The 8 seasons of Changchun
This is just a fun post about my time in Changchun. For those of you who ever spent time in this industrial city, you know what I’m talking about.
Season 1: Summer
Summer in CC is kinda lame. It’s hot, there are dust storms, and a perfect time to go somewhere else.
Season 2: Fall
By far the best season CC has to offer. Honest, I really loved walking through the parks, the weather is great and you can still comfortably eat Chinese bbq and drink warm beer outside.
Season 3: Cabbage season
Maybe this isn’t quite unique to CC, but it’s way different than anywhere else I’ve lived, and is a sure indicator to gloomy winter. Everyone lays out his or her cabbage everywhere. On the streets, on the sidewalks, on their homes. Enjoy cabbage season while it lasts because next comes…
Season 4: Winter
All of a sudden, winter hits and you know it’s bad. Unlike most parts of China, indoor heating is available in CC, because otherwise people would die. It’s pretty miserable, having to bundle up nice and tight before going out for hotpot or noodles. However, gotta think positive or it’ll really get you down: there’s like, six hours of sunlight. I brought my ice skates from home and tooled around on Nanhu Lake every once in a while. The friendly people, both the excellent expats around town and the warm hearted Changchuners made it bearable.
Season 5: Firework season
Best and only awesome, literally AWESOME season to be around CC. It lasts 10 days or so, longer than spring in fact, and it’s possible to buy serious artillery. Everyone has fun with fireworks, gotta scare away demons from the netherworld, and they should be scared. Two quick stories. First, this one time I saw a Chinese man light a firework, which turned out to be a dud, and he stuck his lit cigarette inside the firework while standing over it. That was not cool. The second story has to do with blowing up a suitcase. When I was traveling over the winter break I bought a cheap suitcase in Guangzhou (my other suitcase fell apart in my hands) and before I even made it to the airport the handle fell off! Me being cheap, and I guess out of a sense of misplaced pride, I continued to travel with that 90rmb suitcase over the course of several weeks. In Nanjing the second handle fell off, and when I made it the Shanghai I was literally carrying the stupid thing in my hands. I ended up jerry-rigging it with a clothes hanger, which got me to the airport, and when I made it back to CC I packed it full of artillery and took my revenge. Vengeance is best served cold, and man is CC cold even during firework season.
Season 6: Yuk season
After winter, and before spring, is yuk season. The accumulated snow melts during the day, creating nasty puddles EVERYWHERE which then freeze over at night. Advice to future travelers- bring foul weather boots that are water proofed.
Season 7: Spring
It lasts 3 days. There are cherry blossoms though, planted by the Japanese when they ran NE China during WWII, and I’m a bit surprised they weren’t demolished following liberation.
Season 8: Road work season
After Yuk season, which creates huge potholes everywhere, it’s time to patch everything up. Roadwork begins and random streets are impossible to use. It lasts throughout the summer. My first year there was serious construction that started at 7am on the dot outside my apartment, and it lasted two friggin weeks.
So stay positive about living in CC, it’s developing China and appreciate it for what it is. If I wanted the easy life I could have stayed in Hainan. I wish I had stayed longer in Sanya now that I think about it…
No comments:
Post a Comment