China for the New Year (8): more Yichang and more Zigui

Today was the Chinese New Year and, on our trip to China, it was very much a day of two halves.

The morning was spent in Yichang, mainly in the 22nd floor flat of Hua’s relatives, but we did go for a walk to a local hypermarket which seemed to stock absolutely everything including fruits and vegetables that I did not recognise. Other than in the store, this city of 1.4 million seemed deserted with all the shops and cafes closed and everyone at home with family.

The afternoon was spent in Zigui, a town of about 300,000 about three quarters of an hour ‘s drive away. As well as celebrating the New Year with another group of family members, we marked the 89th birthday of Hua’s grandmother with a large cake. I asked the birthday girl about her memories of the Second World War and she told me that she remembered all the aerial bombing by the Japanese and the terrible destruction of buildings and loss of lives.

For two hours in the afternoon, we went for a walk through central Zigui and it was a totally different experience from Yichang. There were lots of people out, plenty of entertainment for the children, and almost a carnival atmosphere. I tried some raw sugar cane and took some photographs of the temple celebrating the famous poet Qu Yuan who was born here in 340 BC. We went as far as the Yangtze River and, while the weather was now remarkably mild, it was too misty to see the nearby Three Gorges Dam (which I visited in 2010).


 




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