Crawling out of the woodwork

 

Shamian Island 

Welcome back! Those of you keeping up with this humble blog will know from the last, whingy post that I spent most of October feeling sorry for myself, bemoaning the fact that I was in China yet again, and pining for my spouse who was in Taiwan spending time with her family. November finds us reunited, so you could be forgiven for assuming the days have gotten brighter. But Shu-E came back from her country feeling less than ideal healthwise, and every morning I still wake up in China, with each successive day increasing the ratio of time my career is being spent toiling away in the Middle Kingdom. And the federal government shutdown grinds on, now 42 days and still counting (though with the end possibly in sight). With each weekday I go into the office as usual without any remuneration, the less I feel like an experienced diplomat and the more like an unpaid intern. And speaking of work, a training day, and a business trip to Beijing 北京 to attend a workshop, are looming on the horizon. Neither is something I'm looking forward to. To be honest, I've never welcomed these breaks from the routine, as I would rather just go to work everyday as usual, do what I'm expected to do and get rewarded for my efforts every other week (the latter, of course, which hasn't been happening). Workshops, "leadership exercises" and the like are the evil doings of Big Consultation, designed to force the peons into believing they are part of a team "developing" their "careers". LinkedIn account holders might lap all of this up, but I could do without the emotional investments these activities require. A job is just that, a way to eat, be housed and afford clothing, and not the definition of who you are as a person, or how you should be seen by others. 

So the above heresy is yet another indication the black dog hasn't retreated to the doghouse like I wish it would. But despite this, and the health woes being experienced by both my wife and myself (mental to a great extent in my case), with Shu-E's help I have been slowly reemerging into the wider world beyond the apartment and the office. Like this past Sunday, when the two of us ventured out together for the first time as a couple since sometime in September. The occasion meriting this momentous step was the 32nd Guangzhou Garden Expo 弟32届广州林博览会 (here and here), an annual exhibtion that this year will coincide with the 15th National Games of China 中华人民共和国全国运动会, a sort of domestic quadrennial Olympics that in 2025 will be staged in our fair city (for which we've been warned to expect traffic disruptions). 

The flower festival is being staged a short walk from where we live. Soon after we headed out we made a stop so that Shu-E could buy some màiyátáng 麦芽糖 (maltose or sweet syrup) from a vendor: 

Like every other tourist out this day, we had to get photos with the Canton Tower 广州塔 prominently featured in the background:

Chinese people doing Chinese things in the park on a Sunday:

A map showing two sightseeing boat routes on the Pearl River 珠江. I suppose we'll get around to doing these at some point during our time in Guangzhou 广州:

The flower expo (or at least the part we visited) was underwheming...:

...but that didn't stop some visitors from ignoring barriers to get those all-important photographs:

At times it was difficult to appreciate the floral arrangements with all the posing taking place:

Some of the displays were begging to be explored up close, but organizers used stanchions to keep the tourists at bay, meaning the arrangements could be only seen from a distance. Then again, the organizers are probably well aware of the damage that could result from allowing people unimpeded access:

Can you spot the dork in the reflection?:

My wife complained that it was too hot that afternoon (and she had the sweat-soaked top to prove it), but I thought it was fine. Seeing as Guangzhou has moved on from the summer, the next two or so years are going to be difficult ones for Shu-E, despite her proclamations on how wonderful a place GZ is. I went out for yet another walk (see below) that evening after dinner, and to me the weather actually felt cool. More pleasant evenings such as this might actually help me acclimatize (rim shot) and get over my depression:

On the eleventh day of the eleventh month, and shortly after the eleventh hour, the two of us took advantage of Veterans Day to visit a popular site that would be teeming with humanity on any climatically favorable weekend afternoon. But today is a Tuesday, and the wife suggested we use the weekday opportunity to visit Shamian Island 沙面岛. The island (only one kilometer/0.6 miles long and 500 meters/1640 feet wide) is one of those late 19th-/early 20th century concession enclaves carved out by the Western powers, who took advantage of the Qing government's weakness to erect banks, government offices, trading companies and residences in Western-style buildings that have since been converted into cafes, restaurants and shops. The U.S. consulate, in fact, was still in operation here as late as 2013 before moving to its present location, much to my disappointment. My wife seems fascinated by these time capsules as at her suggestion we've visited several up and down China's east coast. 

