“When a man rides a long time through wild regions he feels the desire for a city.”
–Invisible Cities, Italo Calvino
Nanjing is cool and it has been cool for a really long time. Intermittently the site of the capitol during the last seven hundred years, Nanjing exists today as a cultural and historical epicenter for all of China. It is one of the few cities where a visitor can tour ancient tombs, wander aimlessly through luscious natural parks and botanic gardens, gain knowledge at state-of-the-art museums, see bands perform in all languages in the lively nightclub district, drop by some of the best universities in China and mingle with the students who are eager to sharpen their English skills. You can also peruse the foreign book stores and many coffee shops and spend money either at high-end stores or local trinket shops. It’s all happening in Nanjing.
In older times Nanjing established itself as a magnet for intellectuals. They would flock to this city to pass tests of higher learning. It remains the terminus for academic pilgrims (of Chinese background) due to the prestigious national exams that are still administered in Nanjing. The purposes of my visit was solely aimed towards escaping the academic world.
I chose Nanjing as the destination for my self-appointed vacation. Little did I know that a legitimate holiday period was declared for the whole faculty shortly after I left my university. Nonetheless, after exams were over and all my paperwork was turned in, I felt that I was owed some personal time. So personal time I took!
Nanjing, as mentioned before, is really cool. And conveniently enough, it’s located just four hours south of my city. This made the preparation significantly easier and I already felt familiar with this city, to some degree, because all the students, insofar as they’re able, remark about their trips to Nanjing in either praising or depressing tones (mind you they wind up there more for exams than holidays). But no self-respecting person in Nanjing—no matter how brief their stay—will neglect a visit to at least one of the many attractive lights in this chandelier city.
I rented a bicycle on my second day to allow for flexibility and freedom of movement. I had become wary of the public transportation system after the first twenty-four hours (constantly waiting for buses, trains, and taxis is no fun). After politely asking one of the staff members at the hostel, “where might I rent a bicycle?” they gestured towards a bike that was nestled in the cobwebs underneath the stairwell. For a small fee, I’d have the privilege of dusting off this master of the road, this rickety and rusty cruiser, and pedaling off into the crisp January air. I hesitated at first. Then I began to wonder how easy it would be to find another bicycle rental business open in January. Needless to say, I didn’t waste time pursuing alternative means of bike rental for I had much to see.
After planning a route that would take me to some irresistible destinations, I set off. About two minutes into my ride, I quickly became savvy to the challenges inherent to traversing in this bustling capitol city via bicycle. Crossing the modest city of LianYunGang by bike seems like a tricycle ride up and down your driveway in comparison with riding in Nanjing. It was a white-knuckle thrill ride. It was hair-raising. It could be called eyeball-peeling. At times it was throw-your-head-back-and-laugh-like-a-madman fun!
So that was the ebb and flow of it. Ride around, walk around, get lost, take photos. That was the story for the first forty-eight hours anyway.
I rented a bicycle on my second day to allow for flexibility and freedom of movement. I had become wary of the public transportation system after the first twenty-four hours (constantly waiting for buses, trains, and taxis is no fun). After politely asking one of the staff members at the hostel, “where might I rent a bicycle?” they gestured towards a bike that was nestled in the cobwebs underneath the stairwell. For a small fee, I’d have the privilege of dusting off this master of the road, this rickety and rusty cruiser, and pedaling off into the crisp January air. I hesitated at first. Then I began to wonder how easy it would be to find another bicycle rental business open in January. Needless to say, I didn’t waste time pursuing alternative means of bike rental for I had much to see.
