when you've decided to visit China - most people seem to focus on China's natural wonders, historical sites, and remote areas which is understandable...however, China's most striking "feature" isn't its sites or attractions its the Chinese people and the mega cities where they reside. I found the Chinese to be friendly, curious, and exciting to watch. That's why I favored China's Mega-Cities over natural wonders when creating my itinerary. I visited two large cities between Zhangjiajie National Park and Shanghai that receive very little tourist traffic - Changsha and Wuhan. Fortunately both cities have recently opened metro systems which makes it much easier for the off-the-beaten-path traveler to go between the train station, hostels, and city centers.
CHANGSHA
Changsha does not have much tourist information and lack of English at the hostel met you may be on your own trying to figure out where to go...Wuxi Square is a central metro stop - within a block of the stop is the city’s main pedestrian and commercial thoroughfare. I ate a light dinner at a restaurant that was a favorite of Mao Zedong - ironically directly across the street is a new, modern lifestyle mega mall. I ate a plate of Stinky Tofu - Changsha’s signature dish - it was much better than the name sounded. After dinner I walked around the area and came across a group of old woman dancers, had a coffee at Caffe Bene (a Korean chain), then had another light dinner of fried chicken from a permanent food stall.
Click or tap images to enlarge.
Click or tap images to enlarge.
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I drank a beer at Soho Bar then raced around the metro station to catch one of the last trains back to the hostel. The Metro Station PA system blared “the last train is about to leave” and everyone in the station went into a frenzy - yet the next train wasn’t leaving for eight minutes and there was still one more train leaving in eighteen minutes.
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WUHAN
Similar to Changsha, Wuhan has a recently opened, partially completed metro line, which fortunately for me connects all the railway stations and stops near my centrally located hostel. Prior to the metro I would have needed to take an hour bus ride with a transfer. The metros are so new that the locals still haven’t learned to holding onto the railings when the train leaves and stumble. The PA system broadcasts the upcoming stops in English. I’m marveling at the modern metro but then it occurs to me that Wuhan is a 10 million person city and closely completed - the bus traffic before must have been horrendous - how did it take so long for the metro to be planned and opened? Maybe there are some downsides to communism.
Wuhan has a modern shopping area, Han Street, and a wide, long pedestrian street, Jianghan Street. At night Jianghan's side streets convert to a night market but there wasn’t too much interesting things to purchase - mostly necessities a local would buy on the cheap.
Wuhan has a modern shopping area, Han Street, and a wide, long pedestrian street, Jianghan Street. At night Jianghan's side streets convert to a night market but there wasn’t too much interesting things to purchase - mostly necessities a local would buy on the cheap.
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I thought Tanhaulin Street had a great vibe - this street runs through a few universities and is a hipster version of Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill neighborhood. Instead of antique stores there were a few arts and craft stores and stores that sold vintage postcards. Every other shop was a coffee shop or cafe - some were right next to one another but each had a different theme / vibe.
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Wuhan has a few attractions: The Yellow Crane Tower is one of the most reverent temples in China but unfortunately it keeps collapsing or being destroyed. The most recent incarnation was built in the 1980s so it’s not exactly ancient but still looks the part of a reverent temple. Farther down the road from Yellow Crane Tower was Chang Chun Taoist temple. This complex had several temples - one of which had a service in progress.
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A small group was playing instruments (mostly drums, a Chinese violin, and horn. The temples also contain a ton of crazy and weird god statues. One temple had sixty temples with years as nameplates. 1984 was the strangest with arms coming out of the eyes and the eyes in the palm of the hand.
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There was also a brand new, very luxurious, and very empty mall.
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