Today was my first day off work in a long while (excluding weekends). After a leisurely start to the day I took the metro to Lychee Park, otherwise known as Shenzhen’s central park. The park was buzzing with people enjoying the pleasant autumn weather - mostly old people practising Tai chi and looking after their children’s children (as is the way in China).
“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Granny”
It seems the park was well equiped for all possible emergencies, the veritable menu of services included; Emergency Command, Emergency Water Supply, Emergency Fire “Ingufsher”, and last but not least an Emergency Toilet! Something tells me whoever was responsible for translating has had the last laugh 
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In addition to interviewing around 50 fresh graduates this weekend I also went up the 9th tallest building in the world (10th depending on how you calculate it) to get a fairly stunning view of the city I now call home, Shenzhen. Located in the CBD, next to Da Ju Yuan metro station, Shun Hing Square skyscraper stands at a whopping 384m tall with 69 floors and is the tallest steel building in China.
There is an observation deck at the top providing a commanding view of the megalopolis below in all its sprawling glory. Although clear skies are a rarity anywhere in urban China things were better than usual that day with just a thin haze covering in the skyline. From this hight the sheer scale is breathtaking and on a clear day you can pear over to the rich neighbour, Hong Kong.
You are immediately struck by the density of construction, unseen in most of Europe and the west in general. With land at a premium and a massive population the solution has been to build upwards at an alarming rate which continues today with construction crews working 24/7 on new sites around the city. In what appears to be a bit of planning foresight a green area has been set aside as a “Central Park” ala New York to provide an oasis in the middle of the city.
It has to be said that on an individual level most of the architecture is fairly uninspiring and frankly ugly but as a whole it has a certain brash charm and energy as if to express its aspirations as a city for the future.
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During the National holiday last week I took a brief trip out of Shenzhen for a couple of days to the small city of Shaoguan, a 4.5 hour journey inland, to visit a friend at the university there. On the way out I took the train which was a first for me in China. Despite all the dire warnings people had given me about trains in China (dirty, unsafe, crowded…) the one I was on was actually quite pleasant, albeit a bit slow. The family I sat next to was even kind enough to give me some of their food for lunch - not something you would ever find in the UK (although it might have had something to do with me practicing English with their child!).
Shaoguan itself is an unremarkable city that frankly I found dirty and chaotic; not particularly pleasant. One of the students there remarked to me that it was the same as thousands of small cities across China which I found a rather depressing prospect, if not for me, but for their inhabitants. That said, there were a few bright spots and I really enjoyed visiting Namhua Monastery there. As it was the holidays it was crawling with curious devotees and was clearly a good day for the Monk’s finances!
Along with the usual burning and praying there was a man who was methodically going around the entire site and flinging himself to the floor in some sort of ritual every couple of steps. He looked a bit manic and I couldn’t quite work out if he was a Monk or not.
Aside from this there isn’t much more to report about the city. I ate in manly very small and very local restaurants of varying in quality (and probably cleanliness). What I wont forget about the food is probably the most spicy noodle soup I’ve ever tasted - I was quite literally crying from the intensity of the heat and had to give up about half way through. Turns out my friend had asked them to make it extra spicy!!
My lasting memory will be getting locked in a shower with the door jammed and nobody outside to help - I ended up cutting my hand trying to get it open and then in my white rage kicked the door in. It was probably actually a good thing nobody was around to see that and no doubt returning students will wonder why there is blood splattered over the wall!
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Apologies for being offline the past few days - I moved into my new apartment but had an unexpected delay in setting up the connection (China Telecom failed to deliver on their 24 hour installation promise but at least the installation good) as well as taking a short trip outside of Shenzhen (more on this in the next post).
Aside from this hiccup the new place is pretty nice. It’s the first time I’ve truly had my own apartment, not sharing with anyone else, and it feels good! Located on the 9th floor of an apartment complex in the up-and-coming “Coastal City” area of Nanshan it has 2 bedrooms, large living room, balcony, kitchen and bathroom. Plenty of space for me to get lost in! The communal garden below even has a swimming pool and tennis court for the eventuality that I ever decide to improve my fitness 
I’m still exploring the local area but there are plenty of shops and restaurants with just about anything you want available around the clock (for some reason there seem to be many Korean restaurants nearby also). I’m still finding it hard to believe just how much my life has changed in the past couple of weeks but hopefully its a change for the better and an experience to remember in the future.
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On the first day of the National Day holidays in China I was invited by some of my colleagues to climb Shenzhen’s tallest mountain - Wutong Shan, standing at just under 1000 meters. After travelling nearly 2 hours to the outskirts of the city on a crowded bus our climb began under the canopy of the extremely verdant mountainside. Even though it was a relatively cool day it was still in the high 20’s and tropically humid - not the most comfortable weather for hiking but invigorating nevertheless!
Because of the heat and the steepness of the ascent we needed to stop every 20 minutes or so to catch our breath and have a drink. It was a good thing everyone brought lots of water because I reckon people were loosing it just about as fast as we could drink it. Every now and then a short breeze would blow through the trees bringing momentary relief.
The climb itself took a bit over two hours and was one of many false peaks which when reached presented another. The summit itself was inconspicuous but the view it bestowed was pretty special. Mile upon mile of lush green canopy opened up to reveal the city below on one side and a harbour on the other, the clouds only just obscuring Hong Kong.
Descending the mountain was much easier than going up, made even more so by the fact that we took the tourist route down (basically steps). Once we reached the foot of the steep section we then followed the winding road the rest of the way down taking another hour to complete. Unfortunately I had neglected to sear any sun cream and ended up a little burn on the back of my neck and arms which has left me looking a bit like a lobster!
A fun day out but I’m still feeling it in my leg’s nearly a week later 
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