Hi everyone! Hope you're doing good? Back in April 2018, it had barely been a month and a half since I had arrived in China and I still had some difficulties adapting to this new environment. I was going through a hard time when my aunt offered to take me to her hometown (Qinhuangdao) for the Labor Day holiday (劳动节). I just wanted to take my mind off things, and this trip came to my life at the very best time.
At about 300 km from Beijing, on the Bohai Sea, the innermost gulf of the Yellow Sea, Qinhuangdao (秦皇岛) is a port city on the Chinese coast north of Hebei. Qinhuangdao is an aged city with a long and rich history. It has a story in its name. In 215 BC, the first emperor of China, Emperor Qin, went eastward. When he got here, he sent someone to go to the sea and search for immortals. Then the city got its name "Qinhuangdao", in which "Huang" means emperor and "dao" refers to the island. And thus it became the only city named after the title of an emperor.
My stay lasted 4 days, from April 27 to April 30. We took the bus to Qinhuangdao in the 27's afternoon. There were not too much passengers, so most of us got to occupy as many seats as we wanted. The drive lasted about 5 hours and we arrived at destination in the evening. From the bus stop, we went to the hotel. After I registered and left my luggage, we took a taxi to a restaurant. It was my first time to see a female taxi driver in China, and also my first time to see a taxi which looks like a police car. In fact, bars separated the driver and passengers. I remember feeling like a prisoner lol. Few minutes later, we arrived at the restaurant, which belonged to my aunt's friends. We really spent a good time there. Food was yummy and people were curious yet kind. Curious 'cos I guess, for most of them, it was their first time to see an African. Even the cooks were leaving the kitchen to see me. Qinhuangdao is a small city, not so popular among the foreigners at least this is the feeling I had. I remember never meet another African during my stay. So I let you imagine the reactions of people in the street when we were going outside.
Some were acting weird, but most of them were kind and friendly. For example, when on the next day we went to Beidaihe, a near beach touristic place. Many people were asking to take pictures with me to until my aunt was obliged to say 'no' to some, if not we'd never have left there. Between us, I admit, I felt a little like a star, haha. After Beidaihe, we went at: Qinhuangdao Safari Park. It was just the beginning of spring, so many flowers had not yet blossomed.
But the scenery was very beautiful tho. We also saw elephants, crocodiles, monkeys, and even lions, white tigers and bears. But honestly, I preferred the plants! After lunch, we went to shopping, but we didn't buy many things 'cos most of the items we found were too small for me. So sad! This evening we had dinner at my aunt's sister's home where I made friend with Niu Niu, her little daughter. We didn't understand each other very well because my Chinese was still stammering and she didn't speak another language but we had fun tho.
On April 29 morning, we met my new little friend and her family at the Xin'ao Aquarium where we attended a Seal & Dolphin show which was very impressive! Then we visited a kind of underground aquarium from where we could see what was going inside the sea. The outdoor of the museum overlooked the beach where we ate seafood, fresh coconuts, had fun drawing on the sand, and bought seashells that I always cherish.
After the beach, we went to a hair saloon, where a friend of my aunt wanted to see my braids up close. Arriving on the spot, they asked me how we did that, 'cos they were looking in vain for the correct method. I acted like I had braided before, but honestly I had no idea about what I was doing lol! From there we passed by Niu Niu's aunty beauty spa, before going back to their house for dinner and ended the day walking in a nearby park.
I was really excited when I woke up the next morning. 'Cos this day, we were going to visit the Great Wall, at least a 'part' of the Great Wall named The First Pass Under Heaven (天下第一关) which is the starting point of the eastern end of the Great Wall, and the first barrier for guarding the frontier. But we didn't reach there. After what, we went to a local park, where a popular orchestra was performing. Then to a beach close to the hotel and we had dinner at the restaurant where we ate on the first day.
On May 1, we traveled back from Qinhuangdao to Beijing. My aunt had a return ticket, so at arrival she just put me in a taxi and made the reverse path. I could already feel the nostalgia once I arrived at school, but I was grateful for the stay I just spent, and most important, I got my motivation back to complete the semester.
Externals sources:
Even if it was short, these 4 days are still among the best times I had in China. And they left me memories I'll never forget. I will always be thankful to my aunty and all the people who made my stay as beautiful as it was. I hope I made you travel through this post. Thank you for reading! May God bless you, take care.
Comments