Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?... - Chongqing, China
Chongqing, China
I woke up with no idea of where I was. The ground was shaking softy. The air was stuffy. I heard snoring. It was 7am and I realised I was in the middle of China on a train heading for Chongqing.
Chongqing (population 29 million) intrigued me since I first put it on my itinerary. It seemed like deepest, darkest China. An industrial mega-city that almost no-one outside China had ever heard of. I'd heard that not many foreigners visited Chongqing, so English was seldom used. I also heard a rumour that parts of the film Blade Runner had been shot there which added to that dark, mysterious and intriguing image to me.
Another thing - my connection with the Eco-City in Chongqing was in fact my friend Lei back in Shenzhen. Lei had been trying to find an on-site contact for me ever since I'd met her, but while I was in Wuhan she finally sent me confirmation. They would not meet with me - unless I had a formal letter of agreement between the Australian and Chinese Government. Which meant - No. She pleaded my case as much as possible but in the end it was a brick wall. So I told her that I'd go to their office anyway and try my best.
Oh, and my cold was back with a vengeance.
But I'd slept okay and was happy to spend the next three hours looking sleepily out the window at mountains, river valleys, industrial looking villages and age-old terraced hillside farms. I also tried to go online to plan for the day but found that my Simcard was already out of credit! The shop in Yichang had ripped me off - but more importantly - I had lost my critical ability to use the internet and/or telephone.
My plan upon arrival was to find five things.
My bearings
An English speaker
A simcard
A hotel
The Eco-City office and site
With the help of my cold, I was feeling pessimistic and to be honest after 23 days on the road a little apathetic.
The train stopped at ChongQing Dong Zhan (East Railway Station) and I stepped out into the light drizzle (yes, that too) to another vast square full of people rushing in every direction to cars, taxis and buses. I got my bearings and started task #2.
"English?" "Mei you" (No or none or nothing)
"English?" "Sorry" (Sorry)
"English?" "Bu" (Not)
"English?" "No" (No)
"English?" "Dui bu qi" (Sorry)
"English?" "Bu shi" (No)
This went on for awhile - and the only thing I was learning was the different ways to say no in Chinese. I waited for a helpful (English speaking) onlooker to take pity of me and offer help.
That didn't happen either. Hmmm.
I tried another round with the same result. Nothing (Mei you). I gave up.
It was time to try task #3. Simcard. Luckily there were phone shops at the railway station. Unluckily none spoke English, and my Chinese was not enough to even be taken seriously. Mei you. I gave up.
It was time to try task #4. Hotel. Luckily there were little hotels at the railway station. Unluckily none spoke English, BUT my Chinese was good enough to negotiate a room! The room was tiny and noisy from the very loud railway and street outside but it was cheap and - perfect. I unpacked and collapsed on the bed for a sleep for an hour or so.
I was ready for task #5, with a revisit to task #3 along the way. Surprisingly, I found the Subway station very easily, and after a quick look at the city's TEN subway line map, discovered that there was a line that went directly to the Eco-City site! Wow - my spirits lifted immediately as I paid my 50c fare and boarded for the 20km journey.
I have to stop to say how great it was that the Eco-City already had cheap, well connected high-density public transport. It was the first and only Chinese Eco-City project that I'd visited to have this. I was excited about what I'd see at the other end of the line.
I stepped out of the Metro into heavier drizzle with two other people on at the Eco-City, who quickly jumped into a car and drove off on the brand new but empty roadway. Apart from the road there was rolling open hills of open dirt and grass that looked like a typical greenfield development just before construction started. Actually it had started. A work team of what looked like old men were laying paving stones, building steps, and planting landscaping trees into the nearest hill.
The other main feature was two immense buildings of some kind. They looked like the parents of Jeff's Shed (the Melbourne Exhibition Centre). After walking along the end of one of the buildings for about ten minutes I luckily found a car who luckily had a friendly (English speaking) worker who luckily was happy to drive me to the main office, another 500m further down one of the buildings.
I went into a room full of very busy people, and was approached by two girls that spoke good English (whew!). That was the good part. The bad part was... it was obvious from about two minutes into the conversation that they could not help. But in reality they actually did help.
They had no idea who I was. They knew about the Eco-City and I was at the site. But it was still in planning and nothing had started yet. There was not even an office or Eco-City staff to refer me to. we swapped cards and I had my on-ground contacts, who would pass my visit onto management to tell them I'd actually been there in person. Not perfect, but under the circumstances it was a very good outcome. I walked about 30 minutes back to the Metro station and got onto the next train three minutes later.
And that was enough. I had done all that I could in Chongqing from an Eco-City perspective, and still had a full day to explore, so decided to head downtown to have a look and get another Simcard.
The next six hours were the most frustrating I'd had in China. I got hopelessly lost and didn't find the CBD. Instead I ended up at a strange suburban street shopping area where I spent hours unsuccessfully trying to buy a Simcard until I finally agreed to hand over 150RMB (about $30) to a "trust me trust me" salesman who looked anything but trustworthy, and wandered through some darkening streets that brought me right back to Blade Runner.
But I was much too tired, hungry and sick to enjoy it, and had no idea how to get back to a Metro station. I think I realised at that point that I'd hit rock bottom. This was the worst I'd ever felt in China. I needed to be in bed.
So hailed a taxi and just said three magic words "Chongqing Dong Zhan", and twenty minutes later I was back at the station looking for food. It was at that moment that I saw some big golden arches among the other (most duck-neck) food outlets. Yes a McDonalds had appeared and was calling to me.
"Come to me...", it silently said. "Big Mac and Fries your worries away... Escape to the West - you deserve to - you need to..."
I gravitated toward it, like a weary sailor to a mythical siren. But just as I was about to go in I came to my sense, and went to a noodle and dumpling bar instead, and happily had dinner in China.
Bed at 9pm.