Return to the Familiar, Unfamiliar Places in Baoding, China (April – June 2023)

 

The date was January 4, 2023, a beautiful Wednesday morning and my brother and I were relaxing at the quaint café located at the rooftop of Lot 10, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  It was great to be able to view KL Tower and a few other buildings from the rooftop of this location.

 

The views of the buildings from the rooftop of Lot 10. KL Tower is on the right (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

While we were waiting for our orders to arrive, I decided to check my emails from my Samsung Galaxy 53A. Suddenly I saw a notification from my boss’ secretary came beeping with the heading that read, “Meeting with the boss”. Without wasting any time, I clicked on the notification with trembling fingers. The message read:

 

Dear Toe Bean,

Happy New Year – I hope you had a lovely Christmas and New Year with your family. The boss has asked to meet with you next week, please. We are starting to look at plans for key people to return to China and would like to have a conversation with you about this. Would you be available to meet him Monday or Tuesday morning?

Kind regards,

The Boss’ Secretary 

 

After a few lengthy conversations with both The Boss’ Secretary and The Boss himself, I started making preparations to return to Baoding.

 

The return, however, was not smooth sailing for me. First, there were many documents that I need to prepare. There were many forms to fill out, and I had to get my letter of good behavior from the Malaysian government at Putrajaya and get it authenticated at the Chinese embassy in Kuala Lumpur. 

 

After obtaining my invitation letter from the Chinese university, I immediately went online to try to book an appointment to apply for my work visa from the Chinese embassy.  However, to my surprise, the earliest appointment I could book at the Chinese Embassy was three weeks later.

 

I discovered later that the overwhelming booking responses were caused by many Chinese nationals (students and workers) who were living in various parts of the globe including Malaysia who were desperate to return to meet with their families since the doors to China were closed in 2020.

 

Getting flight tickets to China was another issue. There weren’t any direct flights to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur and many of the other transit flights were also fully booked. The only options I had were either to fly with Singapore Airlines (transit to Singapore) or Cathy Pacific Airlines (transit to Hong Kong). I finally managed to book a ticket to Beijing at the end of March and return in the second week of June with Singapore Airlines.

 

At Changi Airport, Singapore, since I was only flying the next day, I decided to spend a night at Ambassador Transit Hotel at Terminal 2.

 

Since I had plenty of time, I decided to explore the two terminals, Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. I had to be at Terminal 3 to catch my plane to Beijing. As a person with a lack of sense of direction, I decided that I would explore Terminal 3 so that I would not lose my way.

 

Once I have familiarized myself with the gates at Terminal 3, I decided to have a look around at the shopping areas and the types of food offered in the area.

 

After exploring the area, I returned to Terminal 2 and discover a lovely Sunflower Garden which houses sunflowers on the rooftop (Level 3), near the transit hotel.

 

The sunflowers are produced in Changi Airport's nursery. This rooftop retreat offers stunning views of the runway and aircraft parking spaces (Toe Bean, 2015)

 

Then I explored the shopping area at the Terminal. The number of shops in Terminal 2 is lesser than in Terminal 3. After having a meal at the hotel, I retired for the day. 

 

The downside of the transit hotel was the expensive hotel rates. The walls of the hotel rooms were also too thin, and it could be a nightmare for a light sleeper if the next room hotel guest was noisy. The good points of the transit hotel were that the staff were friendly and very helpful.

 

I couldn’t get a good night’s sleep as I was worried, I might not be able to wake up to my alarm clock and to the wake-up call which I had requested from the transit hotel for the next day.  Nevertheless, I finally managed to catch my plane and once I arrived at Peiking Airport, I looked for a place card with my name on it.   A driver was waiting to take me to my last destination, a three-hour car ride to Double Tree by Hilton.

 

The stay at Double Tree by Hilton was overall pleasant. I thoroughly enjoyed the daily buffet breakfast and made sure I worked out in the hotel gym as often as I could. I love having baths and was delighted to see that there was a bathtub in my hotel room.  The pillows, bed, and mattress were big and comfortable. I also didn’t have to worry about paying my electricity, internet, and gas bills. 

 

 

 

Lovely buffet breakfast (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

 

Lovely bathtub and comfortable bed (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

There were so many changes that I noticed when I returned to China (post-covid). The main changes are the fast rate of development and the vast construction that has gone into the city. Previously this place was a village area filled with many sunflowers, plantations, fields, and village houses.  Now all the fields and villages have gone and are now replaced with new apartments, shopping centers, parks, and buildings. 

Everywhere I go during my return from April to June 2023, many constructions are still going on in Baoding (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

 

Before Covid 19, there were also rows of shops opposite the old apartments that I used to live in. There were also rows of shops near the university entrance but now all these shops are gone.

The row of shops opposite the apartments in 2018 (Toe Bean, 2018)
 

Now all those shops are gone when I returned in 2023 (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

 

I was told that these buildings were demolished by the government because they were built illegally by the villagers. The government took steps to build new shops right outside the old apartments.  

