Departing Shanghai for Jingdezhen – Shenzhen Airlines (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
Travelling to Jingdezhen via Shanghai means doing some research first. There’s only one flight to Jingdezhen from Shanghai each day at 9.30 am. It’s easy enough to find the check-in counter but going to the wrong terminal at Shanghai, let alone the wrong terminal can mean a very long walk. Hong Xiao Airport is the one to visit for domestic flights. Going back to Pudong airport will mean you’re heading for Customs and Immigration all over again. The plane from Shanghai to Jingdezhen (usually as a stopover to Shenzhen) is particularly cosy and I, being 175 cm tall, can’t possibly sit with my knees together. The food is… well… a lot to be desired. If you like eating spongy cardboard you’ll be happy. Ick. Served in a cardboard box you’ll most likely receive a dry bun, a cake with imitation icing and some crunchy, hollow, sesame flavoured snack that look like nuts but taste more like a mouthful of salt. A cardboard diet on a cardboard plane.
Disembarking and humidity hits. It is the end of their Summer after all… its early September but this is particularly wet, without any rain. I’m a bucket of perspiration before I even get to the car. Danyun, Master Liu’s daughter and great friend of Diana’s, meets us. Of course it’s only been a few minutes and she’s not sure about me yet, but it’s easy to see that she and Diana are close and have shared many stories over the years.
Travel hint no. 7 – Bring twice as much deodorant as you think you’ll need.
Jingdezhen footpath under construction (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
Travelling to Jingdezhen via Shanghai – Day 1
It’s my first day in Jingdezhen and as we head for my hotel for my first night’s stay, we drive an all-too familiar route for Danyun and Diana but of a course, a completely unfamiliar one for me. In some parts the roads and footpaths are in dire need of repair. In others, the roads are very good. There’s construction happening everywhere and demolition too. It saddens me especially to see the destruction of some old, ancient buildings and I wonder what memories they hold. There are also some buildings untouched by the wrecking ball, but probably should be…. but then where do these poor people live?
A woman is washing her child in a bucket and the dog is rummaging through rubbish looking for food. There are foreigners driving by – that’d be us – and we’re obviously a bit of a novelty here.
Travel hint no. 8 -Prepare to be stared at…. a lot!
Vision Fashion Hotel passageway – Jingdezhen (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
The hotel is nice enough and we’re met by another friend of Diana’s, Chunggen, who graciously carries my heavy suitcase up these tiny little stairs, to my room. Damn it… I’ve caught the back of my sandal under the automatic swing door. 3 pairs of shoes has now become 2.
Travel hint no. 9 – Unless you have the physique of a teenager, forget about buying size 10 or 11 shoes or size 16+ clothing. BYO.
Jingdezhen – Hotel remote control in Chinese (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
I’m left alone in the hotel for a few hours to settle in while Diana heads for her apartment. It’s like a sauna in my room. I can’t tell the TV remote from the airconditioner controller and I can’t ring anyone because all the buttons are labelled in Chinese. Ugh… frustrating.
Travel hint no. 10 – Organise a translator app on your phone that can utilise your phone’s camera to read other languages, before you leave home.
Travel hint no. 11 – Ask about Wi-Fi before you get to your room. Those stairs are a bitch.
Jingdezhen Vision Fashion Hotel wall – pottery shards (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
While I’m waiting for the others to get settled in their respective abodes I look around the hotel and find a wall embedded with pottery shards. I LOVE this! They obviously see the beauty in broken pottery and use it to decorate. Perfect. It reminds me of how much of a disposable society we are. I can learn a lot from these people and I’m excited about it.
Jingdezhen Vision Fashion Hotel wall – pottery shards (© Deanna Roberts 2016)
It’s not long before the others return and we head out again for dumplings at Diana’s favourite shop and as we walk in I see an old photo of her on the wall and I’m introduced to the owners. Diana raves about the pork and coriander dumplings and their famous cucumber salad. Yummo! I know I’ll be returning to this shop several times. Most shops too, I soon discover, offer free wi-fi. I am finally able to connect and I message home that I’m safely in Jingdezhen, exhausted, challenged by the lingo but busting to explore my surroundings. Travelling to Jingdezhen via Shanghai does make for a lot of travel but it’s worth it.
Travel hint no. 11 – Be prepared to walk… a lot. Be sure to bring comfortable shoes that are unlikely to break apart when caught under a door.
Leave a Reply