Chapters 86-88 About Town

Chapter 86

Directions

Luoyang would be considered a good sized city in the US. At the end of December 2016, the population was seven and a half million. This includes six districts. The city itself is two million. I’ve never really heard but I am kind of assuming that the districts would be like suburbs to us. In China, Luoyang would be considered a medium sized city. Beijing, the capital of China, has twenty-one million people and Shanghai’s population is twenty-three million.

I am good with directions. For the size of Luoyang, it is easy to get around. When you are from a small city like La Crosse, Luoyang looks very large to begin with until you learn your way around. The roads run north and south and east and west. I am from South Dakota originally and that is how the roads are there so I had that advantage to begin with. For me, it was easy to find my way.


I learned from others which buses to take. I learned how to get around by walking. I would go one way for a ways and then turn right or left, go more, turn again and back to where I started and then I would expand out from there. I would walk from six to ten miles at times. As I learned more and more places, I would walk to some of them so I would learn how to get around the city. If someone would drop me off anywhere in the city, I could find my way back home.


If I could see a landmark, like the TV tower by Luopu Park, the PSB (public security bureau) building or I knew where the Luo River was and other places, I would have no problem finding my way. I liked going out for walks and finding my way around. I would purposely go different ways just to explore.


When I got a bike, I would ride to the south side of the Luo River, the New District, and learn that area so no matter where I was, I knew how to get home. I could give directions to some of my Chinese friends and help them get to where we were going if they needed help.


Also, now and then I would get on a bus and take it to see where it went and then I could learn what was in other parts of the city and then come back again. I was kind of adventurous I’d guess you’d say, but then if I was ever in some part of the city for some reason and something happened, I could find my way back home.

 

Chapter 87

Noise

No matter where you go there, it is noisy. That is because of so many people and how buildings are made. There are some nice restaurants and hotels that are quieter of course but if you go to a traditional Chinese place to eat then it is noisy. The sounds bounce off of the walls. Walking down the streets and all of the sounds from traffic, car horns, street noises and people talking bounce off the buildings and make it noisy.

When we go to weddings in the US, whether it is in a church or outside, it is quiet. The reception after the weddings are noisy when people are eating and talking. In China, the wedding is looked at as a celebration and the people are in a big room in a hotel where tables are set up and the wedding is in that room and we also eat there afterwards. They may have a small band, there are loud speakers in the front by the stage where the ceremony is conducted by an MC (Master of Ceremony). An MC is the person that is licensed to marry couples. I don’t know what else to call that person. Mr. Zhai, from the Number Two Foreign Language School, used to do that. If there are 200-300 people and there are two loud speakers set up in the front, they are very loud so the sound carries to the back. I don’t know why they don’t have two speakers in the back also and then turn all of them down.

In restaurants, if you are at a table and there are ten people at a round table and a lot of people in the restaurant, there are times you can only hear the people sitting beside you, not the people across the table. If you want to talk to the people across the table, you either have to yell in order for you to talk to each other or go to where they are and talk to them.

Eating is a social time for the Chinese. They are very happy getting together and eating with their friends and they become very loud.

Some of the restaurants have private rooms if you want them. You have to pay extra. You can get these if you want to be in a quiet place and celebrate a birthday party or whatever the reason.

Car horns make a lot of noise also because of so many people honking their horns. They honk them all the time as they are driving. This is common. They are letting each other know, along with the pedestrians, that they are close or coming so all are aware of each other.

Honking horns in the US and in China are two different things. They sound the same in both places but what it means is different. We may honk at someone if they don’t go when the light turns green or someone just isn’t paying attention. A lot of the time when we honk our horns here it’s because of road rage. Yes, they also have road rage in China but it seems like there is more here.

In China it might be difficult to tell sometimes because people are honking their horns all the time. That’s just the way it is there. They are letting each other know that they are right behind you or coming up on one side or the other. Although that is happening more here also when people are talking on their phones or texting and walk out into the street.

There are so many people in China that you need to let them know where you are or they may not realize it because they are watching something else on the street. Remember, it isn’t just cars on the street there. There are cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, motorbikes, electric bikes and people. Sometimes people don’t look when they walk out into the street.  

Chapter 88

Parking

I need to explain what sidewalks are in China. They are not the same as ours. What they call sidewalks are much bigger than ours, you can park cars on them and that is what they do. The sidewalks can be anywhere from one to three car lengths wide.

Many people in the US have trouble parking, mostly parallel parking. In China, there are more obstacles. When we back up here, we watch out for cars, motorcycles, there may be a bicycle or someone walking by. In China, there are motorbikes, electric bikes, cars, buses, taxis, bicycles, people and a lot of them. The cars in China have had rear cameras for many years, before we had them in the US, which are really helpful when backing up.

Many places like restaurants and shopping areas have parking attendants. They help you park and get in and out of places so you don’t bump other cars. It is difficult driving and parking there. Besides places to park cars, there are also places to park bicycles, motorbikes and electric bikes and the attendants watch over the bikes so they are safe and you pay the attendant when you park but it isn't as much as you pay for parking your car.

When there are festivals and holidays, parking really becomes a serious problem. There just aren’t enough places to park. Parking ramps would really work well in China. That would help solve some of the problems.

You can usually walk down the sidewalks except when it is a weekend or people are eating out, then the sidewalks are covered with cars by the shopping areas and restaurants. During the last year when I was there, 2012-2013, some of the festivals like National Day (October 1), Spring Festival-also known as the Chinese New Year (at the end of January or the beginning of February) and the Peony Festival (April 1-May 5) you could not walk down some of the sidewalks because of the cars on them. We would have to walk in the streets or around the cars.

That’s just how it is. There isn’t enough room to park all of the cars on the streets. It is different than here. There are some places where you could pay to park underground. Over the years, so many people have gotten cars and the traffic problem has really increased.

When you are looking at these pictures, think about what it would be like if you were driving and looking for a place to park or how would you get out of some of these places. Would you have the patience for this?

You do what you need to when you need to park and go into the store.

A parking lot for bicycles, motor bikes and electric bikes.

Where I am standing is by the shopping center Xin Du Hui. I am on the second floor right by Dairy Queen. This parking area goes to the right until you get to the next street. This is the only place you can park by the mall otherwise you have to find a place on the streets.

This is to the left of the last picture.

There are attendants that you pay to take care of the bikes. As you can see, they are parked very close together. You would need to be careful putting a bike in or getting one out so you didn’t knock others over. Don’t forget where you parked. You may be there awhile looking for yours if you do.

Like I said before, these are the sidewalks the cars are parked on and this is what it is like everywhere.

The more cars and bikes there are, the more parking places are needed and the less room there is for people to walk. There were many places where I ended up walking on the streets.

Where you see the buses and the cars behind the parked cars is the street.

Could you handle this?

What would you do if you were driving in that one lane and you met another car and there’s nowhere to pull over? Who’s going to back up? Let’s say some people come out of the restaurants and they need to leave. What do you think is going to happen? The person that came first probably parked his car by the restaurant and can’t leave until other cars leave. What’s the chance that there may be some dented cars? Maybe you would have to sit and wait or leave your car and come back another time.

This is the same road as the last picture only looking the other direction. Here you could pull over so two cars could meet and get by.

Bicycles by a school. I wonder what will happen if someone knocks a bike over? Can you say “domino effect”?

Busy sidewalks. You park, walk, go on bicycles, electric bikes and drive a car on the sidewalk. When you are walking here, you really need to be aware of all the things around you.