Taiyuan, Shanxi, CHINA

Sites: Vinegar factory (醋園), Old Governor's Mansion (督軍府), Jin temple (晉祠), Countryside

2024-11-09

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My closest friend in Hong Kong is from Shanxi province, so we finally aligned and he showed me around.

Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities are much more enjoyable than Tier 1 ones. The people seem friendlier, more relaxed, and less about the hustle. There are also smaller, less curated tourist sites.

The first place we go to is the vinegar factory. In Chinese, they call it a vinegar garden. So think whiskey distillery, but vinegar; and not large scale but a homely affair. Droves of older tourists in groups were there, but my friend -- with a fresh ACL surgery -- and I plotted along slowly.

In almost every Chinese city, there is a high street. The one in Taiyuan looked like Disneyland. Both roads were sandwiched with a row of gaudy streetlamps, with the lamp like chandeliers.

These streets are historical and were the main conduits of traffic passing through. In the modern age, they have been remodelled to be large scale. On either side, large, refurbished buildings that clearly look new and not dated.

If you go more inwards from the pedestrian walkway, there are pockets of smaller streets. These resemble the historical arteries stemming from the main street in ambience. Smaller shops, bicycles throughout, and a lot more hubbub. All newly built, though.

Chinese construction is all about opulence.

The next day, my friend takes me to the old governor's mansion. A massive, curated garden which is comfortable to stroll around in the spring.

We stop by a small teashop in the middle of the garden for tea.

After the tea, we don't finish walking around and go to the next stop: Jin temple.

I understand why -- this place is massive. You could spend a whole day walking around here. It's a collection of old temples, arranged within a large garden. When the scale of things is so large, it never seems crowded. The weather is perfect.

The best part, however, of the trip was going to my friend's hometown. A slice of his childhood.

I go to lunch with his family, who are all very warm and welcoming. They're farmers, so not distance and cold. They smile and eat.

The surrounding town reminds me of a Soviet era fever dream. Slogans of Xi's China plaster the local government building -- one of a few buildings around the main street. A rather barren main street.

Afterwards, I go back to his childhood house. It's a 5 room apart laid out around a common courtyard. We sit in the living room. The television is on in the bedroom next door and the parents watch TV after lunch. There is picture of Chairman Mao and Xi Jinping decorating the shelf of the main living room. Other rooms are storage and a collection of odd things collected over a lifetime.

The countryside is quiet and the buildings provincial. But here lies the Chinese spirit.