A few days into their stay, Mum, Dad and Ellie had even gone out for food and ordered without my help (which, given my limited grasp of Chinese, shouldn’t have made too much of a difference). Though still quite tired and coughing all over the place, I was much better so I was still able to enjoy the week with the family. One evening we visited a restaurant which turned out to be a posh banquet place. Thankfully I was just able to help navigate through the ordering process (again, nothing remarkable but I’d never been expected to help choose a good selection of dishes, only having been a guest at previous banquets). The food was excellent, and I’m glad they were able to experience that aspect of Chinese culture – though without the copious toasts of baijiu (we opted for tea and kept toasts to a British minimum) – not only from our food, but also from surreptitiously observing diners at other tables who were probably doing it ‘properly’.

The tour bus was great fun; we disembarked in Pudong at the Oriental Pearl Tower. It’s clearly set up for huge crowds (rows and rows of barriers for queues), but it was mercifully quiet for us as we enjoyed spectacular views across Shanghai. I found the cities written on the glass around the viewing platform particularly delightful, and hurried to find the various places I’d visited, as well as Ürümqi (over 3,200km, according to the window). The glass-floored platform was great as well, although I regret not jumping up and down a few times (Mum might have had a heart attack, though). Of course we had to visit the Bund and see Pudong lit up; Ellie and Mum spent a few hours haggling their way around the Nanjing Road Fakes Market (Ellie apparently formidable, as expected); and Dad and I had a play on the Maglev train (which goes so fast, iMovie can’t remove the rolling shutter from my phone).

Mum and Dad also visited Suzhou by bullet train (Ellie and I were both a bit out of it on this particular day so they went alone). Despite being followed by a government agent I think they enjoyed it – they had a nice walk along the river and old city walls. On the last day we visited Fuxing Park with fantastic weather (for a February). As with any Chinese park, it’s nothing like the muddy field with a few football nets that the word ‘park’ conjures up for me, but given the word is translated literally as ‘public garden’, the collection of water features, paths, flower beds and ponds makes much more sense. They’re very sociable places, with dancers all along the wide walkways and music blaring from portable loudspeakers – we were tempted to join in! That evening I found a restaurant near our hotel at which the family were able to try Xinjiang-style noodles. A pity they couldn’t try Pollo as well, but if I learn how to make it there’s always time when I get home.

Sunday morning was an early start to get to Pudong Airport, though I still had time for one last buffet breakfast, and the process was painless thanks to the Maglev and a lack of delays on my flight. Ürümqi felt positively Baltic but was actually only hovering around -5 degrees, and by late evening I’d got the train up to Karamay and seen Tom for the first time in nearly two months. His hair has grown back! I had as early a night as the train allowed, ready for a new semester of lessons the next morning.

I started the new term with a ‘What did you do over your holidays?’ lesson and quickly realised that I needed to change tack. Some spent their holidays studying, most spent time with friends and ‘slept a lot’ and a smattering even visited other provinces for Chinese New Year. A lot said their holidays were ‘boring’ although they showed no more enthusiasm about being back at school, either. Time to inject some enthusiasm, methinks.

—TJC

Featured image: Ellie and Dad experimenting with chopsticks on Shanghai fried dumplings.