Lessons in Chinese

Out of the comfort zone: Beijing to Jizhou

Ten days in Beijing. How easy it would have been to board the tourist bandwagon and take in the sights along the well-trodden tracks alongside some shopping and sweet and sour chicken. Don’t get me wrong, the fantastic Forbidden City and Tian An Men Square are pretty hard to beat and well worth the elbow bashing from other culture-hungry tourists. And as for the sweet and sour chuck – to die for. But when our two teacher friends from the UK invited us to Jizhou for a few days we looked forward to seeing what China was really about – hopefully much more than tangy chicken and hoards of tourists armed with cameras and cheesy grins.

Unfortunately little is known about Jizhou. Internet search engines fail to deliver much useful information, except perhaps notifying potential visitors of the exciting local rubber factory. In fact all we could glean about Jizhou from our friends was that it was simply "an experience in itself."

Our excitement and anticipation of what the next few days held for us was dulled somewhat by our first experience of catching trains in China. After our taxi driver treated us to the scenic and, consequently, expensive route to Beijing West train station, we sat and waited for our train to arrive. Most people there looked as fed up as we were - they too hadn’t managed to secure a seat so had bought newspapers to sit on, finding a spot on the floor amid the collage of tired feet and suitcases.

When the train seemed to be approaching we headed for the appropriate mash of people trying to get to the front, roughly translated into the Chinese queuing system. Funny how the Chinese have no concept of queuing or waiting for one’s turn. This is simply not done in China - where there are a heck of a lot of people and never enough seats it’s always worth barging through and securing a niche for the long journey. Well-versed in such etiquette, our friends confidently barged a path through to the train, leaving us to meekly follow on behind them.

Once we got moving, urban cityscape eventually filtered away and gave way to cornfields and rolling hills. The scene was beautifully calm; no hoards of impatient tourists or businessmen polluting the view, only countryside and the occasional farmer working in his plot or a group of young children playing in a stream. So much space but no people, a different side to the China we already knew.

It was late afternoon by the time we reached Jizhou Middle School, our home for the weekend. Founded in 1948, the huge school grounds house around 8,000 pupils who both live and learn here everyday. Walking through the corridors, you could barely hear a sound, this was lesson time and everyone was hard at it. When we sat in on one of Tanya’s poetry classes we were totally amazed at just how well behaved these kids really are.

Not only do they have to work a hefty 16-hour day (usually 6am until 9pm), as many as 80 of them populate the classrooms, their desks pushed close together, lined with thick textbooks. With their heads down following Emily Dickinson’s verse as closely as possible, they only raise them when spoken to, and even then they are bashful and minimalist in their answers. Foreign English teachers are well sought after in these parts of China. The children they teach are deemed to be the next generation of English-speakers in a country where many tourists find themselves in a Mandarin nightmare as soon as they step off their British Airways flight.

However, old traditions die-hard here in a city untainted by tourism, where westerners and their culture are still a complete oddity. We were the source of much head turning around the school and those who were brave enough would perhaps run past us shouting "helloooo," then burst into a fit of giggles. Such childish innocence and interest ran alongside an ingrained tradition of first grade initiation on beginning an education at the school here in Jizhou.

We arrived just in time to witness the closing ceremony of the new starter’s initiation. Grouped by their future classes dressed in army-style combat uniform the children took it in turn to march around the huge basketball pitch, parading in front of the headmaster and several other members of staff.

The best group led the others, not a foot out of place – an impressive feat after an intensive week of military-style drills and day-long runs around the city in the humid 30-degree heat. Once all groups had marched, they were all seated and given a performance from their trainers who leapt about with physical precision in various kung fu formations leaving them wide eyed and clapping frantically.

It was difficult to come to terms with such a regimented approach to team bonding. Witnessing thousands of khaki-donning children at the height of discipline in such a way was almost absurd. A stark contrast to a typical "fresher’s week," these children are uncomplaining – this is merely what all children have to do when entering such a prestigious establishment – they are there to impress their headmaster and make him proud. They march in appreciation of him accepting them into his school and giving them the chance for an excellent education.

Our last day was spent roaming the deserted Ju Lin temple (one of the oldest in the Hebei province) and exploring the serene Hengshui Lake.

This fresh-water wetland in the heart of the Hebei province is a popular spot for both migrating and native birds. 283 different varieties of bird life frequent this area, including the red-crowned crane and golden vulture. The sheer size of the lake explains why it acts as a haven for such wildlife, covering 120 square kilometres it is the second biggest body of water in the entire province.

We took a boat ride around the lake just as the sun was sinking lazily into the orange water. Our guide turned off the engine and the chatter ceased – we were floating on a rippling lake of gold, dotted with pink and white lily flowers with no other sound except the gentle swish of our guide’s paddle in the water. Completely in awe of the beauty before us, it was only once the hot pink sun had completely vanished below the horizon, that the mood started to change. We were suddenly under a ravenous attack, which had us all flailing about like idiots performing some kind of tribal slapping dance. The mosquitoes were out in force and hungry, making the most of the dimming light getting at all sorts of stealthy locations and generally enjoying the al fresco dining.

We had a quick tour around the lake and jumped off at a few of the scenic islands, one of which is habited. Chickens, dogs and goats roamed free and a pet gibbon and llama were oddly kept at the rear of the yard, where there were a couple of traditional Chinese houses, one available for rent. The majority of our tour was spent in the said available room where much English to Chinese translating, nodding and smiling occurred as the owner tried to convince us a night on the lake was an experience not to be missed. Waking up in the middle of Hengshui Lake is one thing but waking up in a room decorated with tacky English Christmas decorations and half a zoo in your back garden is something quite different.

So we passed on that one and made our way back to the jetty where we waited for our taxi back into Jizhou town. The owners ushered us into their living room and did their best to make us comfortable in light of the mosquito massacre. This is the kind of reception you come to expect in China, especially in places like Hengshui and Jizhou where western tourists are seldom encountered. And to think, there must be thousands of communities across China just the same – unknown pockets of genuine people waiting to offer the warmest of welcomes into their town, sewn into the incredibly vast landscape that is China. These hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered by the traveller who is daring enough to stray away from the creature comforts the big cities have to offer. Armed with a copy of "Mandarin for Beginners," a sense of adventure and some strong insect repellent, China has so much to offer. The culture shock starts here – do some real travelling and take some lessons in Chinese.