Day 5: Wuhan

Instead of having the boring hotel buffet for breakfast today, we chose various street food. Our rule is trying out the stall that has longest line. It didn’t take long for us for find such a stall, a line was constantly forming in front of this noodle shop. Steve and I got the Wuhan sesame sauce noodles, and Evan got spicy tofu noodles. I told the cook to make Evan’s noodles extra spicy and he delivered. Evan said it was one of the most spicy things he’s ever eaten! We also got a spicy meat pancake that’s cooked in stones (basically a layer of dough cooked between hot stones), which was very tasty.

We then headed to Wuhan university. I had lived my whole life right here by the university, went to Middle school, High school and university here. The hill in the middle of the school was part of my playground. I had climbed this hill for so many times, had my first date with my first boyfriend at the age of 15 in this hill, shared our first kiss here. There are so many beautiful memories!

For the first time in 20 years, I climbed this hill again. Nothing much changed, which is so rare these days in China! I recognized the stairs, the rocky slopes, the large holes that are likely fox holes during the war with Japanese, the forts that are long abandoned. I absolutely loved the experience!

Walking around the university campus, the posters are advertising a large event to celebrate 125 years anniversary for the school. As one of top 10 universities in China, this school is also one of the oldest and biggest. Our 2 hour walk hardly covered 20% of the school.

I was happy with the fact the school seems greener than 20 years ago, but sadly the outdoor movie theater is now a parking lot. Although my brother said they still show movies occasionally (just need to ask the cars to move out first). A small forest near the school grand entrance had been turned into a park.

The more I walked, the less I recognized.

I am glad I will always have Lujia Hill, the only place remain unchanged in China for me.Read more