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A Wuhan
walk-through
When I first step on the soil of Wuhan, the capital city of Central
China's Hubei Province, a humid wind from the Yangtze River, noisy
crowds and the Wuhan dialect immediately surround me.
The Yangtze River is one of Wuhan’s most well-known hallmarks and has
lured travelers for centuries. China's longest river, the Yangtze runs
through the city, endlessly telling the legends of generations gone
past. When looking through the windows of the bus, I spot the river’s
running waters darting past between buildings and hear its current
rushing by, excited and antsy.
With the Yangtze River’s mystique, visitors often imagine a picturesque
and serene river flowing rapidly by, but they may be disappointed by the
slow moving river as it walks slower to observe the busy city and hear
the gossip of its citizens. Revered as the cradle of Chinese
civilization, one can almost feel the mighty river's history as it
meanders through the city just as it has for thousands of years.
Locals will tell you that there are two ways to experience the river’s
greatness, walking its banks or crossing its broad body by ferry. I
chose the latter. Feeling the breeze through my hair, smelling the
freshness of the waters, I looked toward the horizon where the sky and
the waters seem to meet, dreaming of one day swimming in the river.
It seems impossible for visitors to understand Wuhan dialect, but I
enjoy watching local people heaving the words in an up-and-down tone.
Once I noticed a Wuhan local talking on the phone, his cadenced tone
reminded me of Huangmei Opera, a local opera from Huangmei, Hubei
Province. Learning local dialect is one of the joys of traveling, but,
try as I might, I only learned a few words. Fortunately, Mandarin and
English go along way in Wuhan’s increasingly globalized streets.
Like a fashionable girl eager to put on her skirt, Wuhan skips spring
and jumps directly to the embrace of sweltering summer. For the
summertime visitor, the city’s sweltering heat and sticky air
inescapable, but fortunately the heat had yet to descend on the city in
early April, allowing me to soak up Wuhan’s variety in comfort.
One of ancient China’s cultural centers, Wuhan’s imperial heritage jumps
out at visitors nearly everywhere. Visitors are sure to hear from proud
locals of the legend of the Yellow Crane and the 1,700-year-old Yellow
Crane Tower, which sits prominently atop the Snake Hill and is one of
the most famous towers in South China. The tower, first built in AD 223
during the Three Kingdoms period AD 220-280, is renowned for inspiring
the Tang Dynasty poet Cui Hao, who wrote in his famous poem Yellow Crane
Tower.
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Yellow Crane Tower
(Huang He Lou) |
Though the original tower collapsed in a fiery blaze and the current
tower only dates to 1984, reading the inscription of Cui's poem, one can
still feel the original tower’s grandeur.
A central hub, Wuhan is always full of visitors, but I still felt
overwhelmed as I watched as people thronged through the city’s narrow
alleyways, especially Hubu Xiang, an alley renowned for its street food
and a must-see for every visitor. One particular treat is “tofu skin,” a
favorite Wuhan delicacy.
After a full belly and a voyage on the Yangtze, no trip to Wuhan is
complete without a visit to scenic East Lake. While not as famous as the
well-known West Lake in Hangzhou, the lake is still the perfect place to
wile away an afternoon enjoying the breeze or boating. Unlike the
bustling Yangtze River, East Lake’s slowly lapping waves bring peace and
tranquility, encouraging one to reflect on how much Wuhan has changed
and how much it still remains the same. (Source: Globaltimes.cn, May 13,
2009)
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