April 14, 2013, by Mark
Too young, too simple & a monkey
Ni Hao! Apologies for the delay, this has been due to illness and another hospital visit, it appears the air quality here in China has taken its toll on me and you can imagine how seriously any flu symptoms are currently being taken due to H7N9. I return you to Good Friday, and my birthday weekend. I began my day of birth, like no other, with a tai ji and wushu class, followed by another lesson of Mandarin. The afternoon was spent at Zhejiang University’s main campus where I was invited to try my hand at calligraphy before having dinner in a canteen catering for over five thousand students! After dinner, I was given as a gift a special calligraphy sign wishing me a happy birthday as well as one with the popular Chinese phrase, ‘too young, too simple’.
Saturday morning three of us visited a local family where we were invited into their home to make dumplings, drink green tea and view a recital of the two children’s musical talents. Straight after this the three of us boarded a high-speed train to the city of twenty five million inhabitants, Shanghai, to continue my birthday celebrations.
After a delicious Chinese meal we headed for the Hyatt hotel that boasts a rooftop ‘cloud’ bar with jaw dropping views, and rightly so. Seeing a city of twenty five million people lit up at night, literally in the clouds, will rate up there as one of my favourite memories of China. The subsequent night out was just as memorable but for other reasons, one being the harassment endured at the hands of a monkey! The rest of the weekend was equally brilliant as we visited various markets and sights around the city before getting back on the train to Hangzhou.
– Mark J Richardson
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