While this afternoon was Shu-E's first visit, today was actually my second time on the island. I once spent a weekend in Guangzhou ten years ago, and in fact stayed on Shamian-dao. It was quite an ordeal to get there, which I won't repeat here but which you can read about in my original blog post. So for me much was still familiar. Our first photo op upon reaching Shamian Island from the metro station (the Line 1 subway car we rode in to get there reeked of durian) was this Anglican church dating from 1865:

The inside was minimal but the building is apparently a still-functioning house of worship:

Most of our time was spent strolling around and taking photos, such as of this early 20th century building which housed a British trading company:

The offices of Butterfield & Swire Co. Ltd., built in 1881:

A typical Shamian Island scene, with its banyan tree-lined streets: 

Admiring the view of the Pearl River 珠江:

This 1862 yellow beauty was originally occupied by British and French firms:

Peeking down alleyways and side streets:

The 1911 Bank of Taiwan building (during the time when Taiwan was a Japanese colony) was one structure I recalled from my stay a decade earlier:

Even on a weekday Shamian Island is a popular locale to have wedding photos taken:

This couple was being photographed with the 1892 Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes in the background:

As one who was baptized into the Church of England I have to grudgingly admit the French did a better job aesthetically-speaking with their house of worship compared to the earlier visited Christ Church (see above): 

The former Imperial Maritime Customs building (1907) looked an inviting relic to explore inside but was unfortunately closed to the public:

West looks on as East does some calculations on his abacus. The piece is actually called "Three times five divided by two" 三下五除二, a Chinese idiom meaning something neat and quick:

We had a late lunch. I was hoping to enjoy a brew outdoors at a beer garden called Lucy's Bar & Restaurant as I did on that March evening back in 2015, but the establishment appears to have gone out of business. So instead my wife suggested eating at the Guangdong Victory Hotel, the same accommodations where I stayed during my first visit (in its hard to find annex, anyway). We began our meal with bottles of Double Happiness Beer. The label claims a history going back to 1934, and one online source called it the "first beer product produced in Guangzhou", but from what I could work out on Google its current iteration is a more recent relaunching resulting from a joint venture set up with San Miguel from the Philippines. Whatever the backstory, it was light and refreshing, unlike the brew mentioned later on in this post (see below): 

We had a set meal for two, which included salad, soup, two entrees (beef and chicken) and dessert, plus tea. Considering the history of Shamian Island, a Chinese-style meal just wouldn't have felt right:

After lunch we walked around a little more. Looking up we could see reminders that people actually live on Shamian:

One of the many banyan trees:

Leaving the island to return home, but I'm sure we'll return (most likely if and when visitors arrive):

So Tuesday was a cautious first step back into the world of our current "home". Unfortunately this upcoming weekend I need to head back to Beijing on a business trip but once back in Guangzhou I hope Shu-E and I can start exploring the city in greater depth. In the meantime I'll end this post with some recent photos yours truly took on various walks in our immediate vicinity while my wife was at home recovering from her cold, which is evident in this shot snapped on the metro after I had met her at the airport following her return flight from Taiwan:

Looking towards the area around the present American consulate:

Day and night:

Outside the hospital I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot more of in the coming months and years:

The high-rises of the central business district partially obscured by clouds on a drizzly evening:

At 14.2%, I staggered outside after polishing off this beer to take a few more photos. As a Facebook friend astutely observed, it may have been a great choice, but not the best choice, a sentiment I had to agree with the following morning:

Bring it on Guangzhou, I think I'm ready...