A Couple Days in Nanchang

So, I've had a couple days without much to do as the Jiangxi Academy of Social Sciences contacted the government departments regarding my situation and getting approval - the end result - I don't need any - at least from the province! All I need to do is go to the County Ministry of Civil Affairs whereever I go and let them know what I am doing......ok......that is sort of what my plan was originally - I just didn't carry it out very well in Yingtan (I should have asked to talk to the Ministry of Civil Affairs when I visited the government offices there - instead the doorman sent me to the Statistics people, who had no clue what to do about it - and their end suggestion was to contact "someone" higher up in government). Anyways, with that bit of knowledge, I'm off to the wonderful county of Zixi in the borderlands of Jiangxi and Fujian Province. I leave tomorrow - but I probably won't be able to do anything until Monday.

This is the August 1st Memorial Tower. It's tall.

Anyways, in the meantime, I've been checking out some on Nanchang's sites. Nanchang is an ancient city, and has historically been the main city in Southern China (at least, that is according to the billboards I've read - I certain that all cities in China try to make themselves look good). Also, Nanchang was the site of the first large Communist "victory" even though it wasn't really a victory. This refers to the August First uprising, which happened, on August 1, 1927. This was following the expulsion of Communists from the Guomindang in Shanghai (many Communists were killed) and so it was their first bit of military action, and can be seen as the start of the Chinese Civil War (which continued until 1936 when the Guomindang and the Communists began the United Front against Japan, and started up again following the end of World War II). In the August 1st Uprising, the Communists under Zhou Enlai and Zhu De briefly took control of Nanchang with 30,000 troops. However, continued attacks from the Guomindang forced the Communists to withdraw to the west in Jinggangshan where a young Communist named Mao Zedong had established a small resistance high in the mountains. Interesting bit of Communist history.

Anyways, Nanchang is steeped in August 1st Uprising stuff - the main street is called "August 1st street". The main park is called "August 1st Park", and downtown there is the "August 1st Square". In an interesting example of the quirky nature of modern China, directly across from the August 1st Square, where the Communists showed their military potential for the first time, is a large Wal-Mart. I can't think of a more capitalist symbol than Wal-Mart - I took an interesting picture of it from across the square, but naturally, I can't upload it because most internet bars have the USB ports disabled. ***Update - note the Wal-mart at the back of the square on the left - you might need to expand the photo to see it.

The August 1st Park is a really nice public park, and there are tons of people there - it is really enjoyable just walking through it. It has all of the things you could want in a good Chinese park - people playing badminton, large groups of people dancing, impromptu karaoke, a few guys playing the erhu (I love the erhu - I think it is a beautiful instrument, and I'll have to pick up some music before I leave), vendors selling corn on the cob, exercise playground equipment and the usual cohort of people walking backwards. I love Chinese parks, but the main park is especially nice.

I also checked out the Shengjin Pagoda (ticket price, 10 yuan). This is a very nice looking pagoda that was extensively renovated in 2000 - I think it must have been extremely extensive because the inside was filled with concrete. It would have been interesting to see what condition it was in originally. It was supposedly built in the Tang Dynasty (around 600-900 AD) - I think this usually refers to when the first structure was built - I really doubt the original would have lasted that long, especially since this one was made of wood (however, I do think that the Little and Big Wild Goose Pagodas have lasted since then, but they are made of stone. But they actually FEEL ancient when you go in them). The stairs in this pagoda were extremely steep - in the United States, people would not have been allowed to go up the stairs because it was so steep. When I was going down the stairs, my backpack kept hitting the steps - if I fell down, it would have really hurt too. It was quite a ways up - I think it was 10 stories or so, and my legs were sore the rest of the day (I know, it's sad that I'm that out of shape).

This is me looking down the stairs at the Shengjin Pagoda. The stairs are steep. I tried to do this picture looking straight down.

This is me looking out at the top of the Shengjin Pagoda.

Later that day, I went to the Youmin Temple (ticket 2 yuan). This is an active Buddhist temple just north of the August 1st Park. I think that the Nanputuo temple in Xiamen is a much larger and interesting temple, however, it was still nice to visit this temple.

Inside the Youmin Temple.

And today, I went over to the Tengwang Pagoda (is it really a Pagoda???) - it's more like a big towerlike building (ticket 50 yuan). It looks like the castle in Spirited Away - I know that's Japanese, but that's what it reminded me of. This had excellent exhibits (all in Chinese) that showed the history of it and what it looked like in different dynasties. It was originally built in the Tang Dynasty, but they had large models inside showing how it had changed. I thought that was nice, because it gave me a better sense for what I was really looking at - it annoys me when they say things like "it was built in 200 BC" when you really know it wasn't..... Anyways, on every floor they had large shops selling some beautiful art - if I was rich I might be interested in some - but it seems that most Chinese attractions have to have a business side to it. On the second to the top floor, they had a traditional Chinese music performance (they didn't ask for audience participation and money at this one either!) complete with erhus and all the other instruments that I don't know the names of. However, because they were in the process of fixing the top floor, we couldn't go to the very top - which irritated me. They should have cut the ticket price, which is what the Bell Museum in Beijing did when I visited there three years ago. Oh well.

This is me looking sweaty in front of the Tengwang Pagoda.

So that's pretty much it for Nanchang. It's been pretty good - although I hate my hotel (I know where I will NOT be staying if I am ever back there). If anyone out there is looking for a place to stay in Nanchang, do NOT stay at the Jingdu Hotel on Zhanqian road. Unless, of course, you are extremely fond of "massages" and do not mind getting phone calls demanding you get one every 15 minutes. (literally). The management's solution is to disconnect your phone - which really isn't a solution at all! After all, why do you even have a phone in your hotel room? And if you are waiting for your wife to call you, it's not like you even have the option to disconnect your phone.

In short - Nanchang has been nice because it's a large city. People didn't stare at me nearly as much, and there was more to see and do when I was bored. However, it was also annoying because it was a large city. There are prostitution places everywhere. Public squares have beggars (I saw none in Yingtan), and people are ruder and try to take advantage of you more. Anyways, for my last dinner in Nanchang, I ate at McDonalds. It could be the last time I have Western food for awhile........