Peter and Old Gaochun Street

As I get on the back of Peter's scooter, Peter asks what I want to do. I tell him that I looked at trip advisor and there wasn't much in Gaochun but there is a garden and an old pagoda I was thinking about walking to and looking at. Peter laughs.

"That's not anything. Let's go to Old Gaochun Street."

"Okay"

I hop on the back of Peter's scooter and off we go. Before we go to old Gaochun street, Peter drives me around parts of the lake. It is breath taking. He points out the old fishing boats and the modern fishing boats. He shows me where the netted bird sanctuary is and where the fish sanctuary is. It's hard to take photos because we are flying around on his scooter, but I barely care. I am giddy. I think finding the beautiful parts of Gaochun after I have decided to leave gives me additional joy. This stuff is great and I've decided it's not enough for me. I feel powerful.

We then head to old Gaochun street. There is a river that runs by it, it is now enclosed, but it used to be where the fisherman would bring their catches into to sell at the market. The statue above is meant to commemorate the fisherman who used to work their. Pictured above, is an old abandoned hotel.

We enter through the walkway (pictured at the top of the page) and find these very narrow streets with small shops on either side. The stores have no doors, just planks of wood on the side which are placed in front of the stores when they close. Peter also tells me that most of the owners have apartments above the shops and still leave in these stores.

The stores sell all sorts of weird knickknacks. Similar to Chinatown, there are stores that sell assortments of cheap children's toys. But there are also shops that sell live animals for cooking (hairy crabs, eels, fish, ducks and chickens, shops that sell old Chinese antiques (old coins, old black and white comic books, etc), artisans who build and sell their goods in their stores (wood carvings, pottery, paintings), stores that sell only feather dusters, stores that sell ice cream and milk tea, and stores that sell sweet rice wines. I make Peter stop at a rice wine store so we can get a cup, but he refuses and then pays for mine.

I notice a museum and force Peter to go with me inside. Peter explains that this building is meant to commemorate those who fought China in the battle of Gaochun during World War 2. It is both sad and beautiful. I know these photos are terrible but the precision in these drawings is truly incredible.

We walk out the back of the museum, and all of a sudden we are in an outdoor theater.

"Back in the old days, when there was nothing else to do, everyone would come to the theater," Peter tells me.

"Beijing Opera?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Have you ever seen Beijing Opera?"

"Yes."

"Do you like it?"

"Yes"

I don't know why Peter puts up with me. I'm pretty sure he hates me but I am very grateful that he is showing me around and answering my questions.

We turn left and enter a small garden. I found this area particularly beautiful. I decide then and there, if I can afford to design my own house, I want circular door frames. There is also a beautiful little table where people could sit and play cards or chess.

And just for good measure, I will post one more of those circular doors I like so much.

We exit the garden and head to another area where there is yet another outdoor theater. On the walls behind the audience, giant painted stone masks are carved into the mask. I ask Peter what the mask signify, but he says he does not know.

There is also a giant Chinese Chess board, which is apparently a similar but slightly different game. There is an added piece, the cannon, that starts between the back line and the pawns out front. The stone pieces are permanent now, but in the old days people actually played out here.

And because I know you want to see it, this is what the other stage looked like.

While walking back toward the newer section of Old Gaochun street, I forced Peter take a photo of me with a statue of an old hairdresser. He begrudgingly agreed. You can notice the sweet rice wine in my right hand. It was very tasty and I liked that it had a bendy straw.

We went around a corner and again, it was like we were in a totally different place.

The stores here were mostly under renovation, but much more modern. We came upon a group of old women rehearsing a very slow umbrella dance as another old woman yelled at them through a microphone. Peter immediately started making fun of these woman.

"They are so annoying. This is all they have to live for. Dancing with umbrellas is all they have done their whole lives. They danced as children, then they had children and raised them, and then the children left and now they are dancing again."

I thought they were kind of cute. Other than the woman yelling in the microphone, she seemed unnecessarily mean.

Peter explained to me that this was the wall to a liquor store. The character on each plate represents a different type of alcohol. I mentioned to Peter I had tried Baiju the other night and got a stomach ache. He found this very funny.

I also had to take a photo of the air conditioners I noticed on multiple buildings because I thought the design on the sign was cute and strangely homo erotic/inclusive.

I wanted to end my post on old gaochun with this photo. Peter says the engraving means, "The beauty of the south." He also explained to me that Chinese women were more attractive in the south because of the hot humid weather and that the women in the north were less beautiful because of the frigid cold. That maybe underplays the beauty of the quote, but I still thought was an interesting tidbit.