Yang Liu Ching

Last night, Da Yi, Yaoyao and Da Yi Fu came to stay over as we needed to head to Yang Liu Ching early today. It’s on the outskirts of Tianjin. We got on the coach (621) near Tianjin Port Hospital. At first the 621 went down the road and Da Yi Fu was like you ‘just missed the bus! It goes the other day’ and then the coach did a U-turn and came back xD. We got on. It was a bit, well, dirty. People kept coming on and the bus kept stopping, which is why the trip took about 2+ hours… It was so crowded people was standing along the aisles at times. I fell asleep…

When I woke up, we arrived and we got off and waited for someone to come meet us. Suprisingly, there was a lack of cars on very wide roads… There was these dogs around and we joked about the people arriving to collect us :P. I’m really silly at times.

___ and her boyfriend came and meet us, riding bikes. Sure, it allowed them to come to us quickly, but were we supposed to walk with them? xD. We finally went and got into a taxi and finally knowing the restaurant we were supposed to be meeting up at. We got there (room 301) and there were four tables. We were using two. Some people came in and I was like ‘who are they’ and apparently there were using the two unused tables. It was a little awkward at first Then OUR relatives came in from the door. I don’t remember half of them and just said what Da Yi told me to say :P. The dishes then started coming along and we started eating. At our table, sat the women and their children, while the other sat the old people and the men. We ate (sweet potato with salted duck egg sauce… mmmm and) mushroom soup, chicken and pork with fried leaves (yes, leaves. I tried eating the leaves, first thing I picked up. I started biting it and I was told that it wasn’t edible), sweet and sour jelly and Xiong Hua Dan and other stuff I can’t remember.

While talking about birthdays, I found out that 6 Yi has the same birthday as Neoneo! As well as being the same zodiac! Cool!

After eating, we went out and headed into a tourist attraction of an old courtyard and houses to see how life was like a long time ago. 4 Yi was the ‘guide’ as she lived near the area we were in (Yang Liu Ching). While we were walking I saw a giant gold monument of a bady and cod as well as horses with carts.

The courtyard was very large. When we got inside it was hard to keep track of direction. It was a bit like a maze. The houses themselves were not very large, but the yards were. I think it would have been better if they built a giant house instead :P. The courtyard itself was very like what you see in television dramas.

My Grandma told me that she used to live in a similar courtyard when she was small, so she didn’t come with us. I found it pretty boring but like it being very big like a maze. There were houses for the newly wed couple, elderly, servants and even the dead! (including where to place pictures etc). Besides that, there was a temple, a school and an opera house. Talk about planning :P, but I guess it is similar to having a mansion with a tennis court, bowling alley and movie theatre in present day life.

Neoneo went with Zhao Ying and we didn’t see them until near the end. I wanted to take photos of her but she didn’t want to. I got lost once inside

Near the end, Yaoyao spotted a puzzle competition. She got one where she thought she knew the answer, but later found out that the competition had already ended lol.

We came out and walked back and took the bus, and then another. We went to a hospital to check up on 2 Yi Fu. Apparently he suffered a stroke (well something to do with straining the brain) and he couldn’t talk or move half his body. He recovered pretty well and was going to leave the hospital tomorrow afternoon. We got 100 yuan from him each

We then went on a bus to the bus station to catch the 621 to go back to Tanggu. The bus station was next to the train station as well, and I don’t know if they’re related, but there were a lot of people waiting in the queue!

While in the queue, Da Yi went to get some food for us, and came back with Lotte chocolate pies (which I later found out was twice the price from a normal shop!). There was a kid that needed to go to the bathroom but if they went to the toilet, if would risk losing their spot, so the father got a bottle… (the kid was a boy, so you know what happens next).

The first coach left and people were squeezing into it and being packed like sardines. The aisle was filled with people standing up for a 2+ hour drive. Each person on the coach meant one extra paying person, so they tried to pack them in as much as they can. Obviously we were in no hurry so waited for the next one, which was about 15 minutes. When the next coach did arrive, people squeezed through the door. While holding two boxes of chocolate pies, I was being squashed around and I couldn’t get on (I guess everyone wanted a seat), and so I swore some unholy words and finally went on. It was, like ridiculous. Only in China I guess. When I did get on, I saw this old lady getting her shoe slipped off while she was trying to get on. xD

Finally after a long drive, we finally arrive back in Tanggu. Da Yi Fu went off to check up on her mum, as she was sick. Me, Neoneo, Yaoyao and Da Yi went to order cake for me and Lao Lao (we have our birthday tomorrow on the same date! She uses lunar calendar while I use the normal one so tomorrow they are the same day). We went to Vilicom and ordered one. It was $143 + $8 extra for a flower candle. Da Yi went back to her own home, and me, Yaoyao and Neoneo got into a taxi and went back to Lao Lao’s house.

It was a fun day. Especially getting on the bus at the end, even though it wasn’t the main thing