 

New shops have been built just in front of the old apartments. (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

Stalls were also set up by the villagers on the side of the roads, usually from late afternoon to ten o'clock at night, near the apartments and shops to sell their produce, which included vegetables, fruits, eggs, and meat. Also, tailors on motorcycles set up their stalls the mending torn clothes or bags when I was living there from late 2018 to early 2020. 

When I returned in 2023, the stalls are not allowed to operate.

 

I used to be able to purchase goods conveniently and cheaply from these stalls and shops. Ever since these shops are gone, I noticed the cost of living had considerably increased. 

 

I used to be able to have a simple meal for less than 10 yuan from these illegal shops. Now, it is impossible to get a decent meal at that price, eating out. The new price now stands at 15 yuan or higher from the food courts and stalls in Wanda, the new shopping center near the university.  After making calculations, it is far cheaper to cook my meals. 

 

When more international staff start tricking back to Baoding, the Dean of the faculty from the Chinese University arranged to bring all of us around Baoding to see the changes that had taken place within the 3 years of our absence. 

 

The first destination was to visit the Opera House. I recalled visiting the Opera House in late 2018 to explore the area and to watch a performance in the Opera House in 2019. The surrounding of the Opera House was just fields and in the distance some apartment buildings.   

 

The surroundings of the Opera House in early 2019 (Toe Bean, 2015).

When I returned in 2023, the surrounding of the Opera House has improved with the man-made lake and some sculptures being built. (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

 

The second destination was to visit the Lotus Ancient Garden.  The Garden was still the same when I visited the place in late 2018 and 2023.

 

The view of the Ancient Lotus Garden (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

The third destination was the Ancient City of Baoding. The government had done a lot of renovation to improve the streets and buildings in this place. The renovated areas reminded me of the old streets in other provinces in China.

 

 

 

An old building in the Old Baoding City (the picture above) and an interesting street  “bike street” with several shops either selling unique-looking bicycles, and silent scooters or offering repair services for bicycles and scooters on both sides of the road. (Toe Bean, 2018)  

When I returned in 2023, all the old shops and the bike street are gone but the area has been improved with renovated buildings, new shops, and food places.  

 

 

 

The improved old street (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

It is a good thing that the computer shops and the Baoding Yuhua Xiao Shangpinpifacheng (a shopping place with many stalls and shops selling all kinds of things ranging from clothing, electrical goods, cosmetics, household goods, beddings, bags, toys, and many others) are still operating.

 

 

The old catholic church is still there, functional and church services and Christmas services are held in this building (Toe Bean, 2018) 

   

Zhili Governer’s Office, located at the old Baoding City – there is an entry fee of 30 yuan. An interesting historical place to explain the administration of the Zhili government in Baoding history.  

 

 

   

Baoding Yuhua Xiao Shangpinpifacheng still operating even today  (Toe Bean, 2018) 

 

 

Minghua Sci-Tech City, located in the Old Baoding City is the place where I get most of my computer accessories (2018)

 

This is another shopping area famous for selling laptops and other computer products also located in the old city (Toe Bean, 2018) 

 

The next destination is to visit Huang Hua Guo Park, a new park, located north of Baoding.

It was very nice to see the elderly dancing in the park.  There were even dance instructors teaching them to dance.

 

View of the park (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

The last destination was Huibo Shopping Centre.

 

This is a new outdoor shopping center in Boading which was not there from 2018 to 2020.

 

Besides Huibo, there were several new shopping centers. Unfortunately, I was not able to visit and explore as I was too busy moving into the new apartment, trying to settle down as much as I could before leaving China, and also teaching and assessing students’ work at the same time. 

 

I managed however to visit Baoding Zoo. I didn’t know that there is a zoo in Baoding until I saw a card made by Double Tree by Hilton, where several places of interest were listed, including the Zoo.

 

The zoo is not very large, but it is worth visiting – it took me an hour to walk around and see all the animals being enclosed in the cage.

 

I also managed to visit the lake near the new apartment where I am living to get to eat at a good Muslim restaurant with a group of friends. The Muslim restaurant sells good grilled meat, and it is located over the other side of the lake.

Some views of the lake park near the apartment I am staying (Toe Bean, 2023)

 

Also, I did not manage to explore new eating places.  My Chinese colleagues mentioned that some of the places that I used to love eating have closed down due to the impact of COVID 19 but new restaurants have emerged. The only food places that I manage to visit are at the Wanda Plaza near the apartment where I am living now and also at the Double Tree by Hilton Hotel.

 

When I return in September, I will try to visit the other parks as well and try out the new eating places as other places of interest are listed on the Double Tree by Hilton card. 

 

Overall, my brief return to Baoding is like returning to a familiar, yet unfamiliar place due to the fast developments that are still taking place there. Although I have stayed there for approximately one year plus, I cannot recognize most of the places as the old buildings were either get torn down or the fields are replaced by modern apartments, facilities, and shopping centers when I returned three years later. All these developments are good for the Baoding economy. At the same time, the cost of living has increased considerably.  I need to replan and budget my finances carefully the next time when I am there. At the same time, I look forward to staying in the new apartment and getting used to the new surroundings.