Shenyang Sunshine

Shenyang is a large (but not so large compared to other cities in China!) city of about 8 million in far North East China, very close to the North Korean boarder as well as being fairly close to Mongolia to the West and Russia to the North. It was originally a Manchurian hub, ie. where the non-Han Chinese Qing Dynasty rulers are from, and a lot of the Qing Dynasty tombs and remains are still there. The Russian were in Shenyang during the Russo-Japanese war (1905ish) and then again during the Soviet era, and the heritage in terms of military buildings are still pretty evident.

From the photos that I've seen, the winters here are pretty harsh. The snow can be quite overwhelming and completely engulf a two meter wall, and you ski on the lake as a sport. But we arrived in the late summer/early autumn, and the weather couldn't be more beautiful. The sun is not scorching like in Bangladesh, and the air not humid or dry, just so comfortable like being in a lightly cool room. Everything smells fresh and birds are chirping. This has to be the best weather I've had since I left New Zealand!

Peter & Margaret are lecturers in English at a local tertiary institute, and their contract included a sweet little apartment near Beiling Park. It really does feel like home here, everything is so cozy and comfortable. The apartment block is next to a busy road where farmers markets take place daily from 4am till about lunch time, then a busy night market in the evenings. P&M’s students came to meet us on the first afternoon, they were a group of extremely enthusiastic girls whom made me feel like I am an amusement somehow because they had so many questions for me and giggled at everything T & I said. They left with a promise of taking us to Kareoke – ha ha!!

Best Neighbourgh Ever - The Street Market
The most fascinating thing here is definitely the street market right next to P&M’s apartment. 7 Days a week at the crack of dawn, literally hundreds of fresh food stall holders set up shop on the street – fresh fruit and veges, then the dried nuts and spices, and the breakfast stalls selling all kinds of steamed buns, “tofu brain” (ie. Silken tofu) you eat with soy sauce and coriander etc, bean stuffed mochi (sweet sticky rice balls), omelets, dumplings, fried dough, mixed salads, hot sweet soy milk… you’re spoilt for choice. It is all very traditional – the bigger stall holders come with their trucks loaded with the produce, while the smaller stall holders might come with a donkey cart, and the mochi guy rolls around with a glass cabinet with mochi inside. It all climaxes around 7am, the bright and early time when most Chinese people get out of bed. If you turn up at 9am most of the stuff is gone, and by 12pm the street is literally empty except for the regular shops and restaurants.












The evening food and junk stalls come back at about 4pm to set up for the nocturnal round – you can’t miss it because the smell of BBQ lingers the air for the entire evening. On the top end the junk stalls sell anything from clothes, home appliances, shoes, tools, dog food, books, porn, and exercise machines. The lower end an array of food stalls cook up a storm in their respective woks – P&M’s favourite Mr Fried Rice does a huge portion of fantastic chicken fried rice for 4 RMBs (80c AUD), and you can find all sorts of goodies you can barbeque on the spot, such as vege & meat skewers and funny smelling sausages. Taiwan’s probably one of those “exotic” and “mystical” ideas in most Chinese minds – so anything with “Taiwan” on it seems to be selling – like “Taiwan Dumplings” and “Taiwan Steak” – except neither of those are from Taiwan (Dumplings are from northern China and traditionally most Taiwanese ppl don’t eat beef). I should probably not rave on about the restaurant which serves dog and donkey meat… The best thing definitely is the variety and the cheap price, you’ll never get bored or hungry here! Here’s a pic of piles of tobacco you can buy.

A Walk In The Park

We took a walk in Beiling Park bright and early one morning at 6am, just across the road from the apartment blocks and the street market. The park is a huge green reserve around the Qing Dynasty Tombs – usually it costs 10RMB to get in, but before 6am and after 6pm its free. Apart from the tombs, there is a huge lake area surrounded by low bushes, it not only is a pleasant place to stroll around but also spot interesting Chinese plants and animals. Here is a pic from the fabled “Squirrel Tree".

Chinese people, particularly the seniors, are well known for their early morning gatherings in parks all over China to take part in all sorts of exercises, including Tai Chi, bird choirs, kong fu, and chess - a lot of this is less intense than the exercises people do in the West, but nevertheless they all take their sport quite seriously. The most popular is a fan dance group in the main square (apparently Chairman Mao’s favourite dance). The most amusing must be the group of ppl in their bathing caps swimming in the freezing lake, right in front of a group of people fishing and constantly competing to cast sharp hooks as far into the lake as possible. Brings a whole new meaning to drift net fishing doesn't it.

Actually, correction re “not intense”. There are quite a few other weird ones, such as “weaponry” – a group throwing around big metal chains and blades around and screaming out of relief(pain?). And there was a guy who just kicks a tree non-stop. Poor tree. Eye opening.